Organizing at 2005

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 22, 2020

After numerous years of threatening to get organized, this year it is truly happening. It’s a slow go, but I’m getting there. How do I get there you ask…well, let me give you an example!

The 2005 Washington Redskins…and google docs. That’s right two things that have nothing to do with each other have come together for today’s post. A post about a team that was anxiety inducing to watch and a blast to look back through the cards from that year.

Now, when I mention google docs…there are layers to this. I like, well…I require and love organization. I can’t stand it when things are not in the place I expect them to be. I also love and require a ‘complete’ version of something. If is buy #3 and #7 of something, it’s only a matter of time before I’m searching for numbers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6. I could go on too depending on when it all ends, but I think you get the idea. I’m a completionist…not sure that’s a word, but neither was ‘blog’ 15 years ago. I like to have a COMPLETE list of things. That’s an incredible challenge when dealing with sports cards, especially modern sports cards…

Parallels

Rainbows

Inserts

Variations

Serial Numbers

SP’s

SSP’s

1 of 1’s

The list goes on and on and on and I want my list to contain each and every single one of these cards. Now, I know I won’t get everyone. That’s insanity and I don’t have that kind of cash. That’s not the point. The point is the chase. The pursuit of the low hanging Topps flagship vs. the extra hard to find Upper Deck something or another for a specific year with a specific color variation and the SN on the back…or front. (Do we have opinions on where those should be? Front or Back? I’m a back of the card guy FWIW). So, in order to get a complete list, or at least that I can feel is 97% complete I take the inventory of cards from the Beckett database and Trading Card Database and combine them into one google sheet…here’s the Washington Redskins version (name change will happen at some point soon…). Insane I know. The list covers every card, some objects and a few magazines from what I could find from 1935 – Today. That’s upwards of 70,000 cards….seems like there would be more, but 70k is what I like to call – A SHIT TON – of cards. The frightening part is that I’m sure I’m missing a few. I’ve already found a few cards I have that are not in the google doc. It’s only maddening if I know about the missing misses…a bit of Schrödinger’s plates going on…ok, maybe not. So, yeah…the list…it’s insane. I’ve tracked everything up to 2005 and have combined the lists up to 2012. Some more work ahead of me, but that’s part of the hobby I enjoy.

Here’s the list…if you dare!

So, the cards from 2005. The team from 2004. The pain.

Here’s a sampling of what I’ve checked off the list, an image of a few of my favorite cards or players from the ’04 season and ’05 designs.

First off, the Quarterbacks. When you have two QB’s that’s ok, because a great backup is hard to come by…but when you have three…that’s too many. It’s like an exponential thing. Two is ok, Three is what the hell are you even doing!

Next player is LaVar Arrington. For a few years he was hands down my favorite player. Never really reached superstardom at Linebacker, but he was a solid player. Then a few injuries piled up and he was quickly overlooked and shuttled off for other players that didn’t really match his caliber. Seeing him in New York as a Giant was a heartbreaker for me…

Chris Cooley was great. He had a tremendous sense of humor and once even showed off his prick while (I’ll let you google that and have it in your search history) snapping a pick of the playbook…not sure what was more egregious…NFL playbooks are sacred.

Santana MOSS! Absolutely loved this guy in Washington…so much so, that I’ve been collecting his Jets cards as well. He was so incredible and passionate, how could you not want a guy like that on your team. He was traded for Laveranues Coles…who, ironically was traded to Washington from the Jets originally. The second trade worked out better for my team.

The next guy, Carlos Rogers was…well…I really thought he would be special. A high draft pick in ’05 that just didn’t pan out as a big time player in DC. He moved on to the 49ers and had a bit of a rebirth, then on to the Raiders where he ended his career.

Ok. Here are a couple Miami guys…I could have grouped Moss in here as well, but these two were special. I love Portis. One of my top 5 Washington guys of all time…Love everything he brought to the team, including Sean Taylor. Not saying that Portis was the reason Taylor came to the team, but he did push hard. To be honest, I don’t think it would have been wise for Joe Gibbs to pass on such a talented player…still miss ST21.

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The last group of guys are Redskins greats, guys that had a huge impact on the organization. All three are in the Redskins ring of Fame. Bobby Mitchell and Charley Taylor are both in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

oh yeah, found this one too…Alex Smith Rookie Card…along with one of the numerous Browns QB draft picks Charlie Frye…and future Browns QB Jason Campbell. Let’s play six degrees of separation with these guys some day.

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Since 2020 is almost done. YAY. I thought i’d share the most 2020 video from one of my favorite groups in the world. RTJ – Run The Jewels. Love these guys!

A Legends Auto

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 6, 2016

I’ve been a Redskins fan my entire life…well…almost, since i was 6 years old. Through the years, i’ve done my very best to learn about the history of the team and the some of the greatest athletes to wear the burgundy and gold. One of the guys that was ahead of my time as a fan, but someone that i have a ton of respect for and wish i could have watched play is Hall of Famer Charley Taylor.

One of the greatest receivers of all time and a fellow Texan!

Charley retired from the NFL in 1978 as the all time leader in receptions with 649 catches, 9,110 yards (1,488 rushing) and 79 receiving touchdowns (11 rushing). The first couple years of his career, he was sort of a dual threat as a receiver and running back. He was rookie of the year in 1964 after posting over 1,560 yards rushing and receiving…pretty impressive!S

Seeing theses numbers over a 13 year career really reflects how the game has changed through the years. With top receivers picking up 90+ catches a year and over 1,000 yards each season you tend to forget about some of these all time greats of the game that helped define what we now watch on sundays…some rule changes and cultural shifts have helped as well.

Shifting gears a little bit, but staying with Redskins having the sir name of Taylor…i missed posting something on Sean Taylor during the 9 year anniversary of his untimely passing. I have one un-posted card in the queue…and here it is. He would have continued to be an amazing player…very sad for all of us Redskins fans and a player that will always be loved.

$05 TF Sean Taylor Green Refractor 178:199$

Just found a fantastic new hip hop documentary on netflix last night and it kept me up all night, “Hip-Hop Evolution”…i thought it was done incredibly well with tons of great back stories and interviews. This is what i was hoping The Get Down would be…glad the story was told one way or another. Check it out if you are interested in this sort of thing…

Ode to the Glory days…not really.

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 7, 2015

The Redskins suck. I get it. They are a terrible football organization owned by a man who cannot make a good, sound football decision to save his fans lives. Each time they try something that seems like a good idea, it bottoms out and the wheels fall off way too often. One beacon of hope is the hiring of a legitimate, talent finding General Manager (Scot McCloughan) that has been highly involved with two, currently, well run organizations (Seahawks and 49ers…also Packers). They guy is an apparent scout savant. I’ve always wanted to be a savant at something. But my talent is limited and my skill-set has not reached great levels in anything of relevance. I am a pretty decent collector of things and at one time a great organizer of said things…but those days have been altered by life and the responsibilities of being a grown up.

Collecting cards and organizing them is a huge stress relief for me. I can get lost in them at times and love looking at the dated styes of the card design, jerseys and equipment. As i’ve finally gotten around to organizing my Redskin team sets and realized i have a gigantic amount of duplicates, i thought what better way to organize them then to make a Redskins Frankenset! Yes! A Frankenset. I will take all of the duplicates and numerically add them to a new binder filled with ultra pro platinum sheets purchased from my favorite LCS The Sports Room! Wonderful!

I’ve come up with a couple of basic rules:

1. no duplicates of the same set on each page, don’t be fooled by some of the images here, those are just cards behind missing spots in the binder.

2. all time favorites will get their card numbers, i.e. Art Monk get #81 and John Riggins gets #44. this may be tough as it could be difficult for some players…or not?

3. a unique player on each page, so no duplicate sets or players on the same page.

These are fairly generic as of now and i’ve still got quite a few cards to go through before i can add anything to the Frankenset, but it’s a start.

At some point, i will create a spreadsheet and track all of this wonderful stuff.

side note…Rickey went to Buffalo Wild Wings today for lunch but didn’t really want to make an appearance, Rickey doesn’t like wings apparently…

One Dollar and Five Cents Pt. I

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 24, 2013

So, with each of the card shows i go to here in Portland, OR, I tend to notice the same dealers at each event. They tend to have the same stuff. There is the vintage guy, the mcfarlane figurine guy, the supplies guy and the guy selling 80’s junk wax. There are also guys that bring loads of stuff in $1 and nickel boxes. These guys are the ones with all the hidden gems, but require so much of your time. Typically i quickly look through a row, maybe two of these boxes but just don’t have the time or motivation to peruse through thousands of cards i have no interest in. This past Saturday though i made a point to stop and look. I had a list of items i was looking for and since the show was closer to my home i could use the extra 30-45 minutes that would have been dedicated to travel and devote them to looking through a million cards.

The great thing about these boxes for me is that i see cards from the period where i didn’t collect and think, ‘when the hell did this come out?’ Plus you always manage to find a few gems in these boxes. The guy at the Portland show that has the best boxes to pick through comes up from Salem which is about an hour away and somehow has tons of new stuff each show. I have no idea how he gets these cards or where he puts them when he gets home, but there are at least 20 boxes that are laid out on his table.

If you have the dedication to go through them you can always find stuff you are looking for and will never walk away disappointed.

My goal with this search was to find some Redskins that are missing from my binders and anything else i thought i could use. Here is a peek at some of the good stuff.

These two guys were well before my time, but research tells me that they were great Redskins and immortal football players that are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Charley Taylor and Slingin Sammy Baugh (who apparently is from the same area in Texas where RG3 grew up) Full circle.

Ken Houston was a dominant player in his day and played a major role in a few big games with the Dallas Cowboys back in the day. I remember when that rivalry was an actual rivalry. It’s hard to call it that when one team is the doormat of the division, but that is changing now with ‘ol Bobby Three Sticks. Remember the double bar face masks and airbrushed logos on the helmets? We’ve come a long way since 1979.

The thing that’s great about these two cards is that they are pretty similar. These photos are from the era when it was good to be a Redskin fan and when people hated to go against them in RFK. The Hogs, The Diesel, The Fun Bunch…and Joe Theismann with the single bar and both legs fully operational.
The next couple of cards has a special place in my little black heart. 1985 was the very first year I purchased a pack of cards and they were the 1985 Topps Football cards. The landscape cards with black borders. Black border cards are the absolute worst possible design for 9 and 10 year old boys. At one point I had this complete set, but for some reason decided it needed to be beaten to shit and all the corners should be rounded rather than square. Needless to say, i’ve been recollecting them once again, but with the care of a 37 year old man with an addiction to cardboard. I have always loved this set and it it right up there with the 1986 Topps baseball set as one of my all time favorites. It could be due to the fact that these were the first two sets i completed and what got me in to it, or it could be that they are timeless designs…you can never go wrong with black, any architect knows that.