X Marks the Spot

These two cards were from the National, but I didn't get them while I was there. Topps allowed folks to bring in wrappers from the Allen & Ginter boxes they bought and redeem them for special bonus cards honoring the 10th Anniversary of the product. Kennys Vargas was on the checklist, so of course I had to seek out the two versions (maybe there are more than two variations, I don't know).

Anyway, here's the base card:

And the super awesome Sticker Auto serial numbered version:

Huh. the backs are pretty much the same on both.

I should have a few more Kennyses to post soon (I know y'all can't wait), I made a dent in the Topps Chrome Kennys Vargas Rainbow.

Recent online pickups

I'm in the middle of prolonged card buying drought, so I'm grasping at straws a bit for things to post. I'm saving up for a big addition at the next card show, so I've been resisting logging on to eBay or loading up my cart on Sportlots or COMC. I have held off on posting a few things, just in case I had to pull back the throttle a bit...

 These two were actually from the National - Sy Berger was in a dime box, and just a buck for the 68 Topps Tony Perez with giant Foil Stamp. That's the first buyback I've bought back for myself..

 Zorro (in a Dodgers uni) and The Count! I was browsing COMC and these two both popped out with their color. Most of Zoilo's Topps cards are unflattering head shots, especially later in his career when he was bouncing around a bit. I really like the Orange/Gold of the Giants' 70's uni. It might just be the product of the photo, age of the card, but I'm a fan regardless...

 Max Kepler is in AA this year - The Twins signed him as a 16 year old out of Germany, hoping to tap an untapped well of talent. He's struggled for several years, but his raw tools have kept hopes up. This year, he's putting it all together, and if it weren't for Buxton and Sano, a lot more people would be talking about Max Kepler.

My most triumphant acquisition at the National . . .

. . . was also the last.

Most Excellent! $4!

I haven't opened this yet, but I am really looking forward to it.

In Person Trade At The National with Nick

I met up with Nick from the Dime Boxes blog on Saturday at the National. We had a pretty great chat about the hobby, got to dig in some dime boxes, and of course traded some cards. Here's a small taste of what came my way...

 Minis! Great stuff in all sizes came in the box:

 A great mix of vintage and new - Nick's selection is like adding several fantastic Frankenset pages

 All new to me - always great to add a new (to me) Puckett to the collection.

Thanks again Nick! It was great to meet you and to check out a bit of the National with you!

At The National Day Three . . . blogger meet up

My third day at the National was Saturday, and it ended up being my last this year. I did my best to make the most of the budget I set for myself- being able to stay with my brother, borrowing a friend's car to drive to Chicago, and then taking the Blue Line train to the show helped me cut a lot of the costs down on travel, lodging and food. 

 This is a complete set, which was being sold for less than half of what the set was going for at most of the vendors' tables. This means I should have a few doubles to trade!

 I've been passively looking for this one for some time now - it's just odd to see Charlie Hustle in an Expos uni... This is his '84 Topps traded card. I got the Fleer Update version as well, at the request of my brother -so that one stayed in Chicago with him.

 Elmer! Another Bowman! This one was chillin' in a discount bin and happened to be one I still needed!

 This card is just gorgeous. Way to go Stadium Club!

 Pecking away at the '56 Topps Set . . .

 At this point I met up with Nick from Dime Boxes - we traded some cards (see my post tomorrow) and then we started a joint dig in a BIG stack of dime boxes. . .

 Nick found both of these and slid them over to my stack - yep, needed those!

 These were probably the most unique cards I purchased over the whole weekend. These are Japanese cards from the 40s, 50s, and 60s - they are a bit bigger than tobacco cards and they are AWESOME. The table where I found them was dedicated to all things Japanese baseball, with cards of course, but also jerseys, magazines, pennants, and other bits of memorabilia. Really beautiful items, was happy to find these!

 One more Alou and that crazy KC Killer card for the road.

I made it back to the vintage vendors table from the Twin Cities. He has a display case of 20/30/40 buck cards. in the top left corner there was a stack of very old cards, and I plucked this beauty from the pile. This is a 1909 Silk Tobacco "card" of Senators Catcher Gabby Street. He was Walter Johnson's favorite battery mate, and once caught a baseball dropped from the top of the Washington Monument! Just $30 for this card, which is the new title holder as the oldest card in my collection.

This was a great find to round out the show on Saturday. I didn't all my goals, but most importantly: I had a fantastic time, met some great people, found some really fantastic cardboard, and I don't have to declare bankruptcy!

At The National Day Two . . . trying to meet some goals

 I could not find any of the four OPC cards I needed to complete my set, but I did get closer to getting a complete Alou Brothers run from their playing days. This 1965 Jesus Alou was a high number, I had to go to about three different vendors that had '65 albums before finding this copy.

 Four more 1948 Bowmans! Enos Slaughter (top right) was the big ticket card of the day. These four, plus one from Wednesday night brings me to a total of 38 of 48 cards from the set. I might finish it before the next National!

 Ah, Kennys. I asked every vendor in the room if they had a copy of the Vargas Topps Acetate card, and this was the closest I could get.

This one was also numbered to just 10 copies.

 Three more for the 1956 set- I saw several tables with commons for $2-3 each. I decided to hold off on those to save up for meeting some other goals.

 Always room for dime box finds.... some highlights

From this big stack.

This was one big goal for the National - find an unopened pack of something older than I've ever opened before. The 1975 Mini pack was cheaper than the 1976 and 1977 packs, so I decided to pull the trigger on this one. I'll open it up some time later on...

At the National Day One . . .

"overwhelming" in an understatement to describe what entering the room for the first day of the National Sports Collectibles Convention was like. There are so many tables!! I had no idea where to start, but my quest to find '65 OPC, '64 Venezuelan Topps, and the 2015 Topps Clear Kennys Vargas were my main points of focus on day one...

 A little strange to me that the grader spelled Buck's last name incorrectly, but I have to believe there aren't too many certified Autographs from the Kansas City Monarchs' great first baseman and coach. Had to go for this one!

 Finished the mini-collection of 1960 Topps Managers!

 Some fun vintage Bowman - one card closer to finishing the 1948 set and now I've started on 1949 with "Bow Wow" Arft and "Happy Rabbit" Rojek...

 ELMER! I finished the Valo Topps run about a week ago, now I'm working on the remaining Bowman cards.

 From the same table as Buck O'Neil, these three were $10 each. Love Andre Dawson's signature, and you can't go wrong with Moose or Alou.

 Choo Choo Coleman rookie, A Then and Now with Zoilo (Zorro) Versalles, and the famous batboy card from 1969 all to the tune of .50 apiece.

The Vintage Guy from MN that I buy a ton from is at the Show - booth #526. He always has tremendous deals on vintage and he's very very easy to work with. He has quarter boxes of vintage! and 50 cent boxes, and some great prices on the bigger names as well. If you are heading to the National Today of Tomorrow, he's worth your time!

I did end up finding some Venezuelan Topps, but I'll save that for another post.

Can't wait for day two (I already know it was a good one!)

National Convention Goals

Heading to my first National Convention this month - It's going to be by far the biggest card show I've ever attended. The best thing I think I can do is to try to make a plan for myself and make some specific goals.

1 - Finish the 1965 O-Pee-Chee Set.

Only 4 cards to go, but it's hard to know ahead of time how many vendors will have even one card from this set, let alone one of the four that I need. My goal is to find all four, but I would call this a success if I can find at least two.

2 - Make some serious progress on the 1964 Topps Venezuelan Set.

maybe find one of these for less than $100?

I have a long way to go with this set, and similar to goal #1, I don't know that I will have a lot of options of vendors with these cards. This one will be a success if I can add another ten percent of the set (37 cards) and/or find a good deal on some of the big names (Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Koufax, etc.) AND spend under or near $100. Looking online, it seems like the options are limited and the cost too high (for me) to add any of  the Hall of Famers from the set...

3 - Find some vintage packs to bust open.

This, I think, will be the easiest goal to meet. The oldest packs I've ever opened are 1978 O-Pee-Chee, so I will look for something from 77 or 76 and call that a successful goal. This is probably the biggest "waste" of money I will make at the show, too, but it's all relative. I'll be turning a valuable sealed item into loose vintage singles, but to me it is all about the experience of doing it...

4 - Find the "Clear" White Whale - the 2015 Topps Clear Kennys Vargas.

Well, either a vendor will have it, or they won't. I plan on finding out. Hopefully I will find it!


HEY! Are you planning on attending the national? We should hang out, check out some cards, maybe make a trade or two in person? Send me an e-mail so I know which day(s) you'll be there!