2,000 Dodger cards

So there was someone on eBay selling big 2,000 team lots with cards that stretched from vintage to modern day. They had a low starting price so I browsed them with mild interest. The Yankee one, for example, was filled with cards I knew I mostly had already, so it was easy to pass on. I was going to pass on the Dodger one too. I'm no Dodger fan but don't have a strong feeling about them; their rivalry with the Yankees was basically over by the time I started following baseball in '86.

I did see one card in the lot that looked like fun. So I looked it up so I could add it to my modern want list, which is mostly fun, goofy photos that I like. I thought it would be easy to find, but to my surprise it was a little difficult. In fact, it was a 2020 Stadium Club photo variation. Here it is - I'm sure regular readers will not be surprised why I liked it so much.

Sandy Koufax is one of my favorite all-time vintage non-Yankees. And he's reading an old newspaper (not old at the time of course). And there's the hotel, especially the side table with telephone and phone books, back when phone books were essential in a hotel. Fun card!

And here's the crazy thing - when I went to look it up, it was quite hard to find. As far as I can tell (and I might be doing it wrong), there aren't any copies available on COMC, Sportslots or TCDB, and the cheapest one I could find on eBay was $85. It boggles my mind to think this is an $85 card, but I figured I wouldn't have a chance at it again, so I put a bid on the box and ended up winning it for $35, less than two cents a card and less than half the apparent value of that card. 

Back to the photo - when I had the card in hand I thought it had gotten messed up in the packing, but the lines across the card are apparently in the Daily News original. Koufax threw his no-hitter on a Thursday Night, and the next day was Sandy Koufax day at Shea Stadium (the Mets trounced Joe Moeller and the Dodgers 8-0; Galen Cisco threw a four hitter). In the "Yanks HR Twins" part of the headline, the Bombers enjoyed three-run homers from Joe Pepitone and Roger Maris.

As to the rest of the lot - I certainly think I got my money's worth even without this great card. Of the 2000 cards, I needed about 700 of them. The cards covered every year from 1966-2021, with the majority being the junk wax era and the last two years (which we will likely come to think of as the second junk wax era, as the base cards from those years' sets are going to be all over the place as flippers get rid of their leftovers). There were plenty from other eras as well though. Lots of mid-90s for example.

Needless to say, I've got a lot of Dodger trade bait. I don't know if I'll have anything for master Dodger collectors Night Owl and GCRL (though I will check), but if there are any other Dodger collectors out there, or anyone who PCs someone who spent time on the Dodgers, let me know!

Out of 2,000 cards I picked out some other cards that struck me in one way or another.

I've never had an APBA card before. This is from 1993 so technically a Cardinals card. I don't collect these so it's up for trade.

I was able to get a few vintage needs, including a couple of '75 minis. I'd have been more excited about the '73 Sutton if one wasn't already en route from another blogger.

Here's a great card of Korean sensation Chan-Ho Park. Something about this card makes it looks like a scene from a baseball movie rather than a game.

Interesting printing error on the back of this Piazza. He was very well represented in this box.

Cool minor league oddball. Don Drysdale owned the team that was hosting the California League All Star Game that year.

With the 2020/2021 stuff there were lots of fun shiny cards. This weird "As Seen on TV" card might be the best one.

Non-standard Dodger hat on this '87 Fleer mini.

What a fantastic photo, so much going on here.

These shiny oddballs look great in person. These were from a publication called Legends Sports Memorabilia. There were also cards from Baseball Card Magazine (which I'd seen before) and Tuff Stuff Magazine (which I hadn't).

A "Marshal's Badge" for Yasiel Puig. Kind of a funny die-cut.

Here's a more "standard" Sandy Koufax Stadium Club card. Still a great photo.

Here's something you never see - 1990 Sportflics! These five cards increase my collection of that set by 50%. I bought one pack in 1990, and was disgusted that there were only three cards and only two photos on a card instead of three. I never bought another one. Fun to pick them up now though.

Some more great Stadium Club cards. So much to look at in these photos.

Finally, another legend (pair of legends, I guess) in a non-standard setting. Another fun card. Oddly enough Jackie Robinson's name isn't mentioned once on the card. He appeared on the show in 1962.