BACK TO THE FLEA MARKET JUNK BOX POST WITH TOO MANY PICTURES. THIS HALF OF THE BOX HAS THE REAL HEAVY HITTER JUNK WAX ERA LEGENDS SETS
NEXT UP: SOME 1991 SWELL BASEBALL GREATS CARDS. FLEER WASN'T THE ONLY SET WITH YELLOW BORDERS! SWELL HAD A NICE THREE YEAR RUN OF LEGENDS SETS FROM 89-91. THIS 1991 SET HAS IMPEL MARKETING COPYRIGHTS ON THE BACK. IMPEL BECAME SKYBOX IN 1992 AND SADLY THERE IS NO SKYBOX BASEBALL GREATS SET. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW COOL A CARD OF BABE RUTH WITH COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND GLOWING BASKETBALLS WOULD BE? HERE'S A FEW HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BOX
MANNY MOTA IS MORE THAN THE AIRPLANE JOKE. HE BROKE IN WITH THE GIANTS, HIS ROOKIE CARD HAS HIM AS A COLT .45 AND HE WAS TRADED TO THE PIRATES BEFORE PLAYING A GAME WITH HOUSTON. MANNY THEN GOT SELECTED BY THE EXPOS IN THE EXPANSION DRAFT AND FLIPPED TO THE DODGERS EARLY IN THE SEASON. AND THEN HE BECAME A DODGER FOR LIFE AND PINCH HIT FOR PEDRO BORBON, WHO WAS A CARDINAL IN 1980. DON'T WORRY DODGER FANS, MANNY'S ONLY CARD AS A GIANT IS FROM AN OBSCURE TCMA SET
WHILE I DON'T HAVE A DEFINITIVE RANKING OF TEAMS LIKE NIGHT OWL* I DO KNOW THE A'S ARE IN MY TOP FIVE FOR A MULTITUDE OF REASONS. THEY'VE GIVEN THE BRAVES A LOTTA GOOD PLAYERS OVER THE YEARS FOR ONE THING. REGGIE WON A RING WITH THEM MY BIRTH YEAR FOR ANOTHER. AND THESE YELLOW AND GREEN UNIFORMS ARE FANTASTIC. LAS VEGAS BETTER NOT FUCK THAT UP, ASSUMING THEY EVEN END UP THERE. KEN HOLTZMAN IS A FANTASTIC PITCHER THAT EVERYONE'S FORGOTTEN ABOUT. FOUR WORLD SERIES RINGS! MOST WINS BY A JEWISH PITCHER! GIVE HOLTZMAN SOME RESPECT
ASTROS ANOTHER TEAM IN MY TOP FIVE. GO BANG YOUR TRASH CANS SOMEWHERE ELSE. CESAR CEDENO ANOTHER GREAT PLAYER FORGOTTEN. HE COULD HIT DINGERS AND STEAL BASES AND HIT FOR AVERAGE AND TAKE A WALK. GOLD GLOVE FIELDER TOO! BUT HE WASN'T LITERALLY WILLIE MAYS SO HE WAS OFF THE HALL OF FAME BALLOT AFTER ONE SHOT. PHOOEY TO HALL OF FAME VOTERS. PHOOEY I SAY!
I HAVE NO LOFTY PRAISE FOR DECINCES BUT A DUDE WHO IS AN ABOVE AVERAGE HITTER WHO CAN PLAY ALL OVER THE INFIELD IS HELLA VALUABLE. I LOVE THE CALIFORNIA ANGELS LOGO TOO. AND FLIP UP SHADES WITH EYEBLACK! STUPENDOUS. WE'RE LOOKING AT GREATNESS HERE. OOPS I DID HAVE SOME PRAISE AFTER ALL
THE BACKS OF THE CARDS ARE PRETTY GOOD. THE BASEBALL GREATS DESIGN FROM THE FRONT IS REPEATED AND THERE'S A LOT OF INFO HERE. THE CARD NUMBER BEING IN THE MIDDLE AIN'T GREAT BUT IT'S EASY TO READ AND IN THE SAME PLACE EVERY TIME. I MAY HAVE SAID THIS THREE TIMES ALREADY BUT I WAS REALLY SURPRISED TO FIND THIS CARD WAS MADE BY IMPEL MARKETING, THE SAME GUYS WHO DID MARVEL, DISNEY AND STAR TREK CARDS IN THE EARLY 90S. I WAS EVEN MORE SUPRISED THAT IMPEL TURNED INTO SKYBOX WHEN THEY GOT THEIR BASKETBALL LICENSE. I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW PHILADELPHIA GUM TURNED INTO IMPEL. 90S TRADING CARD MANUFACTURER SHENANIGANS ARE FASCINATING
FINAL STATS FOR THE SWELL CARDS IN THE BOX:
TOTAL CARDS - 18
NEEDED - 15
DUPLICATES - 3
CURRENT VALUE OF INDIVIDUAL QUARTER CARDS: $15.50
LOTS OF 1988 PACIFIC LEGENDS CARDS IN THE BOX. I'VE LOVED THIS SET SINCE IT FIRST CAME OUT. PACKS WERE HARD TO COME BUY BECAUSE SOME DEALERS SET THE PRICE FOR THE MANTLE AT $25 AND THERE WAS A FEEDING FRENZY. THEY ARE PRETTY COMMON NOW AND I'VE BEEN PICKING THEM OFF HERE AND THERE AS I FIND THEM
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE SET IS IT'S PACKED FULL OF AWESOME PLAYERS THAT DIDN'T MAKE THE HALL OF FAME. ROY FACE HERE WAS A GREAT RELIEF PITCHER BEFORE THAT ROLE CRYSTALLIZED INTO PITCHING ONLY THE NINTH INNING WITH A LEAD OF THREE OR LESS RUNS. IF ELROY PITCHED THIRTY YEARS LATER HE WOULDV'E HAD LIKE 500 SAVES. OR HE WOULD'VE PICKED UP THE SPLIT FINGER FASTBALL AND BLEW HIS ARM OUT AFTER SIX SEASONS (AFTER RACKING UP 200 SAVES)
WISH I'D TAKEN A BETTER PICTURE OF GARY BELL BUT THE ENTIRE PILOTS FRANCHISE IS A BIT BLURRY TO BE HONEST. PILOTS CARDS ARE GREAT TO FIND ANYTIME JUST SO YOU CAN CROSS REFERENCE THE PLAYERS TO BALL FOUR. DING DONG!
THESE CARDS WERE ALL FROM SERIES TWO WITH THE BLUE BACKS. THIS IS GREAT BECAUSE I NEED WAY MORE OF THEM THAN I DO SERIES ONE
PACIFIC LEGENDS HAS A BUNCH OF THESE UNCANNY COLORIZED PHOTOS THAT MAKE THE PLAYERS LOOK LIKE PHANTOMS. I LOVE THIS KIND OF WEIRD QUIRKS ON OLD TIMEY LEGENDS SETS
THERE WERE SOME HEAVY HEAVY HITTERS IN THE BOX. A GREAT LOOKING CARD OF KILLER, GAYLORD PERRY WITH THE GIANTS AND TED FRICKIN WILLIAMS. TEDDY BALLGAME DOESN'T BELONG IN QUARTER BOXES BUT I'LL TAKE IT
COMING AROUND FULL CIRCLE, WILBUR WOOD HAD AN AMAZING RUN IN THE EARLY 70S WHERE HE STARTED 224 GAMERS IN FIVE SEASONS AFTER MOVING TO THE ROTATION FROM THE BULLPEN. HIS FINAL CAREER NUMBERS GOT HIM BARELY ANY HALL OF FAME VOTES, BUT HIS WAR TOTAL IS HIGHER THAN JIM KAAT, JACK MORRIS AND CATFISH HUNTER'S. RESPECT THE KNUCKLEBALL
FINAL STATS FOR THE PACIFIC CARDS IN THE BOX:
TOTAL CARDS - 20
NEEDED - 17
DUPLICATES - 3
CURRENT VALUE OF INDIVIDUAL QUARTER CARDS: $19.75
THE FINAL BATCH OF CARDS IN THE BOX ARE OF THAT OLD STANDBY, THE CONLON COLLECTION. YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON FINDING AT LEAST A COUPLE OF THESE CARDS IN ANY JUNK BOX, YET COMPLETING THE ENTIRE SET IS PROBABLY AS TOUGH AS COMPLETING A VINTAGE TOPPS SET. MAYBE NOT 1966 TOUGH, BUT MAYBE 1973 TOUGH. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SERIES ONE THAT GOT PRINTED ROUGHLY IN 1991 UPPER DECK QUANTITIES, OR EVEN SERIES TWO OR THREE WHERE COMPLETE SET TINS ARE STILL PRETTY COMMON. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE HIGH SERIES IN 1994 WHERE THEY SLOWED DOWN THE PRINTING PRESSES AND THAT BIZARRE 1995 SERIES WITH THE MAROON BORDERS AND COLORIZED CARDS AND FOIL STAMPING AND SUCH. PEOPLE THINK THE CARDS ARE TRASH SO INFORMATION ONLINE IS HARD TO FIND. I'M STILL PLUGGING AWAY THOUGH
IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE I PULLED THE SAMPLE CARDS FOR THE PHOTOS AND I THINK I MIGHT'VE JUST PICKED THE GREATEST NAMES I COULD FIND. SKI MELILLO IS A LEGIT GREAT NAME. I WAS WONDERING WHO THIS GUY WAS UNTIL I LOOKED HIM UP AND FOUND OUT IT'S OSCAR MELLILO. I GOT A GOUDEY CARD OF THIS DUDE!
JIMMY LAVENDER SOUNDS LIKE THE NAME OF A MILTON BERLE GANGSTER CHARACTER. JIMMY THREW A SPITBALL AND GOT A NO HITTER WITH IT WHICH IS COOL. BRING BACK CHEATING! JIMMY ALSO HAS SOME VINTAGE CARDS IN T206 AND CRACKER JACK. I DON'T HAVE THOSE
BILL HUNNEFIELD. I DON'TEVEN KNOW WHY THIS NAME MAKES ME GIGGLE BUT IT DOES. BILL PLAYED SIX SEASONS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT DEAD ZONE OF MAJOR TRADING CARD SETS FROM THE LATE 20S TO THE EARLY 30S SO IF YOU WANT A CARD OF THIS DUDE YOU CAN GET A CONLON OR TRACK DOWN A SUPER SCARCE ZEE-NUT OR EXHIBIT CARD. THIS IS CONLON'S GREATEST CONTRIBUTION TO CARD COLLECTING IN MY OPINION. EVEN MORE VALUABLE NOW THAT CONLONS ARE CONSIDERED BORDERLINE VINTAGE!
STUFFY MCINNIS! YOU KNOW I HAD TO SHOW OFF A BRAVE NAMED STUFFY. STUFFY WAS A STAR FIRST BASEMAN WITH THE A'S AND HAS A TON OF CARDS OUT THERE VINTAGE AND OTHERWISE. HE'S EVEN GOT A LAUGHLIN CARD CELEBRATING HIS .999 FIELDING PERCENTAGE IN 1921. STUFFY IS ALSO A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE CHEAPASS BOSTON BRAVES PICKING UP OLD AND BUSTED STARS AT THE END OF THEIR CAREERS. I COULD WRITE A WHOLE POST ON THAT IF I WASN'T LASER FOCUSED ON WRITING ABOUT GARBAGE COMMON CARDS AT THE MOMENT
WES FERRELL'S NAME ISN'T GOOFY BUT HE PITCHED A NO-HITTER AND BOPPED A HOME RUN IN THE SAME GAME WHICH IS SUPER COOL
GOTTA LOVE BOX SCORES ON THE BACK OF CARDS, ESPECIALLY FOR HISTORIC GAMES LIKE THIS ONE. THERE'S A BUNCH OF NO-HITTER CARDS IN CONLON IF THAT'S YOUR THING
THERE'S A BUNCH OF CLAIMS OF 'FIRST CARDS' IN THE CONLON SET AND BACK IN THE DAY WE ERE ALL AWED TO HAVE A ROOKIE CARD OF SOME DUDE WHO PLAYED IN THE 30S. WHAT WE DIDN'T HAVE WAS THE INTERNET AND A DOZEN WEBSITES CATALOGING EVERY SINGLE BASEBALL CARD IN EXISTANCE. I HAD TO DO SOME SEARCHING ON OL JOHNNY HERE SINCE HE BEGAN AND ENDED HIS CAREER WITH THE BRAVES
ACCORDING TO TCDB, THIS IS NOT ONLY NOT JOHNNY NIGGELING'S FIRST CARD, IT IS ACTUALLY HIS LAST CARD. JOHNNY HAD A ST. LOUIS BROWNS CARD IN 1941, A REPRINT OF THAT CARD IN THE 70S AND A COUPLE OTHER ODDBALLS PRINTED UP BEFORE THIS ONE. NO BRAVES CARDS THOUGH, SO IF I EVER GET LOOPY AND DECIDE TO START AN 'EVERY BRAVES PLAYER' PROJECT THIS ONE WILL HAVE TO DO
FINAL STATS FOR THE CONLON CARDS IN THE BOX:
TOTAL CARDS - 77
NEEDED - 34 (PLUS THE BABE RUTH AD)
DUPLICATES - 33
CURRENT VALUE OF INDIVIDUAL QUARTER CARDS: $28.25
FINAL TALLY FOR EVERYTHING
TOTAL CARDS - 242
CARDS I ACTUALLY NEEDED - 113
GOT OVER A HUNDRED CARDS KNOCKED OFF VARIOUS LEGENDS SET WANTLISTS FOR ABOUT TEN BUCKS. THAT'S A WIN!
* REALLY HOPING THE BRAVES ARE VILLAINOUS ENOUGH TO MAKE THE BOTTOM FIVE NEXT YEAR
7 comments:
"I COULD WRITE A WHOLE POST ON THAT IF I WASN'T LASER FOCUSED ON WRITING ABOUT GARBAGE COMMON CARDS AT THE MOMENT" -- put that on a t-shirt so we can all declare our commitment to blogging garbage commons, please and thx.
Lots of good stuff there. Garbage common cards rule!
i've bought like 400 more garbage commons in the past couple months so uuuuhhhh
I love these odd ball sets and enjoy finding more and more through TCDB and fellow collectors. I just completed my Conlon team sets, working on Pacific Legends, and I may well look to start Swell before too long.
I respect Holtzman and the knuckleball (Wood).
I also have a bunch of Pacific Legends to show. ... I love the yellow-bordered Swells, and they don't seem as available as the other Swells.
Didn't know that Impel became Skybox, I just assumed they were different companies and Impel went bust the year Skybox came on the scene.
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