Visiting An LCS

This time, it wasn't the traditional local card shop LCS, but rather, a Local Card Show.  My wife and I made a trip up to the big city of Colorado Springs to have a (belated) Valentine's Day lunch at Biaggis, some antiquing in an attempt to find a hutch for the kitchen, and I somehow convinced her to go to a 20-table card show.

Nick of Dime Boxes had a great list of tips for how to enjoy a card show without going broke, so I was inspired to go dime box digging.

So imagine my disappointment when I found the hotel basement conference hall filled with a 5:1 glass case filled with hits to dime box ratio.  And it seemed that football was king of this show as there were hardly any baseball cards in the displays.

Since I didn't want to bore the wife too much, I casually surfed the glass cases until I got to one seller who had his Colorado Rockies separated by player.  I walked away three cards richer and $12 lighter in the wallet.

First, I found a Todd Helton that I knew I didn't already have.  While it wasn't a dime, I felt comfortable giving seventy-five cents for this card.

Then I found two Dexter Fowlers that I knew I couldn't leave the show without.  First, a 2011 A&G mini for a quarter.

And then I shelled out $11 for this beauty (which was marked $15 but the seller was cool and gave me a deal on it).  It's a 2009 Heritage Chrome Black parallel, #'d 46/60

Sure, it's majorly miscut, but I'd never seen one of these for under $20 so I knew I had to get home with it. 

Big thanks to Nick for inspiring me to get outta the house, off the bay, and doing some in-person card hunting. 

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

After my wife graduated from law school this past summer, we decided that she'd take the Colorado Bar Exam.  Since she didn't have a job lined up yet (since she hadn't passed the Bar), my parents offered to let us live in my Grandma's old house, which they and my uncle had inherited after she died in 2010.  It was great to be back in my home town and it was actually quite fun living in a house that carried so many fond memories of my childhood.

To make a long story short, my wife got a job in a nearby town, I found a teaching job in a nearby town, and we bought the house from my dad and uncle.  We've spent the past six months installing new flooring, painting the walls and molding, and remodeling the kitchen.  I think it has finally become "our house" and not "grandma's house" which is kinda cool.

While we were cleaning, we found this button that Grandma would wear to my high school basketball games, and, in typical Grandmotherly fashion, had safely stored away in her junk valuables drawer.

And why wouldn't she?  This freshman would eventually become a senior, and they'd HAVE to let him play then, right?  (Well, they'd let him start, but he would be subbed out by some Hochevar kid minutes into the game or after one bad pass, which ever came first).

And I'll give you one guess what my jersey number was.

Colorado Collection: Nate Solder (Part Two)

It's just my luck that the day after I posted a Nate Solder card, my second card of his would arrive.  I was hoping to put both cards into the same post, but que sera, sera.

While I was looking for Nate Solder cards for my Colorado Collection, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to own a card of him in his CU jersey.  Also, the autograph is WAY better on this version and it's on-card to boot.

And, just for giggles, here are my Colorado Collection cards that feature the player in a Colorado-based uniform.

Coincidentally, all Upper Deck cards.

Colorado Collection: Nate Solder

While watching the Super Bowl, I noticed that one of the Patriots claimed to have attended Colorado University.  So, I dug a little deeper and found out that, Nate Solder was indeed a Coloradoan and I instantly began a search for one of his autographs.

I ended up with this 2011 SAGE First Round Selection Dual Autograph Nate Solder/Ryan Kerrigan, which is serial numbered 40/200.

Born in Denver, Colorado, Nate played left tackle for the CU Buffs and was the 17th selection in the 2011 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots.

The 15,000 Club

John Stockton had 15,806 career assists.  I've had 15,835 page views on my blog (as of last night when I wrote this post).  Weird that I'd stumble into both numbers today.  Even weirder that they'd be so close to each other.

So thanks to everyone who has viewed the pages of my blog and has helped me get higher numbers than John Stockton in something/anything.  A decade ago, when my high school guidance counselor foretold of this day, I thought he was just blowing smoke up my keister.  I guess I owe him an apology and I can probably ask that he be released from the state hospital now.

Maize and Blue

No, I'm not the newest writter over at Too Many Manninghams.  I just thought that it would be a fun way to introduce my newest Dexters.

Once again, I picked up parallels before getting my mitts on a base version of Dexter. 

Helton Trifecta

I've been wanting to complete a Todd Helton trifecta after I picked up one of his rookie cards earlier this year.  Now I can check that wish off my bucket list after grabbing this autograph off the Bay.

This card goes well with the other two parts of the trifecta: a relic card and a rookie card.

I'd like to eventually grab a trifecta of Dennis Eckersley and I need a rookie card to finish off a John Stockton trifecta.  Maybe I'll be able to do so this year.

Gold Medallian Edition

Fleer Ultra was probably my favorite brand of basketball cards when I was a kid.  I always tried to pickup a pack or two whenever we were at Target or Toys'RUs.

By the time this card came out, I was on hiatus from basketball collecting.  Thankfully the Diamond King sent it my way recently.

Come Fly With Me

Good luck finding a song and a card that go together better than do these two.

Close, But No Cigarette

Sometimes it pays to gamble on eBay and sometimes you just miss out.  This time I missed it by that much.



I was surfing the tobacco card section of eBay and found that someone was selling a pair of 1888 N29 ALLEN & GINTER'S CHAMPIONS tobacco cards and they were sitting at a buck a piece.  I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. 

Then I read the description which stated, "May have been clipped off of original advertising poster or one of the premium albums."  But for a buck I was willing to gamble that their backs looked like this:

because they were clipped from an album and not an advertisement.  Once I got them in hand, I fear they are advert clippings.  And while they seem to be pretty old, I can't be certain that they are pre-1900 cardboard pieces. 


Be that as it may, these fellas are gonna look great in my 2012 Mustache Portraits collection.

Finest Attributes

Definitely the shorty-shorts.

And he's no shlouch when it comes to dishing the rock, rolling a pick, and/or tightening the D.

N224 Kinney/Sweet Caporal Military Uniforms

I now own four pieces of cardboard that were created before the turn of the 20th Century.  Completely and utterly too cool.

These N224 Kinney/Sweet Caporal Military Uniforms cards are amazing considering they were created around 1890.

As the backs of all the cards are exactly the same, I'll just show one scan.

I will definitely be looking to add more of these beauties whenever the price is right.

Colorado Collection: Shane Carwin

The latest addition to my Colorado Collection is one I've been trying to track down at a reasonable price for over a year.

I first learned that Shane Carwin was a native Coloradoan during UFC116 when he was moments away from finishing Brock Lesnar in the first round.  Brock was able to survive the onslaught of punches and eventually submitted Shane in the second round with an arm-triangle.  Even though he lost the fight, I've been a fan of Shane Carwin ever since.

Shane has a storied Colorado sports career, including becoming a two-time NCAA Division II Wrestling National Runner-Up Heavyweight in 1996–97 and the NCAA II Wrestling Heavyweight National Champion in 1999 while at Western State College.  Incidentally, Shane's wrestling coach at Western State College was Miles Van Hee, who is from my hometown of Fowler, CO.

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk

This is one of my favorite pickups so far.  Great colors of a classic school.

1910 Murad T51 Set Total: 33/150 (22%) complete

I'm making great progress toward my 2012 collecting goal of having 50% of this set.

Collegium Iowense

Another reminder of the fact that I should have spent more time touring Iowa while we were living in Omaha.

1910 Murad T51 Set Total: 32/150 (21.3%) complete

Post-SuperBowl Manupatches

I took a mental health (and, what has turned into a body health) day-off from work today, which means that I had the bubble mailers out of the mailbox before the mail lady was finished with our block (which is really quick because there are only two houses and two churches on our side of the block).

And wouldn't you know it, but my first additions to my NFL Team Logo Manupatches set arrived.  It seems very fitting that they would arrive a day after the Super Bowl.

I know that not as many people actively collect football cards, but if anyone has any NFL Team Logo Manupatches that they'd like to trade (especially the Broncos), let me know.

Hiking in Iowa

Good Superb Owl Sunday to everyone! 

This card makes me miss living in Omaha and being next door to Iowa.

1910 Murad T51 Set Total: 31/150 (20.7%) complete.

Hunting at Lawrence University

Another great outdoor scene from my favorite set.

1910 Murad T51 Set Total: 30/150 (20%) complete

Montana Western Scene

This card reminds me of two of my favorite shows on tv right now: Gold Rush and AxMen.  I love the independence and ruggedness of the American west.

1910 Murad T51 Set Total:  29/150 (19.3%) complete

The Stockton Stash: Big Shots

This is another beauty that the Diamond King sent me.  This time it's a 97-98 Fleer Big Shots insert.

Lombard College Diver

1910 Murad T51 Set Total:  28/150  (18.6 %) Complete

The Stockton Stash: Spark Plugs

It's time that I opened up my John Stockton Stash.

First up is a 1996 Topps Spark Plugs.

"Spark Plug" is a great moniker for a player of John's caliber.

Flags, Emblems, and Arms

These cards predate WWI, so there was probably a time when these two particular cards were less than desirable, but I believe enough time has passed since the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor that they can now be considered cool again.