Owl says wow-l

 

OK, thanks to waking up early for a doctor's appointment, not being able to go back to sleep when I returned because of drilling on my street that sounded like a helicopter underground, I had time to assemble a post on the epic Johnny's Trading Spot shipment today!

Like previous JTS over-the-top arrivals, it was a mixture of "have-its," "don't-have-its," "oh-wows," "whazzises," "needed-these," "what-am-I-gonna-do-with-these," and "sure-why-nots."

This was definitely not limited to cards, which explains the flat-rate box.

Much of this, if I'm interpreting the note right, came from Fred, a dealer you should know if you read Johnny's blog regularly. I don't know what came from whom though.

I'm going to start with the most important stuff -- the cards -- and work my way through.

 

THE IMPORTANT STUFF

The Kershaws also included some of my daily winnings cards, I've long forgotten what was what. Johnny actually sent me a small list of Kershaws and asked what I needed. I picked out the three at the bottom right. The others are new to me, too. Johnny expected to send me more, but when you have 1,000-plus Kershaws, not a lot falls through the cracks.

 

Johnny's been on quite a Panini run lately. I'm not really understanding it. My guess is it's a lot easier to buy those cards because they're always so cheap. But that comes from a Panini-disliker. I'm still holding onto the thought that one day I'm going to remove every Panini card from my collection, probably through the use of fire.

But for now -- weeeee! Non-logo'd cards I didn't have!

Here are some non-Panini cards I needed. You know, real cards. I may have clapped a couple times over these cards.

 

 

 Not a Dodger card at all, but very much a need, something that strikes at the heart of what I want most from cards -- a 1973 Kellogg's card of papa Bonds.

Not cards, stickarrrs!!!!! And the best kind, too -- vintage Wacky Packs!!!!!

I am very thankful that vintage Wackys appear to have not suffered the same fate as Kellogg's cards from the same time period that have shot up in price. Nobody seems to care about vintage Wackys, at least not the regular non-rare kind, which is great for me! Let me enjoy my childhood!!!

The more modern Wacky Packages don't do a lot for me, although some of these are OK. The Polly Pick Pocket sticker amuses me because my daughter was a big Polly Pocket fan as a youngster.

A first at Night Owl headquarters, my first graded coin. It's cute. So cute that I won't attempt to break it out.

More daily free cards stuff. These are so tiny that I forget to do regular card things with them, like filing them on TCDB or seeing which Dodgers I need. This may get me off my butt.

 

 

 Some spiffy Suttons. Of course, I own all of these, but I am always up for adding well-conditioned extras. Possible upgrading ahead!

A bunch of current Bills (or recently traded). We're not talking about them this week.

Older Bills from my days covering the team. I'll talk about them a little bit. I was recalling just the other day a particularly frigid day at the stadium covering the team in December 1988. It was against the Raiders. It was 11 degrees at game time. It was so cold I could feel it creeping into the press box. From my seat I saw an elderly couple set up camp in their bleacher sets about an hour before the game and sit there in the cold without complaint. I've been impressed all these years.

 

 

These Leaf relic things amuse me, the ultimate example of blind trust with none of the appeal of photographs of the players. Are these really bat scraps from individual Roy Cey, Steve Garvey and Rick Monday? Shruggy shrug. But at least it's the purple parallel! (Eye-rolly roll).

 

THE PUBLICATIONS

I've said many times that I am a sucker for programs, yearbooks and the like, which DO NOT FIT IN MY HOUSE.

I cannot turn away stuff like this though. Classic artistry from Karl Hubenthal, a cartoonist whose drawings are instantly known by folks who grew up during a certain time ('50s and '60s mostly).

By the '70s, photographs took over scorebook covers and many other publications. These were the glory days for the photographer.

 

The scorebooks have the usual nuggets inside, this is probably the best one - Steve Garvey likes to wear hats!

A return to cover drawings for this 1981 NLCS program. The inside resembles the Dodgers' yearbook from the same year.

 

The man of the month.

Another championship year for the Dodgers. Now it's a magazine AND a scorecard.

These will be good for a rainy (or snowy day). I know I will need to find an extra bin for these and then there is the matter of these:

Oooh, vintage SIs featuring the Dodgers! I grew up with Sports Illustrated and actively rooted for the Dodgers to appear on the cover. It was a treat when they did. I've often thought about gathering all of the ones with Dodgers on the front, but less-so since I've tried to tamp down on that stuff. This ain't helping though, I mean that Koufax is ART.

 

The box was filled with several team promotional items. Photos were so popular during this time period that the Dodgers issued yearly photo albums.

That's the full fold-out spread from the 1980 photo album. That's my team right there, the one I lived-and-died with in 1980. 

 

In 1989 there was a stamp album and all the stamps are right there for the sticking. I am very tempted.

OTHER "WHERE AM I GOING TO PUT THESE" (BUT STILL COOL) ITEMS

A commemorative handkerchief from 1978.

 

 

 A real brick piece from Ebbets Field. (Numberd 67/150!) Too awesome.

 

The first matchbooks in my collection, featuring three long-ago Brooklyn Dodgers.

A program commemorating the Old-Timers Game in 1977.

Just a few Steve Garvey Vero Beach postcards.

A sealed Jim Kelly puzzle.

A pennant that I assume is faded, judging by the blue back, which is why it looks more like something from the San Diego Padres.

Fancy photos of the Brooklyn boys. If I had wall room, every one of these would be framed and hung like they were members of the family.

There were a few postcards but only one was signed. I love this.

NOW, ABOUT THE OWLS

 

"So, what's with the adorable two owls?" you're saying.

Aren't they nice?

Packed with all the other stuff, carefully wrapped, were several owl figurines and knickknack owls. Johnny added note saying that he realized that I didn't collect owls but maybe 1 or 2 will stick. They came from his late, great uncle.

I'm happy to say that I love these two and it's an honor to receive them from his uncle.

I think I should've included those two owlies in "The Important Stuff".

Now ... where do I put them?