Rickey goes to Powells

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 10, 2015

…but only to browse…

I ~~like~~ love books, especially those big books with lots of images. The books with eye candy, great graphic layouts and really cool images. Sometimes I even read the words that are printed in the books…but that takes more time…so it doesn’t happen as much. One of the great things about working downtown is being close to Powells, one of the greater things about working at the office I work is having Powells right across the street…like, i can see if from my desk across the street…well, not at my new desk, but at desks that i’ve sat in before. Powells is a great place to stroll around after lunch and see what’s out or what’s on sale for that month. Most of my visits are just visits and not purchase visits…you know, to get inspired. I need that as an architect, visual inspiration!

So, Rickey and I went to the art+architecture section which is in a much better spot with the revised layout. they always had a layout table there, but the one that’s in now is much larger and better for laying out books, but this visit wasn’t about laying out books, it was about finding photo ops for wallet card Rickey! The first stop…was…wowza…Not really sure what’s going on here, but hey, Rickey thought it was cool.

Rickey is all about helping and lending a helping hand. Sometimes the greatest of the greats need some inspiration, like LeCorbusier. It’s not easy being an architectural genius and making ribbon windows and pilotis look magical all the time…but Rickey is there to lend a smile and a wave a wand of confidence!

Rickey likes space. I liked Interstellar. So this was appropriate for the moment. This book was pretty cool actually. Lots of great images of different space suits and equipment from a fashion perspective.

My favorite architect is Peter Zumthor. You kids in LA are about to be blessed with his renovation and complete reworking of how LACMA is being laid out. Before the wifey and I got married, i convinced her to visit a thermal spa in Switzerland, which really didn’t take much arm twisting. Anyways, the Therme Vals is a spectacular place to visit if you ever find yourself near Zurich. Rickey likes it lots.

At this point, Rickey wanted to see photos of Rickey’s greatness. Rickey likes him some Rickey…and Donny Baseball.

But most of all, Rickey likes it when Rickey sets records. Unbreakable records. Rickey is also pretty fond of this jersey.

Wallet card Rickey has a hot date tonight.

Record Shop Rickey

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 6, 2015

With my minimal card purchases lately and a revival in the Hogs Blog, i’ve decided to do another wallet card post with Rickey. Now, Rickey can be a moody fella and not always interested in some randomness, so i dragged him along to my annual post lunch Tuesday record shop visit. Working downtown, i have two great options for vinyl digging…Everyday Music and my personal favorite 2nd Ave. Records. Today’s visit was Everyday. Now, I wasn’t on a hunt to buy anything (that’s for my lovely wife) but to see what was out and what may peak Rickey’s interest…Take a look at what we found.

Being an lifelong fan of the rap music i always look down that aisle first. Taking a quick scan, what do i see, but the classic doggystle album! Rickey isn’t a fan of soft core porn so he did his best job of covering up the booty on the cover. Unfortunately, that bat is in an odd location…Snoop isn’t too crazy about Rickey blocking the booty, so he gives him a lil’ nudge.

Sometimes you can look in to the mind of a great artist and see greatness. In this case Flying Lotus’ beam of light is actually Rickey Henderson! The glowing orb from a glowing legend, look at that Rickey smile! Side note, this album is wonderful…my favorite Lotus album to date.

There are a couple of things that Rickey doesn’t like. One of them is the way this dude spells his name…and that suit. Jeezy Creezy! That suit man. I can overlook the finely feathered hair, but that suit! They name though had Rickey up in arms…sorry for all the Ricky Skaggs fans out there, I know there are multitudes of you people.

Now, hanging out in a dusty old record shop (which this isn’t really one of those…), you run in to some Riff Raff. This Riff Raff likes babies and puppy huskies, but who doesn’t really. I love puppy huskies. They are soft and cuddly. Babies on the other hands are crazy work and will pee on you. Whether or not you believe Riff Raff is a Neon Icon or not, this dude is blowing up like crazy…not my cup of tea, but to each his own.

Rickey had a good day…but not as good as Riff Raff’s life right now…

Rickey visits Target

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 5, 2015

First day back at work and the first day of toting a baseball card in my pocket all day long. This is a fantastic way to start the year…in order to save some money around our house, the wife and i have been diligently packing our lunches on a daily basis. Typically i hate left overs, but i hate not having money either…that really sucks, like really really sucks. I also really hate staying in the office all day long so it’s a double whammy for me. My solution has been to eat quickly, not stomach cramping quickly, but fast enough to make a nice little walk around downtown P-Town for 30-45 minutes to look at people and things. It’s also a great time to hit up the Target for few random requirements like lithium batteries and cliff bars. These are both vital to me staying active and healthy. The battery for the bike speedometer and the cliff bars to keep me from donking off mid-day. Today was special though. It was a chance for wallet Rickey to see the world…unfortunately i was in a rush today so we didn’t spend too much time with the photo shoot, but needless to say, Rickey likes transformers…you can’t wipe that smile off his face.

See, he has a huge smile…it’s so great to see Rickey being Rickey in the toy aisle. Rickey will be making a trek to the record shop tomorrow afternoon and just might make an appearance at Whole Foods. It’s a big day for Rickey, so he needs to get some rest…his corners are rounding out. It’s time for a nap.

A New Year, A New Post

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 4, 2015

Man, oh man…it has been a very, very long time since i’ve had the time to post anything here. Not sure if anyone has checked in periodically or just assumed i’ve dropped off the face of the blogosphere earth. I still collect, i still read other blogs and i still am trying to get organized. That has been the main reason for my absence, well, that and a very active and passionate 2 year old exhausting all of my free energy. I love him dearly, but i have cards to write about…

As i mentioned, i am still doing all the things that we do as collectors and i’ve managed to make some great progress in getting organized and up to date on my checklists…thanks to a few late nights on the home computer and an extended vacation from work. My main focus has been on getting everything logged from the 1950’s-1990’s. Everything was sweet until i hit the abyss of the mid 90’s when subsets and serial numbers and various parallels became all the unreasonable rage. This was also the period of time when i put the hobby aside to be a 20 year old male. I’ve regained my focus and will have some checklists updated in the next few weeks to months as they get incorporated in to google docs.

Enough with the words. Here are some photos of a few cards from the 1950 and 1952 Bowman sets i’ve picked up the past 6 months.

Normally, bloggers like to save their best for last. Not me. This one cost a few nickels but was very much worth it to me. It’s a beautiful card and centered fairly well…the corner are in pretty nice condition too. I looked at a few 8’s that were available on eBay and were well outside what i could spend and feel ok with myself. This one wasn’t too bad and it’s in great shape.

One of the things that i wanted to do with my set was get each of the Redskins cards from 1959 and earlier graded, so i searched around and picked up what i could from eBay and from the local card shop just around the corner from me, Hoopla Sports. The guys there are great and have nice deals on what i’m looking for…this isn’t one of them though. This one was scooped from eBay. Love how i drop the curve on you huh? completely unrelated story and then this image.

I love the smaller format cards from the 50’s. The card designers and artists did an amazing job with them and holding these pieced in your had you can really appreciate the amount of work that had to go in to each layout.

Collecting redundancy happens quite a bit in our hobby. You pick up multiple variations of cards…red cards, yellow cards, blue cards…rarely, but sometimes, you pick up the same card that comes in two different sizes like this large Dick Alban…large Dick…

OK, here’s my shot at ending on a high note. Another Slinging’ Sammy Baugh card…1952 Bowman Small. I waited and waited on this card in hopes of finding one at a great price from eBay and finally stumbled across a guy that had it listed as BIN. I made him an offer that he quickly refused and came back with something a little better. After another number from him, i finally got it shipped. A little more than i hoped to get for it, but much less than others had their versions priced at.

We have two shows coming up this month and i’m hoping to make one of them. The Cedar Hills show is much closer to me but tends to be less occupied by dealers and i end up walking away feeling like i wasted my time…but it is closer…if not, i will hit up the show at Mall 205 to see what they have going on…hopefully my friend from COMC, Tom will be there?

One last item, i am going to attempt to do the wallet card “challenge” and see what 365 days in my side pocket will do to a 1986 Topps Rickey Henderson. I chose this card because it has my favorite player on it in my favorite baseball teams jersey…and it was the first set i ever completed. Here is day one, which started yesterday…so 363 days in my side pocket.

…side note, i’m rockin’ a money clip this year as i do not like wallets, so let’s call it the money clip challenge here.

Happy Birthday Rickey and Merry Christmas

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 25, 2013

Today is the 55th birthday of my childhood idol. Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson.

The Man of Steal. He was the all time stolen base leader and the greatest leadoff hitter of all time. I can’t think of any position or spot in a lineup where you can say that about a baseball player and not get twenty other names from twenty other people. Maybe it’s a bold statement, but I don’t think there really is an argument for his greatness at the leadoff position. Fielding…eh…not the greatest.

Rickey Henderson 7

He was the reason I became a Yankee fan (but still secretly love the A’s) and the reason why I wear #24 any chance I get. Whenever people asked me in a confused manner, “Why are you a Yankees fan?” They are only more confused after I tell them because of Rickey Henderson…I’m a very loyal fan and hitched my wagon to the Yanks in 1985. I was 9 and there was no going back as far as I was concerned.

Hall Of Fame Baseball

He was also the reason I fell in love with baseball and insisted on stealing as many bases as i could in little league. I also stole them by sliding head first. The coaches never liked it, but the one time I went in feet first I rolled my ankle and got a nasty strawberry…never jammed my wrist sliding head first thank you very much!

He may not have been the greatest teammate of all time and maybe he was a little self absorbed…or aloof 🙂 But he is a Hall of Famer and remains my all time favorite athlete.

This will always be my favorite card. I purchased this with $12 of my allowance money from the West Avenue Card Shop in San Antonio, Texas over the summer of 1986. Funny story about the West Ave. Card Shop…a few years after I purchased this card along with many others through the years, they were busted for buying and selling large amounts of cocaine. I guess they were using the card shop as a way to launder their drug money…and here I just thought they had bad allergies with all the sniffing and wiping of their noses. They were just coke-heads.

Happy Birthday Rickey Henderson as I’m sure you are reading this wonderful post about you on your day of birth that you share with baby Jesus. I hope everyone out there has a wonderful Christmas! Stay safe and keep collecting!

Cedar Hills Show – The low budget version ep.II

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 28, 2013

One of my goals at last weekends show was to pick up some Robinson Cano cards. For whatever reason, he is difficult to find at our local shows and shops…at least inexpensively. I was hoping to get a handful of Cano cards for a dollar or two each…didn’t happen. In fact, I didn’t pick up one Cano card. BUT, i did manage to find a few nice cards of other players I collect…and here they are.

The first card is the classic Mattingly Topps Rookie reprinted from 2001.

Next a Rickey Dodger incarnation from the 2003 Upper Deck set.

And a Rickey A’s from the 1981 Fleer Sticker set. Nice!

Also picked up an Allen and Ginter Mini

And a Prizm. This is both a cool card and one of my least favorite card. I really have a tough time with the photoshopped logos and team names.

The Hanley was part of a 7/$5 deal and it’s numbered to 25. Can’t beat that.

A Crawford Prizm in his Los Angeles Baseball Club jersey…photoshop…

Last up area few Jeter cards. I specifically said I wouldn’t purchase any Jeter cards at this show because he is one player that I have never organized…but always manage to pick up one or two when they are marked for a $1. Also, I couldn’t pass up this trio of cards or the mini. All were part of the 7/$5 deal. Sometimes you justgottagettajeta!

and the Mini!

Cedar Hills Show – The low budget version ep.I

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 23, 2013

I’ve been away from the blogging for a while. No real reason, other than we’ve been busy with life and work…as well as enjoying life away from cardboard and computers.

There was a show this Saturday at the Cedar Hills mall that i attended after having missed the past two shows…so I have some catching up to do. I’ve also received two boxes from Dave and Adams Cardworld that i need to open and review. So, there will be a few posts coming up in the next few days or weeks. I’ve done a lot of scanning tonight and am getting close to nodding out, so i’m going to do a one card post. It’s one of my favorite all time player and a card that I am happy to have picked up for $12.

This was by far the most expensive card I picked up today as I was really trying to stay in the nickel, dime, quarter and dollar boxes. Steve from COMC had the card at his table and as usual was extremely friendly and more than happy to help look for a couple of cards. I ended up picking a few other pieces from him and the 12/$1 boxes…but those are for another post.

I am going to bed, but will be posting like mad the next couple of weeks…I hope. 🙂

GIANT Man of Steal

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 12, 2013

I feel like the more and more cards I buy, the further away I get from purchasing BASEBALL cards. I have no idea why this has become the norm for me, not intentional…just the way it’s become. Baseball has always been my favorite sport and the sport that I LOVE.

Last week I stopped by The Sports Room and made a big pick up.

A giant 1984 Topps Rickey Henderson.

With all of the mini craze Topps has gotten themselves into the past few years, I’d love to see them bring back these big boys. Maybe do a box topper with 3 or 4 cards in a pack of the Archives set next year…could be fun to get a few of these frame-able cads with Robinson Cano or Hanley Ramirez in a 1987 Topps design, eh? Just a thought.

Silk, Mettle and Zumthor

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 26, 2013

It’s Friday night and i’ve been tracking the NFL draft the past couple of hours and days to see whom the Redskins would pick up. I don’t follow a lot of college football, so most of these guys are complete strangers to me. When it’s all wrapped up and the draft is complete, i plan on doing a quick post of the guys that were selected for the Burgundy and Gold. – HTTR!

I couldn’t really think of a good post, so i am going to dig in the crates a bit and post some cards i purchased a month or so ago. They are of my childhood idol Rickey Henderson and they are all pretty cool.

The first one is the Copper (looking) Proven Mettle card numbered 58/99. The card shows a very young looking Rickey in some classic A’s garb with his patented inquisitive stare/squint. These cards are pretty cool and seem to be very popular on the ebay. Not sure how much value they would hold if the apocalypse hit and coins or metal were the only currency accepted. I’m not worried about that though, but we do have an emergency kit along with some water in the basement…and extra cat litter to make the mother in law happy.

The next card is the wrought iron version serial numbered 16/50. This coin is a little better looking than the copper looking one, but has a little ding on Rickey’s nose…not cool, but that happens i guess. The profiles of these coins sticks out from the plane of the card, so i guess these things happen. Still a nice piece to add to my Rickey Henderson PC.

The last Rickey Henderson card is the silk manufactured version of his 1980 Topps Rookie Card. The card is pretty cool and i like the casing around it, frames the card nicely, plus it’s pretty thick. Also like the fact that they don’t have a plastic cover over the card so you can feel the material. Nice. I know Fuji is putting this set together, hope to see it soon…that could be a pretty cool set.

I’m going to go off on a non sports card or sports card note here, so please feel free to move along if you like.

One last item since i’m talking all time favorites. Today is the birthday of my all time favorite Architect, Peter Zumthor. He turned 70 today. My wife and I were lucky enough to venture to one of his few built projects in Vals, Switzerland…the Therme Vals. As an architect, we tend to plan vacations around what buildings we can visit and my wife is a willing participant most of the time…but she was super excited for this trip as it was one of the most heralded thermal baths in Europe and nestled in a tiny Swiss Alps village. Needless to say we had a fantastic time visiting the various rooms and the views were some of the most amazing sights i had ever experience…truly humbling. Zumthor is a bit of an enigma in the Architecture world. He hasn’t built very many projects, around 20 i believe, but he has become world renown due to his dedication to his projects and the sites they inhabit. Zumthor was a Pritzker Prize winner in 2009, which i guess would be the sports equivalent of the Hall of Fame. He is a true craftsmen and his buildings are works of art. If you are interested, here are a few links to some of his projects as well as his wiki page.

Peter Zumthor Wikipedia Page

Peter Zumthor Interview

Therme Vals

Kunsthaus Bregenz

Saint Benedict Chapel

Rickey and Donny Baseball

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 14, 2013

The only real reason i became a Yankee fan was because my favorite player, Rickey Henderson was traded in the winter to the Bronx Bombers. I was a 9 year old kid that was easily led astray and more than willing to change my allegiance as i saw fit. At the time, the Yankees were ok. They did have the history which I was really not that aware of at the time but something i was more than willing to embrace. Gehrig, Ruth, DiMaggio, Mantle…endless names of a great sports franchise.

Through the years, my friends have given me a hard time about being a Yankee fan and question why i’m not an Astros or Rangers fan. My response is always the same…Really? Astros or Rangers? I couldn’t get down with those rainbow sherbet jerseys that Mike Scott and Nolan Ryan rocked in the 80’s. As for the Rangers, they played in the Dallas area and I associated that with the Dallas Cowboys…and there was no way i was signing up for that team, ever. So, I stuck with the Yankees and embraced the team. Granted, i have always had a little piece of my heart set aside for the Oakland Athletics since they were the first team i followed and the one that Rickey is most associated with.

At our Portland show this past Saturday, i wanted to get some new Henderson cards…and do a little digging through the nickel and dollar boxes. As you all know, there is a certain time and physical commitment involved in searching through these boxes, but it’s always worth it. The thing i love the most about doing the digging is finding cards that i have never seen and were issued at a time when i wasn’t collecting.

It also reminds me of the endless amounts of teams Rickey played for…I honestly forgot he played for San Diego.

I do remember those fun Met years. This is actually a pretty cool card to. The technology and card design in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was special wasn’t it?

The last Rickey card may or may not already be a part of my collection, but it only set me back one nickel…so i couldn’t pass it up.

Here are a couple Donny Baseball cards i was able to find. I LOVED the Stadium Club cards, but was never able to get a Mattingly card. It’s been a long time coming Mr. Mattingly.

As a side note, this is my 42nd post. My wife and I got a little date day Saturday afternoon and went to see the new Jackie Robinson movie, 42. Although there were a few parts that were campy and overly sappy for my liking (it is a family movie after all), I felt the movie was very well done and gave a great description of his role with integrating baseball. It was a 2 hour movie, so there is only so much you can comment on and everything cannot be addressed, but I would highly recommend it if you have time. Jackie Robinson Day is tomorrow, so get your 42’s out!