Stadium Club - The Finale

Time to get to the final mini box from my hobby box of 2014 Topps Stadium Club baseball.  6 packs per mini box, 5 cards per pack.  As with the first two mini boxes I've scanned all 30 cards...

My first Jose Abreu card!

My first card of George Springer as well, who swatted 20 HR in 78 games played for Houston last season.  My collection was infused with some good young talent thanks to this pack.

One of the most unique photographs on the checklist, and a card I was hoping to pull in my box.

A very solid opening pack to say the least.  Pack 2...

An interesting autograph shot closes out an otherwise dull pack.  Pack 3...

Nice retro jersey on Justin Upton's card.

One of my favorite cards in the set by far.  I already had a copy of this, so this one's in the pile to send to Mark Hoyle.

I have a real knack for pulling Manny Machado cards for some reason.

Pack 4...

I'd like to point out that it took until the mid-way point of pack 4 to finally pull a base card of a retired star.  A shame.

This Pudge is a rainbow parallel.

Pack 5...

Nice, I'm always happy to add a solid new Cal Ripken card to my collection.  One of my favorite cards from this mini box.

Here's my final autograph, James Jones of the Seattle Mariners.  He appeared in over 100 games for the Mariners last year, so I guess that's something.  This is actually a rainbow autograph, serial numbered to 50 copies.

Another one for Mark!

Pack 6...

A fantastic card, was very sorry to hear that Mr. Banks passed away recently.  The black and white actually works pretty well here if you ask me.

Another solid Field Access insert.  Hard not to like Stan the Man.  Look at that glove!

Box closes out with a HOFer who I enjoy accumulating cards of, Ozzie Smith!

I had a lot of fun ripping a box of this stuff.  I don't think I'll be buying another one now that prices have risen above $50 again.  I definitely don't regret picking it up though, which says a lot given my personality and collecting habits.  A fun box/pack format, reasonable price, great photography, and no short prints in the base set.  Personally, I consider this set a giant win.  Nicely done, Topps.

One Card Post - Dick Bertell

What:  1961 Topps #441 - Dick Bertell
Where:  Hobby Shop
How Much?:  $.10

Why?:  Awesome vintage catcher shot.  Also, the background looks more like some sort of military encampment than it does a baseball field.
Other:  A dime.  Honestly, if I saw a dime on the sidewalk I would not even stop to pick it up, so how could I go wrong?

Dave H Strikes Again!

I sound like a broken record at this point, but after 8+ years back in the hobby I continue to be amazed by the generosity of my fellow sports card collectors.  Lately it's all I can do to keep up with the influx of new cards arriving in my mailbox that folks have sent me just because.  Today's post is another example, as a week or two ago I was the recipient of an amazing package of cards sent by my friend Dave H at Wax Stain Rookie.

This was no small package, either.  Rather than a PWE, or even a bubble mailer, Dave actually sent me a box of cards!  There were so many that I won't get to them all today, as I've got a couple of separate posts going for some complete insert sets that Dave included.  Even the "bookend" cards that Dave threw in to protect the real goods were appreciated.  I mean look at that great octopus mask on Jimmy Howard.

Nik Antropov represented the other bookend card in the package.  New to me, I'll take it!

While I don't need a new set to collect, I have been casually plugging away at the 2013-14 Score release from Panini.  This Brad Marchand/Ford advertisement is one I needed for my set.

Awesome.  Love the sort of painted effect on this Titanium Ron Francis.  This is my first Titanium card of any sort, but even better it's my very first relic to depict Ronnie Franchise with the Carolina Hurricanes.  It also purports to be game worn, as opposed to "event worn" or something like that.

Dave knows I'm a Sergei Fedorov fan, and my eyes lit up when I came across this Take a Number insert that uses everyone's favorite '90s card technology, Dufex!  This is easily one of my shiniest Fedorov cards.

There were actually a few Fedorovs in the package, including my very first look at 1998-99 O-Pee-Chee.  Not a bad design, clean and simple.

I got a Jason Allison sporting a questionable Bruins alternate jersey from the set as well.

Solid card backs, too.  I really like this set.

Here's another first for me, my very first Sergei Fedorov game used/relic card!  If you had told me as a kid in the early '90s that someday someone would send me a game-used Sergei Fedorov card in the mail just because, I think my head would have exploded.

Alright, this is the card that actually made me stop and literally say "WHOA!" out loud while flipping through the cards.  I've been slowly plugging away at '82-83 OPC for years now, but given how much of my set has come via trades and card collecting friends it would be more accurate to say that others have been plugging away at '82-83 OPC for me for years now.  Messier was one of the big names I'd yet to tackle, and this fine example fits right in with the rest of my set, in fact it's probably in better shape than a good majority of my others.

I love that the card back mentions that Mark is a bachelor who enjoys water skiing.

As if Messier weren't enough, Dave included his Oilers teammate and fellow HOFer Paul Coffey!  While I did already have a copy of this card, the one Dave sent over is in terrific condition.  I am fairly certain this is a condition upgrade over my current copy.  Either way, I won't have any trouble finding a home for whichever copy loses out in that battle.

FYI Paul was also a bachelor in 1982, in case you cared.

How about two great scoring leaders cards from one of the best hockey sets ever, 1979-80 Topps?  I still count finishing off this set among my greatest accomplishments in this hobby.  One of these was a condition upgrade for my set (score!), and the other one is going to a good home where I know it will be appreciated.

Now that is a shiny insert.  A unique addition to my collection.  It may come from a time period that was pretty dark for the B's, however the card is anything but.

We got to see some pretty ugly All-Star sweaters this past weekend (at least in my humble opinion), but this one being sported by Al MacInnis isn't half bad.

In closing, my favorite Fedorov card from the package.  This is from the 1998-99 Topps Local Legends insert set.  I've always been a fan of newspaper-themed sets, but had never seen these before.  I am going to make it a point to search out some of the other cards from this set.

Dave, thank you again for the amazing package of cards.  I hope the PWE I sent makes it to your door, but I'm not 100% confident given that it's my first experiment with a PWE to Canada.  Regardless, I'm setting aside some more cardboard to send you in the very near future either way.  Thank you!!!