A Puzzling Trade

A couple of years ago I started this blog to document my collecting experiences, but I must admit... one of the coolest things about being a blogger are the opportunities to interact with one another.

I recently completed a trade with a fellow Donruss Puzzle collector, who sent me four puzzles that I needed for my Donruss Puzzle Project. And the only thing he wanted in return were my extra 1983 Mickey Mantle and 1984 Ted Williams puzzle pieces. Not complete sets... just starter sets of the final two puzzles he needs for his collection. The generosity that flows through the community never ceases to amaze me. Four completed puzzles for two partial puzzles?

Jack... if you're reading this. Thanks for the trade! You definitely helped me out and I owe you big time. If I come across anymore of these puzzle pieces, I'll ship them your way.

Okay... let's check out my four newest puzzles:

1983 Donruss Ty Cobb

1984 Donruss Duke Snider

1985 Donruss Lou Gehrig

1987 Donruss Roberto Clemente

The Clemente was missing the fourth puzzle card that contained puzzle pieces #10, 11, & 12. But the final piece should be arriving sometime next week. So here's where my project currently stands:

1982 Donruss Babe Ruth - Don't Have

1983 Donruss Ty Cobb - Completed

1983 Donruss Action All Stars Mickey Mantle - Need #'s 7, 8, & 9

1984 Donruss Duke Snider - Completed

1984 Donruss Action All Stars Ted Williams - Need #'s 1, 2, & 3

1985 Donruss Lou Gehrig - Completed

1986 Donruss Hank Aaron - Completed

1987 Donruss Roberto Clemente - Need #'s 10, 11, & 12 (But they're on the way)

1988 Donruss Stan Musial - Completed

1989 Donruss Warren Spahn - Completed

1990 Donruss Carl Yastrzemski - Completed

1990 Leaf Yogi Berra - Don't Have

1991 Donruss Willie Stargell - Don't Have

1991 Leaf Harmon Killebrew - Completed

1992 Donruss Rod Carew - Don't Have

If you happen to have Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra, Willie Stargell, or Rod Carew puzzles available for trade, please contact me. Have a safe holiday weekend & sayonara!

Extra Edition!

Clemente is complete!

Domo Arigato: Jack & The Chop Keeper

Let's take a break from the contest for a 24 hour period, so I can say "thank you" to two fellow collectors who have generously sent me some items to add to my collection.

As many of you know, I've been actively trying to collect all of the Donruss/Leaf puzzles from the 80's & 90's. And a few weeks ago, a fellow Donruss puzzle collector helped me out by trading me four of the puzzles I needed. A few days later he informed me that he had one more puzzle that I needed.

He didn't ask for anything in return... he just sent this:

It's the 1991 Donruss Willie Stargell puzzle. Thanks again Jack for helping me out with this project. It's my turn to return the favor, so stay tuned.

The other person I need to thank is The Chop Keeper @ The Card Chop. At the end of May, he busted some packs of Topps Archives and posted his results. I left the comment "Love the Vida!" and a few weeks later I received an email asking me where he should send the card.

Thank you Mr. Chop Keeper. I can't wait to acquire the 1976 Topps Vida Blue and pair the two up.

Thanks again Jack and The Chop Keeper! Your generosity is much appreciated.

Have a happy Tuesday and sayonara!

TWiB: An Interesting Interview, Soaring Prices, and a Nice Display Piece

This is the calm before the storm.  A three day weekend before the last week of the first semester.  Next week will be a little crazy for me as I'll be working on grades and preparing for my next group of students.  The goal is to recharge the batteries today and tomorrow... lesson plan on Monday.  We'll see how well I'm able to stick to those plans.

As for cards... I just made a really cool purchase yesterday.  Hopefully it'll arrive next week and share it on the blog.  It pretty much sucked up my entire hobby budget for the month of January... but the purchase completed a set I'm excited to cross off the list.  Stay tuned.

Okay, let's focus on other collectors around the blogosphere in This Week in Blogging...

#1:  Two First Names

Tony Burbs added a new autograph to his Cubs All-Time Roster Collection and shared an awesome Mystery Science Theater 3000 quote on his Wrigley Field Roster Jenga this week:  "Never trust a man with two first names."

1981 Topps Coca-Cola Phillies #3

2006 Bowman Chrome Refractor #112

Jason Adam was the name of the Cub.  I had never heard of the guy, but the card was truly gorgeous.  Anyway... the post inspired me to dig through my collection and find some players I collect with two first names.

1973 Kellogg's #36

1981 Kellogg's #13

Steve Carlton and Frank Thomas are obvious picks.  Joe Rudi was a key member of The Swingin' A's.  As for Parker... Collecting Cutch blogged about him earlier in the week, so I added him to this post in his honor.

#2:  Behind the Scenes

When it comes to history... Bo knows.  He apparently knows card photographers too, because he recently wrote about an interview he had with Lou Sauritch who was one of Fleer's original photographers and shared it on his blog:  Baseball Cards Come to Life!.

In the interview, Mr. Sauritch tells the story behind this famous Tim Flannery card:

1988 Fleer #582

I won't spoil the surprise... click on the link above and read about it for yourself.  He also shares some inside info on the process of how a photograph turns into a baseball card... as well as a few interesting stories about some popular athletes among collectors.  My favorite involved Juan Benenguer:

1987 Topps #303

According to Mr. Sauritch, he noticed the word "a$$ho1e" written under the brim of Juan's cap in one of his photographs.  He asked Juan about it the next time they met and he said "Yeah, when Roger Craig comes to take me out, I flip the hat up at him”.

I'm not sure if this was the photograph he was referring to, but there is something written under the brim of his cap.

#3:  History Buff

I'm a huge fan of history.  That's why I was excited to see Paul write a post about the completion of the first transcontinental railroad over on his blog: Card Boarded.  In the post he shares a card from the 2009 Topps American Heritage set:

2009 Topps American Heritage

If you're not familiar with this set, it's loaded with historical figures ranging from politicians to civil rights leaders to entertainers.

That same year, Topps released another set that was very, very similar called Topps Heritage American Heroes Edition:

2009 Topps Heritage American Heroes Edition

Both sets utilize past Topps baseball card designs.

I'm just not sure why Topps didn't combine these two products and turn it into one large set... or spread this out over two years.  Regardless... both are really cool sets for anyone who has an interest in Americana or U.S. history.

#4:  He's Back

Beckett's Ryan Cracknell created a list of twelve legendary Tiger Woods cards.  I only own two of them.

2001 Upper Deck Golf #1

One of them is his 2001 Upper Deck rookie card... which according to Cracknell... is probably his most iconic card.

It's also readily available.  Upper Deck produced a ton of this stuff.  That's why I was blown away when I saw that raw copies of this card are currently selling in the $45 to $80 range.  There have been several copies that have sold for more than that.

I picked up a 12 box (retail) case of 2001 Upper Deck Golf back in 2010 for $119.95.  Right now these boxes are selling for over $200 each.  This is insane!  And I love it.

As for my other Tiger, it was part of one of my greatest flea market finds (remember those?).  If you're interested... click here.

#5:  This Makes More Sense than Tiger

On Tuesday, Sean over at Getting Back into Baseball Cards....in Japan blogged about the sale of a 1975-76 Calbee set which went for about $8,500.  If that sounds like a lot of money for a 70's set... you should know that it contains 1,472 cards and there are only two known completed sets out there.

1975 Calbee #1315

Two years ago, Sean sent me a pair of cards from this set... and one of them was the legendary Sadaharu Oh.  It's one of my favorite Japanese baseball cards in the collection.

#6:  Card Shows & Hip Hop

If you like card shows and The Notorious B.I.G.... then I encourage you to check out Cardboard Hogs post from earlier in the week.  He creatively used one of Biggie's songs to help him summarize his recent trip to a card show.

I won't provide any spoilers.  Instead I'll use this space to show off one of my all-time favorite hip hop albums:

The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die (1994)

As well as show off one of my last card show purchases:

2013 UD Ultimate Collection Ultimate Patch #UJ-JR

I purchased this card off of my buddy the weekend before California went into a lockdown back in March of last year.

This card is a perfect example of why it's important to read the fine print on "patch" cards.  Was this patch part of a jersey worn by Jerry Rice?  Yup.  Was the jersey used in a game?  Nope.  Jerry wore it specifically so Upper Deck could chop it up and use it in this card.  No wonder my buddy sold this (and another card) for $10.

#7:  The House that Jack Built

2007 UD Sweet Spot Classic Signatures #SPV-TG

Rebel Coyote wrote a post on Wednesday that reminded me that the demolition of Jack Murphy Stadium has begun.

1984 Mother's Cookies Padres #28

1985 Mother's Cookies Padres #28

I'm pretty sure I've attended a few Padres games at The Murph... but the only one I remember specifically took place on a road trips down to Tijuana with my buddy back in the 90's.

#8:  Go Pack Go!

2015 Panini Stickers #316

John Sharp asked his readers who they were rooting for in the playoffs.  He also wanted to know what's the last football card we purchased.

I'm obviously rooting for the Green Bay Packers.  And this Aaron Rodgers is one of the football cards I picked up in my latest online dime box purchase.  Okay... technically it's a sticker and not a card.  But if it's good enough for Trading CARD Database... it's good enough for me.

#9:  A Great Display Piece

1985 Donruss Puzzle

I'll wrap up another This Week in Blogging post with a project that Daniel over at It's like having my very own Card Shop is currently working on.  He's in the process of reorganizing his card room and found a frame that will display the old school Donruss puzzles.

1987 Donruss Puzzle

This is something I considered doing myself... but we both ran into the same issue: lack of wall space.  However after seeing how his Yogi Berra turned out... I might have to pick up one of these frames and make some room.  If I did... I'd either go with Lou Gehrig or Roberto Clemente.

What about you...

Do you have a favorite Donruss puzzle?

Do you have any favorite athletes with two first names?

Did you ever buy into the Tiger Woods hype?

When was the last card show you attended?

That's it for now.  I hope all of you enjoy your holiday weekend.  Stay safe.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!