Washington Bullets 1975-76 Topps Cards Blabbing

 

I'm not much into basketball anymore actually I tend to avoid it whenever possible. The reasons are many. So  why am I blogging about it? Well that is because I wanted to show off the Team set I had that I started back when the cards came out and didn't finish until getting the cards from Sportlots.com  I don't recall exactly when I got the last card in. I'm not even sure who it was. I haven't been into basketball since sometime during the late 1970s or early '80s in the days before Michael Jordan made basketball stars mega stars. Back in the days when the uniform shorts weren't gangsta' baggy drawers. Back before the PC attitude that forced a certain Washington DC team to change it's name from what was perceived only as a piece of a lethal weapon (and not the object of super speed the name made fans think of) to a generic title for a fantasy man of magic.

For collecting purposes I am ONLY into The Bullets (and sort of the Wizards) with maybe a few stars/hall of famers from the time I was into basketball the 1970s. I'm not sure if I'm going to pursue any more Bullets/Wizards cards, maybe I will. I do like some of the now vintage 1960s and '70s era cards.

The 1972-'73 NBA season would be the last season for the Baltimore Bullets (1963-1973 previously the Chicago Zephyrs) In 1973 they moved to Landover, MD and became first the Capital Bullets for a season, and then the Washington Bullets. Then in the mid to late 1990s the Politically Correct crowd would force the team to change their name something non-violent The Wizards. So black magic and sorcery is OK but an object of speed and accuracy is not. Oh OK bullets are the part of a gun that is the instrument of injury and death, but I still think Bullets is a cool name for a sports team in a sport that requires skill and a bit of speed every now and then.

Anyway I have all the individual player cards of the Bullets, the Team Card, and Team Leaders cards from Topps 1975-76 series. If any of the players appeared on League Leaders cards I don't have those and might be interested in them to have the Master 75-76 Bullets set. As it is right now I just have the Base Set which is pretty complete enough for me.

Bullets 1975-76 Topps: Chenier to Kozelco

1975-76 Topps Basketball Washington Bullets Cards Collage

 Back in the day 1975 to be exact I had gotten a few basketball cards from Topps for the 1975-76 NBA season. Fortunately I had gotten a couple of my Homie Team the Washington Bullets. I first became aware of them a few years before when they were the Baltimore Bullets. I think I started getting into them around '71 when they made their move, anyway I digress. It was around this time 1975 or 1976 when I attended my first Bullets Game of maybe 2 or 3 total in my life. I do recall their opponent was The New Orleans Jazz (years before they would move to Utah - UTAH? JAZZ?) I think the Bullets won. I'm not sure if that was the game that was the free T-Shirt Jersey game, or the School Safety Patrol discount game (maybe it was both). Anyway for the t-shirt game they gave away t-shirts that looked like the players jersey's. I wanted either Wes Unseld, or was it Phil Chenier I wanted? I ended up with Leonard Robinson. I don't think I have that shirt anymore, and never took a photo of me in it.

Of the basketball cards I had collected as a kid the 1975-76 Topps was one of the few I had gotten. My brother might of had some of the 74-75 Topps and definitely some of the tall boy 1970-71 cards.Once again I digress (you will notice I do that on this blog a lot. Shall we get on with the 1975-76 Bullets cards then?

1975-75 Topps Basketball  220 Washington Bullets Team Card

220 Washington Bullets: Team Card and checklist. I think I had this card back when I was a kid, not sure I only had 4 or 5 of the 12 cards in this team set. This card is an uncorrected error card, check out the back.

220 back of Team Card/Checklist Uncorrected Error

The uncorrected error on this card is that both the cards for Leonard Robinson and Wes Unseld are listed as card number 151. The correct number for the Wes Unseld card should be 115. The team card they talk about is the Team Leaders card Which I will get to at the end of my list.

1975-76 Topps Basketball - 190 Phil Chenier AS

190 Phil Chenier: This is one of the 4 or 5 cards I had when I was a kid. I always thought it was cool that of the few Bullets cards I had from this set it has been one of my favorites. I thought it was cool that he was on the All-Star team (2nd team).

1975-76 Topps Basketball - 173 Clem Haskins

173 Clem Haskins: Yep had this card as well. I didn't follow the team well enough to know much about how good a player Haskins was. I just had his card from this season.

1975-76 Topps Basketball - 60 Elvin Hayes

60 Elvin Hayes:  Don't think I had this one as a kid. I do however have a good maybe very good conditioned Elvin Hayes card from 1970-71 Topps #70 from when he was on the San Diego Rockets, it's warping dinged on the corners and some sides and a light crease at the bottom. I used to think it was in worse condition but I was confusing it with the 1976-77 #133card I have of his. That one has creases that look like lighting strikes and major corner bending falling apart. Someday I'll have to scan those. Both of them I've had since the day, the 1970-71 card was my brother's I'm fairly sure about that. This card is pretty well off center to the left and bottom, maybe I can do with an upgrade.

1975-76 Topps Basketball - 23 Jimmy Jones

23 Jimmy Jones: Didn't have this one. Don't have any stories about Jimmy I don't remember him from those days since I didn't wholeheartedly follow the Bullets even when I was following them. Sorry Mr.Jones. It's an OK action shot but for a card the image of him is pretty small.

1975-76 Topps Basketball - 202 Tom Kozelko

202 Tom Kozelko: Gesundheit, but seriously didn't have this card. He might have been the last card I got from sportlots for this set or was it Wes Unseld? My first thought was he looks awful scrawny and white to be a basketball player. He is another player I don't recall from those years. I should upgrade this card since it is soooooooooooo off center to the left and top (thus the back also has centering issues).

Bullets 1975-76 Topps: Porter to Weatherspoon

 

1975-76 Topps Washington Bullets cards set. Kevin Porter to Nick Weatherspoon.

1975-76 Topps Basketball 220 Washington Bullets Team Card Back

At first this will be weird if you are reading these as they get published. To keep the proper reading order I have scheduled their posting times in reverse order so that later while reading them in the archives they will appear in the proper order since blogs post newest posts first.

1975 -76 Topps Basketball - 79 Kevin Porter

79 Kevin Porter: I didn't have this card as a kid, but I remember Kevin Porter being a good player. The only thing I have to say is I should upgrade this card because the coloring on it is extremely red. It looks worse here online than in person, I just checked while drafting this post.

1975 - 76 Topps Basketball - 95 Mike Riordan

95 Mike Riordan: Didn't have this card and double heavy SIGH! I don't recall the player and this card has major off centering issues. Yes the bottom does cut off there at the white border thus the second part of the heavy sigh. Other than that a fairly nice card other than I think the reds are a bit pink. Maybe that should have been a triple sigh.

1975 - 76 Topps Basketball - 151 Leonard Robinson

151 Leonard Robinson: I think I had this card as a kid. I definitely remember Robinson I had a shirt with his number 33 on it after all. I'm pretty sure it was a game where School Safety Patrol Kids either got in free or had half-priced tickets or some such event as that. I definitely went on a t-shirt give-a-way night. I mention this in one of the other posts for this. The t-shirt was a replica of the jerseys except they were regular sleeved t-shirts they had the stripes on the front with Bullets and the player's number and then the back had their name and I think number again. I recall being a little disappointed in getting Robinson instead of Unseld or Chenier. OH by the way this card is correctly identified on the back of the team card.

1975 - 76 Topps Basketball - 115 Wes Unseld

115 Wes Unseld: Oddly enough one of my all-time fave Bullets I didn't have this card back then. Some where I think I still have a mini-poster that was a giveaway from McDonald's that has Wes Unseld and someone else from the team a coach I think. Well it isn't them on the poster it's caricatures of them. There were four? six? posters in the set and it had the major players in pairs on the posters. It was either a give-a-way with a specific purchase or it was an extra buck or two with a purchase. I forget the details and it's been a few years since I've seen one of them on Ebay but I think one was on there once maybe even the whole set. This card is mistakenly listed as being number 151 on the checklist on the back of the team card.

1975 - 76 Topps Basketball - 48 Nick Weatherspoon

48 Nick Weatherspoon: Another card I didn't have. Not sure I think it might have been the last one I got or the Unseld or Kozelko? I don't remember. I do remember Weatherspoon back then. Again I'm not sure of his stats but I think he was one of their better players.

1975 - 76 Topps Basketball - 133 Washington Bullets Team Leaders

133 Washington Bullets Team Leaders: Nope didn't have this card. Now I have two I don't remember exactly why I ended up with two. Probably because when I was finishing up the set I didn't think I had it so I quickly ordered a second one. Anyway one of them I think is slightly off center, maybe that was why?

Mayor Dave Bing 1975-76 Topps Basketball

1975-76 Topps Basketball

Dave Bing - Detroit Pistons

Here is a basketball card I've had since my childhood. As I said in my post about my Phil Chenier RC yesterday (well actually just a few minutes ago I'm scheduling these posts at a later time) I don't follow basketball anymore, but when I did the man on this card was one of my fave players. In 1975 he played for my fave homie team the Washington Bullets. I saw him play a few games during his career with the Bullets from 1975-'77. Not many but a few in fact at one game a friend and I attended we got to the "Cap Center" a little early and got to watch the warm-ups/shooting practice (or whatever basketball calls "batting practice") and got a close up look at some of the players including Dave. The Capital Centre was located in Landover, MD later renamed US Air Arena but I will always know it as the Cap Center. Sadly it no longer exists.

OH by the way Mr. Bing is now the Mayor of Detroit. When he was elected or started his campaign I blogged about it at my regular blog in the post titled "The Politics of Sports".

*A Homie team is the team located in your home city/town or area that you root for so calling them my "fave homie" team is a bit redundant. It gets the point across anyway.

Phil Chenier Rookie Card 1972-73 Topps Basketball

1972-73 Topps Basketball

Phil Chenier RC - Baltimore Bullets

This is Phil Chenier's Rookie Card, he was drafted by Baltimore in 1971. Phil would be one of the Bullets' top shooting guards but after a back injury in the 1977-78 season his game would be very off. I never kept track of basketball statistics as a kid I would just occasionally watch and a few times attend Bullets' games, until sometime in the late 1970s maybe early '80s when I grew tired of basketball.

The 1972-'73 NBA season would be the last season for the Baltimore Bullets (1963-1973) previously the Chicago Zephyrs (1962-1963). In 1973 they would move to Landover, MD and become the Capital Bullets for a season and then the Washington Bullets. In 1997 the team bowed down to pressure from the Politically Correct crowd and changed their name to the non-violent Wizards (and actually move into the City of DC eventually).

1967 Stancraft Team Playing Cards

Quick update. On Friday 10 June 2011 I got two more of the 1967 Stancraft Playing Cards NFL Team Decks. I got the Atlanta Falcons and St. Louis Cardinals. Both in box and both in super excellent near mint shape. When I opened the box on both (both were open not sealed, if they were sealed I'd probably would keep them sealed) they were so pristine when checking to see that both Jokers were there and all 52 of the regular cards were there they felt like "never played with/ dealt" stiff feel to them. Got both for only $9.99/deck So $20 total plus a few bucks for combined shipping.

Here is my page for my progress on this collection Stancraft Playing Cards1967 NFL Team Decks My collection right now is 5/16 complete (4/16 in box, 1/16 loose pack)

2009 Philadelphia Football

2009 PHILADELPHIA FOOTBALL

I'm hooked on these retro cards based in the 1964 Philadelphia Gum company Football cards. I have a handful of the original 1960s Philadelphia cards of some of my fave players, and would always like more. But I digress. This post has been sitting in my draft section since November of '09 the year these cards came out. I've been putting off posting this because I was wanting to scan some of the cards and add them to the post. I haven't gotten around to scanning them. Just like a thousand other cards in my collection I've been meaning to scan to boast and brag about. :) But I digress.

The Base set breakdown:
Regular cards the Players (1-300)
The Story of Barack Obama (301-325)
Woodstock 40th Anniversary (326-330)
The Vietnam War (331-340)
The Election Years (341-351)
NFL Stars in Action (352-400)

My Base Set NEEDS:
PLAYERS
5, 6, 8, 9, 13, 17, 19, 32, 33, 34, 37, 46, 47, 52, 54, 56, 57, 62, 64, 66, 70, 74, 76, 77, 84, 86, 87, 88, 90, 92, 96, 98, 101, 105, 109, 110, 112, 113, 116, 117, 119, 120, 122, 123, 124, 143, 146, 149, 150, 152, 155, 157, 164, 165, 167, 172, 174, 176, 182, 185, 189, 193, 195, 196, 197, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300
OBAMA
301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325
WOODSTOCK
327, 328, 329, 330
VIETNAM
331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 338, 339, 340
ELECTION
341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 350, 351
STARS IN ACTION
352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 374, 375, 376, 377, 378, 379, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 400

1935 NATIONAL CHICLE
(style inserts sub-set)

National Chicle inserts Breakdown
NC1-NC19: Political figures
NC20-NC29: Muscle cars
NC30-NC39: Fighter Planes
NC40-NC49: Trains
NC50-NC75: NFL Vets
NC76-NC100: NFL Rookies

NEEDS: (#d in the format of NC#)
POLITICAL FIGURES
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19
MUSCLE CARS
20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29
FIGHTER PLANES
30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39
TRAINS
40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 49
NFL VETS
50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75
NFL ROOKIES
76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100

Target Fairfield value pack box

Went to Target of Friday 20 May and got some packs of A&G 2010 (thought they were 2011 until I got home and saw they were 2010)

I also got one of those "Extreme Value" boxes with 4 packs (2007 Goudey, 2007 Upper Deck Series 2, 2004 Upper Deck Power Up!, 2007 Fleer Ultra) showing. & 100 cards + Bonus (whatever that is)

2007 Upper Deck Series 2 - 8 cards
528 Stephen Drew D'Backs
586 J.D. Drew Red Sox
779 Olmedo Saenz Dodgers
822 Tom Glavine Mets
845 Alex Rodriguez Yankees
895 Brad Eldred Pirates
904 Jake Peavy Padres
948 Kelvin Jimenez Cards

2007 Fleer Ultra - 5 cards
38 Mark Buehrle White Sox
83 Mark Grudzielanek Royals
131 Huston Street A's
150 Chris Carpenter Cards
234 Levale Speigner Nats RC

2007 Goudey - 8 cards
61 Jimmy Rollins Phillies redback
75 Mark Mulder Cards redback
77 Mark Teixeira Rangers greenback
84 Prince Fielder Brewers greenback
121 Brad Penny Dodgers redback
152 Adam LaRoche Pirates greenback
176 Magglio Ordeonez Tigers greenback
255 Mike Schmidt Phillies HeadsUp greenback

2004 UD Power UP! - 9 cards

(kids game thing where the players heads are big out-of-proportion like the old Goudey "Heads Up" cards)
2 Rafael Furcal Braves
3 Larry Walker Rockies
15 Hank Blalock Rangers
18 Garret Anderson Angels
23 Orlando Cabrera Expos
38 Jay Gibbons Orioles (I've got a ton of this one)
59 Phil Nevin Padres
61 Sammy Sosa Cubs
ST-66 Shining Through Darin Erstad Angels

Power UP how to play the game thing card

Main Box of 100 cards:
1978 Topps: 512 Larry Herndon Giants
1986 Topps Traded: 57T Mike LaCoss Giants
1987 O-Pee-Chee 345 Andere Dawson Expos
1987 Topps: 1986 All-Star Glossy: Ryne Sandberg Cubs
1987 Topps:
58 Thad Bosley Cubs
91 Harold Reynolds
126 Mike Loynd Rangers
206 Minnesota Twins Team Leaders
281 Cincinnati Reds Team Leaders
286 Mike Woodard Giants
380 Rich Gossage Padres
411 Darnell Coles Tigers
442 Mitch Webster Expos
541 Rafael Belliard Pirates
559 Lance McCullers Padres
586 Ben Oglivie Brewers
643 Ron Shepherd Blue Jays
759 Joel Youngblood Giants
771 Shane Rawley Phillies
1988 Donruss:
227 Greg Swindell Indians
282 Andres Galarraga Expos
1988 Topps:
113 Kelly Gruber Blue Jays
232 Bob James White Sox
293 Doug Jones Indians
405 Dwight Gooden AS Mets
421 Ed VandeBerg Indians
424 Dwayne Murphey Athletics
501 Tim Birtsas Athletics
587 Terry Puhl Astros
644 Terry McGriff Reds
667 Luis Quinones Cubs
1989 Donruss:
95 Mark McGwire Athletics
581 Jay Buhner Mariners
1989 Fleer: Andres Galarraga Expos
1989 Topps:
16 Ron Robinson Reds
80 Cory Snyder Indians
188 Dennis Lamp Red Sox
201 Toronto Blue Jays Team Leaders
217 Joe Price Giants
289 Ernie Whitt Blue Jays
447 Donell Nixon Giants
550 Orel Hershiser Dodgers
709 Tom Herr Twins
748 Jimmy Jones Padres
778 Bruce Benedict Braves
779 Craig McMrtry Rangers
1990 Bowman: 238 Matt Williams Giants
1990 K-Mart Super Stars:
2 Ryne Sandberg Cubs
8 Craig Biggio Astros
11 Sid Fernandez Mets
17 Don Mattingly Yankees
19 Wade Boggs Red Sox
20 Cal Ripken Orioles
21 Jose Canseco Athletics (3)
23 Rickey Henderson Athletics
1990 Score: 95 Jeff Treadway Braves
1990 Topps:
624 Darrin Jackson Padres
779 Lloyd Moseby Blue Jays
1990 Upper Deck: 277 Eddie Murray Dodgers
1991 Bowman: 529 Andy Van Slyke Pirates
1991 Donruss: 759 Chris Hammond Reds
1991 Topps: 632 Lloyd Moseby Tigers
1991 Topps Traded: 42T Steve Finley Astros
1992 Fleer: 327 Joe Carter Blue Jays
1992 Fleer Ultra:
288 Royce Clayton Giants RC
490 Juan Guerrero Astros RC
1992 Score:
525 Robin Yount Brewers
887 Dream Team Tony Gwynn (no copyright date on this card)
1992 Topps:
61 Paul O'Neill Reds
643 Rick Cerone Mets
1992 Topps Stadium Club: 104 Tim Hulett Orioles
1992 Upper Deck:
234 Gary Sheffield Brewers
385 Kevin Elster Mets
1993 Classic Four Sports: 296 Carl Schutz SLU drafted by Braves
1993 UD Collector's Choice: 316 Barry Bonds Giants - Checklist cards 1-64
1993 Donruss: 704 Steve Hosey Giants Rated Rookie
1993 Score: 254 Steve Sax White Sox
1994 Bowman's Best (Chrome foil type thing) 63 Edgar Renteria Marlins
1994 Donruss: 336 Dave Winfield Twins
1994 Topps Stadium Club: 255 Tim Belcher White Sox
1995 Donruss Leaf: 391 Jose Canseco Red Sox
1995 UP SP: 165 Greg Vaughn Brewers
1995 Topps MB: 29 Cal Eldred ?Mets?
1996 Topps: 311 David Wells Reds
1997 Upper Deck: 449 Scott Spiezio Athletics
1998 Fleer Tradition: 257 Mike Cameron White Sox
1998 Fleer Metal Universe: 189 Mark Kotsay Marlins
1998 Score: RT151 Todd Walker Twins
1999 Bowman 365 Marcus Giles Braves
1999 Fleer Tradition: 379 Vic Darensbourg Marlins
1999 Topps (Gold or a gold variation) Traded: T29 Giuseppe Chiaramonte Gaints RC
1999 Topps Stadium Club: 49 Gary Disarcina Angels
2000 Fleer Ultra: 67 Shawn Green Dodgers
2000 Pacific Omega: 8 Luis Gonalez Diamondbacks
2002 UP Vintage (1971 Style): 1 Darin Erstad Angels
2003 Donruss: 266 Orel Hershiser Dodgers
2005 Fleer America's National Pastime: 50 Adrian Beltre Mariners
2005 Fleer Ultra Gold Medalian (diecut top corner): 24 Jim Edmonds  Cardinals
2006 SP Authentic: 1 Eric Bedard Orioles
2006 Topps: 390 Jake Peavy Padres

Bonus Pack:
2004 MLB Showdown (Trading Deadline Edition) CCG - 11 cards
010 Khalil Greene Padres
014 Brian Schneider Expos (Kool)
065 Randy Johnson D'Backs
066 John Burkett Red Sox
097 Jay Payton Padres
115 Roger Clemens Blue Jays chromy thing +5 Control card '97 Super Season
117 Luis Aparicio White Sox (Cooperstown Collection)
118 Lou Brock Cards (Cooperstown Collection)
S1 Dialed-in Offense
S15 Great Reactions Defense
S21 Feast Or Famine Utility
Player Checklist 5/8

Allen & Ginter 2010 Some packs from Target

I went to my Target and got 5 packs of Allen & Ginter 2010 and one Rack Pack of 2010 A&G. I also got one of those Extreme Value box packages from The Fairfield Company This one was the $9.99 version that had 4 packs (2007 Goudey, 2007 Upper Deck Series Two, 2007 Fleer Ultra, and 2004 UD Power UP) & 100 cards + Bonus. Well the Bonus turned out to be another pack (2004 MLB Showdown Card Game). I like the thrill of the hunt from these card boxes but I hate that they super glue the packs to the cardboard supports in the box. It makes it difficult to take the packs off the cardboard frame without bending or tearing the cards within to Hades, or you have to cut the packs which I haven't done but am thinking about doing next time. But this is not about that box this is about the 2010 ALLEN & GINTER packs I got. Since these are the retail packs of A&G there are 6 cards per pack (4 base, 1 mini and 1 "This Day In History" card), the Rack Pack is a 12 card pack.

First the five packs of 6 cards in the order the cards were pulled (front of pack to back)

Pack 1:
159 Denard Span Twins
175 Tim Lincecum Giants
133 Nelson Cruz Rangers
85 Andrew Bailey Athletics
Mini WB7 Worlds Biggest... Hot Desert...Sahara

This Day In History Card: TDH35 Josh Johnson Marlins - Explorer 1 first American Satellite launched.

Pack 2:
264 Captain Nemo Submariner (Fictional character)
106 Dustin Pedroia Red Sox
58 Colby Rasmus Cardinals
322 Gary Matthews Mets

Mini 275 Clayton Kershaw Dodgers black border

ToDay in History card: TDH42 Jorge Posada Yankees - Robert Fultons Steamboat begins first voyage.

Pack 3:
80 Will Venable Padres
41 Daniel Hudson White Sox
218 Todd Helton Rockies
334 Brett Myers

Mini: NA48 National Animals Dalmatain Croatia

Today In History: TDH22 Grady Sizemore Indians - Formal Signing of US Declaration of Independence

Thin Plain white Retail security anti-theft card.

Pack 4:
105 Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomer
160 Derrek Lee Cubs
186 Jose Reyes Mets (thorn in NATS Side)
304 Carlos Pena Rays

Mini 288 Bobby Jenks White Sox black border

Checklist four of four

TDH13 Adam Dunn Nationals (formerly there of now a White Sox) - Pilgrims on Mayflower spot land.

Pack 5 last pack:

192 Tom Knapp Target Shooting World Record Holder
213 Mark Reynolds D'Backs
278 Jeff Francoeur Mets
318 Carlos Gonzalez Rockies

Mini 317 Alex Rios White Sox A&G Back

TDH26 Francisco Rodriguez Mets - Galileo observes 3 of Jupiter's Moons for the first time.

Another rare anti-theft blank.

BONUS: 12 card Rack Pack:

Bottom half first:

3 Ryan Braun Brewers
220 Manny Ramirez Dodgers
307 Akinori Iwamura Pirates

Mini 145 Jim Thome Twins A&G Back

TDH67 Josh Beckett Red Sox - Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form The National Woman's Suffrage Association

not one but two security blanks

TOP HALF:

272 David Blaine - Holder of various world records
131 Tyler Flowers White Sox RC
299 Robinson Cano Yankees
166 Chris Tillman Orioles
101 Mark Buehrle White Sox
2 Everth Cabrera Padres
7 Ryan Howard Phillies

I was going to wait until I could post pics from A&G but I have been lazy with scanning.

I really need to blog here more.

Back in March. I had received a package from TCC member Josh who goes by the handle jwman92 he is a super collector of NFL player Brian Leonard. There is a "giveaway" thread called The Chain there which in a nut shell there is a package of cards going around the people who signed up to be in "the chain". The package has a grouping of cards with each one representing some kind of card (GU, Auto, Insert, serial numbered parallel etc...). When someone receives the package they choose one card from the batch and replace it with a card that is similar and then send the package to the next person "link" in the chain. When it came to my turn I had a time deciding what to take so here is my decision process for The Chain. It also shows what I put into the chain. Anyway this is the card I chose from that package:

2005 Playoff Contenders

RN-2 Jason Campbell and Carlos Rogers Dual Auto.

As a bonus Josh included this card since he knows I like the Rams and collect Kurt Warner.

2000 Fleer E-X #54 Kurt Warner Rams

I'm not big on graded cards for their being so pricey, especially if you pay to get them graded. After they have been graded they are still pretty expensive. My biggest beef with them I guess is you have to store them separate from the rest of your collection. If you want to store them in boxes you need to get the slightly larger/taller ones that are designed to also handle graded cards. I also don't like the "entombed" feeling they give off. When I first saw them I thought from a preservation perspective they are cool, but then that "How do you store them?" question comes up. OK you either display them in some way or you put them in a box that is designed to hold them. I've got way too many cards to have all of them graded, plus for newer cards it is pretty ridiculous to have them graded for preservation since the cost of grading them is more than what they are worth. At one time I said to myself I would never own one, I also said that about game used cards, but I have a few of those. When you are involved with other collectors you tend to be given some stuff you don't really want. So I have learned to accept a few things I can't change.