Here is a difference between movie fans and card collecting fans.
When I say "purge," movie fans think of this:
Creepy masks and anarchy fantasies. No thanks.
But card collectors -- at least this one -- think of this:
This is what came out of the 18-pound box from Dave that I showed yesterday. Isn't that a happier sight than costumed clowns coming at you with machine guns?
About a year ago, I was the happy recipient of a purge, meaning someone was downsizing their collection. It led to a contest and the long-overdue completion of my 1987 Topps set and a totally unnecessary number of 1992 Upper Deck Eric Karros cards.
So this, I guess, is my second annual showing of a purge. This is not a test.
The first thing you should know is that the two binders made up the bulk of the heft of the package. And I'm quite pleased about this. I don't really need 18 pounds worth of more cards. What I could use are some cards that fit my collection and some binders and pages. And I got all of that.
One binder contains nothing but pages. The vast majority are 9-pocket pages and this now means with the modest stockpile I have already, I probably don't need to buy a 9-pocket page for at least five years, hopefully longer.
But there were a couple of other types of pages.
QUARTER PANELS!!!!! This makes me so, so happy. I've attempted to pull the trigger on buying these pages multiple times, but am always distracted by something less ... bland, I guess. I can't wait to put the odd-shaped items that are piling up on the card desk into these pages. It might be the first thing I do when I get done with this post.
The other style of page included was the 8-pocket pages, which I'm sure I'll need more and more of as I plod through trying to complete the 1956 Topps set. Dave provided an assist in that area, too.
The other binder contained even more 9-pocket pages and all of the cards that you will now see. Let's dive in:
I'll start slowly so you won't get an upset stomach. This was a Nebulous 9 need, the last base Dodger card I needed from the 1994 UD Heroes card set. I'm saying right here right now that if Tommy Davis doesn't get injured, he stays on the Dodgers and they win the 1966 World Series.
Doesn't look like much, does it? That's why Dave is sending me this and you're not. He knows my other 1982 Fleer Dodgers checklist is checked and has been for many years. I broadcast my wants and wishes very clearly, you just have to read.
He looks like a Pirate, but O-Pee-Chee insists he's a Dodger. I'm not going to argue with O-Pee Chee.
Completion of a 2006 Bowman Chrome team set doesn't get the proper respect it deserves. The years fly by and these sets die on the vine while we chase more recent cards or vintage. I will enjoy erasing this want immensely.
I'm going to detour into some non-baseball for just a little bit. I've never found the OPC Premier sets all that interesting, but these Sabres cards are from the period when I was covering the team a little bit. All very familiar names, some of whom I saw in a very smelly locker room a time or two.
Keeping it with teams I've covered and know well. The early '90s minor league cards weren't very attractive either, but this was a heady time in the history of the Buffalo Bisons. The Triple A team had just moved into a brand new park downtown in 1989 and the city was pressing for a major league team. They packed the stands for these guys.
How about this? Please meet your 1986 Watertown Pirates!
I never covered this team, it was before my time in Watertown. But I'm there now and this is very cool.
Take a look at a young Moises Alou there. I'd have to take a look back and see if he's the most notable major leaguer to go through Watertown during their days of minor league ball from 1983-98. There was also Jay Buhner, Sean Casey, Brian Giles, Tim Wakefield and a few others.
Dave sent 27 cards from the set. I don't know if that's the full set. (There are no card numbers, just a Dominos logo on every one). These are the rare kind of cards that I could take to work and impress people. Unfortunately, most of the people who would have been impressed have either moved on or are retired. Once again, I'd just be talking to myself about cards.
So, are you ready for the vintage yet?
Hang on, just a couple more scans.
You guys! My 1987 Jiffy Pop Dodgers team set is done! It took just one disc. Jiffy Pop always freaked me out (I feared the growing aluminum foil on the stove top). But Fernando is telling me it's just good, wholesome popped corn inside. It may or may not burn and scald you when it explodes.
I've wandered into some oddballs, so I might as well throw this at you. I'm sure Dave sent it to me because it's reminiscent of the famed 1975 Topps design and I should probably add it to that post.
But if you turn it over, it resembles the 1974 Topps set back (without the green). Weird.
This is where oddballs and vintage merge. The 1976 Hostess set has sneaked into the top 10 when it comes to cards that I'm the happiest to receive. You will definitely see a want list for this set in the coming year ... and agonizing posts about short-prints and stained cards and proper cutting ... and I will be delighted the entire time.
Speaking of short-prints, here is one now! It is the final Dodgers card I needed for the 1975 Hostess team set. Ol' Russell #91 fell into the cards 79-99 range that are evil short-prints. The Oklahoman is a little nicked but nothing I care about -- I've got all the 1975 Hostess Dodgers!!
OK, now, I think it's time for the vintage.
I'll let a lady do the introduction:
Well, that won't do. Although she did appear in one of my favorites.
We need a vintage lady for vintage.
Elizabeth Taylor here is from the 1953 Topps Who-Z-At-Star set, which featured popular performers of the day in the larger card format that Topps was using then.
Now, we're ready for vintage! Here are some cards that are just Taylor's size! Somehow she didn't marry any of them!
Yaaaaaay!!!!!!!! 1956 Topps! Good stuff! The year 2017 will be the year for bracing myself for trying to get some big stars from this set. Early Wynn isn't the biggest, but any Hall of Famer from this set is a toughie. I will hold a ceremony when crossing off his number.
Sandy Koufax is a league leader, and don't you forget it. Top spot and starting from the left.
I'm not showing all the vintage that arrived in the package, but Dave threw a bunch at me. I'll enjoy sorting this out and you'll never know what you may find in your stocking.
Then there was this:
Dave is a known Pirates fan. So, naturally, he has a few around. As the guy who runs the 1971 Topps blog, I love seeing them all in one place. I'll go through these and see what I can upgrade.
And then I'll go through these ones.
And these ones.
And these ones.
There are two or three other pages of '71s I didn't show, but you get the idea!
I also got a page of '72s. Just a few cards away from completing this set and none of these do the trick, but this one does:
Brooks Robinson just leaves me down to six more to go.
#559 - Pete Rose
#560 - Pete Rose In Action
#674 - John Kennedy
#686 - Steve Garvey
#699 - Bobby Murcer
#708 - Tim Foli In Action
Looks like I'll have the psychedelic tombstone set all wrapped up in 2017. (Update, I just purchased three more of them!).
I fully intend to start collecting the 1973 Topps set once '72 is done. Dave thought ahead:
Three for the cause.
Now, perhaps a few of you have grown tired of the vintage. I've got just a smattering more, but I'll give you a break with a couple cards from the '90s.
This is from the 1993 Nabisco promotional set that was tied into the Major League Baseball Alumni Association, which had just been established at the time. Nabisco offered autographed cards of legendary players for a couple proofs of purchase and 5 bucks.
They're not that difficult to find, but they certainly eluded me all these years.
One card is a little more in demand than the others due to unfortunate circumstances. Don Drysdale died while the promotion was on-going, creating a rush on his cards. I don't think his card is scarcer than others, but that doesn't matter to me now.
Because I have it. My first autographed card of Don Drysdale.
That is a good day.
Got to get the certificates of authenticity in there.
All right, this has gone on long enough. I have to get the three final cards in here.
1960 Leaf Duke Snider. Wow. I still don't have a want list up for this set.
1951 Bowman Rex Barney. Amazing card. They deserve special pages all their own.
And finally, a 1949 --- are you kidding me? -- Bowman of famed Dodgers relief pitcher Hugh Casey. He's listed as a Pittsburgh Pirate on the back, but I never heard of any Pirate Casey. This thing is a beauty as it is.
This 18-pound box of cards took care of a variety of collecting needs, and of all the things you can do with your collection, organize, sort, check off, evaluate, I will be doing a lot of that in the coming weeks. Starting now.
That sounds like a lot more fun to me than shrinking in your theater seat wondering what a dystopian America would be like.
Purge cards not people.
When I say "purge," movie fans think of this:
Creepy masks and anarchy fantasies. No thanks.
But card collectors -- at least this one -- think of this:
This is what came out of the 18-pound box from Dave that I showed yesterday. Isn't that a happier sight than costumed clowns coming at you with machine guns?
About a year ago, I was the happy recipient of a purge, meaning someone was downsizing their collection. It led to a contest and the long-overdue completion of my 1987 Topps set and a totally unnecessary number of 1992 Upper Deck Eric Karros cards.
So this, I guess, is my second annual showing of a purge. This is not a test.
The first thing you should know is that the two binders made up the bulk of the heft of the package. And I'm quite pleased about this. I don't really need 18 pounds worth of more cards. What I could use are some cards that fit my collection and some binders and pages. And I got all of that.
One binder contains nothing but pages. The vast majority are 9-pocket pages and this now means with the modest stockpile I have already, I probably don't need to buy a 9-pocket page for at least five years, hopefully longer.
But there were a couple of other types of pages.
QUARTER PANELS!!!!! This makes me so, so happy. I've attempted to pull the trigger on buying these pages multiple times, but am always distracted by something less ... bland, I guess. I can't wait to put the odd-shaped items that are piling up on the card desk into these pages. It might be the first thing I do when I get done with this post.
The other style of page included was the 8-pocket pages, which I'm sure I'll need more and more of as I plod through trying to complete the 1956 Topps set. Dave provided an assist in that area, too.
The other binder contained even more 9-pocket pages and all of the cards that you will now see. Let's dive in:
I'll start slowly so you won't get an upset stomach. This was a Nebulous 9 need, the last base Dodger card I needed from the 1994 UD Heroes card set. I'm saying right here right now that if Tommy Davis doesn't get injured, he stays on the Dodgers and they win the 1966 World Series.
Doesn't look like much, does it? That's why Dave is sending me this and you're not. He knows my other 1982 Fleer Dodgers checklist is checked and has been for many years. I broadcast my wants and wishes very clearly, you just have to read.
He looks like a Pirate, but O-Pee-Chee insists he's a Dodger. I'm not going to argue with O-Pee Chee.
Completion of a 2006 Bowman Chrome team set doesn't get the proper respect it deserves. The years fly by and these sets die on the vine while we chase more recent cards or vintage. I will enjoy erasing this want immensely.
I'm going to detour into some non-baseball for just a little bit. I've never found the OPC Premier sets all that interesting, but these Sabres cards are from the period when I was covering the team a little bit. All very familiar names, some of whom I saw in a very smelly locker room a time or two.
Keeping it with teams I've covered and know well. The early '90s minor league cards weren't very attractive either, but this was a heady time in the history of the Buffalo Bisons. The Triple A team had just moved into a brand new park downtown in 1989 and the city was pressing for a major league team. They packed the stands for these guys.
How about this? Please meet your 1986 Watertown Pirates!
I never covered this team, it was before my time in Watertown. But I'm there now and this is very cool.
Dave sent 27 cards from the set. I don't know if that's the full set. (There are no card numbers, just a Dominos logo on every one). These are the rare kind of cards that I could take to work and impress people. Unfortunately, most of the people who would have been impressed have either moved on or are retired. Once again, I'd just be talking to myself about cards.
So, are you ready for the vintage yet?
Hang on, just a couple more scans.
You guys! My 1987 Jiffy Pop Dodgers team set is done! It took just one disc. Jiffy Pop always freaked me out (I feared the growing aluminum foil on the stove top). But Fernando is telling me it's just good, wholesome popped corn inside. It may or may not burn and scald you when it explodes.
I've wandered into some oddballs, so I might as well throw this at you. I'm sure Dave sent it to me because it's reminiscent of the famed 1975 Topps design and I should probably add it to that post.
But if you turn it over, it resembles the 1974 Topps set back (without the green). Weird.
This is where oddballs and vintage merge. The 1976 Hostess set has sneaked into the top 10 when it comes to cards that I'm the happiest to receive. You will definitely see a want list for this set in the coming year ... and agonizing posts about short-prints and stained cards and proper cutting ... and I will be delighted the entire time.
Speaking of short-prints, here is one now! It is the final Dodgers card I needed for the 1975 Hostess team set. Ol' Russell #91 fell into the cards 79-99 range that are evil short-prints. The Oklahoman is a little nicked but nothing I care about -- I've got all the 1975 Hostess Dodgers!!
OK, now, I think it's time for the vintage.
I'll let a lady do the introduction:
Well, that won't do. Although she did appear in one of my favorites.
We need a vintage lady for vintage.
Elizabeth Taylor here is from the 1953 Topps Who-Z-At-Star set, which featured popular performers of the day in the larger card format that Topps was using then.
Now, we're ready for vintage! Here are some cards that are just Taylor's size! Somehow she didn't marry any of them!
Yaaaaaay!!!!!!!! 1956 Topps! Good stuff! The year 2017 will be the year for bracing myself for trying to get some big stars from this set. Early Wynn isn't the biggest, but any Hall of Famer from this set is a toughie. I will hold a ceremony when crossing off his number.
Sandy Koufax is a league leader, and don't you forget it. Top spot and starting from the left.
I'm not showing all the vintage that arrived in the package, but Dave threw a bunch at me. I'll enjoy sorting this out and you'll never know what you may find in your stocking.
Then there was this:
Dave is a known Pirates fan. So, naturally, he has a few around. As the guy who runs the 1971 Topps blog, I love seeing them all in one place. I'll go through these and see what I can upgrade.
And then I'll go through these ones.
And these ones.
And these ones.
There are two or three other pages of '71s I didn't show, but you get the idea!
I also got a page of '72s. Just a few cards away from completing this set and none of these do the trick, but this one does:
Brooks Robinson just leaves me down to six more to go.
#559 - Pete Rose
#560 - Pete Rose In Action
#674 - John Kennedy
#686 - Steve Garvey
#699 - Bobby Murcer
#708 - Tim Foli In Action
Looks like I'll have the psychedelic tombstone set all wrapped up in 2017. (Update, I just purchased three more of them!).
I fully intend to start collecting the 1973 Topps set once '72 is done. Dave thought ahead:
Three for the cause.
Now, perhaps a few of you have grown tired of the vintage. I've got just a smattering more, but I'll give you a break with a couple cards from the '90s.
This is from the 1993 Nabisco promotional set that was tied into the Major League Baseball Alumni Association, which had just been established at the time. Nabisco offered autographed cards of legendary players for a couple proofs of purchase and 5 bucks.
They're not that difficult to find, but they certainly eluded me all these years.
One card is a little more in demand than the others due to unfortunate circumstances. Don Drysdale died while the promotion was on-going, creating a rush on his cards. I don't think his card is scarcer than others, but that doesn't matter to me now.
Because I have it. My first autographed card of Don Drysdale.
That is a good day.
Got to get the certificates of authenticity in there.
All right, this has gone on long enough. I have to get the three final cards in here.
1960 Leaf Duke Snider. Wow. I still don't have a want list up for this set.
1951 Bowman Rex Barney. Amazing card. They deserve special pages all their own.
And finally, a 1949 --- are you kidding me? -- Bowman of famed Dodgers relief pitcher Hugh Casey. He's listed as a Pittsburgh Pirate on the back, but I never heard of any Pirate Casey. This thing is a beauty as it is.
This 18-pound box of cards took care of a variety of collecting needs, and of all the things you can do with your collection, organize, sort, check off, evaluate, I will be doing a lot of that in the coming weeks. Starting now.
That sounds like a lot more fun to me than shrinking in your theater seat wondering what a dystopian America would be like.
Purge cards not people.
Comments
This must be the best Christmas ever!
Mmmmm....ScarJo....