Trading with the Mooss

Late last year I got involved with a three way trade.  Tim (aka SpastikMooss) of the Great Sports Name Hall of Fame blog and I worked out a convoluted mess.  I think.  I think we worked it out, not "I think that it was a convoluted mess."  It was.

Mariner Moose sticker

Tim had traded another blogger for a printing plate, I think.  But he didn't have everything he needed to send to Jimmy.  I offered up some Dan Uggla cards. 

Jimmy's happy with the cards I sent him on behalf of Tim.  But then Tim wanted to know I wanted in the trade.  Since my collecting scope is rather limited, I pressed him on any HoF relic/auto cards.  He had an Eddie Mathews uniform relic.  But I already had an Eddie Mathews bat card.  Although I would have liked a different player, I'm not going to be too picky.

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game
Decade Greats, Memorabilia
Eddie Mathews (card # DEC-EM)

Tim wanted to know what else he could toss in. I looked at his tradebait and nothing really caught my eye. Until this.

2003 T205 Triple Folder Polar Bear
Randy Johnson / Curt Schilling
(card # TF13)

The Triple Folder is nice and wide, a full 7". Click on the above images to get the full effect.

It is for my dad.  He collects Diamondbacks.  Well, I forced him to.  He lives in Arizona and follows the team.  Sometime back I gave him a bunch of D-backs cards.  Then I started asking other bloggers to do the same.  He's got a nice stash of cards now.

Tim wasn't quite done.  He wanted to know what else I desired.  He sure is demanding.  I did send Jimmy off some nice cards, so I wasn't offended that he wanted to toss more on the trade pile.

But I'm a lousy trader.  I'm not very decisive on what I want.  Sure, I've got my wantlists, but normal people don't have what I want.  And Tim is not normal.  So, I turned the tables on him.  I made him decide what else was going on that pile.  Heck, why should I do any more work than I have to?

He tossed in this little card.

1992 Topps Micro
Pat Borders (card # 563)

And then, to wrap it all up, he used a Fun Foods pin as the bow on the package.

1985 Fun Foods Pin
Darrell Evans (pin # 117)

So thanks, Tim, for your generosity.  Another successful trade on all ends.

A Horse of a Different Feather?

Last week or so I was having a conversation on Twitter with Matthew Glidden from the fantastic Number 5 Type Collection.

He was asking the ether what what college movie could get him in the mood since school was just around the corner.

I suggested that he try the 1932 Marx Brothers' movie, Horse Feathers.

1911 T3 style fictitious card
Groucho Marx in Horse Feathers

He later told me that:

"Horse Feathers" arrived from the library today, oddly ahead of my own textbooks. Classic cart-before-the-horse-feathers Marx Brothers problem.

Tough problem to have.


And now for today's question...

What sports films do you like?  I mean, really like.  Not just because everyone else likes them.

Or, what are the top 5 baseball movies?

Choose one and discuss.

Modern Vintage

Early last year I featured some of the 1989 Bowman Reprint Inserts.  I found some more of them and thought I'd share them.

1989 Bowman Reprint Insert
Jackie Robinson '50 #(9)

1989 Bowman Reprint Insert
Richie Ashburn '49  #(1)

1989 Bowman Reprint Insert
Leroy "Satchell" Paige  '49  #(8)

1989 Bowman Reprint Insert
Ed "Whitey" Ford  '51  #(3)

Looking at them is calming.

After you've been soothed for a bit, head on over to The Great Orioles Autograph Project for a chance to win a sweet Earl Weaver auto card.

NFL Conference Championship games

Time for the NFL Conference Championship games. I won't rehash how these teams got to this point, just rest assured that they did.

I'll make my "what I hope for" picks. What I hope for and what I really think will happen are two different things.

1990 NFL ProSet, All-Time Team
Bart Staff (card # 36)

2001 Fleer Game Time
Brian Urlacher (card # 64)

A scrappy Packers team led by Aaron Rodgers goes to Chicago.

1993 Playoff
William Perry (card # 235)

I hope that the Bears can win.  It will be tough.  And cold.

2002 Score
Chad Pennington (card # 159)

2001 Fleer Game Time
Plaxico Burress (card # 41)

The scrappy Jets are in Pittsburgh.

1990 Score
Joe Prokop (card # 416)

I hope that the Jets can pull it off, but I think that Roethlisberger is too potent.

Who wants this card?

I was out looking at other card blogs the other day and ran across a blogger that was a Carlos Lee collector.  I knew that I had this one.  By the time I found this and scanned it, I had totally forgotten which blogger was interested in Carlos Lee.

1999 Team Best Baseball America's Top Prospects
Carlos Lee (card #60)

So, I started to think about the wonderful Sports Card Blogroll that JayBee maintains.  He provides a list of current sports card blogs, mostly baseball related.

I thought that it would be good to have a list of bloggers and what they collect, all in one easy place.  Then, if the Carlos Lee blogger was listed there, I could easily check and try to hook him up.

So, I scraped together a quick background, created a blog and started to populate it.  It is no particular order.  I didn't ask those bloggers that I added, so if they want to be removed or have their wants changed, leave a comment.  Then I found out that dayf has a list of wantlists.  But I already created this new blog.  Darned if I was going to take it down.

So, go visit Got it. Got it. Need it.  Leave a comment (over there) and help me help you.  Tell your friends.

And please help me find out who collects Carlos Lee.

Another contest to promote

The gents over at Community Gum are doing all they can to disrupt the flow of the universe.  They keep having contests. 

 Here's a reminder about their latest.  You could win some 2010 Panini Century Collection.  Very nice stuff.

Hall of Fame Relic Card - Frank Robinson

Late last year I dove back into the ebay pool.

If you're new to this blog, here's the skinny.  I like relic cards of Hall of Famers.  But cheap relic cards.  My limit is $5.00 per card.  Delivered.  I've started a small collection of them. 

I found a seller that had quite a few available.  I put in a few bids and ended up with two cards for $9.14.  That's $4.57 each.  I hit my mark.

The first of these cards is a 2004 Topps Tribute HOF, Tribute Relics, Frank Robinson uniform.

2004 Topps Tribute HOF, Tribute Relics
Frank Robinson (card # TR-FR)

Frank entered the majors in 1956, with the Cincinnati Reds where he took home the Rookie of the Year award.  He spent ten years there, mostly in the outfield, but standing at one of the corners on occasion.

While playing for the Reds he was involved eight All-Star games, took home a Gold Glove award and was selected as the MVP in 1961.

The 1966 season brought him to the east coast where he continued making his legacy.  1966 was a banner year, one in which he led in many statistical categories and claimed his second MVP trophy.  Oh, he also was the AL Triple Crown winner.  And the World Series MVP.  Yes, it was a good year for him.  While at Baltimore he was involved with five All-Star games.

In 1972 he changed scenery again, this time to the Dodgers of Los Angeles.  But just for one year.  Nothing spectacular there, but I'm guessing that his west coast presence set up the trade to the California Angels.

He did a bit better for the Angels in almost two full seasons, getting another All-Star game nod.

Then it was off to Cleveland for the final two-plus seasons, mostly as a Designated Hitter.

After Frank put the bat and glove away he took up managing.  He was the Manager of the Year in 1989, back with the Orioles.  He also managed the Indians, Giants, Expos, and Nationals.  Of the 17 seasons* that he managed, he had only seven non-losing seasons.  And three of those were with the Expos/Nationals.

* Not all seasons were full seasons.  More info can be found on his managerial page at Baseball-Reference.com.

Overall, a good, full life in baseball.

Another Sombrero Card

The wonderfully quirky Collective Troll likes sombrero cards. Well cards with pictures of baseball players wearing sombreros. The other evening I found a photo on the web, snagged it, grabbed a font I like, ran it through the fictitious card making machine and blammo, instant sombrero card.

Marck, here's another one for your collection.

Update:
Here's some more info on the photo.  I lifted it from the Corbis Images website.  (Okay, that will get me in trouble, I'm sure).

Their caption reads:

As a result of the published statement that former mayor William O'Dwyer of New York has a proposition to transfer the Brooklyn Dodgers to Mexico City, two Dodger pitchers try on Mexican sombreros for size.  They are Russ Meyer (left) and Clem Labine.  O'Dwyer, who has a law business in Mexico City, is here on legal business and to see the series.  He said he was to meet with Dodger President Walter O'Malley on his proposal.  Asked about the proposed switch, O'Malley said "if we blow this series, Mexico City won't be far enough south for us."

The photo was taken on September 30, 1955 by Sam Goldstein and is © Bettmann/CORBIS.

And now you know the rest of the story.

2003 Topps T205 - Omar Vizquel

Dang, this is one awkward card.

2003 Topps 205
Omar Vizquel (card #57)

I like the overall design of the card, specifically the back.  Clean and simple.  Topps couldn't have sprung for a razor, though?

Winnings from My Cardboard Mistress

Spankee, over at My Cardboard Mistress, held a contest some time back.  It was celebrating his 100th post.   I won.   Let's see what he sent...

1993 Ted Williams Card Company
Walter "Buck" Leonard (card #108)

1993 Ted Williams Card Company
John Henry "Pop" Lloyd (card #109)

1993 Ted Williams Card Company
Armando Vazquez (card #113)

1994 Ted Williams Card Company
Larry Brown (card #102)

1994 Ted Williams Card Company
Leon Day (card #103)

1994 Ted Williams Card Company
Judson "Bojum" Wilson (card  #116)

2010 Topps Chrome
Stephen Strasburg (card #212)

2010 Spankee Originals Stickers
Jefferson Burdick

I have created a wantlist for the Ted Williams cards.  It is on the sidebar to the right.  I think though, that I'm just going to order them through SportLots.  18 cents per card.  I can't really go too wrong.  And I can pick up some cards of the AAGPBA cards from the 1993 set.

BA Benny showed some interest in one other card that was part of the prize.  A shiny Tim Tebow.  I offered  to Spankee that BA Benny could have it.  Which led to emails between myself and BA Benny.  We've got a trade brewing between us.  It is going slowly, because we're both trying to figure out which Hershiser we have and want.

Spankee, thanks for the contest, for the winnings and for hooking me up with BA Benny.

Two Giants

Martin Luther King, Jr. & Jackie Robinson
September 19, 1962
(image lifted from Baseball Hall of Fame)

1991 Fleer Football - Trace Armstrong

Poking around the old stack-o-cards last night and I found this.  Who knew 20 years ago someone would be using this card as a cheap lead-in to the NFC game today?

1991 Fleer
Trace Armstrong (card #213)

Go Bears!

Promoting Contests Post

All About Cards is having a whale of a contest.  Here's what you could win.

All About Cards - Grand Prize

That is one sweet bunch of cards, so I'm trying to pick up a few extra entries.  I'm most excited about the possibilities of winning the Hockey, the PressPass racing and the Chicle.

Another contest that I became aware of is over at The Bullpen Cardboard.  He's having a hockey/football junkwax contest.  It is a new blog (just started this year) and has some promise.  Go for the contest, stay for the content.

Diamond Matchbook - fictitious creation

1935 Diamond Matchbook
FDR - 1935
(fictitious)

While looking for some old baseball newsy items, I came across a panel of nine photos of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  They were taken while he attended the opening game for the Washington Senators in 1935.  Seeing the little square photos made me think of the Diamond Matchbook covers of the 1930s.

Sarasota Herald - April 22, 1935

This was just a quick exercise.  I'd like to find a way to justify the text on the back of the cover.

I was going to make a set of all nine, but I couldn't quite see the reason.  I'll use the extra time to make another sombrero card.

Milestones

This is my 500th post. And I have been blogging here for 2 years and 2 days.

Much has changed, and much has stayed the same. I'm not flashy, I don't buy boxes or blasters. It remains my foray into sports card collecting. Yeah, it mostly centers around baseball cards, but not always. I haven't purchased many cards this last year, but I still have managed to post 216 times. I slowed down. Life got busy. I set some things aside.

But this is a new year. One to embrace with open arms. What are my goals for this coming year? I haven't really thought about it.

I'd like to more clearly know what cards I have. Zistle is back on track with some site upgrades so I'm back to working with Josh and Ashley on that.

I rejoined SABR, so there's always research to do.

I'm working a few trades with fellow card collectors.  Yes, I need to send out some packages.

I'm discovering more blogs to follow.  Most recently The Cardboard Dugout and The Card Investor.

I'll be keeping up with my Old Knoxville Baseball blog.

That's about it.  I'm simple in that regards. I do want to thank each and everyone that has stopped by, left a comment, traded with me, emailed, etc.  Really.  Thanks.


I'll leave you with a Jumbo Swatch of one of the players that I collect.

2005 Absolute Memorabilia
Tools of the Trade Swatch Single Jumbo
Orel Hershiser (card # TT-159)

That's it. No contest. Just thanks.  Run along now.

More Baseball Books

For Christmas I was given some store credit to one of our local used book stores.  I was able to find some books that I thought would be fun to read.

For some time I've been interested in the early days of baseball, even joining SABR's 19th century mailing / discussion list.  I haven't read this but I'm looking forward to it.  $3 made it a nice pick up.

This paperback was priced right.  $2.  I have found that putting events into historical perspective helps me understand the bigger picture.  In doing family history research I have found that many family members left upstate New York to head to southern New Hampshire in the 1880s or so.  It took me the longest time to realize that the mills were operating in New England and not a whole lot was going on in Clinton county, NY.  Perspective, people.  Perspective.

Not quite a coffee table book, but oversized.  It is the kind of book that one can open up any page and dive in.  The author gives the statistical data about lots of ball parks.  Occupants.  Dimensions.  Seating capacity.  Phenomena.  The last is the best part.  Special home runs.  Obstacles in play.  Special stories. 

Reading an overview of the parks has made me want to research some of them in greater detail.  Not a bad purchase for $3.

Overall, I'm very pleased with these books.  They might very possibly turn into book review fodder when I've read them.  A thanks to my folks for providing the store credit.

Baseball Card Books

I was looking online for the title of a book about tobacco cards and I searched for Baseball Card Books.  This is one of the links that I found.  They are handmade books, with the covers being baseball cards.  In this case, 1953 Topps.

The artist that created them goes by the name Erinzam.  She has a blog that describes how she did it.

She sells them from her etsy shop.

What we cherish she has put to use as interesting, and bold, art.  I like them.

images lifted from Erizam's etsy shop site