Plugging Some Holes

When it comes to shopping for cards online... COMC's fall has led to the ascension of Sportlots (at least for me).  They've always served different purposes.  Sportlots helped me complete sets with their affordable commons, while COMC filled gaps in my player and team collections.

Since I've always tried to get the most bang for my buck, I avoided paying 20¢ for commons and preferred to find pricier cards over on COMC.  However their decision to restructure their shipping rates forced me to drain my balance, start using Sportlots more, and focus on card projects that have been collecting dust for quite some time.

1984 Topps Glossy All-Stars #10

1986 Topps Glossy All-Stars #7

1990 Topps Glossy All-Stars #8

Last week, I started shopping for some 80's Leaf Dave Stieb cards... which led me to plugging some holes in my 1984 to 1991 Topps Glossy All-Star project which was missing the entire 1986 set.  Well, I found one vendor with almost the entire set:

This lot puts me past the 50% mark on this project...

I'll be busy the next four weeks, but as soon as my summer break starts... I'm hoping to cross off the bulk of these needs with the help of eBay and Sportlots:

While shopping for those Stieb cards, I completed another set sitting in my office:

1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Set

Back in early April, Stuart over at S.R. '75 Cards sent me this set.  I'm a huge fan of early Pro Set sets and was happy to add their inaugural hockey set to my collection.  While flipping through the set, I noticed it was missing one card:

1990-91 Pro Set #298

No biggie.  That's what Sportlots is for.  If you're not familiar with this set, here's a quick peek:

Pro Set included everyone from draft picks to coaches to officials.  They even included a card for the puck.

They also honored the all-stars, award winners, and stat leaders.  Plus a ton of guys who would eventually make the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Speaking of future hall of famers, the 1990-91 rookie card class was full of them:

Jaromir Jagr is the lone player to not receive the honor.  But that's because he hasn't officially announced his retirement.  He last skated in the NHL in 2017, but was playing professionally in the Czech Republic up to last season.

Thank you Stuart for generously gifting me with this awesome set.

Let's wrap this post up with the two cards that inspired this Sportlots order:

1985 Leaf #54

1986 Leaf #68

Last week, I showed of this 1987 Leaf card of Dave Stieb that Adam over at Thoughts & Sox sent me:

1987 Leaf #72

I mentioned that I might chase down his other three Leaf cards from that era.  Two down, 1988 to go.

Like the Topps Glossy All-Stars... I'll target this card in a few weeks when I have more free time on my hands.

Until then, here is today's question of the day:

Where do you shop for cards online?  COMC?  Sportlots?  eBay?  Other?

If I were to break down the numbers, eBay and their vendors get most of my money.  However my purchases usually involve single cards or smaller sets/lots.  Sportlots is a distant second, but that might change this summer.

I look forward to reading and responding to your comments.  I apologize that I haven't replied to comments on my recent posts.  It's on my list of things to do this weekend.  Stay tuned.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

The Run is Complete!

The ball is finally starting to roll again... as I try to start hammering out semi-regular posts on this blog.  I've been busying scanning and stock piling photos for future posts and it's starting to pay off.

Today I'm showing off the final four cards I needed to complete my Dave Stieb O-Pee-Chee base card run that was inspired by Angus over at Dawg Day Cards.  He got the project started by sending me his 1980 O-Pee-Chee rookie card along with Stieb's 1981, 1986, and 1988 cards.  Sportlots dealers handled the rest.

I ordered the final four on the same day from two different dealers.  One of the PWE's arrived within a few days with these three cards:

1989 O-Pee-Chee #535

1990 O-Pee-Chee #4

1992 O-Pee-Chee #320

The last card finally arrived this week:

1991 O-Pee-Chee #460

And here's a look at its entirety:

This was such a fun project to honor one of the best pitchers from the 80's and the greatest baseball player to attend the same high school as me.

Thanks again Angus for inspiring this project.  I wouldn't have even considered attempting it, so I am forever grateful.

Unfortunately... that 1991 O-Pee-Chee didn't only delay the completion of my Stieb base card run.  It also pushed back this Thoughts & Sox thank you post.  Adam sent me more Canadian cardboard way back in March:

Why did I want to include his cards with the cards from my Sportlots order?  Because the coolest card he included was this:

1987 Leaf #72

Now I have to decide whether or not to complete his Leaf base card run.  After checking COMC, it appears as if he only had a handful of Leaf cards (1985 to 1988) that mirror the Donruss design, so there's a good chance that I will accept this challenge.  But for now it's not high on my priority list.

Thank you Adam for the generous care package... and once again... sorry about the delay.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

An International Post

This was a pretty stressful week in the classroom, but the World Baseball Classic is off and running... so there's balance in the force.

2006 Upper Deck Inaugural Images #II-30

Figured I'd focus on the positive and use the WBC as an excuse to show off some international stuff.

International Item #1:  Japanese Magazine Cards

These uncut sheets of cards feature characters from a 70's Japanese television show called Kamen Rider.  I wasn't able to find a year or magazine title, but I'm guessing they're from the 80's.  They were part of Ryan's advent calendar, so maybe his haiku will provide a hint:

Unfortunately... no specific details on these cards.  That's okay.  I like a good mystery.

International Item #2:  Three Countries, One Card

2007-08 In The Game O Canada Autographs #A-VS

Vicky Sunohara is a former Canadian hockey player who has won a ton of gold medals including a pair of Olympic gold medals (2002 and 2006) with Team Canada.

Up until a few weeks ago, I had never heard of her.  However Ralph over at Divas Hockey Ink published a post featuring her.  As soon as I saw her last name, I looked her up and discovered she's part Japanese and part Ukrainian.

I commented on his post that I might look for a copy for my Japanese athlete PC.  He ended up having an extra copy which he generously sent my way.

International Item #3:  Italian Stickers, Japanese Skaters

1979 Panini Hockey '79 Stickers

These forty-seven year old Panini stickers feature Japanese hockey players from possibly the 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships. were sent to me as part of Angus' (over at Dawg Day Cards) December care package.

1979 Panini Hockey '79 Stickers

I tried to pair these puzzle stickers up and scan them, but they kept sliding around on the glass.  Ended up using these 1948 Bowman card sleeves and a 9-pocket page to keep them in place.

And if you're confused about the Italian ties, these stickers were printed in Italy:

1979 Panini Hockey '79 Stickers #244

Angus made another contribution for this international post...

International Item #4:  Canadian Cardboard

I'm an O-Pee-Chee fanboy.  

1972 O-Pee-Chee #169

It wasn't always that way.

1972 O-Pee-Chee #170

Back in the 80's and 90's, I would have traded them for their Topps counterparts.

1978 O-Pee-Chee #177

These days, they're equals... companions... counterparts.

1981 O-Pee-Chee #261

Simply put.  They're both awesome and highly cherished pieces of cardboard.

1985 Leaf #28

The same thing applies to Donruss and Leaf.

I'm grateful that something clicked in my brain, encouraged me to openminded and give trading cards produced outside of our country a chance.

Thank you Angus, Ralph, and Ryan for all of these awesome additions to my collection!

And here is today's question of the day:

Are you watching or following the World Baseball classic?

If so...

Who do you think will win it all?

I've watched a few prediction videos and it seems like the vast majority are picking one of three teams:  USA, Dominican Republic, or Japan.  My brain is picking the loaded Team USA squad led by Judge, Witt, Skenes, and Skubal.  My heart bleeds Samurai Blue.  But my gut tells me the Dominican Republic's bats are going to power them to the 2026 title.

Whoever you pick... it's gonna be a fun and entertaining two weeks of baseball.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!