30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Appreciating the Simpler Times

Parts of the Bay Area have been warned that they might experience power outages in order to reduce the risk of wildfires.  This has caused quite the stir among my students the past two days, because so many of them rely on their handheld devices and computers which will obviously need to be charged at some point.

They're not alone.  I take attendance everyday on my laptop... plus a high percentage of my lessons require my laptop, Smart Board, and projector.  And when I'm not using my computer to present information, I'm using it to play music in the classroom.

But that's only the tip of the iceberg.  When I get home, I use my computer to scan images, write posts, read email, watch videos, check scores, pay bills, read blogs, and shop online.  It's truly mind-blowing how much I rely on electricity and technology.

I remember when I was a kid, I loved power outages.  My mom would light candles around the house and we'd grab our favorite reading materials and just relax in peace and quiet.  As much as I enjoy my cell phone and computers, there's a part of me that misses the simpler times.

Speaking of simpler times, today's post focuses on an insert set produced years before personal computers and mobile phones became regular household items.

Back in 2013, I purchased some Legends magazines from the flea market and buried inside of one of the issues were two 1967 Topps posters.  One was Willie Mays.  The other Mickey Mantle.

Then earlier this year, famous blog supporter... Mr. Hoyle sent me the Bert Campaneris.  Since then I've been searching for a complete set for my collection and a few weeks ago, I finally added a clean set that fell within my price range.

As much as I dread scanning cards, I figured these were well worth the time and effort.  Let me know down in the comment section below if you agree...

#1 Boog Powell
#2 Bert Campaneris
#3 Brooks Robinson

Much like the 1970 Topps Posters I showed off at the beginning of summer, these were printed on very thin newsprint and are prone to browning and tearing.

#4 Tommie Agee
#5 Carl Yastrzemski

My set's golden brown color shows off its age, but I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of tears.  In fact, I only spotted one small tear in the entire set which I'll point out later.

#6 Mickey Mantle

I never went out of my way to target singles, but I'll assume Mantle is the highest priced poster in the set.  He also represents one of sixteen hall of famers in this set.

#7 Frank Howard
#8 Sam McDowell

There are a total of thirty-two posters on the set's checklist, which means that half of this set is composed of hall of famers.

#9 Orlando Cepeda
#10 Chico Cardenas

#11 Bob Clemente

#12 Willie Mays

Although Mantle might be the biggest name on the checklist, Clemente and Mays have a solid hobby following as well.

#13 Cleon Jones
#14 John Callison

Callison represents the first name on the checklist I don't recognize.  According to Baseball Reference, he was a 3x NL All-Star and a sixteen year veteran who had a solid MLB career.

#15 Hank Aaron

Aaron would join Mantle, Clemente, and Mays on my 1967 Topps Posters Mt. Rushmore.

#16 Don Drysdale
#17 Bobby Knoop
#18 Tony Oliva

I'm still crossing my fingers that Oliva will one day get the call to the hall.

#19 Frank Robinson
#20 Denny McLain
#21 Al Kaline

Baltimore Orioles fans can celebrate.  They top American League teams with three players on the checklist.

#22 Joe Pepitone
#23 Harmon Killebrew
#24 Leon Wagner

After seeing guys like Mantle, Mays, Aaron, and Killebrew on this checklist, I started wondering who had the most career home runs among these guys entering the 1967 seasonAny guesses?

#25 Joe Morgan
#26 Ron Santo
#27 Joe Torre

If you guessed The Say Hey Kid, then you're correct.  Back in the Spring of 1967, Mays was right behind The Sultan of Swat in career home runs.  There's your tidbit of baseball trivia for today.

#28 Juan Marichal
#29 Matty Alou
#30 Felipe Alou

#31 Ron Hunt
#32 Willie McCovey

Rounding out the set is Willie McCovey, who happens to be the third San Francisco Giant in the set.  The difference between their trio and Baltimore's trio is that Mays, Marichal, and McCovey are all members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Well there you have it.  This fifty-two year old set is gorgeous and I'm absolutely stoked to finally cross it off my list.  Outside of the browning, the only other flaw is the small tear in the McCovey.

Besides that, this set is gorgeous.  It's just a shame that the 5x7 size of these posters limits my ability to display or store them.  As of right now, I have them individually sitting in 5x7 soft sleeves.  But I might go out and buy a box of Ultra Pro 2-pocket pages so I can display them in a binder.

Okay... I better wrap up this post and quickly click the publish button before the power gets shut off.  But if it does, there's a part of me that won't mind lighting a few candles and taking a break from the use of technology.

What about you?

How much do you rely on your cell phones, tablets, computers, and other electronic devices?  Can you remember the last time you spent an entire day without using any of them?

Sadly, I can't.  But if we lose power for several days, I might end up being forced to sooner than later.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

16 comments:

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

Yes, I can. If it were not for collecting baseball cards. I could easily have zero screen time of any kind including the t.v. I only use my laptop for listing my baseball cards, and obtaining more cards then showing them off on the blog. I haven't a had a cable/sat. bill since 2011. As for my phone, well other than for the hot spot my OnlY internet connection, I use my phone for a phone. I get texts from a caregiver from time to time, and of course my kids and even they know....you text me and I am going to call back to answer. No apps, nada no checking e-mail on my phone. Me and tech. nope, don't like it and absolutely would have no quams if it all disappeared tomorrow. I collected cards just fine without the stuff, and yes, it absolutely makes it easy to get more stuff faster. But it all worked fine before, so I'd be okay.

night owl said...

As someone who can remember the first 35 years of my life without the internet, I have always had a healthy mistrust of the online, electronic world. I do plenty online but I always try to do some stuff the way I once did -- from shopping to paying bills. I want to make sure I remember how to do it off-line, when I have to do it.

Nick said...

I've never been a huge techie but it would definitely be odd going a whole night without my laptop, phone, etc. I remember once, maybe eight or nine years ago, we had a power outage here that lasted a while and I ended up reading by candlelight the entire night. It was strangely peaceful.

Matt said...

That Mantle is wow

The Lost Collector said...

I rely exclusively on my devices. It's awful.

Matt said...

I repair computers for a living, and once had a power outage at work. Computers, internet, even our phones - all down. That made for an interesting day. I was able to replace a motherboard in one laptop by flashlight, but was twiddling my thumbs for the rest of the day.

Jon said...

As I've gotten older I've found myself spending more and more time on my laptop, I don't really know why though, as other than the blogs, I don't care too much for the internet (I'm of the opinion that it's doing a lot more harm than good). Over the last year or two I've made a concerted effort to reduce my time online, but still haven't gotten to where I'd like to be, which is to be able to spend entire days without checking on any computer things.

The Snorting Bull said...

First off, these are incredible. Kudos for taking the time to scan them. I spent a lot of time look at each of them. Simplicity is our friend more often than not.

I have become way too reliant on devices. I am not sure what I would do without my phone or computer. Honestly it's a little scary to think about losing them, or times when they have broken. I have often thought about leaving them alone, turning them off, or ignoring them for a long period of time, but that's not always an option in our profession.

defgav said...

We live near a hospital, and it must be a part of the grid that has priority, as it's been years since the power went out for more than a second. Back when I lived in California and the power would go out, I'd usually grab my acoustic guitar and just play songs for a while. If it happened now, I'd probably light a couple candles and sort baseball cards. lol

GCA said...

I'm in tech support too, but I can live without a phone if I had to. I left mine on my desk at work just the other day and didn't miss it a bit. I sit my phone down in the evenings and leave it alone except for occasional texts. Don't even carry it upstairs at night. I still have a land line too. I have a 65" TV, so I have no desire to ever watch any video or movie on a six inch screen. And 90% of my music listening is done in my car.
Having said that, I do find myself with an indordinate amount of screen time. Between work (where I'm reading blogs and writing this), and home between the TV and computer working on card stuff, I don't spend a lot of time away from an electronic display these days. Can't wait to retire in a dozen years so I can get back outside and walk with my future dog, etc.

arpsmith said...

Great set and definitely worth a good bit of scanning. I have thought about going after this set and you inched me closer to pulling the trigger. Good luck with the power outages.

Nick Vossbrink said...

1. That set is beautiful. I've only got two (Mays and McCovey) and they look great together in a 2-pocket page.
2. Unplugging? Hard to do on a regular day though if I'm busy I can forget to look at my phone. Have no problem going camping or traveling and ditching everything for a week. Heck I'll even shoot film so as to not have to use an electronic camera.

The Shlabotnik Report said...

Man, that's a nice-looking set. FYI, the World's Fair patch on Cleon Jones' sleeve means that photo is from 1964 or 1965. Also, Ron Hunt is in a Mets road uniform, having been traded to the Dodgers over the previous winter.

As for the electronics question... We lost power for a little over a day about a year ago. Caught up on reading during the daylight hours, caught up on sleep after sunset. :-D

Commishbob said...

I have a handful of those posters. They are really a cool item. I may have to add a few. BTW...Johnny Callison was one of my early favorite players. I collect his cards.

Full day without tech? Last times were after hurricanes/tropical storms about 8 or 10 years ago.

Fuji said...

johnnys trading spot - you're old school johnny. that's awesome. you and my dad would get along real well.

night owl - i held out on writing checks as long as i could. still write one for a monthly bill. if we ever have to go offline, i think i could survive. it wouldn't be easy, but i'm confident i could do it.

nick - my brother asked me to go camping this weeked. if it weren't for work, i would have gone and if i did... i would have left my computer at home, my phone in the car, brought a few becketts, a book, and caught up on some reading.

sport card collectors - yeah. can't argue with that statement

the lost collector - i think a lot of people do in our society (including me)

matt - lol. guess a 5 day blackout would suck big time for business. but at least you'd get a nice vacation

jon - i definitely think it does more harm than good as well. but i feel like there are addictive qualities to it, so it's hard to stop cold turkey. i could stop for a few days if i had to, but eventually i'd need to use my computer

the snorting bull - i absolutely love this set. one of my friends suggested buying a portfolio (which i did). can't wait until it arrives, so i can view them easily. as for technology, it'd be really, really hard to stop using them. actually... it's not even an option for me. we take attendance and communicate through the use of the internet

defgav - i live near a hospital too. in the sixteen years i've lived in my place, the longest blackout i've had to endure was 30 minutes.

gca - i've thought about leaving my phone downstairs too. i'm just worried that someone will try to reach me in case of an emergency or something

arpsmith - i was lucky... my power never went off at home. and it only affected our internet at work. lights stayed on.

nick vossbrink - i was gonna use 2-pocket pages, but my friend showed me these art portfolios on amazon, so i went with those. i love camping too. i'd leave my computer at home if i went... but i'd take my phone for emergency purposes (even though not all places have cell reception).

the shlabotnik report - thanks for the awesome tidbits of information. you're like a walking baseball encyclopedia ;) i really need to catch up on sleep.

commishbob - i can imagine how tough it'd be for parts of the country that are bombarded with hurricanes and flooding on an annual basis. they were the first people i thought of.

Henry Blanchette said...

I completed the '67 posters set a few years back thanks to some super low prices at the card show. Mantle was the last one I tracked down, and it was well worth it. The checklist is chock-full of Hall of Famers.