A Fairfield Repack 250 Card Cube

A while back I had gotten a couple of Fairfield repacks in the form of 250 card cubes (Baseball) w/ two bonus two packs from Target. I opened one of them on Thursday night 12 December 2013.

The bulk of the 250 cards were typical Here is the count by year/set: (minus some cards selected as features below)

1981 Donruss 1
1982 Topps 1
1983 Donruss 1
1984 Topps 2
1985 Donruss 1
1987 Fleer 3
1987 Topps 4
1987 Topps Traded 1
1988 Donruss 5
1988 Fleer 3
1988 Score 11
1988 Topps 1
1989 Bazooka 1
1989 Donruss 11
1989 Fleer 1
1989 Score 7
1989 Topps 1988 Glossy All-Stars 3
1989 Topps 1988 Rookies 1
1989 Topps 30
1989 Topps Traded 1
1989 Upper Deck 2
1990 Bowman 14
1990 Fleer 1
1990 KMart Super Stars 3
1990 ProCards Minor League 1
1990 Score 8
1990 Sportflics 2
1990 Topps 2
1990 Topps Traded 1
1990 Upper Deck 1
1991 Bowman 1
1991 Donruss 7
1991 Leaf 1
1991 Score 4
1991 Leaf Studio 1
1991 Topps 1990 Glossy All-Stars 5
1991 Topps 1
1991 Upper Deck 18 (includes 2 dupes)
1992 Donruss 12
1992 Fleer 2
1992 Topps (gold variation?) 1
1992 Upper Deck 2
1993 Donruss 2
1993 Score Pinnacle 2
1994 Donruss 1
1994 Fleer 1
 1994 Score
1994 Score Select 2
1994 Upper Deck 1
1995 Donruss 1
1995 Fleer 1
1995 Fleer Ultra 1
1995 Topps 1
1996 Fleer Metal 1
1996 Topps 1
1997 Donruss 1
1997 Upper Deck Collectors Choice 1
1997 Fleer Metal 1
1998 Bowman 1
1998 Upper Deck 1
1999 Upper Deck MVP 1
2000 Pacific Crown Collection 1
2000 Topps Opening Day 1
2001 Pacific 1
2002 Topps 1
2004 Upper Deck 2
2005 Topps Total 1
2006 Upper Deck Sweet Spot 1
2006 Topps Heritage 1
2006 Upper Deck National Baseball Card Day 1
2007 Fleer 1
2007 Tristar Pro Debut (Minor League) 2
2007 Topps 1
2010 Topps 22
2011 Topps  (Yankees Team Set) 1
2012 Topps 1
2012 Topps Update 1

The Features: 
A trio of 1981 Topps cards (I like that year from my youth and it can almost be considered vintage now eek):

72 Barry Evens Padres
91 Tim Stoddard Orioles
237 Charlie Moore Brewers

A few stars:

1992 Fleer: 471 Darryl Strawberry Dodgers
1984 Topps: 573 Dave Kingman Mets (I prefer when he was a Cub)

An Old-Timer:

1991 Conlon Collection: 60 George Kelly NY Giants

Some Nats or Ex-Nationals:

1995 Donruss: 410 Pat Listash Brewers (Was Nats 3rd Base Coach in 2009)

1996 Donruss: 28 Pat Listash Brewers

2008 Upper Deck SP Authentic: 80 Rick Ankiel Cardinals

2006 Topps: National Baseball Card Day: T3 Ryan Zimmerman RC Nationals (I already have like 3 or 4 of these I think)

And the two oldest Vintage cards in the box:

1976 Topps:
470 Bobby Murcer Giants
644 Tom Bradley Giants

Now the two bonus packs, which was one of the main reasons to get the box in the first place.

The first pack:

2011 Topps Chrome:

73 James Shields Rays
82 Franklin Gutierrez Mariners
186 Domonic Brown Phillies

 C124 - 1962 Style Stephen Strasburg Nationals #d 303/1962

I got the whole thing mostly for the second pack:

2008 Upper Deck Masterpieces:

 115 Roberto Clemente Pirates

Captured on Canvas (blue framed) CC-JR Jose Reyes Mets 4 color (yes 4 gray/orange/blue/red) #d 12/25

Sorry about the hair on the scan. I didn't think the scanner bed needed a shave.

The Nats cards I will show in more detail over at my Curly W Cards Blog sometime.

Trading Zone Secret Santa

One of the trading card forums I frequent TCZ (Trading Card Zone) had a Secret Santa round of trading for the Winter Holidays. The Santa doesn't have to identify themselves, and usually don't but depending on the group it can be figured out, or they eventually identify themselves if pressured, or the recipient is flipping out over not knowing. I know who my Santa was. For this year I only got two cards but they are beauts. It doesn't really matter how many cards you get, or even the monetary value of the cards, the important thing is that based on your wants and likes that you provided the coordinator, your Santa did their best to try and find something you might enjoy.

Here is what I got:

on the Left: 2003 Upper Deck SPX Combos C-RR Cal Ripken Jr. Orioles and Scott Rolen Cardinals #d 86/90
and on the Right:  2012 Panini Leaf Limited Limited Greats Autograph 29 Frank Howard Senators Auto on-sticker Blue sharpie #d 195/299 (I had gotten and blogged about #007 for myself from Ebay on my Cury W Cards blog)

Here are the backs:

As for what I had sent. My "good little Collector" he is an Andrew Luck Super Collector so I sent him a bunch of mostly Luck cards with 2 or 3 other guys. He really enjoyed what I sent, he had some of them but not all of them. Just as I had one of these cards, but not the other.

Organizing Some Random Thoughts

A while back now, in reading a post about organization from a fellow card blogger Mike (member of TCC and a Facebook Pal) on his card blog, he also has a comics/toy collecting blog which was his original catch-all blog, I was reminded of an organizing rant post I did in November of last year (2012). His dilemma is frighteningly similar to mine. Years and years of having cards in boxes (or elsewhere) not organized or semi-organized and needing to be put in binders or displayed in someway. Apparently we are not alone in being overwhelmed by a hoard of cards. Colby over at Cardboard Collections  sometimes feels defeated. Oh and for those who didn't know Greg The Night Owl is NOT a pack rat (but he might play one on TV) here is his proof.  I'm not either, but I don't have any proof to disprove it yet. I'm lazy and organizationally challenged. Ironically when I was a kid I was a neat freak, I think public school corrupted me. So being disorganized can sometimes be a common enough feeling.

In my previous post (mentioned in the paragraph above) the first part was another kind of rant when I was in a bit of a funk about the hobby and wondering "Why?" then I settled down some and talked about an idea I have had for a while, but is not very practical. 

The idea was this: Have a service company that will sort and organize your cards for you. The basic premise is for collectors to send their collection, or the unorganized part of their collection they want/need organized with instructions on how they want it organized (by brand/by year/by team or whatever). The service then sorts the cards and puts them in boxes or binders based on the instructions, and service level purchased. It would probably make extra money selling the supplies or at least the binders, or heck supplies cost could be figured into the processing/organizing fee.

This would not be a grading/authorizing/verification/slabbing service there are plenty of those kinds of services. I haven't thought all the details out on if graded cards would or could be entered into the mix, probably not.

An obvious problem would be the cost of shipping cards in those volumes. More so on the company sending out the neatly organized collection in spiffy new binders (or boxes). Keeping a huge inventory of all the needed supplies would initially be a pain: Having a large inventory of the right kind of binder, the binder pages, penny sleeves toploaders, card boxes.

Then there is the space needed while organizing. A nice clear table large enough to hold a bunch of cards and some assorted supplies. There might have to be some sort of limit to the number of cards sent to be organized at a time "x" number of 5000 card monster boxes worth.

For right now I need to actually start doing all the sorting, organizing and proper storing of my own card hoard first. I have a problem of knocking down card piles and having to restack them and in the process their original "order that they came in" gets totally messed up. Someone else blogged about knocking over leaning pile towers of cards some months back sorry I forget who it was. Messy unorganized apartments don't help either.

hmm. I stumbled upon this link: "How to Organize Your Trading Cards" It is a "Simple" guide to organizing your cards too simple. Sadly it is way too simple and looks to be geared toward beginning collectors not seasoned collectors that are re-organizing for the zillionth time. There are other "similar" links including this one: "How to Organize Baseball Cards". Again not really for seasoned collectors ((Sigh!))

Another problem I have that contributes to my collection not being totally organized is my backlog of neat and fascinating cards and oddball sets that I have waiting in the wings to be blogged about. I have one set that I started a post about. I don't remember when I first wrote it up. I have updated it several times, and I still need to get the cards scanned. I had to add the set to zistle since it was such an oddball set.

Related Links:
How to Store and Organize Trading Cards
5 Easy Steps to an Organized Sports Card Collection *


*This seems to be the best advice I've seen yet. I already do some of what is mentioned in the article.

**Sorry for the blurry pics they were quick and dirty shots taken with my webcam handheld.

Washington Wednesday: Joe Rutgens

1964 Philadelphia Gum Joe Rutgens Redskins

This is just a quick one of these. As usual it has been a long time since I've done one of these. I am lazy on a great many things as you might have noticed. I got this card from Sportlots on 04 March this year (2013) didn't mark the price. Got a 1965 Philadelphia card with it (98 Rams Play of The Year). Not sure if it was from one dealer or two, looks like it might have been one. Sometimes I list all the specifics sometimes I don't. Anyway since I don't have many details just look at the card:

1964 Philadelphia Gum 192 Joe Rutgens Redskins

(Front and Back)

Note the cartoon on the back has a question about what Joe does in the "off-season".  Well kids back before the late 1970s and Free Agency sports athletes didn't make the Millions upon Millions they make today. The stars of yesteryear had to have a "second" job during the off season to pay the bills.

Why The Ridiculously High Price?

OK this post is primarily just a huge rant. It is mostly about the ridiculously high prices for individual cards that folks ask for on Ebay and elsewhere because some boneheaded collector or the silly folks at Beckett have said the card is worth that skyhigh price.

A case in point this "Lost In Space" The Movie autograph card made by Inkworks in 1998 of Lacey Chabert who played Penny Robinson, the teenaged "cute" younger sister played by Angela Cartwright in the original 1965 television show.

1998 Inkworks Lost in Space Autograph Card

A-2 Lacey Chabert as Penny Robinson black on-card sharpie

(Front and back)

 

Images from blog: retiredcomicguy.blogspot.com

 

For at least a year or two, possibly longer, I have been watching various copies of this card on Ebay. It isn't often listed as an auction, but usually as a fixed price item for sale. When it does it does come up for auction this card usually starts at OVER $100. At the time of this rant there are 3 Fixed priced listings currently at $108.39 + $10 shipping (in Australia using the Aussie Dollar Mate), one at $130 (or best offer, whoopie they probably won't take anything under $100) with $6.95 shipping in Columbia, Maryland bet they send it in a PWE and the third at $125 w/ Free Shipping from Phoenix, Arizona. That is plain RIDICULOUS with a CAPITAL "R".

Any collectors who know me know that I try to get the lowest price as possible for any of the cards on my want and wish lists. OK I am really really cheap. My standard maximum price I am willing to pay for an individual card, especially newer cards, is just about 40 bucks. Obviously for some vintage cards of huge stars I'll have to go a little higher, but NOT over $100. At least not until I am a confirmed millionaire and can afford to buy any card new or vintage for over $100.

The other two autograph cards A-1 Mom Maureen Robinson (Mimi Rogers) and A-3 little brother Will Robinson (Jack Johnson) from this set sometimes start at $50 or more, but can be found closer to my comfort zone of $20-$30 ($30 is my near-maximum price). So far I think $35 is the most I have EVER Paid for a single card.

For my Non-Sport collecting wants/needs I currently need ALL THREE of these cards. I am watching all 3 now, but haven't pulled the trigger on them yet. As I said the Lacey Chabert one I will NOT pay those ridiculous prices for.

Related blog post article: 1998 Autographed A-2 Lacey Chabert Lost in Space Movie Trading Card by Inkworks

RAC Card Update: In The Bargain Bin

The RAC Card is back in the USA from it's vacation. It is currently with Nick of Dime Boxes. To see where it has been check out the Tracking post.

RAC Card Update: European Vacation

Here is an update on this card:

The card has made its way to Lisbon, Portugal. An overseas adventure that I'm sure would be an exciting tale if only cards could talk. Check out the updated RAC Card Tracking post it isn't much but hey its an update. Thank you Ana for the email and post.

I wonder where the card will end up next?

Card of the Whenever: 1959 Topps Baseball Roy Campanella

After coming up with an idea for my Curly W Cards blog of showing off one Washington Baseball Card and calling the feature "SeNators Singles", I have decided to do something similar here. If you read enough card blogs you will notice that some of the bloggers have a "card of the day" or a "card of the week" feature where they feature a random card from their collection on a regular basis. Some blogs ARE that feature. Due to my posting nature I won't be able to do a daily feature, and sometimes a weekly feature I get lazy so for this feature it will be "whenever".  It won't necessarily be "regular" in the sense of having a fixed schedule. It will just happen when it happens. So Deal with it. Speaking of deals...

I keep surprising myself with cards that I have failed to mention on this blog but I had mentioned in some of my very seldom "mail day" posts on various card forums. This card is one such card. It is a highly sought after card that often sells for ridiculously over inflated prices even for vintage cards and even for a Hall of Famer. I can understand high prices sometimes for vintage and super Hall of Famers. What I can not understand those ridiculous overinflated prices for a brand new card that has an autograph, on a sticker I might add, and/or a tiny piece of what is supposed to be part of a uniform they supposedly wore at one time. Sometimes for a player that hasn't even played a single professional game yet. OH come on seriously people? Yeah I am a bit of a cheap scape.

Now for the steal: Before I won this card I had seen some auctions for it go for a little less than (but not much) what I ended up paying and I missed bidding on them or was outbid cause I was low-balling a little. The price I ended up paying hits close to my upper limits for an individual card, but for a card like this I might have even gone a little over my top price. The card is in what I would say is Pretty Good to Very Good condition, the dealer had it marked as being in Fair to Good condition.

THE CARD:

1959 Topps Baseball 550 "Symbol of Courage" Roy Campanella

Here is the back:

Nope didn't get it for that little, but I would love to have. That is the price sticker that was on the penny sleeve it was in, it was also in a toploader but I scanned it "naked" without the glaring toploader. I also scanned the back raw so all the info can be read.

I received the card on Wednesday 06 March 2013 (This year? Really I thought it was last year). I got it for (hold on to your seat) $24.99 Shipping was FREE. I have seen it listed on Ebay with starting bids of twice or three times as much sometimes in much worse condition. Copies in better condition I could see paying a bit more heck I might have even gone up another 5 bucks but $30-$40 is my upper limits for a single card at this time, even vintage cards of Hall of Famers. I am glad I found one at an affordable price. It makes trying to complete these vintage sets that much easier.

Nachos Grande Blogger Bracket Challenge: Round 1

And so it begins... ROUND 1 of the Nachos Grande Blogger Bracket Challenge in 3-D. Now the chips (Nacho of course) are for real, the tough get tougher and the rest fall by the wayside. Eliminations are now real and I am in one of those three person brackets which means the one with the highest score moves on and the other two fall to their doom. To my left is Backstop Cards to my right is gcrl OH Great that's it I'm doomed these guys are pros (like about 90% of the competition). Oh well Its been fun. Vote for me just in case UMK?

OK now on to the C prompt:

C:\>

NO NO not the "C" Prompt, the "Card" Prompt (this one):

↓

Subject: Craig Paquette (pronounced Paw-Ket) MLB Outfielder, 1st and 3rd baseman - 10 year career 5 different teams. Seen here with his second team the Kansas City Royals. But wait this is no ordinary action shot. It appears to be some sort of pregame shirt test during batting practice shot. A jersey resilience test? A screen test for a new deodorant?

Craig's jersey/shirt looks to be some kind of mesh jersey not your ordinary polyester or cotton blend. Kevlar maybe? Is that dirt? Or is it a new fingerprint type pattern? No we'll go with the mesh theory. Look there is one hand tugging at his left sleeve. Is it his own or some awestruck fan wanting to get a piece of their favorite player? I hope it isn't a zombie, but since we know Craig played some six years and three teams after this photo session it isn't a zombie hand. Then there is the right hand coming in for a firm handshake, or maybe it is the second shirt inspector from Nike, or Under Armour? Or ANOTHER ZOMBIE? NO we ruled out the zombie theory since Craig survived this encounter. Besides zombies don't often wear watches and if they do it wouldn't be shiny anymore, unless it was recently turned. That is a debate for another post some other time some other blog. What is with all this zombie stuff?

Geez for cryin' out loud would somebody get rid of that zombie conspiracy theorist? There are NO ZOMBIES IN BASEBALL!

UM OK maybe there are a few, or were.

Ah found the back of the secret shirt test card:

On the back of the card Craig is seen at bat in his road grays so I guess we can safely say that the whole invincible mesh jersey test was a wash. Oh well I guess it was just the final game of the season and the  "Take the jersey off the players back" day. Craig you are supposed to wait till the game is over to give it away and then sign it, maybe.

Now about this Zombie thing...

GOING GOing Gone!

The following post is a presentation of the Nachos Grande: 2013 Blogger Bracket Challenge Launch. Please do not panic but keep your arms and legs in the blog tram at all times.

GOING Going and Gone!

GOING:

Going, going, GONE! That is what happens when you play this card as it is intended for your 2011 Topps Attax game campaign. You hit a Home Run. If you're lucky and your HR is a GRAND SLAM! All the Mascot cards will do a celebration dance for you (OK maybe not all Bernie Brewer rarely does anything but drink and slide). If you played your cards right, at the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, you win the game and the satisfaction of seeing your opponent's face go from a big wide grin to a droopy gloomy sour puss pout.

GOING:

Featured on this card is Carlos Lee when he was playing for the Astros. When this image of Carlos was first captured he was only thinking of knocking the ball out of the park, or pretending to if it was a staged photo op. Little did Mr. Lee know that he would have only one more year wearing Astros Orange and that the Astros would only have one more year at the bottom of the National League, OK he might have know of the impending League move for his then current team.

GONE:

So Carlos bid farewell to that baseball in 2011, then in 2012 farewell to Astros' Orange in exchange for Marlin's Neon Orange. The Astros bid farewell to the National League in 2012 and Hello to the American League in 2013. Out of the league's cellar and into the other league's... well cellar.  Oh and Carlos has since bid baseball farewell and said hello retirement. 

1970s Football Magazines Question

Valerie Bertinelli from "One Day A Time" in a John Riggins Redskins jersey.

I had a Sonny Jurgensen Jersey that style when I was a kid.

I no longer have the shirt but I do have a few pictures of me in the jersey.

I seem to recall that back in the late 1960s early 1970s there was a Football magazine that had some pinup or centerfold like photos of models wearing just football jerseys. It might have just come out at the beginning of the football season, maybe it was Playboy's football preview for the preseason or one of the regular Football magazines preseason issue, but I am about 90% certain it was a football oriented magazine not a men's magazine. My Brother had them and I am not sure if he remembers the magazine he might remember the photos/posters, but I'm not sure if he would recall the exact magazine. The reason I think it might have been just a special preseason issue is there didn't seem to be very many of these. I think it was also one of these one model/picture per issue thing. I think maybe they had four at the most, although I think my brother only had two.  Maybe it was because the magazine folded? I don't think it was a one-shot parody. This has been driving me nuts for years trying to figure this out.

Now-a-days with all the various porn magazines and online websites the sexy image of a girl in nothing but a sports jersey is about as common as a sports card from the late 1980s, or pictures of cats on the internet. Back in the sixties (or seventies) however it wasn't too overdone. These particular magazine images I'm looking for were tastefully done no nudity (at least I think there was no nudity). Color photo not drawing.

Kind of like this except not as provocative.

The pinups were of beautiful girls in a football jersey that is big enough for them to use as a nightgown, the way this image used to be done, now they tend to wear cut-off Jerseys to show more skin. I don't recall all the details, they might have had on white shorts or panties under the jersey, but I think they had nothing, or gave that illusion of nothing. The pinups I am looking for also might have had them holding a football, or with a football helmet, holding the helmet or lying near one or perhaps wearing it.

Something more along these lines, except shot in a photography studio.

Or like this. She sure is cute.

I seem to recall one of them was a blond with long hair in a straight style of the time wearing a white jersey of the Dolphins, Bills, Chargers or some other team's white jersey, either holding a ball or a helmet of that team.

Like many older pinups pre 1980s the effect was sexy without lingerie or showing too much skin. Yeah it was more like Gwen Verdon in Damn Yankees (and the promos) than anything from today.

UPDATE: If I recall correctly the main part of the magazine was black and white on newspaper type stock paper. The "centerfold" or "pinup" whatever you want to call it was the only thing in color. Of course since my memories are 40 some years from the mind of a 5 or 6 year old reality might be very different from the stored memory. Apparently six years ago I had asked about these things on the Ebay sports forums and a trading card forum with no replies or results.

Not Chyour Contest Or Mine Either

Christopher of Nachos Grande El Bloggo is hosting a contest that sounds like real fun. I entered and due to the nature of the contest slots could fill up real fast so check it out and sign up now. It is one of those participation ones, not a trivia answering or random card choosing. One requirement is you need to have a blog, or start one for the contest.

4th Blogiversary: Yay Me!

Today 16 October 2013 marks the Fourth Anniversary of this blog. Notice the original banner I didn't quite get it all filled in yet, I was still trying to figure out what cards to put on it. Wanna see my First Post? Card Blogging What A Concept. Yep the title is a play on the title of the 1979 debut comedy album from Robin Williams "Reality... What A Concept."

Another concept is posting more often. That will at least keep my two or three semi-regular blog followers awake.

Hogan Family Autos

I recently (relatively recently the way my blog-time goes) got some autographs from Ebay of The Hogan Family:

NO Not Hulk and his Clan, but their autos would be very cool brotha.

Nope not them either, although a Valerie Harper and/or Jason Bateman auto would be sweet.

Yep only not from there, but from here:

Michael Hogan and his real-life wife Susan Hogan guest starred on the Warehouse 13 episode "Nevermore" (Season 1, Episode 11) as Myka Bering's Parents. The father owns a used bookstore named "Bering and Sons", he wanted a son not a daughter. In a weird life and fiction thing Michael and Susan's son Gabriel appears in a few WH13 episodes as Sam Martino, Myka's late Secret Service Partner.

Back to the cards, I got the autos for pretty good prices, and as with many other auto cards I've seen them for much more and for super overinflated prices. Both cards are from the 2010 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13: Season One Autograph Insert Series. The autographs are not numbered. For series one I think all the autographs are the Farnsworth (a steampunk video communications device they use in the show) style design for the autographs later series sets have a second design with the actor's picture above a black border design (see my Two From Leena post to see that design). I got Michael's card first from an auction for $4.99 + FREE Shipping, Susan's card I got from a BIN (Buy It Now) for $7.50 + $3.00 shipping two days later. I paid for both at the same time. As with the two Genelle Williams cards, these were signed with blue sharpies. I think that is the standard for this series, and maybe for all Rittenhouse autographs.

2010 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season One

Michael Hogan Auto

(Front and Back)

2010 Rittenhouse Warehouse 13 Season One

Susan Hogan Auto

(Front and Back)