Fivers - '56 Hoyt!

Fivers is an aptly named series of ongoing posts, each of which will feature a single card that cost me $5 (give or take).  Today's entry came in just a hair over $5 actually, via COMC...

From one of the greatest sets of the 1950s, it's Hoyt Wilhelm courtesy of 1956 Topps!  True, he's undoubtedly one of the easier ones on the checklist to acquire, but a HOFer from this iconic release in this condition was almost too good to be true at this price point.  Hoyt's a fun guy to collect, and this one will come in handy if and when the day comes when I start to pursue the '56 set in earnest.

Back's in great shape, and I absolutely love that Wilhelm's famed knuckleball is referenced in the cartoon!

Not much more to say about this one, another satisfying COMC pick-up in the books!  I'll be back tomorrow with the conclusion of my football card experiment.  Until then!

COMC Black Friday 2019 Countdown - Part 2 - The Top 25!

Not counting buybacks, I plucked 55 singles for myself during this year's Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion at COMC.  I thought it would be fun to feature my cards in a countdown fashion.  A week ago I featured cards 55 through 26, and today I've got my top 25 purchases to show off.

Let's get right to it and see what kind of randomness I discovered and promptly added to my collection over the course of that weekend...

#25 - 1985 Leaf Rollie Fingers - $.51

Recently I was reminded just how much I enjoy the 1985 Leaf baseball set, specifically that green Leaf logo.  I decided to grab at least one new HOFer from the set during the sale, and Rollie Fingers here was the lowest hanging fruit in mint condition at 51 cents.  That mustache is worth 51 cents alone!  A great card to kick off today's proceedings.

#24 - 1971 O-Pee-Chee Lee May - $.56

Next up we have the second and final '71 O-Pee-Chee card from the order.  Again, not much of an explanation here other than I really enjoy this set and this card was available cheaply.  Lee was a legit offensive threat during this era, and could be counted on to swat 30-40 home runs and drive in roughly 100 a year.  Of course, with this O-Pee-Chee set...

...it's all about the backs.  Look at that floating head smile!  I actually wish I'd grabbed more from this set in retrospect.  Maybe in my next order...

#23 - 2007 Goudey Jim Rice - $1.88

See comments in previous post about how brutal this 2007 Goudey set from Upper Deck has been.  I got so fed up with waiting literally years to find a copy of this short print for a buck or less before finally deciding this year that I was probably never going to locate it for less than the $1.88 it was available for during the sale.  A prime example of why I don't consider myself a set collector these days, yet in this case I'm so close I can't give up now after all these years.

#22 - 1953 Topps Ed Yuhas - $2.65

On the other hand, and just to be a contrarian, I'm loving taking another stab at 1953 Topps!  If you look closely you can see that this Ed Yuhas has a crease straight across the card at about the bill of Ed's cap.  A beautiful looking card despite this flaw, and one I'm happy to add to my set build for the paltry sum of $2.65.  65 cards and counting now as far as that pursuit goes!

You can see the crease again here, but otherwise a clean back!

#21 - 2018 Topps Chrome Prism Refractor Rafael Devers RC - $5.44

I'll warn you now, this isn't the last you'll see of young Red Sox star Rafael Devers in today's post.  I've really been looking to build a nice starter collection of his cards over the past year.  Given that he just recorded a .311/ 32 HR/ 115 RBI stat line in 2019, leading the American League in doubles and total bases while receiving some MVP votes in just his age 22 season, I don't expect prices to remain reasonable for long.

His Topps Chrome rookie card, and it's various parallels, are great targets in the $5 to $10 price range, and I happily snagged my first one with this Prism Refractor.

#20 - 1954 Topps Sid Hudson - $1.44

Just cracking the top 20 is this 1954 Topps Sid Hudson.  I think I placed this one so high on the list mostly because I'm sorely lacking good 1954 Topps representation in my collection.  Since vintage baseball sort of ended up being the unofficial theme of this blog in 2019 it felt great to make at least a small bit of progress on a set I otherwise virtually ignored all year.

Great back too, like so many '50s cards.

#19 - 1994 Topps Pre-Production Nolan Ryan - $.65

In yesterday's post I showed a Carlos Quintana 1994 Topps Pre-Production card, and today I've got the Nolan Ryan.  I was drawn to this one because I love the alternate photograph, which looked so foreign to me on this design having never encountered this card previously.  At 65 cents I snatched it up immediately for my modest Nolan Ryan collection.

#18 - 1953 Topps Virgil Stallcup - $2.36

Yep, another 1953 Topps card, and this one is crease-free and was had for less than $2.50!  Virgil Stallcup got just a single at-bat in 1953, the final appearance of his MLB career.  Not exactly a stud as far as the checklist goes, but this one is in fantastic shape and I felt like it was a total bargain for my set build.

Clean back again.  66 and counting now!

#17 - 2007 Goudey Alan Trammell - $2.25

Alright, this card is potentially huge.  I say that because I think it officially marks the end of the 2007 Goudey set for me!  Only problem is, I'm still missing Carlton Fisk in my collection on The Trading Card Database.  That most likely means I have it and it's in one of the few remaining "move from Zistle to TCDB" boxes I'm still processing through.  I guess I'll save the full-on celebration for if and when I locate that Fisk.

#16 - 2011 Topps Chrome Atomic Refractor Roy Halladay - $2.41

It's getting brutally difficult now to find the last remaining 2011 Topps Chrome Atomic Refractors I need for my set build.  For that reason I decided to finally grab this Roy Halladay that I'd been staring at for many months.  Arguably my best card of the first ballot HOFer who tragically passed at age 40.

197 cards down now in this set quest, 23 to go.  I hate to say it but I question whether I'll ever get there.  For example, I've never even seen an Andrew McCutchen with my own two eyes if you can believe that.  Sigh...

#15 - 1959 Topps Mike Garcia - $2.15

Another nice high-number addition to my 1959 Topps set build here at #15 in the countdown.  As I mentioned before, I decided to target a few high numbers specifically during the sale just because they're so tough.  It's really satisfying adding these to the binder, even if they're located on sparsely populated sheets at the moment.

#14 - 2013-14 Panini National Treasures Brendan Shanahan - $2.50

I run across fewer and fewer Hartford Whalers cards I still need on the site, particularly from the 21st century.  I was really excited to bring home this super thick Brendan Shanahan base card from the high-end National Treasures release put out by Panini.  This card is numbered to /199 and is about as thick as an average pack of cards is.  Not the sort of thing I'd put a huge premium on, but a fun way to climb the ranks as far as that team collection goes for just a couple of bucks.

#13 - 1983 Fleer Cal Ripken Jr - $1.32

I mentioned in my last post how one of the things I worked at during the sale was bolstering my Cal Ripken Jr collection.  Well, the crowning achievement on that front during the sale was this second-year Fleer release, in great shape for $1.32.  Having the standard rookie card trifecta complete (though I'd still like to add an '82 Fleer in a PSA 9 as well), it made sense to pick up a second-year Cal.  Very happy with this one, certainly deserving of a spot in the top 15 of the countdown.

#12 - 1955 Topps Frank Baumholtz - $2.05

I added just one card to my 1955 Topps set pursuit during the sale, but it was cool in that it was a high-number card.

In fact, this is the highest-number '55 in my set build so far.  These are surprisingly pricey, and you can see in the scan of the back here that the only reason I could bring home this Frank Baumholtz at the price I did is that touched upper left corner.

#11 - 2018 Bowman Sky Blue Rafael Devers RC - $3.95

Yep, it's Devers again!  I'm a sucker for a good serial-numbered card, and this Sky Blue parallel of his classic Bowman rookie card was a solid pick-up.  At less than $4 I would have grabbed a couple more of these to hold on to, but this was the only copy available.  Another decent notch in my Devers belt.

#10 - 1972 Topps Bob Burda - $6.01

I mentioned in the previous post that 1972 Topps was a focus for me during the weekend.  I really adore this set, and decided that it's unacceptable that I've made such little progress towards at least tracking down all the Red Sox cards on the checklist.  Just like I did with 1959 Topps, I prioritized the tougher high numbers for this release over the course of the sale.  Not much more to say about this one; box checked!

#9 - 1953 Topps Forrest Main - $2.65

Here's the final '53 Topps card I plucked from the site during the sale for my set build.  I guess I ranked this one in the top 10 because it features a man named Forrest in front of a wooden fence.  I'm loving that I continue to find needs for this set in this condition for less than $3, though I think I've nearly tapped that well at about 1/4 of the way through the set here.

I'll have some heavier lifting from here on out, but I'm still enjoying the pursuit.

#8 - 2019 Topps Holiday (Variation) Rafael Devers - $1.75

I really, really liked the look of the Topps Holiday release this year.  I thought these looked like such a festive and fun riff on the base set when I saw them posted around the blogs weeks ago.  Problem is, I never go to Wal-Mart.  I mean never.  Haven't set foot in one in probably five years or longer.  I knew I wanted to grab at least a card or two from the release on COMC to fill the void, and was ecstatic when I found this Christmas tree variation of Rafael Devers' card for less than $2.  What a fun holiday card!

#7 - 1959 Topps Jim Perry - $3.75

Here's the final '59 Topps card I grabbed, yet another high number with Indians hurler Jim Perry.  I paid more for this one than any of my other '59s from the sale, but Jim had a very successful career that included twice leading the league in wins, as well as multiple All-Star selections and even a Cy Young Award.  I've still got a long journey ahead, but I'm determined to get there with 1959 Topps someday!

#6 - 1972 Topps Doug Griffin - $5.25

Truth be told, these top six cards could really come in any order.  I think the final half dozen stand a cut above the rest for me, starting with this awesome (high number) '72 Doug Griffin.  A Red Sox need, short-printed, from one of the best designs of the '70s, that features palm trees and the Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy?  How did it take me this long to finally pick up a copy of this gem?

#5 - 2018 Topps Chrome Pink Refractor Rafael Devers RC - $6.50

Here's what I deemed my best Rafael Devers pick-up of the weekend.  I'm a total sucker for Topps Chrome Pink Refractors period, so I felt comfortable shelling out $6.50 for this rookie card parallel.  Yes, I'll admit I'm a Red Sox homer, but I'm telling you if this kid continues to play like he did last year I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being impossible to find a copy of this card for ten times this amount a couple of years from now!  If I'm wrong, it's not like I broke the bank at $6.50.

#4 - 2013-14 Panini Select Red Prizm Brendan Shanahan - $4.75

This card is way cooler (hence ranked way higher) than the National Treasures Shanahan above.  I've long admired this Red Prizm parallel from Select, which I think was given out as an exclusive at a Canadian card show.  Problem is, with just 35 copies in existence they're rare and pricey.  I'd considered making an offer for another copy on COMC a couple of times over the years, but it had a glaring condition defect and was more expensive than this one ended up being to boot.  When this copy became available for less than $5 during the sale I snatched it immediately.

#3 - 1966 Topps Harmon Killebrew PSA 2.5 - $8.50

I purchased just a single graded card during the course of the promotion, and it was this 1966 Topps Harmon Killebrew.  I wish I had a great backstory about this addition, but the reality is I was just searching the 1960s inventory, filtered to show HOFers only, and stumbled across it.  To me it seems almost criminally under-graded (the back is as clean as the front), and certainly in "I'll never need to upgrade it" condition for my collection.

Killebrew is perhaps the most under-rated member of the 500 HR club in my opinion, largely due to the market he played in, and I tend to ignore him in my collecting as well which is a shame.  I was happy to remedy that at least a little bit by picking up this great card.

#2 - 1968-69 Topps Johnny Bucyk - $5.45

The runner-up for top card of the weekend goes to this 1968-69 Topps Johnny Bucyk.  What a beauty!  As I type this post I'm thinking I should have ranked this card #1 after all.  Oh well, as I said the top half dozen or so are really all interchangeable in my mind.

The Chief is an absolute legend in Boston, having put in 21 years in a Bruins sweater and having been an integral part of some of the most successful teams in the history of the franchise.  I'm astounded that I was able to find this card in this shape for this price during the sale.  Like so many cards in the countdown, I found myself wondering why I'd waited so long.

Here's the back, super clean as well and a great cartoon.  Yep, this probably should have been #1 in the countdown, but here's the card I went with instead...

#1 - 1972 Topps Bill Lee - $5.25

Shocker, another tough '72 Topps high number!  Of the handful of '72 Red Sox I picked up that weekend, this one stands tallest.  While I haven't pursued it all that actively, I'd love to complete the run of The Spaceman's '70s Red Sox cards.  I've already got most of them, but had always held off on this one due to its high price point.  With time running out in the sale, and just enough money left in my account to cover it and the shipping of my purchases, I finally brought one home.

So, there's a look at my pick-ups from COMC's Black Friday/Cyber Monday promotion in 2019.  I wouldn't say that I landed any absolute jaw-droppers, or collection cornerstones, but I enjoyed the sale nonetheless.  I'll certainly be back to enjoy the promotion next year!

I hope you saw at least a card or two that you found interesting among my haul.  Thanks as always for stopping by!

Christmas Cardboard from Chris the Collector!

Just before the Christmas holiday, I received a surprise mailer from my longtime hobby friend Chris, who writes at The Collector.  Chris sent out a big batch of cardboard holiday cheer across the blogs this season, and I am very thankful and appreciative of having been included in his sphere of generosity.

As you'll see, my package was quite generous, too!  Chris clearly knows my collecting habits very well, and he's one of the most frequent visitors (appreciated) and commenters (very appreciated) on this blog.

So what kind of goodies were to be found inside?  First and foremost, a nice jolt to my Red Sox team collection with a wide array of new cards.  This Mike Greenwell is the second 1991 Studio card I've received recently, and I have to say that with nearly three decades for it to bake in the design has kind of grown on me.  Something a little different than your average junk wax set, anyway.

Speaking of junk wax, I appreciate any and all new Red Sox cards, regardless of the era.  In fact, in some sense filling gaps in sets like 1990 Bowman via trade is very rewarding.  I believe Chris referenced my collection on The Trading Card Database to hit me with pinpoint accuracy as far as my needs go.  I have a good sized stack of Red Sox doubles and plan on doing the exact same thing to him to return fire here!

Another set I've referenced recently, and enjoy quite a bit, 1990 Leaf.  I'd honestly consider collecting this set if it wasn't for the fact that, in my ongoing condensation of my collection, I've decided to limit myself to one large baseball set per year only.  Given that the first baseball card set I ever collected, 1990 Topps, conflicts directly with this one, I won't be choosing Leaf.  Still going after the Red Sox and a few other stars though.

Here's a really cool oddball.  This Carlos Quintana, which by all appearances is a standard 1994 Topps card, is actually a pre-production sample for the set released in 1993.  It's amazingly coincidental that Chris decided to send me this one, as I actually have another of these that I picked up on COMC on Black Friday that will be posted when I resume my countdown of that haul this coming weekend!

I forgot to scan the back of this 1993 Leaf card, which is a violation of sports card blog rules.  I hope you can forgive me.

Wow, wasn't exactly a packed house at whatever game this photograph was taken at.  Happy to have this one, as my 1997 Topps team set is in a somewhat sad state.

2007 Upper Deck Future Stars, a set only team/player collectors could love!

I've been accumulating Daisuke Matsuzaka cards like crazy lately.  I'm up over 50 of them in my cataloged collection now, good for a spot in the top 20 as far as players with the most cards.

On the other end of the spectrum, I now own exactly two Willy Mota cards.  That's two more than the number of MLB games he saw during his career.

An Allen & Ginter need from a couple of years back.  Always satisfying crossing one of those off the list, even if it is a relatively obscure player.

Expert job framing the photograph on this 2010 Jonathan Papelbon.  I love the one obvious standing guy in the background too.

Turn-of-the-century John Valentin.  Great look at the All-Star Game shoulder patch in this photograph.

I'm sure I could collect for the next 50 years if I'm lucky enough to live that long, and still never acquire all of the early '90s Red Sox cards.  That's part of the fun of being a team collector.

A nice, minty fresh '78 Bob Montgomery.  I've already got a '78 set in the collection, but haven't scanned or added it to my official, digitally organized collection yet, so this is a new Red Sox card for now.  It's likely a condition upgrade when I do get around to processing the '78 set anyway as it's really in great shape.

Either Chris recalled a recent post where I talked about how I really like 1994 Flair yet have precious few, or this throw-in was a total coincidence.  I'm thinking it was the former, and I really appreciate the thoughtfulness of this inclusion!

There was a single football card to be found, my very first look at the 1986 Topps set!  I really like the design.  I've considered picking up the Jerry Rice rookie for my 'Cardboard Keepers' collection, but haven't found a copy I've been satisfied with and it's not high on my priority list.

As for Tony Eason, he was a quarterback for the Patriots throughout much of the '80s after being selected in the first round of the entry draft (ahead of Dan Marino, ouch!) in 1983.  He was the team's starter from 1984-1986.  Another great throw-in from Chris here!

Just keeps getting better, with a 1969 Topps Rico Petrocelli!  I knew right away that I didn't have this card.  If you can believe it, I have more 1969 Topps cards in buyback format than I do in original format.  By like a 3:1 ratio, not even close.

How about a new Ted Williams as well?  This beauty is from the TCMA "Renata Galasso" release from the late '70s.  Just a perfect photograph here.  I've got a couple of other nice Ted Williams cards to show on the blog soon, a little foreshadowing there for 2020...

Closing out the package is the one card that blew me away above all others.  Yes, this is an authentic 1952 Bowman card featuring outfielder Sam Mele of the Senators!  The 1950 and 1952 Bowman sets have always held a special place in my heart, as they were responsible for the first vintage baseball cards I ever owned (a gift from my Dad).

This is the first time as far as I recall that I've ever been gifted one of these since the copies I got as a kid.  I was really shocked to come across this in the package.  It's in fantastic shape too, and will fit right in with the others I have from this set (over 20 now!).  Is that a 'Mom' heart tattoo on Sam's bicep there?!?!

Back's in great condition as well.  What a wonderful gift, thank you so much Chris!

But wait, there's more!  As Chris' note indicated, he wanted to take a crack at the Buyback Franken-set as well!  Inside the package were a trio of candidates.  Let's see how they fared...

1965 Topps #51 - Billy Bryan

A very aesthetically pleasing 1965 Topps Billy Bryan leads things off.  Those gold and green uniforms were just awesome, and this is easily one of the best designs of the decade.  On top of that it's a Heritage box-topper buyback, my favorite type of buyback overall.  A very strong candidate for the binder, but it has competition for slot 51...

...from 1981 Topps, it's Bill Robinson of the Pirates.  This is a tough break for the contender, as I just really like the mean stare/mustard yellow batting helmet combo.  This card speaks to me for reasons that I can't quite articulate.

Enough so that, in a very close decision, Bill Robinson just edges out Billy Bryan and retains his spot in the binder.

Have no fear though, we have two more buybacks vying for a spot...

2006 Topps #648 - Brothers Orlando (Hernandez & Hudson)

Alright, this one is just perfect.  Though a somewhat obscure reason to create a combo card (two players on the same team named Orlando), this is a perfect fit for the project for a couple of reasons.  First, and most importantly, it's a new number!  Into the binder by default, and I'm one card closer to my long-running goal of one day finishing this franken-set.  Secondly, it's the very first Arizona Diamondbacks buyback to make the binder.  Again, just perfect!

1978 Topps #712 - Bobby Valentine

Last but not least, a '78 Bobby Valentine.  The first thing I noticed about this buyback of the former Red Sox skipper is the high number, #712.  I had a good feeling about this one before even cracking open the binder to look, and sure enough it's a new number for the project as well!

Pretty amazing that in just the last couple of days I've had three new numbers knocked off in the franken-set between Billy and Chris' packages, more than I've added on my own in many weeks.  The generosity in this hobby truly knows no bounds!

Chris, thank you so much for this great batch of cardboard.  You really added a lot of brightness to my holiday season with this!  I will be working on a package to return fire with in the coming days.  To everyone else, thanks as always for stopping by, and Happy Boxing Day!

Franken-set Progress: 659/792 (82%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 121/792 (15%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 655
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,435