30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Flea Market Finds #149: Unfamiliar Cards & a Very Rare Junk Wax Rickey

A few Saturdays ago... I woke up at around 5:30am and debated on whether or not to sleep in or get up and head out to the monthly Branham High School Flea Market.  It was rounding out my first week back in the classroom and part of me could have really used the extra rest.  On the other hand... I need the exercise and I was curious if more vendors came out. 

Back in July there were three vendors with sports cards.  This month, I only found two.  But one of them was a new guy who was blowing out his collection.  Unfortunately, he was also one of those guys who tells you to build a stack and he'll hook you up with a deal.

After about five minutes, I pulled out a small stack (around 10 cards) and asked him for a price.  He wasn't joking.  He was in full clearance mode.  I ended up hanging out at his table for a little over an hour scouring through his six or seven 5,000ct. boxes.


Purchase #1Sports Cards  $22


What you see above is actually three purchases rolled into one.  I tossed my stuff into a box and the three stacks of singles became one.  The sets in the top row were a buck each... and the two rows of singles below were $17.

There were five cards (autographs & memorabilia cards) that were a buck a piece, so the bulk of those bottom two rows only cost me $12... or about a dime each.

In an effort to save time and energy... I'll highlight the three card purchases with five of the more interesting cards I found in his boxes...

1979 Topps Comics #4

This is one of my favorite oddball issues from the 70's.  I already have a complete set that I have highlighted before, but it's nice to add this to my Nolan Ryan collection.

2005 Topps Retired Signature Gold #90

I don't like the New York Yankees, but I like stumbling across cards of theirs I have never seen before.  Cashman actually has over thirty-five trading cards for Yankees fans to collect, but many are very low serial numbered.

1994 Bay Area Thanksgiving Sports Collectors Convention Pog

Here's another Yankees item I've never seen before.  I'm guessing it was a freebie handed out to people who attended this showRemember when card show promoters would hand out promo bags to attendees?  I'm sure it happened this year at The National, but I haven't received one at any of the shows I've attended in decades.

1998 Denny's Harlem Globetrotters #20

It's not a New York Yankees card, but it's definitely new to meAnyone remember Denny's handing out Harlem Globetrotters trading cards back in 1998?  I tried to find a complete set of these, but only found two other singles out there online.  I want more of these lenticular oddballs.

1990 Topps Top Active Career Batting Leaders #21

This was by far the coolest needle I discovered in this guy's haystack.  This card is from a 22 card set that highlighted the twenty-two active players with the highest career averages going into the 1990 seasonCollectors could find one of these cards in specially marked blister packs of 1990 Topps found exclusively at K-Mart.

1990 might have been at the heart of the Junk Wax Era, but these singles are far from junk and this Rickey was the centerpiece of this $22 purchase.


Purchase #2A Wax Box of Olympic Pins  $5

1996 Olympic Games Collectible Lapel Pins Unopened Box

The guy wasn't only clearing out singles and sets.  He also had a bunch of boxes.  One of my friends purchased all of the unopened baseball boxes, but left behind this Olympic box.

I don't usually go out of my way to collect pins, but I enjoy opening packs of almost anything collectible.  And these pins come with "event cards".  Not sure what that means, but for five bucks I couldn't pass it up.  

As a bonus he tossed in this set of 2008 Olympics pins:


I'll probably just flip this the next time I set up at a flea market to recover some of my cost for the unopened box.


Purchase #345 RPM Record  $1

1984 The Warrior by Scandal

In addition to looking for cards, I'm always looking for new records for my collection.  This flea market is an LP hotspot, but most of the dealers are collectors themselves so their stuff is pricey.  That weekend there was a family who had a box of 45's for a buck each.  This was the only one that really called out to me.

I've always enjoyed the music of powerful women like Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, and Patty SmythBenatar is my favorite of the bunch... but this song by Smyth and Scandal was my jam back in the day.


Purchase #4The RMS Titanic  $5


Before taking off... I stopped by the gentleman with the cheap sets and singles.  He had a ton of toys, puzzles, and other collectibles he was trying to dump and I overheard him sell some Star Wars toys ridiculously cheap.  I decided to ask about this Lego knockoff RMS Titanic.  In the building block world, $5 is too good of a deal to pass up.

I will always be a bargain hunter, but believe it or not I've cut back on purchasing random good dealsFive years ago, I know I would have walked away spending way more money with him.  In fact, I didn't even inquire about any other items.  I just took the Titanic and walked straight to my car and left.

Well that wraps up another flea market recap.  Sorry it took me so long to publish this postLife is full of distractions.  The good news is the next Branham Flea Market is coming up in a few days.  Hopefully I'll find more goodies to purchase.

Here are today's questions of the day...

Anyone familiar with the Denny's Harlem Globetrotters cards?

Did they pass out promo bags at The National this year?  If so, what cool stuff did you get?

Are you a fan of Pat Benatar, Debbie Harry, Joan Jett, and Patty Smyth's music?  Who's your favorite?

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

21 comments:

  1. Fan of all four of the women you mentioned. If I was forced to choose, I couldn't.

    By the way I have loads of 45s from this time period. (P.S. Brian Cashman looks so out of place on a baseball card).

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  2. Wow, 5:30? That's about four hours earlier than I can bring myself to wake up on my days off.

    "Build a stack and I'll give you a deal" are scream-inducing words for me. Not sure I would've stayed at that table, but I'm glad you stuck it out because that's quite a haul! Love the Rickey oddball.

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  3. yep on all four with a tie for top spot Benatar and Jett followed very closely by Blondie.

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  4. That Rickey card is awesome - never heard of it, or seen it, before.

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  5. Awesome, great pickups! That Mantle looks like a POG that was popular in 1994.

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  6. I saw Blondie and Benatar (with her husband) live back when I was going to concerts. Probably early 2000s for both.

    Based on what I can see in that pic, I think you left some good cards out of your write-up.

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  7. Wow, impressive flea market haul! I'd never heard of those Denny's Harlem Globetrotters cards although I do have a couple of the old 1971 Fleer Cocoa Puffs Harlem Globetrotters cards. Of the four women, Pat Benatar is my favorite, followed closely by Debbie Harry/Blondie.

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  8. Nice Rickey find. I don't even bother looking for those cards.

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  9. Looks like some good finds. What are the peanuts cards? I listened to all four of those women back in the 80s. Today Joan Jett would be my favorite one thanks to some collaborations she did with Paul westerberg

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  10. I didn't know Cashman had a card. Now I need one!

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  11. night owl - i feel like the only time i've seen a general manager baseball card is in a minor league set or something. i'm super jealous of your 45's. i only have about 10 that i've picked up from the flea market over the years

    nick - yeah, i get up around 4:30 to 5 during the school year and sometimes it carries over into the summer. i stayed because there was a lot of lowend stuff. had the cards been higher priced, i might have walked away.

    johnnys trading spot - do you have any of those harlem globetrotters cards? if so, did you get them at dennys?

    craziejoe - they're pretty tough to find. gcrl recently wrote a post about them and showed off a blister pack.

    sumomenkoman - gotta love the mid 90's and pogs.

    elliptical man - i will probably show them off at some point. life has been busy, so i had to choose which cards to focus on. i feel like i saw pat benetar at the county fair once, but can't remember the exact details.

    bbcardz - wish there was more information on those denny's globetrotter cards. i'd love to add more to my collection. just looked up the 1971 fleer cocoa puffs cards and they're really cool.

    nick vossbrink - i'm very happy i stumbled across it. i'd love to add the gwynn to my collection, but i'm not holding my breathe

    gcrl - it's a 33 card set featuring a bunch of character cards. looks like they randomly inserted schultz autographs. mine didn't have one. if interested, here's a checklist:

    http://nslists.com/peanprev.htm

    matt - i didn't know he had a card either. it definitely caught my eye while going through the box.

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  12. I like those Peanuts boxed sets. I buy them when they are sealed as I would love to snag a Schulz auto from one.

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  13. I couldn't forget watching the music video for "The Warrior" if I tried..

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  14. Some awesome deals! Hard to choose a favorite among those 80s ladies. Like them all.

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  15. My wife would have wrestled you for that Peanuts card set!

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  16. That Ricky & that Mantle are beauties! Really nice.

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  17. Congrats on the score! Finding the haystack is half the battle but you went above and beyond and found the needle inside that haystack 😁 Impressive💪

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  18. Cool Cashman. I have to check, but I don't think I have any cards of him. I do have a Michael Kay from the same set that I got signed TTM.

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  19. grant - i imagine those schulz autographs go for a pretty penny. i'd love to come across some sealed sets and a shot at one of those myself

    matt - makeup is the first word that pops into my head when i think of that video

    jeff b - a solid era for women and rock for sure

    jongudmund - i probably should have hit his set box first. by the time i got to the peanuts set, that box had been picked through by two other guys. sure glad they left that set behind

    peter k steinberg - pretty stoked about finding that rickey in a box. and that mantle is a unique oddball and piece of nostalgia from the 90's

    big tone - thanks. hope to find a few more haystacks to dig through this weekend.

    the lost collector - that's cool that topps made a card for kay. congratulations on landing his autograph. wish they made more broadcaster cards. i'd love to collect some bay area personalities

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  20. I'm not LEGO guy, but that Titanic is pretty nifty. Are you gonna be putting it together?

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    1. Yes sir. Building sets like these is very therapeutic. Right now life is a little crazy, but when I have some free time I'll definitely put it together.

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