the 72’s…my quest begins

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 12, 2017

Ok, so this is the third in the trifecta of 1970 baseball card set build starts. Again, to recap. I had zero intention of starting to build these sets but just couldn’t pass up the condition and price of the cards from what i could see. So, in order to keep it short tonight lets go!

72 TO Lot 1

A couple cards of note here are the Billy Cowan card with the perfectly situated photographer and Angels halo. Not sure about the history of the card, but i can imagine the photographer was thinking…”man it would be awesome if i could capture Billy with the halo over his head if can just squat down…just a little…” The other card is the Billy Martin card. I like Billy for a few reason. He was a badass, for good or bad, he was a tough guy and didn’t take crap…that kind of guy, the kind of guy that would get in a bar fight just of the fun of. Not that i condone that kind of nonsense, but it’s just a little entertaining to me…Also, he was Rickey Henderson’s favorite manager and in my book, that’s good enough for me.

72 TO Lot 2

The star of this group of cards for me is the Dave Cash card right in the middle. He was the starting third baseman for the Pirates on September 1, 1971…the first time a major league baseball team ever started an all black starting lineup, plus it’s a pretty sweet looking card.

72 TO Lot 3

Big card here is the Bob Grich…i guess. There’s a lot of chatter about him being a Hall of Famer lately. Honestly, i not too familiar with him or the impact he had with the Orioles and Angels during his 17 year career. Just skimming over his stats, he seems like one of those guys that had a really nice career and did some great things, but i’m not convinced that i see a Hall of Famer with him…could be wrong, would love it if someone told me why i was wrong as i love to learn more about players before my years.

72 TO Lot 4 Favorite card in this group, Matty Alou. He looks like every other Alou too. What a family business, huh? Love it when you get the 2 or 3 generations or multiple brothers playing professional sports. Makes me thing about how competitive those families must have been growing up, i would imagine a ton of very intense HORSE games in the driveway and maybe some bloodshed…or tears at the very least.

72 TO Lot 5 Small group for the last run, but must say that my favorite card is the checklist. Only because it’s a 45 year old card with very nice corners and zero marks on it…zero! Those red blotches are the dealers marks that mean something to him…or somebody, but not me. The Mickey Lolich card is pretty sweet too.

So, if you have some nice versions of these cards in your extras or doubles boxes drop me a line and let me know if you can help complete some of these sets. Here is the link to the cards that i have…or need, depending on your point of view i guess. 1972 Topps Checklist.

The family and i had a great time this weekend and were able to enjoy the amazing warm weather on Saturday and Sunday…hope you guys had a great weekend and aren’t one of those towns buried by snow.

Here’s a nice song for the moment…been listening to some jazz this week and got stuck on some Flying Lotus for some reason. He’s not truly in the jazz lane, but this song has a nice jazzy feel to it…plus King Kendrick.

the 71’s…my quest begins

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 11, 2017

Next step in collecting the 1970’s is the 1971’s. I made a tiny little dent on the collection at the last show and was quite pleased with the cards i was able to sift through. I’m quite picky with my cards condition in general, so it’s going to be a test of my patience and ability to look over a few soft corners in order to complete this set. Black border cards are never easy…imean amiright!

So, here’s what i’m dealing with at the moment, again, not too much stuff at this point but certainly will continue to chip through the set over the next few months and see where i end up.

71 TO Lot 1

Not a bad group eh? No real stars to name here since these guys all came from the commons box, but there were a couple notable names from this group.

71 TO Lot 2

I did get a Cookie, a Cookie Rojas!

When i started going through the box during the show, i had ZERO intentions of starting this set. I wanted to get a little further along with my 60’s needs before i jumped in the 1970 to 1972 sets to bridge the gap from what i’ve already completed. But i saw the Cookie and had to get it since it’s Cookie!!!…and it’s all on the background of Cardboard Junkie…maybe it was a subliminal thing? I’ll get a 70’s baseball card page set up soon, but until then, check out this link for the gaps if you can help out! 1971 Topps Baseball

Side note, i stopped by the card shop this morning after running a few errands and was looking for some Redskins cards and then came across this guy!

16 Elite Extra Ed Riddle :200

That guy has the same last name as me. Riddle! It was cool shiny card that initially caught my eye and upon closer inspection, the name, J.T. Riddle! I’m going to steal a page from Gavin’s collection of Gavin’s and start a Riddle’s collection of Riddle’s!

That’s all i’ve got for the night. Thanks for reading!

My wife and i got tickets to see Ryan Adams later this year at Edgefield…so i’ve been listening to a lot of his older music recently…but here’s something new from Mr. Adams.

the 70’s…my quest begins

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 8, 2017

Through zero planning and foresight…as i do with most things in life…i am beginning the set build of Topps baseball cards from 1970. That’s right 1970.

I was able to venture out to last month’s card show due to some free time i found on my hands. It was an unexpected trip since i’ve been doing the odd months only for shows, so i guess i was overzealous. I had a few extra dollars in my pocket, but not my normal budget so i had to a little more selective with what i picked up that day. I went in with the thought of grabbing a few 2016 base Redskins as well as some San Antonio Spurs cards…both were in need since i’ve neglected both recently.

I ended up stopping by a table that i typically spend a few minutes at and then move on. He’s an older guy…not sure of his name, but he wears some crazy ass Hawaiian shirts most of the time. We’ve chatted in the past, but this time he was preoccupied with another show visitor, so i started digging through his rows of 1970’s baseball commons…which included ’70’s and up of baseball and football. As i was searching for ’60’s set needs, i couldn’t help but notice the large amount of good condition cards i was passing up…and i thought, hey I’m gonna pick these guys up sooner or later. So, i decided with sooner…not to mention, they were marked at 2/$1

70 TO lot 1

As you can see, the cards were in pretty nice shape. This guy is known for having red and black dots on the penny sleeves, which is a bit annoying. Sometimes, you have to stop and take a closer look at the card…is the mark on the sleeve or the card…what is it!

70 TO lot 2

I was really excited to pick up the lot of cards here and wanted to keep going, but i felt that i should move on…but i just couldn’t stop!!! I ended up getting through a row and a half of a 3500 count box. Really wanted to keep digging, but time and money was thin this day.

70 TO lot 3

As you can see i have 42 cards shown…i managed to get a little ahead of myself and in excitement ended up picking up duplicates of 3 other cards. Guess that’s what happens when you don’t have them collated. Not complaining, just saying.

All in all, i’m super excited about the condition of the cards and timing of the set build. I’ve been enjoying slowly…very slowly putting together the 60’s sets via awesome trades, show pick ups and COMC orders i have yet to complete. Hey, if you want to trade, take a look at my checklist here. 1970 Topps needs. The cards i have are noted as ‘1’ in the ‘Grade’ column…i know, confusing. I found the checklist online and didn’t have the desire to edit it…will do it at some point though. Let me know if you can help out…please keep in mind though, that i’m a little picky with my 70’s cards. 🙂

I also picked this guy up from the same table…the name did it for me! Made me giggle…

74 TO Fair Hooker

That’s it…more to come Friday, unless i can get something out tomorrow night. Until then, i leave you with a little something from my favorite band…and one of my favorite songs from said band.

Heritage autograph issue

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 16, 2016

One of my favorite sets each year is Topps Heritage…actually it is my favorite set. I buy a few boxes…actually i buy quite a few boxes each spring and slowly and painfully build a set including all of those damn high numbers. What can i do, i’m a collector that must complete things.

One of the things that i love about Heritage is that it’s not a set based on “MoJo” or “Sick” hits, it’s just about set building…painful set building…but occasionally you get a nice autograph. Only one though, remember it’s not a gamblers box of cards. When you get that one auto it always seems to be pretty cool you know? Most of my autos through the years have been veterans that played during the season of the Heritage re-up which is super cool. Veteran guys that most of the time i know nothing about so it gives me a chance to learn a thing or two about a guy from the 50’s or 60’s. It’s great for the history of the game and for educating the younger or maybe less informed fan of baseball.

Here are a couple autos i received from my 2015 Heritage purchases a couple years ago (don’t think these have been posted yet…if so, i apologize!)

15-th-chuck-schilling-166-red-auto

When i first saw this autograph Red Sox card of a guy named Schilling, all i could think of was a stupid bloody sock and…nevermind…not a fan of Curt Schilling, so i’ll leave it at that. Now Chuck didn’t have a stellar career or a long career, only lasting 5 seasons with the BoSox. But hey, i’d take 5 years as a big leaguer over non years. As you can tell this card is red ink and numbered to 66…because it represents the 1966 Topps set…but also notice the 1. I always like to get the lower number cards thinking that the penmanship is better for these cards. Mr. Schilling has some pretty nice ink…right over the cup region to boot.

Next up is a younger, modern era player…maybe even a future superstar. I think it’s safe to say that the way he’s pitched the past couple of years he’s at the star level for a star filled Blue Jays organization. Mr. Aaron Sanchez

15-th-aaron-sanchez-auto

When i look at this photo, i feel incredibly old. He looks like he could be my son, my incredibly talented son with some additional flair to his signature. Wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the exact same way Amy Schumer signs her autographs…just look at it. I do appreciate how Aaron tucked his signature on his left shoulder over the white uniform. Nice backdrop for a pretty decent autograph.

Step into 2016 with me. Bought some more boxes of Heritage and pulled two autographs.

16-th-jake-wood-auto

Jake Wood. I love this card. Almost as much as the next one. The smile on Jakes face looks like a smile of content and pride…like a guy that is genuinely happy to be where he is at that point in his life. Now, i could be completely wrong as i don’t know Jake personally, but he just looks like nothing is ever too difficult for him. Jake along with ol’ Chuck from up the page didn’t have a stellar career although it lasted a couple years longer. Jakes is still pretty active and is doing some great things in the world according to wikipedia. He continues to play softball at the ripe old age of 79…i can only hope i can still bend over when i’m 79. Jake also mentors Inmates at a Jail in Florida for the “A Will and a Way” ministry. Good for him.

Next guy up, Mr. George Altman.

16-th-george-altman-auto

George to this point of my post has had the best professional baseball career (i see you Aaron Sanchez…). George played with the legends of Chicago Cubs baseball; Ernie Banks, Billy Williams and Ron Santo and did more than keep his own among that great group of ball players. As i mentioned above, this is one of my favorite cards from the bunch. George looks idk an intimidating guy, he is 6’4″. He’s also one of those odd guys that bats left and throws right…sorry batted/threw. He also became the first player in the history of baseball to hit two home runs of the legendary Sandy Koufax in one game…not sure how many guys ever did that, context is everything, but to be the first to do anything like that is a good thing.

Got a few more autograph posts lined up for the next few days. Nothing overly spectacular, but i’m hoping to learn a little about some of these guys. Hope you enjoyed reading!

This is what we were listening to at the office today. Childish Gambino aka Don Glover. Check it out!

Favorite card of 2016

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 14, 2016

Ok, sometimes i like to participate in the activities that other are participating in. I’m human…it’s human nature to want to be around other like minded folks. People that share your same interest, goals…hobbies.

So with keeping up with the blogses, here is my favorite card from the weird ass year of 2016: Big shoutout to P-Town Tom over at Eamus Catuli

2016 Topps Stadium Club card #194 Willie Mays San Francisco Giants OF

This card is my favorite because it’s just a bad ass photo of a bad ass baseball player. From the lower perspective looking up to the foreshortening of the bat in Willie’s hands and the ghost like mirage of the light standard in the background. Stadium club has always been a favorite set of mine, but something i’ve never decided to collect for no real reason at all. The glossy finish of the face and thicker card stock is also extremely attractive to me. The back of the card though, leaves a lot to be desired…so much so that i decided not to scan it, and i’ve been on a crazy back-scanning rampage of late. I apologize for that to those that are not interested in card backs.

Apparently, Willie enjoyed this bat pose so much he attempted to teach a young John F. Kennedy Jr. the proper technique while he was wrapping up his career with the New York Metropolitans. Not sure the cameraman and young John John really got what Willie was trying to do. Sometimes legends are just ahead of the curve i guess.

We got hit with another little snow attack today and it took quite some time to get home…luckily this song was available to my ears and served as a calming agent while i slipped and slid up and down the west hills of Portland to our home.

Lazer face

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 11, 2016

That Redskins game today…jeezus man…my heart is still pounding. Not sure what kind of run those guys have in them this year, but they have to be able to play better defense if they want to even make the playoffs this year. Currently on the outside looking in…the part that kills me with all of this is that i have to cheer for the Cowboys to win the rest of their games to help my teams chances…#HTTR!

Tying up a nice little wooden bow on the Gypsy Oak artwork, i also picked up a couple of the laser cut / wood engraved baseball card replicas. These are really cool pieces of carved plywood showing the selected player in their reproduced 1955 or 1956 Topps issue. Each piece is roughly 3/16″ and the same size as a typical baseball card. They are really light and have a somewhat rough texture to them, but feel perfect in the hand. A very cool and original piece of artwork that i’m super happy to have.

The first card is the Mickey Mantle. I wasn’t going to purchase another one, but felt that if i just got the Mantle card i may regret not getting the other one i had my eye on. The Mantle card is pretty lovely and reflects the beautiful version of the 1956 card. I stole an image from the internets of what the original card looks like vs. the copy of the wood card below. One day, i will own that Mantle card…i just know it!

See! Identical…except for all the dudes in the stands with white t-shirts…it’s dead-nuts.

The other card that i wasn’t planning to get, but had a difficult time passing on was the Roberto Clemente. Clemente is one of those guys that i’d love to collect and have a sweet collection of his original cards…in due time…here is his version of the 1955 Topps reproduced image.

Last image is one that was a bit of a surprise…not a card that i had ordered or given any idea to ordering especially since i didn’t even see it on the website. Either way, when someone forwards you a Sandy Koufax card of any kind…for free, you are generally happy about it…maybe even ecstatic. Here is the image of the reproduced version in the 1955 Topps format. Enjoy!

I was hoping to pick up a Rickey Henderson at some point from Gypsy Oak, but don’t think he’s made one yet…or i’ve missed the boat on it…? I’ll keep an eye out in the future just in case.

So tonight is a big night for me. I’m going to a show of one of my childhood favorites, i’ve been a longtime fan of his music and was super excited when i saw that he was coming to Portland. The last time I saw this guy live and in person i was a 12 year old pre-teen child in San Antonio. That show was pretty epic and one of my all time favorites…still have vivid memories of that awesome night almost 30 years later. I will wait to spill the beans on who it is in my next post and hope to have some shots from the show…in the meantime, here’s another completely random video that has nothing to do with anything. Hope you guys had a great weekend and a great week ahead!

Cabin fever + Homeless shelters + Art

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 10, 2016

The ice has thawed and the snow is melting…today was the first day that we were able to get out of the house and venture around a bit. It was much needed after a day and a half together you need a break from your home, you know? I was super excited to check out a couple of things in our city and show our kid his beautiful city. The big item on my checklist today was a visit to something my new office has been a part of the past few months, the Partners on Dwelling (POD) initiative of Portland.

In a very tiny nutshell, it’s a plan that was set in place with city leaders/visionaries, Portland State University and a handful of architects in town to build very simple, easily constructible housing prototypes for the homeless population in our town. Now, this is by no means meant to cure all the ills that are attached to homelessness…but to hopefully fill some kind of void in many peoples lives. I know there are a ton of political and personal issues associated with this subject and i’m not going to get into that debate…what i wanted to show you though was some exceptional work done by my very talented office. Now, keep in mind this project was designed and built by my coworkers with the goal of fabricating everything for $2,000 or less. I’m not sure that was completely achieved, but what the folks at my office created was awesome…in my opinion…as well as a certain 4 years old. Here is some background on Cabin A from my office…and some images from the visit today.

Funny story, my kid discovered the door lock and waited until the cabin was empty and locked himself in…he couldn’t really get into any trouble, it was just…you know…embarrassing a little, but hey you laugh and move on! That’s my boss looking and laughing at my offspring…luckily the boss is a good guy.

There was a lot of great work done by everyone today, but in my opinion…this was by far the best as it had the smallest footprint, maximized material limitations and was most likely the closest to the $2,000 target. Regardless, all the work was definitely a best foot forward for helping those that need help…and shelter.

Stepping off my soap box now.

I don’t have any cards to show today, but rather some art that i’ve picked up from Gypsy Oak over the past couple of months. I think most you are following him on twitter @gypsyoak and maybe have stopped by his Gypsy Oak website to pick up a couple items of your own…if you haven’t, i would highly recommend it. The pieces that he has available are great and not too expensive for the common man…:). Here are a few that i wanted to share with you guys.

A couple Yankee greats…i’ve always had a fascination with Lou Gehrig…one of my friends passed away from ALS a few years ago…so i’ve felt more drawn to the history of the Iron Horse. The Joe DiMaggio image is just fantastic.

Now…I’m a baseball fan. A fan of all generations and all levels of greatness. Being a Yankee fan, i can appreciate the absolute greatness of Ted Williams and the icons career. Willie Mays is just fantastic and in my humble opinion, the greatest all around player of all time.

Here are a couple more legends as i step further back in baseball time with a couple fantastic images of Honus Wagner and Walter Johnson. These 4×6 images are really fantastic and he’s constantly producing new work.

I couldn’t not get Ali…

Blogging by Hand.

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 4, 2016

2016 MLB Day 1:3

2016-04-04 13.50.33

2016-04-04 13.50.38

2016 MLB Day 2:3

15 MC Bryce Harper 15 DK Bryce Harper 15 LC TF Brandon Scherff 15 PP TF Jamison Crowder

2016 MLB Day 3:3

1967 Topps lot 1 2016-04-04 20.51.47 2016-04-04 20.51.39 2016-04-04 20.51.30

Podoley Mail Day!

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 8, 2015

Mr. Hog got some mail today from the electronic bay. A very nice copy of Jim Podoley’s 1959 Topps card graded PSA 8. Quite a nice card with no real visible marks or scuffs on the surfaces. I’m guessing it was graded an 8 due to the off centering as the corners are pretty sharp.

Jim played for the Redskins for four seasons (1957-1960) making the Pro Bowl in 1957. He crossed the end zone 13 times which isn’t too bad considering how poorly the team played during that stretch going 13-31-4…wretched! Although you would never know it with a smile like that!

Looking at Jim’s stat’s he looks to have been the old timey version of a deep threat or had ridiculous YAC totals racking up an average gain of 23.8 yards for his 16 receptions.

Unfortunately, Jim passed away in 2010 from melanoma…please remember to get your moles checked, wear sunblock and stay out of the sun as much as possible…for real. That cancer is no joke.

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.