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.

Crazy Card Show success!

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 9, 2014

This past Saturday, Mall 205 had their monthly show (although there wasn’t one in February). I hadn’t been to a show since the end of last year (although I stopped at the Cedar Hills show for about 20 minutes) and was really excited to see some new product and pick up a few cards for my various personal collections (way too many of those things for me right now). As usual, I stopped by Tom’s table.

Tom is always my first stop. He’s extremely personable, easy to talk to and is more than happy to pull cards for the regulars…like me. He also works at Check Out my Cards (COMC.com for the cool kids)…which is cool…really cool. They seem to be one of the few companies that are working to strengthen the hobby rather than dictate it’s direction. Their new plan for databasing cards seems like a wonderful idea and one that the hobby is in desperate need of. I’m not really sure how the details work for the database creation, but that’s not my job to figure out…only to contribute in some way.

Now that i’ve completely lost track of what I was talking about…I should get back to the card show.

Tom’s table.

So a few weeks ago, I sent Tom a list of cards to fill my Redskins Topps team sets and didn’t think much of it. Apparently Tom took the list very seriously and hit me off with a huge stack of cards from the 70’s and 80’s nearly obliterating my checklist.

Redskins Lot 1

So freakin’ wonderful. Plus! He put them all in penny sleeves and top loaders. Double Plus! He told me he pulled most of them off the COMC.com inventory, which saved me a few dollars in shipping and more than likely a few dollars in the asking price.

Needless to say, I was blown away. The only bad thing was the stack of cards was going to cost me my card show budget for the day. I sifted through what Tom had and saw he had a few other cards I didn’t need. Pulled the ones I wanted and needed and we made a deal that allowed me to troll around the show for a few other bargains. I was more than happy to part with a chunk of my cash for this chunk of cards.

I need to get my checklists updated for the 90’s and 2000’s now. Gotta keep Tom busy, you know. Once again, Tom, if you are reading this…thank you very much. You saved me some money and no telling how much time.

Here is a peek of some of the other Redskins cards I got from Tom. New stuff and some rando’s that will soon be crossed off a list thas has yet to be generated. Yes, those are mini cards, not some weird proportion bending photo.

There were also these kids. Some new rookies, some Cooleys and some 2000’s thingys.

I did pick up a few other Harper’s, Hanley’s and Strasburg’s at the show which I hope to scan and post in the coming days (months depending on the lil boys needs…)

Box Break: 2013 Topps Magic Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 7, 2014

It’s been a while since i’ve picked up a box of cards. I have been doing my best to stay away from boxes of cards unless I plan to put the set together since I have terrible luck with the ‘hits’. I’m not a hit chaser and don’t plan to be one either…but I do love opening packs of cards. It takes me back to being a happy go lucky kid with $5 in my pocket riding my bike to the Stop’n Go for a few packs of 1986 Topps or Garbage Pail Kids and tall bottle of coke…man, those were the days. Back when $5 could get you way more than 8 cards to a pack.

As you can see from the title, the box is Magic Football from this year. Unlike the last couple of years, the rookie class isn’t too exciting…but I love this brand and here we go!

Card Design: 3.5 of 5

Just like the past couple of years, the base card design is pretty simple.

Topps does it’s best to give these cards a sort of retro look with the banner and stars. Nobody really does that anymore, do they? seems like a throwback to the 50’s. I’ve always felt like Magic is Topps version of Heritage for football, minus the copying of vintage designs. Instead of copying them verbatim, they take bits and pieces of the cards to create a ‘new throwback’ look, which i love.

I also like that they used a good solid card stock with no glossy finish. I’m kind of old school like that. The glossy cards are great and have a time and place, but i really enjoy a card that isn’t slippery or covered with texture. Just some nice smooth cardboard with a little friction. Such a weird comment…

Photography: 4 of 5

Photography, yes, photography. The photos are highly over processed and in most cases i despise this. Technology is a great thing, but a heavy hand can ruin a great photo.

I was quite impressed that Topps was able to get a photo (almost looks photoshopped, eh?) of Josh Freeman’s short lived stint with the Vikings (is he coming back to the Vikings next year?) As i’ve mentioned in previous posts, I enjoy photography and my wife is a professional photographer, so we have our fair share of HDR imagery discussion in our home. Fun huh?

This fairly new form of photo processing is everywhere now and definitely has its place…and I think sports card photography is that place.

The photos on these cards always look really sharp and you can see a lot of texture and depth on each card…i guess for some, this may make up for the lack of glossy-ness.

Look at that smile! And those Tattoos!

Look at those crazy eyes! And that old school mesh jersey top!

Hits: 3 of 5

As i’ve mentioned, I do not by boxes for the hits. I am not that type of collector. Magic does offer three autographs in their boxes along with the occasional relic or memorabilia card. The autographs are stickers though…ugh stickers…better than redemptions, but man an on card autograph is so great! Since the rookie class wasn’t too stellar this year, the autographs weren’t that stellar either.

Brandon Myers – New York Giants

Kayvon Webster – Denver Broncos

Khaseem Greene – Chicago Bears

Magic is owned by Topps, so they fill your box up with little hits and parallels and a whole bunch of other shit that makes collectors want to collect things they don’t really want to collect. Like some micro cards with Drew Brees and Arian Foster on them.

or how about some receiver action with Cal bookends of Keenan Allen and DeSean Jackson sandwiching Anquan Boldin from the base white mini.

How about some green border minis with these three dudes.

Or what about these black border minis!

and a Hall of Famer Blue Border mini!

I could have done without these groovy Aerial Attack inserts…but my wife loves Cam, so here honey.

The colors on this thing…holy crap…ho-lee-crap.

The Rookie Enchantments are back, but aren’t that enchanting.

Markus Wheaton for all of you Steeler fans out there.

and a Cordarelle Patterson card.

Desmond Trufant, a man that Steve Smith respects.

Review

All in all, i love the cards. I was really hoping to put together a set, but after seeing the 330 card set checklist and heavy dose of SP cards i’m not sure that’s gonna happen. I need to think about it. My collection is a bit chaotic right now and this won’t help with the chaos. I really wish Topps went a little lighter on the SP’s. A box of these guys won’t set you back too much, but if you plan on putting the set together you could be dropping well over $100 on this set and i’m not sure that’s worth it for this group of cards.

and a MINI!

Bacarri Rambo…the best name ever.

Hope you enjoyed the review…my pack breakdown for 2014 Topps will be up soon. I’m waiting for everyone else to release theirs before I put my thoughts out there. 🙂

Leather Helmets and Art, Pt. VI

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 5, 2014

One more 1950 Bowman card!

I completely forgot about this guy…or maybe I ain’t no good at countin’ higher then five. Howie Livingston, number 24. My favorite number! This handsome young fella got his NFL start with the New York Football Giants. I can forgive him for that…you have to let these things go you know. These guys play football for a living and don’t have the same passion for their teams like we do. So you have to get over it and appreciate them when they are rocking the Burgundy and Gold or whatever color combinations your favorite team wears.

Like a lot of these mid century guys, there’s not much information out there without doing some serious research which I’m not too keen on doing at this point of the evening. A quick peek at his NFL stats lead you to believe he was quite a beast on the field. He had 9 picks in his first year in the NFL and 29 for his career. But, as you can see from the back of his card his position was halfback and hd also had 313 yards rushing in the same season. He was a dual threat before dual threats were dual threats.

This kid also punted!

Howie has a strong chin. I wish this card has some clouds or blue sky in the background. The bland green (is it really beige?) background needs a little life.

Leather Helmets and Art, Pt. V

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 3, 2014

The last card. Mr. Frank Spaniel from the University of Notre Dame.

And it’s my favorite card of the bunch.

Awesome imagery with Mr. Spaniel rushing towards the end of his short one year career. This card has all the makings of a wonderful piece of cardboard. Great color. Great facial reaction. Great hair…look at that freakin hair…it’s perfect. And the clouds, JEEBUS! The CLOUDS on a beige sky no less. I think a perfect blue sky may have blown my mind and I wouldn’t be able to write about this card. My only issue with this one is the kids thumb. It’s like a mutant thumb or maybe a regressive thumb stump. I wonder if it was chopped off in a table saw accident. Not sure why that would come to mind…there’s a kid that rides my bus. He’s a high school kid, super chatty and likes to sit next to me sometimes. One thing I am not is super chatty. Especially with strangers. Extra especially with strangers that could be my kid. Anyways, he was telling me a story about how he chopped off his finger with a kitchen knife one day on accident. Really! Is that the kind of thing you tell some random guy on a bus? I don’t think so. This is a perfect example of too much information from him and a case of the i don’t give a f***s from me.

Getting back to this 64 year old piece of cardboard. It’s pretty cool huh? I’m really loving these 1950 Bowman’s and think i have a couple more to pick up and one I may never be able to pick up. But that’s part of the chase right? Cards that are out of our financial reach and that you will never get to own? Maybe i can get one that’s severely damaged and has Giants scribbled on it or something? It’s all about the chase…

Leather Helmets and Art, Pt. IV

Posted by cardboard hogs on February 2, 2014

What a dud of a Super Bowl…I didn’t have a dog in the fight so I wasn’t too concerned with which team won. Although i’ve made my feelings known in the past about the football franchise from Seattle, they were hands down the best team in the NFL all season. So i guess it’s good that the BEST team won. I really like that Russell Wilson kid too, he seems like a genuinely nice and grateful kid. I’m really happy that he is now a Super Bowl champion…if only the game could have been a little more exciting.

Next up for the 1950 Bowman Redskins I picked up from e-bay is Harry Ulinski. My second Harry…speaking of which, have you read Fuji’s post on Bush?

Harry is one of those guys that doesn’t have much information on the internet about him, unless you dig relentlessly and go like 12 pages deep on a google search of him…which is always kind of a creepy thing to do anyways.

Harry was another one of those mid-century american kids that defended our freedom in Asia. Doing so for four years of his life with the United States Air Force.

He was also lucky or maybe unlucky to play under the great Bear Bryant. So, this kid was a Center in the no face mask era, but his nose looks great. I would image that a guy playing in the middle of the field like that would wind up with one of those great boxer noses in no time. You know, those flat bent ones that seem way too long for the faces they are on.

Leather Helmets and Art, Pt. III

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 31, 2014

It’s Friday night and I must admit that after a very long week of work my writers block is in full effect mode. So, for the next chapter of old ass cards I decided to pick a footballer with slightly less exciting credentials. Mr. George Thomas from the University of Oklahoma

This George guy didn’t have the greatest of careers in the NFL accumulating two more touchdowns than i ever had. He also rushed for a buck eighty-nine and dropped 208 yards receiving in his 3 year career. He is what some may call a draft bust as he was the sixth overall pick in the 1950 draft. Now, he’s no Jamarcus Russell or Greg Oden but i’m sure he expected to have a better career when he joined the NFL. Especially when you see the success he had as a Sooner. But hey, he has two first names!

This guy also has a cool yellow helmet and a red stripe and grips the ball like a man on a mission. One leather chin strap and eyes to the future…with his Business Administration degree. If there is one thing i have to fault the kid for, it’s that he decided to end his career with the New York Football Giants. On the bright side, he only played 7 games for them.

I couldn’t find too much information on ol’ Spike, but I’d like to imagine he did well for himself. With that drive and determination, along with a degree and sharp mind. Nothing could stop George Thomas from achieving his professional and life goals. Here’s to you George Thomas and both of your names…that’s one touchdown per first name!

Leather Helmets and Art, Pt. II

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 30, 2014

Bill Dudley, the manliest of men.

The back of this card isn’t big enough to note all of the amazing things Mr. Dudley was able to accomplish in his 9 year NFL career. Three of which were spent as a Washington Redskin. In his impressive NFL stint, he was quite the scoring machine and was able to put points on the board from defense, offense and special teams. Nobody does that. According to wikipedia, he is the only player to score a touchdown by rushing, receiving, throwing as well as a punt return, kickoff return, interception return, fumble return, a lateral pass AND kicked field goals and the soon to be obsolete PAT’s.

Holy crap!

If only he could have gotten that elusive safety!

Mr. Dudley also served in the military for three years defending our freedom from evil doers. After his playing career he ventured in to politics, because being a great football player, joining the military and being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame just wasn’t enough. This isn’t a politics blog, so i’m not going to get in to all of that stuff. I really just want to show off this beautiful card.

Look at those clouds! Look at the bold border around his shoulders and head. Just look at it!

Part III coming soon!

Leather Helmets and Art, Pt. I

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 29, 2014

I love shiny new football and baseball cards as much as the next kid, but nothing compares to a classic piece of cardboard that’s older than your parents…nothing. The flimsiness of the cardboard with the faded images and slightly rounded corners accompanied by the occasional crease or ding cannot be matched by any fill in the blank-fractor of any kind. That said, I still love me some shiny cards. But this post isn’t about shiny new things. It’s about well taken care of old things.

As i’ve been attempting to get my ducks in a row i’ve been craving some older, vintage Redskin cards. Every time I hit up the local card shows and shops I gravitate towards the newer stuff because that’s what most people deal in. Who doesn’t like the hits??!!?! Typically when they have vintage cards, it’s baseball…which i adore, but at this point in my hobby life I do not collect. Right now, for me, vintage football is where it’s at. This led to me trolling the electronic bay for some great deals on 1950’s and 1960’s cards and I was lucky enough to stumble across a seller that was breaking old sets and selling the singles. The items he had appeared to be in excellent condition. At least what i could tell from his scans. Another bonus was that he started everything at the ebay standard of 99cents. This is the point where my attention was grabbed by the short hairs…and now i am going to share.

Initially I thought I should do one post showing everything but decided it would be more funner-er to do multiple posts and I could get more value out of the posts. PLUS! It would allow me to do a little research on these guys that i’ve never heard of.

Let the good times roll.

First up, Harry Gilmer. Card number 66 of the 1950 Bowman Football set. Beautiful, eh? Check out the cedar fence in the background and that old school burgundy and gold sweater. AND THAT FREAKIN’ HELMET. HOLY CRAP! You are staring at the eyes of a man. A man that is tougher than any sports card collector i’ve ever met. These cards are unbelievably beautiful with the same look and feel as the baseball version…it’s almost a shame that they are not larger as they measure approximately 2″ x 2 1/2″. They just don’t make ’em like they used to.

Needless to say, Harry is a very stoic man from Tuscaloosa, Alabama and just may be a little too intense…or focused? The back of his card tells me that he was the number one bonus choice. Which is the equivalent of today’s modern draft, but different I guess, because he was a bonus selection. I’m sure a lot of work went in to scouting and researching the players although I don’t think Bert Bell was mightily booed when he came to the podium to announce; “With the first pick in the NFL draft, the Washington Redskins select Harry Gilmer from the University of Alabama!” Harry would then kiss his mom and baby mama before heading out of the green room with a meticulously tailored suit, crazy striped socks and a timeless, yet modern fedora. OK, maybe not.

The last thing i want to mention and that i’m loving about these old ass cards is the write up on the backs. I can’t help but read it in that old sports guy voice. My favorite note is the part about the leg injury that “kept him in hospitals and on crutches the whole season.” Hospitals, as in multiple. Could Mr. George Preston Marshall not get Harry in a good DC area hospital? Maybe they were dealing with war veterans at the moment.

Finally…Harry was 100% on passing attempts for the 1945 Sugar Bowl against the Duke-ies going 8 for 8. Man, the game has really changed…Peyton does that on one 80 yard drive, and I hope he does it this Sunday multiple times.

Trade Post: My Cardboard Mistress

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 26, 2014

When I broke down a few weeks ago and picked up a few retail packs of Prizm from my local friendly Target store i pulled a couple of cards for Adam over at My Cardboard Mistress and sent them along. Adam was nice enough to return the favor with the Redskins he pulled from his recent hobby box of Topps Strata.

As he mentioned in his blog posting, the Jordan Reed autograph numbered to /99 was on it’s way…and it’s a beauty. The colors of the card are great and i love the thicker card stock on the hobby cards. I have been able to pick up quite a few Reed autos and he isn’t exactly winning me over with his ‘less is more’ autograph approach. Just a simple JR is all we’re getting right now. Still a pretty nice card though.

Adam also sent along the base version of Reed’s card.

The last card sent over was the Topaz/orangy/goldish parallel for Pierre Garcon, or boy waiter if you are prone to speak the language of love, French. Maybe, you’re Canadian, eh?

Thanks Adam! Love the cards.

I should be receiving my box of Topps Magic this week and doing a break review of the exciting cards i pull from the box. If i come across any Hokies, they will be headed your way.

Also, Dave…if you are reading, your Heritage stuff is on it’s way in the morning. Hope it helps.