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.

Another Reader Trade

Right on the heels of trading with my first "reader", was this trade with Patrick. His achilles heel is 2013 Gypsy Queen, which I had only purchased one pack of. However, I am not above going to a show to find what someone is looking for in order to get some cards that I need.

I was able to find over forty cards he needed, plus I threw in some Orioles cards for him. In return I got these beauties.

More 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen. It's down to thirty-five cards now. There will be partying in the streets when I finally finish this.

Speaking of partying in the streets...more 2010 Topps.

I got a few more knocked off of my 2013 Topps Series 2 want list as well.

Ditto for 2013 Topps Archives. I am only six cards away (minus the SP's, which I don't consider part of the set).

A couple more from 2012 Topps Series 2 bring me down to only needing six cards from that set as well.

Thanks Patrick! It's always cool trading with some new people. Keep in touch, I'm sure we'll have more stuff to trade with each other in the future!

The Discouraging Dozen

I've added a new sidebar to the blog called "The Discouraging Dozen". These are twelve of my most currently sought after cards. I'm debuting this with three cards from 2008 Upper Deck First Edition Update, five cards from 2012 Topps, three cards from 1993 Topps, and the 1979 Bump Wills (Blue Jays) card.

Usually when I get a set down to only needing a couple of cards, it takes forever for me to find them (and in most cases I still haven't). So by acquiring these cards, I will have finished off three more sets.

I put the Bump Wills card up there because it is a card that I've wanted ever since I was 10, but still haven't gotten it yet.

So if you have any of these lying around, email me at swingandapopup@gmail.com and let's work out a trade!

Trading With The Lifetime Topps Project

Yep, another trade post.

Charlie from the Lifetime Topps Project contacted me and inquired if I would be interested in trading. Of course I would, but after scanning his lists I realized I wouldn't be able to come up with much. Either it was a set I hadn't collected or he just needed inserts, which I didn't have either.

Now however many cards I could scrape together didn't matter to him, as he said these cards were just sitting around. But the amount of cards he was going to send me compared to what I was going to send him was so disproportionate, I felt guilty. So I made a couple of trips to card shows and picked him up as many inserts off his want lists that I could find. He still sent me way more than I sent him, but at least my end of the deal wasn't as pathetic a showing as it would have been earlier.

First let's start off with some 1992 Leaf. A whole lot of 1992 Leaf.

This was actually the second set that I made a list for to put on the blog (2012 Gypsy Queen was the first, if anyone cares), and probably needed about half the set. But thanks to generous bloggers like Charlie, the want list has been whittled down to a much more manageable forty cards. Thank you all so much for helping me out with the sets like these.

1993 Leaf. Another set that I needed a lot of when I posted my want list. Unfortunately I still do need a lot.

Speaking of 2012 Gypsy Queen, seven more made it into my set. I'm down to needing fifty-five cards now. I haven't collected any 2013 Gypsy Queen solely on the basis that I haven't finished 2012 yet.

 

I'm down to only needing eight cards from 2012 Topps Series 2 now.

 

 

He also sent a few from 2010 Topps (a.k.a The set that won't die). I think I still need about a hundred thousand cards from this set.

 

Thanks for the trade Charlie! Hope I sent you enough cards you could use!

 

 

How To Make A Red Sox Fan Enjoy Padres Cards

Some time ago, Marcus from All The Way To The Backstop held a Padres draft, and I was able to snag some pretty cool cards. He threw in some others as well, so I'm going to show you some of the highlights.

My first 1969 Topps cards.

One of the best card backs I've ever seen.

I don't normally get excited over Padres cards, but you can see why I'm making an exception.

I don't have many 1971 Topps. I'll have to rectify that at some point.

A 1976 Topps airbruhed Willie Davis.

One of the few non-Padres Marcus sent, but a card I need.

A card from my first year of collecting that I do not have.

I also got a few 1978 Topps. Most of these I already have (although these are probalby all upgrades).

I love the manager cards from this set.

The Padres team card....

...and the back looks just like the one I have. Not completed.

Some very cool 1979 Topps Padre cards.

For some reason every time I go to a show I buy this card because I think I don't have it.

I've seen this card countless time on other blogs, but never owned one...until now.

But as much as I enjoyed the 60's and 70's cards Marcus sent (or I drafted), these were the best of the package/draft.

 

MOTHER'S COOKIES CARDS!!!!

I had only read about these cards. I had never even seen them, much less held them. I've never been so happy to see San Diego Padres cards in my life.

The card backs are equally as cool.

Thanks Marcus for one of the best card packages I've ever received.

And it didn't include a single Red Sox!