Cardboard Clutter

I think working with kids over the past two decades has taught me to be patient.  When I was a kid, if someone gave me a present I'd tear into them immediately.

But thirty years can change a person.  These days I model a little more self-control.  I'm currently sitting on three care packages sent from:  Nick @ Dime Boxes, Matthew @ Bob Walk the Plank, and Woody @ CCW.

Unfortunately... I've made myself a deal to keep them sealed until I finish cleaning up the cardboard clutter that currently resides on my desk.  Most of the mess consists of cards from my recent flea market purchase.  But there are a few eBay purchases thrown into the mix as well:

Nick, Matt, and Woody... I just wanted to let you know that your packages have arrived safely and I'm eager to see what you've sent.  As soon as I bust them open, I promise to write up a "thank you" post.

I've got parent/teacher conferences this week, but I should have plenty of time to sort through cards over my Thanksgiving Break.

Thanks in advance for the packages and have a happy Sunday.

Flea Market Finds #74: Build-A-Box

By now I'm sure most of you have seen Collector Crate: a monthly subscription box containing sports cards and other pieces of sports memorabilia.  If you haven't... feel free to click here, here, or here for detailed descriptions and a sampling of the products people have received.

I have to admit, I came close to purchasing one last month.  Thankfully I had enough willpower to hold off, because two weeks ago I had the opportunity of a lifetime fall into my lap at the De Anza Flea Market.

When: Saturday, November 1st
Where: De Anza Flea Market
What: Dime Box Cards and Dollar Sets/Packs
How Much?:  $31

Imagine being able to build your own box and fill it with vintage, oddballs, inserts, rookie cards, memorabilia cards, and autographs for the bargain price of 10¢ per item.  Yeah that's right... a dime box Build-A-Box.

I'm not going to lie... it was pretty awesome and a week later, I was still digging into the box of goodies.

Let's kick things off with some vintage baseball...

I added thirteen new cards to my vintage baseball card binder.  Most of them were 70's hall of famers, but two of my favorites featured guys without plaques in Cooperstown.

Anyone remember Renata Galasso cards from the 80's?  How about SSPC sets from the 70's?  The vendor had a whole 5,000ct. box dedicated to them.

I ended up grabbing close to fifty different cards... including this early issue Gary Carter card and this oversized Johnny Bench.

On the other hand... there weren't a lot of inserts in the boxes.  In fact out of the handful that I saw, these were the only two I picked up:

The bulk of the 5,000ct. boxes were filled with rookie cards.  The vendor had bulk lots of both football and baseball rookies.

Who the heck needs twenty-five copies of a 2010 Donruss Dez Bryant?  How about sixty-five copies of Fernando's 1981 Fleer rookie card?  I guess for 10¢ each, I do.

Heck... I even grabbed some Broder rookie cards too...

At first I thought the Griffey was legit... but my buddy pointed out that this version was a fake.  And while this Darvish Broder is pretty cool... I'll take my super hot Sharapova OMR rookie card any day of the week.

The final single I'll share with you guys is a card I almost picked up a few months ago for $3 on eBay.

Six months ago, The Natural celebrated its 30th Anniversary.  I remembered seeing this card in a Larry Fritsch catalog and immediately wanting to add it to my collection.  For being a prop card, I've actually seen several copies sell for $5 to $7.

Outside of dime box cards, he also had a bunch of sets and packs for a dollar each:

1989 Topps UK Minis Set

I'm pretty sure I already own the factory set of these baseball cards from across the Atlantic... but for a buck, I figured I'd grab a second set.  

1984 Galasso Reggie Jackson Mini Set

This is a nice 30 card set from the 80's featuring Mr. October throughout his career... including a few photos of him as an Oriole.  Renata Galasso issued two versions of this set: standard (2.5" x 3.5") and mini (same size as the 75T minis).  

1988 Conlon 1933 American Allstars Set

If you're a fan of old school hall of famers, then this set is for you.  It contains everyone from Babe Ruth to Lefty Grove and they feature the photography of Charles Conlon.  I should have grabbed a few of these, but it started to rain and I was in a rush.

The last thing I added to my Build-A-Box was this cello pack of 1988 Donruss:

Now I'd normally avoid this product like the plague... but I enjoy collecting cello and rack packs with rookie cards of stars on top.  This was a nice addition to both that collection and my Padres PC.

There were a bunch of other cards I threw in... like 10¢ autographs and jersey cards... but they were mostly minor stars and commons.  Did you ever think we'd see the day where we'd see autographs and memorabilia cards in dime boxes?

In the end... this entire shoe box filled with cards cost me $31 (box not included)... which is about a dollar more than the bronze level Collector Crate.  But I'm okay with paying an extra buck to be able to pick stuff I actually want.

By the way... sorry about the infrequent posts.  I hope to catch up on some scanning and publishing over the Thanksgiving break.  I also apologize to all of the bloggers on my reading list.  I know it's been awhile since I've visited some of your blogs, but I hope to catch up on your posts over the break as well.

Until then... happy Thursday and sayonara!

Real American Heroes

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of the word "hero" is a person who is greatly admired.

The word came up in one of my classes yesterday after a student asked why they had tomorrow off.  We discussed how Veterans Day is a special day where we honor those how have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.  A few students shared names of their family members and friends who are currently in the military, which eventually led to the conversation of "heroes".

When asked who my "hero" is... the first person that popped into my head was my father.  I actually consider both of my parents to be my heroes, but for different reasons.

While I was growing up, Mama Fuji stayed at home, took care of the family when we were sick, helped me with my homework, and played catch with me in the front yard... whereas Papa Fuji supported his family, instilled character into his children, motivated us to try our best and be honorable human beings.

When I was older, I found out that my father served in the Korean War and that's when it hit me.  Papa Fuji was a real American hero.

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Whitey Ford autograph for my left-handed pitcher project and after reading up on him, I discovered that he too served stateside for the U.S. Army in 1951 and 1952 during the Korean War.

Well kicked off a chain reaction and before I knew it, I was reading up on a bunch of MLB players who served in the military during the war.

Teddy Ballgame Flew 39 Combat Missions in Korea

The Colonel Flew 63 Combat Missions in Korea

The Say Hey Kid was Drafted in 1952: Served Stateside

Mr. Cub was Drafted in 1951: Served in Germany

Mr. Neighbors was a Pilot with 13th Bomb Squadron
Missing in Action: August 8th, 1952

Now in the past, I've often told my students that parents, family members, police officers, fire fighters, doctors, teachers, and other people who are good role models in their immediate lives make excellent "heroes"... while encouraging to rethink famous people they've never met.

But after reading about all of these gentlemen and other great Americans who made sacrifices for our country... I'm starting to reevaluate my definition of "hero".

Thank you Dad.  Thank you Whitey.  Thank you Mr. Neighbors.  Thank you Ernie.  Thank you Willie.  Thank you Jerry.  Thank you Ted.  And thank you to all of our military veterans who have served your country.  You're all real American heroes in my book.

Happy Veterans Day!

Flash(p)ack Friday #2: 1992 7-11/CITGO Baseball

While sifting through dime boxes back in September, I stumbled across a few singles from the 1992 Fleer 7-11/CITGO set which prompted me to pick up some packs off of eBay:

Last night I decided to bust a few of them in hopes of completing a set while relaxing in front of the television.

Each cellophane wrapped pack contained four to five cards:

And after opening my seventh pack, I finally completed the twenty-four card set:

The set has a loaded checklist of some of the biggest names in the game back in the day.  Fast forward twenty-two years and almost 50% of the players are enshrined in Cooperstown.

By the way if the design seems familiar... that's because it's very similar to the 1992 Fleer baseball base card design.

As you can see there are a few subtle differences in the design's colors, plus Fleer used different photographs and added The Performer Collection at the bottom of the card.

The card backs aren't exactly the same either.  Location of the card number and MLB trademarks, photo selection, and the addition of the 7-11 and CITGO logos are the three obvious differences.  Plus the regular issue base card of Gwynn included his minor league statistics at Walla Walla, however neither card included his Las Vegas Stars numbers.

Overall this set fits in perfectly with the Junk Wax Era.  Singles can be found in dime boxes, while packs can be purchased for around 50¢ each.  It's pretty safe to assume that Fleer produced a ton of this product for the 7-11/CITGO gasoline promotion.

But if you can look past the set's value, it's a pretty cool oddball set loaded with big names to chase.

Best of all... for five bucks, I was able to relax on a work night, bust a few packs, build a set, have a few doubles for my oddball/insert binders, and still have a few packs left over.

Well that's a wrap.  I hope all of you had a great week.  Happy Friday and sayonara!

Epic Brain Freeze

What happens when you combine work-related stress, limited free time, lack of motivation, and a healthy dose of writer's block?  You get an epic brain freeze!

That's exactly what I've been dealing with the past week or so.  Hopefully I'll find some cardboard inspiration sooner than later, but don't be surprised if the number of posts I publish drop temporarily... until I can get out of my funk.

However an occasional brain freeze isn't necessarily a bad thing.  One of my favorite childhood memories is sitting out in front of my local 7-11 after school slurping down a cherry Slurpee.  They were so delicious that it was worth the routine brain freeze.

And every now and then 7-11 would take a great thing and make it better.  I know what you're thinking.  How can you possibly make a Slurpee better?  

Well... it's actually pretty simple.  You add a 1.75" lenticular baseball player coin to the bottom of specially marked cups, so when your customers are finished with their treat, they get a second one.  It was the gift that kept on giving.

Depending on the year, the coins would contain either two or three photos that could be seen when you tilt them back and forth in your hands.

From what I can gather, 7-11 would usually create multiple sets each year and distribute them regionally.  The sixteen coin set you see above is the 1985 Central (sometimes called Southwest) set.  Eleven of the sixteen coins feature guys who played on teams found in the central part of the country.  Twenty-nine years later... half of the checklist eventually landed in Cooperstown.

These days you can find most mid 80's 7-11 baseball coin sets for $4 to $10 on eBay.  Personally... I think that's a bargain, because it comes from a very special time period.  They were my formative years in terms of collecting cardboard and these coins were a huge part of them.

Well that's it for now.  I'll try to publish at least two posts a week... but it might be awhile before the three to four post weeks return.

Happy Monday and sayonara!