2023 CARD SHOW - PART 5 THE DEALER WHO COLLECTS - ODDBALL JACKPOT

REMEMBER A COUPLE POSTS AGO WHEN I MENTIONED THAT THE DUDE WAS SELLING CARDS FROM RANDOM SETS GROUPED UP IN TEAM BAGS? WELL THESE WERE THE THREE MOST RANDOM SETS OUT OF THE BUNCH:

LEFT TO RIGHT: 1973 FLEER PATCHES BASEBALL'S WILDEST DAYS AND PLAYS, 1972 FLEER PATCHES FAMOUS FEATS, AND 1975 FLEER PATCHES PIONEERS OF BASEBALL. THESE CARDS WERE INSERTS IN FLEER PATCHES PACKS AS A BONUS TO STABLIZE THE PACKS FROM FLOPPING AROUND TOO MUCH. EARLY LAST YEAR I MADE IT A GOAL TO GET A TYPE CARD FROM EACH SET I COULD FIND AND NOW HERE WAS A TREASURE TROVE OF 1970'S FLEER. THE WILDEST DAYS AND PIONEERS CARDS WERE FIFTY CENTS APIECE WHILE THE FAMOUS FEATS WERE CONFUSED WITH THE 1980 REPRINT SET AND WERE A QUARTER. THE FAMOUS FEATS PILE WAS WAY THINNER THAN THE OTHER TWO SO I'M GUESSING THE GUY WHO RAIDED THE ARCHIVES BOX BEFORE ME HIT THOSE PRETTY HARD AS WELL. I SWITCHED GEARS REAL QUICK WHEN I SAW THESE AND WENT FROM "HOW MUCH FOR ONE ROW" TO HOW MUCH FOR ALL OF EM. AND ALL OF EM I GOT. WHEN I FINALLY WALKED AWAY FROM THE TABLE I HAD ALL THREE OF THESE PACKS IN MY BAG ALONG WITH EVERYTHING ELSE AFTER HANDING THE GUY THIRTY BUCKS. THAT'S $7.50 PER POST, ABOUT THE PRICE OF ONE OF THOSE CHRONICLES PACKS I KEEP POSTING. LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THESE CARDS

1972 FLEER PATCHES LAUGHLIN BASEBALL'S FAMOUS FEATS

THESE SHOULD BE FAMILIAR TO A LOT OF YOU ALREADY FROM THE 1980 REPRINT SET OR THE BACKS OF 1980 AND 1986 FLEER STICKERS. THIS WALTER JOHNSON CARD IS A GREAT EXAMPLE OF LAUGHLIN'S GENIUS, HE EXPRESSED SO MUCH HERE IN A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF LINES. THIS ONE WAS ALWAYS MY FAVORITE ON THE BACK OF THE STICKERS. THERE WERE EIGHT CARDS FROM THE 40 CARD SET IN THE TEAM BAG WHICH IS NOT A BAD STARTER PACK 

ONE THING ABOUT THE STICKER BACKS IS THAT THEY ONLY REPRINTED 22 OUT OF THE 40 CARDS IN THE SET. SOMEHOW LOU GEHRIG MISSED THE CUT WHICH SEEMS INCREDIBLE. HOW DID RED ROLFE AND JOE OESCHGER BEAT OUT THE THE IRON HORSE?? I THOUGHT MAYBE IT WAS A LICENSING THING SO LAUGHLIN COULD HAVE SOME GOOD PLAYERS TO HIMSELF IN HIS 1980 SECOND SERIES BUT THOSE HAVE DIFFERENT ARTWORK. IN ANY CASE, THIS IS THE ONLY VERSION OF LOU'S FAMOUS FEATS CARD I CAN FIND. THE CARD'S A LITTLE BEAT UP BUT THIS DRAWING OF GEHRIG MASHING SALAMIS IS MY NEW FAVORITE FAMOUS FEATS

XX IS ANOTHER FAVORITE FROM THE STICKERS. I FEEL LIKE I PULLED AT LEAST FIVE OF THESE FROM PACKS AND I WAS NEVER DISAPPOINTED. SINCE THESE CARDS' PURPOSE IN LIFE WAS TO KEEP THE PACKS FROM BEING FLOPPY AND MAYBE PROTECT THE PATCHES FROM THE GUM YOU CAN SEE A LOT OF DINGS AND SPLOTCHES ON THESE CARDS. JIMMY GOT IT ESPECIALLY BAD WITH A VERY NOTICABLE GLOP STAIN DOWN BY HIS SHOE AND SOME UNIDENTIFIED SCHMUTZ IN THE BACK. IT'S ALL JUST ADDED VALUE, BABY

THE BACKS OF THE CARDS ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THE 1970 LAUGHLIN WORLD SERIES CARDS WITH THIS BLUE TEXT. I HAD A LITTLE CONFUSION TRYING TO SORT OUT WHEN THESE CARDS WERE RELEASED AS TCDB HAS IT AS AN INSERT IN THE 1973 PATCHES SET BUT THE BACK HAS A 1972 COPYRIGHT DATE. I PULLED OUT THE BOB LEMKE STANDARD CATALOG AND HE SAYS 1972 SO I'M STICKING WITH 1972. I FORCED MYSELF TO ONLY SHOW THREE CARDS FROM EACH SET SO THIS POST WOULDN'T TAKE EIGHT HOURS TO WRITE BUT I CHEATED AND ADDED A FOURTH PIC FOR THE BACKS. GOTTA SHOW OFF BIG ED DELAHANTY'S MISHAP AT NIAGRA FALLS

1973 FLEER PATCHES LAUGHLIN BASEBALL'S WILDEST DAYS AND PLAYS

ONCE AGAIN, TCDB SAYS 1974 WHEN LEMKE SAYS 1973 FOR THE DATE. LEMKE MATCHES THE COPYRIGHT SO UNLESS A FLEER HISTORIAN TELLS ME DIFFERENT I'M SIDING WITH LEMKE. THERE WERE 32 CARDS IN THE TEAM BAG AND I GOT 27 OUT OF THE 42 CARDS IN THE SET. YET, I GOT NO DOUBLES. I'LL EXPLAIN THAT LATER. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT DECIDING WHICH THREE CARDS TO SHOW OFF AND I'M ALREADY REGRETTING NOT CHOOSING THE EDDIE GAEDEL CARD EVEN THOUGH YOU CAN ALSO SEE IT UP AT THE TOP OF THE POST. GABBY STREET CATCHING A BALL CHUCKED OFF THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT WAS NOT A DIFFUCULT CHOICE. THAT STORY IS RIDICULOUS AND THIS IS A GREAT LOOKING PICTURE

THIS CARD MADE ME LAUGH OUT LOUD WHEN I SAW IT. THANKFULLY THE SINGING UMP IS LORD BILL BYRON AND NOT JOE WEST. UMPIRE CARDS ARE FAIRLY SCARCE (FOR GOOD REASON) AND THIS IS PROBABLY A TOP 10 UMP CARD OF ALL TIME. IF YOU THINK UMPSHOWS ARE BAD NOW YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN. BILL USED TO SING DITTIES AT PLAYERS WHO COMPLAINED ABOUT HIS CALLS SUCH AS 🎵 "YOU'LL HAVE TO LEARN BEFORE YOU'RE OLDER, YOU CAN'T HIT THE BALL WITH THE BAT ON YOUR SHOULDER" 🎵 CHECK THE LETTERING IN THE WORD STRIKE, THAT'S THE GOOD STUFF THERE

THE WORLD NEEDS MORE BASEBRAWL CARDS. THIS ONE COMMEMORATES THE 1912 OPENER IN BROOKLYN WHERE EIGHT THOUSAND FANS TOO MANY CROWDED WASHINGTON PARK FOR THE OPENER BETWEEN THE DODGERS AND GIANTS. FIGHTS BROKE OUT, FANS FLOODED THE OUTFIELD AND THE GAME WAS A MESS, EVENTUALLY BEING CALLED IN THE SIXTH INNING WITH A GIANTS VICTORY 18-3. LAUGHLIN ILLUSTRATES HOW THE PLAYERS TRIED IN VAIN TO PUSH BACK THE FANS OFF THE FIELD WITH THEIR BATS ON THE CARD. NOTE ALSO THE ORANGE PIECE OF TRASH FLYING WITH A VERY SUBTLE ORANGE G. I LOVE THESE LITTLE DETAILS

I CHOSE THIS BACK BECAUSE FIVE HOMERS IN AN INNING IS FRANKLY ABSURD AND EVERYONE SHOULD READ ABOUT THAT AND IT ALSO EXPLAINS THE REASON WHY I ENDED UP WITH FIVE DUPLICATES AND NO DOUBLES. APPARENTLY THERE ARE DIFFERENT CARD STOCK VARIATIONS IN THIS SET. IN TOTAL I GOT 24 GRAY BACKS AND EIGHT WHITE BACKS. I REALLY DO NOT CARE ABOUT A MASTER VARIATION SET SO I'M GOING TO FEIGN POOR EYESIGHT WHILE LOOKING AT THE BACKS. THIS SET IS SO FUN IT'S A REAL TEMPTATION TO TRY TO COMPLETE IT NOW THAT I HAVE SO MANY CARDS

1975 FLEER PATCHES PIONEERS OF BASEBALL

AFTER ONE MORE LAUGHLIN SET IN 1974, FLEER SWITCHED GEARS IN 1975 WITH THIS SET OF PRE-WAR STARS. AND BY PRE-WAR I MEAN WORLD WAR ONE. ONLY NINE OUT OF THE TWENTY-EIGHT PLAYERS IN THE SET WERE ACTIVE AFTER 1918. THIS WAS THE FIRST OF THE STABILIZER INSERTS I WAS FAMILIAR WITH AS I REMEMBER SEEING THEM AS A KID AND WONDERING WHAT THESE WEIRD OLD CARDS WERE. THE CARDS WERE TOO BIG TO BE BASEBALL CARDS SO I FILED THEM AWAY WITH THE ODDBALL TCMA CARDS AND EXHIBITS REPRINTS I PICKED UP IN COLLECTOR'S KITS. BY THE TIME I FIGURED OUT WHAT THEY WERE THEY WERE HARD TO FIND AND I ONLY HAD ONE IN MY COLLECTION BEFORE THIS WINDFALL. THERE WERE TEN CARDS IN THE TEAM BAG AND I GOT NINE I NEEDED WITH A HAL CHASE DUPLICATE. ONE DUPE OUT OF FIFTY CARDS (VARIATIONS NOTWITHSTANDING) IS PRETTY DANG GOOD! SPEAKING OF GOOD, WILL ANY PITCHER EVER REACH EVEN HALF OF CY'S WIN TOTAL EVER AGAIN? I KNOW VERLANDER REACHED IT BUT WHO DOES IT AFTER HIM? SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

THE REALLY NICE THING ABOUT THIS PILE OF CARDS IS IT CONTAINED THE TWO MOST EXPENSIVE CARDS FROM THE SET IN CY YOUNG AND TY COBB. COBB IS A JERKASS THOUGH SO I'M SHOWING OFF NAP LAJOIE INSTEAD. LAJOIE ISN'T JUST THE GUY GOUDEY PRINTED UP SOME CARDS FOR AT THE LAST MINUTE WHEN THEY GOT CAUGHT DOING THE SHENANIGANS WITH THEIR 1933 RELEASE, THE DUDE TORE UP THE LEAGUE A THOUSAND YEARS AGO AND ENDED UP WITH OVER 3000 HITS AND 380 STEALS. IN 1901 HE HIT .426! THAT'S ABSURD! EVEN MORE ABSURD A HUNDRED YEARS LATER BARRY BONDS DEMOLISHED NAP'S .463 .643 1.106 OBP/SLG/OPS LINE WITH .515 .863 1.379 EVEN THOUGH HIS BATTING AVERAGE WAS ALMOST A HUNDRED POINTS LESS. EVEN MORE MORE ABSURD IS BARRY ISN'T I-

NO- THIS IS A HAPPY POST. I'LL SAVE DISCOURSE FOR LATER

IT WAS A TOUGH CHOICE FOR THE LAST PHOTO BETWEEN HOME RUN BAKER AND THREE FINGER BROWN. IN THE END, BAKER DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ALL THAT MANY HOME RUNS AND BROWN DID, IN FACT, HAVE THREE FINGERS. PLUS THE WORLD NEEDS MORE LOVE FOR MORDECAIS

THIS IS STILL TECHNICALLY A LAUGHLIN SET AS THAT FAMILIAR LOOKING HEADER IS ON THE TOP OF EVERY CARD BACK. I WAS VERY HAPPY TO GET A MIKE KELLY CARD AS HE IS THE BEST OF THE 19TH CENTURY BRAVES/RED STOCKING/BEANEATER/WHATEVER CARDS. AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE BACK KELLY PLAYED FOR WHOEVER WOULD GIVE HIM THE MOST MONEY BUT THE PHOTO ON THE FRONT HAS HIM IN A BOSTON UNI SO I GET TO CLAIM HIM FOR THE BRAVOS. OR STOCKOS. BEANOS? WHATEVER. THESE CARDS FIT GREAT INTO 6-POCKET PAGES AND I'M CURRENTLY EVICTING AN OLD PARKHURST TALLBOYS RETRO SET TO HOLD ALL THESE THINGS. THIS WAS ONE OF MY TOP THREE FINDS OF 2023 AND EVEN WITH ALL THESE CARDS MY TYPE SET GOAL HAS A LONG WAY TO GO AS I HAVE NOT TRACKED DOWN ONE OF THE 1974 LAUGHLIN BASEBALL FIRST CARDS AND THERE ARE ALSO FOUR YEARS OF BASEBALL QUIZ CARDS AND AN OBSCURE SET OF BASEBALL STADIUMS FROM 1968 INSERTED INTO PATCH PACKS THAT AREN'T EVEN IN LEMKE'S CATALOG. THOSE ARE FINDS FOR ANOTHER DAY

UP NEXT: IT'S QUARTER BOX TIME!!!!!