Black Beauty

Back in November, I listed out some of my favorite black bordered sets in honor of Black Friday.  I had a good time flipping through my binders looking for cards to use in the post.  I covered everything from 1971 Topps baseball to 1989 Kenner SLU football, but there were two sets I left out of the post:  1962 Topps football and 1991 Topps Toys R' Us Rookies.

In January I added a 1962 Topps Bart Starr card to my collection... and on Saturday I opened up a package from Tom over at The Angels, In Order and saw this:

Damn... that's a mighty fine looking card.  From 1987 to 1991, Topps produced 33 card small boxed sets for Toys R' Us.  

Each year, Topps would switch up the color of the borders and card back designs, but they would always use the same simple, yet attractive set design.  The 1987 and 1991 sets both used the black borders, but if you look at the Frank Thomas card you'll notice the word "Rookies" is printed with white text in a blue background.  The 1987 set substitutes blue for pink.

I'm such a big fan... that my goal is to eventually collect all 165 cards and display them in a binder.  So far, I have the 1988, 1989, and 1990 sets... but I still need the bookends.

Well... that's it for today.  I hope all of you have a great week.  Tom... thanks again for the cards.

Happy Monday and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: Giving Thanks

In the last two weeks, I received five packages from fellow bloggers and one YouTuber.  I've been meaning to write up individual thank you posts, but between putting in long hours at work, watching WBC and March Madness games, attending San Jose Sharks and San Jose Earthquakes games, and trying my best to keep up with everyone's blog posts... it just wasn't going to happen within a respectful time frame.

I remember hearing that people have a year to send out wedding thank you's.  That just seems insane. I'm not sure what the rule is for sports cards, but I'm reaching the two week mark on some of these packages and the last thing I want is for people to think that I don't appreciate their generosity.

So without further adieu...

Thank You #1:  Tom @ The Angels, In Order

Earlier in the month, I mentioned that I was going to build the 1990 Upper Deck Comic Ball 1 base and hologram set.  Tom left a comment offering me these two holograms.  That leaves me only in need of the Road Runner hologram and three base cards.

In addition to these two shiny holograms, he also hooked me up with a nice stack of Frank Thomas cards:

There was also a 1991 Topps Toys R Us card of The Big Hurt, which I set aside for a future post.  It's one of my favorite Frank Thomas cards in my binder.

Thank you Tom!  Like I said before... I have a few Angels cards set aside for you.  I'll ship them out to you during my Spring Break which happens in mid-April.

Thank You #2:  Chris @ The Pedestrian Collector

Last month, Chris mentioned on his blog that he was going to bust 5 boxes of 2017 Heritage and offered to trade some of his duplicates to fellow bloggers.  I mentioned that I was interested in the Oakland Athletics, so he hooked me up with these:

I was really excited to see the Ryon Healy/Jharel Cotton card.  Both of these guys are young players who have the opportunity to do big things in Oakland with the possibility of being traded for more prospects (insert a sarcastic wink, wink).

There were also these two Rediscover Topps buybacks added to the batch of Heritage:

Maybe I'll try to build a 1987 Topps A's team set of these buybacks.  I happened to pick up one of the bigger names at the flea market today.  Stay tuned.

In addition to the Heritage, he threw in a stack of inserts from various teams/players I collect:

And rounding out the package was this sweet addition to my Hockey Enforcers PC:

2003/04 Topps Tough Material #TM-GL

Georges Laraque is a beast.  A beast who gave frequent beatdowns to challengers willing to go toe to toe with him in the rink.  He's one of my favorite hockey enforcers of all-time.

Thank you Chris for the package of cards.  I don't have a lot of extra Red Sox, but I'll definitely scrape up some New Jersey Devils and extra Green Bay Packers I have laying around.

Thank You #3:  Daniel @ It's Like Having My Own Card Shop

Back in mid-February, Daniel offered up a lot of 57 cards to anyone willing to pay $2.50 to cover shipping.  I took him up on the offer, but he never accepted my money.

Here's a look at the refractors and inserts that were part of the lot:

My favorite non-refractor was this rookie card of Matt Joyce:

2006 Bowman Chrome Prospects #70

Joyce started off hot at Spring Training hitting two home runs in his first two games.  He's been struggling the past two weeks though... collecting only one hit in his last thirteen at bats.  The good news is there's still a good chance he'll be the A's starting right fielder on Opening Day.

Thank you Daniel!  I know you won't accept my PayPal payment, so I guess you'll have to accept some Diamondbacks for your collection.

Thank You #4:  Hackenbush @ Can't Have Too Many Cards

Back in January, I opened up a blaster box of 2015 Panini Rookies and Stars and pulled a Chicago Bears rookie that Hackenbush was interested in.  I packed it up in a PWE and shipped it off. In return, he sent me some cool San Jose Sharks stickers/magnets:

Thanks David!  If I get anymore Kevin White cards, they're yours.

Thank You #5:  Zane the Man (YouTube Card Collector)

Once upon a time, I was really into watching sports card videos on YouTube.  These days, I've narrowed it down to about ten YouTubers.  Zane the Man is one of them.  He's a down to earth, humble high school kid who makes entertaining videos.  He's a great example of a young collector who has a deep appreciation of our hobby.

Three weeks ago, he had a giveaway and I threw my name into the mix and won.  Here's a look at my winnings:

Zane hooked me up with a pair of autographs... one of which was the Atlanta Braves 2015 1st Round Pick.  In addition to these two signatures, he also sent me:

I'll have to check, but I'm pretty sure I don't own the Jackie Robinson or Billy Burns yet.

Thank you Zane!  Keep up the great work... and I look forward to watching future videos.

Well that's it for now.  There's a bunch of games I'll be following over the next few hours.  I'll be watching USA take on the Dominican Republic in the Final Pool F game, while monitoring the San Jose Sharks and San Jose Earthquakes scores.  And in between commercial breaks, I'll be checking in on Purdue and UVA tournament games.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #117: 1st Purchase of the Year

Two weeks ago, I took a day off in order to get my taxes done.  My appointment wasn't until 11:00am, so I decided to hit up the Capitol Flea Market on the way.

It's been awhile since I've walked around the flea market.  Part of that has to do with laziness (warm bed trumps dirty flea markets), but the weather has played a role too.

Thursday is usually the best day to find deals at Capitol, but sadly my first trip of 2017 was pretty uneventful.  There were a few guys with sports memorabilia, but only one guy had reasonable prices.

Anyone remember the "Box Bottom" guy who normally sets up at the Branham Flea Market?  He was out there, but didn't have anything new that really stood out to me.  However... after hanging out at his table for 20 minutes digging through his boxes, I felt like I should at least buy something.

I grabbed two cards...

Card #1:  Steve Garvey Parallel

2005 Playoff Prestige Red Foil #197 (#'d 07/25)

The first card I set aside was this low serial numbered card of Steve Garvey, who happens to be one of my favorite Hall of Very Good members.  My only complaint is that Playoff chose to include him in this set as a Dodger.  Go Padres!


Card #2:  Joe Panik Auto

2015 Topps Tek #HT-JPK

Even though I'm not a Giants fan, I enjoy cheering for a few of their players.  Panik is one of them.  Back in 2012, I saw him play when he was with the San Jose Giants and I've been following his career ever since.  His first two years in San Francisco were pretty solid, but last year he really struggled.  Hopefully he'll bounce back in 2017.

The guy was asking $2 for the Garvey and $8 for the Panik, but everything was half off, so I handed over a five spot.  It's not quite up there in terms of "Greatest Flea Market Finds", but like I said... I kinda felt pressured into making this purchase.

Now that it's starting to get warmer... I'll probably start heading back out to my local flea markets in search of hidden treasures.  Then again... do I really need more crap cluttering my office and my parent's garage?  Who knows?  As soon as I figure things out... you'll be the first to know.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

What Happens in Vegas...

Busting boxes of cards is sorta like playing the slot machines.  Sometimes I'll pull a nice hit and walk away with more value than I started out with.  But realistically... most of the time it's the other way around.  That's why I firmly approach sports cards and gambling the same way.  Entertainment trumps money.

Three weeks ago, I took a short trip down to Vegas to visit my parents, eat home cooked meals, and make my annual donation to their local casinos.  Mentally... it's better for me to assume that I won't return with any money in my pockets.

I know it's kinda negative... but I learned a long time ago that trying to make money off of sports cards and slot machines just isn't for me.  It's all about the thrill of tearing into packs or pushing little buttons to see if I walk away a winner.

And that's exactly what happened on my most recent trip...

Three separate jackpots made the difference.  The one on The Walking Dead slot machine was especially exciting, because it lasted almost 15 minutes and the jackpot kept going higher and higher.  It felt like I had pulled a hot pack out of a highend product and every card in the pack was better than the one before it.

These jackpots essentially paid for my flights, bought my parents some groceries, and took us out to dinner.  They also helped me pay for this...

If you asked collectors to build a Mount Rushmore of Ichiro cards, there's a pretty good chance that this card would be on it.  His 1993 BBM card is considered by many to be his true Japanese rookie card and personally I enjoy the simplicity of this design.  It kinda reminds me of the 1990 Pro Set football design.

In addition to this card, I've wanted to own an Ichiro autograph for quite some time as well.  Unfortunately both of these aren't within my normal cardboard budget.

However... thanks to the wonderful Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa... I was able to kill two birds with one stone and purchase this cornerstone card to my Ichiro collection.

The card was originally priced at $350 or best offer, but we agreed on a $299 price tag.

That week my hometown was hit hard with rain and flooding, so eBay generously gave San Jose residents a 20% off coupon that I also applied to this card.  That brought the total down to $249, which in hindsight is still way out of my budget.

Three weeks later, I have zero regrets.  It's not often I have the opportunity to add a card like this to my collection.  And honestly... outside of one day possibly purchasing a 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle... there's a good chance this is the most I'll ever spend on a single piece of cardboard.  And since I don't anticipate hitting another three major jackpots anytime soon... who knows if I'll ever add that Mantle to my collection.

But if and when I do... I'll be sure to write about it on here.   You know the saying... what happens in Vegas... gets written about on my blog.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Damaged and Discounted

This weekend there was a card show at the Santa Clara Convention Center.  I've gone a few times over the years, but a rough work week and a tight budget convinced me to stay home and get some rest.

According to a couple of people I talked to... I didn't miss much... which is both good and bad depending on your point of view.  It's good, because nobody wants to miss out on a great card show.  However... it's bad, because this card show hasn't been great in a few years.

So anyways... I apologize to those who were expecting a card show recap.  

Instead... how about a summary of the three boxes of 2013 Panini Hometown Heroes I picked up at GTS Distribution a few weeks ago?

While on a supply run, I discovered that the wholesaler had a "damaged/sold as is" section with a smorgasbord of stuff.  There were some supplies mixed in with a few hobby boxes.  I was pleased to find these three boxes, which were kinda smushed for only $20 each.  I figured for that price it was worth the risk.

Let's see if it paid off.

As an autograph guy, the biggest draw are the on-card autographs in this product.  Here's who I pulled:

Box #1:

The first pack in the first box contained this sticker autograph of Mr. Fernandez.  I was happy with the player, but disappointed about seeing the sticker.

Ahh.  There we go.  Hard signed.  Just the way I like them.  I was really happy to see the McGee, since he was a favorite of mine back in the 80's.  Plus... he doesn't really sign a lot of cards.

Box #2:    

Panini loaded the second box with 5 autographs, so that was pretty nice.  The Darling is a nice addition to my collection since he was born in Hawaii.

The other four cards featured a pair of Gagnes...

the 1991 National League MVP...

and a gold parallel autograph of El Caballo:

#'d 22/25

Five autographs for $20?  That's what I'm talking about.  But... believe it or not... it gets better.  See for yourself...


Box #3:

#'d 01/25

Right out of the gates, I pulled another gold parallel autograph.  This time it's Bone... and it'll fit perfectly in my Prime Number PC.

Next up is another card for my personal collection...

Okay... so it doesn't feature a team logo and it's on a silly sticker... but it's The Man of Steal!  I was totally shocked to see this one come out of the pack.  This is the first time I had ever seen one of these Scripted Legacy cards before... and I believe I've busted five or six of these boxes now.

The last autograph was...

Meh.  This card would have been cool thirty years ago.  Anyone else pay way too much money for their 1985 Fleer Glenn Davis rookie card?

Okay... here's a breakdown of everything else I pulled:

I was able to build two base sets (w/o short prints) and come pretty close to completing a third.  Speaking of short prints, I pulled these four:

I'm pretty excited about the Pete Rose.  It's not often I get to add inserts or parallels of him to the binder.

Here are the other parallels, I pulled:

State Parallels

Zip Code Parallels

My favorite inserts are the lenticular Sport Discs:

This would be a pretty fun set to build... although it might prove challenging because of the set size (60 discs).  I'll have to see how many of these I have sitting around.

And rounding out the break are the rest of the inserts...

Calling Shots

City Hall

Curtain Calls

Homegrown Heroes

Defining Moments

Nicknames

Rivalry

After opening up all three damaged boxes, I ended up with exactly one damaged card and it had nothing to do with the condition of the boxes.  The Huston Street Zip Code parallel was badly miscut and off-centered.  At the end of the day... I'd say that I'm very pleased with these damaged and discounted boxes.

In fact... I'm tempted to rush back down to GTS to see if there are still any boxes left.

Oh... I picked up one more damaged box that I'll save for another day... when I'm in the mood to open some basketball cards.  Until then...

Happy Sunday and sayonara!