One Sweet Buyback and Way Too Much

Back in March, I made a two card purchase at my local flea market which involved a 2005 Playoff Prestige Red Foil parallel of Steve Garvey that was serial numbered to 25.  I grew up being a fan of Garvey... especially during his years with the San Diego Padres in the mid 80's.  Unfortunately Garvey wasn't representing the Padres on this particular card.

Fortunately for Jim over at Cards As I See Them, this happened to be a card he needed for his Garvey collection.

So I packaged Mr. Clean up and shipped him off in a PWE to a loving home that would take care and appreciate him.

A few weeks later, I received a fat package of cards from Jim that was completely unnecessary... and way too much compensation for a single card I found for a buck at the flea market.

Let's kick things off with this sweet 1972 Topps buyback card of Vida Blue:

This card combines four things I love:  1972 Topps baseball cards, Vida Blue, the Oakland A's, and a great action shot.  By itself, this card would have been a fair trade.

Throw in these two cards and I officially feel guilty:

Both of these cards are new additions to the collection.  On the left is the 20th Nomo relic in my collection, while the one on the right is a 2009 Topps Tribute Gwynn card numbered to only 99.

These three cards were only the tip of the iceberg though.  Here's the other cards he included in the package:

Thanks Jim for this awesome package!  Guess the ball is back in my yard.  I'll be throwing something your way soon.

Happy Friday and sayonara!

The Greatest Set?

What is the greatest baseball card set ever produced?  I'm sure there are some collectors who came up with their response immediately, while others struggle with the question.  I fall into the second group.

I mean, what are we talking about here?  Best design?  Strength of the checklist?  What about individual sentimentality?

If I were forced to give a quick response, my Pavlovian response would probably be "the 1956 Topps baseball set".

However two weeks ago, I purchased the 1972 Kellogg's All-Time Greats set and was floored by its beauty when I actually held it in my hands.

If you've read my blog long enough, you know that I hate scanning cards.  It's the worst part of blogging.  But I love this set so much, I had to share it with all of you.  Here are scans of every card front and back:

My favorite thing about Kellogg's baseball card sets of the 70's and 80's are seeing the flashy and colorful borders popping off of these lenticular oddballs... especially when they're featuring ballplayers like Pete Rose, Nolan Ryan, and Reggie Jackson.

But I feel the plain light blue borders works for this particular set, because it's filled with baseball legends who at the time had already been retired for decades.

Plus the yellow shield and banner that house the player's position and name, along with the facsimile signature across the player's photo compliment the blue borders enough to make the card attractive.

The card backs are packed with information that include the player biography, career highlights, a secondary photo, career totals, and World Series totals.

If that weren't enough... this set has additional meaning to me, because it was distributed the same year I was born.  Yup.  A Kellogg's lenticular birth year set.

My only complaint is Kellogg's decision to use such a small font size.  It's difficult for these aging eyes to read without major squinting.

The $64,000 question is... 

Do I think this is the greatest set of all-time?  

Well... no.  Off the top of my head, I can think of at least ten sets that would rank higher than this set.  But for less than $45, it's still offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Okay... it's your turn:

What is the greatest baseball card set ever produced?

If you can't pick one, I totally understand.  Feel free to list a few sets you feel are "great".

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Admiring Greatness

There have been plenty of times in my life when I have focused on the negative rather than appreciate the positive aspect on things.  The perfect example is sports.

I've never been a fan of the New York Yankees.  It has to do with their multiple dynasties and of course growing up around people who have no problem with reminding you of their success.  But no matter how much I dislike the franchise, I can't help but admire some of the guys who have donned Yankee Pinstripes.

When I was a kid, I saw Pride of the Yankees and couldn't help but admire The Iron Horse:

The movie portrayed him as an honorable and humble guy.  The kind of guy you'd want your sister or daughter to meet.  The fact that he's one of the greatest baseball players of all-time is the icing on the cake.

Another Yankee I can't help but admire is The Captain:

Twenty years ago, you'd have to pay me money to say anything nice about Jeter.  I couldn't stand watching him and the Yankees win World Series after World Series after World Series.  But by the tail end of his career, I couldn't help but admire his loyalty to the franchise that drafted him.

Plus... while my father gets to reminisce about seeing Bart Starr play, one day I'll sit back and reminisce about seeing Derek Jeter play.

Anyone else up for Tony's 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge?  If so...

Who is a baseball player that you appreciate, but don't like?

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: Totally 70's

I was born and raised in the 70's, but unfortunately didn't start collecting baseball cards until the early 80's.  My first packs of baseball cards that I can remember tearing into were 1981 Topps and 1981 Donruss.  The first set I owned?  1981 Fleer.

For most of the 80's, I collected whatever was released that year.  That trend continued pretty much through the 90's until I sold off the bulk of my collection in the early 2000's.  Sure I appreciated and enjoyed looking at vintage cards, but they never really fit into my budget.

It wasn't until I jumped back into the hobby in 2008 that I started to add cards from the 50's, 60's, and 70's to my collection.  Over the past nine years, I've slowly filled two binders worth of cheap vintage cards.

Tonight I'm responding to Tony's Day 11 Challenge:  One of your favorite cards from the 70's.

However I'm totally going to break the rules and post five of my favorites instead...

1971 Topps #118

1974 Topps #330

1975 Topps #625

1977 Topps #640

If you can't figure out what these four cards have in common, just ask Marshawn:

The final card on the list is probably the card I would have selected if I weren't such a rebel:

1976 Topps #564

Okay... it's your turn.

What are some of your favorite 70's cards?

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

A Learning Experience

If I had to rank my favorite types of cards to collect, vintage hall of famers are right up there with pack pulled, on-card autographs.  Unfortunately, I'm not rich... so condition has never really been a high priority when it comes to purchasing and collecting them.

However after digging through my file folders looking for scans of 60's cards in response to Tony's 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge, I found this:

A few years ago, I picked up this high grade Clemente on COMC  for under $100, which I felt was a pretty good bargain.  Later I'd learn that an OC qualifier greatly diminishes the value of a card and chalked it up to a learning experience.

Today... I don't regret this purchase in the slightest.  Actually... I consider this card to be one of my favorite 60's cards in the collection.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!