1991-92 Knoxville Cherokees

"Seven weeks since you last posted? You gotta be freakin' kidding me."

This is what I imagine my remaining readers are saying.  Both of them. 

Well, I've been busy.  Let me tell you a story.  But first, here's some hockey cards from the local team.  I picked these up in a lot from when a local antique mall was shutting down.  I called the store, "Junque and Krappe".  It sounds very refined that way.

1991-92 Knoxville Cherokees
Mike Gober (card # 5)

Yeah, I've been busy.  With our society being very litigious, and all the HIPAA laws in place, I have to tread with caution. 

On, or about April 9th of this year, my wife, allegedly, slipped while getting into a shower and dislocated her shoulder.  We might have taken a visit to a local emergency room, where they might have reset it and issued a prescription for pain pills.

It is presumed that she visited her doctor, as possibly advised by the ER doctor.  Physical therapy might have been advised.  Allegedly, on her second visit to the supposed physical therapist her shoulder might have become dislocated again.

The emergency room staff remembered her from the week before.  Allegedly.  Same song, second verse.  We might have gone to see an orthopedic doctor after that.  He might have suggested that an MRI be done.  The alleged MRI results may have pushed the doctor to want to preform surgery to repair possible disruptions in the shoulder region.

1991-92 Knoxville Cherokees
Dave Shute (card # 10)

Purportedly it took that orthopedic doctor's office a while to find a suitable surgery time.  We were told that she would be having surgery on a specific date.  Then that date and place were changed three more times in a four hour window.  No allegedly there.  They didn't seem to have a clue and we lost confidence in that practice.

A second opinion was allegedly sought and Dr. McDreamy might have provided a different and more complete insight into the issues.  We allegedly left his office that day with a new surgery date.

1991-92 Knoxville Cherokees
Chad Thompson (card # 7)

That mythical date has not yet arrived, but the reality of the situation is that my wife has needed some assistance in the last seven weeks.  She's an independent woman, but this injury has proven that she can't do everything.

After things settle down at our house I might be back to blogging every four weeks instead of every seven or so.  Allegedly.

My newest oldest favorite hockey card

This is the other card that I won on the Listia.com auction site. I think that it was 202 credits. Free shipping.

1960-61 Topps
Ernie Johnson (card # 4)

I didn't know anything about 'Moose' Johnson.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952.  Based on his sweater I'm guessing that he played in the first half of the 1900s.  Checking Hockey-Reference.com proves me right.

'Moose' played for such teams as the Wanderers, Royals, Rosebuds, Aristocrats, Cougars, and Millers.  Let's not forget the Buckaroos.  I really don't know my early hockey at all.  I'm so glad we've finally gotten manly names such as the Ducks, Flames, Blue Jackets, Stars, Red Wings, Oilers, Kings, Wild, Islanders, Senators, Flyers, Penguins, Maple Leafs, and Senators.

I don't have any red paper to answer the question, but a quick search shows that Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng trophy the most times.  Seven.  Now, one might ask, "What's the Lady Byng Trophy?"  According to the most reliable source on the internet:

The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, formerly known as the Lady Byng Trophy, is presented each year to the National Hockey League "player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability".

The card is dinged up a bit, but it has a vintagey look.  Most of all, I like it.  I don't have many hockey cards but this one is at the top of my list.

NHL Winter Classic, nah, just hockey cards

I was able to sneak in a few minutes of hockey yesterday.  We had some friends over to watch the Gator Bowl. I'm open to watching some college ball, but two 6-6 teams?

To celebrate the singing of the Canadian national anthem on US soil, I'll share some cards that came out of a 1991-92 ProSet Hockey, Edition Française.  15 cards in the pack.  I picked this one up out of a dollar bin at the card store in Chattanooga.  I'll feature the store later.

I realized that I featured three net minders.  That's okay.  They're great goalies.  I like the pucks hanging in the air.

1991-92 ProSet Hockey
Grant Fuhr (card # 78)

It has been too many years since the days of high school French classes.  If memory serves me correctly, Grant Fuhr had more pajamas than Patrick Roy did in the early 1990s.

1991-92 ProSet Hockey
Patrick Roy (card # 125)

I don't remember John MacLean.  This is an All-Star card from the set.

1991-92 ProSet Hockey
John MacLean (card # 307)

Terry Sawchuk has a pretty face.  Don't know if he kept it that way without a mask.

1991-92 ProSet Hockey
Terry Sawchuk (card # 343)

Louis, these cards will be coming your way. Eventually.

Tidbits

So, I've got several thoughts going on in my mind, many of them small, not even big enough to cluster together so I'll spill them here.  Some of them will blossom into an actual post of their own.

• There's a nice little contest going on over at Drop The Gloves!.  Hockey and all that.  It only has 30 slots, so get there quick.
• I'm sad that Bob Feller passed away.  Yes, everyone has to at some point in time.  Donald Honig has a nice bit about him in Baseball When The Grass Was Real.
• I need to renew my SABR membership.  Time's running out.
• I'm back in the trading game.  I'm working out the details.  I'm trading with T, but am sending the cards to J.  T and I haven't yet worked out what he's sending me.  I'm not too worried about it.  UPDATE: I sent out the cards to J.
• I've got several piles of cards that need to go out to bloggers and their ilk.  Hoping to do that on Friday.  But I've been hoping to do that for several weeks.  UPDATE: I sent out the cards to D.
• I've been poking around old newspapers again.  Found some fun info on the Bloomer Girls, a women's barnstorming team.
• Another contest, celebrating the 100th post of My Cardboard Mistress.  Congrats.
• I've been playing around with Paint dot net and have made a prototype card, hoping that Beardy will host another Ho Ho Holiday custom card contest.  We'll see.
• I've been very impressed with the good folks over at Zistle.  They've expanded the site and given the contributors some nice options.  I'm now the Set Expert for two sets.  Whee!
• Another player might need to be included in the "Doc" Newton vs. "Schoolboy" Tugerson debate.
• Oh, and another contest over at Enough Already.  Giving back is good.
• I picked up two more cheapo HOF relic cards for my collection.
• And another contest, this one over at All About Cards. Year end, you get to vote.  Clicky, clicky.
• And I'll leave you with a Sords Points story from the January 14, 1931 issue of The Daily Times...

1933 Sport Kings, "Ching" Johnson (card #30)
(image lifted from this ebay auction)

Custom Cards from the North

The interwebs is an interesting place. It never ceases to amaze me how a chance meeting will grow into something. Several years ago my wife, Angie, met a digital scrapbooker online. Over the course of time Melany and Angie have become good friends, calling each other every so often and harassing each other online. We have a photo of their family on our piano.

Melany has a wonderfully creative eye and shared these cards with me the other night. I asked if I could post them, being mindful that these are not her children. She got permission so I present to you a force to be reckoned with in 10 years.

No, they aren't the Hanson Brothers, but they are brothers. Triplets to be exact. They play in the Atom (2nd year) League. Or club. Or conference. As much as I enjoy hockey, I really don't understand the Little League conversion scale. Maybe because it is Metric or something.

Actually I did some research. It is the Dryden Minor Hockey Association. Apparently there are a variety of levels.

• Initiation
• Novice
• Atom
• PeeWee
• Bantam
• Midget

Enough of what I don't know what I'm talking about. Enjoy Melany's handiwork.

And do look out a decade down the road for Landon, Kristopher, and Jacob. Really.

Manhunt Pack Break video

I stumbled across this video over at Zistle.com. Enjoy the video.

Little kids disclaimer... implied violence, knives. Just trying to protect Lucy (and others).

Manny - on ice

Manny Legace, that is.

2007/08 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey, Manny Legace (card # 14)

I won a "leave a comment, win some hockey cards" contest over at Bad Wax. They showed up earlier this week. Here are just some of the 20 some odd cards from the Hockey Smorgasbord.

2007/08 Upper Deck Series 1 Hockey, Stephane Veilleux (card # 41)

I love the bend in the Stephane Veilleux's stick. Power waiting to be released.

2007/08 Upper Deck MVP Monumental Moments, Evgeni Malkin (card #MM5)

Evgeni Malkin has six goals in the playoffs this year, with four of them coming during power plays. And one of the teams he played for in Russia? Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Gotta love that.

2006/07 Upper Deck Artifacts Hockey, Ben Walton autograph (card # AF-BW)

Yes, some people consider relic and auto cards passé, but I still like them.

Thanks, chemgod, for the entertaining blog and the cards.

As Red Green often says, "Keep your stick on the ice."

Legacy Sports Rarities Auction Catalog

The other evening, Monday, I guess it was, I was poking around the Old Cardboard site.  I came across their upcoming show and auction calendar.  So, I took some time and visited the auction sites, requesting a free catalog where I could.

Tuesday morning I received an email from Jennifer Heard at Legacy Sports Rarities thanking me for my interest and letting me know that she would be sending me an

inaugural catalog auction of Classic 19th and 20th Century Sports Rarities, which ends on March 28th, 2009.

It arrived in my mailbox on Thursday afternoon.  I am always impressed by good service.  They have good service.

The catalog is 8-1/2" by 11" with a slick, glossy cover.  The 96 pages are also glossy, full of the 235 lots being offered.  All but one of the lots are single cards (lot 183 consists of four cards).  All cards in the catalog are either PSA or SGC graded and slabbed.

The cards themselves are mostly baseball (203 lots), some American football (18 lots), basketball (1 lot), boxing (2 lots), hockey (3 lots), golf (3 lots) and the remaing five lots are split between the 1934 National Chicle Sky Birds and the 1938 Horrors of War sets.

The cards are from many different eras.  The earliest cards are from 1887 and the most recent cards are from 1967. 

Current prices range from $85 up to $56,000.  From what I can tell, these are all quality cards, the cream of the crop.

The photography is stunning and the layout is attractive.  Some lots, like a 1933 Sports King Gum Babe Ruth, get two pages, while others get a single page or are force to share with another card or two.   Or five.  But they don't seem crowded.

The descriptions are clear, without too much fluff.  Sometimes the set is described, then the card.  Other times, just the card is dealt with, with a leaning to tell how many of cards are graded the same or better.  There aren't many.  The name of this auction is: Classic 19th and 20th Century Sport Rarities.  These cards live up to that name.

One (very minor) issue that I have with the descriptions is the variety of narration style.  Sometime the writer would say, "Within the last few years, I recall a couple of unopened Red Man pouches..."

And, "I find it highly unlikely that PSA will have the opportunity to certify a superior example."

And,  "With just a touch better north to south centering, I'm certain that this card would've graded NM-MT."

First person.  The writer is telling me his (or her) experience.

"Let's start off with the centering - absolutely perfect east to west..."

Then (same lot), "If you've been searching for the ultimate..."

Now the writer is taking me into his confidence and then talking directly to me.

I'd prefer it if the writers stayed neutral, not using personal pronouns.  Yes, this is very minor quibbling on my part and should not distract from the heart of this catalog.

Good cards, well photographed, superbly printed.  Ask for a catalog or view them online at Legacy Rarities.  You'll be glad you did.

Sports card finds at the old Antique Mall

In south KnoxVegas there is an antique mall. It is upstairs, over a children's clothing/toy resale shop. It has a mix of stuff. Some $1 DVDs from the Dollar Store that they're selling for $2 each. Old pocket knives. Very scratched albums from the early 1980's. Not very antiquey. I've seen cleaner places.

There were a few booths that had some sports cards. There was an open box of cards. Ten cents each. But the booth had a 30 % off sign. I dug through and pulled out about a dozen cards.

Good looking hockey cards

1993 Classic Four Sport - Chris Pronger #186

1991 Score - Grant Fuhr #114 (English/French edition)

1991 Score - Mike Modano #313 (English/French edition)

Interesting looking baseball cards

1981 Fleer - Dave Chalk #35

1991 Jimmy Dean - Dale Murphy #3 (25 card set)

1992 Jimmy Dean - Jim Abbot #1 (18 card set)

1993 Jimmy Dean Rookies - Vinny Castilla #2 (9 card set)

1993 Jimmy Dean Rookies - Jeff Conine #3 (9 card set)

1993 Jimmy Dean Rookies - Mike Lansing #6 (9 card set)

1993 Fleer Excel - Jorge Posada #112 (Prince William Cannons)

1994 Classic - Jose Paniagua #169 (West Palm Beach Expos)

Two NFL HOFs

1992 Proline Portraits - Diana Ditka #23 (has Mike and Diana on the front)

1994 Sports Illustrated Kids - Reggie White #283 (punched)

A glance around the rest of the mall turned up a booth in the back that had some team sets. Since I was raised about an hour south of Montreal, I have a soft spot in my heart for the Expos. 20 cards for a dime. I grabbed all 5 packs of them. Looking around the booth, I found Gene Florence's Baseball Card Price Guide (Fourth Edition). For 25 cents. I don't care about the prices in the guide, but this guide is alphabetized by player. Yes, I can get that info from the internet, but this is nice just to thumb through. Since I think that I'm going to start to focus on 'older' players, this fits the bill nicely. I also picked up a pristine copy of Beckett Baseball, November 1994. This is about the time that I got out of actively collecting. The saddest part of the magazine was reading the show guide. The main show that I attended while living in the western suburbs of Chicago was in Glen Ellyn. The show guide lists them as having a show every weekend that month. Five shows about 3 miles from the condo.

Turning around to leave, I spyed big bricks of cards. 200 Expos for $1. There were also some team guides, both minor and major leagues. I picked up a few. If nothing else, I'll read them and toss them. Or if someone wants them in trade, I can do that, as well.

There were about 100 dupes, so I got a nice start on the Expos team sets. I haven't defined my path, yet, but I might just stick to Topps regular issue for the life of the team. Expos dupes, get them here.

But the big accomplishment of the day was that I actually got a trade out in the mail. Two out, one in this year. Details to follow.