Shoebox Legends' Sunday Smorgasbord

I actually had a decent amount of free time this weekend, but I spent it in the sun on the ocean eating lobster and drinking beer rather than sorting sports cards.  So, in place of anything more structured or well thought out, here's a handful of scans that have been sitting around in my draft folder waiting to see the light of day...

Still loving these '92-93 Ultra buybacks from the 2016-17 Fleer Showcase set.  They're tough little buggers being numbered to just /25 copies each, but I scoop them up any time I can find one I don't have yet for just a buck or two.  I was beyond excited to land this Patrick Poulin, both because it represents a fairly rare new Whalers card (of which there are fewer and fewer these days), and because it contains the infamous gold foil "Rookie" ribbon that I loved as a kid.

Every time I show one of these I'm obliged to mention just how much better the card backs were than 90% of what's being produced even today.

Here's one more, again I obviously targeted this one to increase my serial-numbered Whalers count by one.

This pair brings my total to 9 of these, plus I have 3 of the autographed versions I've shown off, bumping me up to a dozen.  I've got a couple more in queue for future posts, including a pick-up from this past week that hasn't even hit my mailbox yet!

Here's a nice graded '64 Marichal.  Not much of a backstory behind this one, I'm always on the lookout for '50s and '60s stars to strengthen my vintage collection.  Marichal is one of those guys whose cards can be had for surprisingly cheap, as was this case with this well-centered beauty from one of my favorite sets of the decade.

Think I grabbed this one a while back on COMC, just to feed my addiction to these Bubbles Refractors from 2014 Bowman Chrome.  Just 99 copies of each card out there, but they're right up there with the 2011 Topps Chrome Atomic Refractors and the 2014 Finest X-Fractors in terms of my favorite shiny baseball cards to debut since my second swing through the hobby (beginning in 2007).

Ripped another pack of Topps Kids recently from the wax box I picked up a while back.  My favorite two cards in the pack were Roger...

...and this Ozzie Smith.  Of the handful of different designs in this release, the ones that feature the photograph of the players head paired with a cartoon body and backdrop are my favorite.  Sort of a nod to the 1938 Goudey set, I guess.

Can't show Topps Kids cards without showing a back!

Why did I buy mid-grade copies of 1954 Topps Mel Parnell...

...and Johnny Sain cards?  I'm not really sure to be completely honest with you, but I guess I'll keep these around for now in case I ever decide to chase the set later in life.

Next up, a pair of legends from COMC.  First, this one-per-box Yellow parallel from 2009-10 Champ's hockey.  If you've been following my blog for some time then odds are you've seen these before.  Chasing this 100-card parallel set seems like a fool's errand, but it's one I've been chipping away at nonetheless for close to ten years now.  Howe is obviously one of the biggest names on the checklist, being one of the biggest names in the history of the sport period, so crossing this one off the list feels good.  53 out of 100 now in hand!

Here's a recent addition that showed up in my last shipment.  I've mentioned before that I'd love to collect the entire 100-card 2014 Finest set in X-Fractor form and display them all in a binder.  When I had an opportunity to snag future HOFer Albert Pujols for less than a dollar I pounced.  This is my 10th X-Fractor, so still a long way to go in this pursuit.

Lastly, how about a couple of oddballs from the 1988 Classic Red/Blue set?  I grabbed an entire set of these for cheap coin at my local shop years ago.  Cracked them open and a bunch got sent out in trade, but I kept a few select cards for myself including Bo Jackson...

...and the late great Tony Gwynn!

Well, that's a wrap.  Pretty good sampling of just how all-over-the-map I am with my collecting.  Hopefully you saw at least one card you found interesting, thanks for stopping by!

Buyback Franken-set: Molly & a Completed Page

It's been over a week since I added any buybacks to the franken-set project, so let's dive in tonight with another ten.  Some good star power this evening as well, time to get down to it!

1979 Topps #24 - Paul Molitor

Usually I save the best of the batch for last, but tonight I'm coming out strong with one of my favorite recent buyback pick-ups.  Molitor's rookie card came in the 1978 set of course, but that was a multi-player rookie card, making this Paul's first solo Topps flagship card!  I love the sunny photograph here of one of the more under-rated hitters in the history of the game (if it's possible to be under-rated as a first ballot HOFer that is).  '79 Topps isn't a favorite of mine by any means, but this particular card I love.

I ponied up a whole $3 for this one, plus a couple bucks shipping, because I figured it could anchor spot 24 in the binder for good.  Will that be the case though?

Bob Allen's 1967 card already sits in slot 24.

Did you expect that one to end any differently?  I'll be surprised if that fantastic Molitor buyback is ever ousted from the binder.

1990 Topps #133 - Ricky Horton

Next up, a '90 Topps buyback.  Can never have too many of these since I'm attempting to complete an entire set of them in addition to the buyback franken-set.  In this case Ricky Horton goes into the franken-set because he represents my first #133 buyback, and the franken-set comes first.

2006 Topps #477 - Chan Ho Park

Here's one I hand-picked recently from a seller with a ton of buybacks available at what amounted to about 30 cents per, maybe less.  Why this particular buyback?  Because I was an impressionable 11 years of age when Park splashed onto the scene in the mid-'90s.  Even though this is a later career buyback it's got a ton of nostalgia value for me.  Does it make the binder though?

This multi-player RC from '77 Topps stands between Chan Ho and franken-set glory...

...and Park mows it down!

1973 Topps #178 - Don Rose

I really enjoy the '73 Topps release, but Don Rose here is a far cry from the best the set has to offer.  Rose didn't actually pitch in the Majors in 1973 either.  It's probably going to take an empty slot for Don to have a prayer here.

Unfortunately for him I've got a more interesting Angels buyback already occupying slot 178.

Don never stood a chance.

1969 Topps #272 - Ed Stroud

I really like the look of the '69 buybacks from this year's Heritage product, but Ed Stroud's blacked out cap kinda kills the look of this one if I'm being brutally honest.  It's a shame too, this would've been a solid card if not for that.

Had this great '59 Topps Jerry Lumpe buyback in slot 272...

...and there's no way I'm evicting Lumpe in favor of Stroud here.

1988 Topps #204 - Paul O'Neill

This is a nice one, picked out from the same seller as the Chan Ho Park above.  I'm not sure if this counts as a rookie card strictly speaking, since Paul had cards from other brands like Donruss or Fleer prior to 1988.  I do believe it's his first Topps card though, which is cool.  Paul is a member of the Hall of Very Good, having won five World Series and an AL batting title among other accolades.

This record breaker subset card from 1981 Topps has been resident in slot 204 for a few months now.

As much as I enjoy a card with not one, but two, Expos on it, I'm going with the O'Neill in this case.

1959 Topps #22 - Al Smith

Here's a beat-to-hell 1959 Topps Al Smith buyback.  We've got everything from rounded corners to creases to paper loss going on with this card.  Al was a 3x All-Star who actually wrapped up his career with the Red Sox in 1964.

Already had this Charlie Smith in pocket 22 of the binder.  The obvious star of the show here is the fantastic New York World's Fair shoulder patch.  No way I'm pushing this one out of the way for Al Smith.

Sorry Al.

1990 Topps #78 - Mike Flanagan

Another 1990 Topps buyback here.  To me, this is a set of extremes, with some really good looking cards and some really poor ones.  I'd consider this the former, not the latter.  This is a new number for the franken-set project as well, funny that the only two new numbers in this post are the two 1990 buybacks.

Best of all, this one completes a page as well!  The highlights of this page are the two '67s up top in my opinion, but don't overlook Ted Kubiak's "hair wing" at lower left either.

1969 Topps #273 - Ron Willis

Tonight's penultimate entry is Ron Willis' '69 release.  This one has a weird, dreamy quality to it, I think from the photograph being a little washed out or blurred.  A nice enough looking card, I like that there's some baseball activity going on in the background there.

I think I like this '68 Dave Johnson more though, and it's already in slot 273.

It pains me to reject a card that says "Cards" on the front, but so be it.

1973 Topps #224 - Bill Lee

Last card for tonight, and it's a real winner for this Red Sox fan.  I'd love to complete a run of Bill "Spaceman" Lee buybacks that represent his entire career at some point.  I think this is at least the third one that's popped up since this project began.  I really like the photograph on this card too, certainly interesting as far as portrait shots go.

In a clear example of just how difficult it's becoming to make the binder, this card is not a shoe-in by any means.  Check out what's blocking Bill's path:

A '72 Topps World Series subset buyback featuring Brooks Robinson Davey Johnson.  Ouch, I really hemmed and hawed over this one.

In the end, even this die-hard Sox fan just had to go with the '72.  It's alright though, as Lee's '70 Topps RC is still a critical part of the franken-set, even if this '73 now resides in the reject box.

That was a good little grouping if you ask me.  Two new numbers for the project courtesy of 1990 Topps, one of which completed a page.  The Chan Ho Park, O'Neill and Molitor cards strengthening the set on top of that were the icing on the cake.

Thanks for spending a few minutes of your valuable time to read my buyback ramblings!

Franken-set Progress: 609/792 (76%)
1990 Topps Buyback Set: 65/792 (8%)
"Rejected" Buybacks: 473
Total Buybacks in Collection: 1,147

Catching Up with Mark Kaz

I recently rekindled the back-and-forth PWE trades with my longtime friend Mark Kaz, formerly of the blog This Way to the Clubhouse.  Life and work (some good, some not so good) have been conspiring to keep me from posting the contents of Mark's last PWE, but today provided a sign that it's time to get off my butt and get this posted.  The sign?  Yet another PWE in my mailbox.  From Mark.

So, with that being the case let's look at the contents of what is now the penultimate envelope from Mark!

Coming out strong with a brand new addition to my ever-growing Xander Bogaerts collection!  A new Xander card pretty much makes any package a winner, but even more so if the card is an obnoxiously shiny one like this fine example from last year's Bowman Platinum set (an Ice parallel if you're curious).  Xander just moved up another spot on the Red Sox all-time hit list, which means another "Bogaerts Tracker 2018" post coming here soon.

With no offense to Mark in the least, here's a much less exciting card from 2009 TriStar Prospects Plus.  While I'm grateful for any new card I receive in trade, sets like this one are the bane of the team collector's existence.  I don't mind saying this because I'm positive that Mark, being the Mets super-collector that he is, can relate!

Because of the time that I was away from collecting during high school, college and beyond, I almost completely missed out on Pacific as a brand.  That makes getting cards like this one in trade extra nice.  Very cool Dirt Dog RC here, with the portrait photo inset within the baseball printed on a clear acetate-type material.

No, I didn't forget to size this scan correctly, what you're looking at here is a Topps Mini card.  I never seem to run across these in the wild (I want to say they're an online exclusive or something?), so I'm pleased Mark was willing to shoot this one over to me.

Here's a unique one, from a set so high-end the base cards are serial-numbered!  I guess Mark has a fancy side!  I feel bad for the poor sap who paid triple digits to bust a box of this stuff ten years ago, but will happily welcome this card to my Red Sox collection now.

All of the cards that Mark included in this latest batch were great, but there's something extra significant about landing a plain old average, everyday base card from a Topps flagship set that you were missing as a team collector.  Love it.

I went through a brief phase in 2011/2012 where I was accumulating as many Adrain-Gonzalez-as-a-Red-Sox cards as I could get my hands on.  Somehow I never acquired this one though, a Game Changers insert from 2012 Finest.

What I said before about Pacific applies here as well.  There's not much going on design-wise on their 2000 flagship release here, but if you're from the Upper Deck school of "photography trumps design" there's a lot to like here.

We'll close it out with what might be my favorite card from this grouping.  How can you go wrong with a card of arguably the hottest player in the game (at least before he landed on the 10-day DL) playing ping pong?!?!  Answer...you can't!

Mark, thanks so much for the solid injection of Red Sox, and I promise it won't take me as long to thank you for the batch that showed up today!