Premier

With Gameweek 4 of the Premier League in the books, I was pleased to find my Southampton jersey arrived in the mail today.  I won the jersey on eBay about a month ago and waited.  After a week, I learned the wrong jersey was sent to me, but the seller made good and sent me the right jersey.  The wrong jersey was an AFC Bournemouth jersey two sizes two small, but probably bodes well for their chances in joining the Championship next season.

I own about 12 soccer jerseys, with the majority of them representing teams in the Championship (second division).  As a Blackpool fan, my team of choice resides there after a heartbreaking loss in the playoff for the premiership.  This accounts for five of my jerseys.  But it doesn't end there, as I also own a Blackburn jersey (Relegated 2012) and a Cardiff City jersey (awaiting promotion).  I figure given Southampton's poor start and my ability to by jerseys for relegated teams, they should be well on their way to the Championship at year's end, no matter how good they have looked at times.



Looking for another Sir Stanley Matthews Blackpool tobacco card for my collection, I found the above card from Sport Kings.  I was shocked to see Matthews in a modern American card set, but knew I needed to own this card.  For a very small price later, likely because he is almost certainly the least well-known Sportsking, this card was on its way.

Part of me is offended, because Matthews is wearing the red and white of Stoke City instead of the Tangerine of Blackpool.  What Matthews is most famous for is the 1953 FA Cup, which is a competition between teams at all levels of British football contested in a knockout format.  In the finals, Matthews provided the critical crosses (assists) for three goals in the last 35 minutes, including 2 in the last five minutes, leading to the biggest win in Blackpool history.  Given that, I would have thought he would have been depicted in tangerine, but instead is wearing the colors of Stoke.

I suspect since Blackpool is the only team I follow with any fervor at this juncture of my life is why this bothers me, even though I was quite overjoyed to see Sir Stanley Matthews given the respect he deserves in an American card set.   

1973 Topps: So Close Yet So Far

One day, way back in 2010, I convinced myself that I needed to complete a vintage Topps set.  Realistically, I wanted something I could put into a binder and look through and thought a vintage Topps set would be a great way to go.  So, after a day or two of research, I decided to start a 1973 Topps set. 

I started by purchasing lots on eBay.  10, 20, 50, 100 or more cards at once, thinking this the best way to finish the set, usually at a dime or less a card.  And early on, it certainly was.  I quickly filled portions of pages in the binder, but began to amass duplicates, a very highly number of duplicates.  I even managed to completely fill some of the pages in the binder, which was a great feeling of accomplishment.  But with each passing lot, it became more duplicates, less filling in the binder. 

I also took my list to shows and added a decent number of cards at shows, though often the price was much higher.  Eventually, I found a places on eBay where I could select the cards and I made great progress there.  Even better progress than I remembered, since I thought I needed even more cards than I do.  I spent some time trying to find the right, low-grade Schmidt rookie, but never found one I wanted to pull the trigger on. 

And then one day, I stopped, so close, yet so far from completing the set.  There are still holes and I suspect that finishing the 1973 set will happen in 2013.  In putting together my need list, I realize that I tried to complete the set backwards, obtaining all of the easy cards and leaving the hard ones behind.  I only need three of the first 100 cards, Ruth, Clemente and Aaron, not a recipe for success.  I've put my whole list below, so I can track my progress toward completion. 

1 Ruth/Aaron/Mays
50 Roberto Clemente
100 Hank Aaron
130 Pete Rose
190 Bob Gibson
193 Carlton Fisk
210 World Series Summary
245 Carl Yastrzemski
255 Reggie Jackson
257 Yogi Berra
266 Mike Lum
275 Tony Perez
305 Willie Mays
320 Lou Brock
329 Ed Kranepool
330 Rod Carew
338 Checklist 257-396
343 Bobby Murcer - Boyhood Heroes
380 Johnny Bench
399 George Foster
400 Gaylord Perry
440 Glen Beckert
472 Lou Gehrig All Time Leader
473 Hank Aaron All Time Leader
474 Babe Ruth All Time Leader
497 Cardinals Team Card
498 Graig Nettles
517 Pirates Team Card
526 Ollie Brown
529 Milt May
536 Phillies Team Card
544 Von Joshua
545 Orlando Cepeda
552 J.C. Martin
556 Yankees Team Card
562 Wayne Garrett
563 Larry Haney
565 Jim Hickman
566 Lew Krausse
567 Bob Fenwick
569 Walter Alston
570 Bill Singer
571 Rusty Torres
573 Bob Didier
575 Dock Ellis
576 Expos Team Card
580 Joe Pepitone
583 Bob Greif
588 Checklist 529-660
593 Royals Manager
594 Vic Harris
595 Don Gullett
596 Red Sox Team Card
597 Mickey Rivers
600 Dave McNally
601 Pena/Robles/Stelmaszk
604 Jefferson/O'Toole/Stramp
609 Blanks/Garcia/Lopes
610 Freeman/Hough/Webb
611 Coggins/Wohlford/Zisk
612 Lawson/Reynolds/Strom
613 Boone/Ivie/Jutze
614 Bumbry/Evans/Spikes
615 Schmidt/Cey
616 Angolini/Blatric/Garman
617 Rich Chiles
618 Andy Etchebarren
619 Billy Wilson
620 Tommy Harper
630 Denny McLain
631 Tom Matchick
634 Alan Closter
636 Rick Clark
642 Jose Laboy
644 Jack Heidemann
650 Felipe Alou
652 Ted Kubiak
654 Twins Team Card
656 John Ellis
657 Bob Johnson
660 Fred Scherman

Needed as of 9/16/2012 - 91 Cards

Hockey Patches and Hobby Boxes...Well, Hobby Box

So, I went to one of the many local card shows yesterday.  Card shows have three great advantages: low overhead, motivated sellers desiring to make back their show costs and in person cards.  My usual plan is a quick lap around the show looking for pre-war cards, so I can find the 12 at the show and decide which ones I might want, then see if there is anything that piques my interest.

Yesterday was strikeout on the vintage front, aside from the mislabeled Philadelphia Athletics picture you see below from the antique store.  I did find a vendor selling $2 autograph and relic cards.  I gravitated toward the hockey cards and found about 1,000 hockey cards for sale.  The vast majority of the cards were autographed cards.  Autographs on their own are not my first choice and I flipped through these cards half-heartedly.  Eventually, I found a small section of relic cards. 



Amongst the relics, I found the above cards which I purchased, which you probably already knew given the fresh scans.  The Ozolinsh was a no-brainer for me, given that almost all of my favorite players are offensive-minded defensemen.  Ozolinsh was an especially offensive-minded defenseman and one of the better players in the EA NHL games in the 1990s.  Add in the two colors and that was $2 well spent.  I also picked up the Forsberg, since I hate buying cards alone and saw this was one was limited to 250 cards and the patch wasn't white.  Also, the only other card in the stack which was of interest was a Curtis Joseph card, and to be honest, I wasn't 100% sure which team he was playing for in the card.  (Given further research, it was the Phoenix Coyotes.) 



As for the hobby box, I talked myself into a hobby box of 2012 Topps WWE, given my success at the card store and my inability to complete the base set.  Since returning to collecting cards, this would be the second recent hobby box I've purchased (the other box was an ITG Decades 80s box I bought last month at a show). 

In terms of enjoyment, I was glad I purchased the box.  I managed to finish one base set and really enjoyed opening that many packs.  The collation on the box itself was good, but overall on the product seems to be problematic.  The cards come out in a fairly standard pattern.  Not Upper Deck in the early 1990s consistent, but I opened one pack, found 5 base cards I hadn't previously obtained and this happened two other times, which finished the set for me.  Interestingly, I also pulled the same two blue border cards I found in my blaster, which leads me to believe the collation is very mechanical across all sets, base and insert.  Actually, within the entire box was a complete set, which is good collation, but I would prefer the chance to get some cards I need in each pack with a more random sort of the cards available.  

As for the inserts, I didn't light it up, but had no expectation of doing so.  The Miz relic is fairly good, as it has two colors and some texture.  The Wrestlemania mat relic is a great idea in theory, but makes no sense as to why you just placed wrestlers from the card on the card as well.  Does a picture of Cody Rhodes or John Cena change the nature of the card?  Not really, though it does marginally change the sale price.

Given that it was probably a slightly below to below average box to the product, I enjoyed the break.  I clearly wouldn't make my money back if I tried to sell everything, but I did get cards I actually wanted to keep.  The base design is sharp and enjoyable and most of the insert sets are interesting or compelling.  Even the collation on the box was good.  I suspect opening a whole box will slake my thrist for shiny wrappers for quite some time and leaves me with the dilemma of what to do about 2012 Topps WWE Heritage.  Actually, I will probably buy the set and the one, must-own insert, because I think it will cost me the same as an entire box.  Nonetheless, I secretly suspect there is more box busting in the future.

Antique Store Pickup: 1910 World Champion Athletics

After going out to lunch with the missus, we went to a few of the antique stores in Somerville.  Most of the sports-related pieces are often greatly overpriced, but fun to look at and generally, I leave empty handed.  Today, was the exception to the rule.

I bought a picture of the 1913 World Champion Philadelphia Athletics.  It was framed and for the store fairly inexpensive or maybe even very inexpensive.  The frame is older, not pre-war old, because of the cardboard back, but definitely 80's old at the earliest, given the dangerous metal and actual glass in the frame. 

The picture itself is a little darkened in the middle and if you look carefully, seems to be a picture of a photo.  The picture doesn't extend to the edge of the paper and the creases in the picture are only visible on the picture and not part of the paper.  The paper is definitely photo-paper and the size is just under 8"X10".  To be honest, the piece makes no sense to me, as I cannot figure out who would want to take a picture of a photo of the 1913 Athletics, print it, then sell it in an antique store.  What are the odds that I come through the door and think, "Hey, that would be cool looking around the house."

Nonetheless, I very much like the piece given its off-beat nature, the inclusion of six Hall of Famers (Connie Mack, Eddie Collins, Eddie Plank, Chief Bender, Home Run Baker and Herb Pennock) and was glad to pick this up today...until I think about the need to display it. Perhaps this is headed to my desk at work, since there is limited display room in my apartment for such treasures.

Great Scott!

The pun will only be marginally funny the first time, but by the time we get to 20 or so tries, the pun will be fantastic, I swear. 

Aside from Mike Scott being my favorite modern player growing up, what is great about collecting his cards is the lack of competition for a player with a fairly deep set of cards.  Rare is there a Mike Scott card I want which requires more than one bid over minimum to take down an auction on eBay and whenever I get very serious about expanding my collection, I often have little problem winning what I want.  And what I want is 2005 Topps Pristine Leading Indicators. 

The one you see above is my fourth.  The fifth is already en route and a sixth is likely to be joining this one shortly.  As someone who generally prefers patches to autographs, these cards are really the only Mike Scott relic cards you can buy from his career.  There is also the 2005 Topps Celebrity Threads jersey cards, but one of those is sufficient for my needs.  Every time I am confronted with the opportunity to purchase some of these cards, I instinctively do, like Pavlov's dog responding to the bell.  When I made my first COMC purchase in 2010 of essentially Mike Scott cards, I purchased three of them.  I am strongly preferential to the orange cards and will usually go the extra dollar or two needed to bring one home, but can't say no to a white swatch either.  More importantly, while researching this, I learned there is a refractor version limited to 25.  None of the ones I've purchased to date are numbered to 25 and knowing the existence of this card has given me another card to chase after.



It also allows me to pick up some real oddball pieces as well.  I know very little about the above pins.
 They are small, about 1 inch by 1.5 inches.

• They are small, about 1 inch by 1.5 inches. 
• They are metal with bronze-colored backs. 
• They are pins.
• They have All Star on the front.
• They are supposed to be from 1986.
• The Mike Scott looks like a Fleer card.    

There is scant information available about these pins on the internet.  I was able to find the original auction and nothing else.  They are not like any other cards I've seen and not part of any set I could easily identify.  I had to buy the three pin lot, which left me with two extra pins (Jesse Barfield and Mike Schmidt) that don't exactly fit my collection.  In the unlikely event that you know something about these pins, I would be interested to know more, especially for cataloging purposes in my Mike Scott list.

Otherwise, I am quite pleased with the latest additions to my Mike Scott collection, as the fulfill my favorite card to obtain and my need for more eclectic issues. 

A Most #1derful Pull: A Local Card Store Story

After much searching, I think I may have found a local card store I like.  I left work on time today and headed over to Attack of the Baseball Cards in Union.  Braving the horrors of driving Route 22 in rush hour, I arrived at the store ready to buy cards and given most of the card stores in the area, be disappointed.  I ended up buying cards, but was not disappointed.



Looking through the cases, I found the above card, a T206 Kaiser Wilhelm Hands At Chest.  Even though I already had a Wilhelm Hands at Chest (actually, I have all of the Dodgers in the set), the card was in the price range where I buy the T206 regardless of previous ownership.  As to the Kaiser himself, Wilhelm might be the worst player to ever have two cards in a set.  Aside from 1908, where Wilhelm had a sparkling 1.87 ERA, Wilhelm was generally a below average pitcher in his career, including going 3-23 in 1905, leading to two years in the minor leagues.  Given his pitching skill, it might have made sense to call him Kaiser even without the matching last name, as his stats belied the withered arm of his namesake. 

This card alone would have been worth the trip to the card store by itself.  However, from there the trip gets even better.  Seeing a hobby box of 2012 Topps WWE cards in a pristine, undisturbed state, I decide to purchase four packs to try and fill in some of the holes in my base set.  In this respect, the cards were a bust, as I started the day needing 13 base cards and ended the day needing 13 base cards.  Fortunately, there are more than just base cards in packs, like the "Wonderful" card below.



I've never pulled an autograph from a pack of cards before, nor have I pulled a card where the odds were 1:111.  On average, there are about two Hall of Famer autographs per case or one every five boxes.  Given the checklist of stars, pulling an Orndorff alone would be the second best pull I could ask for, just below Tully Blanchard and just above Harley Race.  However, look at that signature.  Orndorff actually signs his name "Mr. #1derful".  I've never seen a cooler or more impressive signature in my life.  It works.  If I sign something like that, I'm a jerk and probably a word even worse than that.  However, if you are the master of the piledriver and worked Hulk Hogan, that is above awesome.  Pulling that in the first pack was great.  In the second pack, I pulled one of the other two box hits as well.



The gold cards come one per box and while Rosa Mendes is not the most famous of WWE superstars, I still did beat the odds on the four packs I bought.  The gold bordering looks a lot better in person and really shines.  Even without considering the great pulls, I really enjoyed the store, as it was clean, well-organized and the owner failed to either patronize me or blame me for his ills.  In fact, the owner was actually helpful, which might be a first in a card store.  In all, it was a #1derful experience. 

The Local Card Show: Second Sunday of the Month

I'm a card show junkie.  I love the concept of multiple dealers set up in a small area, allowing me to browse their wares and when the mood strikes, purchase from their respective tables.  This also explains why I like going to antique stores and flea markets as well.  If only I were a home and truck owner, oh the vintage furniture I would own. 

Regardless, every second Sunday of the month, there is a small card show in a rec center about 20 minutes away.  When I first got back into card collecting about two years, this was the first show I frequented, before I learned, yes, I will travel 2+ hours to a card show.  With about 30 or so tables, there used to be a decent selection of cards and dealers.



Over the last two years, both have disappeared from the show.  One time, I went and there were six dealers at the show, which after paying my admission, led me to purchasing nothing that sad day.  In the past, I managed to find some very interesting cards to add to my collection, like the Wallie Schange (Wally Schang) strip card with the off-center printing or the B18 Covalskie felt blanket that sits in a binder.

On Sunday, it was a struggle.  I arrived and there were about 10 dealers at the show.  There is one guy, who often has a great amount of oddball cards near the front, so I waited to go his table last.  There was no current, unopened product to be had at the show, which was a little disappointing, given my desire to break something open.  One dealer had commons from the most recent releases and a small shelf of cards from the 70s, which didn't call to me.  Another, had cases full of new rookie cards and another having a large selection of football cards.

As I made my way around the room, I found one dealer who had a T205 for sale.  The T205 set known as the gold border set, for the gold borders on the tobacco cards.  Gold borders which almost always fleck off, making it hard to find them in excellent or better condition.  I had seen the card before and refused to make an offer on the card, since it felt like buying for the sake of buying and I expect there to be a price if I ask.  I believe the first time I saw the card, I was offered it for $150, which is only three to five times to real value, unless a card with somewhat damaged borders and less than perfect corners can be considered EX-MT. I saw the card again, marked $600 on the front, because the Mint price of a 100 year old card comes into play, never.  Even with a generous discount, it was enough to keep me walking along to the next dealers. 

Another dealer had just finished breaking a few boxes of 2012 Goodwin Champions, which he must have brought with him to the show.   One of the cards for sale, was a Paul Coffey two color (white and orange) patch card.  Having bought one for $1 on eBay plus shipping with only one color, I was somewhat interested in adding another to my collection.  I inquired about the card, likely being the only person who cares enough about Paul Coffey to come to a rec center on a Sunday morning, expecting a price of somewhere between $5 and $10.  The dealer, serious as can be, gives me the card and quotes me a price of $25.  I didn't even waste time doing anything other than returning the card.  I understand a show premium and will pay it for something that I want, but I would never pay a 5X show premium, which seemed to be the rule of the day. 

Disappointed, I take a second tour of the show, as my regular oddball dealer, didn't have anything of interest, other than some very low grade 1963 Topps Flags of the World cards that I just couldn't pull the trigger on.  I went back to the table in the far corner, where I spy a box full of boxes.  Boxes of cards from the early 1990s.  I looked and I looked and thought about a box of 1992 Topps Baseball, but decided that wasn't quite for me.  I did however, see a box 1991 Stadium Club Hockey.  The price was fair and I was able to leave the show with something I was quite interested in. 

I've yet to break the box, but look forward to the rainy day project.  I do hope the cards are not stuck together and perhaps the collation gods at Topps will be kind and I will be able to put together a complete set from the box.