Nothing beats cheap vintage—Part Three

Made another run to the Target at lunch and still no Ginter. Made a call to a LSC near work I haven't been to in quite a while (they sell mostly packs, boxes, team clothing) and they won't have Ginter till tomorrow afternoon. Looks like from reading the forums on Blowout Cards, that any retail Ginter was released in the Midwest (Illinois, Missouri) or Mid-Atlantic (NJ, Delaware) states before the rest of the country.

So in the meantime, might as well catch up on another round of cheap vintage I picked up a couple of weeks ago at my LSC. Same story, on this batch—cheap as in would you rather have these cards or a 3-pack blister of 2011 Heritage.

First on the docket, some vintage BoSox including "The Monster," Dick Radatz. This guy was absolutely dominating over the coarse of 3-4 years but sadly his career puttered out after over use. His last team was Montreal in 1969. Radatz cards always seem to be in demand in these parts of New England, he was a very personable guy and prior to his passing years ago, was a pretty good sports talk show co-host for WEEI. Love the Schilling card, such a great pose that is missing in today's cards and gotta loved the striped socks!!! Luis' last card was this 1974 Topps example. He had a couple of good years for the Sox in the early seventies and while most people remember Carlton Fisk's waived-homer, it was Bernie's bomb that tied the game up so that Fisk could reaped the praise.

Next to bat, a couple of 1964 Topps. Nellie's second to last card as he appears in the '65 set with an airbrush hat since the Colt 45's became the Astros. His 1965 Topps also carried the designation of "2B-Coach." Nice shot of Bill Freehan with the hulking old Yankee Stadium in the background. Nice clean photo. And while most people know that AL Downing gave up Hank Aaron's 715th home run, he was a pretty decent pitcher during the 1960's.

And speaking of Yankees, Elston Howard's last card in pinstripes. On August 3, 1967, he was traded by New York to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later and Pete Magrini. The Sox sent Ron Klimkowski (August 8, 1967) to the Yanks to complete the trade. That '68 Jenkins is a beautiful card. Corners are sharp as is the color but there is a tiny little wrinkle along the right edge of the card, just above the orange circle. This one only cost one buck!

And to close out this round of cheap vintage, we have three Hall of Famers: Kaline, Killebrew, and Wilhelm. Kaline's career was nearing a close as was Hoyt's while Killebrew went on to have his last big year in '71. He would league the AL in RBI and walks. And doesn't the "Toy Cannon" looked thrilled to have his mug taken in the 1974 Topps Traded.

All of these cards, now reside in my ongoing, All-Decades Team project, which I hope to start writing about later this month.

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HELP ME!!!! With the 2011 Ginter now LIVE, I will be attempting to collect the mini set and any mini inserts from this new edition. I do have a hobby box with me name on it for Wednesday, so that will get me a little bit of a head start. As for the base cards, SPs, hits, and any other cards in that come out of that box, they will be available for trade. If you can help, please, please drop me a line. For those of you still looking for 2011 Topps sparklies, I have a few from series 2, maybe I can grab a couple of minis for these???

Anyhow, drop me a line if you're not into the minis, and I'm sure I can find something to trade you.

Filling up on vintage before Ginter release and looking for HELP

So with the kids away at the in-laws this past week, I was looking forward to heading back to my LSC to go through a small pile of vintage cards I had looked at a couple of weeks ago.  I still have to post these scans but was too excited about what I landed this weekend that these scans needed to go first. 

What I didn't realize was that there will be many, many boxes to go through in the weeks and months ahead.

While looking at some off-condition vintage in the case, I noticed a boxed behind the counter. The owner said it was a mish-mash of stuff and more than happy to let me go through it. I went through that (and will go through again I'm sure of it) and then a good sized box of 1966–68 Topps cards.

So without further ado, let's dig in and see what I pulled ...

First to bat, a 1960 Topps Vic Power and some 1961 Topps. "Dr. Strangeglove" is the most beat of this bunch which is quite appropriate for his nickname.

Next up, some '62 woodies! Been trying for a while to pick up a cheap Ken Boyer and Mike McCormick will be forever know for getting "blown off" the mound in at the 1961 All-Star game at Canndlestick.

Some 1963 Topps ... Dick Groat almost won the 1963 NL MVP award after being trade by the Pirates to the Cardinals. He would be moved a couple of years later to the Phillies in a pack with Bob Uecker and Bill White.

Moving into the mid-60's ... 1964 Topps ... wonder who had the bigger unibrow; Wally Moon or the O's Andy Etcheberran?

Onto one of my favorite 1960's Topps designs, the 1965 release. In this batch is O's great, Mike Cuellar ... imagine if the Cards hadn't traded him to the 'Stros. Gibson, Carlton, Cuellar ... love the specks on Bob Veale

Mving down the line, 1966 Topps. Still need to read Jim Bouton's Ball Four.

Another of my favorite designs from the 1960's, the 1967 Topps set.

The first batch of many '68 Topps. When I was younger I actually really liked this burlap design ... of course, I then grew up and still don't know why Topps thought this was a good look. I finally landed a Drysdale to go along with my Koufax. Don is a little beat up but with serve well in my All-Decade's project. The Bunning had some massive wax residue but with a little rubbing of some nylon, all clean!

You like the long-ball???? These sluggers could do the trick!

Are slick fielders more to your liking? Can't go wrong with any of these guys. Looking at this photo selection makes me wish Topps would shoot/choose more of these looks in their design selection.

And to round haul, more burlapped beauties.

All of this for less than two, 2011 Topps Value boxes and all with find there respective places in my All-Decades Team project. And with more boxes to go through, they'll be more vintage posts to follow!

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HELP ME!!!! With the 2011 Ginter release just days away, I will be attempting to collect the mini set and any mini inserts from this new edition. I do have a hobby box with me name on it for Wednesday, so that will get me a little bit of a head start. As for the base cards, SPs, hits, and any other cards in that come out of that box, they will be available for trade. If you can help, please, please drop me a line. For those of you still looking for 2011 Topps sparklies, I have a few from series 2, maybe a can grab a couple of minis for these???

Nothing beats cheap vintage—Part One

Ahhhh, feels good to get back in the swing of blogging, and feels good now that Friday is here. It was a crazy week at work in which my company laptop/computer crapped out and then IT had to wrestle with the Mac Powerbook in order to crack it open to retrieve the hard drive and put it into another old Mac. Thankfully, the HD was A-Ok, but then the next night, the power cord died while I was working on a rush project. Thankfully, after this episode, and pleading for the last year, a new Mac Powerbook Pro will be in my hands come Tuesday.

So now that I have caught my breath, I have been going through some stuff I had picked up on eBay and had scanned, but never posted. So with out further ado, let's kick off the weekend with some cheap vintage ....

First up, three super star pitchers of the 1960's, all three are Hall of Famers, they all threw No-hitters, and all three will anchor their respective All-Decade team pitching staffs.

I had forgot what I had won these cards for, so I went back into my eBay history and forgot just how cheap I won these for. I hate paying shipping, so figure it was either free or no more than a couple of bucks per card. The 1964 Juan Marichal was had for $1.54 and 1965 Jim Bunning was purchased for $1.86. So two mid-60's, HOFs in pretty nice shape (no creases, sharp color) for less than two, 2011 Topps packs. Hell yah!!! Sign me up!!!

Of the three cards, the 1966 Sandy Koufax is clearly the worst of the bunch, but I finally have myself a Koufax!! 'Ol Sandy has some creases, soft corners, but still a nice looking card. This one I went a little over $10 bucks in order to win the auction. If I could go back in time, Koufax and Bob Gibson would be the two fireballers I would have loved to see pitch in person.

Looking at the back of Juan Marichal's '64 Topps, you'll see he won 25 games in 1963. This would start a stretch in which he would go onto win 20+ games a season in six of the next seven years! Marichal would win more games than any pitcher in the 1960's, yet he appeared in only one World Series game. He started game four of the 1962 World Series against the New York Yankees. His final line was 4.0 IP, 2H, 0ER, 2BB, and 4SO. He did leave with a 2-0 lead but did not figure in the decision, a 7-3 Giants win.

When looking for a factoid for Mr. Bunning, I found this one and couldn't believe it. "When he retired, he had the second-highest total of career strikeouts in Major League history; he is currently 17th." Number one at the time of his retirement was Walter Johnson, number three ... Cy Young. Now you can see why I might have been wowed. I knew Bunning was a pretty good pitcher in his day but as one who was born in 1973, I never realized how good he was. Having thrown a no-hitter for both Detroit and Philly, Jim is only one of five pitchers to accomplish the feat.

And what can so you say about Koufax, he was absolutely brilliant from 1961–1966 before arthritis ended his career at only 30 years old. However, it is one moment in which Sandy will always be remember for, his decision to not pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. This decision garnered national attention as an example of conflict between social pressures and personal beliefs. From the "Did You Know Department?" ... on September 29, 1957, Koufax became the last man ever to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Los Angeles, by throwing an inning of relief in the final game of the season.

And there you have it, some good 'ol cheap vintage for a good 'ol Friday. Check back for later on tonight for part two.

LCS visit brings in vintage and retro vintage (PART TWO)

So many times I look at the boxes and boxes of cards and wonder, how can I organize my collection better. How can I make it truly mine? How can I keep this "fun" for me? What's a good way to pull out a binder and explore the history of the game? The players, the uniforms, the crazy hair of the 70's, odd nicknames, etc. ... I know other blogs have "built" All-Time team binders and the like, but how can I do this for myself in a way that encompasses the stars and not so stars of America's pastime and showcase Topps' design through the years?

I have thought about just doing a page of each Topps baseball card design, but there is no way I would be able to limit myself to say, nine cards from any given year. Hhhmmm, what if I did that and didn't limit myself?  Well then I might have nine pages of 1971 Topps but only one page of 1988 Topps. That won't work.

I went back and thought about doing the All-Time teams bit again and again ... a project that would be easier to tackle and more attractive thanks to all the recent reto set products. However, I am a bit anal and wouldn't want a 2011 Gypsy Queen Honus Wagner next to a nice 1964 Topps Bill Mazeroski. So what to do, what to do, how can I pull this together? I needed to answer the question of "what is it about baseball and baseball cards that I love the most? What always draws me back to looking at these pieces of cardboard?" The answer was easy and stems from one of my favorite baseball books in my library, Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Lineups.

So with a little bit of fine tuning on my end, I am starting a new collecting project that will be one of All-Decade teams for each Major League ball club from the 1960's till present in Topps baseball card form. Each ball club for each decade will have; one, 9-pocket page for the starting line up that will include a pinch hitter/utility/DH, one, 9-pocket page of a starting rotation of five, a couple of bullpen saviors, a closer, and one, 9-pocket page of bench guys and/or highlight cards such as post-season or record breaking performances.

I will begin posting these teams little by little and would love to hear feedback even if it's in the form of "What the hell are you thinking putting player A over player B????"

So with this project in mind, how could I not pass up this Roger Maris for only $3.00!!  I mean, would you rather have this 1964 Topps card or a $3.00, crap pack of 2011 Bowman????

Sure, there's a lot of wear on this baby, but all the stats are there to peruse and the card really has some nice color. It's my first and only Yankee so far for my 60's Yanks, All-Decade team and what a way to kick this collection off.

Next up, a high number ... all for the price of a 2011 Topps Rack Pack ...

Your starting second baseman of your 1960's Pittsburgh Pirates, BILL MAZEROSKI!!! The 1964 Topps design is a little underrated I feel. The set has some great color, the color photos spilling over onto the white borders, and the game/quiz on the back of the cards is a cool touch. Seems like the 1960, 1962, and 1967 Topps designs get all the love but this, I think, will be the next Heritage set I'll collect. It's a just a classic and clean set.

Next up for the cost of a couple of new packs, more guys to help fill out the rosters for my '60s teams for the Braves, Cardinals, Cubs, and Phillies to name a few ...

Love, love this shot of Callison!!  I mean, look at that color and the classic wool uniform against a backdrop of an old school ballpark.

Here's a bunch of 1968 Topps with Shannon probably being my pinch hitter as Ken Boyer will be the starting third baseman for the this '60s Cards team. At one point when I was a teen, actually had a chance to buy a partial set from this year and for whatever reason, I decided not to. Still kicking myself on that one. I think would have been maybe $80 for about three quarters of the set. For some reason, I still like this design over the '69 ... Oh well.

And speaking of 1969, here's the last three vintage pulls from the LCS. Maxvill fills out my Cards infield alongside the '68 Javier, above, and Veale was a pretty good lefty in his day.

So with that, I have begun putting these guys in sheets as well as begun putting together a wantlist for other cards I will need for the 1960s and 1970s teams. I hope you'll help me along the journey and hope it sparks some pretty good debate in the comments section.

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CONTEST, CONTEST, CONTEST!!!!
And finally before I forget, I'd like to pimp This Card Is Cool's blog contest over here. Ryan's always has some good reads and he steps it up a notch in celebrating his 200th post. Congrats Ryan, keep up the great work and thanks for the cool contest!