It's late . . .

I spent way too much time tonight trying to figure out how to get the most bang for the 15% ebay coupon that was going on today. I ultimately decided on three vintage lots, two large and one smaller, that came out to only a little over a dime a card. I think I need it to cool it with these for a while.

Because it's late I'll just show a teaser of what I got today. I'll show more tomorrow. It was related to the eBay purchases from last time. A dealer I had bought cards from in the past, who is based on Long Island, had a bunch of vintage lots. I met him at this place (not a card shop, it's basically some rented warehouse space) so I could buy the cards with no shipping. I combined some relatively inexpensive lots with four star cards that were in poor shape - I'm quite excited for my first true vintage Koufax, Maris and Clemente cards. All in I was able to get everything for about 15 cents a card.

These are the lots I picked up. All have plenty of duplication, so let's get trading. I'll show more photos tomorrow.
'76  - 158 cards, minor stars (i.e. well-known but not a HOFer)
'73 - 308 cards, minor stars
'72 - 189 cards, minor stars
'71 - 270 cards, minor stars
'70 - 84 cards, minor stars
'61 - 131 cards, commons

1967-1981, 25 years of Topps

Pretty catchy title? That was the listing for an eBay lot that caught my eye. With the 10% off it came out to 400 cards for under $40. Sure, I don't need the 77-81s but those cards were star- and Yankee-heavy so should be pretty easy to trade to bloggers or Al. Let's see what was in the box, both the keepers and the trade piles for each year. Lots to trade here (preferably for other vintage).

'67s to keep. Always love getting cards from this set.

 Lots of '67s to trade.

 68s to keep. Very checklist heavy.

 68s to trade.

 69s to keep. More checklists.

 69s to trade.

 70 to keep. That Rod Carew card was what convinced me to buy the set.

 1970 to trade.

 1971 to keep.

 '71s to trade. The Cookie Rojas double-play card is a blogger favorite. Also check out the Jim Palmer card.

 '72s to keep. The listing had photos of some of the cards but not all of them. I was guessing that it would have more of the later cards but there were actually more '72s than anything else, which was great for me. I knew about the Bob Gibson and Tony Larussa but not the Yaz in Action or some of the other big cards.

 Lots of '72s to trade as well.

 '73 keepers. Young HOFer Bert Blyleven. Mel Stottlemyre is one of a few semi-high-numbers.

 '73s to trade.

 Tough to find new ones for '74, but I managed to get three. I haven't updated the wantlist yet but this gets me a little closer to the 600 mark.

 Lots of '74s to trade.

 Two '75s I needed, creeps me closer to 625 on this set.

 Lots of those colorful '75s to trade.

 I was also pleasantly surprised by the '76's I got. I knew about the Randolph rookie but not the Winfield or the Seaver. I think now the biggest cards I have left to need for this set are Schmidt, Brett and the Guidry rookie.

 '76s to trade. First of several Steve Carlton's you'll see here.

 From here on out it's all trade piles. These are '77s.

 These '78s might not last long but if you need a particular card here let me know.

 A few '79s.

 7 '80s, each one a big star.

 Finally, a handful of '81s.

Street trade Cs and Gs

Picked out a few more cards from Al yesterday. This is what I got for five Posadas. This time I successfully picked out five cards I didn't have already. The Gant is a Gold Medallion parallel. A couple of die-cut cards in here as well.

1981 Topps Brian Asselstine

The front: Great action shot at Shea Stadium. He went 1-7 in two day games at Shea in 1980. Jeff Burroughs batted after him in both games, so that’s who’s in the on deck circle. 

The back: This is an error card – the name of Asselstine’s alma mater is Allan Hancock College.

The player: Asselstine was the Braves’ starting center fielder coming out of spring training in 1978. However, he got hurt in May and never regained his starting role. Overall, in six seasons, all with the Braves, he hit .254 with 12 HR and 68 RBI in 284 games.

 

The man: After his career he worked as a contractor.

 

My collection: I have nine of his cards, from 1977 to 1982. I would be interested in trading for 1983 Phoenix Giants #4.

 

Pulled the trigger on '77

I had mentioned in an earlier post that I was considering purchasing a whole or almost-whole '77 set as I was still so far from completing. This week I used a 10% off eBay coupon code to purchase a beater set, 659/660 complete, for $90. I won't do that for any other vintage set, but this is the one where it made the most sense from a cost perspective. I've also got a couple other vintage lots coming directly or indirectly from that.

The one card that was missing was a checklist card, #356. Anyone got one to trade?

The seller put the key cards in plastic on top, I guess to show that nothing was missing. Below is a list of what I have to trade, the '77s I had already. (I will trade you the best-condition version I have). Key cards to trade include Bench, Reggie, Goose and the Nolan Ryan Record Breaker. I might try to trade a few to Al on 37th Street but would rather trade with bloggers first.

7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 23, 24, 28, 39, 40, 44, 46, 47, 49, 53, 55, 58, 70, 72, 73, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 88, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 101, 104, 105, 115, 124, 129, 136, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 149, 154, 156, 158, 161, 162, 171, 174, 175, 176, 177, 179, 181, 182, 184, 186, 187, 193, 197, 202, 204, 205, 212, 221, 222, 224, 226, 229, 234, 237, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 246, 247, 248, 249, 251, 252, 253, 259, 262, 263, 266, 268, 269, 271, 272, 273, 275, 278, 279, 281, 283, 284, 286, 289, 290, 293, 294, 301, 307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 314, 318, 319, 321, 323, 325, 330, 331, 333, 334, 335, 339, 341, 342, 348, 349, 359, 362, 363, 364, 365, 370, 371, 372, 376, 380, 382, 383, 389, 391, 394, 395, 403, 404, 405, 407, 409, 414, 415, 421, 423, 428, 432, 443, 444, 446, 459, 472, 478, 483, 484, 485, 486, 491, 495, 496, 497, 502, 503, 508, 509, 512, 513, 515, 517, 519, 521, 524, 527, 534, 535, 536, 538, 540, 541, 544, 548, 551, 552, 553, 554, 555, 556, 561, 562, 565, 569, 572, 574, 578, 581, 582, 583, 584, 587, 588, 589, 591, 594, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 607, 613, 616, 618, 619, 621, 623, 624, 626, 628, 644, 645, 646, 648, 652, 657, 658, 659

Hall-of-Famers: Jackson, Bench, Gossage

Yankees: Jackson, Gullett, Randolph, White, Patterson

Other stars: Grich, Lolich

Rich Nye on baseball cards

Rich Nye pitched for the Cubs, Cardinals and Expos from 1966 to 1970. In 113 games he went 26-31 with a 3.71 ERA. After his career, he became a veterinarian, specializing in avian medicine, and is former President of the Association of Avian Veterinarians. He is currently on staff at the Ness Exotic Wellness Center in Lisle, IL. He is also an artist; his turned wood creations can be found at Nyewoodturning on Etsy.com. He kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"My favorite card is one that says I was a first round draft choice of the Cubs in 1966, actually in the 17th round, #232 I think, and after only 102 minor league innings I was pitching in Comiskey Park.  So, wrong and wrong.

 I’m not a collector of cards but do have some memorabilia related to baseball and my career—balls, bats, pics, jerseys.  So many people I’ve met had collections as kids and they were tossed when they went off to school as having no value."

Thanks! I don't have that card, but here is one from my collection.

1981 Topps Steve Renko

The front: The exposed wiring looks like the Yankee Stadium dugout.

The back: Seven years with the Expos, then four teams in five years.

The player: Renko was basically the definition of an average starting pitcher. In 15 years he went 134-146 with a 3.99 ERA.  His best season was 1973, when he went 15-11 with a 2.81 ERA.

The man: Renko played football at Kansas with Gale Sayers. He coached for many years after his playing career and is now retired.

My collection: I have 19 of his cards, from 1970 through 1984. I would be interested in trading for 1971 Topps #209, 1972 Topps #307 and 1973 Topps #623.

Street trade J-K-L

Al has been mixing up the boxes, so I don't take too much from any one, I guess. I didn't do as good this time in remember which cards I had already - the '93 Score Karros and the Sports Illustrated Derrek Lee were dupes, so are up for trade.

John Kruk on baseball cards

1B-OF John Kruk played ten seasons in the major leagues, mostly for the Padres and Phillies. A three-time All-Star, in 1,200 games he hit .300 with 100 HR and 592 RBI. Now an announcer for the Phillies and the owner of the Kruk's Philly Steaks restaurant chain in Florida, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"Hmmm - let’s see I like the Topps 1987 Rookie Card. First it makes me look skinny, second I never thought I would have a baseball card of myself ....
 

The Upper Deck cards were cool too.

 

I grew up in West Virginia in a small town - I didn’t really have access to collect cards - but like any kid I just bought Topps Cards for the gum.

I should collect baseball cards - I sign enough of them - my favorite player was Tony Gwynn - he was also my favorite roommate - and my favorite hitting coach - so the only baseball card I own is a Tony Gwynn Signed Card."

Thanks!