George V

Sit Ubu, Sit.

Good dog!

Continuing an Old School Tradition

Apparently, in ye' olden days, you could get your sports cards while you ate your bowl of Shredded Wheat.

My copy of a 1962 Post Cereal #166 of Lamar Lundy would be one example of this phenomena.

Well, my sister Dana has decided to continue this tradition with the contents of this Christmas card.

That's right.  Read'em and weep fellas.  A 2011-12 Cars 2 Holley Shiftwell and Finn McMissile.

These cards are unnumbered, so I will assume they are 1/1's until proven otherwise.

Thanks for the cool cards Dana!  You're the best.

Today We Live

Touring

What I wouldn't give to go touring in either of these classic beauties.

The Duke of Portland

A Few '89s

Since I finally rounded up enough goodies to send to the Diamond King to complete my portion of our first trade, I thought I'd finally start posting some of the Stocktons that he sent my way.

First up are three 1989 cards that I was surprised to learn I did not yet own.

While I knew I didn't already have the Fleer All-Star card and I would have guessed that I didn't have the yellow Hoops parallel, I would have bet my entire Stockton collection that I already owned the white Hoops card. How I ever considered myself a decent Stockton collector without that card in my collection is beyond me.  But, thankfully, the problem has been corrected thanks to the Diamond King.

With dull, small print on the backs of cards back in the day, it's no wonder I never turned them over.  Also, I never collected sets, so I didn't care what the card numbers were, which also contributed to my lack of interest in the backs of cards.

Future Watch

After I sent Hiflew a Dexter Fowler autograph, I decided I needed to fill the void.

So I bought this.

It's an SP Authentic Future Watch auto, #/d 25/125.  I like the symmetry of the serial number.

Trade Report: Obsessing about Sports (Cards)

My buddy Jeff of My Sports Obsession sent me a wonderful package of Royals and Rockies after I sent him a pile of 1981 Topps dupes.  He sent along some wonderful modern cards of my two favorite teams, but it was the following nine cards that made this trade fantastic.

My first pre-80s Royals cards and some fantastic old-school team cards. 

Thank for these great cards Jeff! 

The Path

I thought this was a cool video about Luke Hochevar's path to the bigs.

Trade Report: Play at the Plate

I recently sent Play at the Plate a handful of tobacco cards that he found interesting.  In return, he sent along some colorful and shiny Royals and Rocks.

I love the orange borders on the chrome cards. Great cards from a great guy!  Thanks Platey!

Geo. is Short for George

At least it was in 1910.

Looks like Geo Gardiner was a decent fighter, although he did loose a fight to that acoustic guitar strumming, no shoe wearing, super Mellow Show hosting Jack Johnson in 20 rounds.



Ultimate Frisbee!

Starting to Hit Doubles

It's a pretty funny experience building up doubles of cards from a 100-year-old set, but that's exactly what I've done.

First, two new cards for my 1910 Murad T51s: Mount Union College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Then I hit a double in back to back lot purchases with these Armour skiers.

Another lot I bought contained a State University of North Dakota footballer, which means I now have two of them.

I'd be more than happy to trade away my duplicates, but I really prefer to get tobacco cards in return, preferably for a Murad College Series card or two that I don't yet own,.

Also, I now own 27 unique cards of this 150 card set, which puts me at 18% complete.  If I can add 5% each month, I'll definitely meet my goal of 50% completion by year's end.

Colorado Collection: I Went to Prom with a Hall of Famer

As everyone's probably noticed, it's awards season.  It seems like every other night of the week there are red carpets, acceptance speeches, and people being mocked by Ricky Gervais.  There are People's Choice, Golden Globes, Oscars, Grammys, and tickets to Cooperstown being handed out left and right.

One awards ceremony you may have missed this week was one that is very important to me: the 2011 Colorado High School Athletic Association's Hall of Fame ceremony. 

Don't worry, I usually forget about this one in all the commotion.  But not this year.  No, this year's event was noteworthy to me because two of the seven entrants this year are my high school classmates, one of which was my senior prom date.  That's right, I went to the prom with a Hall of Famer. 

This year's class included a couple of former Denver Broncos, a handful of highly successful coaches, and my classmates Kris Jensen McKay and Cari Jensen Smith.  

Here is a run down of the Jensen Twins' (as they were known before they married and started families) accomplishments.

Kristen and Cari Jensen will be forever linked, not only as twins but in their athletic accomplishments at Fowler High School. Both were three sport athletes – volleyball, basketball and track – for Fowler. Both were FHS co-valedictorians and earned volleyball scholarships to Kansas State.

Cari Jensen Smith (Fowler High School): A 2000 graduate of Fowler, Cari was a three-sport athlete who also participated in student council, band, drama, National Honor Society, FBLA, FCCLA and a number of church activities. In volleyball, her teams were four-time district and regional champions, three-time state champions and a state runner-up. She was a four-time first team all-state selection. In basketball, Cari set 10 school records and helped her team to four state appearances, one state title and earned numerous awards, including first team all-state and 2A Player of the Year twice. In track, she set three school marks, won the state championship in the 100 meter hurdles (three times), triple jump (sophomore), 300 meter hurdles (sophomore) and placed in several other events throughout her career. Her track team also won a state title. Cari was named the Colorado Prep Sportswomen of the Year (2000), Fred Steinmark Award recipient (2000) and The Denver Post/Denver Athletic Club Student-Athlete of the Year (2000). She and Kristen were honored by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame as Prep Athletes of the Year in 2001.

Kristen Jensen McKay (Fowler High School) – A 2000 graduate of Fowler, Kristen was a three-sport athlete who also participated in student council, band, National Honor Society, FBLA, and a number of church activities. In volleyball, she helped her team to three state championships, finishing second once as well. Kris was named to a number of all-tournament and all-state teams in the sport. In basketball, she propelled her teams to four state appearances, including a state title and earned numerous playing honors at the district, regional and state level, including all-state as a junior. In track, Kris set four school marks and earned a trip to the state meet four times. She won the high jump as a freshman. As a sophomore, she and Cari combined to earn FHS the first place trophy by combining for 48 points. She earned 10 medals at the state track meet over her four years. She and Cari were honored by the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame as Prep Athletes of the Year in 2001.

In my mind, their best year was our junior year when they followed up winning a state basketball title by winning a state track title by themselves.  Both events will forever be highlights of my sports spectating memories. 

As for how they fit into my Colorado Collection, while I'll probably never own a certified card autograph of theirs, I will forever have their autographs in a couple of my yearbooks.  So into the Colorado Collection they will go.

Red Graded Graph

(Sung to the tune "Red Solo Cup" by Toby Keith)

Now red graded graph is not cheap or disposible,
In 100million years they are decomposable,
And unlike my home, they are not foreclosable,
FreddieMac kiss my ass!


Red graded graph,
I paid less than half,
Let's have a party!  
Let's have a party!


Now I really love how you're easy to stack,
But I really wish you were easier to crack,
Cause the file drawer won't close all the way back
Cause your case is too wide.


But I must admit, the ladies get smitten,
Admiring how nicely the red autograph is written
With Sharpie, so to the eBay I get hitting,
Hoping to bid lucky.


Red graded graph,
I paid less than half,
Let's have a party!  
Let's have a party!
LET'S HAVE A PARTY!



Apologies to Toby Keith for butchering his song, but the wife got it stuck in my head and I thought it fit perfectly with the first graded card of my collection.

It's a 2004 Upper Deck USA Baseball Luke Hochevar Autograph/Jersey card that is numbered 25/50.

As my version of the song alludes, graded cards don't fit into my library card file.  So, the card must be released from the case.  Anyone have any tips on how to do so without destroying the card?

But, I do have to admit that it looks great with the rest of my 2004 USA Baseball Hochevars.

 Oh, and happy 1st birthday to my blog.  This is my 332nd post over the past year, which equates to nearly a post a day, which isn't too shabby considering I purchase and have relatively few cards compared to my friends in the cardosphere.

Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?

1910 T118 Hassan Tobacco "World Greatest Explorers" David Livingstone

My first Hassan card and I couldn't be happier about who is on the front of the card.  The Livingstone came with a few other mustachioed fellas that I will be showing off during the unveiling of the 2012 Mustache Portraits Set, but I loved this card too much to have to wait until Movember to get it on the blog.

What Would C.W. Horn Do?

If he was here today?

I have no idea, but I do know what Brian Boitano would do.

Which Came First?

The bird or the egg?

I like the fact that the bird and the egg are both able to be "punched out" of the card, although I've not yet done it.

Golden Tench

"The Golden Tench is purely ornamental," which means it's a perfect subject for a tobacco card.

In Need of a Doubles Opponent

Oh, hey Mary!  How are you?

Your usual Monday morning doubles opponent never showed, huh?  Well, you know me, I'm always good for a match, but the wife's tennis elbow is flaring up again.

Besides, you and V. are the reining club mixed-doubles champions.

In addition to that, your forehand drive and V.'s two-handed backhand are textbook perfect tennis swings.  You'd have us down 9-love lickity-split.  

No, I think we're going to pass this time.  But thanks for the offer and take care.

Well, I'd better get back to the office.  Tell V. hi for me!

Crown Jewels

Russia and Scotland.

Yes, I'm Still Collection Baseball Cards. Slowly.

I thought I'd take a moment during the Great Tobacco Card Revolution of 2012 to assure my fans that, yes, I am in fact still collecting baseball cards.  Problem is, I rarely find ones I want/need these days.  So, I feed my collecting addiction by going back to my collecting roots.

But, once in a blue moon, I find a card that I like, that I need, and that I feel is worth the shipping costs.  Today's card that fit the bill is a 2010 Topps Silk Dexter Fowler card which is numbered 46/50. 

The seller also had a manupatch for a buck and combined shipping, so I grabbed it as well.

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the 4th of July hat logos, so to be able to own a second one for Dexter for a buck was too good of a deal to pass up.

I now return you to your regularly schedule program, "A Trip Down Tobacco Card Lane".

Brodie Dog

Seriously, dogs are awesome. My buddy Brodie is always happy to see me and always wants to be where I am.  Which means that I am happy to see that 2012 A&G will have a "Man's Best Friend" insert, which I will definitely collect.

I'm also collecting old-timey tobacco cards with dogs on them.  Like these two:

Or the below partial set that I bought specifically for this card:

which reminds me of this guy:

who makes me want to collect one of these guys for the reals.

The thing is, how bad could a card set featuring dogs really be?  Unless this guy is the cover boy, it'll be clean, nice, and fun to collect.

Army Corp & Divisional Signs, 1914-1918

I love these cards.  So simple.  So basic.  Great colors.  Great, subtle military subject matter.