I Crave The Wave

For over twenty years, I've wanted to add the 1984 Donruss baseball set to my collection.  And after last weekend's flea market purchase, I'm five cards away from fulfilling that dream.

1984 Donruss has always been one of the more popular sets from the 80's, because it has so much to offer.  It introduced the hobby to their famous Rated Rookies subset.  The set featured a fresh new "wave" design, a bright turquoise card back, and solid photography.  Donruss even included inserts (Living Legends) into their packs for the first time.

But to me... the thing that separates this set apart from most of the other sets produced in the 80's is the fact that "demand" still outweighs "supply".  Outside of the 1980 Topps set, I can't think of another regular issue base set from the 80's that sells for over $30 on a regular basis.

Maybe 1982 Topps?  Possibly 1983 Topps?  1989 Upper Deck?  However... I picked up both of these Topps sets at the start of the year for $25 each and have seen the iconic Upper Deck set at the flea market on several occasions for $25.

But I have never seen the 1984 Donruss set at that price.  Well... at least not until last weekend.

And the only reason I was able to secure it for $12 is because I was convinced that the empty spots within the binder were reserved for the key rookie cards.

Surprisingly, they were all there.

However I still need these five cards if anyone has any base cards laying around:

2 Dave Concepcion (DK)

3 Dwayne Murphy (DK)

5 Leon Durham (DK)

178 Jim Sundberg

294 Tony Armas

It's your turn.

Are you a fan of the 1984 Donruss set?  Why or why not?

What's your favorite baseball card set from the 80's?  Why?

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Damaged Card HOF #4: Krinkled Kid

A friend of mine recently purchased a collection that included this Fleer rookie card of Ken Griffey Jr.:

1989 Fleer #548

You've got to wonder... why would anyone want to do this to The Kid?  Griffey is the epitome of "fan favorite".  And it's not like this card was ever considered a common.  Plus... this isn't your ordinary, everyday crease.  This card is severely creased with multiple veins shooting across Mr. Griffey's face and card back.

At least the previous owner valued the card enough to put it into a screwdown holder:

By the way, this is one of those non-recessed holder, so I'm thinking the guy was hoping to somehow fix this card by flattening it over time.  I've got to give the guy credit for his optimism, even if it obviously didn't help.

But that's okay... this card no longer has to suffer from loneliness and squishiness.  It's new home is in my Damaged Card Binder, where it hangs out with others just like him.

Happy Birthday Mr. Griffey!

As for everyone else... happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #49: Donnie Baseball & Some Sharks

When:  Sunday, November 17th

Where: Capitol Flea Market

What:  A Baseball Card Set,  Soccer Bobble, and a Hockey Photo Collection

How Much?:  $43


Purchase #1:  1984 Donruss Baseball Card Set $12

Remember the guy who sold me the Maravich rookie card?  He was back.  This time he had a bunch of sports card binders.  I immediately recognized the Diamond Kings on top and was interested in the partial set.

He wanted $20, but since there were missing cards (figured the Mattingly was gone)... I offered him $10.  After going back and forth, we settled on $12.  Later when I got home, I noticed that Donnie Baseball and all of the other key cards were there in the binder.

Another day... another project.  I'll save it for a separate post.


Purchase #2:  2012 Ramiro Corrales Bobblehead $1

I've have been slowly building up my San Jose shelf with Sabrecats, Spartans, and of course Earthquakes.  This was pretty much a no brainer.  I'll pick up a bobblehead of just about anyone when they're a buck.

Purchase #3:  San Jose Sharks Photo Insert Collection $30

The rest of the flea market didn't have much to offer, so I headed back to the guy with the baseball card binders.  He had just put out a collection of Sharks photo inserts.  I'm not sure if they do this anymore, but back in the 90's the team would create an 8.5" x 11" photo that they would insert into the game programs.  There was a different player photo for each home game.

This collection featured players from 93/94 to 98/99.  The previous owner must have been a season ticket holder, because there was a complete 93/94 set, while the other years had anywhere from 20 to 38 inserts.

Originally, I mainly purchased the collection for the autographs:

But now I'm debating on whether or not I should try to track down the missing photo inserts.  It would definitely be a challenge since I don't come across these on a daily basis.

It probably seems like I overpaid for this collection, but there were over thirty autographs and close to 175 different photos, plus 50 to 75 duplicates.  I'll be setting up at the flea market in December and will probably take the extras out there and attempt to recoup my money.

Well... it's the first day of parent/teacher conferences.  Assuming this post is published at the scheduled time, I should be sitting down with some of my colleagues, my student, and their parent(s).

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Cheap Cool Cards #38: 2013 Jose Fernandez (Marlins Team Issue)

It's a good thing that Thanksgiving break is just around the corner, because at the moment... my plate is overwhelmingly full and I can't remember the last time I've been so mentally exhausted.  I'm definitely looking forward to the nine day vacation, which should allow me to catch up on sleep, family bonding time, and of course hobby related items.

In the meantime, I apologize for the lack of commenting on all of your blogs, as well as on my own.  I try my best to keep up with the reading, but sometimes I'm only able to read 10 to 15 posts a night.

It's even affecting my blog posts.

I had planned on writing this post last week to honor Jose Fernandez and the announcement of his winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award.  Anyways... I'm a few days late.  But I thought I'd share this card of him, just in case other collectors out there might be interested in picking one up.

It's a 5x7 Florida Marlins team issue card inserted into their fan packs.

In other words... they're absolute, 100% free!  It doesn't get any cheaper than that.  All you have to do is send them an email requesting a fan pack at:  fanfeedback@marlins.com.

Now I can't guarantee that they're still handing these out, but I received mine in September, so I would assume they're still giving these away.

I hope all of you enjoyed your weekend.  Happy Monday and sayonara!

It's Just Not Fair

Last week, I discovered three things that completely shocked me.

#1 - There's a National Toy Hall of Fame.

Okay... maybe that's not too surprising.  If there's a Polka Hall of Fame and an Insurance Hall of Fame, then it's only fair that there's a hall of fame for toys.


#2 - Somehow, someway... little green army men were finalists in this year's class, but they were beat out by rubber ducks and chess.  Seriously?  I love chess, but it's not even a toy... it's a game.  And my little green army men will melt down the baddest of bad rubber duckies you can find.

So to give them the credit they deserve, I'm here to show off some little green (actually beige) army men that were given to me by my buddy Mike a few months ago.  They're a part of my Japanese Heritage shelf in my office, next to my 442nd G.I. Joe figure and Ichiro bobbles.

They were made by a United Kingdom manufacturer called Airfix in 1972 and came inside of the original box.

Although the box states there are 29 figures inside, the one my friend gave me contained 33 figures:

There are seven different molds including a grenade launcher, a machine gunner, a soldier charging with a bayonet, a commander, and three different guys with rifles.

I grew up with original little green army men and remember creating battle scenes in my backyard with mounds of dirt and a very creative imagination.  I wouldn't necessarily call it my favorite toy of all time.  Heck... they probably wouldn't make my top 5 list.  However... I'm 100% positive that rubber ducks aren't in my top 100 list.

Which brings me to the third and biggest surprise of them all.

#3 - I was recently elected into The Cardboard Connection/Card Collector's World Hall of Fame.

Trust me... I'm as shocked as you are.  Seriously... I'm in some amazing company.  I recognize all five of the other members and have interacted with each of them through either personal messages or posts.  Congratulations to all of you guys!  And thank you to whoever was crazy enough to vote for me.

I seriously don't feel worthy, but I certain that my little beige army men are.

What do you think...

Little Green Army Men or Rubber Duckies?

Happy Saturday and sayonara!