Pair of Personalized Presents

This post wasn't suppose to be written and published for another few weeks, but an unexpected loss moved up the deadline.

The story begins approximately a decade ago... when my best friend mentioned her cousin's daughter was dating a cornerback on the Oregon Ducks.  Now I love football, but I typically follow the Packers and Seahawks more than college football. Everything I know about Oregon Ducks football comes from ESPN highlights or posts over on Cards on Cards (the #1 Ducks fan in the blogosphere).

So I did a little research on the guy and discovered that Ifo Ekpre-Olomu was the top cornerback in college football.  Holy quack.  Ifo officially had my attention and a new fan.  Unfortunately, he suffered an injury getting ready for their Rose Bowl game versus Florida St.

A few months later he was drafted in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.  I remember being super excited to see him play and collect his cards.  I went to Sportlots and bought a bunch of his cards.  The collection was eventually passed on to my friend and her mom.

Fast forward to 2024.  My friend took her mom up to Oregon to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family.  I knew she was going to see Ifo, so I asked her if she could get a few of those cards signed.  I wanted to add one to my binder and give the other one to Kerry.  Unfortunately after all of these years, the cards had been misplaced.  Oh well... that's life.

A month later, Christmas morning rolls around and I start opening up my presents.  The first one under the tree was this signed shirt:

Jen had mentioned that she went to the Columbia store while she was up there, but I had no idea she would be buying me this shirt and having Ifo sign it.  Obviously I was super excited... and figured this was the main present.

But there was one more really cool present:

I was blown away by this custom Funko Pop of the two of us with her dog, Tashi.  Here are a pair of custom cards I purchased from Topps a few years ago of her:

I've written about Jen a few times on the blog, but out of respect for her privacy... I always kept her anonymous.  Today is the exception to the rule.

She did a great job of capturing our appearance and interests with these Pops.  She's a total foodie and loves soccer.  While I love baseball, cargo shorts, and flip flops.  Here's a photo of us to compare our likeness to the figures:

This was taken back in mid-December at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco.  It was my first time seeing a play in almost twenty years. The last time I fell asleep watching The King and I.  Hamilton was much more entertaining.

Thank you Jen for these awesome Christmas presents!  Thank you Ifo for taking the time to sign this shirt for me.  And thank you to all of you who took the time to read this post.

Happy New Year and sayonara!

The A's Might Be Leaving the Bay Area...

But mi padre has returned.

After spending the past twenty-five years in Las Vegas, my father has returned to the Bay Area to spend more time with his daughter-in-law and three sons.  Now I get to see him two to three times a week instead of four to five times a year.  I won't bore you all with the small details, but the bottom line is my father is surrounded by loved ones instead of being alone in Vegas.

Now that I've shared a quick life update, let's get to some collectibles.  Papa Fuji isn't the only padre that's landed in the Bay Area.  Rod over at Padrographs sent me a box filled with a bunch of new Padres and other goodies for my collection.

Let's start with the items that helped me revamp my Padres shelf in my office.  Here are before and after shots:

Before

After

For those who don't have the time to sit and compare the photos, here are the items from Rod's care package that were added to the shelf:

2014 Funko Pop MLB Mascots #06

I was really happy to add this guy to my shelf.  I have the 2019 Swinging Friar Pop in a box somewhere, but the collector in me didn't want to take it out of the box.  Anyone who collects these figurines knows they eat up a lot of space.  Thankfully Rod removed the box from the equation and now he has a home up front and center on the shelf.

The other big item added to the shelf is this Mr. Padre bobble head:

Donruss Class of 2001 Bobblehead

This is my very first Gwynn bobblehead!  Can't believe it took me this long to acquire one, but it's an excellent addition to the shelf.

There was also this cool Gwynn pin that Rod sent that's a duplicate, so I added it to the shelf:

1984 Fun Foods Pin #28

And finally this awesome looking decal that I slid into a Card Saver:

I'm not sure if this is a custom sticker that Rod created or something he purchased over the years... but it looks awesome on the wall above my shelf.

He also included a few other unique Padres items and over 700 cards.  I'm still sorting through them, but I'll show some of the highlights when I get a chance to scan them.

In the meantime, I'll wrap things up three more Gwynn collectibles that Rod donated to my collection:

I can't find any information on this patch, but obviously it commemorates Gwynn's 3,000 hits.  I've slid this item along with this Topps Coin into my Gwynn binder:

1988 Topps Coins #36

This coin was a pleasant surprise, because it's a Junk Wax Era Gwynn I needed.

And finally here's a collectible I didn't even know existed...

2001 Tony Gwynn VHS Tape

I had originally planned on writing a post regarding my thoughts on the A's impending move to Las Vegas, but I'd rather have my first post in over a month be positive instead of negative.  I'll save my beloved A's for another day.

Thank you Rod for the generous care package!  I have at least two more items from this box that I plan on writing about, so stay tuned.  Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Another Weekend, Another Show

Last weekend, my buddy co-promoted his second show in three weeks.  Unfortunately it wasn't a card show.  This time around it was a toy show.  The good news is there were three dealers with sports cards and I made purchases from two of them.

Purchase #1:  A Shiny Admiral  $1

1998-99 Topps Chrome Refractor #170

My friend Tony, who was set up next to me at the card show was there and this time around I had the chance to dig through his dollar boxes.  That's where I found this David Robinson refractor.

I might not actively collect basketball cards, but I can't pass up a 90's refractor of a hall of famer for a buck.  Can't do it.

Purchase #2:  One Hot Bo  50¢

Tony is one of only a handful of dealers that actually lugs around bargain bins.  That's why his table was busy almost the whole time at the card show three weeks ago.  He doesn't have dime boxes, but he does have a 50¢ bin.  That's where I found this Bo Jackson insert:

1990 Score Hot Card #2

It's rare to come across a Junk Wax Era insert that I'm not familiar with, but this card fits that description.  I'm not going to say I've never seen it before, but I don't remember if I have.  According to Beckett, they were inserted into 100 card blister packs that contained both Series 1 & 2 1990 Score football cards.

It's from 1990, so I'm sure there are millions of these floating around... but that doesn't take anything away from the beauty of this card.  The rising (or setting) sun behind a well-cropped Bo with black borders combines well to form a hot looking card.

#3:  A Sportscaster Signature  $5

2004 Absolute Memorabilia Fans of the Game Gold Autograph #237

Have you ever seen a sportscaster running the 40 yard dash in a business suit?  If so, it was probably Rich Eisen.

My friend Tom specializes more in non-sports cards, but he has a couple of boxes of sports cards.  While killing time at the show, I decided to dig through his stuff and I found this card with an $11 price tag.  He said I could have it for five bucks.  Sticker-graph or not... I can't pass up this card for that price.

Overall... I was pretty happy with my show purchases.  The third dealer had some dollar boxes, but I didn't find anything I could use.  I didn't go through his boxes until the last hour of the show, so chances are they were already picked through a few times.

Most of the show was spent collecting money from customers interested in purchasing a photo op or autograph from Giancarlo Esposito, who is famous for his roles in Do The Right Thing, Breaking Bad, and The Mandalorian.

Fans were getting him to sign everything from action figures to Darksabers to plastic money barrels.  But the most creative item I saw was a guy who had him sign a Jordan 4.  The gentleman was inspired by this famous scene in Do The Right Thing:

I truly wish I had thought of that.  Oh well.  I didn't walk away empty-handed.  As a thank you for helping out, my buddy Mike hooked me up with this signed Funko Pop:

I also asked him if he could get me a 16 x 20 photo signed by Esposito and David Acord:

Acord is a sound editor at Skywalker Sound and is the voice of Grogu.  He was also signing at the show, along with one other autograph guest. who is popular among Seinfeld fans...

If you don't recognize who this is... you're probably under the age of thirty.  If that's the case, do yourself a favor and watch this:

Thanks Mike for hooking me up with these very cool pop-culture autographs.  I also appreciate you hooking me up with the free table at the card show.

As for the rest of you, here are today's questions of the day...

What's your favorite Junk Wax Era card design?

Do you have a favorite sportscaster?

Do you have a favorite Spike Lee movie?

Are you a fan of Seinfeld?  Favorite character?

1.  I'll probably dedicate a post to answer the Junk Wax Era question.  For now... I'll just go with the 1987 Topps baseball design.

2.  My favorite sportscasters are Jon Miller and Tom Tolbert.  Miller has a calm demeanor and knows his baseball trivia... while Tolbert sounds like a guy you'd want to hang out and barbecue with.

3.  Do The Right Thing is hands down my favorite Spike Lee film.

4.  Yup.  Right up there with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Eastbound & Down, Freaks and Geeks, and The Office.  Favorite character?  George Costanza.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

TWiB: Retired Numbers, Rookie Cups, Black Gold, Draft Busts, and Funko Pops

It's that time of the year again.  No... I'm not referring to the release of 2021 Topps baseball.  That's all fine and dandy, but honestly it's hobby news that has little impact on me and my collection.  Will I want some cards from the set?  Sure.  But I'm not too worried about getting my hands on an A's and Padres team set eventually.

Right now... my focus is with my allergies.  The past two nights have been miserable.  I've woken up way more than usual with a scratchy throat, itchy eyes, and the standard headache.  But I'm not going to let that ruin my February Break.  I've got some big plans for this upcoming week... and one of them is to sort through a few more 5,000ct. boxes that are currently cluttering my office.  The only thing that will keep me from reaching this goal will be a sore back and a little laziness.  The solution is to stay motivated and avoid sitting on the floor for long periods of time.  We'll see how that goes.

In the meantime... let's check out another This Week in Blogging post...

#1:  Retired Oakland Athletics Numbers

The Oakland A's don't receive a lot of hobby love on the blogosphere, so I always get a little excited when someone writes a post about them.  Last Saturday, CinciCuse Bill wrote about the jersey numbers they've retired over the years.

1974 Topps #478

He also asked his readers which former A's player will have his number retired next.  I'm not sure if it'll happen, but my best guess is Bert Campaneris (#19).  He's the A's all-time leader in games played, hits, and dWAR, while representing Oakland at the Midsummer Classic five times.  He also was a key member of The Swingin' A's teams that brought three consecutive World Series Championships to the Bay Area in the 70's.  Just not sure if that's enough to have your jersey retired.

#2:  Rookie Cup Cards

Topps Rookie Cup cards have carved out a nice niche in our hobby.  And if you are a fan of them, then you're in luck... because hiflew over at Cards from the Quarry wrote a pair of posts on them this week.

1976 Topps #50

In the first post, he created his version of the Rookie Cup dream team.  A few years ago, I started listing out my favorite Rookie Cup cards (that's still sitting in my blog drafts).  The Fred Lynn was the only player that made both of our lists.

1974 Topps #173

The second post focused on the 1974 Topps set, which didn't have any Rookie Cup cards.  However he reveals where he found the list of Rookie All-Stars Topps created back in 1973.

1987 Topps #80

I haven't figured out my all-time favorite Rookie Cup card... but this Wally Joyner is in the running.  1987 was the first time I ever pulled a Rookie Cup card from a pack.  That was also the year I discovered boxes of baseball cards at Costco/Price Club which transformed the way I collected.

#3:  1966

2020 was a bad year as a whole.  Obviously I don't speak for anyone other than myself... but in a nutshell... hopefully things bounce back in 2021.  There's still plenty of time to see if that will happen.

1960 Topps #80

In the meantime, it's nice to read blog posts that focus on the positive.  And last week, John over at Johnny's Trading Spot did just that when he wrote an informative post about the good stuff that happened in 1966.  I wasn't around yet... but I enjoyed learning some interesting facts.

1990 Leaf #297

I don't want to spoil things for you, but did you know that David Justice was born on the exact same day as a hall of fame teammate of his?  If you want to find out who it was... click the link above.

#4:  Bust Out the Champagne

1991 Topps #333

It's no secret that Greg over at Night Owl Cards is a talented writer.  His blog posts are always well written... which is why Beckett hired him.  I can still remember running out and grabbing the February 2019 issue of Beckett Vintage Collector in order to read his article on the 1976 SSPC set.  Two years later, his article on the 1991 Topps baseball set is the cover story for the March issue of Beckett Baseball.  Congratulations Greg!

And AJ over at The Lost Collector just celebrated his 10th Anniversary this past Wednesday.  He's known for being the #1 Tino Martinez collector among our blogosphere.  He's also quite the artist.  A few years ago, he sent me this Kurt Suzuki sketch card for my collection.  Congratulations AJ!

#5:  A Super Strata Collection

Brian's Andrew McCutchen collection is insane.  Seriously.  It's like something you'd see featured in Beckett Baseball.  Maybe it has?  Anyways... earlier in the week he showed off his collection of 2015 Strata Cutch cards and it left me speechless.  Please.  Click here and check it out.

2015 Strata Clearly Authentic Autographed Relic #CAAR-CKW

I only have a handful of 2015 Strata cards... which is headlined by this Kershaw autograph that features a sliver of red patch on it.

#6:  A First for Topps

1993 Topps Black Gold #8

Two days ago, Crazie Joe showed off some 1993 Topps Black Gold inserts on his blog.  It made me start wondering if they were the company's first randomly inserted "inserts".  I'm not talking about the Topps Posters or Game cards they produced in the 60's.  I'm pretty sure they were included in all packs or packs from specific series of cards... sort of like the Glossy All-Star inserts from the 80's found in rack packs.

Does anyone know of any earlier randomly inserted inserts produced by Topps?

Okay... I'm approaching the three hour mark and don't really want to spend the entire morning of my first day on break writing this blog post.  But I still have a few more blogs I'd like to highlight from this past week...

#7:  Sunset Cards

2015 Topps Gold #177

Do you enjoy "sunset cards"?  If so, click here.  Nick over at Dime Box Cards has been building teams of his favorite "sunset cards" based on the divisions in baseball.  This week he targeted the AL Central. 

#8:  Top 5 Quarterbacks

On Super Bowl Sunday, John over at John's Big League Baseball Blog ranked his Top 5 QB's.  I wasn't sure if he meant his favorite quarterbacks or the best of the best, but you can check out his list by clicking here.

1996 Topps Chrome Refractor #145

My original plan was to list out my Top 5 today... but I'm a little short on time.  So for right now... I'll just show off my favorite QB of all-time: Brett Favre.

#9:  A Friendly Reminder

Chris over at The 1993 wrote another fantastic post where he discussed the 1993 #2 draft picks from each of the major sports.

1996 Pinnacle Laser View Inscriptions #NNO

1994-95 UD Be A Player Die-Cut Autograph #S188

Two of the athletes mentioned in his post (Rick Mirer and Alexandre Daigle) reminded me of a time when I enjoyed collecting draft busts.

#10:  Other Collectibles

Although 99.5% of the blogs I subscribe to are card related, I actually really enjoy reading posts that venture outside of our hobby.  On Tuesday, Gavin over at Baseball Card Breakdown wrote about the glow-in-the-dark Spider-Man Funko Pop he purchased.  He also showed off a pair of action figures too.

I went through a Funko Pop phase a few years ago, but have cut down my acquisitions due to lack of storage space.  That being said... I still will buy action figures every now and then.

Well... that wraps up another This Week in Blogging post.  Here are a few questions for you to ponder:

Do you have a favorite Topps Rookie Cup card?

Do you have a favorite "sunset card"?

Who do you think is the greatest quarterback of all-time?

Do you have a favorite quarterback?

When you think of draft bust... what names pop into your head?

Do you own any Funko Pops or action figures?  If so, do you have any favorites?

In the meantime, I'm gonna dive back into my office and start digging through boxes and look for some cards to blog about.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!