Keeping Memories from Fading Away

Whether it's about pulling a $500 Ohtani autograph out of a $3 pack or finding the final card for a forty years set build in a card show dollar bin... card collectors have a way of repeating their favorite card stories.

My buddy Mike started collecting cards back in the 80's... so he had plenty to share over the years.  One of my favorites involved him purchasing a 1984 Fleer Update set with a friend and splitting it up via an old fashion card draft.

1984 Fleer Update #U-43

He didn't remember the entire draft, but he remembered using his first pick on Dwight Gooden and selecting Bret Saberhagen with his second pick.  His friend walked away with Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett, and bragging rights for the rest of their lives.

Last November, he passed away on his fifty-first birthday... so there won't be any new stories.  But to remember the ones he told and to help keep them from fading away... I've decided to build a collection in his honor.

The inaugural addition is the key card (for Mike) in the story.  When it came to choosing sides in the Clemens vs. Gooden debate... both of us sided with Doc.  In fact I have been wanting to add this card to my collection since the 80's.  I just needed a little motivation to dig into my wallet and pull out the funds.

Mike...  I miss you buddy.  I miss hanging out at shows, walking around flea markets, going on road trips, attending ball games, and going back and forth retelling our favorite card related stories.  I'll also miss grabbing Taco Bravo with you... but don't worry.  This weekend, I'll eat a few tacos in your honor.

Happy birthday buddy!

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Terro and El Torro

I'm not a fan of ants.  About twenty-five years ago I had a really bad encounter with them.  It was back when I was working two jobs (teacher during the day, card shop employee at night).  After a long day at work, I came home and eventually settled into bed.

I had bought a bag of powdered sugar Hostess Donettes a day or two before... and was looking forward to eating a few before bedtime while watching whatever was on the boob tube.  The room was dimly lit.  The light from the television was bright enough for me to see the bag... but not bright enough for me to see the trail of ants going into the bag.

Anyways... long story short... I popped one into my mouth and quickly realized something was wrong.  I ran to my bathroom, turned on the light, and ants were everywhere: on my hand, on my face, and obviously in my mouth.  Now whenever I see them... I kill them instantly.

Last weekend... while scanning my newly acquired flea market finds... I started noticing one every couple of minutes.  I'd kill it.  Two minutes later another one would show up.  This went on for over an hour.  The next day... the same exact thing.

The last time I had a problem with ants, I bought some Terro liquid ant bait and it did the job.  I had some leftover, so I put one on my desk on Sunday night.  The next day, I came home from work, headed up to my office to work on some stacks of cards, and was greeted by thousands of ants.

I thought about busting out a can of Raid... but didn't want to damage any cards out on my desk.  Vacuuming them up was another possibility... but I wasn't sure if the bag would contain them.  The last thing I wanted was to just transport them to another room in my house.  Ultimately... I decided to go all-in and put out three more liquid ant baits and hope for the best.

As of this morning there's still a trail of ants.  However... it's smaller than yesterday and only a tenth of the size of Thursday's trail.  I'm not sure if that's because they've eaten most of the food or if the colony is slowly dying off.  Hopefully... the latter, because I'd like to get back to cleaning my desk, sorting some stacks, and scanning some cards.

Speaking of cards... on Wednesday I learned about Fernando Valenzuela passing away from a comment left on one of Night Owl's posts.  As I left in my comment, El Toro played a huge role in getting me into the hobby.

1981 Topps #302

The year Fernandomania was born... was the year I started opening up packs of baseball cards.  I don't remember if I pulled, traded for, or purchased his 1981 Topps rookie card, but I know that was the first card I owned of his.

1981 Fleer #140

Later that year, I added the 1981 Fleer rookie to my collection when my parents bought me the complete set on a trip up to Seattle.

Over the years, I have picked up a bunch of his cards.  I may not be a Dodgers fan, but I've rooted for plenty of their players.  Fernando is right up there with my favorites.  Here are a few of my favorite cards that I have sitting in my scan folder (sorry... due to the ant issue... I cannot scan any new cards right now):

2014 Five Star Autographs #FSA-FV

On-card, pack-pulled autographs are one of my favorite things to collect and some of the cleanest looking designs were the ones pulled from Five Star boxes in the mid 2010's.

Here's another certified auto of Fernando:

2005 Sweet Spot Classic Signatures #FV

This was his first pack-pulled autograph and one of the most common and available to collectors.

Let's switch gears and check out some oddball issues:

1988 Grenada Stamps 

1986 Topps Box Bottoms #P

1991 Fleer Box Bottoms

1981 Dodgers Police #34

1982 Dodgers Police #34

 Moving along... here are a pair of base cards I really like:

1983 Donruss #1

Not sure if Donruss or Dick Perez created the Diamond King checklist each year back in the 80's... but Fernando kinda got snubbed in 1982.  Glad he got to be card #1 in 1983.

1991 Upper Deck #175

One of my favorite base cards of Fernando is his 1991 Topps card, but I don't have it saved in my scan folder.  His 1991 Upper Deck is a fine surrogate.  Who doesn't enjoy Upper Deck multiple exposure cards?

And I'll wrap things up with this cool relic card:

2002 Stadium Club World Champions Relics #WC-FV

Down two games to the New York Yankees in the 1981 World Series, the Dodgers started Fernando in Game 3.  He went 0 for 4 at the plate that day... but pitched a complete game and got the Dodgers back into the series.

Unfortunately... if you look closely... Topps highlighted the 1988 World Series on this card.  The Dodgers won that series as well... but Fernando didn't pitch against the A's that postseason.

Well that wraps up today's post.  Let me know if you have any hints on getting rid of ants.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Box Busting Bonanza

When it rains, it pours.  That's the best way to describe my recent box busting experience.  Earlier in the season, I picked up three 2024 Topps super boxes.  You know... the ones that have a bunch of packs and an oversized box topper.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's what they look like:

2024 Topps Super Box Series 1 ($39.99 @ Fanatics)

2024 Topps Super Box Series 2 ($37.74 @ Target)

2024 Topps The Flagship Collection ($33.99 @ Costco)

I've been sitting on these (along with two from 2023) for months.  Just waiting for the right time to open them.  Well... my buddy gave me a 660ct. box filled with 2024 Topps Series 1 and 2 duplicates, so I decided to pop these open and build myself a flagship set.

Collation must suck this year, because I still fell sixty-two cards short:

Update:  Dennis has offered to help and has over half of the cards I need.  Johnny came in after him and crossed off eleven more set needs.  Here's what I still need:

1, 13, 27, 30, 44, 82, 138, 202, 229, 278, 298, 309, 327, 360, 440, 472, 571, and 642.

Part of the issue is there are two or three inserts or parallels in every pack.  I love inserts and parallels, but I miss the days when you pulled two or three in the entire box.

Anyways, here's a look at five cool pulls from my boxes:

#1:  A Short Printed Rookie

2024 Topps #700

The only reason I caught this card was because the set build required me to sort the cards.  And when I did... I noticed two #700's and two different players:  Wyatt Langford & Jose Altuve.

Outside of a handful of guys, I haven't really keep tabs on rookies this season.  Had I heard of Langford?  Yeah.  But I couldn't tell you if he was having a solid year or not.  Overall... it seems like he had a decent year, but not good enough to earn AL ROY considerations.

I've already handed this card over to my buddy who hooked me up with his 2024 Topps duplicates in hopes of putting it towards the Jackson Merrill short printed rookie card.

#2:  My Very First Elly

2024 Topps Flagship Collection Box Topper #OTCSP-1

This was a really nice surprise.  This is the first Elly De La Cruz card I have ever owned and it's a short print.

These box toppers are a pain in the butt to store, but I ran out and bought a package of 6x9 top loaders just for this one.

#3:  The 1st Female Full-Time Coach in MLB History

2024 Topps Women in Baseball #WIB-4

I have wanted this Alyssa Nakken card since the first time I saw it on one of your blogs.  Now that I have this card out of the way, I'm planning on picking up the other four cards in the set.

#4:  Obligatory Oakland Athletic

2024 Topps Black Foil #599

Nick Allen may or may not be in the MLB two years from now, but regardless he can tell his grandchildren he had a nice looking 2024 Topps flagship card.

#5:  Needle in a Haystack

2024 Topps Chrome Stars of the MLB #CSMLB-20

Holy cow.  Topps flooded the hobby and my boxes with these inserts.  However, I actually really like the look of this Soto.  The Padres City Connect colors are perfectly paired with this design.  This particular one is of the (rarer, but not really rare) "Chrome" variety... so the refractor technology takes this card to the next level.

Well that's it for today.  Sorry I haven't been publishing posts the past two weeks.  It's been a little hectic around here.  Obviously... I had a chance to open up some boxes.  Just didn't have enough time to write about them until now.

That being said... I will be publishing several Flea Market Finds posts over the next two weeks... using a slightly different format in an effort to help me catch up with those posts as well.  Please stay tuned.

And I know I'm several months late to the flagship set building party, but if you need singles, shoot me an email.  Maybe we can help each other out.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!

Hits A Little Differently

As a collector who entered the sports card collecting hobby in the early 80's... I'm getting to the age where guys I pulled out of packs of cards are starting to get up there in age.  Unfortunately... it means that every now and then I hear the sad news about an athlete from my childhood passing away.

Last week was a rough one as two guys I admire for the contributions they made on the field/court died on the same day.

Monday afternoon I saw the news about Pete Rose pop up on ESPN.  Although I really only got a chance to see him play towards the end of his playing career, it was when he was chasing and breaking Cobb's all-time hits record.

1986 Leaf #260

He wasn't only the MLB Hit King... he was also one of the most popular athletes in our hobby.  I didn't really have my fingers on the hobby pulse back then, but the card collecting kids in my neighborhood sought his cards.

When he broke the Cobb's record at the end of the 1985 season, I only owned a handful of his cards.  Most notably... this one:

1982 Fleer #640

This card has stood out to me since 1982.  Back then, I just thought it was a cool father-son photo.  Later on this card took on a different vibe as there was a chance that Pete Jr. might end up having an MLB career himself.

Here's another 80's card of Rose that I really like:

1986 Fleer Future Hall of Famer #1

I never pulled a copy myself from a pack, but I did eventually add the complete set of six cards to my collection.  Out of the six guys on the checklist, five of them were first ballot hall of famers.  Part of this card's allure is Fleer all but guaranteeing collectors that Rose would be inducted one day.

I'll wrap up the Charlie Hustle portion of this post with five cool cards of him sitting in the collection:

Let's start off with an oldie, but goodie...

1970 Kellogg's #2

Outside of the cards sitting in my Topps sets, I only own a handful of vintage Pete Rose cards.  This one is my favorite.  I absolutely love the 1970 Kellogg's design.

Pete Rose's signature will never be considered rare.  He's right up there with Bob Feller in regards to baseball players with the most autographs floating around out there.  But that's not a bad thing.  It means you add his signature to your collection without breaking the bank.

Five years ago, I added this card to my collection for $21 ($17.50 + $3.50 shipping):

1982 Donruss #1

A few months earlier, I added this autograph to my collection:

1969 Topps #424

This card has some sentimental value to me, because it was purchased right after my mom passed away.  

Not sure how deep I covered it, but I was devastated emotionally at the time.  She was one of my best friends and was the main person who got me into the hobby.  Ironically... the hobby helped me deal with her death.

I know most of you aren't fans of slabbed cards, so let's wrap things up and transition back to 80's oddballs...

1986 Meadow Gold Milk Carton

I don't remember seeing these back in the 80's, but I did find this milk carton at a card show a few years ago for two bucks:

I'm such a sucker for food issue cards.  By the way... does anyone else kinda see Tom Brady in the Rose caricature on that milk carton?

Rounding out the Roses is this color matched box bottom:

1986 Topps Box Bottom #N

It's not quite as cool as Night Owl's O-Pee-Chee version, but it's pretty darn cool.

Rest in peace Mr. Rose!  I'll always admire how you played the game.  You remind me of my father... who always believed in giving his employers his best effort.  And like my mother, you definitely played a role in me becoming a card collector.  Thank you for that.

Eight hours before I heard about Pete, I heard about Dikembe Mutombo.  This one hit me a little differently, because he's only six years older than me. 

1991-92 Upper Deck #3

When he was a twenty-five year old rookie for the Denver Nuggets, I was a nineteen year old college student opening packs of 1991-92 Upper Deck basketball in hopes of pulling his slick looking rookie card.  Not having any prior knowledge of his brain tumor, the news of him passing away wasn't only sad... it was shocking. 

Rest in peace Mr. Mutombo!  I'm so happy that you played during the peak of my NBA fandom.  You will forever be remembered for blocking shots... and wagging your finger.

That's it for today.  Gonna try and hammer out a post highlighting my past three trips to the flea market before following the Seahawks, Packers, and Padres a little later in the afternoon.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!