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
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
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
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!
21 comments:
1. I wouldn't consider Donruss puzzles "favorites," I never knew what to do with them from the beginning (where's the gum, where's the stickers?). But I do have all of the Duke Snider puzzle.
2. *Shrug* The way names are headed, every athlete will have two first names in the future.
3. No. Golf never interested me much. I have maybe 3 golf cards.
4. Oct. 6, 2019.
Great post as usual. Thanks for letting me know about Tiger's Upper Deck card. I bought a case too, as well as a few other boxes when they were around $5.
I was a Danica Patrick fan. Carl Lewis as well. Though I'd say Carlton Fisk and Parker Posey have two surnames, not Steve Carlton and Dave Parker have two first names.
Sadaharu Oh is a legend.
I think my favorite Donruss puzzle is the Hank Aaron. I have three different versions of the image in my binder.
Favorite player with two first names is, of course, George Brett! Also have to mention Bill Bradley and Dick Allen. I could maybe add Edgardo Alfonzo and Pete Alonso, but usually the first names are spelled a bit differently from their last names.
Last card show I went to was I think in early March before COVID really hit. Once I get the vaccine and it has time to be effective, I'll be looking to go to another before I head back to Singapore. But I don't think it's worth taking the chance the way things are now.
Hey, Hank Aaron has two first names, too!
The puzzles and stickers in 1982 donruss and fleer were a welcome surprise. I think the gehrig puzzle was my favorite.
I think the last show I went to was in November of 2019. I met up with Brian from hsca there.
Bill Russell has 2 first names I suppose.
The 1983 Donruss Ty Cobb is my favorite puzzle, and I went to a card show today here in Kalamazoo...such fun actually going to see awesome baseball cards.
Thanks for the shout-out, I appreciate it.
My favorite Donruss puzzle is Willie Stargell. That's from '91 and was the first one I saw in large quantities.
I think "40" is written on Berenguer's cap, matching his uniform number.
I loved reading about your Tiger find. I wish I had a Tiger card!
When I sold my Kobe Bryant Topps RC for an insane price last year, I invested part of the proceeds into three 2001 UD Tiger PSA 9s, for $100 each, $300 total. Sold the first one a week ago for $300, second last weekend for $250, and third ends tomorrow night, so I certainly cleaned up here on the documentary hype. Applying the profits towards a really big dream card that I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on!
Glad you enjoyed the interview! I love that Sadaharu Oh card. Are all the cards in that set so nice-looking?
thanks for the shoutout, much appreciated Fuji!
1. I've always loved the Gehrig piece, but the Clemente was the first one i actually completed...so that has a special place in my collecting memory.
2. Gotta go Hank Aaron
3. Never bought in to the hype, but appreciated his greatness. I'm sure i'm in the minority here, but felt bad for his when all of his personal issues came to light and were in the mainstream media for all to judge.
4. January 9th, 2021!
Fun cards. I can't wait to see what you blew your January budge on! Last card show? Sometime in 2018 in Massachusetts, I guess. Since anything can be a first name these days, I'm not sure how to answer that question! Never liked golf or Tiger. Have a nice day!
1. A couple of Christmases ago my aunt have me a box of 1990 Donruss. The cards were pretty unspectacular, but I really enjoyed putting the Carl Yastrzemski puzzle together.
2.I can't pick a favorite, but Hank Aaron, Nolan Ryan, and Tommy John are all good ones.
3. Before my time
4. Last time I went to a card show was March, 2020, and I only got to spend half an hour on it. I'm started to suffer some card show withdrawal. There's a big card show in a couple weeks here in Texas, but admission is $10 so I'm not sure if I'll go.
1. I guess the 1991 Stargell puzzle since it's the first one I built.
2. I suppose Jeff Leonard and Will Clark both count here.
3. I just missed him at Stanford but his Masters win in 1997 was huge. I've grabbed a couple cards for the Stanford binder.
4. April 2019 here. Was one of the rare shows that starts on a Friday.
night owl - i didn't really appreciate the puzzles until i returned to the hobby in 2008. that's when i decided to go back and build them all. now i'm curious... did you go back and look up the date of your last card show or do you have that date memorized?
runforekelloggs - you could flip those tigers for some vintage kelloggs :D
elliptical man - danica and carl are good picks. and i agree that oh is a legend
brett alan - george brett was one of the first names that popped into my head (along with nolan ryan and pete rose). dick allen and hank aaron are a great names too. i'm with you on the card shows. i'll go when it's safe.
gcrl - i thought about using russell wilson for this post. bill russell is even better
john sharp - hope you were able to find some cool cards for your collection at the show.
adam kaningher - good eyes. i tried to zoom in, but couldn't figure it out
the lost collector - wait it out. right now is definitely not the time to hunt for tiger's rookie. you can pick up his 2001 tiger's tales inserts dirt cheap though
shoeboxlegends - that's awesome! can't wait to see that dream card
bo - yeah... that was fantastic. a must read for card collectors. as for the calbees... i only have two and they're almost identical. your best bet is to check out sean's blog. he has a bunch of vintage calbees over there
cardboardhogs - of course. that was a great post. very creative. as for the clemente, i still remember opening up packs of 1987 donruss and sacking those puzzle pieces. yeah... can't imagine it's easy to be a celebrity and have all eyes on you. then again... they're rich ;D
peter k steinberg - you're right about first names. anything is open season when it comes to naming children these days.
gtt - hank aaron has come up a few times in the comments. and nolan ryan was one of the first guys that popped into my head. wow. $10 admission? yeah... not sure if i'd go either
nick vossbrink - good calls on both of those giants. i'm surprised i didn't think of will clark myself. speaking of friday shows. i actually think i attended that final show on a friday (and not saturday).
I do like Nolan Ryan who has a first name for a last name. I like your new font. I vote to keep it!
It looks like a busy week in blogging.
1. Ty Cobb 2.A guy I enjoyed watching play for the Sacramento Solons in 1974 Gorman Thomas.3.I bought his UD rookie card PSA 10,about 10 years ago for $40.I went to a card show here in Sacramento about a year ago,only because my friend talked me into it prior to that must have been 15 years.
Thanks for the mention, glad you still have the Oh card!
The 1990 Carl Yastrzemski was my favorite Donruss puzzle because it was the first one I was able to complete by pulling the puzzle cards from packs. I was 14 and I remember framing it and putting it up on my wall (even though I am not a Yaz fan).
The last card show I attended I think was in 1992, its been way too long!
sumomenkoman - nolan ryan was one of the first names that popped into my head. glad you like the font. i'll run with it for now.
sg488 - how many gormans do you know? i think that's the only one i know of. dude... you are rich. if psa 9's are selling for several hundred... can only imagine what psa 10's are selling for. next time sumomenkoman and i got to sacramento for a show, i hope we can meet up.
sean - of course i have that card. i don't sell stuff. and even if i did... i wouldn't sell that. whoa... that's quite the card show drought.
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