A 100-Year-Old Card of a 300-Year-Old College

The last of my lot of 22 Murad cards is this Dickinson College card.

Dickinson College is located in Carlisle, PA, was founded in 1773, and is named after a signer of the Constitution. 

2012 Topps Hochevar Rainbow: Black Gold Rush

This week I was able to add one new 2012 Topps Series 1 parallel to my Hochevar rainbow, as well as one more Black Bordered parallel to my set.

First, the black bordered card, which is serial numbered 15/61 and is my tenth card of the 61-card print run.

I also stumbled into a "Gold Rush" embossed version of the base card.  I think the Gold Rush label works very well with the photograph and is a nice touch.  I've seen others that did not turn out so great.

I now have eight unique cards in the rainbow, including one 1/1 card, but still no printing plate.  Also, I had to let the 1/1 wood card get away when it sold for $80, which was about twice the price I could reasonably pay.  So if anyone has any leads on one (or all) of the printing plates, let me know because I won't be able to put this rainbow to bed until I have one (or all of them). 

Premier Rookie Signatures

It's been a little slow on the new card front in my neck of the woods lately, but I did manage to pick up these two beauties for two bucks plus shipping this week.

Hopefully as summer and the baseball season gets here I'll be able to pick up more cards more often.

Just a Bit Outside Box Break #4 Results

I was able to outbid JABO proprietor Kyle4KC for the Royals in his Box Break #4 and here are the cards that I received, presented in Fave Five fashion.

FIVE:  Extras

FOUR: Authentic SPs

THREE:  2012 Heritage Royals

If you'll notice, there is no Hochevar Heritage card again this year, which I would have known had I looked at a Heritage checklist before signing up for break.  Which brings me to my next card:

TWO:  2012 Topps Heritage Hochevar

ONE:  Platinum GU/Auto

Thanks for a great break Kyle!

Technical Difficulties

Apparently I am to 95% capacity with my free image storage in my blogger picasa album.  Has anyone encountered such issues?  Anyone know how to free up some space or do I just need to upgrade my storage package?

Benched by JBF

Today I got Benched by Jaybarkerfan. 

And I never even saw it coming.

Hopefully I can redeem myself and regain some respect in JBF's eyes.  Maybe a couple of pieces of vintage will do the trick.

Squash or Tennis

I recently bought a 22-card lot of T51 Murads for $12 and thirteen of the cards are new additions to my collection.  Here are those cards, one at a time, so that I can milk as many posts out of this purchase as possible.

The world may never know whether this Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn athlete was playing a round of tennis or squash.  Either way, I'm glad we don't have to wear a neck tie during athletic endeavors anymore.

SET TOTAL:  47/150 (31.3%)

TMV's TitleTown Poll

Too Many Verlanders' Dennis wants to know:

 How successful have your hometown/favorite teams been in your lifetime?


Since I didn't know the answer to that question off the top of my head, I thought I'd do some research and publish the results.  I'll obviously be using Denver, CO, based sports franchises as my "hometown" teams.

DENVER BRONCOS 

 Established 1960

SuperBowl Championships: 2

1997 (XXXII), 1998 (XXXIII)

Conference Championships: 6

1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998

DENVER NUGGETS 

 Founded in 1967

League Titles: 0

Conference Titles: 1

1976 (ABA)

COLORADO AVALANCHE 

Founded in 1972; been in Colorado since 1995

Stanley Cup Titles: 2

1995–96, 2000–01

Conference Championships: 2

1995–96, 2000–01

COLORADO ROCKIES 

 Established 1993

World Series Titles: 0

NL Pennants : 1

2007

Looks like we (and, no, not the proverbial "we", I literally mean we because I am ALWAYS on the team) have played in ten league championships and won four of them over the combined 130+ years the teams have called the Mile High City home.  The best part for me is the fact that all of the titles have come in the prime of my sports fandom.

So, how about your teams? 

Trade Report: Condition (Not) Poor

When slangon of the blog Condition: Poor contacted me about working out a trade, I hoped I'd have something that he'd find valuable enough to persuade him to send what he was proposing.  Turns out I did. 

Yet something tells me that "Condition: Poor" is a gimmick, a hook, a rouse, a smoke-screen, etc., because as it turns out, none of the cards he sent were in poor condition at all.  In fact, they were in fantastic condition.  Here, see for yourself.

The meat-and-potatoes of the trade for me were these two manupatches.  While they don't fit into any of my current collections, there is no way I'm turning away manupatches of  Roger Maris and Frank Thomas. 

And I don't think I could consider myself a manupatch collector without at least one commemorative patch of the All-Star Game and the World Series in my collection.

The icing on the cake came in the form of some additions to three of my major player collections and a couple of cool Royals cards that I don't believe I had yet.

Thanks again for the trade slangon!  I look forward to our next meeting.

The Poker Brat

I just got back from a spring-break kick-off siesta in Omaha where I won $100 playing poker.  Seems fitting then that I would have an autographed Phil Helmuth card waiting for me when I got home.

While I don't care so much for his antics, there is no denying the skill he possesses on the felt.

I've always been a fan of the Goodwin autographs since most of the ones I've seen are on card, as is this one.  Also, its nice to have a picture of Phil in his poker gear, rather than having him wear a Paul Bunyon outfit chopping wood.  Just saying.

This card is a great addition to my growing Poker Brat collection.

Plant the Flag

For Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute -- 1865 in the nearest wheat field you can find. 

Anyone have any insight as to what the "Normal" in the school name was in reference to?

UPDATE:  Resident researchers Cory and Kyle4KC have found that the "normal" in the school name referred to a 'normalization' to free America for the slaves. It was founded by blacks and whites as a way to get slaves transitioned to be free and integrate into a free way of life instead of being used as slaves by rich, white plantation owners.

The backstory for this school more than makes up for the relatively basic card design.  Very cool.

Art of the Steal

PENNant Banner

I recently bought a 22-card lot of T51 Murads for $12 and thirteen of the cards are new additions to my collection.  Here are those cards, one at a time, so that I can milk as many posts out of this purchase as possible.

My last set of dupes come in the form of these two Pennsylvania pennant cards. 

I've been a fan of pennants my entire life.  I had two full circles of pennants on my childhood-room walls, which made these two Murad cards welcome additions to my collection.

Trade Report: The Legen....(wait for it).....dary JBF

Jaybarkerfan sent me a little care package this week and, as the video above suggests, it's LEGENDARY!

I'm fairly certain that this is my first "prime" relic in my collection.  That three-color swatch of jersey ribbing is superb.  Literally the only thing that would make it better were if it was from a pair of John Stockton shorty-shorts.  Since it's not, I'm going to enjoy it in all it's Jazz glory.

Also in the bubble mailer were two fellas that could end up having their own legendary status someday.

Thanks for the great cards JBF!  And enjoy your slabbed '73!

Pomp and Circumstance

I recently bought a 22-card lot of T51 Murads for $12 and thirteen of the cards are new additions to my collection.  Here are those cards, one at a time, so that I can milk as many posts out of this purchase as possible.

I have another set of doubles with these two Greer College cards. 

Ah, the good ol' days, when a person would wear a suit and tie underneath their cap and gown.  And, apparently a birthday suit isn't acceptable under the gown, which would explain why I'll never be awarded another honorary doctorate degree from any more Ivy League schools.  Live and learn.

Trade Report: The Cardboard Don

The Cardboard Don and I swung a sweet trade recently.  In addition to sending one of the pieces of my trif-ECK-ta, I also received these Fave Five hits.

FIVE:  Shiny

FOUR:  Signed Turkey

THREE: Jeffrey

TWO:  25/25

ONE:  A&G Piece of History Slices

Thanks for a great trade Wicked!

Double Hope Diamond

As skiing season winds down (check local listings), I thought I'd show off my second Hochevar 2011 Hope Diamond parallel that I recently added to the collection.

 I grabbed my first version back in October, so if I keep up this pace, I could theoretically have all 60 of these cards by 2072.

Trif-ECK-ta

Thursday was a good day.  It brought an end to the third quarter of my school year.  It brought me to within one week of the return of Community.  And it brought all three pieces of a Dennis Eckersley trifecta into my life.  Two of the pieces were eBay purchases and one was included in the trade package* I received from the Wicked One The Cardboard Don. 

*The trade package was jam packed with Royals and Rockies goodness.  I'll probably be able to get a bakers dozen posts out of that one trade alone, which I'm sure my wife will love.  :)

In one fell swoop, I knocked off my number one collecting goal for 2012.  I guess I can now focus one a few of the goals that I've yet to address this year (I'm looking at you Goal #2 -- Denver Bronco Super Bowl Rookie Cards).

Without further ado, I present my first Hall of Famer Trifecta.

THE RELIC

 Nothing fancy about the piece of fabric, but I love the photograph that UD choose.  Classic.

THE ROOKIE

Sure he's sans-mustache, but the awkward face and pose and the fantastic jersey font and wind-breaker under-shirt make this card a definite icon.  It was never important to me to have the rookie be graded, but when I saw this one bundled with two other graded 1970s-era cards of star players and it was in my price range, I wasn't going to let it slip through my fingers.

And, the piece de resistance.

THE AUTOGRAPH

On-card.  Great photo.  Dual autographed.  On-card.  By two Cy Young Winners.  Both mustachioed.  Serial numbered.  Epic and stylish signatures.  ON CARD!!!!  Fifteen bucks shipped.  

This card is 100% in my top three favorite autograph cards that I own. 

Thus completes my trif-ECK-ta.  I love these cards and I am excited to continue to build up my Eckersley collection.  I think I may need to pick up one of those 1000-card lots that I occasionally see listed.  Or maybe someone wants to trade a huge pile of them to me?

Neat Feats

Yeah, I'd call being the all-time steals AND assists leader a "neat feat".

Also, I hate everything about the design of this card, from the weird font on the front, to the odd colors, to the creepy double photo on the front, to the fact that John's head covers up a few letters on the back of the card.  Good concept, poor delivery. 

Put another way, this is the first card that I've posted that I would categorize with the Adam Carolla phrase, "good lenses, bad frames". 

Trade Bait: Slabbed '73s

I stumbled into a lot of three 1970s-era graded cards.  I'm keeping one of them for my first HOFer trifecta.  I would like to trade the other two to someone(s) who will cherish them more than I will.

They're not pristine in any way, as both were graded a "4" by PSA.  But they are slabbed and they are recognizable names.

Hit me up with an offer or two.  (cough, cough, Manupatches, cough).

A Little Comic Relief

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

March roars in like a lion
So fierce,
The wind so cold,
It seems to pierce.

The month rolls on
And Spring draws near,
And March goes out
Like a lamb so dear.

~ by Lorie Hill

Sure, I'm over a week late with this poem, but I stumbled into this scan of one of my favorite tobacco cards today and thought I'd throw a little culture onto this here weblog.

Oh, and to make all the non-teachers reading this (all three of you) a little jealous, my ten-day Spring Break begins in a week.

2012 Topps Hochevar Rainbow: Black Jack

I'm finally ready to show off my the most ambitious portion of my 2012 Topps Hochevar rainbow, the black parallel.

As most of you know, the black parallels are limited to a 61-card run.  As more and more of them started showing up on eBay, I decided to buy all of them that I could (which ended up being all that were listed).

Which means that I own nine of the sixty-one black parallels (14% for you stat junkies).

A sweet looking page of cards, if I do say so myself.