30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Saturday, October 10, 2020

TWIB: A Sad Pattern, Paper Rulers, More Pink, and TTM's

This Week in Blogging was designed to recap hobby related posts around our hobby blogosphere that stood out to me during the week.  It's been a great way for me to showcase fellow bloggers while incorporating cards from my own collection.  So far, I've gotta say it's been a pretty big success.  The interaction with other collectors in the comment section is usually strong and ultimately that's my favorite part of blogging.

On the downside... there is one pattern that has started to take shape.  It's actually a pattern many of you have pointed out in your posts.  It seems like every time we turn around we're reading about fans saying their goodbyes to favorite athletes or celebrities.

This will be the sixth post in the series... and it will include the fourth tribute to a baseball hall of famer who has passed away recently.  If you include Gale Sayers, it's the fifth tribute in six weeks.  I don't plan on switching up the format, since "death" is a part of "life" and this blog's goal is to document what is going on with me and the hobby, but hopefully this will be the last one for the near future...


#1Chairman of the Board

1977 TCMA Renata Galasso #25

Yesterday SumoMenkoMan texted me the sad news about Whitey Ford towards the beginning of my second period class.  I didn't immediately see the message, but when I had the opportunity to look I was deeply saddened and had to walk away from the computer to collect my thoughts.  Luckily the students didn't notice and I continued with my lesson.


Ford is one of only a handful of New York Yankees that I've gone out of my way to collect, which is why I'm planning a more elaborate tribute for him on Tuesday.  Please stay tuned.


#2The Logo

On Wednesday, CinciCuse Bill over at Bill's Baseball Card Blog wrote a post highlighting some of the greatest athletes to ever wear #44 on their jersey.  I thought it'd be a great time to show off this blog inspired purchase I made back in June:

1969-70 Topps Rulers #2

Back in 1969, Topps inserted these paper rulers into packs of their basketball cards.  I wasn't familiar with these inserts, but knew I wanted one for my collection after seeing the bright colors and cartoon drawings of the athlete.

Unfortunately... I can't find the original post that inspired this addition to my Los Angeles Lakers collection.

UpdateJon (A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts) pointed out that it was CaptKirk42's post who opened my eyes to these rulersThanks Jon and CaptKirk42!


#3Nah Nah Hey Hey Good Bye

1975 Topps #466

The A's did it again.  They failed to make it to the ALCS.  The San Diego Padres were bounced too.


The Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Houston Astros move on to the next roundLet's go Braves and Rays!


#4Pretty in Pink

Pink has overtaken the blogosphere and we owe it all to Collecting Cutch.  His mission is to raise awareness of breast cancer (leading cause of death for females in the United States) to card collectors and I'd say he's been pretty darn successful.

On Thursday, The Commish showed off his five favorite pink cards on his blogThe Five Tool Collector.  His 1958 Topps Bobby Layne reminded me of my 1959 Topps Bart Starr:

1959 Topps #23

I know that I've shown this card off before, but I truly love it because it reminds me of my mother.


#5TTM Overload

1980 Topps #77

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be an athlete who receives TTM requests, I'd encourage you to read Rebel Coyote's post from last Sunday.

His post focused on a photograph of packages sent to Dave Stieb with autographs requests.  I've always wanted to own a signed copy of his 1980 Topps rookie card, but I won't be sending a TTM request to him anytime soon.

Well that's it for today.  Hope you enjoyed this edition of This Week in Blogging.  I couldn't really think of any questions for this post... however as usual... I always look forward to reading and responding to your comments.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

18 comments:

  1. Thanks for the rundown. Enjoyed Bill's blog about #44, as well as the TTM post. Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I like the ruler. And any playing days Starr card in decent shape is a good one.

    I actively dislike the Dodgers and Astros and passively dislike the Braves. So it's Rays or nothing for me.

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  3. Love the Dave Steib card. Such an underrated pitcher.

    I.might be the only baseball fan in the blogs that want the Astros in the World Series, but, all those years with only the Rays on my TV while living on Florida has caused me to dislike Tampa.

    Good Job. 👍

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  4. RIP MR Ford. Nice ruler, and you know I'm rooting for the Braves v Rays WS.

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  5. Great opening paragraph. Love that.

    Amen to a break from the obits for a while.

    Thanks again for the blog plug - and love that West ruler!

    All the cards from my kid days remind me of my mother bc she never threw them away!

    Reds flamed out, can’t take the tomahawk choppers, and I’m a NL fan, so go Dodgers!

    Peace!

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  6. That Bart Starr is great card! Back when the baltimore Colts were the BALTIMORE COLTS he was public enemy #1...the qb of the team he all hated. But I always admired him. Hellova leader.

    Oh, and I wore #44 back in the day. But nobody ever mistook me for one of the greatest athletes to wear that number.

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  7. Oof. Am enjoying TTM but hate seeing the guys who send a ton of items. I max out at three and even then often feel guilty about it.

    At the same time I feel like the player can set his own limits too. Send back only one or two signed and the word gets out not to push your luck. Will Clark is like this. Everyone knows to only send one and while I'm sure his volume is high he's not getting any of those ridiculous requests.

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  8. I've never seen those paper rulers. Very cool!

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  9. the lost collector - no problem aj. i like the idea of breaking down the best athletes to wear certain numbers. maybe we'll see more of them on bill's blog

    elliptical man - the ruler set would be a cool one to build. the only problem is storage/display issues. if it's a dodgers/astros world series... i'll be sad.

    john sharp - yeah, i followed him as a kid... but even became a bigger fan when i heard he attended the same high school as me. remember the astrodome is an astros fan too. i used to root for them, but circumstances have changed

    johnnys trading spot - go braves! i'm looking forward to the mookie/acuna series though

    cincicuse bill - my mother never threw my cards away either. we're so blessed. i'll only root for the dodgers if they're facing the astros

    commishbob - but you're the greatest blogger to wear that number!

    nick vossbrink - i'm not anti-ttm. i just thought it was an interesting post that gave us an idea of what some players deal with. it also made me understand why some players prefer to sign only at signings. if i were an athlete, i'd only sign at the ballpark for kids, for card companies, and at private signings a few times a year. but i'm just one of those people who hate writing my signature over and over. been doing it on report cards for years.

    gregory - they are cool. i'd love to figure out whose blog i originally saw them on.

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  10. It's sad that Mr. Ford passed, but he had a great run at 91. I wonder with whom I would start a Game 1? Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, or Tom Seaver?

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  11. It might have been Kirk's (CaptKirk44) post about Wes Unseld that you're thinking of. That's the only to feature one of those vintage rulers that I can remember seeing in recent months.

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  12. grant - great question. i'll leave that up to the baseball historians. without looking at the numbers, i'd go with gibson.

    jon - thanks. it was kirk and his blog. i've updated the post to reflect that information. you've got a great memory.

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  13. I've said it before, but that Bart Starr card is a beauty! The Padres are on the rise and they'll have their chances to win a title in a real season. I'm never sure what to think of the A's but I hope they can break through at some point.

    A long time ago, when satellite radio was still fairly new, I listened to a sports show that counted down the top athletes by number. It was such a fun topic that I bought the SI book about it a few years later.

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  14. Thanks for the shout out. I stuck through my Astros entire time. Hopefully they pull it off.

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  15. That Starr card is a beauty. RIP to Whitey Ford. Thanks for another great rundown.

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  16. I'm done with 2020....next.

    That Bart Starr card is sharp for sure and I have been scouring my collection looking for pink cards. I think I have a good handful for a post. Thanks for sharing!

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  17. chris - i'm used to teams who do well in the regular season, but can't finish the job in the playoffs... so i'll just continue collect a's cards and reminisce that 1989 season. thanks for sharing that book. hadn't seen it before, but i know a few used book dealers at the flea market. i'll ask about it the next time i'm there

    rebel coyote - i'm pulling for the rays... but with the astros' roster i won't count them out until they're officially eliminated

    collecting cutch - thanks. my full ford tribute will publish today

    sumomenkoman - i hear ya. this year has really been a stinker. sad thing is... there's still over 2 months left.

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