Night Owl Cards

 (Woof, blog views have taken another downturn, basically in the last two weeks. Maybe everyone was too busy watching the Olympics! Anyway, for those still reading, this is called Cardboard Appreciation and we're at the 365th in a series):   As far as I can tell, this is the first time Shoeless Joe Jackson has appeared on a Topps card.   I pulled it when I went back for a hanger box of 2026 Topps last week. I opened it at work. When I saw the card I didn't think anything of it other than "that's a weird-looking thing."   But later I remembered how MLB removed Shoeless Joe and other deceased ballplayers from its permanently ineligible list last spring, making them available to be voted into the Hall of Fame. Also, since Topps doesn't make a move without MLB approval, that means Jackson (and I assume Pete Rose) are eligible to appear in current baseball cards.   Up until now my Shoeless Joe cards have been created by Upper Deck, Donruss/Playoff/Panini/Leaf, vari...

  I mentioned I received a Target gift card for Father's Day with the expectation there would be cards to shop for on its web site. Ha.   I tried almost every day for two weeks to find a box or pack of cards to buy on that site with zero luck. Just a bunch of overpriced Project 70 cards from some third-party seller. I don't need to see those.   Then, suddenly, early last week, I tried again and boxes of 2021 Heritage and Panini Diamond Kings greeted me. None of it was really what I was looking for -- I had my eye on a Series 2 or Stadium Club blaster. But after two weeks of scraps, I jumped at the DK box (I'm pretty over Heritage this year), even though my issues with Panini and Diamond Kings are well-established. Hey, it was something to open. It's not like Target is offering vintage on their site.   This is basically a pack-rip post, about a product with no logos, but considering it's only the second or third time I've opened some packs this year, it's act...

Happy Easter. I don't have anything Easter-related for this holiday blog post. I actually thought of something appropriate five minutes ago, but by the time I gathered everything together into my very festive Easter basket, there'd be about an hour left in the holiday. So I'll save it for next year -- if I remember. Instead, what I had queued up to run is very dry and dull compared to colorful jelly beans and spring dresses. In fact, with the exception of the above card, everything else you will see here is black and white. Wait! No, wait, come back! I knew this was going to happen. Sorry, I think I've just entered the "early 20th century" phase of my collecting journey. It was a super black-and-white period. This doesn't mean I'm going to suddenly start picking up cards featuring antique bicycles and crows. I'm not attempting to land traditional tobacco cards of baseball players either. No, all of that is too fancy for me and also...

I am making a semi-serious effort to cut down on my Dodger doubles. I've already made arrangements on Twitter to send Dodgers to four or five people. That's not nearly enough to get to a respectable level of dupes. So if anyone wants a variety of Dodgers extras -- and, yes, I know the usual blogging candidates -- please let me know. I'd rather get rid of them this way than in more anonymous ways, which is what I will consider next. One person who already has some Dodgers coming his way is Stewart, who jumped on my offer immediately. Not long ago, he sent a package full of variety straight from Dodger country. There was so much random that I couldn't process it all. In fact, I thought I had absorbed it all finally, when I went back to it last night -- to scan, of course -- and was floored by something grand that I totally missed the first time. I'm saving that piece of wonderful for last as is my custom. In the meantime, take a look at this: All-Time gr...