Sports Cards Show

Just like so many places around the country this past weekend, Rochester had a sports card show, with two dozen vendors setting up shop in a Party House, which in Rochester means a banquet center for catered affairs. I think that these, if not unique to Western New York, are something of a more common sight here. At least it used to be. You could throw a stone anywhere and usually hit one. 

In any event, I was able to pick up more of my sets, mostly 2007 Topps 52 Rookies and a few Heritage and Finest cards, including a couple of short prints:

 

I got a few autographs and relics, too:

 

I love the Parker. He was one of my favorites. I can still see, in my mind's eye, the play during the All-Star Game in Seattle when he gunned down a runner at home plate with a throw that, on the fly, didn't go much over 9 or 10 feet off the ground. What an amazing throw! 

In addition, a Buffalo semi-legend was at the show, signing autographs for just the price of admission, which was only $4. 

 

Donnie Green, a member of the famous Electric Company offensive line that paved the way for O.J. Simpson in his hayday, was very friendly and spent quite a bit of time talking to me and a few other people standing in line. There weren't that many people at the show, so I went over to one vendor who had the 70's football cards, bought these two for 50¢ apiece, and had him sign them. Pretty cool! We then talked about his teammates, his opponents, and who he keeps up with. He said that he really doesn't speak too much to Ralph Wilson, the owner of the Bills since it's inception and a new Hall of Fame electee. Joe Ferguson was mentioned prominently as one he needs to call, especially since Joe had cancer and has since recovered. 

As for the best lineman he played with? Joe Delamielleure. He said that he wasn't that big, but he would blow Jack Lambert ten feet back into the defensive backfield! Pure power and technique. No wonder he is in the Hall of Fame. And the best defensive lineman? Not Deacon Jones, whom he said was near the end of his career when he played against him. Not L.C. Greenwood, who he said he never had any trouble with. (L.C. was quiet, and Mean Joe Greene was the one who did all the trash-talking, according to Donnie.) He did mention both Merlin Olsen of the Rams and Jim Marshall of the Vikings. 

I think, though, that in this show, the best things I bought were some of the 2009 Heritage 1960 buybacks. I had read on someone's blog that you could read through the wrapper to see who was inside, so I picked out these three, with the vendor's blessing:

  

  

Two things you'll notice right away about these original 1960 cards: 1) the cards are printed on different color stock, not just gray or white, but cream white and tannish white; 2) everyone agrees that the cards would be much more desirable without the "50th Anniversary" stamp that they put on all the buybacks. Some of the vendors were discussing the value of actual versus stamped buybacks, and a good Killebrew would go for $15-20, whereas this buyback is probably $2 or so. 

However much it costs, I still really like them and wish I had pulled these from my boxes instead of the ad panels. But for $1 apiece, I think I got a bargain.

This is the second Bobby Avila I have from 1960 and previous. I might start a 1950's Bobby Avila collection. He was one of my father's favorites.

Book Review: The Card

I recently spent a weekend traveling, which was just enough time to finish an interesting book that would make be a good read for any sports card collector. It has been discussed many times in many different blogs, but is still worth mentioning.

The Card: Collectors, Con Men, and the True Story of History's Most Desired Baseball Card is concise and written well enough to keep the more studious bloggers out there interested. It details the supposed origins of the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner, it's travels through the auction curcuit, the stories of the men who have owned, bought, sold and brokered it, and the man on the card itself.

I don't want to give anything away about the T206 Wagner, but suffice to say that there is enough suspicion to make me doubt the heritage of the card. No, it is not a fake, but there are questions regarding how a (now) 100 year old card could have survived, unnoticed, for so long without having a crease or a frayed edge. The series of events that have carried the card to this day is worthy of an undercover cop story, and most of the characters surrounding it certainly warrant a questioning eye.

The Card is not a must-read, but it does enlighten some of the processes that auction houses, brokers and authenticators go through in order to prepare cards for resale. It questions much of what the industry values, and certainly makes me believe that I am in card collecting for the right reasons: for the enjoyment I get from owning a certain card or set, and not for the money that can be made and lost in this crazy hobby.

Sports cards and the Economy

There is an interesting interview transcribed on the website Cardscape. It deals with the economy and how it affects the card-collecting hobby. There is one passage that was particularly interesting to me, especially in light of my previous post.

"But while most collectors love to sit around and talk about the “value” of their collection, it's generally something that will never come into fruition. Most likely they'll never sell. If they do sell, they'll probably never realize that full value for their collection even in a good economy. So to most collectors I'd say focus on what you enjoy about collecting. Put less of an emphasis on the exact dollar amount of a card and more emphasis on the happiness you get from opening a pack, completing a set, interacting with the collecting community online or at shows, etc."

Very interesting points, and one I am taking to heart at this very moment. In response to the comments about my 1987 Donruss All-Stars Pop-Up cards, and after reading this article, I have opened the package! If it happens to be less valuable to someone else because I opened it, then so be it. It is more interesting to me and Joshua to see the cards.

Let's start with the "small" cards. Here we have Roberto Clemente's right ankle and shin. Puzzle pieces numbers 49, 50 and 51. An interesting side note: I have mentioned here that I was mentoring a student last school year in 6th grade. He attended Roberto Clemente School #8. No joke.

Next up is Dave Winfield popping up in the Astrodome. You would think that, since he is on the Yankees in this card, that he would "pop-up" in Yankee Stadium. I guess they are sticking with that All-Star theme, and, by gosh, that's where they are! The only thing it says on the back is "AMERICAN LEAGUE - DAVE WINFIELD - STARTER - RIGHT FIELD" under the Houston Astros 1986 All-Star Game logo.

Finally, the Big Three! Starting with the least significant of them, Brook Jacoby. He was 0 for 1in the '86 All-Star Game, and it was his first nomination, having earned his way onto the team "after a shoulder injury forced George Brett of the Royals to scratch from the team."

Next is James Rice of the Boston Red Sox, a near- and probably-should-be Hall-of-Famer. This was his 8th selection, and he was batting .320 at the time. The most interesting stat on the back, besides only hitting .200 in his eight All-Star games, is that he led the league in '78, while hitting .315, in HR's (46), RBI's (139) and triples (15)! Triples! Does anyone think Bonds would ever lead the league in triples, much less run out a double? What about Fielder or Howard? No way. Just goes to show you how good he really was. He is definitely a HOFer!

Lastly, a HOFer: Ryne Sandberg. At this point, he was only 1 for 8 in his three consecutive All-Star appearances, but had already made his name when he became only the third person in Major League history to hit at least 25 home runs and steal at least 50 bases. Again, Bonds probably took "stolen base" out of his vocabulary years ago (or the steroids depleted that part of his brain), and Fielder may have stolen one or two, but only with a lotta heart and a LOTTA luck!

What to do with this

I got this from a large lot of cards I purchased, and I'm not sure what to do with it. On the one hand, it would be cool to open it up and see what it is all about. I can even see through the cellophane that the "star" is Dave Winfield. Now that's a cool card!

On the other hand, the "card" would lose much of its value if I open the pack. 

So, what should I do?

Self-help group

You would think that once these guys get to the majors, they would know how to do these things. Or, maybe, they make WAAYYY too much money and have to pay someone to do it for them (as well as wiping their tushes and soaping their backs!)

  

 

In all fairness to Mr. Vaughn, it looks like the crack medical staff is helping him get his contact lens straight. At least he really requires help!

Error Cards

I have a few error cards that are fairly interesting. In searching through my old lots for Dodgers for Night Owl, I came across this pair of cards from '91 Topps:

But if you look at the back, their is not one iota of difference between the two.

A peak at Beckett reveals the answer: The one on the left is actually Billy Beane. It is worth five times what the actual Jose Gonzalez card is worth! Too bad that the actual one is only worth five cents. 

The other set of cards comes from this year's Topps Series 1 set. This is the first box of regular hobby cards that I bought after starting to collect again. Can you find the problem with these? 

 

Of course, there is no foil stamping on the cards of Rick Ankiel, Jeff Kent and Billy Wagner. I ended up with several dozen of these, including Ryan Howard. Topps requests that you send in the cards, the packs, the box, the reciept, a blood sample, a pound of flesh, some dirt from your yard, your tax returns from the last seven years and a picture of your wife in order to get the cards exchanged for corrected versions. I'm holding on to them for a while, just in case. 

What do you think? Are these "error" cards, or are they less than worthless?

A Problem with the Hobby

There are many problems with the Hobby today, and some of them may even sound like the problems facing Wall Street today. No, not credit default swaps or other derivatives. I am referring to issues such as opportunists invading our territory, speculation and supply-and-demand-gone-wild. These are the result of a successful industry and its desire to drive profits, as well as "collectors" who smell a killing in the market and have come only lately to this pastime in order to amass a nice little nest egg and build their retirement homes on the bones of the kids starting to collect and the enthusiasts for the game.

I see it with my son and some of the younger people showing up at the Trade Days that I attend. They are more interested in that shiny card, that auto-relic, that plastic-encased serial-numbered refractor, than in the true, pure joy of a well-loved 1933 Babe Ruth Goudey. Joshua now understands "Beckett value" as a basis for trading, instead of having a personal connection to the card that makes it "valuable." (I remember trading cards because I liked the guy represented on the card or needed it for my set, not because it was pretty or expensive. In fact, I put many cards in my spokes and drew goatees on some HOFers.) I am partly to blame for this, though, because, since my return to the hobby a little over a year ago, I got caught up in the chase for the 1/1 AutoChromaJerseyFractor of some unknown rookie.

"Hi, my name is Dan, and I'm a recovering baseball card collector."

(Everyone respond now: "Hi, Dan!")

I have since pulled back from chasing these cards, and now am concentrating on collecting sets and the Indians. Yes, I still look for relics and autos, but in pursuit of set completions and trades for cards that are meaningful to me. I have completed at least a dozen trades on-line with fellow collectors and bloggers, and made quite a dent in my want-list, as well as helping many of you with your sets. I feel better about my hobby now, knowing that I am not spending recklessly.

Now I get to the bigger problem with the hobby.

My wife.

(Aside: I love my wife. In fact today is her birthday, and I am fretting over what to get her. Suggestions welcome, although they should not include appliances, power tools or anything that might make more work for me. And, No, she is not THE problem with the entire industry, just my personal involvement with it. She may be representative of other wives/girlfriends/significant others.)

She thinks that this is a childish endeavor. I spend too much time on the computer. My cards are taking up too much space in the basement, and are strewn all over the desk in the office. I am spending too much on buying Blasters and packs. I haven't kept track of my expenditures for shipping and purchasing collecting accessories. I'm not selling things in order to make up for buying things.

Should I try to convince her that this is a productive pastime? That I spend more time with my son showing him the interesting cards, the famous players, the favorites? That I am not overspending or underselling? That this is something I enjoy and affords me some escape, relaxation and fulfillment?

I think that to do so would be fruitless and diminish my enjoyment. To me, the search for that one card to complete the set, that 1965 Mickey Mantle that came in the box of cards I just bought for a song, the joy in seeing Joshua's face light up when he sees that 1933 Babe Ruth card is the reason I am doing this. It is fun, a simple pleasure, and isn't that what life is all about?

Favorite Cards

I'm a big fan of really funny, laugh-out-loud, Why'd-they-actually-print-that-image cards. For example,

Now, I'm sure Mr. Van Slyke would love to see this photo of him getting plunked in the elbow much more than him hustling into second after legging out a double, or just after that sweet swing hitting a tater. No, this is much better!

I'm particularly fond of Indians cards (couldn't you tell?), and this one has always stuck out in my mind ever since I saw it when I first pulled it from a pack I bought at Fitch Drug in Lyndhurst, Ohio when I was 8 or 9, I think.

After looking pretty hard at this, I believe that the stripes on the trim of his jersey are airbrushed in, and the team name air-brushed out. This is Ellis' 1973 card, and he was on the Yankees in 1972, so I think this is definitely touched up. But the look on his face is one of the great all-time action shots!

I think Carlos is doing a bad job of the Limbo, or Clemens just tried to take his head off with a high-and-inside fastball. Just a guess. Maybe he's cheering on Lofton as he slides into home. Who knows. But this is one awful picture.

Now this is just creepy. Doesn't it remind you of Jason in all those Friday the 13th movies? 

Some box breaks will be coming up, and also some trade reviews. I'm holding my own over at Thorzul's blog.

What would you pay?

So, you walk into Target, and they have opened a new box of the $1.59 packs. You could care less about the Pokemon, Bella Sara, Webkinz, anime, and wrestling cards. Only a passing interest in the Football, Basketball and Hockey cards.

Bingo!

There is a whole column of 05 Leaf, 06 Upper Deck, 07 Upper Deck, 08 Upper Deck (Series 1!), 07 Upper Deck Masterpieces, 04 Fleer Platinum, 05 Fleer Platinum, 06 Fleer. 54 packs in all, about $90.

What do you do?

a) Say, "No thanks, I've already got too many cards," and walk out.

b) Pick a few of each and hope that you find the relic/auto/super-rare parallel/fantastic insert in each pack?

c) Take the whole friggin' lot?

Well?

(tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock...)

Yeah, me too. "c" all the way.

I did get a few nice collectibles out of all of them, such as a Jeter Rare Starquest, one relic, and a Fleer Platinum fold-out of Piazza. Not great, but OK.

I guess that is why I should be buying Hobby Boxes of this stuff if I want to finish sets. I've been sucked into

The Swirling Vortex of Desparation in Trying to Find the Autogamers!

(cue the dark music: DUH-DUH-DUH-DUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHH!)

I've gotten away from the reason I got back into the hobby: set collecting, specifically Topps sets. I have finished the base 08 set, and I'm close to finishing the 08 Heritage. But what have I gotten myself into!??!!? I now have complete common sets of Ultra and UD in many flavors!

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!

(cue the Charlie Brown-kicking-the-football-while-Lucy-pulls-it-away clip)

So, how do I save myself? Do I altruistically give away all my Brewers to Thorzul and all my Braves to dayf? All my Phillies to Chris Harris? All my (pre-2007) Devil Rays to my son?

Do I sell it all on eBay for the low, low starting price of $9.99?

Do I roll them all into cardboard logs and use it to start fires in my fireplace this winter so I don't have to heat my house? (I guess that would depend on how far a cardboard log would go, and whether the cost of the natural gas to heat the house would be more than the equivalent thermodynamic blah-blah-blah....)

I think I'll keep things around for a while. I'm kinda having fun with it again, tearing open pack upon pack, hoping for that elusive Derek Jeter auto.

In the meantime, I'll see if I can make a few trades....

Autographs versus relics

I like autographs much better than relics. There I've said it. "Hi, my name is Dan, and I like autos."

"Hi, Dan!"

I mean, who wants a piece of Manny Trillo's clothing, which, by the way, probably was cut from under the arm of his jersey or the crotch of his pants, that's why it's that discolored yellowish-tannish-whitish. Who are these guys that are giving up there clothes? I don't see any baseball players running around in their thongs. Is this like President Shrub signing things where he changes a pen after each stroke so that some schlubb from North Fiddle-sticks can say that he has a pen once touched by a President? C'mon! These guys might soon start changing jerseys after each pitch!

Give me a great autograph, or even an average one, any day over that base that Ron Hassey may have stepped on at some point in his career.

I have started collecting current and former Indians' autos, including Vizquel, Eckersley, Sizemore, Sabathia, Hafner, Martinez and several up-and-coming youngsters. That is something that anyone can relate to: something that is signed by a person, done by hand. It is something that will last. Something to look back on, especially if you got it yourself.

My father is 82, and he is starting to become forgetful. He does remember things from his youth and most of his adult life as if it was yesterday, but can't remember if he played golf yesterday. He has handed down to me a most precious gift, though: his autograph book from when he was an usher at Cleveland Municipal Stadium in the late 1930's and early 1940's. He was 16 in 1941, still a year or two away from joining the Army and going to Europe. He used to bring an autograph book with him to the Stadium, and hand it down to the dugout (when players were much more likely to sign without asking you for a donation), and they would pass the book down the line and everyone would sign it. This is the way in which I could cross-check the schedules and rosters and verify which season and team it was and when they signed it.

It is an amazing autograph book, with the likes of Lou Boudreau, Ken Keltner, Vic Wertz, Bob Feller, Luke Appling, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, and many, many others. But the one that stands out, without a doubt, is the Joe Dimaggio autograph. My dad's story is that Joe D. signed this the day his famous 56-game hitting streak was broken by several great plays at third base by Ken Keltner, as well as the rest of the Indians. No, there is no date on the signature, so there is no way to definitively verify that this is true. However, by going through the schedules, I have verified that he did get Joe's signature from that very series! And really, how can I doubt his story. He remembers that, if not much else.

With the closing of Yankee Stadium this year, I have thought of going to The City and taking my son and father for a final glimpse of The House. I have tried to get in contact with the Yankees to see if they would be interested in displaying the autograph book, or maybe even showing it to the current Yanks, if any of them are autograph collectors and interested in such history. No word yet, but I'll update this when I do hear from them. (Hopefully.)

In the beginning...

This is the beginning of an irreverant look at a variety of subjects:

• Baseball, especially the Cleveland Indians
• baseball cards
• Cleveland Browns
• Travel
• whatever else is on my mind

I will not limit myself to one topic; too... uh... limiting?

I am really enjoying reading several of the baseball card blogs, and I will post those for everyone to navigate to.