One of my Lesser Known Hobbies

If I had to rank my hobbies... collecting trading cards would sit atop the list.  However they aren't the only things I collect.  One of my lesser known hobbies is stamp collecting.

Okay.  I wouldn't necessarily go around calling myself a stamp collector, but I have gone out of my way to purchase stamps on a few occasions.  If interested, you can read about those purchases here and here.  I'll even buy sheets directly from the USPS once in a blue moon.  And if I'm really lucky... I will stumble across some discounted ones at a card show.

It's time to dive back into that box of goodies containing my Bay Area Sports Card & Collectibles Expo haul from a few weeks ago.  Today's post covers stamp sheets from the vendor's 5 for $1 table.

First up are a pair of 1988 Grenada MLB stamp sheets:

I've seen these floating around our hobby for decades, but these are the first full sheets I've added to my collection.  According to Baseball Stamps & Postmarks, Grenada originally issued five different sheets of stamps.  However after MLB banned Pete Rose back in August of 1989, they removed him.

One day I'd like to track down the other four sheets... one of which includes Tony Gwynn.

I also purchased these sheets of 1996 Pro Stamps:

These stamps were also purchased from the 5 for $1 table.  I picked up the A's and Padres sheets back in December on eBay for a couple of bucks each, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to add these to my collection for 20¢ each.

If you're in the market for some of these.... here's a closer look at these faux postage stamps from the mid 90's:

If you clicked either of the links from earlier in the post, you'll notice that my stamp collection doesn't only focus on sports.  I enjoy collecting stamps from a variety of topics.  That's why I was super ecstatic to open up a care package from Rod @ Padrographs: Abner to Zimmer and see this sheet of stamps slide out:

This year the USPS released this sheet of stamps to honor the Japanese Americans soldiers from World War 2, who adopted the motto "Go For Broke".  It essentially means "put everything on the line".  If this or the topic of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team interests you, you might want to read this summary.

Thank you Rod for this very thoughtful collectible.  It reminded me of one of my father's close friends who was a member of the 442nd.  Ten years ago I had the opportunity to sit down with him and listen to his amazing stories.  They were very interesting and humbling at the same time.

In addition to this stamp sheet, he also sent me a bunch of SI for Kids cards:

My favorite is the Simone Biles who will hopefully bring home a few more Olympic gold medals this summer.

He also included a complete 1999 Pacific Crown Collection Oakland A's team set:

As well as an almost complete 2021 Topps Series One Oakland A's team set:

Over the past thirty-five years, an Oakland's A's player has won the AL Rookie of the Year Award seven times.  This was accomplished most recently by:

2009 Topps Chrome Refractor #242

Bailey was a two-time MLB All-Star for the A's, but was part of the trade that brought Josh Reddick to the A's back in 2011.  But during those three seasons with the team, Bailey shined almost as bright as this shiny, autographed rookie card.

I associate Rod with three things:  the San Diego Padres, SI for Kids, and TTM autographs.  That's why I wasn't surprised to see one in his care package.  I was however shocked to see ten:

The first nine were A's players.  The tenth was this custom card he created for Paul Quantrill:

Quantrill pitched briefly for the Padres back in 2005.

Rod's custom mentions that Paul has 3 children.  His son Cal was the Padres' 1st Round Draft Pick in 2016.  Cal was part of the trade that brought Mike Clevinger over from the Cleveland Indians.

I know this post is starting to drag on and on... but I figured this was an opportune time to show off two other San Diego Padres custom cards:

Nate Colbert and Randy Jones were part of the Padres Hall of Fame inaugural class back in 1999.  Hopefully you recognize this card design.  It's been featured before on my blog.  If you don't, it's Nick Vossbrink's personal design... which I am a huge fan of.  It's a simple design which utilizes a portrait and action shot.

I also enjoy how the team's colors stand out on these customs.  He also includes full career statistics as well on the back.

Nick isn't just a custom card creator... he also enjoys collecting TTM autographs like Rod.  Thank you both for these awesome additions to the collection!

Today's question of the day:

Did you ever collect stamps?

Are you a TTM autograph collector?

Happy Monday and sayonara!