Slow and Steady, Steady and Slow, That's The Way to Go.

I used to read a book to my kids at night.  It was a Disney Tortoise and the Hare with Donald as the Hare and Goofy as the Tortoise.  Goofy drove and old beater in their race and ended up winning with his motto Slow and Steady, Steady and Slow, That's the Way to Go.  This is how I have always approached my vintage team sets.  With enough money I could scour ebay and fine every last Topps Red Sox card no problem; instead I try to find them on a budget.  I have passed on many many cards because they just wouldn't fit the budget.

I got one card closer to my 58 team set.  It was the most expensive  one.  While it may not be the cleanest copy I won it for $5.51.  It is definitely in poor condition but it is still a Ted Williams from his playing days.  (the scanner cut it short like that, it is a whole card and actually has pretty good corners, considering)  

I would rather have a nice crisp copy but this one has it's advantages too.  I keep my team sets in binders and it is hard for me to put a really expensive card in a binder page sometimes.  But I have no qualms on putting this one in my binder rather than in a top loader. 

I Need One More

One of the people that requested to be in the Card Bloggers Unite Fantasy League just hasn't accepted the invitation I send and I am running out of time.  So I need one more blogger that is willing to join.  Here is who already is participating:

Play At The Plate
Cards on Cards
Cardboard Junkie
Beardy (formally of Mojo Beard)
RedSoxCollector.com
Plain Grey Swatch (The Paper Chase)
ThoughtsAndSox

Please respond if you want to throw your hat in with this bunch.

Fantasy Team Owners Needed

I run a Fantasy League that consists of Card Bloggers (and some former bloggers).  A few teams dropped out and I need new owners.  It is a keeper league and every available team has a decent lineup.  GCRL showed interest before already has an invite (if he would just accept it) and I'll take new owners first come first serve.  Just comment below.  Leave me your email if I don't have it yet or if I can't link to it from your blog.

So Close to the Goal

Yesterday the mailman brought me my newest Virdon card.  Yes it is an ugly ass frankencut but it is my 130th unique Virdon card. 

It is also my second one since I said I was going to acquire 3 this year.  So one more and I have attained my goal but it is safe to say if I find another I'm going to buy it, within reason.  I say within reason because one I need just got listed on eBay but it is out of my price range.  If someone wants to buy it for me I will trade them a Joe Frazier auto, a Barry Sanders Score RC, and whatever else makes it even.

2012 was a big year for Virdon cards.  Between Topps and TriStar there were 14 new Virdon's issued.  It is the most cards issued for him in a single year.  From the looks of it 2013 will be the total opposite.  I'm thinking there will be a good chance that no Virdons are issued at all this year.  He was shut out of Heritage since there are no Buyback cards this year (except Beatles and oddball things) and surely he won't be in Signa Cuts two years in a row.  I see it as both good and bad.  Bad because there is nothing new to chase but good because it is easier on the wallet.

Another Mail Day

Wow, three posts in three days!  What has got into me?  It is probably that I got a bunch of really great stuff lately. My latest great package are different kind of cards, they are postcards.  Tracking down old postcards is tough but not as hard as identifying them.  There isn't really anyone that I can find out there that knows much about them.  The authority on St Louis postcards that I have found is this guy but he has nothing on my latest postcard find.

These are either Brace, Burke, or Rowe postcards but I don't know know how to find out which.  Evidently they were once sorta kind-of partners in printing postcards of obscure players or of players in obscure uniforms.  Although Virdon won the ROY in 55 with the Cardinals the only cardboard he made it on in a Cardinal uniform is 55 Bowman, a team issue postcard, and an ultra rare Hunter's Weiner card. (56 Topps has him as a Cardinal but it is an art card not a photo)

From what I have read on forums Brace and Burke had a ton of old photos and let Rowe use the images to make postcards.  I haven't really found out anything more about these than what is on that link and it sounds like I will probably never know for sure what they are and how many more there may be.

There is actually a 3rd Virdon Cardinals postcard that I know of.  Iit shows Virdon posing with a bat.  Someone sniped me form it on eBay months ago and I am still bitter about it.

Either way they are nice pickups and a great addition to the Virdon binder.  I know have 129 unique Virdon's, only 31 more to go!

Sometimes You Just Have to Change Things Up

I have done a eBay search for Virdon every day for years now. (and ever since I have had a smart phone with an eBay app it has been more like 30 times a day)  Speaking of checking for Virdons on eBay...

Okay, I'm back.  Like I said I search eBay every single day.  Four or five years of searching eBay and I had never seen a 1975 O-Pee-Chee Virdon, not once.  I even started to open all the Topps Virdon auctions to see if they scanned the back of the card and it happened to be an O-Pee-Chee and they didn't notice because the fronts look just the same.

The other day I thought "I wonder if someone listed it as the yankees team and didn't mention that it is a Virdon?"  A quick eBay search of 1975 yankees O-Pee-Chee and there it was.  Not only did I find multiple copies of the card there was one with a .99 BIN.

Five years of searching for a card and it is finally mine, I just had to change it up a bit.

The other day I mentioned that I had some "things" changing.  If you are a long time reader you probably know that two years ago I moved from Missouri to Arizona.  My current change isn't quite so big but just as scary.  When we moved here my wife opened an accounting office and has done super.  The business has done so well that she makes way more money than I do now.  Well Friday is my last day of work for the Maricopa County Health Department.  Starting on Saturday I will be working at the account office with my wife full time.  It is a big step having out entire family income tied to one single thing.  I haven't had much bal l card money in the last few years and I this year I will probably have even less again but I think in the long run it will work out for the best.

Closer to a 2013 Goal

One of the goals I set for 2013 was to finish off my 1969 Topps team set.  I picked up one of the two I needed up off of Listia.

(sorry about the picture my scanner is not in house at the moment)

Always nice to pick up a need for free.

Now if a 1969 Sparky Lyle #311 would just show up for free...

Something Completly Different

I randomly came across this item on ebay.

 It is a Astros Viewmaster reel from 1980.

I tried to take a picture of the image but couldn't figure out how to make it work.  Maybe when my scanner is back in house I can zoom in in all the way and show you the image. 

Though it is technically not a card it is going in my binder and I am counting it towards my goal of 3 more Virdons this year.