Saturday, September 28, 2013

Maine-ly Oddballs

I like Friday night card shows. I enjoy the show itself, but my favorite part is after I get home, I crack open a beer (Blue Moon Harvest Pumpkin Ale this time), and go through all of the loot I just accumulated. I can't very well do this on Sunday card shows (unless I want to start drinking at 1 in the afternoon...which never turns out well for me).

So last night I made the trek up to Maine for another card show. I spent about 45 minutes there and went a few dollars overbudget. As I go to more and more shows I'm noticing it's the same few dealers over and over again. Fortunately they have a lot of things that I want.

The theme for this show was oddballs. I didn't set out with that intention, but after going through a few dime boxes, it was apparent that this would be my focus.

So let's start with the food issues:


Post.



More Post.


And yet even more Post.


A 1990's version of Hostess cards. These were included with what was called Hostess Baseballs. I ate so damn many of these in 1993 just to get the cards.

Of course 90's Hostess cards are nowhere near as good as....


70's Hostess Cards!
 
 
Note to dealers: If you have 1970's Hostess cards at your table, you have my attention.


The Carlton and Palmer were priced at $6 a piece and the Bench was priced at $8. I got all three for $5. Much better.


Captain Crunch. Did your parents buy you the sugar cereals or were you forced to eat Cheerios and Total like I was?

 
Ralston Purina. When you buy a lot of repacks you end up with one or two cards from a slew of oddball releases. And because I have set collectors disease, I must get the rest of them.
 

Jimmy Dean.


And bringing up the rear is this cool Drake's card of Robin Yount.

Now let's bring on the retail stores.



I knocked off quite a bit of the 1990 Ames set at this show.


Toys 'R Us.


1987 Kmart...


...and 1989 Kmart.

Moving on to some gas station cards...


1985 Circle K Ernie Banks...


...and Willie McCovey.

I worked the night shift (10 PM to 6 AM) at a Circle K for a few months back in the early 90's. That is one f'd up shift. I ended up quitting because a police officer informed me (while I was working) that he would be stopping by frequently because there had been a lot of armed robberies in the area recently.

Check, please.


I also picked up a 1984 Milton Bradley Pete Rose...


...and a Wade Boggs from the 1988 Topps All-Star set.



 
I was also able to pick up the 2006 Topps Red Sox Team Set for a buck. Note the airbrushed Josh Beckett wearing number 21. Nobody has really worn number 21 since Roger Clemens.


A 1978 Topps Thurman Munson cost me just over a buck-fifty...

 
...and a 1990 Score Traded Frank Thomas cost me twenty cents.


I also picked up eighteen more 1979 Topps in my quest to complete one of the sets I collected as a child. I love the Pirates yellow uniforms.

Even though I'm an adult, I still read the backs of cards and one thing jumped out immediately about the Mario Mendoza card.


How does someone hit .221, .180, .185, .198 and .218, yet have a lifetime batting average of .278?
 
I suppose if anyone needed funky math, it was Mr. Mendoza.
 
Now if only we could have used that math to figure out my college GPA.







2 comments:

  1. Tons of great oddballs there! Love the Hostess cards, especially the '76 Bench.

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  2. I ate a ton of those Hostess as well. We had a Hostess outlet store in the town I worked, the two packs of the baseballs were like 10/$2. Have some singles left over if you need any. I'll be looking at your wantlists as well.

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