2018 National Pickup - 1963 Topps Willie Stargell Rookie

This blog is much more than autographed cards and stuff like that.  I still love a good vintage pickup, or building a set.  One of my big purchases at the National was something that had been on the blog wishlist for a few years - a 1963 Topps Willie Stargell RC.

I got the card for around $115, and was pretty happy with it.  I have seen them go for a lot more, but this one was fine for me.

I have knocked a couple items off of the wishlist, and it is getting more difficult to find things to add to it, as I don't really know what I am looking for (aside from signed 1987s at the moment).  I may abandon the top ten wishlist next year.  I haven't decided.

Christmas Gifts From Jill

My sister, Jill really tried.  She went on my blog, found my wishlist, and tried to knock something off of the list for me.  She found this Chrome reprint of Willie Stargell's rookie card and bought it, thinking it was the one I needed off of my list.  I feel bad that it wasn't the true Willie Stargell RC, like she thought it was, but it sincerely is the thought that counts.

Needless to say, I still love this card.  It is graded PSA-9 and looks really nice in person, much better than the scan.  Jill really tried, and I will always love this card, anyway.

She also surprised me with this 1952 Topps Virgil Trucks for the Trucks PC.  I really regret that I never sent off any of his cards to him TTM, as they would look really nice in my album.  I may go ahead and buy a couple autographs on some of his early 50s cards, just so I can have them in the album.

Jill, you did fine on the Christmas gifts.  I love them, and I love you!  Thank you so much!

Instagram Pickup - Willie Stargell Manufactured Patch

I don't know what it is, but I really like Willie Stargell cards.  Maybe it's the amazing yellow uniforms?  I'm not sure.  I shouldn't like him, since he beat the Orioles in two World Series that both went 7 games (1971 and 1979).  Still, he was a great player, and is widely respected as a Hall of Famer.

I got this card in a deal with a kid on Instagram who's name escapes me.  I don't remember what I traded for it, but I know he got the better end of the deal.  I was just glad to add this cool card to my collection.

I have quite a few Stargell Topps cards in my HOF collection, and I always am looking to add more.  I need to pick up his RC at some point, since it is on my Top 10 wishlist.  I might look for one at The National.

Instagram Trade With Ethan and His Dad

I completed a trade on Instagram recently with a kid named Ethan and then in the same day, I completed a trade with his dad.  His dad sent me the above Willie Stargell manufactured patch in exchange for a Didi Gregorious auto from Bowman Inception.

I sent Ethan some recent rookies, like George Springer and Jonathan Singleton and in return he sent me two 2014 Chrome cards for my set, including this Masahiro Tanaka RC.  Ethan had just busted a box of Chrome for Christmas and was able to help me out.

I was glad to help Ethan out with his collection, and it was also nice including his dad in the trade.  I hope we can match up again on a deal in the future.  Thanks guys!

Unexpected Christmas Gift - 1979 Pittsburgh Newspaper

This year,"The Unexpected" was the theme for all of the presents I got.  A later post will show the non-baseball stuff that my mom got - she pretty much baited me into doing a non-baseball post.  One of the coolest, most unexpected gifts (baseball related) that I got this year was from my father-in-law.

My father-in-law usually leaves the Christmas gifts up to my mother-in-law, but this year, he hit a home run (pun intended) when he dug through his newspaper collection and unearthed some that he had saved for years from a couple World Series that he experienced.

The first thing he said when I went to open the gift was "I'm not sure you'll like this, but I have been saving it for a long time and I thought you might like it.." His apprehension was due to the fact that folks in Baltimore still want to gouge their eyes out every time they hear the "We Are Family Song" since the Orioles blew a 3-1 series lead and lost in 7 games to the Pirates in 1979.  My first response was "Oh man, you know who they beat!", however, I still thought it was an awesome gift and I was very happy to receive it.

I have been a Willie Stargell fan for a while, and I think I can get over the fact that the O's choked, and enjoy the antique newspaper.  He also included a few from Detroit when the Tigers won the World Series in 1984.

You see, my in-laws lived in Pittsburgh in 1979, when the Pirates last won it all, then my father-in-law was transferred to the Detroit area not too long later.  My sister-in-law was born in Pittsburgh while my wife was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

My father-in-law saves newspapers from major events, mostly elections.  I, myself, have some that I have saved, usually sports moments.  I have copies from Cal Ripken's 2,131st consecutive game, Kirby Puckett's HOF induction and Mickey Mantle's death,  I think going back and looking at these old newspapers can be fun.

So, thanks so much for the papers!  I'll sit down and browse them soon!

A Look At Some Recent Ebay Purchases

Usually, when I pick up single cards off of Ebay or COMC, they usually warrant single blog posts, but in an effort to catch up on my backlog of cards on my desk, I have lumped some recent Ebay purchases into one post.

A couple weeks ago, I filled up my little Ebay cart with a few cards that I knew I needed.  I saw a couple vintage cards for good prices, and also tried to knock out a few pieces to my Chris Davis 2014 Topps Chrome rainbow.

I got the above Ernie Banks from 1967 Topps at a really good price, $16.99.  Not bad, the card is in great shape.  I figured that I shouldn't let the card pass me by, especially since I knew that I needed it.

I picked up one other 1967, this Willie Stargell for $5.10.  Again, not a bad price at all.  You may be able to tell that the bottom right corner is dinged up, but I don't feel that it takes anything away from the card.

I added a few other cards to my cart that would fall into my Chris Davis PC, like the above 2014 Topps Turkey Red card.  I have yet to open a box of the online exclusive Turkey Red cards, but the two that I have (this and a Kevin Gausman auto) both look nice.

The original reason I was on EBay to begin with was because I wanted to grab a few 2014 Chrome cards of Davis.  This Topps Shelf insert is a really sharp card.  I like the colors on it.

Finally, I grabbed a few parallels of Davis, like the orange, blue and x-fractor.  The blue is the only numbered one out of this group, numbered 2/199.  I had also bought the purple and die cut in this lot, but my buddy Anders sent me those as well, so I have extras now.

COMC Pickup - 2011 Topps Tribute Willie Stargell

A long time ago, I bought quite a few cards off of COMC, many of which were of Hall of Famers that I thought looked cool.  I thought I had posted them all, but I found this in my "to be blogged" stack.  I guess I just missed it.

Anyway, this is a 2011 Topps Tribute Willie Stargell that I picked up because I loved the helmet and uniform that he was wearing in the card.  It looks much better in person than it does on the scan.

I am down to just a couple single cards in my "to be blogged" stack.  I need to get a few more trades coming in soon.  I've sent plenty out, I just haven't had a whole lot come in.  Oh well, I know I have some things pending, so that'll help.

COMC Pickup - 1981 Topps Willie Stargell

Coming from one of the most underrated sets in Topps history (at least in my opinion) is this awesome 1981 Topps Willie Stargell card.  I got it off of COMC really cheaply and I just love it for all of the colorfulness that is shown on the card.  I have toyed with the idea of starting a Stargell PC, even though he was responsible for the Pirates beating the Orioles in the 1979 World Series.  I wasn't alive then, so it doesn't really matter to me.

The card is just amazing.  It captures Stargell seemingly hitting a home run, judging by the upward glance on his face.  It has the old school loud uniforms of the 70s.  Look at the high socks and stirrups.  What a card.  I kind of hate that I bought the 1981 set whole in an album.  It really is an underrated set and one that I'm sure would have been a blast to build.  I might look into actually putting one together at some point, maybe if I can find a decent enough starter set.  Who know.  All I know is, I kind of want to pull out that album and see if there are more gems in the set that are like this one.

COMC Pickup - 1969 Topps Willie Stargell

I spent some more COMC store credit last week and picked up a few set needs, some vintage and a couple PC pieces.  The above card fills a set need in that it will be put into my 1969 Topps set.  However, I did buy two other Stargell cards to start a little mini PC.  I may not try to get ALL of Stargell's cards, but I did find that the few I had been looking at are really cool and I wanted to own them.

I really want to start ANOTHER vintage set, but that seriously would be biting off quite a bit more than I could chew, so I am just going to try to work hard on finishing this and/or 1959 before I try to get started on something else.  Who knows though.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Willie Stargell

I spent this weekend visiting my younger brother in Columbia, South Carolina for my niece's 4th birthday party.  As always, when I'm in Columbia, I visit this really awesome antique shop called 'Chic Antiques.'  The shop is run by a friend of a friend (it's a small world) and I always like going and saying hello.  I always seem to find some good deals while I'm there.  I got myself several 1959 Topps for my set (which I will show later), a couple cards for my good buddy Andrew, a 1961 Topps Boston Red Sox team card for Scott, 2 1963 Fleer for another friend and finished up with this amazing signed baseball for a paltry $50 bucks.

I told the shop keeper that I was looking for some Hall of Fame signed baseballs and he brought out several to see what I needed.  He showed me this Willie Stargell and quoted me the amazingly low price of $50, so I had to jump on it.  The ball is not authenticated, but I know that it is legit.  I have 100% confidence that anything the guy sells me is authentic.

Willie Stargell played in the majors from 1962 to 1982, all for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  He won the World Series with them in 1971 and 1979 (against MY Orioles).  He retired with 2,232 hits, 475 home runs and a .282 batting average.  He was the 1979 NL MVP.

Stargell is now my 65th Hall of Fame signed baseball.  I'm hoping I can knock off a couple more at next week's card show.

Foul Bunt on Location - August 1, 2011 Pirates vs. Cubs

I decided this year that instead of going to Baltimore (like I have since 2005) I would check out another team in another city. I settled on Pittsburgh since I had heard that the city was pretty nice and PNC Park was a great place to catch a game. I was definitely pleased with my decision.

PNC Park, which opened in 2001, is finally able to house a competitive team. Outside the park are statues of former Pirate greats Honus Wagner (seen above)...Roberto Clemente (this was amazing to see in person, by the way)

Willie Stargell and Bill Mazeroski. I really liked the Stargell statue. I think he is pretty underrated in the history of the game. He was definitely a thorn in the side of some great Oriole teams, especially in 1979 when he helped the Pirates beat the O's in 7 games in an epic World Series.
I got to see Pirate superstar Andrew McCutchen go 1 for 4 on the night. He was very impressive in his at bats and the crowd was solidly behind him.


I was pleasantly surprised at the ovation that Derrek Lee received each time his name was called. It looks like Pirate fans are very happy that he was added at the trade deadline. Lee was the source of all of the Pirates' offense tonight when he belted 2 home runs (both to standing ovations) and got 3 RBI.
Sadly, the Pirates lost their 4th in a row to a score of 5-3. Derrek Lee went 2-4 with 3 RBI. His second homer measured 410 feet.


I got a signed ball from the 1992 AL Rookie of the Year Pat Listach. He played his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1992 to 1997) and had a career batting average of .251 with 444 hits, 5 home runs and 116 stolen bases.

I also got a ball signed by Cubs' rookie outfielder Tony Campana. He is batting .256 on the year with 22 hits, no home runs and 12 stolen bases in 52 games. He appeared as a pinch hitter and bunt grounded out.

I had a really good time in Pittsburgh. Everything I have heard about the city was true, it looks awesome. The city deserves a lot of credit, all of the soot from the steel industry has been cleaned up and now the city looks amazing. I definitely would consider coming back any time to catch a game.

Picked Up Some 1971 Topps at the Greenville Card Shop

I had to get some supplies yesterday, so I picked up two more of the 1971 Topps cards that the shop owner was holding on to.
Willie Stargell. I believe this is his first appearance on my blog. Maybe? I don't know. I know that I'm not supposed to like the 1971 or 1979 Pirates. They beat the Orioles in the World Series both of those years in 7 games. Ouch.

Carl Yastrzemski was an awesome player. Too bad he didn't win a World Series. Heck of a hitter, though.

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These are two guys whose autographs I still need to get. Both aren't as expensive as they could be. I'm hoping I get them soon.