Final Piece of the Puzzle

Exactly four years ago... I announced my Donruss Puzzle project in which I had hoped to collect and build all sixteen puzzles produced from 1982 to 1992.

And thanks to the generosity of Dennis over at Too Many Verlanders... the project is now complete.

Originally... I had planned to frame and display them around my office.  Unfortunately... lack of space has forced me to scrap that plan.  Instead, I slid them into Ultra Pro pages and put them into a binder, so I can enjoy their beauty whenever I want.

Now some of you might have read my post last month where I promised to man up and purchase the final three puzzle pieces myself if the majority of you felt I was crazy for not spending the dollar to wrap up this project.  The verdict?  You thought I was crazy and I was prepared to buy the puzzle pieces.

But Dennis emailed me and let me know he picked it up off of Sportlots, so I didn't have to.  

Thanks buddy!  I really appreciate you helping me out... and saving me that dollar plus postage!  And these amazing 1 of 1 customs were pretty sweet too:

Was Rudy really offsides?  No matter... that guy is a hero to short guys around the world.  And with every hero... you've gotta have a villain:

Always happy to add another Canseco autograph to my collection.  He might be one of the most hated guys in baseball... but he sure provided a lot of A's fans (including myself) great memories back in the day.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Extra Innings

Technically... this project isn't finished.  There's actually another Ted Williams puzzle that Donruss produced for their 2002 Originals product.  Thanks to John Miller... author of Johnny's Trading Spot... I have added it to my eBay watch list.  There's one set listed on eBay right now... but there's no way I'm going to spend $17.95 for a 63 piece puzzle.  Patience is a virtue... and I'll wait another four years if I have to.

Every Picture Has A Story

When I think of Jackie Robinson... a few things come to mind.  Obviously I think about him crossing the color barrier.  There's also his iconic jersey number that has been retired by Major League Baseball.  Then there are the multiple images of Robinson either crossing, sliding, or hopping across home plate.

Today... I figured I'd analyze the ones I have captured on either baseball cards or memorabilia and see if I can retell the story that the picture shares.

Let's start with this lenticular restaurant oddball from the 90's...

1997 Denny's #29

Who:  Jackie Robinson and Clyde McCullough

What:  Jackie gets caught stealing home.

Where:  Ebbets Field

When:  May 2nd, 1951

The season is young and the Pittsburgh Pirates are in town.  The Pirates third baseman kicks things off with a leadoff home run to give them an early lead.  But in the bottom of the second, Jackie Robinson beats out a ground to third base to become the Dodgers first baserunner.  Two batters later, Roy Campanella hits a ball to right field and Robinson advances to third.  With Pee Wee Reese at the plate, Campy steals second base.  When Clyde McCullough threw the ball to second, Robinson took off from third.  Pirates' second baseman fired the ball back to McCullough and nailed Robinson at the plate.  The Pirates won the game 4 to 3, but wound up with the second worst record in the National League.

The Dodgers?  They finished tied for first with the New York Giants and were forced into a three game playoff to see who would face the New York Yankees in the World Series.  Bobby Thompson hit the Shot Heard 'Round the World and the rest is history.

1956 Topps #30

Who:  Jackie Robinson, Johnny Podres, and Bill Sarni

What:  Jackie stole home.

Where:  Ebbets Field

When:  August 29, 1955

Here's the original image the artist used to create Robinson's 1956 Topps card:

It's late in the season and the 7th place St. Louis Cardinals are in Brooklyn to battle the first place Dodgers.  This particular photo depicts Robinson stealing home in the bottom of the 6th inning to give the Dodgers a 5 to 1 lead.  It's actually a pretty crazy play where the Dodgers successfully pulled off a triple steal.  However... when Sarni threw the ball down to second... Gil Hodges (who stole third when Robinson stole home) took off and tried to score but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.

The Cardinals fought back in the top of the 7th when Ken Boyer launched a 3 run homer off of Podres that ended his evening.  Unfortunately... that's all the offense the Cardinals could conjure up... and they ended up losing 10 to 4 that day.

2007 UD Masterpieces Windsor Green #54

Who: Jackie Robinson and Yogi Berra

What: Jackie stole home... again.

Where: Yankee Stadium

When:  September 28th, 1955

It's the first game of the 1955 World Series and the Brooklyn Dodgers are facing Whitey Ford and the New York Yankees.  With the Dodgers down 6 to 4, Jackie steals home in the top of the 8th to reduce the Yankees lead.  Yogi tried to argue the close call, but Bill Summers stood his ground.  In the end, the Yankees held on to win the first game of the series... however the Dodgers walked away the World Champions that year.

1998 Apple Think Different Poster

Who: Jackie Robinson and Tommy Tatum

What: Jackie hits his first MLB home run

Where: Polo Grounds

When:  April 18th, 1947

In his third MLB game, Jackie Robinson and the Brooklyn Dodgers face the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds.  Entering the game, he had struggled at the plate going 1 for 9 his first two games against the Boston Braves.  But in the top of the third inning, he launched his first MLB home run off of Dave Koslo to give the Dodgers a 2 to 1 lead.

The poster captures Robinson touching home plate where he's greeted by teammate Tommy Tatum.  The Giants bounced back and won the game 10 to 4 with Koslo earning the complete game win.  But don't feel too bad for the Dodgers.  They went on to face the New York Yankees in the 1947 World Series.

Well... that wraps up my history lesson for the day.  I had a lot of fun sifting through Google images and Baseball Reference pages in an effort to put the puzzle pieces together.

Happy Jackie Robinson Day!

End of an Era

After years of being a diehard Los Angeles Lakers fan... I started to lose interest in basketball during the Gasol years.  The idea of buying NBA titles sort of left a sour taste in my mouth.  Plus dropping basketball from my radar freed up time for baseball, football, and hockey.

But tonight I'm going to hop off the wagon for one evening and watch Kobe Bryant's final NBA game.

When it comes to #24... it seems like you either love him or hate him..  Me?  I've always admired his passion and the way he approached the game.  On any given evening, he gave his franchise, his teammates, and his fans 100%.... and expected the same in return.

I don't really miss basketball... but there's a part of me that's going to miss The Black Mamba.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Exceptions to Every Rule

For years... I obsessed over memorabilia cards.  The thought of owning a piece of sports history that was embedded into a trading card made me giddy like a schoolgirl.   I still enjoy memorabilia cards... but vague COA's and overuse of event worn materials have sort of lessened their luster.

The exact same thing can be said for certified pack pulled autographs.  Remember when you pulled an autographed card out of a pack and smiled at the thought of the player actually touching the same card you're holding?  It's like you and the player made a personal connection.

These days... more often than not... card manufacturers are using stickers signed by the athlete instead of actually having the players sign the cards.  It's an issue many of us have addressed and although I understand why companies have gone in that direction... it's still not my cup of tea.

But there are exceptions to every rule and today I'm going to give you five scenarios where I'll gladly add a player signed sticker to my collection:

1.  The price is too good to pass up.

2004 Donruss Timelines

Boys of Summer Auto #15

Fred Lynn isn't enshrined in Cooperstown... but he wasn't a nobody either.  He was a 9x AL All-Star, a 4x Gold Glove Award winner, the 1979 AL batting champion, the first guy to win the ROY Award and MVP Award in the same season, and the only MLB player to hit a grand slam in Mid-Summer Classic.

All of these accomplishments took place during my childhood when baseball made its biggest impression on me.  That's why I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to grab this on-sticker autograph when I saw it on sale for $2.50.

2.  The person doesn't have any on-card autographs.

2015 Americana Signatures #41

Kevin Hart is hilarious and one of my favorite comedians.  Plus he's a fellow member of the Short Men of America Club.  Unfortunately... he doesn't have many certified autographed cards and the ones he does have are all on stickers.

3.  The person has on-card autographs, but they're too expensive.

2005 Heritage Real One Auto #ROA-AR

I was out of the hobby from 2001 to 2007, so I totally missed the boat on guys like Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, Lebron James, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, and Aaron Rodgers.  By the time I reentered, autographs of these guys were way out of my price range.

It would be nice to own a Lebron or Pujols autograph, but they aren't high priorities at the moment.  However... as a diehard Packers fan... I had to own a signature of Mr. Rodgers.  Sadly by 2008 most of his on-card autographs were three figures, which was way too expensive for my budget, so I settled for a pair of his more affordable sticker signatures.


4.  The card company is creative with their stickers.

Meet Joe Pavelski.  He's the current Sharks' captain and the team's leading goal scorer.  Guess what?  He's never held this card.  Instead, Panini handed him a sheet of cool looking stickers for him to sign and at the end of the day... they produced a great looking card.

The sixty-four dollar question is... Why don't card companies do this more often?

5.  The card is a gift.

All three of these cards were given to me by fellow collectors and I'm proud to call them a part of my collection.

So what about you...

Are you a stickler for non-sticker autographs or do you make exceptions too?

Happy Monday and sayonara!