The Power of Cardboard and Panning for Gold

When I was little... my parents took me on a trip to the American River where we panned for gold.  That's when I learned about the California Gold Rush and how it essentially motivated hundreds of thousands of people to move here.  I don't remember all of the small excursions my parents took me back in the day, but I vaguely remember receiving a little bottle to put the gold (or maybe it was pyrite) in.

Forty years later, that bottle is long gone.  No idea where it's at.  Honestly I might not have ever given any thought to that little trip had I not seen this card pop out of a PWE sent from Jon over at A Penny Sleeve For Your Thoughts:

1994 Score Gold Rush #660

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to finally sit down and open up some care packages and this shiny gold parallel was the first card I noticed.  It immediately made me think of that trip with my parents and the bottle of gold flakes.

Upon further examination, this card also took me back to Candlestick Park where I'd go watch Will Clark and Robby Thompson play a few times each season.

That's just one more reason I appreciate this hobby.  When a piece of cardboard can take you back in time to your childhood and adolescence... that's pretty darn powerful.

Jon also sent me these four Oakland A's cards...

Each of these guys represent a different era of Oakland A's baseball... which come along with their own set of memories.

And finally four new additions to my Japanese Athlete PC:

Although none of these guys made me think of my childhood, I will say that seeing that Action Packed card of Makoto Suzuki took me back to the 90's.  That's when that card company delivered some pretty awesome embossed cards to collectors.

I'm sure most collectors remember them for their football cards, but that Suzuki is proof that they also produced baseball cards.  In fact... I recently discovered a few others during that multi-month card collection sort in my garage:

Sadly... I don't remember acquiring these cards or their released back in the early 90's... nor do I remember seeing any of these guys play for the A's back in the 70's.  But they do remind of an era when the A's were winning (the 70's) and when card companies still took the time to think outside of the box (the 90's).

Thank you Jon for the thoughtful PWE and inspiring this trip down memory lane.  I'm sorry it took so long for me to open it up and write this post.  I actually finished it over the Christmas Break, but postponed publishing it so it would coincide with the 174th Anniversary of Marshall discovering gold at Sutter's Mill.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

The Twenty-Two Year Set Build

When you open up enough packs, you're bound to pull a nice card every now and then.

Today's post features one of my all-time greatest pulls.  The kind of pull which led me to build the entire set.  Little did I know... it would take me twenty-two years to finish.

This story begins back in 1999.  My parents had sold their home in San Jose and decided to retire in Las Vegas the year before, so I was officially on my own for the first time in my life.  As a second year teacher... money was tight.  That's why I supplemented my income by working at the card shop across the street from my school.

Sadly... at this point in my life I had really racked up some serious credit card debt due to some excessive spending the previous year.  Between buying curriculum books, school supplies, and tons of basketball packs, boxes, and singles... lets just say that I wasn't living within my means.

So by the time 1999 rolled around, most of my card related purchases were Pokemon singles and packs for my students.  But every now and then, I'd treat myself to some packs.  One day I ripped open a few packs of 1999 Upper Deck Retro football (remember the cards that came in lunch pails?) when I pulled this card:

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #WP (Inducted into Canton in 1993)

At that time, Walter Payton had been retired for over a decade and was regarded as one of the greatest running backs in the history of the game, so you can imagine how excited I was when I pulled this card.

This card held the title of being the most valuable card in my collection for a year or so... until I sold it to a friend who is a huge Chicago Bears fan.  That was right around the same time that I dumped the bulk of my collection to help pay off my debt and buy a place.

Fast forward six or seven years to 2007 or 2008... when I returned to the hobby.  Within the first or second year, I had purchased the Payton back from my friend.

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #SL (Inducted into Canton in 1995)

It paired nicely with the Steve Largent I held onto the entire time.

Eventually I started targeting other big names in the set and within a few years, I had acquired most of the hall of famers (or future hall of famers) from the set:

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #CC (Inducted into Canton in 2013)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #TD (Inducted into Canton in 2017)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #DF (Inducted into Canton in 1993)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #JM (Inducted into Canton in 2000)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #RM (Inducted into Canton in 2018)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #JN (Inducted into Canton in 1985)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #OZ (Inducted into Canton in 1999)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #TO (Inducted into Canton in 2017)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #RG (Inducted into Canton in 1985)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #OZ (Inducted into Canton in 1986)

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #PW (Inducted into Canton in 1983)

Along the way, I would pick up cheap semi-stars, rookies, and commons in the set whenever they fell into my lap...

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #AM

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #AS

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #DL

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #GH

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #JK

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #RS

 

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #BH

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #DB

And before I knew it... I was closing in on the entire set.  It took me a few years to land the key rookies in the set:

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #AS

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #CM

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #DC

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #DM

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #SK

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #TC

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #TH

I also refused to overpay for the Wayne Chrebet... so this card also eluded me for awhile:

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #WC

But in April of 2019, I managed to pick up this single on COMC for $4.25... which meant I was down to final card in the set, Ricky "Weed" Williams:

1999 UD Retro Inkredible #RW

Now I'm not sure if this card is a short print of if there's a Williams collector out there hoarding copies... but this card was one tough cookie to track down.  I've never seen it on COMC and it rarely shows its face on eBay.

So when it finally did show up in an auction on eBay... I went all in to win it.  It took a bid of $66.34 to add this card to my collection and finish the set.  It looks like I had a $10 coupon or gift card which helped cover the shipping and taxes, but according to my records this is the second most expensive card in the set build.  Only the Staubach set me back more.

Well there you have it.  My twenty-two year set build.  It feels really good to have this one wrapped up.  I will eventually free the Couch and Culpepper from of their plastic prisons, but I'm not sure if I've mentioned how busy life has been as of late.  This doesn't rank very high on the priority list.

What does rank high is recognizing the care packages that have been stacking up in my office.  And since we're on the subject of autographs, I figured it's the perfect time to show off some signatures that Bob (The Best Bubble) sent me back in October.  Since this was primarily a football post, let's kick things off with the only football card in Bob's PWE.

Roger Craig is a Bay Area legend and possibly a future hall of famer.  Although I do own a certified pack pulled autograph of his, this is very first TTM/IP autograph of Craig.

Next up are a trio of familiar names who played in Oakland:

  

Canha was never considered a star, but he had some key hits for Oakland and was well liked by fans.  I wish him nothing but success with the Mets.

On the other hand, Giambi was one of the biggest names and a bonafide superstar during his tenure in Oakland.  Shame he left to play for the New York Yankees.

Rounding out the trio is a very popular player among bloggers.  The sad thing is I don't remember him with the A's.  But thanks to this card, I won't be forgetting this piece of trivia anytime soon.

Bob also sent me a trio of Athletics I wasn't familiar with:

Minetto played for the A's from 1978 to 1981.  There's a slight chance I watched him play at the Coliseum.  Jones never made it to the Bigs, but he played in the A's farm system from 1986 to 1989.  I'm guessing Tony Phillips was blocking his path to the MLB.  As for Robertson, he's currently a free agent.  But he has had stints with the Rays, Giants, and Brewers at the MLB level.

The last autograph in the envelope is this old-timer:

I wasn't familiar with Mr. Scheib, but thanks to the internet here are a few interesting facts about his career:

A.  He made his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Athletics on September 6th, 1943.  He was 16 years old.

B.  In 1951, he went 21 for 53 at the plate.  No DH needed for this guy.

C.  He lived to be 91 years old until he passed away in 2018.

I'll wrap up this post with one more card from Bob:

1995 Score Rules #SR23

I am always surprised and delighted when I discover a new card for my Tony Gwynn PC.  When I pulled this card from Bob's care package, I figured I'd find a copy already sitting in the binder.  It happens all of the time.  I have received hundreds of Gwynns over the years and only a small fraction are new to the collection.  But every now and then... a card like this arrives and I get to slide it into a 9-pocket page like this:

It's a very satisfying feeling... just like completing a set after twenty-two years.

Thank you Bob for the very thoughtful PWE... and thank you to everyone who took the time to read this "primarily football" post.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Simple and Ingenious

What's better than going to a baseball game?  Let's see... how about going to a baseball game and receiving free baseball cards?

Back in the 80's and 90's... Mother's Cookies and a handful of MLB teams partnered up and produced team sets that were used as stadium giveaways.  Fans would receive 28 cards packaged in specially marked envelopes and each set would consist of 28 cards.

One catch.  Fans wouldn't receive 28 different cards or a complete set.  They'd receive a starter set of 20-something cards and then the remaining cards would be of one particular player.  In other words, you might receive cards #1 to #21, plus seven copies of card #16.  The premise was simple and ingenious.

Fans would have to trade their duplicates with each other to complete their sets.

These days collectors can find completed team sets at card shows and on the internet, which is nice because we now have access to these awesome regional issues.  For years I have wanted to add the 1989 Seattle Mariners team set to my collection, because it contains Ken Griffey Jr.

My patience paid off last year, when I finally added this set to my collection for under $5 ($2.99 + $1.75 shipping).

Here's a look at the checklist:

And the entire 28 card set:

I hope all of you are enjoying your Mother's Day with your friends and families.

Mama... thank you for baking delicious cookies, taking me to my baseball games, and for always being there for your family.  I love you and this post is dedicated to you.

Happy Mother's Day and sayonara!

Extra Innings

You wanna know what else is simple and ingenious?  PWE packages.

1.  Postage prices are soaring out of control, but PWE's are the most affordable option.

2.  Post office lines are ridiculous and PWE's can be shipped from home with a few stamps.

3.  Small gestures often have a big impact.  A simple PWE has the power of putting a smile on a person's face.

Thank you buckstore cards for this generous PWE.  After a tough week, it was nice to open your PWE and see the awesome A's and Sharks cards you sent.  I have a handful of 2/14 cards that I'll send your way in the near future.