Night Owl Cards

  I'm no skirt chaser. I'm no storm chaser. I don't chase ambulances or dogs either. I'm a set chaser. A proud one, too. I pursue lots of different cards in this hobby but above all is the quest for completing sets. I have a list of all the ones that I've finished (that needs updating). And here's a list of ones I'm currently chasing: 1970 Topps baseball (update on that soon) 1970 and 1971 Fleer World Series 1969 Topps baseball 1967 Topps baseball 1979 Topps football 1983 Kellogg's (update on that soon, too) 1985 Donruss 1987 Fleer 1988-90 Pacific 1989-91 Swell 1975, 1977-79 Hostess 1981 Fleer Stickers (update on that one coming, as well) 2024 Topps Heritage 1980s Traded Sets   There are probably others that I can't think of right now. But, trust me, they are TOP PRIORITY.   And that doesn't mean there aren't other down-low sets that I like to pursue, you know, casual-like, when I don't want to spend a lot of money or chart my progress. ...

  All right, we're blog batting around again! These come in super-handy when the window is super-tight for blogging, which it is today and tomorrow. (But May is almost over!) John's Big League Baseball Blog asks us to discuss our favorite player's final base card, the one that wrapped up his career. That card must be from a major set, no inserts, later retro cards (such as the one shown above), relics or autographs or buybacks. I like the way John thinks. Base cards never got anyone into any kind of hobby trouble. Can't say the same for a lot of that other stuff. My all-time favorite player is Ron Cey. His career ended quite awhile ago. Here is his final Topps base card:   What's that? You say that's not Ron Cey's final base card? He has cards later in his career when he played for the Cubs and A's? Oh come on, you don't believe those urban legends do you? This is what happens when too many people make too many custom cards and start churning out th...

  What I like about the bloggers who still swap cards with other bloggers -- what are we down to like a dozen now? -- is that they're persistent. Most of us have been collecting publicly for awhile now and have accumulated a lot of cards because of that. It's a little bit tough to crack each other's collections -- I know, because I keep on trying. But if you stay persistent, you'll find something that another collector needs and you'll find something that I need.   Yes, even 15 years in, there's still plenty on my want lists.   Nick of Dime Boxes is one of those good collecting eggs that still tries and I'm happy he does because he's still finding cards off my want lists, sometimes cards that I needed that I didn't even know existed. No-Neck Williams has a minor league manager card? OK, no idea, but, yeah, I needed that!    Nick remembers what I collect and keeps trying -- to find some cards that crack my Allen & Ginter frankenset binder. The bi...

(Greetings on Memorial Day. I hope you're enjoying your long weekend. I have to work tonight because kids have to keep playing sports. But at least I'm still functioning on this planet. Time for Cardboard Appreciation, this is the 339th in a series):   My first sportlots order of the year has been trickling in over the last few days and will be for a few days more.   It's a fairly modest order this time but it's an important one because it completes at least three sets from the 1980s that were overdue to be finished. I'll focus on one of them right now, which is 1986 Topps Traded. It's now complete!   Billy Hatcher was the last card I needed, it was a little bit elusive, kind of like I expected the Bo Jackson card to be. But that's the fun mystery that comes with being a set-builder: you never really know what the last card will be to finish the set. To many collectors the 1986 Traded set is the big four and not much more: But I was raised as a set collector...

  I've taken a little break from adding 2024 Heritage and '75 buybacks so I can complete some small sets that have been overdue to be finished. So that means there's not much of a preamble before we get into the countdown this time. Less for you to read on the holiday weekend!  Let's get to it:   180. Rick Reuschel (card 153) The color borders and photo match incredibly well on this card, right down to Reuschel's reddish/brownish hair. Not a Cubs fans but they've got some good cards in this set.       179. Ken Singleton (card 125)   Another stellar color-matcher. The red-blue combo goes very well with the Expos. I don't know what Singleton is looking at -- UFO?      178. Ron Hodges (card 134) Great image of Ron Hodges appearing to be pounding his glove and exclaiming "put it here" to the pitcher. 177. John Mayberry (card 95) John Mayberry was a big man when he played the game and you can just envision the ball flying off his bat here. Ma...