Complete Set Sunday: Finish What You Start.

     After the pandemic struck and we all went through several rounds of the Kübler-Ross stages, there was a calm when most of us decided "OK, I have all this time on my hands, I am gonna do something important!" and we made plans to learn a craft or go back to school or remodel the house or invent a better mouse trap or focus on our hobbies or whatever.  It's always best to think big so that the actual plans can find the right size but also, reality eventually says that our plans will be big but our follow through small.  At least that seems to be the way things go for me most of the time. Well, I already went back to school a while back, and my house is just fine the way it is, and my inventing skills are nil, so that left me with my hobby.  I did throw myself into my collection in a lot of different ways the last couple years, pruning some parts and expanding others.  I bought some cards I always wanted and got rid of ones that did not spark joy.  In keeping with the Mary Kondo theme, one thing I really lament from my long term collecting history is that a long time ago, I sold off all my vintage Topps sets.  I had built a 1969 set, a 1972 set, and as you can probably tell from the thumbnail of this post, a 1975 set. Given all this time on my hands, I decided to rebuild one of those sets and since the 1975 set is my favorite (for many reasons we'll get to) that was the one I went for.

The pandemic has made it almost impossible to go out and buy cards in a store but the online offerings exploded.  I had my choice of a few nice starter sets and I picked one that had a few of the key rookie cards (Rice, Yount, Hernandez) and then added my back up Gary Carter to the mix.  I then made it a challenge for myself by making my set build a low budget affair.  Sure, I could have just went to ebay and nabbed a few other common lots or just paid for hall of famers but instead, I built most of this set through my own collection, reddit trades, Listia listings, and a great serendipitous find: I got my Brett rookie for nothing because a friend was updating his 1975 set to PSA quality.  He bought a PSA 9 and gave me his old, just fine, ungraded #228. That was nice.

The Mantle/Campy card was the last from the MVP subset and part of the final four.

 

 

So on and off for the last 18 months or so, I have been accumulating cards. A trade here, a find there, a listia seller had a bunch of commons one week.  Slowly but surely, I hammered it down to a final four: three random commons (all in the 500s, as though the 1975 set had high numbers or something) and one of the Mantle MVP cards that for some reason, everyone was hoarding.  Well, I did finally get that Mantle and then I treated myself to buying the final three from ebay to finish things off.  You are now looking at me triumphantly placing those cards into their spots in the binder.

 

 

Gary Thomasson slides in nicely next to Gaylord Perry, who has one of the nifty All Star logos from this set.  You can also see on the page one of the team cards, a lot of mine have pen marks on the checklist but this does not bother me in the least. I was not very picky when it came to condition. As long as it didn't look like Night Owl's original cards, I was okay with it.

 

 

Von Joshua finds his spot here as the penultimate card.  I always thought Von Joshua should be a classical pianist, not an outfielder, but hey, who am I to judge. He was a major leaguer and I wasn't. You can also see on this page that Billy Williams is sadly off center and I will have to perhaps replace some of those.  Maybe during the next pandemic...

 

 

And here it is, the final card, #557 Larry Gura.  There is a fun irony of him being shown as a Yankee since his reputation was that of Yankee Killer later on in his career.  Of all the iconic cards in this set, this one was the last one; not epic but it will do.  Al Oliver looks a little jealous over his shoulder.

 

 

So there it is, I set a goal and accomplished it.  It took a year and a half and some time and patience, but I rebuilt my 1975 Topps set.  I love this set because I was born that year, I love this set because it is garishly bonkers colorful. I love this set because it has the rookie card of my favorite player of all time, Gary Carter.  But now I love this set even more because it will always remind me of a very trying time in my life (and all our lives) but that we made it through.  It will remind me that I can set reasonable goals and follow through on them.  I will be keeping this one for the rest of my life and passing it on to one of my nibblings, with the story of its acquirement (lucky too that my nieces and nephews have already shown great interest in baseball).  It is not perfect by any means, but it is a perfect trophy of the last two years.  And now I have to decide if I want to redo those 1969 and/or 1972 sets.  If we don't all die in a nuclear war in the next few months, maybe I will choose one and get back to you. 

Drunk Post: Who Wants It?

      As promised in my last post, I have been drinking. A lot. So it's time for a drunk post!!!  And I am going to ask a question I haven't asked in a while...who wants it? 

No, not my tacos, they are already in my belly...

...and they we're fucking delicious.  No. I am giving away some really great cards here.  Like, how about a 1952 Mickey Mantle!

Okay, not really.  This is actually a hilarious card.  This is a bootleg copy of the 1983 Topps reprint of the 1952 Topps set.  I bought two of these thinking they were the actual 1983 versions, which were 100% issued by Topps and were pretty much the first faux-vintage they ever made.  But on first glance of the back, I knew things were a tad wonky.  The front looks pretty good but the back looks like it was done on a Canon copier in 1983.  It is even clipped on the bottom by the bit that reads "1952 Reprint Series" One of these is in my Mantle pages as a great example of a copy of a copy of a copy (think the Michael Keaton movie Multiplicity).  But if you appreciate such horrors of ineptitude, all you have to do is say you want it.  I don't run contests or ask you to follow me or wax my car or anything. But you might want to wait a moment because I am also giving away...

A 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie card!

You miss 100% of the shots you don't make and this card missed 100%

In the toploader in low light after your third or fourth margarita, this card actually looks kinda good.  The colors of the front are on target and then you turn it over and quickly notice that the texture of the back is all wrong because this was printed on the photographic paperboard they used to include with digital cameras back in 1998.  Unauthorized reprint is a really nifty term for counterfeit but this card has all the presentation of a $100 bill with Benny Hill on it instead of Ben Franklin.  But it is still worth owning if you aren't going to try and fool your blind neighbor into buying it along with your dead parrot.  It can be yours for the asking price of nothing because it is worth less than nothing - but is still a cool copy of one of the cornerstone cards of any hockey collection.  So who wants it?  Just drop a comment or an email or a smoke signal and which card you want (you can only have one) and I will send you a fantastic (copy of a copy of a copy of a) 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle or a (painfully fake) 1979-80 Topps Wayne Gretzky rookie.  Like any good bar, first come, first served.  Now, who dares me to eat the worm!?!?

Card Draft Results: Shoebox Legends.

       The Whaler Worshiping Wonder over at Shoebox Legends recently held a card draft.  One thing you folks may not know about me is my minor obsession with the Hartford Whalers, problem is the NHL has conspired to keep me infuriated about hockey, thus unable to post about it...but I digress.  I saw the nice mix of cards he was offering and bought in.  I do enjoy these as a way of putting unwanted cards in the hands of those that want them, skipping the messy middle man of commerce or the convoluted nonsense of contests.  In these, everyone wins: the draft holder gets some cash and rid of some excess cards, the drafters get some cards they want at a fraction of the price one might normally pay. As it is, I paid about a dollar a piece for these cards and there is not a single one you wouldn't grab if you saw it in a dollar box at a show or in a store.  The system works!

Let's take a look at the haul I brought up with my net: 

Nine nifty cards here.  The Maine game used there was my first pick - not exactly a glamorous choice, but one I was happy with after the first two cards I wanted went off the board one-two.  That shiny Jeter card was nabbed in one of the four bonus rounds that were offered, a very nice wrinkle in the draft game.  Jeter may not be my favorite, but hey, shiny!

Seven more:

I really like the Turkey Red Chrome cards, and he had a bunch of the Mickey Mantles in the draft.  I think I got three of the four.  That first one is a refractor, once again shiny trumps Yankee.  That hockey card on the far right is numbered 02/10 and I got it in a late round, which I considered a major upset.  Like any sports draft, you always look for value in later rounds.  There was a bunch of game used Hockey cards in the draft and I got a couple of nice ones - dual ones to be specific.  I would be lying if I said I was planning to keep the Rangers one, but I have a friend who will appreciate it a lot more than me and I am sure he has some unwanted Devils card he will swap me for it. 

There was also some great vintage stuff in the draft and I am sorry I didn't snag more of it:

In some kind of grand oversight, I do not own a 1970-71 Topps basketball tallboy. Well, I should say didn't, because now I have that one - and it's a Happy one at that.  The most popular cards of the draft seemed to be the 1953 Bowman color cards and I was a round behind in grabbing the best ones, but I did procure the two you see there.  In one of the bonus rounds, I added that 1962-63 Topps Bill Hay to my small collection of vintage hockey.  If they ever clear up the lockout mess, I might even show you some of them.

One other wonderful thing SL did was properly pack the cards for shipping: top loaders for the better cards, soft sleeves for all the cards, team bags to hold them together and...

Blue Packing tape!  It is my continuing crusade to get all people to never ever use scotch tape on top loaders and this is yet another opportunity for me to mention it and even to show the pleasing results.  Plus, he used enough tape to hold these cards together so tight that even the US Postal Service couldn't move the pile.  Well done.

Oh, I forgot two cards!  Two awesome 2007 Goudey mini short prints - one for my Reggie player collection and one just because.  Magnificent. 

No, Shoebox Legends, thank you!

Traders on the Storm.

       The Night Owl and I have been trading back and forth for so long that we are like neighbors on an old sitcom - no need to knock, just come on in - but we had only spoken of a few random cards recently and nothing seemed pending, so it was a pleasant surprise to come back from New Orleans last week to see a package from upstate New York.  It contained the usual put-aside Mets and some cards I had forgotten I had asked for.  I am glad he pays attention to the stuff I say.  Let's take a look:

David Wright cards are always appreciated, especially now that he is not going anywhere.  The Triple Play sticker is especially cool.  There is also a mini Santana and some other random 2012 things here.  Also an older Mo Vaughn card.  There is a rumor that Mo's old black jerseys were sewn together to make the infield tarp for Citi Field.  I can neither confirm nor deny this. 

Stack #2 is even better (I have no idea if it was accidental or on purpose that he sent me exactly 18 cards):

You will see a 1977 Topps cloth sticker Ron Cey here and he like, huh?  Cey is Owl's guy. Well, he is also one of my guys (why? I am fond of Penguins and Cey's nickname is The Penguin - simple as that).  And since he had an extra one of these oddballs, he was nice enough to set it aside for me.  I also requested the Mantle because I have a soft spot for those dreadful Moments and Milestones sets and I needed a center for a page of black parallels.  And hey, Mantle is Mantle, right?  I have most of vintage 1960's Mets cards.  One day, I might even sit down and put the ones I need on a wantlist.  Somehow, Night Owl found not one but two early 60's cards I needed.  I am sure he just randomly sent these.  He is the man.  Rounding this pile out is some 2008 cards with long gone Mets and a couple of Topps Fan Favorites.  I am certain I have the 2008 cards, but I am pretty sure I do not have the FF cards.  Nice stuff all round.  I know I have a pile of Dodgers for Night Owl; I will try to drop them in the mail when he least expects it.

Postscript:  Greg always puts a little note in with his cards.  I suggest doing this with all your trades and eBay sales so that the recipient knows who sent the package.  He was also nice enough to even wish me well after my displacement from Hurricane Sandy; I assume he sent these cards along to further my recovery.  What a nice guy.  My second suggestion is to always use team bags and easily removable tape.  Here you see blue painter's tape, which is preferable, but masking tape also works well.  Never ever ever put scotch tape on a toploader.  I wish I could spread this as gospel. Scotch tape and toploaders do NOT mix, yet so many eBay sellers and even a few traders have used it on them.  If this blog teaches one person to never put scotch tape on a toploader again, I will feel it has been helpful to mankind.

You Left Me Standing Alone.

       I do not own a page of Blue Moon Odom cards.  If fact, I looked in a few places and I am not sure if I own any Blue Moon Odom cards.  Which is a shame, because I like the name Blue Moon Odom and it would be topical, tonight being a blue moon and all.  I also have been drinking.  DRUNK POST!!! WOOHOO!!!!   Like I said, I couldn't find any Blue Moon Odom cards, but if I had been looking for Sam Octoberfest, American Pickers reruns, and homemade chili...mission accomplished!

       One page I did find, however, is very amusing to drunk Max:

At the end of most of my player books, you will find a few 4 and 8 card pages with the odd sized oddball cards.  This one is especially beyond the normal amount of odd oddball though.  Before I get into it, let's look at the back too:

We're gonna have to break these down one at a time, starting in the upper left.

1) That is a sticker that came with the Mr. T In Your Pocket gag gift that I bought my ex-girlfriend about 8 or 9 years ago.  It was one of those little soundboard thingies that spouts catchphrases when you hit one of the buttons.  My ex, being easily amused (she dated me for 4 years, after all) used to call me and just press one of the buttons over and over again.  Along with the obligatory "I pity the fool!" it also said things like "First name Mister, middle name period, last name T!"  and my personal favorite "Quit your jibber-jabber!"  I hadn't thought of it in a very long time, but seeing that sticker made me miss answering the phone and hearing "Q-Q-Q-Q-Q-Q-Quit your jibber-jabber!!!"  She would hit the button rhythmically for emphasis.  I have no idea why it is in here but it did kindle nice memories.  OK, moving on...

2) A 1984 Carl Yastrzemski Donruss Champions card.  I think that is just runoff from the legitimate cards in the book.  Poor Yaz, always stuck near the end of the list.  Pity us poor 'M' people; sometimes folks will throw the people at the end of the alphabet a bone and start at Z and work backwards.  Either way, us M's are right in the damn middle.  Did I mention I can spell Yastrzemski without looking?  Even drunk?  Now that is a bar bet I should go clean up with....

3) Billy Joel "The Stranger" press pass.  They gave these out at the Last Play at Shea concert, which I was lucky to attend because my buddy's girlfriend had to work:

buddy: "Hey! You got 275 buck to waste?"
me: "Sure!"
buddy: "OK, you're going with me to the Billy Joel concert tonight" 
(I may have been drunk then too...)

Anyway, I am not a huge Billy Joel guy.  I like him fine, don't get me wrong, but I like my music a little more hardcore and rock and roll and non-mainstream and whatnot (hipster! snob! *flips bird*).  But growing up in the 80's with a more mellow music liking brother, I am overly familiar with Mr. Joel's canon (and I am sure he would appreciate me blogging about him while I was drunk).  I went to the show, which was bathed in historic rhetoric - last rock show at Shea Stadium, blahblahblah.  Considering we had awesome seats and like half a dozen other famous classic rockers showed up (Roger Daltrey, Steven Tyler, Paul McCartney, etc.) it was about 100x cooler than I imagined it would be.  So, they gave us this thing, which I am not sure we got because we had good seats, or if everyone got them, or like the first 10,000 got it or what.  But I remember being offered $50 for mine after the show.  And I also recall them going for similar money on ebay afterwards. But I am a sentimental fool - and because I had such an unexpectedly good time - I kept the thing for prosperity.  Somehow, it wound up here.

4) Mickey Mantle: His Final Inning.  At first glance, one would think this is a card, but it isn't.  It is one of those bible tracts people hand out on the street by subway stops and whatnot.  I am 99% sure I got this in Boston in the late 90's or early aughts.  Full disclosure: I used to collect these things.  As a lapsed Catholic and confirmed atheist, I found the real fire and brimstone tracts funnier than most prime time sitcoms.  They usually had names like "Heaven or Hell - Which Will You Choose?" or "Do You Want to Burn for All Eternity?" with corresponding graphics and over the top preaching backing up those notions.  Hilarious.  Alas, that collection was only a passing fad and I am pretty certain I chucked the whole pile in the trash after moving them one too many times.  I should have put them in top loaders or pages like this to preserve them.  Anyway, this one is a little less old time religion and more self help.  It covers the Mick's drinking and how he recovered and redeemed himself before he died.  It is actually kind of rational about the whole thing.  Definitely a switch from most of the little pamphlets I was handed by the Park Street Station.  I can only assume I kept this thing due to its baseball subject matter.  (I just checked ebay - I could get a whole dollar for one of these.  Plus my memory for dates isn't always flawed: it says there they are from 1998).

So, all that from a few beers and a lack of Blue Moon Odom cards...Wow.  Admit it, you missed me.

Yankees.

       My absolute favorite team of all time is the New York Yankees.  I have been a Yankee fan since birth, when George Steinbrenner himself delivered me in the back of a Checker Cab outside of Shea Stadium in 1975.  My first onesies were all pinstriped, I dressed as Mickey Mantle for Halloween every single year until I was 18, when, of course, my prom tux was accented with a star spangled top hat. 

I was raised hearing all about how great the Yankees were, and I cannot tell you how good a person that has made me.  I heard about all the great players, players like Roger Maris:

He will always be the all time single season Home Run Champion to me.

Of course, Mickey Mantle:

The Mick's even handed lifestyle should be the model for all children to follow.

The ever classy Joe DiMaggio:

He was so humble, I can only imagine his blushing embarrassment at always being introduced as "The World's Greatest Living Ballplayer."

The quiet and reserved Graig Nettles...

...who kept his head and played peacemaker when things got out of hand.

The ultimate teammate Thurman Munson:

I mean, this was a man who stayed with his team through thick and thin and never let them down.

And the selfless Lou Gehrig:

The Iron Horse played every game, no matter what, and that probably made him the best hitter of all time.  And dig those Casey Stengel cards.  There was a man with the gift of gab who won wherever he went.

Speaking of mangers, I am torn over which Yankees manager is my favorite.  I mean, is it the very reserved Lou Piniella, who was the epitome of decorum on the field:

Is it the respectable Billy Martin, who always had his emotions under control and was so good, he was hired five different times to run the team?

Or is it Yogi Berra, who so gallantly stepped aside in times of trouble and was never the kind to hold a grudge?

I don't know, I think they are all tied for first.

Needless to say, growing up in the 1980's, my favorite player of all time is Don Mattingly.



I maintain my gigantic Mattingly collection in a series of hermetically sealed Tupperware bins, waiting for the day he is elected to the Hall of Fame and his cards quintuple in value.  It is a travesty that such a great player never got to play in the World Series.

The mid to late 90's brought about a renaissance in Yankee Nation.  I mean, at one point we had gone a whole 15 years without being in a World Series and a staggering 18 without winning one.  Lemme tell ya, growing up a Yankees fan was oh so torturous and painful.  Luckily, 1996 changed all that with the emergence of my second favorite Yankee, Derek Jeter:


I can't tell if he is more handsome, or a greater clutch player.  Maybe both?  If I had caught his 3,000 hit, I would have just handed it over no questions asked, too.

My other favorite "Core Four" player is Mariano Rivera:

Mariano is the best pitcher of all time and anyone who tells you different just doesn't understand baseball.

They were joined on that great 90's team by the always loyal David Cone:

The quirky and always reliable El Duque:

And my favorite pitcher of all time, Roger Clemens:

I cannot wait until 2013 when the Rocket is elected to the Hall of Fame unanimously and enters the hall wearing the mighty interlocked 'NY'

I spend most of my time building Yankees-themed sets, like the beautiful Upper Deck Yankees Classics:


And I am certain one day I will finish the 6743-card Yankee Stadium Legacy set, only the greatest set ever...


...for the greatest team ever!  We can all dream, can't we?  I'd be a fool not to.