A Killer Card Show

Normally I save the best for last with my card show posts. This time, I couldn't wait! I haven't posted in over a week (this card show was last Saturday), and I figured I could earn back some eyeballs by leading with a big one.

Not only is the Killebrew card a Hall of Fame player from my future favorite team, but it is a high number card in a set I've been working on for over a year. This card is sharp! I've looked at several versions of this one in the last year, this one is probably the nicest one I've found in my price range.

There was also a great new dime box this time around - in addition to gems like the Parrot's Photobomb, this box had something I don't normally see at the show.

Lots of Catchers!

Plenty of cards from the late 70s and early 80s - I'll probably discover that I already had these, but at a dime apiece I wasn't too worried about doubles.

And horizontal heroes? You bet.

The oldest cards in the box were from 1976, but the cards from 1978 and later were all very sharp.

Of course there was more recent stuff, too. All told, I spent a whopping $8 to pull my favorites.

I'm still finding some fun stuff in the Basketball and and Hockey world, including this OPC insert commemorating Gordie Howe's 700th Goal.

Discounted Don Drysdale? Don't mind if I do! 

Picked up 2 more '59 All-Stars, and 2 more Yankees, which are tough to find cheaply.

Last but not least, I leave you with another 1959 Hall of Famer. This Hank Aaron card highlights the Homer he hit in the 1957 World Series that shifted the momentum into Milwaukee's favor.

A Crazy Card Show Saturday

It was a wild day at the card show yesterday, with mini collections, set building, dime boxes, bargain vintage, and proof of extra-terrestrial life?

From a box of 2 for $5 relics/autos, I picked up a handful of Twins! Berrios, Mauer, and BOOF.

That's 2 for $5, so card #4 is America's Sweetheart, A.J. Pierzynski.

Just a small sample from the dime boxes I came across - there were cards from the 80s up through 2019 Gypsy Queen. I spent just $10 but probably an hour of digging to get there...

It took a lot less time to to make the decision on this card - I mentioned I was looking for this last month to the vintage guy when I was browsing the basketball stack, and like magic it appeared on his table this month. Funny how that works!

Wilt Chamberlain was good at basketball.

While on the subject of vintage, there were several monster boxes with $1 vintage from 1958 to 1972 - the mid to late 60s had the best condition of the bunch, and that's where I picked up some fun ones. Jack Acker was... what, hanging out behind his house when the Topps photographer dropped by?

I've been critical of the 1953 set in the past, but there are some gems to be found in the set- this one of Jim Hearn in the late afternoon haze with a stern warning for gamblers on the outfield wall is a great exception to the boring repetitive '53 portraits.

Meet Joe Black, 1952 N.L. Rookie of the Year!

I only added 5 cards to my 1959 set build, but you'll see that they are all doozys. Al Kaline, never salty. This is just one of his 3 cards in the 1959 set, still seeking the Baseball Thrills and the base card.

Bang! POW! ZAP! WHAMMO!

Finally, for just $2, I've uncovered the mysteries of the cosmos - we are not alone! (This is Carl Engstrom, who trained Angelo Poffo how to wrestle. Angelo was the father of Randy and Lanny Poffo - Randy was better known as the Macho Man Randy Savage!)

Saturday is Card Show Day

It's a hot day in Minneapolis today, and I preferred to spend as much of it as possible outside. Headed to the card show and gave myself a small budget. I focused on dime boxes to fill in some junk wax gaps like Big Dave above, and also found some oddball gems elsewhere at the show.

Before making his debut for the Red Sox, Ted Williams played in Minneapolis for the minor league Millers. All that remains of the stadium now is a plaque in South Minneapolis and a handful of murals that dot the city.

Here's the back of this oddball - the 1978 set includes local broadcaster Halsey Hall's recollections of both Minneapolis Millers and Saint Paul Saints.

I picked up three cards from the set - Dave Barnhill was an ambidextrous pitcher in the Negro Leagues, but by the time he signed with the New York Giants, he pitched right handed only but still switch hit. He played for the Millers for 3 seasons, and was already 35 years old when signed. He did not get the opportunity to pitch in the major leagues, but was a 4 time All-Star in the Negro Leagues.

Oscar Roettger had a few short stints in the majors, with the Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1920s, and a cup of coffee for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 30s. He was a first baseman for the Saint Paul Saints as a Dodger farmhand from 1924 to 1931.

Back to the dime boxes!

Three of these cards are technically Red Sox cards...

I didn't see the Larry Fritsch Baseball Card Museum when I visited Cooperstown - apparently it was only open for one summer in 1988. Dude only paid $5 bucks for that Ty Cobb card!

I only paid $1 for this one - Old Hoss has the record for most wins in a season, going 60 - 12 in 1884 with Providence. Or did he only win 59 ? Either way, it was quite the feat, old rules or not. In the World Series of 1884 (or league championship), Old Hoss pitched every inning of every game. He shut out the New York Metropolitans in three games, giving up 11 hits and striking out 17. Things were a little different then!

And I couldn't pass up a shiny Jose Berrios card.

Saturday is Card Show Day!

It's the first Saturday of the Month, and that means there is a card show happening. I went right for the maximum value this time, scoping out the dimeboxes full of 90s inserts like the one above.

A lot of retired players on new cardboard, and more of those inserts . . .

Beltre and the Big Hurt

'ol Satch, Gil Hodges, and Yaz.

This card was not in a dime box, and I'm not sure what this card is - the vendor I bought it from knew about as much as I did - that it was a Yomiuri Giants card.

Here's the back, enlarged for easier reading. If anyone can tell me what this card might be, it would be appreciated. I think it is probably a reprint, or at least a more modern card, based on the condition of the card. My guess is that it was printed in the 80s or more recently than that.

I also added two more 1956 Topps cards, I'm now down to single digits!

It wouldn't be a Minnesota card show without some Minnesota Twins - it's getting hard to find new to me Kennys Vargas cards, but this one numbered to 15 was just what I needed.

I did a tiny bit of prospecting too - Berrios is probably going to be called up this week after Kyle Gibson was demoted and his replacement was a reliever. Fernando Romero has just one year of pro ball under his belt - he was promoted mid season last year and started 2017 in AA, his third promotion since the start of last season. His first two starts of the year were rocky, but he's settled in and has been striking out about a batter per inning. He's 22.

A Gold Label Card Show Day

What a day! Headed out to the monthly show and found some awesome deals.

First of all, this show was the first time that I found multiple dime boxes - usually I am lucky to find one vendor selling cards for .10, but this time there were three different vendors, selling everything from the late 70s to the new 2017 Topps releases.

A great variety in the dime boxes!

All of these for just .90 - been a long time since I could find Diamond Kings for such a low price.

There were lots of other deals to be found on Twins cards - The team card is numbered to /65. I was pleasantly surprised to find when I got home that I didn't already have the two patch Kennys Vargas card.

Same powder blue patch for Killebrew, Hrbek, and Tony O.... It's possible that these all came from different uniforms, but who knows? Jacques Jones gets lost in the shuffle sometimes, but he was awesome back in the day.

Now we come to the big news - after today's haul, I'm down to just 12 cards remaining in the 1956 Topps set build! The 6 above were just a dollar apiece!

A pair of Braves, a Moose, and the original Big Red Machine.

Here was the biggest score of the day! Have to share the back too:

The last dozen cards have some pretty big names, lots of Yankees... I'm going to be patient and save up to get those last cards checked off the list.

A really exciting show for me, found more than I thought possible!

P.S. - Twins' Opening Day is in just . . .

2 Days!