Domo Arigato: Nick @ Dime Boxes

The Serramonte Mall Sports Card, Toys, and Collectibles Show will finally be here next weekend and it's just in time, because it's my favorite card show... by a long shot.  It comes around three times a year and (in my opinion) it blows away the Tri-Star and GTSM card shows.  The thing that separates this show from others is the amount of dealers with dime boxes and quarter bins.  There are three dealers that regularly set up at this show and I can assure you that I'll be spending 90% of my time standing in front of their tables.

The problem is I've got a whole week to kill until it arrives.  Luckily, Nick over at Dime Boxes -- The Low-End Baseball Card Collector's Journey just sent me a package to help pass the time.  If you're not familiar with Nick's blog, I encourage you to check it out.  He's a fellow "dime box-aholic" whose posts never disappoint.

Last November he reached out and contacted me about some cards for my collection, but I had no idea he'd send so much stuff.

First up... a bunch of Ichiros for my Japanese Athlete Binder:

With this nice lot of Ichiros, I've officially decided I have enough cards of him to finally give him his own binder.  That frees up some space for the other Japanese players who were starting feel overcrowded especially since Nick also sent these guys:

Next... a handful of Steve Carltons:

Up until this point, I've only collected autographs, memorabilia cards, and Topps regular issue base cards of Lefty.  But I'm starting to think that maybe I create a binder for him too.  If I do, he'd be the fourth player to receive his own binder (Tony Gwynn, Greg Maddux, and Ichiro are the others).

Speaking of Gwynn... he sent a bunch of him too:

I'm closing in on 1,000 different Gwynns... and this lot helped me get five cards closer.

Rounding out the baseball cards were these two Oakland A's cards and a cool Frank Thomas insert:

The Sizemore went into my A's binder, while the Henderson and Thomas went into my insert binder.

In all... Nick added over 20 new cards to my baseball binders.  But he didn't stop there.  He also sent me some pretty amazing football cards:

1982 Topps #486

I'm the furthest thing from a 49er's fan, but I respect and appreciate their history and the number of hall of famers who have played for their franchise.  One of my favorites is Ronnie Lott.  I grew up watching the guy lay the smack down on opposing offenses and I'm absolutely stoked to add his rookie card to my collection.

I'm not exactly a Chicago Bear's fan either, but here's another card I have no problems adding to my PC:

1972 Topps #110

I was less than a month old when Gale Sayers announced his retirement, so his best years in football were a little before my time... but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate his legacy.  He holds several NFL records and is the youngest person to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

I'll wrap things up with a player from a team I collect:

CineMark #NNO Mike McCoy

Like Sayers, McCoy played a few years before I started watching football on a regular basis.  However a quick Wiki search revealed that he had a pretty successful career.  He was the 2nd overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, won the 1970 Green Bay Packers ROY Award, and led the team in quarterback sacks in 1973 and 1976.  

Thanks Nick!  I really appreciate this awesome care package.  I'll be packaging up some stuff for you in the next few days and should have it in the mail by Monday (or Tuesday at the latest).

Happy Saturday and sayonara!