Saturday, April 30, 2011

Cool Boxing Pick Up From Chuckie Cheese

If you have little kids at some point you have to take them to Chuckie Cheese.  It is crazy boring but they love it so you have to suck it up and go.  Usually I steal a few of their tokens and shoot some basketballs but this time I just stole some of their tokens. 

Instead of having Chuckie Cheese on them these have a boxing glove and the words "J C Chavez Campeones".  A quick Google search lead met to this sight.  I had no idea it existed and that it is close makes it even better.  Needless to say as a boxing fan I will have to go and check it out.  Meanwhile, while not cards, these are going in the boxing binder.

Friday, April 29, 2011

So Why Is This Group Break Taking So Long?

If you wondering why it is taking me so long to break a single box of 87 O-Pee-Chee let me explain.  I really only thought a few people would buy a team but then with my final post asking for people to claim teams I sold 6.  So I ended up with a few extra bucks.  Rather than pocket them I have been trying to find something else to spend it on.  I think I found it but don't have confirmation yet.  I soon will though.

Just wanted everyone to know I wasn't stealing their $3...

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

 In my most recent trading binge I sent Matt of Cardboard Conundrum some stuff off his wantlist.  I got quite a haul in return.  Check it out. 

Matt sent a few Select cards from my wantlist.


A manupatch.  (my scanner killed it)


A Diamond


An original video card.  


 Some abuser cards.  (figure I will be getting quite a few Manny cards in the mail) 
 

Ok that's it.  wait..  Nomar   (quite possibly the worse joke ever blogged...)


Thanks Matt

Monday, April 25, 2011

New Best Package of the Year!!

 The package I received from Ryan a week ago was great but what my friend Joey sent blows it out of the water.  Remember that awesome package Night Owl got a few weeks ago with a Mays card.  Not up to snuff with this package. 

Anyone that has been reading knows that I got rid of all my cards before I moved to the Phoenix area from Missouri.  I gave them all to a friend and fellow collector that I have dealt with about 15 years now.  He is the guy that opened up a card shop in our small Missouri town.  I called him one day and told him to come to the house and pick up some cards to get rid of for me.  I gave him a whole trunk of late 80s early 90s complete football sets, two monster boxes of Red Sox doubles, a whole bunch of 90s football inserts and a bunch of comic book toys.  Here is the first installment of my return.


 Those look like late 60s and 70 Topps cards.   They are not.  They are 60s and 70 O-Pee-Chee cards.  You can't tell from looking at the fronts so here are some back scans.


The purple one is easiest to tell that it is not a Topps card from the great big O in the left corner.  The 70 in the right is harder to tell cause it just says printed in Canada on the left.


1964 and 65 are the same with the only difference being the printed in Canada.  

It is a good thing that he pointed out they were O-Pee-Chee cause I would have never noticed.  All I look at on the back of a card is the number.  Everything else is just there.

I have been chasing this next card for years.


 This is a 1958 Hires Root Beer Bill Virdon for the Virdon collection.  They are almost always graded on eBay and always lots of money.  See what I mean?  I have watched many many go by because they were out of my price range.  Once a long time ago there was one for 20 that was autographed I passed on cause I didn't want one signed unless I got it in person.  Afterwards I wished I had bought it cause I didn't think I would ever see another go cheap enough again.  Now I don't have to look for it anymore.


Here is the back because I know some people are interested in that sort of thing. I think it is kind of cool that the number is inside of a root beer bottle lid.   That reminds me I found a old style pull tab on the ground in Payson, AZ this weekend.  It has been years since I saw one which I thought was funny because they used to be on the ground all over the place.

Now the card that really makes the package great.


A 59 Topps Ted Williams All Star card.  It isn't in the best shape but a Williams card from his playing days is a gem in my collection.  I kind of like that it is not in good shape cause I don't have any remorse putting it in a binder with my other 59s.  If it was in really great condition I would have to put it in a top loader instead. 

To top it all off he still has a ton of stuff to get rid of for me.  That means I have more stuff coming at some point.

Chopping My 2011 Wantlist

 I got some cards from Derek of Tomahawk Chopping.   He knocked out some of my 2011 want lists.


I think that this was the last Opening Day I needed.  I haven't seen the checklist but I have to be close to having them all.


I was always amazed that Adrian could hit the ball from his knee.  I'm glad that Topps captured it on a card.  I miss the way he brought it every night.  I don't miss it enough that I would rather have him over Adrian but I love how hard he played every single night last year.  I respect a guy that goes 100% on every single play of every single game.

I also just received another package from him that I am going to post a different day.  Thanks Derek!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Quick Trade with Rhubarb

 I love and hate this set.  It is so maddening that there are 162 Red Sox in the thing yet I must get them all.  I think lots of us got trapped in Documentary.  That is probably what Upper Deck had in mind but it took everyone a while to realize it.  One of the first to realize it was the Rhubarb Runner.  He has been picking these up and trading them all over the place. 


 He sent me 13 new ones and promised that he may be sending more. 


Yes I know  there are 15 cards scanned.  That is because Rhubarb is an enabler.  These last two are not normal Documentary cards, they are Gold parallels.  A parallel to a set with almost 5000 cards in it.  How many boxes do you have to buy to finish that off.  No thank you.  I'm not even going to chase all the Red Sox.  I refuse, it's ridicules.  Yes I'll take them all in trade and I will purchase every single one that I see for sale but I'm not going to collect them.   Not even going to add them to my checklist.  (until I get closer to having them all)  Damn Enabler!!

Thanks David.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Cards from BigD

I sent a bunch of Elway cards to BigD of Hey That's Mine right before I moved.  It was an attempt to get them to someone that wanted them before I dumped all my unwanted cards cause I didn't want to move them.  He sent back a package in return.

2011 Topps Team card.  As I am writing this things are looking up.  Youkilis is hitting again and all may be well once again in Red Sox nation. 


It is hard to tell from this scan but this is a parallel of the base set.  I'm not sure what to call it but it has a non-straight edge.  I guess that it is supposed to look like the edge of a ticket.  Good try Topps, but...


This Buchholz was my favorite card of the package.  It is a SP from the 2008 Timeline set.  These have been extremely hard to track down.  This is probably the first one I have added to the team set in about a year.

I'm not sure what this Ortiz insert is from.  It is made by Topps but I have never seen it or one of a different player like it.  Was it from the base set or something else.  With as many blogs as I read I would have thought there was not an insert set that came out I haven't seen but this one slipped by me.  Anyone know what it came from?


Thanks for the great package.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Last chance for the Group Break

There is still lots of teams left at $3 a piece in my 87 O-Pee-Chee break.  I don't have to sell them all but I would still like to sell a few more.  I figured with the amount of Ranger Oriole and Phillie bloggers out there they would have been claimed already.  I figured that KC would have got grabbed also for a shot at a Bo Jackson OPC.  1987 Topps was full of iconic cards that are in O-Pee-Chee also.  Ontop of Jackson there is Conseco, McGwire, and Bonds.

** I just realized from Matt's comment that there is no McGwire or Jackson.  I had always figured it was basically a parallel set. 

So comment below



TEAMS
1. Angels -
2. Athletics -
3. Rangers -
4. Mariners -Justin
5. White Sox -
6. Indians -David
7. Royals - Justin
8. Twins - Heartbreaking Cards (paid)
9. Tigers - Potch Weeler (paid)
10. Red Sox - Thoughts And Sox
11. Yankees - BA Benny (paid)
12. Blue Jays - 1967ers
13. Orioles - Justin
14. Cubs - Potch Weeler (paid)
15. Cardinals - 
16. Brewers - Collectors Crack (paid)
17. Pirates -
18. Astros -
19. Reds - Writers Journey (paid)
22. Padres -
21. Dodgers - Night Owl
22. Giants - 
23. Braves - Cardboard Collections (paid)
24. Expos -
25. Mets - The SandLot (paid)
26. Phillies - Justin

Posting late so the right guy reads it first.

I received a package from the very best writer in the blogosphere, Night Owl.  I know my post will never be as well written as one of his but I must subject you to the package anyway.



My son hates mascots and is scared to death of them but he likes mascot cards.  The one that he got at the D-Backs game is now his favorite card.  He had the same smile on his face when he got it as old Wally does on this card.  I must get this one into a binder before he sees it and I have to chase down another one. 


Opening day Blue is a hard parallel set to track down.  Greg was nice enough to send me two of them.  First up is a guy that will be putting on a Boston uniform for many many years to come.  I like what I see of him so far.


He hasn't quite pitched like the ace he is so far but I think he will get better as the season goes on.  Last year I thought he should be the opening day starter but Beckett got the nod.  This year he really was the opening day starter and Beckett has ended up looking way better than he has.


This is the last of the 2011 Heritage I am going to show cause it is so ugly.  Actually I plan to show one more once I get JD Drew.  He is the kind of boring player that this set deserves, plus he is the last SP card I need.


Night Owl knows that everyone like shiny.  Here is a shiny orange refractor from last years Chrome that looks extremely red to me.  At least being color blind keeps me from having to shop for kids clothes.  I got two more orange ones from a different blogger today that I shall post at a later date.  I am slowly getting all these orange refractors from last year.  One good thing about the Topps monopoly,there are a lot less things to chase after so it is easier to get what is out there.  Marco is the only Atomic refractor I need from 2010 to complete that team set.  (they are not really atomic refractors anymore but in my mind they still are and shall always be atomic refractors)

Thanks Greg.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

One of my favorite 2009 cards isn't a Red Sox.

The reason I collect cards is because the feelings and memories that are attached to the happenings of the cards subject.  I collect Red Sox because I have a passion for the Red Sox baseball team, boxing cards because I love the sport, and Virdon because of the former home town affiliation.  One of my favorite cards of 09 though isn't one of the things I collect.  It is this card.



It brings back memories of it's own.  No I'm not a motorcycle rider.  In fact I have never rode a motorcycle.   It brings back memories because I, like Chad Reed, raced motorcross, just not on a motorcycle.  I raced it on ATVs.   I only raced for about 4 years but some of my fondest memories are related to my racing travels.  It started from watching a friend race his motorcycle at the local fair and hanging out with him in the pits.  Someone that was an acquaintance was racing his quad the same night and we got to talking.  Soon I had bought my own quad and went to a race with him.  I had never rode an atv before except for to test ride the thing at the Honda shop before we took it to the race track.  Of course I got dead last and was lapped by everyone except the guy who crashed out but I was hooked.  I started practicing and going to more races.  After a few months I got fast enough that as long as I didn't crash I won.  The catch there is as long as I didn't crash.  At that point I went all in buying a top of the line quad with all the extras.  I raced and traveled with the same 4-5 guys all the time.  We raced together worked on our bikes together and partied together.  Our schedule was:

Saturday:  Race night somewhere.  Usually a fairgrounds race, I sucked at these, small tight tracks were a guarantee I was going to crash.
Sunday:  Races all day.  Problem was that they were always hours away and the Saturday night race usually lasted till after midnight.  So usually only ran on 2-3 hours of sleep.
Monday:  All of us would meet at one of our garages, bbq and wash the bikes.  This was the time we figured out what we had to do to get ready for the next week.  Not a week went by that one of us didn't have to replace something major.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday:  Practice or watch others practice while waiting on parts for my own bike.
Friday:  BBQ and clean up again to get ready for Racing Saturday night.

This was normal schedule from about late February to November until we stepped up to racing nationally.
Has anyone seen that commercial on tv where the guy gets a hamburger that is like a foot tall?  When we went to the Redbud ATV National we accidentally found that truck stop and I ordered one of those burgers.  I split it with someone though.  Accidentally found the first Burger King ever while on the same trip.  Good Times...


All the races were great but it was all the garage and practice days that I liked best.


Oh yeah about the card.  Every February Supercross would come to St Louis.  Every year all us racers from my area would get together and go the the race.  So every time I see this card I remember the times I spent with my racing friends.  I have the normal and mini versions of it.  Somewhere along the way I would like to pick up the Gypsy Queen version. 

I can't wait till one day they print a quad racer card. 

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Allen & Ginter SP Tradebait.

If you are still trying to put together Allen & Ginter sets I happened to pick up a bunch of SP cards from various years.  If you need some let me know.  I also have a bunch of non SPs if you need them but I'm not taking the time to list them all out.  I'm not even taking the time to  capitalize names...

2010
310 polonco
311 figgins

2009
346 dominique
336 ludwick
325 navarro
322 volstad
320 bj ryan
319 sheffield
317 baker
312 burnett
311 g floyd
304 escobar

2008
348 masterson
347 dejesus
338 polonco
333 crisp
331 castillo
326 a kennedy
322 blalock
320 dm young
313 harriet beecher stowe
311 bj ryan
302 lidge

Monday, April 18, 2011

To bad my comments arn't as funny as over there

Julie from Things are Funnier Here runs a great blog and she send a great trade package.

Batting leadoff is Card Crawford.  To bad he sucks so far this year.  Nothing like signing someone to a huge contract and them stinking.  I would like to say I didn't like the Crawford signing before he started to perform horribly.  Just look at some of the comments I made on Sections 36s blog when the signing happened.  But a Red Sox card is a Red Sox card and I needed this one.


Beckett is starting to look like the Beckett of old.  Too bad the rest of the team isn't following suit.


Youkilis is starting to heat up.  I think he is the key to the Red Sox offense.  Once he is on track the rest will follow.  I find the photo used is kind of odd with the blue background.  It looks almost as weird as the Wal Mart version of his 2010 card. (almost but not quite)


There is that Crawford guy again.  This time on a card design that should have stayed in the past.  I feel the same way about the 62 set as I feel about Crawford.


I don't know why but I like parrallels.  I hate inserts but I like parallels.  How much sense does that make??


Look more parrallels.  This time they are the mini version.  My favorite type of parallel.


I'm surprised that I don't get more Clemens cards in the mail.  I mean everybody hates the guy now so why do they hold on to his cards.  It must be because they know that he was one of the greatest pitchers of all time regardless of the other stuff.


Thanks for the great stuff Julie.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Best Mailday of 2011

The same day Greg over at Night Owl posted about an awesome lot of vintage he received, I received a package from Ryan of "O" No!!! Another Os Blog.  It was the best package I have got all year.  

First off it contained a whole team set of 63 Fleer.


Yes it only consisted of 3 cards but we're talking about 3 cards from almost 50 years ago.

One of which is Yaz.  It is in no means mint condition but that is okay with me.  It makes it easier for me to put in my vintage binder without remorse. 


I don't know allot about some of the Red Sox that came before my time.  So what I know about Monbouquette is that he has an extremely long hard to pronounce last name and he is the last guy I need to complete my 1960 Topps team set.  he has been the only one I needed for over a year now.  Why I don't just buy one on eBay I don't know but I have been waiting to find one at a card show or to get one in trade.


I know lots of people love 1962 Topps but it is one of my least favorite sets ever.  I still want all the Red Sox though.


That is why 1962 Topps cards that are bent, have paperloss, and are a little bit moldy are great pickups for me.  I can't put any money in this set at all and these two examples fit right in with the rest of the 62s I already have.  Heck 1991 Fleer looks better than 62 Topps.  ditto for 2011 Heritage  (I put that 1962 Topps comment in a comment on someones blog a few months ago and got blasted for a week, lets see how much hate mail I get this time.)



I don't feel compelled to look up old ballplayers but when the posting well runs dry you look them up.  I did this with Conley and was glad I did so.  I didn't realize he was the same Gene Conley that played for the Celtics. 

I can't remember who it was at the moment but somebody the other day said how boring 65 Topps was. Myself I don't dislike it at all.  I mean baseball is all about winning pennants and 1965 gives you one with every single card.  Cardboard greatness.

Ryan didn't just send vintage he sent a small stack of new stuff to but the vintage was so great that I didn't scan any of them.  

Thanks Ryan for all the great cards!

Sandlot Cards

I got a great package from The Sandlot.  All it took me to get all this great stuff was some Mets cards.


Joe sent some Vintage,  Upper Deck Vintage.  I'm always glad to get a Nomar.  I have noticed that people are getting a little less stingy with their Nomar cards.  This makes me happy.


What is this a white 07 Topps Chrome?  That is because it is a numbered refractor.  I'm guessing that people start unloading their Manny cards soon.  Surely his retirement will cause a shuffle of peoples cards.  I'll take all the Red Sox ones everyone is willing to part with.


Another Manny Chrome, this one is a Turkey Red Chrome Parallel.  I don't remember how these came though.  Is it a parallel of Chrome or a parallel of Turkey Red?


This next card makes me think of Thanksgiving at my grand-in-laws.  That is because all food at my grand-in-laws is deep fried, even the Thanksgiving turkey.  And this is a Crispy Turkey Red card.


He also sent a bunch of 06 Bowman Heritage Mini cards.  I scanned it next to the Crisp so that you could see the size difference.


This is a mini card also scanned by itself so it looks supersized.  Funny thing is I just sent a few of these Bowman minis to Rhubarb the day before I got this package.  Mark Lorretta looks exactly like someone I went to high school with in this card. 


This is my favorite card of the package.  Not only is it a mini Lester RC it is a mini Lester SP RC. 

  

Lastly I'm showing a 06 Bowman Heritage Game Used Curt Schilling.  It is kind of an odd picture with his hat covering his eyes.  As much of a folk hero he has become in Boston for his 04 playoff performances I have found he is as big or bigger here in Phoenix. 
Thanks for all the great stuff Joe.