Flea Market Finds #125: Too Good To Pass Up

Now that I have established a hobby budget... trips to the flea market are more about getting out of the house and walking around, than anything else.  Do I still look for baseball cards and sports memorabilia?  Sure.  However the deal would need to be literally too good to pass up.

A typical trip to the De Anza Flea Market, might result in one... maybe two... of these deals.  This past Saturday I was stumbling across deals left and right.


Purchase #1:  Archie Bunker's Card Game  $1

It's been almost forty years since I've watched an episode of All in the Family, but I can still sing the first part of the iconic theme song.  It seems like only yesterday my family was gathering around in the living room to see which line Archie would cross that week.  Those were the days.

Anyways... a guy had a bunch of vintage puzzles and board games, but this is the one that caught my eye.

I remember seeing it somewhere (possibly on one of your blogs), so I grabbed it and asked him "how much?".  I couldn't pass this up for a buck.

I'm not 100% sure... but it looks like it's complete.  For a dollar, I won't complain if it isn't.


Purchase #2:  Winnie the Pooh Lunch Box  $3

As I was rounding out the second row of vendors, I noticed a huge crowd digging through boxes.  There was a guy grabbing a bunch of vintage metal lunch pails.  I've wanted to find the Star Wars one from my childhood, so I walked over.  Unfortunately there were only a bunch of old Disney lunch pails.  I wasn't going to grab any, but when I heard that the guy before me had purchased 5 for $15... I figured it was too good of a deal to pass up.

I decided to grab the Winnie the Pooh, because I know a huge Pooh fan.  If she doesn't want it, I'll probably flip it to recover some of the money I spent on Saturday.


Purchase #3: Kenner SLU Collector's Stand  $4

I'm probably the only middle aged guy in the world who has been actively looking for one of these collector's stands, but I was pretty stoked to stumble across it.  They don't sell for a lot of money on eBay, but when you factor in shipping... they end up selling for around $20.  Too rich for my blood.  However I was happy to finally find one for four dollars.


Purchase #4:  Five Autographs  $5

I love on-card autographs.  I love on-card autographs of hall of famers (and potential hall of famers).  I love on-card autographs of hall of famers (and potential hall of famers) for a buck a piece.


Purchase #5:  1992 Classic 4-Sport Gold Set  $20

If there's one purchase I mildly regret, it's this one.  It has nothing to do with value.  $20 for a hard signed Shaquille O'Neal autograph is a no-brainer.

It's the fact that I spent more money on this single purchase than all of the other purchases combined. I'm not gonna dwell on it though.  I've been really good about saving my money the past two months and even my penny pinching father has told me that it's important to reward yourself from time to time.

So there you have it.  Five flea market finds that were a little too good for me to pass up.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Talkin' Tall Boys

The advantages of being tall easily exceeds the advantages of being short.  Trust me.  I've lived my entire life representing the bottom 25%.

But when it comes to sports cards, I feel like tall cards often get the short end of the stick.  Storage issues are one of the biggest card collecting pet peeves out there and cards taller than the standard 3.5" almost automatically lose popularity points no matter how cool they are.

Well today I'm sticking up for one of my favorite 80's oddball issues which happens to be exceptionally tall in stature and a huge pain in the butt to store.

Back in 1989, Topps and LJN Toys, Ltd. teamed up and gave baseball fans the opportunity to collect baseball cards with tiny records built into their backs.  These records could be played in a specially designed card player that came with four cards, while the remaining 160 cards in the set were sold in 4 card packs.

If you're interested in learning more about the set details and the special card player you can click here.

Right now... I wanted to focus on the card's physical appearance and breakdown my fascination with these oddballs.

It all begins with the card's design.  This set utilized the 1989 Topps baseball card design, which was ironically one of my least favorite Topps designs for years.  I would always see stacks of these cards sitting in flea market boxes and it reminded me of how card companies printed way too many cards during that time period.

However... after two-plus decades, I've actually grown to love the white bordered design that reminds me of something straight out of the 60's.  I think it's the team name written in cursive and the long flowing ribbon that houses the player's name.

The cards which are almost two inches taller than the standard base card allowed Topps to include full body images without zooming too far out.

When you combine these two things, you have a classic oddball issue... which is why I'm using this set for my Day 26 submission to Tony's 30 Day Baseball Card Challenge.  I'm not gonna lie... it was hard to pick this set over the early 80's Kellogg's and mid 80's 7-11 coins.  I love both of these oddball runs as well.  I just felt that this particular issue doesn't receive enough hobby recognition.

Okay... it's your turn.

What do you think of the 1989 Topps/LJN Baseball Talk oddballs?

Do they rise above the competition or fall short of your expectations?

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Start of a New Era

1992 ushered in the start of a new era for card collectors.  Although card companies had been producing insert sets for years, 1992 was truly a breakout year for them and our hobby.

One of the insert sets that really got collectors talking was the 1992 Fleer Rookie Sensations that could only be found in their cello packs.  A lot of collectors including myself found the blue bordered glossy inserts with the gold foil lettering to be very attractive.  Plus at the time they were considered tough pulls.  Sure it's been estimated that there were anywhere from 2 to 6 of these inserts in every box.  But compared to wax boxes, cello boxes were much more difficult to come by.  This fact combined with the insert set's soaring popularity had collectors paying $5 for a single cello pack.

At the time, Frank Thomas was one of the hottest players in the hobby and outside of his 1990 Leaf rookie card, this card was one of his most popular cards:

According to my October 1992 copy of Beckett Baseball Card Monthly the card booked for $50.  However... I know that there was a time when people paid $70 to $100 for their copies.

Today you can find completed sets on eBay for under $20.  I picked up 19 of the 20 cards for $4.10 (+ $3.50) back in May.  The bad news is the card I need is Jeff Bagwell, who is one of three hall of famers in the set.  The good news is he doesn't sell for anywhere near $24 anymore.

Anyone else remember how hot these inserts were?  Anyone else collect them?

What's even crazier than seeing how cheap these inserts currently sell for... is the fact that it's already been twenty-five years since collectors were going wild over these.  Time sure does fly by.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

In Their Honor

I don't watch a lot of college football.  Never have and probably never will.  San Jose State University is my alma mater and honestly they've never been a lot of fun to watch.  I'll occasionally go to one of their games and wear my SJSU gear, but I can't remember the last time I watched them on television.

In fact there are only a handful of games I make an effort to watch each year.  The Big Game between Cal and Stanford.  The Pac-12 Championship.  And maybe two or three bowl games.

Today I actually went out of my way to watch TCU host West Virginia in a battle between two ranked teams.

Don't worry Matt... I haven't jumped on the West Virginia bandwagon.  I was actually rooting for the Horned Frogs.

My niece is in her freshman year at Texas Christian University and the whole family was so proud of her when when she announced her decision to go there back in April.  I immediately started looking for an autograph of a famous alumni to add to my collection in her honor.

After a month of searching, I grabbed this:

2001 Fleer Ultra College Greats Preview #NNO

My other niece is attending Grand Canyon University.  Unfortunately, I can't find any certified autographs of athletes representing GCU anywhere, so my 1996 Leaf Signature Tim Salmon will have to suffice for now:

Her brother is a senior in high school... and will start applying for colleges in the upcoming months.  I look forward to seeing where he ends up... so I can pick up an autograph in his honor as well.

Well that's it for today.  Time to get back to watching the Cubs/Nationals game.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Bandwagon Time

My gut feeling back in April told me that neither of my teams were headed towards the post season this year.  Those feelings were all but confirmed by the start of summer.

But that's okay.  The beautiful thing about baseball is there's always something for fans to cheer for when their teams suck.  This season my focus eventually shifted to Jose Altuve, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and whether or not the Red Sox could hold onto the AL East.

Now that the regular season is over, that's my cue to jump on the bandwagon and root for someone else's team.

Last year, I rode the Chicago Cubs train and watched them win it all.  Who will receive my fair-weather fandom this postseason?

I decided the easiest way to do this is to rank the eight remaining playoff teams starting with the team I'd most like to see win the World Series this year.

#1:  Houston Astros

Unless they were playing against the Padres or A's, I've been quietly rooting for the Astros since the start of the season.  I'm a huge Jose Altuve fan and it'd be nice to see him win the AL MVP Award and a World Series ring in the same season.  It'd also be nice to see Josh Reddick get a ring too.  He was a fan favorite during his time in Oakland.  Speaking of fans... Houston fans have been waiting around since 1962 for their baseball team to win it all.  Hopefully they won't have to wait too much longer.


#2:  Cleveland Indians

Now that the Chicago Cubs have ended their curse, the Indians are now the owners of the MLB's longest World Series drought.  If the Astros don't win it all, I'd be okay with watching the Indians and their fans celebrate after waiting almost seven decades.


#3:  Boston Red Sox

I understand that this selection is petty and paltry, but the Red Sox are the Yankees biggest rivals.  If they win... it'll serve my Yankee buddies a slice of humble pie.


#4:  Los Angeles Dodgers

When it comes to rooting for specific guys in the postseason, there are six Dodgers I'd like to see celebrate:  Clayton Kershaw, Kenta Maeda, Yu Darvish, Rich Hill, Adrian Gonzalez, and Scott Kazmir.  That's more guys than all of the other teams combined.


#5:  Washington Nationals

If these guys were still playing in Montreal, they would be sitting at the #1 spot.  Unfortunately... they're not.  With that being said... I'd be okay with them finally winning the World Series for their fans.


#6:  Chicago Cubs

We're at the point in the rankings, where I don't really have a preference.   If the Cubs celebrated back to back championships, I'd mainly be happy for their fans, but I'd personally take little pleasure in seeing them win.


#7:  Arizona Diamondbacks

This is the ultimate "meh" team.  I don't dislike (like the double negative?) them, but I couldn't find a reason to put them ahead of the other six teams.  The only scenario where I could see myself cheering for them is if they played the Yankees in the World Series.

Speaking of the devil... 


#8:  New York Yankees

The New York Yankees have won 27 titles.  The last thing I want to see is them winning their 28th.

What about you?

Who are you rooting for?  Who are you rooting against?

Happy Thursday and sayonara!