It's show o'clock somewhere

 

 

One year ago today I was showing off the goods from my latest card show visit from the previous day. It was a happy moment. I had enjoyed success at that show unlike any other, thanks to an unusual blessing of cash.

 

Little did I know that it would be the last card show I would go to in ... well, maybe ever.

 

In the early days of this blog, I'd visit four card shows a year. Then it was down to three, then two. Now it's none. There is no show scheduled for October at the New York State Fairgrounds, traditionally the month when I can almost guarantee I'll be at show. I've attended an October show virtually every year of this blog.

 

But with the pandemic in force and my state taking it most seriously, I can forget about large-size shows. There's supposedly a hotel-room type show later this month. If I want to drive 2 1/2 hours there and back for that mystery show, I could do that I suppose.

 

I'm actually mostly OK with no show to go to, except when I think about no show to go to.

 

And it's during times like those that I'm grateful that card shows are happening somewhere else in the country. Maybe they shouldn't be happening, maybe they should. I don't know. But when cards arrive at my door that I know came from a show, I'm pretty happy that it's show o'clock somewhere.

 

Recently, Commish Bob went to a show. He lives in one of those states where there are actual people sitting in the stands of football games. There is nothing like that there. My Bills play in front of emptiness week after week. Not saying that's good or bad. Just saying that I miss people. And card shows. I miss card shows.

But Bob brought the show to me, safely and without temperature checks.

The goodies that I received from that show I never attended were all off of my 1967 Topps want list. As you may know, the Commish is collecting the set, too. He'll probably finish it before I do -- I like too many things -- but while we're both collecting the same windows on late 1960s baseball, I'm happy to see him check off wants from his list! I get the leftovers!

Those were some of the cards that he snagged for me that I can now cross off my list. As usual with these '67 cards, I find myself staring at the backgrounds.

 

I don't think I'm supposed to like the team cards in 1967 Topps -- the image is too small and blurry -- but I do like them. I like them a lot. I like them enough to devote an entire post to them. I'll let you know when that happens. So you can avoid it.

 

Commish always seems to have a few extra Orioles. Hmmm.

The top cards is the first card in the set, celebrating the Orioles' World Series sweep of the .... uh ... hey, why I am I collecting this fool set again???

 

This card forces me into some decision-making. It's one of the few Sandy Koufax leaders cards that I didn't own. Sure, it's seen fancier days, but I'm probably storing it in my Dodger binder, meaning I need another for the '67 set.

 

Here's a foursome I forgot to scan. Weird, because they may be in the best shape of all the cards.

Once these wonderful cards arrived, I received an email from Bob telling me to be on the look out for another card. He realized that he had picked up a card he already had, so he'd send me the extra!

Then ... another email. He found a different card that was a dupe. So expect that in the mail, too!

So in a little more than a week, I had my own collection of Commish Bob notes, complete on owl note paper.

Oh, the cards ...

Pretty nifty.

And it's nice to know that there's someone else who loses track of the sets he's collecting.

This is the kind of stuff that I would be buying at a card show if there was a show. I can write fantasy card show lists now of what I WOULD pick up if there was a show:

-- Look for 1967 Topps

-- Look for 1970 Topps

-- Look for the last few 1977 Topps football cards I need

-- Search every last table for '70s Kellogg's or Hostess cards

-- Track down some 2020 Dodgers insert needs

-- Sink some cash into an expensive '56 Topps card (if I have the money)

-- Check out all those discount boxes

That's what I would have done if that show that's always scheduled for October was happening.

But it's not.

 

Rats.

What would I have ever done without this blog?