you can make a table from them!

...well maybe not, but they are made of wood. Ok so they're not. I don't come across many 1962s for some odd reason. When I was collecting my 'one-of-every-year-Topps', 1962 was one of the last I got. I like both these sets though. Something about the wood panel borders makes them cool and classy looking at the same time. Definitely retro, like the Bowman 1955 TV set being used now. A friend of mine used to have a big old station wagon that had wood panels on the side, decals of course...

there IS only one

Not much to say about this one:


Except that I have never seen one until now. Well, online I've seen some but even those are few and far between (which is where I bought this one, I'll never see one out of a pack). I really wanted Vernon Wells to complete my rainbow but I'm not going to scoff at this. Plus I'll probably never see that. Ever. Getting this makes me want to complete this rainbow though...

the set topps got right

While sorting through the box I purchased on Sunday of 2009 Topps T206, I noticed something. Something I felt was really right. I've seen plenty of original T206 cards (including the six I own), and I feel this 2009 issue really gets it done properly. The minis look spot on like the original set, and even the regular sized cards just look like a blown up mini (that is good). More importantly, I feel the pictures on the cards capture the look, feel and spirit of 1909. The washed out colors, some of the poses, the grittiness of some of the pictures. Many of the actions are even close to what was going on on the 1909's (see some of my close-to-1909-favorites above, with the Weaver is fantastically close to an original pose). While technically the set was issued from 1909 to 1911, I think what Topps may be doing is trying to recapture that ideal. Which means we may see another issue of 206 in 2011. Makes sense to me. T206 is one of the most collected, popular and sought after vintage sets ever. Why wouldn't Topps want to capitalize on that? I don't mind it when they get it right (see 2009), as opposed to just silly (see 2010). As I stated, I have seen many originals and even out of the six I own, three are wearing caps, three are not. Not all are capless. No idea why Topps did this but it makes the set much less desirable, at least for me. They also didn't have to change the layout, and while I don't hate the 2010 layout, its just not the same. Maybe they could have just called it series 2, made the set look the same, added new rookies and different pictures on those who were in series 1. Maybe that idea sucks, but it would capture the original more so. As for the thick bronze parallels, I don't really care for them and are kinda useless. The minis are all good though, even with the different backs. Anyway, enough of my rant here. I will continue to collect the 1909s when I can (and when cheap enough), and I will continue to collect the 2009 set until its finished. No 2010 though, the blaster and jumbo pack were enough.

its finished!

Last week, the final set I needed to complete my goal of having every Topps set from 1982 to now, came in the mail. It was the 1985 set. I started out collecting just 2010 and 1987. Then I bought a few factory sets off of eBay, starting with 1988, 1989, 1991 (basically the junk wax I had as a kid), because I knew I wanted sets from my youth. I had originally wanted just 1987 through 1993. Then I came across some of the newer sets, like 2005, 2007 and 2008, really cheap, plus I found 1997 at the local shop for a good price. That's when I decided to go for it all. I wanted 1987 to 2010. I slowly collected them when I found them for great deals. It wasn't all fun, as I ran into a few snags. These being; astronomical prices for factory sets for the years 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002 (that's when I stopped doing factory and went hand-collated), my 1989 set was rubbish due to a fourth of it being horribly miscut (I'll show these off soon, they're great), 1993 was missing about 25 cards, and 1994 was stuck together. Those three years got replaced (very cheap), and are now all good. Once I got closer to finishing the goal of 87 to 10, I sought out prices for the 5 years before 1987, and found they weren't too bad. So I gave in and went for them. Many of you have noticed the set reviews I've done in past posts. These were when I got a new set to go through. I'll do some retrospective thing in the future that goes more in-depth about each set. For now though, I'm just glad to have a full shelf of some great Topps history coinciding with how long I have been around as well. Here's to 2011!

random box purchase

I took a trip to the local shop today. He was having a wrestling event there with box breaks of the latest Topps WWE set, pizza, local wrestlers and some old WWE pay per views on the TV. It was pretty cool, but didn't end up with much during the break (the wrestlers were chosen at random to be fair), and I wanted to buy something. He had had this lone box of 2009 Topps T206 sitting on the shelf since before the first time I stepped in the shop (around May). Since I really don't like this years set and really liked last years, I decided to pick this up. Good thing I did because here is what came of it:

Yes, a Babe Ruth bat relic. My best hit ever. The silk Hanley was also a plus because I was only guaranteed the two other hits. The Koji auto is nice too, but weird because I have only two autos from this set and they are both Orioles. Hanley came in the second pack I opened, Koji was in the middle, and Ruth was the second to last pack in the box. Good box and I am definitely glad it had been passed over until now. I do believe I am going to try and finish this set off with the short prints, even though I hate short prints. Oh well.

ebay goodness final

Here are the final six from the $6.99 lot:

The Sizemore, Gonzalez and Figgins are just your run of the mill swatches. The favorites are the others: the Bill Hall letter is signed on the 'K' in gold, the double swatch of Morneau and Clark is awesome. I remember having a bunch of Will Clark's when I was a kid, and Morneau used to play in New Britain. The best of the whole lot though is the Aparicio. The fabric is a beige color due to the age (I'm guessing), or the type of fabric they used back then. Either way its great to have a HOFer relic in the collection. All in all a great bunch of cards for only seven bucks, I would have figured someone would have at least bid on it. Oh well.

ebay goodness part 2

Here is part two of my $6.99 eBay relic lot:

Some ok cards here. A bunch of 2008 SP Legendary Cuts (with two more tomorrow actually) shown here. Some boring plain white swatches except the nice pinstripe in the Derrek Lee. The Oswalt is actually 4 different pieces (or at least aligned to look that way). The Manny is a gray swatch which is ok, even if he's a Red Sock. Stay tuned for the final part to be posted up tomorrow, with my favorite three (plus three others that are ok too).

ebay goodness

Recently I picked up that Adam Lind plate off of eBay and I picked up this guy too:

Aaron Hill's short print magenta plate. Another one no one touched, thankfully. The seller also had some interesting auctions. One of which was a lot of relics from various players and sets. I watched it, and again, no one touched it. I put a bid in and won it with me being the only bid. It included a total of 16 relics from Upper Deck and Topps for $6.99 plus $3.00 shipping. I will post the first bit of them today and the other two over the next two days. Here is lot 1:

2 Ginter's, a Chicle and a 2010 206. Three gray swatches and a bat, pretty good.

value-fractor-mania! (non-fractor)

As I stated in yesterdays posts comments (I have to comment from the wife's computer, mine still won't let me comment...I know, stupid), I was going to post what else I got in the WallyMart value boxes. The first box came with the Hanrahan auto. The second came with the manu-patch (which made the pack super obviously thicker than the others) and the bronze Met. The third and latest came with the Mijares auto and the best bronze I could have gotten out of series two, being Aaron Hill. Great seeing as how I'm sort of collecting him. The funny thing with the Hanrahan and Mijares autos is that they don't even have cards in the regular set, but they got autos! (and even funnier is that I have a Mijares auto from series 1, go figure) Maybe these are left over stickers from when Topps had them sign for Bowman cards and never used the sticker autos up. Who the heck knows. Maybe I'll try for one more to test my luck.

value-fractor-mania!

I've picked up three of these WallyMart value packs. I can't help myself. I have so much series 2, and I don't care for Ginter's enough to buy a ton of it. Why do I keep grabbing these boxes? It's not for the cards above. Its just my compulsive mindset that I can't shut off to buy more damn packs (curse you Topps!!). I don't know. They are fun to open, even if I get nothing new out of them. Although I have gotten some cards that some of you need, so its not all bad. As you can see above, there are only two cards posted. Well, I haven't hit Strasburg yet, but I do have a duplicate of the Cal and it is up for trade if anyone needs it. I think my local Wal-Mart has one value box left...

droppin' plates

I still don't know how I feel about printing plates, but its Adam Lind and the price was right. This is the yellow 2010 206 plate. I'd like to complete the set of four, but that will never happen. I'll keep checking though.

jose!

Being a fan of the Blue Jays on Facebook, I get their updates regularly. The post up results from the previous nights game, the line-ups for the forthcoming game, posts about upcoming events at the stadium and sometimes polls asking what fans think about different things. One such topic that has come up a few times in the past couple of weeks, is asking fans how many home runs Jose Bautista will hit this season. He has already passed the franchise record of 47 set by George Bell in 1987. With 49 hit so far, and 14 games (including today) left in the regular season, I think its fair to guess he will hit around 52. Thats my guess anyway. I had guessed around 52 about a month ago, seemed fair. I don't think I would be surprised if he did hit a couple more beyond that but 52 is where I'll stay. Its also good to see SOMETHING come out of Toronto, seeing as how the playoffs are a definite no go. With 229 (as of right now) home runs this season by the whole team, they are way ahead of everyone else in terms of homers (with Boston being in second with 195), its just too bad they couldn't win some games with those numbers! Anyway, what total do you guys think Bautista will end up with?

stickers!

Fleer stickers are a nice treat. It was always great getting these in mid to late eighties packs of Fleer. I stuck these damn things everywhere when I got them. It didn't matter who the teams were, they got stuck somewhere. Upper Deck came out with their fancy holograms but I always stuck by these (pun intended). Topps should consider doing something like this for their Opening Day set. They did temporary tattoos in 2008, why not stickers in 2011? New updated logos, stickers for teams that started after Fleer stopped with the stickers. I know I'd like to have new stickers to put on my plain white monster boxes. Just saying...


Bring on the stickers Topps!

new decision

I have decided to start collecting the Washington Nationals, in addition to the Blue Jays. Random? Kinda, but they do have an interesting history, being that they were converted from the Montreal Expos. It has nothing to do with Strasburg, seeing that I don't have any of his cards. No, they are the perpetual last place team (seemingly), and they are due for some good luck. I should be attending a Mets game in early October and they will be playing the Nationals in that time frame. The Jays still come first, and always will, I just felt I wanted to start collecting another team along with them. I have a pretty good stack going but if we ever trade and you have no Jays left, send some Nationals on over. I'll give 'em a good home.

subconscience collecting

Apparently I am collecting 2010 Topps football. I hadn't planned on it, but I keep buying packs. When I purchased the value pack yesterday, it came home along with two packs of football. I didn't even notice! (OK, I did, but still...) I have, however decided just to collect the base set. No parallels, no inserts, nada. So if some of you have a wantlist for 2010 Topps football inserts, let me know and I'm sure we can work something out. I may (but probably not) collect the Bowman inserts (see above), but that all depends on how many I can get my hands on. I like the look of them, plus I'm a fan of all things retro.

UPDATE: I brought up the copper parallels in yesterdays post. Apparently they are Wal-Mart only, and are only series 2. There are no series 1 copper parallels (to my knowledge thus far), so I will not be finding that Wells after all.

Also- I just saw a few blogs with the picture of the 2011 Topps base cards. I am...uncertain how I feel about them. One commenter said they look like they are out of the 90's and I may have to agree. Kinda reminds me of 1996 Topps now that I think about it...

whats this?

Another parallel? Apparently these are copper and are numbered to 399. I have never come across these before tonight. I purchased one of those 'value packs' from Wal-Mart and this was on one of the packs. I also got a World Series manu-patch from a super thick pack that was inside too. I NEED to find the Vernon Wells copper, now that I know it exists. I just can't have it missing from the rainbow.

set appreciation

Generally I consider myself a Topps collector, almost exclusively. I'll dabble in other brands stuff but more often than not, I'll stick to Topps (well....now I have no choice). Target sells these repack packages of 10 packs for 10 bucks. Its an interesting mix of stuff, usually from 2006 to 2009. Much of it is 2007 and 2008 though. They are fun to open up when I'm looking for something to rip open and I don't want anything else on the shelf. Many of these repacks have a lot of 2007 Fleer Ultra and 2007 Upper Deck, both of which I've grown to like very much. Especially the Upper Deck set. The minimal silver border on two of the sides, the as usual great photography, it just really appeals to me. I won't collect the set, its well over 1000 cards but I definitely won't pass them up when I get them in these repacks or where ever I find them. Nice set. I think 2007 seems to be a year I like most of the set designs, seeing as how I stated in an earlier post that I'm a big fan of 2007 Topps and Fleer.

play ball! (double take)

Here are the other two cards I picked up yesterday. These are also from 1941, but come from the Play Ball set. Both in good shape, both are Indians and both are players I've never heard of. On the back it tells me to "Also ask for BLONY Super Bubble Gum, the sweet that lasts longer."

double-play double take

Ahh, I'm such the sucker when it comes to vintage stuff. I really am. I have a binder with nothing but history in it. It has 8 to 9 cards representing every year of Topps since 1952 (the 8s are for '52 to '56). I have a couple pages, however, that go before these Topps cards that hold all my pre-Topps stuff, with the exception of the T-206 cards, they get special holders. The above two cards have been just added to these said pages. These cards hail from 1941, from a set called Double-Play. I am not exact on who made these, but I am researching the subject. These represent my first DP cards, and could be my last, as I really don't see them often. I got them from the local shop, he had bought them off a guy who held on to them for years. I also got two 1941 Play Balls too, but those are for another post. These two Hall Of Famers deserve to be first. My only "real" Mel Ott and Johnny Mize cards (no, 2010 Topps inserts don't count), and is actually Mize's Extended Rookie (whatever that means). These cards are in pretty good shape for being almost 70 years old. Mize is great with just a little corner wear, but Ott has two small creases, plus a little worse corner wear. I am definitely not complaining though due to the price being friggin' amazing. A great addition to the pre-Topps section indeed.

you never know...

Sometimes while browsing on eBay, you come across a seller who has a card you like. You check out their other items and on occasion, you'll find something a bit....different than what you were looking for. This is one such instance. While searching for some Mark Teixeira relics for the wife (she really wasn't a baseball fan until we went to New York last weekend and then decided that her favorite player is now him), I came across a 2003 Leaf Certified Materials relic. It was definitely cheap enough to warrant the purchase (buy-it-now for $1), so I decided to check out his other items, and I ran across this:

Its a 1910 Mecca Cigarettes T218 Champion Athletes and Prize Fighter Series. I had no idea who he was, so I checked him out on Wikipedia. He won three Olympic gold medals in 1904, and a silver in 1908. Originally the seller had it at $9.99 buy-it-now, but I didn't bite. Good thing too because once it ended he put it back up but with the new price of $4.99. Then I bit. It arrived today, a new tobacco card for the collection. I like checking out what sellers have to offer, because you just never know what you may come across...

quickie

Not much here, so here are a couple of Bowmans I just picked up:

recent trades-update

I didn't get a chance to explain why the four cards I chose from each of those trades were significant. I was busy earlier when I originally posted and I wasn't sure if I would have the time tonight to go over it, but I do now, so I will. On with the cards!

Here we have some of Ryan's former cards. I always enjoy getting Blue Jays minis, be it from packs or trades. When I posted that busting of the Upper Deck X blaster I got at discount from Wal-Mart, I mentioned that I liked the X-Ponential inserts, and the Wells is no different. The Bowman Shawn Green is probably one of the 'loudest' cards I've gotten in a while. IT is from the mid-90s so it makes sense. As for the silver signed Molitor, I collected the Collector's Choice set back when it came out. I would rush down to the locally run convenience store, grab a few packs and scurry home to open them up. I always loved getting the silver sig. cards in those packs, and this is a good recollection of my youth (there were actually two more in the box with Molitor too).

Here are the ones from Kerry. I started collecting Griffey a few months back, and its always fun to get one of him in a White Sox uniform, due to him not being there for long. I don't have many Jays Cansecos, so those are always good. I have never seen Leaf 1996, so I felt I had to show it. Finally, the Hentgen card looks like a bad (good?) acid trip, and definitely look straight out of the mid-90s (which it is).

So there you have it. The explanations for the above cards, which I definitely wanted to do, and should have initially, but time did not allow for it as I said. Again, a big thanks to Ryan and Kerry for the great Jays additions!

recent trades

Occasionally I send out cards for some of you, those of you I have addresses and cards for that is. Today I received two packages in return, both filled with Jays goodness!

These are some of my favorites from Kerry, over at Cards on Cards:


These are the highlights that came from Ryan over at "O" No!!! Another Orioles Blog:

Both were awesome surprises, and both had many many Jays I didn't have. That 3200 count box is sure filling up fast, and its all thanks to all of you (and some shows too, but mostly you guys)! A huge thanks to both Kerry and Ryan and I'll keep a sharp eye out for your favorite respective teams for some future packages!

topps chrome

I can't decide if I am going to fully collect the 2010 Topps Chrome set. Seems almost impossible, as you only get 4 cards per pack, for like, 5 bucks, and one maybe two of those cards are inserts. I'm a big fan of the 2010 design, and initially wanted to collect all baseball sets that have it, but I may not do Chrome. We'll see.

1954 topps

Is anyone collecting or just have a bunch of 1954 Topps? I was picking cards up at the last show I went to and ended up with these two duplicates. I would be willing to trade them off for other '54s if you have any that I don't. Doesn't matter what or what condition (as long as its not torn or missing parts or something) really as long as it is something I don't have. Send me a comment or message to let me know.

its not alan hale but...

Cameron over at Reds and More... recently decided and posted up that he would like to send out team lots of all the teams he didn't care about (ie; anyone who is not a Red). I jumped at the chance to get his Jays stuff, and sent him over some Reds in return. What he sent over was fantastic to say the least. Some autos, inserts and a ton of cards I didn't have. It was the following card though, that really caught my attention:

The skipper himself! His 1989 Topps Traded card, signed by the man himself. I asked Cameron where he had obtained it and he said that he had gotten it during Spring Training in either 1990 or 1991. Incredible that he has held onto it that long. I find it to be really great because I have very little stuff that I had back in 1990. Its one of my new favorites, and I don't plan on it going anywhere any time soon. A HUGE thanks to Cameron for the great card! Check out his blog and claim your team if you have not done so already, as he has some teams left to clear out.

topps 206 blaster

I picked up a 2010 Topps 206 blaster at the local Target today (along with two loose packs) and I have scanned the minis shown here. As far as anything else goes, it wasn't anything but base and the thick bronze parallels. So no cool stuff like autos or short prints or anything. Here are the minis:

There are four American Caramel backs, one Old Mill, two Piedmont and one Polar Bear. The other two are historical events inserts, which are pretty cool. I may try for all of these, but I don't think I plan on buying much more of this set beyond maybe a few random packs. I don't think this set needs to be an annual issue and could be rotated every other year with Ginters, but hey, its not my damn company. I do like minis though...

in the city!

Today's starting pitchers in New York for the game we're at:

Javier who isn't a Brave anymore, and Mr. I still can't pronounce his last name.

Lets hope for a Jays win! (and good weather)

wwe week-day 5 (final)

The final post in my WWE themed week, celebrating 900 episodes of Monday Night Raw (the longest running weekly episodic show ever...or whatever Michael Cole reminds us of every damn week). Today I've saved the best for last, with the first two cards being not that exciting, but still interesting. They are these:

I could really care less about the two ladies depicted on these cards. The neat part is being part of the canvas from the Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View. Its not like its Layla's canvas, so it doesn't matter who is on the front of the card, but they had to put someone. These come out of the blasters found at retail. Usually one per, but sometimes you can get a regular relic too (as was the case with the John Morrison unnumbered relic I posted on Wednesday).

Here is the single best card I pulled out of all that I've bought. Its not too fancy, but it was just right:

Just right in the fact that Edge is the wife's absolute favorite wrestler ever. I opened the pack, but she got the smile. Its a superstar super swatch, numbered to 30, and are at a ratio of 1:276 hobby. A very cool pull indeed, as the shop I usually buy boxes from had not seen one of these yet, and they busted many boxes, and even got signed printing plates (yes, those are way harder to pull, obviously).

Well there you have it, WWE week is finished. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I had opening it all up. Baseball will resume tomorrow, thanks for reading!

wwe week-day 4

These are the two dual autographs I pulled in my boxes. They run about 1:162 hobby. They come in a gold (#'d to 25) and red parallel (1/1). I believe all dual autos are XX/99. Both are pretty good match ups too, that make sense, as they are both tag teams (well...one former). Some of the dual pairings are a little odd, but these work. Tomorrow's post will be the "big" finale, and then we go back to baseball for those who don't care much for wrestling. Normal programming will resume on Saturday...maybe. I'll be in New York City for the Yankees/Jays game and we're leaving super early so we can hit a few places before the game. I'll probably do a post for Sat. on Friday night. Until then...

wwe week-day 3

Welcome back to day three of WWE! Today I've shown some of the 'event worn' cards. The silver John Morrison is the basic relic, and the other three are numbered to 99 parallels. Morrison is one of our favorites, and we definitely don't mind the Randy or Rey. We're halfway there, don't miss tomorrows post for more signed goodness!