Against the Grain

Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon.  Amelia Earhardt was the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean by herself.  Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball.  Madeline Albright was the first female US Secretary of State.

All of these people are famous for their hard work and accomplishments, but let's face it... they're even more famous because they were "firsts".  That's because we as a society have always valued being first.  Think about it.  When you were a kid and would race your friends across the blacktop, did you want to be first or last?  When picking teams for sports, did you want to be chosen first?  When you're at a baseball game and arrive at the concession stands, have you ever celebrated being the last in line?

Well today's the last day of the month... and it's time to break tradition and start celebrating famous "lasts".

#1:  Last MLB pitcher to reach 350 wins:  Greg Maddux

2016 Topps Tribute Rightful Recognition Printing Plate #NOWGM

#2:  Last person to sign the Declaration of Independence:  Charles Carroll

1992 Starline #230

#3:  Last MLB player to steal 100 bases in a single season:  Vince Coleman

2008 Upper Deck Goudey Graphs #GG-VC

#4:  Last NBA player to score 100 points in a single game:  Wilt Chamberlain

1989 Kenner SLU Legends #NNO

#5:  Last MLB pitcher to throw 300 innings in a single season:  Steve Carlton

2003 Flair Greats Cut of History #NNO

#6:  Last player to win 2 Heisman Trophies:  Archie Griffin

2012 Exquisite Collection Legacy Signatures #EL-AG

#7:  Last MLB pitcher to throw a no-hitter while on LSD:  Dock Ellis

1972 Topps #179

#8:  Last US President to serve four terms:  Franklin Delano Roosevelt

1972 Topps U.S. Presidents #31

#9:  Last MLB player to hit .400:  Ted Williams

Perez-Steele Great Moments #13

#10:  Last NFL player to rush for 2,000 yards:  Adrian Peterson

2009 Donruss Classics Monday Night Heroes Jerseys Prime #1

#11:  Last MLB pitcher to win 20 games and lose 20 games in the same season: Phil Niekro

2014 Topps Archives Fan Favorites Autographs #FFA-PN

#12:  Last NHL goalie to play without a mask:  Andy Brown

1974 OPC WHA #58

Well that's my list.  What about you?

What are some of your famous "lasts"?

Happy last day of January and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: Card Show Pickups

This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn, jumped into the shower, threw on some comfortable shoes, grabbed me some Starbucks, and drove a little under an hour up the San Francisco Peninsula to attend my first card show of the year at the Serramonte Center in Daly City.

Outside of meeting up with some friends and talking shop, I pretty much walked into the show with two things on my mind:

#1:  Find a 1973 or 1974 Topps Baseball Card Set
#2:  Avoid Dime Boxes

I managed to fail twice.  The guy I've purchased vintage sets from in the past wasn't at the show.  And I stumbled upon some really nice dime boxes that were loaded with tons of cool cards for my collection (and some of yours).  However... I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I just picked a few of my favorites to share tonight.


#1:  1988 JALFCO Johnston Cookies Reprint #5  10¢

Reprint or not... this card is beautiful and well worth the ten pennies I spent on it.


#2:  2010 Topps (Legends Variation) #489  10¢

I recently left comments on a couple of blogs in regards to these particular variations in the 2010 Topps set.  The variations are easy to spot, because they're all legends... which is why I had no problems with pulling this card out of the dime box.


#3:  1974 Topps #333  10¢

There weren't a ton of vintage cards in these particular dime boxes, but I managed to scoop up a few hall of famers including this one featuring two guys who made it into Cooperstown on their first ballot.

The other two cards I'll share were a little pricier.  Right next to the guy with dime boxes, there was a gentleman with autographs and memorabilia cards for two bucks each.  I ended up grabbing eleven for $20.


#4:  2012 Finest UFC Finest Moments Autographs #FMDC  $1.82

I've been thinking about starting a Daniel Cormier collection for awhile now.  He's the current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and he trains right down the street from me at AKA in San Jose.


#5: 2006 Flair Showcase Fresh Ink #FI-AG  $1.82

There's a good chance that one day Mr. Gates will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which means that I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab his signature for less than $2.


I'm sure I'll eventually show off more of my purchases in future posts.  However... I wanted to wrap things up by saying thanks to Brady over at St. Louis Cardinals' Cardboard for this huge box of cards:

There were a ton of goodies... but here are a few of my favorites:

Unfortunately... I ran out of my house this morning without this grocery bag filled with Cardinals stuff for Brady's collection.

Sorry Brady!  I totally dropped the ball.  I'll make sure to bring it out to TriStar in a few months.  It was great to see you and catch up.  You too Mr. Haverkamp!

Well... it's way past my bedtime.  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #116: Shoebox Collection

We're already in the fourth week of 2017 and I have yet to set foot in one of my local flea markets. A combination of rain, illness, and a busy schedule has prevented me from attending one of my favorite weekend pastimes.

But that's okay.  Life has been so crazy that I haven't had time to write about my final flea market trip of 2016... until now.

Back in mid-December, I was doing my usual Sunday stroll around the Capitol Flea Market and was about 90% through the flea market when I came across the guy who sold me the 1981 Topps football starter set back in August.  I've actually purchased cards from him a few times in the past.  I'm pretty sure he's one of those guys who buys storage units and flips the excess junk at the flea market.

Anyways... he had a shoebox filled with 70's, 80's, and 90's hockey.  I flipped through the stuff and was interested.  I don't know much about hockey cards produced outside of the 90's, but his asking price of $100 seemed a little steep.

I set the box down and walked away.  About fifteen minutes later I ran into my buddy Frank.

Quick side story... Frank was the guy who gave me my first card shop job back in the early 90's.

Anyways... I told him I hadn't found anything worth buying, but mentioned the hockey collection I had just passed up.  He told me he knows the guy and that he'd probably be willing to take $40 for the box.  He also mentioned that there were two Bobby Orrs in the collection that would cover that price alone, so I turned around and headed back over to the guy.

Unfortunately... Frank was wrong.  The guy laughed at my $40 offer.  However we did settle on a $60 price tag.

The bulk of the shoebox collection helped me triple the size of my vintage hockey binder.  Here's a snapshot at what was in the box:

Check out a few of my favorites...

In addition to the vintage cards, there was a huge stack of 90's inserts and parallels as well...

Plus a smaller stack of 90's rookies...

Overall... I was pretty happy with the purchase.  Now some of you might be thinking... what's so great about this deal outside of that pair of Orrs?

Well... see for yourself.

Sitting within the stack of inserts and parallels was this on-card autograph of The Great One:

Now if you're scratching your head... thinking to yourself that you've seen this card posted on my blog before... then you're not mistaken.  Back in 2015, I picked up this copy on eBay:

So now I have a pair of Wayne Gretzky autographs sitting in my collection.  Considering that this card alone sell in the $140 to $155 range, this has to be one of my nicer flea market finds in recent years.

And just in case you're a hockey hater... there was one baseball card sitting among the collection as well:

It's a little beat up, but at this point... this 1962 Cepeda Woodie is nothing but gravy.

Well that's it for now.  Hopefully I'll be able to walk around the Capitol Flea Market this upcoming weekend.  If not... at least there's a card show on Saturday to look forward to.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Overtime

Since this post is primarily a hockey post... I figured I'd throw a huge shout out to Patrick Marleau who scored four goals in the third period last night against the Colorado Avalanche.

Mario Lemieux was the last player to accomplish this feat almost twenty years ago.

Final update... I promise.  Marleau scored another goal tonight... the game winning goal with just under five minutes to play.  That was his 498th goal of his career.  Congratulations Patty!

It's In the Cards

Back in October, I let my collection predict the outcome of the World Series.  This time around, I figure I'd let this 2015 Panini Rookies and Stars blaster box I picked up at the flea market awhile back do the talking.

However before I begin ripping packs, let's establish the rules and guidelines.

8 points = A "hit" from any of the 4 playoff teams

7 points = An insert, parallel, or starting QB from the 4 playoff teams

3 points = A Pro Bowler from the 4 playoff teams

2x conversion = 2 or more cards from the same team = double the points

1 point = A common base card from the 4 playoff teams

It's pretty simple.  The team who has the most points will go on to win the Super Bowl.  Let get's this pack bustin' party started...

Pack #1:

No points awarded since no teams were represented.  This pack was highlighted by the Stefon Diggs die-cut insert along with his base rookie card.

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 0

Pittsburgh Steelers: 0

Pack #2:

The Steelers are the first to score with a base card of Bud Dupree.  It was a tough decision, but my favorite card has to be the die-cut ODB insert.  Thank you Mr. Beckham for taking your trip to South Beach and dropping that catch in the end zone.  The two issues may not be related, but neither of these things helped your team either.

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 0

Pittsburgh Steelers: 1

Pack #3:

Another shutout.  No points awarded.  Although I can't wait to see what Ajayi's future has in store.

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 0

Pittsburgh Steelers: 1

Pack #4:

The Patriots score and tie things up.  Only three packs remaining and neither of the NFC teams have a point on the board.  Nothing too special in this pack, although the Carr insert is pretty cool.  One of my students will appreciate that.

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 1

Pittsburgh Steelers: 1

Pack #5:

I figured a starting QB or an insert would make the difference and it happened to be a combination of the two.  I should give the Packers a charity point since Matthews makes a guest appearance.

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 8

Pittsburgh Steelers: 1

It's going to be tough for any of the three remaining teams to bounce back, but there's only one way to find out.

Pack #6:

Wow.  Don't call it a comeback.  The Steelers earn one point for James, seven points from Coates, but since they came out of the same pack they earn the 2x point conversion.  16 points!

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 8

Pittsburgh Steelers: 17

Looks like only a miracle can prevent the Steelers from becoming Super Bowl LI Champions.

Pack #7:

As usual... Mr. Brady didn't go down without a fight.  He added another 7 points to the scoreboard late in the game, but too little too late.

Atlanta Falcons: 0

Green Bay Packers: 0

New England Patriots: 15

Pittsburgh Steelers: 17

The Lions manufactured patch didn't help anyone, so a huge congratulations goes out to Pittsburgh fans.

The final score was close, but according to the blaster box, the Steelers will go on to win the Super Bowl.  If you weren't sure where to place your money, now you know.

What do you think?  Did the cards get it right?

I'm hoping that their prediction is wrong and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers go on to win their fifth Super Bowl Championship, but it wouldn't surprise me if the Steelers find a way to get the job done again.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!