Card Show Pickups - Clay Enjoys Building Miniature Race Cars - VROOM!!

While in Kansas City this weekend for some disappointing Royals baseball, I was able to find something good in the Independence Mall Card Show.  After going to the show for the 2nd time in the last year, the dealers were pretty much the same, even the same locations in the mall.

My main goal was to get as many 1973 cards for my set.  I went with about $25 in my pocket hoping that would get me something good considering that I am mainly down to mostly star or high # cards.  If I would have had $5 more dollars I could have walked away with the crown jewel of the set, the Mike Schmidt rookie.  While that would have been nice, the condition wasn't quite what I wanted to put into my set so I had to pass.  Now even though I had the extra $5, and condition has never been a main focus for me in collecting this set, the 2 choices were very subpar.  Instead I spent at total of $14 and got the following....

First, the horizontal cards, a Willie Stargell and some Rookie Pitchers.  One of the things about the 1973 set is their quality action photography.  Granted technology has improved, but I can just envision some guy sitting in the 8th row taking this photo with his Kodachrome Instamatic camera.

Next, we have some of the vertical cards including some of my stars that I needed.  Jim Palmer, Juan Marichal, Al Kaline, and Thurman Munson.  Lesson learned on the Munson card...never quit looking for a card just because you found it already.  I found the Munson card for a price I was willing to pay, but then when browsing through some other 73s from the same dealer, I found a card in better condition for $2 less than the original.  I think he may have been a little miffed that he lost out on that extra $2.  My gain!

I was able to find three "All-Time" leader subset cards that I needed.  Any day that I can add Hank Aaron, Cy Young, and Walter Johnson to my collection is a good day.

And finally, to the reason for the title of the blog post.  Too many times, I often forget to take some time and read the backs of the cards that I buy.  I guess it is the "rush" to get them put in their rightful spot in the binder.  It's like I think they can't wait to get to their new home.  Anyway, one back caught my way and that was of the Clay Kirby card and the Topps cartoons.  "Clay enjoys building miniature racing cars."  I can see Mr Kirby sitting in his home in December with one of those magnifying lamps painting one of his prized cars, and saying "VROOM!" when he realizes he has built another masterpiece.

Kirby would play for three different major league teams, the Padres, the Reds, and the Expos.  His career win-loss record was 75-104.  He led the NL with 20 losses in 1969.  He would then die at the young age of 43 in 1991.  Here's to Mr. Kirby.  He probably never thought he would be the inspiration to a blog post.  Kirby had a big hand in Padres lore as he almost pitched a no-hitter.  Unfortunately, a pinch hitter would be used in the 9th for Kirby as the Padres were trailing 1-0 (he had given up 5 walks but no hits). For more on this interesting Padre story, which is a MUST READ, see this article.

These 12 cards bring my 1973 want list down to 36 cards!

Two Recent Pickups for the UD Legendary Jerseys Collection

My latest two pickups for my quest to get the complete 2000 Upper Deck Legends Legendary Jerseys insert set arrived this week.  This brings my total number of cards to 28 out of 52.  The two players are both members of the 3000 Hit Club and both members of the Hall of Fame.  One of them was a the legendary base stealer of the Cubs and Cardinals, the other a great slugger mainly the Padres and Yankees.

Here they are......

Lou Brock

Dave Winfield

On a side note, I remember buying the Sport Americana Baseball Player Address Book and I was excited to start asking for autographs.  I remember a wonderfully nice and complimentary letter to Lou Brock.  I never got a reply, and never wrote to another player again. :(

Line Score of the Day and Opening Day at the K this Friday.

So after listening to most of the game on radio, I turned on the TV to witness the end of the Royals-A's game today.  The best line score of the year belongs to Jonathan Broxton, the new Royals closer.

Broxton (BS, 1) (L, 0-1) 0.2 IP, 0 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HBP

After opening the bottom of the 12th with a strikeout, Broxton saw a error by SS Alcides Escobar put a runner at 1st.  He then followed with a walk, another walk, a groundout to tie the game, a hit batter, and then another hit batter to lose the game.  Instead of ending the season opening road trip at 4-2, we now head home at 3-3.  Here is hoping the results against the Indians on Friday is a little better.

Opening Day at the K!  Home of the 2012 All Star Game.  I'll be there.

2011 Opening Day - Royals vs. Angels

Surprise Package from Crinkly Wrappers

Ted from Crinkly Wrappers responded to one of my recent posts and said he would like to send some cards my way.  Today, I got that package and did it have some great cards.  First, he sent me 28 cards to fit into my 2011 Year of Topps Insert set.  A lot of great additions including this 1959 Roger Maris Kansas City Athletics card.  I always wonder what might have been if many of those Yankee greats would have stayed with whatever Kansas City team they first played for.  I would love to put the 1973 Goose Gossage into my 73 set; however, I will have to leave that spot open until I get the "real" one.

Speaking of 1973 Topps, I found 2 high number cards included in the package including former Royal, Darrell Porter.  With these two cards, my 1973 Topps set now needs only 48 cards to be complete.

Finally, Ted sent over a bunch of Royals including the obligatory 2010 and 2011 All Star selections:  Joakim Soria and Aaron Crow.  Also included were my first Topps stickers from 2011 and 2012:  Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer.  With the All Star game in Kansas City this year, I would love for these two Royal favorites to be named to the All Star team to represent the home town team.

Thanks Ted.  To send this only a few days after the incident at your house is amazing.  If you are like me, sometimes it is the cards that gets my mind off the things I don't wish to think about.  Thanks again and best wishes to you and your family.

1983 Topps Set COMPLETE - Thanks to Johngy and the One Card Challenge

Today, I received a package from Johngy.  The long awaited Whitey Herzog to complete my 1983 Topps Set that I started back in, well, 1983.  I posted my request on Night Owl's One Card Challenge page and within a couple of weeks arrived this wonderful card that immediately went to its rightful spot inside the 1983 Topps album.

1983 Topps Album - Page 21 - Cards #181-190

29 Years after it began, I can now set it is complete.  Thanks Johngy!

Latest Pickups - 2000 UD Legendary Jerseys - Night and Day

My latest pickups in my quest to get the entire 2000 Upper Deck Legends Legendary Jersey insert set came in this week.  The first is a card that has been pretty tough to find as I have not seen many of them anywhere, including eBay.  I remember watching WTBS Broadcasts of the Braves games as I was growing up.  Even though the Braves were not very good during those years and my main reason to watch WTBS was World Championship Wrestling, I did like watching Dale Murphy play.  Much has been written about whether or not he should be in the Hall of Fame.  While his power stats are pretty good (398 HR and 1266 RBIs), and his 2 MVPs (82 and 83) look impressive, I personally don't believe he should be there.  One cannot argue his character though, perhaps, one of the best people to play the game.

On the other hand, I give you the next card of a player that many people question, both his career numbers and his character.  Barry Bonds finished as the All-Time Home Run Leader in baseball.  However, achieving that feat with the help of steroids has cost him greatly.  I still think he was one of the most gifted players to play the game even without the help of steroids, but the fact that he did this during one of the most controversial eras of baseball and his relationship with BALCO have meant that his career and his records will always be tainted.  Would I put him in the Hall of Fame....yes, but I don't care if he never gets there.  

Ironic that the two cards that I get this week are players known for their power, but whose character is so drastically different.

COMC Purchase - 2000 Topps HD and One Card Challenge Request

My second group of cards from my recent purchase at COMC was all but 2 of the cards that I needed to complete my 2000 Topps HD set.  This set is something that I recently have been trying to complete as I mostly forgot about it after I received a box of this back in 2000.  The box was a birthday present from my wife and it was the first time that I had bought or received any high-end cards (at least I considered it high-end then).  After striking out at a number of shows and shops looking for these, I decided to see what COMC had.  Luckily, they had all but 2 cards that I needed and I was able to get almost all of them for between 25-35 cents each.

I remember loving the quality of the pictures when I opened my first pack.  The cards are also printed on very thick card stock to the point that they almost have that "credit card" feel.  Here are three of the cards that I received in my purchase, all of them some of the games great players:  Alomar, Boggs, and Griffey.

Before receiving these cards I would have said I really loved the set, but the next three cards changed my mind.  Can you figure out why?

It is a good thing that the name is on the back of their jersey because the photos that they decided to use reveal nothing of their face.  I hadn't noticed this before with the cards but I am now a little disappointed with what Topps did.  While I appreciate the action shots of all three, I can't help but wonder how better the cards could have been if the photo was taken from the opposite side.

This did bring me within 2 cards from completion of this set.  One of which I have since bought in a lot on eBay.  I probably wouldn't have purchased the lot, but I was able to get the Juan Gonzalez card along with 21 other cards including some duplicates of the above cards for only $2.50 with free shipping.  I decided I couldn't pass that up, and the other cards would make good trade bait.  So if anybody is interested in some 2000 Topps HD, I will try to post what I have on my trade page later.

This leaves me with only 1 card remaining and another One Card Challenge.  My last remaining card is #76 Sean Casey.  If anyone has this, let me know and we can work out a trade.

2012 Trade Post #10 - Hobbs' Knights - 91 Topps Set Completed

Jason from Hobb's Knights sent me some great cards including many of my set needs and some Royals.  The first group of cards I would like to highlight are two names that you won't come across often, Gene Harris and Jeff Pico.  They are quite important to my collection though as they are the last two cards in my 1991 Topps Set.  Mission completed!

He also sent me some 2011 Heritage and some 2011 Year of Topps Insert cards.  I am now over halfway finished with that insert set.  Gotta love me some "Country Breakfast"!  And for those of you outside the KC area, that just happens to be the fan created nickname of Royals DH Billy Butler.  With Butler size and speed, most Royals assume there hasn't been a country breakfast that Billy didn't finish.

The trade include some 2009 Topps American Heritage cards, one of which is a short print of the 2008 Presidential Election.  Being a history teacher, I really like this set along with the American Heritage Heroes set.  I have used those cards as a good conversation starter/lesson plan in some of my classes.

Finally, Jason sent over quite a few Royals including cards of two my favorite Royals, George Brett and Dan Quisenberry.  One of the cards is quite unique as I had not seen this set before.  The 1998 Skybox Dean Palmer is clear on the right side.  You probably cannot see that on the scan, but Palmer is raised up on the card while the entire right side of the card is clear plastic.  Very cool! 

Thanks again Jason!

COMC Purchase - 1983 Topps and One Card Challenge Request

I recently made my first purchase on COMC which eventually led to a delivery of 116 cards I needed for various sets I am building.  You will see some more posts in the upcoming days about what I received.  I was in a discussion with a friend of mine the other day about COMC vs. eBay.  I tend to like both a lot.  However, if I am needing something specific, I will most likely head to COMC to handle those needs.  I think just about 95% of the cards I bought were less than the listed price thanks to the "make an offer" option.  The S&H can be a problem when you add it up.  $25.00 to ship doesn't sound too reasonable at first, but if I figure what it would have cost me to get the same items on eBay, it turns out to be a pretty good deal.  Of course, you will want to wait until you have a good number of cards to ship to make it as reasonable as possible.  I went ahead and spent an additional $4.00 on the standard shipping vs. the economy shipping.  I think it was well worth it.  My cards all came in sleeves inside a small storage box which was securely packed inside a larger box.  Much better than some of the stuff you get through eBay sellers.

Anyway, my first group of cards I want to show are from the 1983 Topps set.  I needed four of these but I upgraded one of my checklist cards with one that wasn't marked.  My favorite card from this lot was the 1982 Stolen Base Leaders card.  Tim Raines led the N.L. with a very impressive 78 steals, but the 1982 season was Rickey Henderson's 130 base swipes which stands as the modern day record.  It is only surpassed by Hugh Nicol's 138 stolen bases during the 1887 season with the Cincinnati Red Stockings.

This leaves me with one remaining 1983 Topps card, a Whitey Herzog #186.  I have posted this over at Night Owl's One Card Challenge.  While my first one card challenge was unsuccessful since I ended up getting it at Wes' Baseball Cards in Lincoln, NE, I hope someone will be able to help me out with this one.  I have also posted another challenge which is a 2000 Topps HD Sean Casey #76.  I hope someone out there can help me out with these.

2000 Upper Deck Legends - Legendary Jersey Collection - Joe Torre

I have not posted most of latest additions to my 2000 Upper Deck Legends - Legendary Jersey Subset collection.  I have slowed somewhat on the acquisition of these cards to focus on putting together some of my sets.  I was able to get this Joe Torre last week relatively cheaply off of eBay.

That brings my collection to a total of 24 cards out of the 52 total cards.  You can see my complete collection on another page of my blog here.  I plan to continue to try and put this together.  So far I have spent just under $100.  However, I have a long ways to go as there are some short prints that will be quite hard to find and even harder to acquire.

Apparently, I am not the only person trying to put this subset together as I saw a post on the Beckett forums from a collector that is trying to complete their set.  There is also a person on eBay that is currently trying to sell a complete set, that he says is the only one in existence.  I believe it, but I will continue to put this together as a very long term project.  In case you want to go ahead and buy the complete set, you can have it all in a nice frame for only $5995.00.  Here is a link to that auction.