Night Owl Cards

  I've run out of descriptors for the boxes Dave sends. Heck, even before you get to the contents, he sends it so it shows up on the porch just before The Storm Of A Generation hits. How? That's what happened last Thursday, before all the weather-fretting and "will we have power" concerns began -- like mere hours before that all began. But after the porch arrival, it was, "well, if the power goes out at least I have his big box of cards from Dave." Simply put, the box was flat-out impressive. Dodgers, yeah, there were Dodgers. Like '90s Dodgers Inserts Dodgers. Also included was that Mookie Betts Archives postcard insert that I instantly desired and then just as instantly received. Dave made sure that the desiring didn't turn into months of pining.     Heritage Dodgers. What's the highlight here? The Bellinger relic? The sparkly blue parallels that I didn't even know was a thing because I have a job and a family? Or how about that Kershaw fro...

(Greetings readers. Today would have been my mom's 82nd birthday. I don't think it was too much to ask to have her reach 82 years, but we don't get to decide things like that. Time for something we can decide: whether or not to read about cards! This is the 316th in a series): This may or may not interest anyone, but I think it's fascinating, and, again, that's all that matters around here. While going through my last "One-Card Wonder" post , I came across this 1960 Leaf card of Stover McIlwain, or shall I say, the alleged Stover McIlwain.   McIlwain, a pitcher, managed just two appearances in the major leagues for the White Sox. He showed up in a mop-up role at the end of the season in 1957 as an 18-year-old. The following year, also at the end of the season, he got his first start against the Kansas City A's, in which he gave up a home run to Lou Klimchock. That marked the first time a teenager had homered off another teenager in MLB history. McIlwa...

  A couple of people have inquired about my well-being. They've seen where I live on the news and that's almost never a good thing.   But they aren't being over-dramatic. Yes, that's a glimpse of my backyard. That bird feeder is usually 3-4 feet off the ground. The amount of snow we've received since late Thursday night, the nature of it and the duration, combined, has added up to the biggest storm I've experienced since I've lived in lakeside cities, which has been more than 37 years now.   Folks are comparing it to the Blizzard of '77 in Buffalo. I was 11 back then. I didn't live in Buffalo. I lived about 4 hours away in Binghamton, where snow comes down in normal quantities. (This past weekend was the first time since I moved away from home in which I actually thought "maybe going back home to live isn't a bad idea.").   In 1977, Binghamton didn't get the kind of snow Buffalo did, but I do remember being off from school for a wee...

  I feel sorry for early readers of Night Owl Cards. Back then, I'd get to Christmas and all I had to show for it as far as gifts was socks. And then they'd have to read me whine about socks . How about that for content? No wonder the views were so low. Over the years, the holiday gifts have gradually become more card-like. And the last couple of years the card-gifting has gone into hyperdrive. Last year I received an entire complete set from the year, a common Christmas gift for young collectors going back to leafing through the Sears Wish Book. But 2021 was the first time I ever experienced that. Now we're at 2022. Jackpot.   Between my wife and her sister, I landed three different blasters of current cards and what, I guess, is now a Christmas tradition of a complete set for the year! Note to self: do not open too many 2023 packs.   The key part of this is 2022 Topps is actually a set I like, unlike last year's.   Also, I specified what kind of 2022 cards I might ...

  Merry Dr. Christmas Jones, everyone!   I am writing this post in advance, mostly because I'm not sure if there is going to be any power on Christmas Eve, which is when I traditionally write this. Also, the Bills are on tomorrow afternoon ... um, if there's power.    The storm has hit, it's a whiteout as I write this late Friday afternoon. We're supposed to get like four feet by the end of Monday. That will be the second four-plus-feet storm of the winter already and I'm ready to move out of this stupid place. It only took me 30-plus years.   But let's not diminish the Christmas spirit! I've come here to show cards from others full of Christmas cheer! They sent these cards early enough that they not only showed up in time for Christmas but they arrived before the travel ban and mailmen started being arrested for walking on the streets (this didn't really happen -- I don't think -- I can't even see out my windows).  One person was so on top of th...