Trade with Night Owl

Got some awesome cards in a trade with Night Owl. He's turning into more of a vintage guy and less of a Dodgers guy, and I sent him some needs from 1967 and 1970. He sent me a really great return package.

You know a package is going to be awesome when you see non-standard-size vintage - that means cards from the mid-1950s! Some cool stuff from '54, '55, '59, '60 and '61 here.

 Some beautiful '62s, including my first vintage Moose Skowron.

 Some more from the mid-60s to the early '70s. Two '64 KC Athletics showing two completely different uniforms.

 A real nice selection from '73, with some beautiful photography and a Hall-of-Famer.

 One more vintage card, a Kellogg Lou Brock. The Kluber relic card was from Night Owl's recent giveaway. I missed out on the vintage there but got what I thought was the nicest modern card in the draft. I really like the snowflake design and Kluber is one of the best pitchers in the league. When I got this card in the draft I was also excited because of the rumors that the Yankees might trade for him, but it looks like that's not happening now.

 Finally, a few modern set-filling needs.

Thanks, Night Owl!

Ron Nischwitz on baseball cards

Ron Nischwitz was a relief pitcher for the Tigers and Indians from 1961 to 1965. In 88 games he went 5-8 with 6 saves and a 4.21 ERA. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"My wife collected baseball cards and had unopened boxes each year.

I only collected cards of players I played with."

Thanks!

Wallet Card at J.W. Mays

I've written about J.W. Mays before - the flea market I often go to used to be a Mays. Another Mays sign still exists in Brooklyn, looming over Hanover Place.

1981 Topps Joel Youngblood

The front: The most interesting thing in the picture is whatever is behind him. It’s blurry and hard to make out – maybe a pitching machine?

 

The back: Edgardo Alfonzo became the first Met with six hits in a game in 1999. Wilmer Flores tied the mark in 2016.

The player: Youngblood had a mostly quiet 13-year major league career, hitting .265 with 80 HR and 422 RBI. He is forever famous for getting hits for two teams in two cities in one day, for the Mets in New York in the afternoon of August 4, 1982, and for the Expos at Philadelphia at night. One interesting bit of trivia from that accomplishment is that both hits came off of Hall of Famers (Ferguson Jenkins and Steve Carlton).

 

The man: Youngblood is now minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

 

My collection: I have 34 of his cards, from 1977 to 1990. I would be interested in trading for 1989 Kahn’s #12.

1981 Topps Dave Roberts

The front: Close up pose of Roberts. Difficult to tell but I think it is Tiger Stadium.

 

The back: Looks like Roberts’s transition from starter to reliever coincided with him bouncing around from team-to-team in midseason transactions, making his stat lines long and top-heavy.

The player: Roberts was a good pitcher with flashes of greatness who was often derailed by injuries. He gained prominence in 1971 for outdueling Tom Seaver with a 12-inning complete game shutout. Today a pitcher with a history of arm trouble would not be called on to pitch a 12-inning game.

 

The man: Roberts worked at the Allegany County Detention Center in Maryland after his playing career, and was also a college pitching coach. He grew up in Ohio and worked as a boilermaker as a young man, which exposed him to asbestos. He died of lung cancer related to the asbestos in 2009.

 

My collection: I have 12 of his cards, from 1970 to 1981. I would be interested in trading for 1969 Topps #536, 1971 Topps #448 and 1972 Topps #360.

'74 and '76 progress

I had time to go to the flea market today and sift through the dime boxes. Today I concentrated on '74 and '76. I picked up 90 from 1976 and 9 from 1974. I now have almost 500 from 1976 and almost 600 from 1974. I now am most of the way through '74-'76, and have most of the high-dollar cards out of the way. The biggest cards left that I need for each set are:
'74 - Bench, Yaz and Schmidt are the biggest ones left, though most of the remaining needs are stars of some caliber
'75 - Winfield, Schmidt, Seaver and the Garner/Hernandez rookie. Most of the rest of the needs are commons
'76 - still need well over 100 cards from this set. Biggest ones left are Brett, Yount, Winfield and the Guidry and Yount rookies.
For '77 I'm still not close to halfway, and still need most of the big star cards. I'll probably buy a complete set or near-complete set on ebay at some point, as that is probably the most cost-effective way to get ahead on this one.

Here are some highlights of what I picked up today:

This is one of the nicer Wrigley Field shots I've seen.

 I've seen this one on a lot of blogs. Finally it's mine.

 The pine tree in the background really draws your attention away from the rest of the card.

 Here are the nine '74s I picked up. Don Baylor is the big name here.

1981 Topps Buck Martinez

The front: Martinez is doing the batter version of “Suttoning” while smiling at someone to the photographer’s right.

The back: Martinez pitched the eighth inning of an 18-8 loss to the Royals. He allowed one run, on a double by Hal McRae.

The player: Martinez was a career backup catcher, known more for his defense than his bat. In seventeen seasons he hit .225 with 58 HR and 321 RBI.

The man: After his playing career ended he became a Blue Jays announcer. He made the rare leap from announcing to managing in 2000 when the Blue Jays named him their manager. He was fired in 2002. Martinez went back to broadcasting in 2003 and returned to the Blue Jays in 2010, where he remains today.

My collection: I have 22 of his cards, from 1972 to 1987. I would be interested in trading for 1970 Topps #609, 1971 Topps #163 and 1976 Topps #616.

1981 Topps Mike Norris

The front: I’m pretty sure that’s Yankee Stadium, which would make this June 21, 1980, when Norris pitched a complete game, losing 5-3. Graig Nettles and Jim Spencer both homered off of Norris.

 

The back: Norris enrolled at City College of San Francisco after the A’s drafted him and he rejected a low-ball offer from owner Charlie Finley. He later signed with the A’s after Finley upped his offer from $2,000 to $25,000.

The player: In 1980 Norris emerged into a bona-fide star, winning 22 games. He had another solid season in 1981 (12-9 in the strike-shortened season, with good performances in the playoffs), but like many A’s pitchers of the time, overwork by manager Billy Martin ruined his arm and his career.

 

The man: Norris struggled with drug addiction throughout the 1980s, but made a brief comeback with the A’s in 1990. He now works with inner city youth, running a baseball school and wellness program in Oakland.

 

My collection: I have 18 of his cards, from 1975 to 1985. I would be interested in trading for 1976 Topps #653.

Street trade from A-G

Traded Al a bunch of Barry Bonds cards for these. A couple were throw-ins Al wanted to get rid of because of condition issues. They came from another box with stars from the letters A-G. Spent half-an-hour going through the box in 30 degree temperatures - my fingers started getting red and stiff from the cold but it was worth it. I did pick a couple of cards I already had though - it can be hard to keep track!

Alomar through Canseco. The Canseco award winner is a dupe, and available for trade.

 Carter to Gwynn. The Clark rookie and Clements Topps Gold are both up for trade. I still need the base version of that Gold Rush Gwynn.

Big street trade

I traded Al a variety of cards (George Brett, Ron Darling, Derek Jeter, etc) and pulled some cards from a box I hadn't seen before. This box had various 90s-00s stars between the letter H-S.

H-M. I love those two Ryan Klesko cards in the middle - how did I not have either one before?

 O-S. Lots of parallels here. I snag those up as I figure I am more likely to need them.