Holiday Greetings from Angus

Just prior to the holiday I received a very generous care package from my buddy Angus up in Canada:

As you can see here, there was quite a variety stuffed into the bubble mailer, including a 1985-86 Whalers yearbook!  I have a few Whalers yearbooks from childhood but was missing this one.  What an awesome inclusion by Angus, especially since the NHL All-Star game was hosted in Hartford that season.

The yearbook is very difficult to scan, so for today's post I'll focus on the awesome cardboard instead.  As you'll see below, Angus covered a whole lot of ground within those five team set bags.  Let's dive in...

I'm always happy on the rare occasion when I add a new Don Cherry card to the collection.  The ensemble that Don is sporting on this '92-93 Parkhurst redemption card is very tame by his standards, but the thumbs up saves the day.  I collected pretty heavily as a kid in the early '90s but have no recollection of this promotion from Parkhurst whatsoever.

Here's a very obscure autograph of Dean Malkoc, who spent two seasons as basically a "7th defenseman" with the Bruins, appearing in just over 70 games with the team.  This is the first card of his that I've ever acquired, pretty cool to get his John Hancock.

Angus is always on the lookout for new Whalers cards for me, which I truly appreciate.  In this package there were two cards that came close to hitting the mark there, but fell just short; the first being this Red Platinum parallel from Pinnacle Totally Certified.  While Keith is clearly depicted as a Whaler here, that Carolina team name across the top discredits this one.  I draw the line at the listed team name rather than the photograph when it comes to a team collection.  On a side note, this one is serial-numbered to a perfectly '90s 6,199 on the reverse.

Here's the other one that I don't count strictly as a Whalers card, for the same reason.  Angus also included dozens of proper O-Pee-Chee Whalers from '80-81 through '84-85, however all of those cards were dupes.  They're a little beat up condition-wise, like this Al Sims, but if anyone needs any let me know as I'm looking for a new home for them.

This 1992-93 Humpty Dumpty Pat Verbeek mini card has actually been sitting in my drafts folder since the last package Angus sent.

Here it is after unwrapping.  You'd receive one of these in a package of chips or snacks produced by Humpty Dumpty.  I'm not sure whether there are any other Whalers on the checklist, but I'm happy to have Verbeek here regardless.

Here's a look at the back, prominently featuring the Humpty Dumpty logo!

Angus included a few new Whalers cards that I was missing this time around as well, starting with this O-Pee-Chee sticker of netminder Mike Liut.  This is the first time I've seen this sticker set that I can recall.

Here's a nice oddball Paul Coffey from his short stint with Hartford.  These were produced by Pinnacle and given away by McDonald's (this is card number McD-1).  The lenticular effect gives them a strong Sportflics/Kellogg's vibe.  A great oddball for a Whalers fan like myself.

Up next are a few cards from another release that was foreign to me, the 1996-97 "Bashan Shabtai Super Stickers" set.  I received two "inserts" from this release in this team logo...

...and this Brendan Shanahan Superstars sticker.  This one is pretty busy, and seems like a great card to show off around the 4th of July with what looks like a fireworks backdrop.

From the main set I got scorers Brendan Shanahan...

...and Geoff Sanderson...

...and my second sticker of the package featuring a Whalers goaltender.

One more sticker, another glorious team logo.  This one hails from the 1993 Panini release.

This next one struck me as a bit odd.  It's from the 1998-99 Upper Deck McDonald's release, an insert set dubbed "Wayne Gretzky Teammates".  As much as I appreciate landing a new Gordie Howe New England Whalers card, he was never a teammate of Wayne's.  Oh well.

These Platinum Players Club parallels are pretty flashy as far as '90s cards go.  I've ended up with a handful of them over the years but didn't have Darren Turcotte's until now.

A nice Jeff O'Neill Bowman's Best insert here, another one I had yet to track down for some odd reason.

Here's the last Whalers "card" of the package, and it's one I could use a hand in identifying.  It's about the size of a standard trading card, and was obviously cut from a panel or box of some sort.  The reverse (forgot to scan it) has some trivia questions and answers about the franchise.  Anyone have a clue as to where this originated?  A long shot I know, but if so please leave a comment!

The package wasn't all hockey cards though, Angus hit me up with some solid additions to my Red Sox collection as well.

Tim Naehring and Troy O'Leary were two of the last cards I was missing towards my 1997 Collector's Choice team set.

Another new one from 1997.  Cecil Fielder graces the other side of this "counterparts" Mo Vaughn.

Angus seems to have access to an amazing number of O-Pee-Chee cards, which I guess should come as no surprise given that he resides in Canada.  In this package he made a number of different O-Pee-Chee contributions to my Red Sox collection from all different years.

I feel like there should be a rule in the blogosphere that any time an O-Pee-Chee card is featured we get to see at least one card back.

From the '81 set I received Jim Rice, which was a dupe, and this Tony Perez, which was new to me!

A nice trio from 1973 too, beginning with Pitcher Sonny Siebert.

Another beautiful back.  The '73 Topps/O-Pee-Chee release contains some of my favorite card backs of all-time.

Third baseman Phil Gagliano passed away just before Christmas this year, at age 74.

The last of the '73s, second baseman John Kennedy.

My favorite OPC cards in this package though had to be the '75s.  This is a set that's super vibrant and colorful to begin with, and the OPC cards even more so.

One more look at a bright back, complete with O.P.C. PTD IN CANADA along the bottom.

The 12-year-old in me snickers any time I welcome a new Dick Pole to my collection.

The last player to bat without a helmet in Major League Baseball!

That's a wrap for the O-Pee-Chee cards, an amazing boost to the Canadian portion of my Sox collection with this delivery.

Angus also tossed in a pair of Turkey Red Yaz cards.  Both of them are Red parallels.  Doesn't get much better than these for a Red Sox collector, though it felt somewhat odd and redundant naming the scans "Turkey Red Red".  This one's from 2005...

...and this one from 2006.  Maybe one of the nicest sunsets on any card in my collection?

Here's the other card in the package that I could use a hand in identifying.  It's clearly from a set labeled Classic Baseball Stadiums, and as you can see on the back this is card number 5 in the set:

There's no year listed.  Anyone have a clue on this one?

Last card of the post is a truly epic one in my mind.  From the 1956 Adventure set we have Harry Agganis.  Harry was a local kid, rising multi-sport star, and military veteran who tragically passed away from an illness during what was just his second season of Major League baseball with his hometown Red Sox.

Read the back of this one, keeping in mind that Harry passed away at age 26.  Talk about some serious life accomplishments in just over a quarter century on this planet.  Makes me feel old.  What a fantastic tribute card to one of the more interesting figures in Boston sports history though, just awesome.

Angus, thanks so much for all of the great cardboard!  Sorry it took me a couple of weeks to get everything together for a post on my end.  You really hit it out of the park and enhanced both of my active team collections quite a bit with this one, and I really appreciate it.

Buyback Franken-set: Miscuts & More

Ten buybacks to evaluate today, in what will be the first buyback post of the new year, and the penultimate post sourced from the large buyback lot I've been working through in recent weeks...

1967 Topps #518 - Denis Menke

We come out of the gate with a pretty severely mis-cut Denis Menke courtesy of 1967 Topps.  This one is way out of line left to right, and even more so top to bottom.  You can even see just a hair of the card that was below this one on the printing sheet along the very bottom there.  Mis-cut or not, Denis makes the cut because I haven't acquired any other #518 buybacks at this point.

1978 Topps #352 - Tony Scott

This one makes the cut as well at #352.  It's really nothing special though, and Tony's time with the Cardinals wasn't very spectacular either.  I expect this one to eventually be replaced in the franken-set by something a little more interesting, but time will tell...

1974 Topps #304 - Don Wilson

Don Wilson played for 9 MLB seasons, all with the Astros.  He famously no-hit the Braves in 1967, a game in which he also recorded 15 strikeouts.  This one is kind of creepy in that Don passed away tragically during the 1974 off-season, less than a year after this card was printed up, due to carbon monoxide poisoning.  I'll spare you the depressing details.

This nice, sunny photograph of catcher Ron Brand is already in the franken-set at #304...

...so Don is out.

1979 Topps #425 - Rick Manning

Rick Manning was the #2 overall pick in the 1972 draft.  He's probably most famous for "stealing" Dennis Eckersley's wife, and also for serving as the Indians' color commentator for close to 30 years now.  Unfortunately for Rick there's a better card in slot 425 already:

Joe Torre's 1977 Topps issue (in 2014 buyback form).

Easy decision there, Rick is out.

1962 Topps #249 - Ed Keegan

Next up, a wrinkled-ass Ed Keegan, complete with the 1962 Rookie star badge.  Keegan wasn't long for the Majors, in fact he pitched the last game of his brief career in 1962.  He finished with an 0-3 career record and an ERA of 9.00.  He still makes the franken-set though as my lone #249 buyback to date.

1979 Topps #444 - Aurelio Lopez

Aurelio Lopez, who is a member of the Mexican Baseball HOF, actually enjoyed a brief career in politics after hanging up his spikes.  He was killed in an automobile accident at age 44.  According to Wikipedia, the only three players in Major League history named Aurelio all died unexpectedly in auto accidents.  Man, this is turning into quite a depressing buyback post.

I already had this '74 Vic Davalillo in slot 444 of the franken-set.  Decisions, decisions...

...sorry Aurelio.

1974 Topps #303 - George Hendrick

Next, outfielder George Hendrick's 1974 Topps release.  George is better remembered for his time with the St. Louis Cardinals.  He was their top home run hitter for four consecutive years beginning in 1980, and won a World Series with the team in '82.  As far as the franken-set goes, this buyback is in.

1960 Topps #107 - Carl Willey

Carl Willey's 1960 card makes the cut as well, and is one of the older buybacks in the set at this point.  Carl was a lifelong resident of the state of Maine, and spent some time in Germany with the US Army in the 1950s as well.  It's impressive to me that a guy from the absolute middle of nowhere in Maine was able to make the Majors.

1976 Topps #489 - Skip Jutze

Proceeding along, here's a tilted and somewhat dizzying shot of catcher Skip Jutze.  The year after this card was issued Skip was a member of the inaugural Seattle Mariners team.  Unfortunately for Skip, he's facing some tough competition when it comes to induction into the franken-set:

This 1970 Topps Eddie Kasko is pretty beat up, but is there any way a Red Sox fan like myself could choose the '76 Jutze over this card?

No, there is not.

1958 Topps #416 - Foster Castleman

Last card for today.  Foster Castleman was mostly a reserve infielder, and struggled offensively during his career.  Still, a very bright and vibrant '58 Topps card here.  Buybacks from the '50s score extra points in my book, but if Foster wants in the franken-set he'll have to unseat this card:

I'm all for team cards, but this one isn't all that special.

Castleman is in, and the '74 White Sox are out.

That's a wrap for today.  Maybe not the most exciting group of ten, but as the project continues on into the new year I'm nearing 1/3 completion of the franken-set.  I've got a whole host of great buybacks to share this year, but I'll do what I can to spread the posts out and prevent buyback overload here on the blog...

Franken-set Progress:  256/792 (32%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 66

Ringing in the New Year with Prizm & Pumpsie

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm going to kick the year off right by highlighting one of the larger and more amazing trade packages I received in all of 2016, from my friend Douglas, aka Sportscards from the Dollar Store.

I actually received Douglas' package weeks ago, but the holiday season is always tough on the calendar and I just couldn't seem to find the time to get these scanned in.

It's not totally my fault though, I blame Douglas for sending me over a hundred cards that I was missing towards the 2013-14 Panini Prizm hockey set!

I try to scan and inventory each individual card that comes across my desk.  I'm always backlogged to some extent, but getting over 100 cards in a single trade package really backed me up for a bit.  We collectors/bloggers face some real challenges.

As you can see, the lot wasn't all scrubs or commons either, I received some of the best players in the league here.

Got both of the Koivu brothers; Saku...

...and Mikko.

Shane Doan, who recently played in his 1500th NHL game and holds virtually every significant offensive record in Jets/Coyotes franchise history.  Great first name, too.

Best of all, Douglas included a bunch of the short-printed rookie cards as well.  Always fun seeing where some of these players are just a handful of years after the set's release.  Emerson Etem has bounced around between the NHL and AHL, had brief stints with the Canucks and Rangers and is back in the Anaheim organization.

Rickard Rakell was probably the best rookie to spill out of this package.  Rakell signed a 6-year extension with Anaheim after netting 20 goals last season.  Seems like a wise signing by the team, as he's scored 16 times already in just 27 games played this year.  This guy could be a scoring stud for the Ducks for years to come, maybe a key piece to inherit the team from guys like Perry and Getzlaf.

Played in over 120 games with the Avalanche, but is now playing with the Cardiff Devils in the EIHL.

Alex Petrovic is still with the Panthers, and has patrolled the blue line for 16 games this season, and over 125 career NHL games to this point.

Played just two games with the Predators, bombed with their AHL affiliate, and is now playing back in Finland.

Played in 44 games with the Devils, another dozen with the Canadiens last year, and has yet to see NHL action so far in 2016-17.

Thomas Hickey has become a full-time player for the Islanders, and has been essentially locked in as a member of their defensive corps since before this card was even issued.  Defensemen don't get a whole lot of hobby love generally, but Hickey is a solid player.

Gryba has played in 50 NHL games or more each of the last three seasons.  He's with Edmonton now, and even scored the game-winner for them a couple of nights ago.

I like this card because Nick Petrecki has played in just one single career NHL game, with the Sharks in 2012-13.  That was enough to get him a card in this set.  Given that he is an unrestricted free agent it looks likely that he'll never see NHL action again, making this a unique card.  Junk to some, but I would rather get an obscure part of hockey history covered in my collection than accumulate my 100th Sidney Crosby card.

Currently with the Maple Leafs, though he has appeared in just a single NHL game so far in the 2016-17 season.  68 total NHL games played to date.

That's a wrap on the Prizm content, I'm not going to subject you to all 100+ cards or anything like that.  Just because Prizm made up the bulk of the box doesn't mean there weren't some other gems to be found.

Like some solid additions to my ever-growing Hartford Whalers collection.  Things are still a bit of a mess for me organizationally at the moment due to the Zistle situation, but as I move everything over to Google Sheets I hope to have a handle on exactly how many unique Whalers cards I have soon.  I know it's greater than 1,500 at this point.

This Donruss Elite Brendan Shanahan scanned like garbage, but I assure you it looks much nicer than this in hand.

Rounding out the trio of basic Whalers cards is Glen Wesley.  Just had a conversation with my dad about him over the holidays, basically along the lines of how it was hard to root for him as a Whaler after absolutely detesting him as a Bruin for all those years prior.

How awesome (in a bad, '90s way) is this card?  I've got a few Burke autos but this is the first to feature his "axe", haha.  Pinnacle sure did some interesting things with these Be A Player sets.  As someone who counts playing guitar among his other hobbies I probably appreciate this one more than most.  This would typically steal the show in terms of any trade package, but as you'll see below there were three items that topped even this one in my mind.

Before we get to that however, here's a wrinkled copy of Alain Cote's '82-83 O-Pee-Chee card.  Hey, it allows me to scratch a number off my want list for this set, and I can always upgrade it later.

I had to look this one up, which probably tells you how out of touch I am with modern releases.  I guess this was an insert in the Topps flagship set this past year.  It's also the closest thing I have at the moment to a '54 Williams.

Alright, now let's get down to the "big three" items, starting with this beautiful double relic of the greatest Hartford Whaler of all-time, Ron Francis!  Generally speaking, relic cards don't get me too excited, but Whalers relics certainly do.  This one in particular is just incredible, and I love that one of the two swatches is that familiar Whaler green.  Definitely one of the nicest cards I received in a trade in 2016, period.

Technically, this item came in a second package as it was too large to fit in the other.  As a Whalers fan, this is the definition of obscure.  Can you name the player?  This is Martin Hamrlik, older brother of NHL regular Roman Hamrlik.  Martin, a defenseman, was selected in the second round (31st overall) of the 1991 NHL entry draft by the Whalers.  Martin never played an NHL game, and eventually returned to the Czech Republic where he enjoyed a long career that wrapped up in 2013.

I never thought I'd be the proud owner of an over-sized Martin Hamrlik autographed photo, but there you go.  Douglas was even kind enough to include the proper Ultra Pro sheet to store this in, so I can safely tuck it away in a binder.  Very cool.

1960 Topps #317 - Pumpsie Green

Here was the main piece of the package, and the card that resulted in this exchange to begin with.  I had always remembered Douglas pulling this awesome buyback rookie card of the man who at long last integrated the Red Sox.  When I decided recently that I was ready to part with my 2016 Topps Now Bartolo Colon HR card, I thought of Douglas right away and proposed a one-for-one swap for Pumpsie here.

This might be my single favorite buyback yet, and I know the Colon card is absurdly expensive/tough to get, so I'd say this was one of those trades where both parties really enhanced their collections and came out on top.  Will Pumpsie here make my buyback franken-set though?

A John Candelaria rookie card stands in his way.  Ouch.  I was hoping this one would be in the franken-set for the long haul, especially since Candelaria tossed a no-no the year this card was printed up.

At the end of the day though, my Red Sox bias is going to show through here, and I'm going with Pumpsie.  It's just too great a card for a Sox fan like myself, like I said one of my favorite buybacks to date, period.

Douglas, this was maybe the best package of cards you've ever sent me.  Thank you!  I pretty much exhausted the rest of what I had for you with my last mailing, but rest assured I will be on the lookout for more stuff when I get to a show or the local hobby shop here.

A great start to 2017 here as far as my collection goes!