One Card Post - Heritage Mookie

What:  2014 Topps Heritage High Numbers #H558 - Mookie Betts RC
Where:  COMC
How Much?:  $2.00

Why?:  Some days I'm lucky if I can find even 5 minutes of free time for a quick one card post.  Today was one of those days...

Antique Store Haul - Part I

I've teased it a couple of times now, it's time I finally got around to posting about the awesome batch of cards I picked up at an antiques store here in Rhode Island last month.

It was my last day of a week's vacation from work where I didn't really travel, more of a mental break.  I decided to take a run over to this particular antiques shop because I recalled seeing some boxes of cards there a year or more earlier, but didn't have time to browse through them on that occasion.  I figured that anything decent had probably been picked through in the many months since I had seen those boxes, but it was a nice day out and it gave me an excuse to take a ride either way.

I left the store well over an hour later very satisfied that I'd decided to make the drive.  I found the boxes right where I had remembered seeing them, just two or three multi-row monster boxes full of cards in top-loaders.  As I started searching through the stacks, I quickly realized this was no ordinary box of overpriced '80s junk, there were some really nice cards here.

This '52 Topps Stan Rojek caught my eye, because I'm a fan of defunct franchises like the St. Louis Browns, and because it was in much better shape than most 1952 Topps cards I've run across.  If you look closely at the scan the corners have some dings and wear, but tell me that's not a beautiful card?  Anyway, when I saw the price tag of $20 I was a little discouraged.  I prepared to put Stan, and the handful of other cards I already had set aside, back into the box and move on with my day.  As cool as the card was, I knew without even taking out my phone to research that paying $20 was a bit much.

That's when I saw the sign on the front of the boxes..."Everything 70% off except Davey Crockett cards".  I did a double take, re-read it, and let it sink in.  At one point I even walked over and asked the owner if this was correct; the last thing I wanted to do was spend an hour of my day picking out cards only to be surprised at the price during checkout and walk away frustrated.

Sure enough, every card was 70% off the listed price.  That meant that Stan Rojek, and Joe Muir here, priced at $20 each, set me back just $6 a piece.  I'm not crazy enough to think about taking a shot at the '52 set, but for cards in this condition from this classic set I just couldn't walk away from them.

The best part is that while a few cards were as recent as the 1990s, the bulk of what was available was 1970s and earlier vintage baseball.  Sure, if you're a condition snob this '55 Topps Spook Jacobs might be a little "loved" for your liking, but how could I not add a card of a guy nicknamed Spook to my collection at this time of year?  Especially when the $4 sticker price was reduced to $1.20.  An appropriate card for October for sure.

The majority of my purchase consisted of '52 Topps cards.  I'm just a total sucker for the over-sized Topps sets up through 1956, I pretty much will gladly pick up any card I don't have (and can afford!) from that era.  There were so many '52s available at $6 each, in fact, that there was just no way I had enough money in my budget to grab them all.  I had to be selective about which ones I took home, and in this case the horizontal format and great post-swing picture were the deciding factors.  If I had less self control I could have rung up quite a credit card bill that day.

As I mentioned, there were cards that were as recent as the late '90s, though the majority of those were basketball.  I tried to stay focused on the older stuff, but I did manage to pick up this Golden Rainbow parallel of Cal Ripken for just 60 cents.

Getting back to the older stuff, this remarkably mint Tug McGraw out of 1970 Topps was tagged at just $1, so I paid 30 cents.  Not bad at all for what amounts to just slightly more than a quarter box card.

While not exactly mint, I excitedly shelled out 60 cents for this card featuring "Mudcat" Grant.  Just about any vintage league leader card is worth picking up on the cheap as far as I'm concerned.

Don't know much about Sammy Ellis or Mel Queen, but I do like 1964 Topps, especially the multi-player rookie cards from that set.  At $2 before the discount, into my stack it went...

Alright, how about a couple more '52s before we close out this post?  Really starting to like this set more and more as I see a greater percentage of the cards in person.

Last '52 for today's post, and my favorite image out of all of them.  I love it when old ballparks get to really shine as a background on a vintage baseball card. 

Let's close out this post with one of my favorite cards of the day, which also had a $20 sticker, resulting in a $6 retail price:

Off-centered?  Yes.  Beat up?  Yes.  It's 1962 Topps, which isn't a very popular release generally speaking, though it's growing on me more and more.  But it's Don freakin' Drysdale for what you'd pay for an average pack at the hobby shop nowadays.

I probably could have waited this one out, scoured eBay and followed auctions for months, and eventually landed a better copy at a better price, but in the moment I decided that this one is more than acceptable as a place holder until that day comes (which it likely never will).

Besides, I had a lot of fun enjoying a nice afternoon off and sifting through these boxes, and isn't that what the hobby is really about at its roots?

This was a pretty good representation of what I brought home that day, but it's certainly not all of it.  I'll try to get the rest of the haul up within the next week or so, but given how long it took me to get even this much up we'll see...

Who the Hella is Joe Ciccarella?

Time to showcase the latest batch of nine Red Sox cards that I received courtesy of my friend Mark Kaz of This Way to the Clubhouse...

We'll start off with a name that I confess was new to me (hence the title of the post), Joe Ciccarella.  He was apparently a decent prospect in college, though I think this article goes a bit far mentioning him in the same breath as one Ted Williams.  Joe's interesting in that he grew up playing first base, and didn't start pitching until college, yet would completely convert to a pitching prospect in the Red Sox system.  Unfortunately, he never made it past AAA ball.

I think this card does a good job of illustrating one of the primary reasons that I collect, too.  I love the "meaningless" and obscure little facts and characters from sports history, and many of my cards serve as cardboard reminders of players who might otherwise totally be forgotten.  There's no way I would have done even the 10 minutes of research I did on Joe had I not gotten this card in a trade.

This 2008 Josh Beckett is actually from one of those blister pack team sets that Topps releases every year.  It differs from Josh's standard base card in that it's number BOS14 (whereas his base card is #555 in the Topps set), and also features a more closely cropped version of the same photograph used on the flagship card.

Here's a Red Sox prospect that actually did go on to make the big show.  I had completely forgotten just how long Scott stuck around for until I stumbled across a scan of his 2008 Upper Deck card (with the Reds) while preparing this post.

Around 1996 I started moving away from collecting cards, and by 1997 I was done totally for a good 10 years or so.  Because of that timing, 1996 Donruss is very foreign to me.  I love a design that showcases a nice, full-bleed photograph, but I'm not sure what Donruss was thinking with that difficult-to-read square foil mess.

This, on the other hand, is how you do a minimal, photo-centric design right.  I've been very slowly opening a box of 1995 Upper Deck baseball for over a year now, but I haven't pulled this Aaron Sele yet.  While this type of photograph is certainly more commonplace nowadays, this was fantastic by 1995 standards.

Just my second card from 2003 Leaf.  I've been meaning to put together a small "career retrospective" collection of Damon cards, featuring all of the various teams that he played for over the years.  One of these days...

My third Sun Woo Kim card!

Mark seems to have found a well of these 2001 Topps Home Team Advantage cards.  I have no idea where he's getting them all, but I'm glad he sends me the Red Sox anyway.  I've only got three of these in my collection now, and all three are from Mark!

Closing things out is a very solid card for a confessed parallel junkie like myself, an Ultra Gold Medallion Jason Varitek.  I almost always prefer a catcher card to feature the player in his gear rather than at the plate, and this one is no exception.

Nine more down, tens of thousands to go.  Thanks Mark!

Signature Sundays - Rico Petrocelli

For the second straight week, I've got a star player from baseball's past to feature here in my Signature Sundays segment.  The player on this week's card may not have the same cache as last week's (few can match Yogi Berra after all), but he's no slouch either...

My second Rico Petrocelli autograph!  This one hails from the same 2001 Fleer Red Sox 100th Anniversary set as the Dom DiMaggio I picked up a while back with the proceeds from a Stadium Club Kris Bryant parallel that I sold.

I really love the image on this one, with the high stir-ups and flip-up shades.  As with all of the autographs in this very small set, the signature is large, bold and on-card.  Put all of this together with a set that's specifically dedicated to my all-time favorite team, and you've got a card I absolutely couldn't resist for just $12 with free shipping.

My '60s/'70s era Sox collection got a real boost with this one!

Coming up later this week I've got a couple of trade packages, the first of a multi-part post on an incredible antique store find I had, and hopefully some other randomness as well if time allows...

All Over the Map

Man, last week was something else. Work has been insane, and it's the primary reason that there's been less activity than normal here on the blog.  I'm very grateful for the long weekend, let's see if I can get back on track here with a random smattering of cards from all over the map...

Museum Collection is quite possibly my favorite parallel set of the '90s, so I was psyched to find this Chan Ho Park rookie in a dime box at a card show.  I know it's not "worth" anything, but it might be one of my favorite dime box pick-ups ever.  Just awesome.

This Larry Haney came from a quarter bin that the same dealer had.  I'm grabbing any Pilots card I don't have at that price, and the fact that it's a catcher was an added bonus.  The weird thing about this card is that Haney is actually a right-handed throw, this is just a reverse image of the exact same photo that Topps used on his '68 release.

This one came out of a repack box, and I liked it enough that I decided to keep it instead of throwing it in my trade box.  I think there should be at least one insert set dedicated to the best retiring players each year.

Pretty sure this one came from that same repack.  While I'm not a Yankees collector by any means, Tanaka is an interesting player and it's nice to have a decent rookie card.

Here's a quick trio of buybacks I picked up on eBay a couple of months ago.  Despite being the oldest of the three, this Al Smith was actually the card I was least interested in (though I still like it).

What really drove me to the lot was this fantastic Kent Tekulve.  I've had a copy of this one for a long time, so figured why not add the buyback version since the price was right.

The fact that the lot came with a new Red Sox card sealed the deal.  Not a bad trio of buybacks right there.

Here's one from the quarter box at the local hobby shop I hit up once a month or two.  I couldn't resist the photograph of Subban and Thomas shaking hands.

I feel I got a real steal on this Xander Bogaerts rookie.  It was distributed by Panini at the 2014 National Convention, and this one's the cracked ice parallel numbered to just /25.  My cost was less than $4.  Given the season Xander just had I doubt I will ever see this card so cheap again.

I watched a couple of copies of this Ron Francis Shadow Box card from Upper Deck SPx on eBay a long time ago, but they typically demand a pretty penny.  It took a few years, but I was able to land one for around $10 at long last.  These look really impressive in person, a great new card of the best Whaler of all-time.

If I had unlimited funds I'd love to chase a '49 Bowman baseball set.  As it stands, I pick up cheap singles when they fall through the eBay cracks for just a few bucks.  When one does just that and it's a Boston card (even when it's the Braves rather than the Sox), it's that much sweeter.

I've always loved this particular year's Starting Lineup baseball cards.  This is actually my original copy from the Starting Lineup I had as a kid.  I kept it unopened thinking it would be super valuable someday (ha!).  My dad recently gave me a big bag of many of my old figures that he rounded up while cleaning up the basement, and I decided to bust them open. 

While I'm keeping the card, I initially gave the figure itself to my wife to give to one of her 6th grade students as a prize or something, but quickly realized that Darryl's not exactly the world's best role model...

Ever make the mistake of browsing around eBay at night, and the next thing you know you've bought something that doesn't really fit your collection, and almost without even knowing why?  Well that's what happened with this one, I impulsively hit bid due to the interesting photo and low price (around $3 if memory serves).  I'll probably end up trading Carlos here someday...

A nice mini refractor of my second favorite player on the current Red Sox roster, outfielder Mookie Betts.  I've picked up a couple of really nice Betts cards recently that I plan to show off soon.

Here's another one from the quarter box at my local hobby shop.  Fleer Pro Visions inserts, from any year, are just great.  I have no idea why Greg Maddux is sitting on a rock in the ocean with giant Cy Young trophies floating behind him, but I like the card regardless.

This was an add-on to a Sportlots order I put in a few weeks ago, because who wouldn't want a card of a sliding Bernie Brewer for just 18 cents?

From that same order, an X-Fractor of my favorite overweight pitcher, Bartolo Colon.

A few weeks ago when I was on vacation I experienced one of my best ever vintage finds in an antique store a few towns over from where I live.  I posted the first card from that lot that day, and here's the next, another '52 Topps.  Like the first one, this one was marked at $20 but subject to the ridiculous 70% off sale, so set me back all of $6.

I confess to having known absolutely nothing about Fox when I picked this one up.  It appears he was a mediocre pitcher who struggled to stay on MLB rosters, but managed to for a few seasons.  Sadly, he was stabbed to death at age 34 in 1955, by a 20-year-old college student at a tavern that he owned in San Antonio, Texas.

When I ran across this Randy Johnson card in a quarter box I grabbed it immediately.  It represents my first card of The Big Unit depicting his time with the Giants, and also commemorates his 300th career win.

We'll close it out for today with another pair of Starting Lineup cards, this time hockey.  Both are of Jaromir Jagr, from the '93-94 figure, as each one came with two cards that year.

Like the Strawberry, these are my originals from when I was a kid, which makes them much more significant to me.

That's all I've got for today, feels good to get back in the swing of things though...

Cards from the West, Cards from the North

Time to play incoming mail catch-up...today I've got two great packages to share that have arrived at Shoebox Legends World Headquarters within the past couple of weeks.  First, a small package of cards from the West Coast, representing my very first trade with Adam (aka arpsmith) of ARPSmith's Sportscard Obsession.

Adam hooked me up with a nice grouping of 2011 Gypsy Queen cards, a set I still have not completed more than four years after its release.  I won't show all the singles that he sent, as quite frankly some of them just aren't the most exciting players (but hey, a set need is a set need).  My favorites featured a couple of retired players, Brooks Robinson, who is already in the HOF...

...and Mariano Rivera, who will be there before long.  Gypsy Queen got old for me as the years went on, but I really loved this inaugural set, and it's nice to get a few cards closer via a trade.

Accompanying the Gypsy Queen cards in the envelope was this slick Dustin Pedroia relic from 2015 Allen & Ginter.  A very nice looking card as relics go and a very nice surprise, thanks Adam!

The other PWE I'll be showing today came from up North, courtesy of frequent trading partner and friend of the blog Douglas from Sportscards from the Dollar Store.

Douglas included a nice variety of both Boston Red Sox and Hartford Whalers with this latest delivery.  Here we have an insert of the most famous DH in baseball.  I'm pretty shocked that David managed the numbers he did this past season (37 HR/108 RBI).  He was able to stay healthy all year which was nice, finishing second on the team in games played behind Xander Bogaerts.

I have to confess that I'm not 100% sure why this Devin Ortiz made its way into the package.  I need to find a few free minutes to research this kid a bit.

The hockey portion of this latest delivery blew me away.  Kicking things off is this awesome Duracell Power Check card of Brendan Shanahan.  I've come this close to grabbing this card numerous times on COMC in the past, so happy to finally have a copy in my Whalers collection.  What I never knew until I got it in hand though was that the card features an "interactive" back...

The strips of black to the right of the card react to heat.  When you press a finger against them for a few seconds your body heat causes the black to fade away and reveal Brendan's stats.  Very similar to the technology on Duracell batteries back in the day that would show you how much juice you had left (as depicted here).  A great oddball addition to my Whalers collection.

Douglas' envelope provided me with my very first 2015-16 card from any set, period.  My expectations for Eriksson are awfully low heading into the season, so it won't be very hard for him to surpass them I guess.

A nice Parkhurst International Emerald Ice parallel of Jeff O'Neill comes my way courtesy of a repack.

I know relic cards maybe aren't as impressive on the whole as they were maybe a decade ago, but when I get one like this I'm still impressed.  This one claims to feature a game-used swatch of glorious Whaler green.  I know I've said this before, but if you had given me this card as a 10-year-old kid my head probably would have exploded.  A very thoughtful and much appreciated throw-in!

Let's close it out with an autograph of goaltender Greg Millen.  This is my first autograph of his, and one of very few cards I have where he's listed with the Whalers.  I love that it's a nice, large signature and is on-card.  I'm pretty sure Douglas purchased this one just to send it to me, because that's the kind of collector/trader he is.

Thank you both for the great new additions to my collection!