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.

***

***

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.

***

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!

Afro Diesel

Posted by cardboard hogs on January 19, 2015

Since i’ve been getting back in to the whole blogging lifestyle, i thought it would be cool to show off some of the purchases i’ve picked up over the past few months…mostly summer pick ups.

This week i wanted to focus on the graded Redskins rookie cards. Obviously, i didn’t want to blow my budget on all of these cards but wanted something really nice to add to my collection. Initially i wanted to shoot for 9+ cards but realized very quickly that most of those cards were a little ridiculous in price, so as i’ve done with most things in my life, i lowered my expectations.

The first card is of one of my most favorite football players, John Riggins aka Riggo aka Diesel. My very first jersey was of John Riggins and his #44 when i was 7. Now, you have to understand that i grew up in San Antonio and this was the early 80’s. A time when the Cowboys rivalry with the Redskins was serious and fierce. Both teams seemed to meet in the playoffs each year and there was a lot of hatred for the Redskins where i grew up. But i didn’t care. I loved the Hogs and the Diesel.

This little gem is in pretty nice shape although the centering is off just a tad. The 8.5 seems to be a little high maybe? I’m not card grader and i was happy with the price on this one, so I couldn’t pass it up.

John Riggins was one of those players that was kind of a bad ass that would plow through the defensive line and sway defensive back away like annoying gnats. Kinda like what Marshawn Lynch has been doing in recent years. Riggo has managed to take great care of himself after retirement and stays busy. Still a little crazy and an off beat personality but he’s doing well for himself.

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. 🙂

Sick Pickups!

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 22, 2013

The title is true, but not in the douchey overused term that is used way too much in this hobby today. My whole family was sick, including me. The wife and baby had the H1N1, aka swine flu and luckily i avoided it. There has been a minor breakout of this strand of flu in Portland and SW Washington…but i somehow missed out, I guess I’m just strong like that!

The sick pickup part comes in to play with an evening visit to Target to get a few physical mending supplies like juices, fruits and drugs. I’ve been avoiding retail packs for a while now because of the unlikeliness of getting anything worthwhile. I ended up buying a few packs just to see what the cards look like, knowing I wouldn’t be happy with any of them. I guess I was delirious and more than happy to fill my slightly sick body with new shiny football cards. Here are some fun scans of what i spent my hard earned loot on.

The first pack was Absolute Football from the fine folks over at Panini. I pulled two QB’s that I have a lot of respect for, even though i can’t stand either of their teams. The Cowboys dislike should be obvious…they are the hated rivals.

The Seahawks one may not be as clear for you. I find their fans to be a little over the top. I’ve been to football games in Dallas, Houston, Seattle, New Orleans and DC. The fans in Seattle are hands down the most belligerent and a little too handsy for my liking. Plus they act as though they’ve won 3 Super Bowls. They haven’t, but the Redskins have. Now, that’s not to take anything away from Wilson. I think he is great. I actually love the kid. He’s modest and works really hard and I believe he is going to become one of the leagues great QB’s. He’s also an underdog which I always love.

I also managed to pull a serial numbered Phillip Thomas card.

Next up is Topps Prime. The base cards of this set are decent. I feel that the photos are way too tight on the players and would love to see a full photo of the athletes…maybe that sounds weird if you read it out loud, but I think you know what i mean. Is it me or is Milliner’s smile a little goofy?

Jordan Reed! I have the hobby version of this card, now the thinner retail version is in my sole possession.

Ok, so this next card really caught me off guard. Is this seriously the best photo Topps could get of Matt Ryan? I have to believe there are at least 15 other photos that could have been used, but they chose this shot. He’s even staring in to the camera while giving his center the business! I’m sure Mrs. Ryan is none too happy about the photo immortalized on card stock…at least it’s not a butt fumble card…Mr. Sanchez…

The final pack was PRIZM. YES! I loved Prizm last year and I think this years cards are equally as nice. Love the quality of the card, the texture and photography of them as well. Target has a small rack pack that came with 3 red parallel cards, and here are two of them. Both are often injured RB’s. These red cards have a nice sparkle to them, almost like a disco ball or some fancy pop star sequence…very shimmery when viewed in person.

Spankee, if you like the Wilson…it’s yours.

Here are two more cards. Michael Vick. He would look good in the Burgundy and Gold next year as a backup to RGIII and could teach him how to survive in the NFL. Maybe teach him how to slide too? Or just run out of bound before being tackled? #justsayin

Kenjon Barner. Showing this one because he’s a Duck and so am I…sort of.

The last two cards came from the Prizm pack. I’m guessing they are not part of any Prizm insert or chase set as they have none of the qualities of Prizm. BUT, they do have a QR code on the back that takes you to an online video. Unfortunately Kenny Stills doesn’t explain his hair in the interview which I think is a huge missed opportunity. Terrance Williams broke my heart this afternoon, but that’s nothing new.

Road Trip Packs I

Posted by cardboard hogs on June 2, 2013

Since I was going to be on a road trip from 4 days, I thought it would be cool to pick up a couple of packs along the way from a local Target or Wal Mart. Living in Portland, we don’t have too many local Wal Marts and Target is my only real retail option, which isn’t bad at all…I’m just saying.

Our first stop along the way was in Amarillo, Texas. Yes, I know. EPIC by all possible definitions. I picked up a couple retail packs of the Football version of Topps Archives. I already had a couple of Hobby pack versions and was curious what would come out of a Wal Mart.

And here we go!

Love the Wilson Card, great action photo and love the look in his eyes. Wilson should be one of the next great QB’s in the league for the next few years…just hope his team stops knocking mine out of the playoffs.

Next up was a mini Calvin Johnson Jr. card with some sweet color gradation from top to bottom.

and finally, the last card i’d like to present from a retail wal mart pack is a Darrelle Revis gold parallel from the ~~New York Jets~~ Tampa Bay Buccaneers!

Top 12 All Time Redskins: Santana Moss

Posted by cardboard hogs on May 27, 2013

In the next installment of my all-time favorite Washington Redskins players, Santana Moss checks in at #8.

TanaMan came to the Redskins in a trade that sent Laveranues Coles back to the Jets in 2004. I was more than happy to see Coles go. He had become another prima-donna receiver and complained about everything with the Redskins. There could have been some behind the scene things I don’t know about, but if you don’t want to play for my favorite team, than I don’t want you to either. Bringing Moss in was a bit of a coup for the Redskins. They needed a big play receiver that could stretch the field as well as someone who could become a possession receiver. Moss ended up filling both roles very nicely and was a part of the late season push for the playoffs in 2005.

Moss will forever be one of my favorite players for what he did on Monday night in Irving, Texas on September 19, 2005.

When the schedule for the 2005 season came out and i saw that the Cowboys and Redskins would be playing on September 19, the day before my 30th birthday, I knew i had to get tickets. I got them locked down and went overboard on the seats, but was able to justify them by saying it was a gift…to me, because I’m special! 🙂 Finding someone to go with me was difficult and I was turned down by my father (I know…) and a couple other friends. So, that left my Mom. Who doesn’t love their mom? They are the best. She came through when noone else would and dealt with the 100+ degree temperature in the dumpy old Cowboy stadium to be a part of her son’s favorite team playing their biggest rival. During the game, I could tell she wanted no part of the action on the field and was more than ready to leave…especially seeing how poorly my guys were playing. Until the last 4 minutes of the game when the noodle armed Mark Brunell tossed two bombs downfield to a double teamed Santana Moss for game winning touchdowns. Magnificent. Not to mention, by the time the touchdowns were made it was actually September 20th…an awesome birthday gift and one that hasn’t been matched since (although my wife came really close three years ago with amazing tickets to a game at FedEx Field.) One more thing, the Dallas Cowboys Trifecta of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin were inducted in to the ring of fame during halftime of that game…even more reason to have this game at the top of the list!

Santana is getting close to the end of his career and I doubt he will suit up for anyone else. He is still productive and can put up some great numbers with RG3 getting him the ball this season. I would love to see him put up a 1,000 yard season and 5TD’s this year. Could be a nice way to round out the career.

$09 BS Santana Moss Refractor 53:199$

#8 – Santana Moss

#9 – Chris Cooley

#10 – Gary Clark

#11 – Brian Orakpo

#12 – The Hogs

One Dollar and Five Cents Pt. IV: Non-Redskin Redskins

Posted by cardboard hogs on May 13, 2013

Getting back to the copious amount of cards in Marv’s boxes…I found a lot of good pieces to plug in to my PC for Santana Moss. He’s been with the Washington Redskins for so long, I forget he put up some really nice numbers with the New York Jets in the first four years of his career, most noteworthy was 2003 when he had over 1500 all purpose yards. Not bad for an undersized receiver.

Box Break: 2012 Panini Absolute Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on May 12, 2013

I am way behind on reviewing some of the boxes I have opened in the past few months, mostly focusing on cards that i’ve picked up at card shows. I have a few lined up, so here is the first one. Panini Absolute Football.

Like most of Panini’s cards now, you can buy a retail version and a hobby version but the quality is quite different. As a set collector this would drive me insane, but since i don’t plan on putting this set together, it’s no worries to me. I do think this is a great way to differentiate between a hobby card and something you can pick up at Target, good for the hobby and collectors in my opinion, but allows the fringe collectors to afford different brands of cards.

Card Design – 4 of 5

The base card for Absolute is pretty clean. Photo of the player on the front along with his name and position as well as the team name along the bottom. The greatness of these cards for me is the vertical gradation in the colors from left to right, or right to left depending on your culture. The gradation gives them a nice light show or a cardboard Pink Floyd laser show look to the card. Groovy.

The one thing i’m not liking about these cards is the card stock. Seems really thin for the amount of money these guys cost. I also wasn’t crazy about the overall packaging by Panini. You get the display box, and a pack box…with a cello wrapped cards inside. That’s quite a bit of packaging for a box of cards, wouldn’t you agree?

Living in the Pacific NW, all the extra wrapping is heavily frowned upon. Yes, we are those people that bring their bags to the grocery store and ride our bikes to work in the rain. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Photography – 4 of 5

Panini has the waist up photos locked down. They do a great job of focusing on the player, allowing them to take up most of the photo space available on the card. All the cards i’ve seen appear to be game action photos and give you a good view of their eyes. No over processing or out of control editing for these cards either. Another good job by Panini.

Hits – 4 of 5

No Redskin hits here, but when you get any card autographed and numbered to 10 it’s a good thing, and it’s an even greater thing when that player is AJ Green. This may be one of the best hits i’ve had in a long while. It is a sticker auto, but i will let that slide for a perennial pro bowler card numbered to 10! Not really a Bengals fan or an AJ collector, but the guy has proven to be a beast in his first couple of seasons.

The other hits were fairly nice as well. Brandon Weeden came through with a nice looking jersey card but he looks completely unimpressed in this photo…or thoroughly confused, you be the judge?

I Like the Terrance Ganaway autograph, it has a nice flair to it. The card itself has a ton of great color in person and is very attractive (much better than the scan!)

Review

I was pretty happy with the box i received. Nice hits and i really love the design of these cards. If i have a few extra bucks to spend on cards laying around next year, i can see myself picking up a box for 2013. Although, with my desire to spend less on boxes and packs I doubt i can justify the cost for the value.

Opening each pack was cool, although i think it was a bit excessive packaging. It was nice that i could open one or two as i wanted, can’t have everything i guess. I think Panini can do a better job of their future packaging. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Box Break: 2012 Topps Magic Football

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 27, 2013

A busted box of Topps Magic Football has been sitting on my stack of cards for some time now just waiting to get judged, and now is the time.

Magic was something that i got into (cards, not tricks) a couple of years ago on a whim at Target during a deodorant shopping event. I saw a blaster box just sitting there and thought it would be a cool purchase and was hooked from that point on. I loved the retro look and the college unis on simple borders. Loved it so much so that i ended up buy a few more boxes from Target but never completing the set or buying any hobby packs. The following year, 2010 i wanted to pick up a hobby box to see if i still had a crush on these pieces of cardboard and sure enough, the love was there. I loved the photography and simple borders as well as the card stock. Although i do love shiny cards, i am a sucker for matte finish stuff that is done well. Again, i bought a bunch of cards, but couldn’t be bothered with completing the set…just wanted the few Redskins and any hits i could pull. Now, in 2011, it got a little tricky…and extremely annoying. Magic had become a set that i was tuned in to on when it would be dropping and where i could pick up some good packs. BUT, as Topps likes to do sometimes, they changed the rules, moved the goal posts and upset this collector. The only way to get a box of Magic was to purchase them from their online store and pay their exorbitant shipping fees, which was about the same price as the box itself if i remember correctly. SCREW THAT, no thanks. I was able to pick up a few singles from COMC and ebay but no packs, since they weren’t really issuing those this year. I never really found out why Topps decided this was a good idea, but would love to hear the reasoning if someone can help?

After the previous years experience, i had pretty much forgotten about the Magic cards and moved on with my life as we do with Topps at times. Until, i saw they were going to be releasing a new set and boxes that you can purchase at a store…holy crap! You mean i can buy cards from a store and not online only? Normally i wouldn’t be so snotty about this, as i am totally cool with purchasing online, i just don’t want my only options to be online purchases. Takes away from the fun of busting packs on a Wednesday afternoon after work.

So here is my take on the 2012 version of Topps Magic.

Card Design: 4 of 5

In keeping with the simple style, Topps has again followed through with the same KISS theme. Minimal information is on the front, but you get the basics; name, position, conference, team helmet, and a whole bunch of stars that make no sense to me. The banners blends in nicely with the border and unfolds to reveal the critical information like a scroll with an oversized shield.

The backs are nice and include some fun little facts with the Magical Memoranda. You don’t get your typical stats, but they tend to highlight some important information and single game stats for your FYI. As usual, nice card stock and the lovely matte finish. The matte finish is nice in a world of glossy cards. They have become the rarity in the hobby for the most part, save for the vintage inspired sets.

Photography: 5 of 5

The thing that i am most drawn to this set about is the photography. They have HDR’d the crap out of the photos and really over processed them, but i think it works well for these and tends to give the players a greater level of detail and grit. My wife is a photographer and she tends to stay away from over processing as it always looks…you guessed it, over processed. When you are doing family portraits or architectural photography it can become a distraction, but for professional athletes it works well.

Look at the intensity in those eyes!

Hits: 4 of 5

The hits with this brand are minimal, which is fine with me. I believe collectors get too hot and heavy about the hits. If that is your thing, this set isn’t for you. If you are OK with getting a nice auto or two than you may be happy with Magic. I ended up pulling 2 autographs and a redemption card. So, it’s not just Panini that is slapping me with redemption cards, Topps does it too. I’ve stated my thoughts on the redemption card here before and thought about it a little more. Still don’t like it, but maybe it’s not that bad…assuming you actually get the card. There have been times when i forgot about my redemption cards and come home to a manilla envelope. It’s like a little slice of cardboard heaven when you get one you weren’t really expecting.

There are a couple of subsets in the cards as well. Nothing to exciting. As a matter of fact, i must say that the Charismatic Combos is not only a weak insert, but a terrible name. Charismatic Combos, christ that’s terrible.

The ultra mini cards are cool, but a little too mini for my man hands. If i don’t get these in some penny sleeves quick they will have rounded corners.

There are also the Supernatural Stars, which are not that existential or starry either galactically or professionally.

Magic also has the Magical Moments inserts which makes sense, because it’s Magic. Drew Brees is on a 3 Mile Island. Cute.

I do like the Enchantment cards, especially the one that i pulled…big smiley face for the RG3.

There were also these other good looking young running backs that have some nice upside to their careers.

One of the autos i pulled was a Kaepernick. The HDR affect does his tats some serious justice although his auto is crazy sloppy. An odd thing about this card is the photoshop flub with his hands. It looks like the photo editor cloned his left hand over the football…kind of a crappy job for a big time player. Let’s try harder next time Mr. Topps Photoshop editor.

Review

Overall, i do like these cards a lot. They are simple and clean and the photos are nice. It’s a basic card and the price point isn’t too excessive for what you get. I haven’t decided if i am going to build the set, i did manage to get quite a bit of unique cards and minimal doubles, so i will see how i feel about it. I do hope that Topps issues these cards again next year and does not do the online only thing.

Here are a couple of the Redskins cards i pulled from the box. Funny that they decided to include Jabar Gaffney since he wasn’t on the team this year and he is wearing RG3’s number. Technically, there are two Redskin cards with a player wearing number 10.

Topps Magic, I like you.

Mall 205 Card Show

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 11, 2013

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a card show and since my last post, so I will tackle both in one post this evening!

Each month, we have a show at Mall 205 here in the Portland area. Not sure why they do these things in a strip mall, but that’s how they do it up here I guess. Maybe they pick up residual traffic from mall shoppers? I don’t know. It provides a great opportunity for me to get new deodorant at Target, some new kicks at the Famous Footwear (remember that name…) and chase it all down with a slice of pizza from the place no longer called pizza schmizza although it still looks like a pizza schmizza.

As of late, I’ve been on a purging phase and have managed to get rid of a bunch of CD’s at the local Everyday Music and have some cash for the card shows. So, I had a slightly bigger budget than normal for this trip…the excitement builds. In general, I don’t go to these shows with goals or objectives because I tend to look for the same stuff and hit up the same tables. This time though I really wanted to pick up some new Robinson Cano and Rickey Henderson cards along with any shiny new Redskins cards I didn’t already have. I was only successful with the latter goal.

Having gone to these shows for the past couple of years now, I’ve developed a rapport with a few of the guys and gravitate to their tables first. My first stop is always Tom. Somehow he manages to have some new Redskin stuff for me each time at fantastic prices. He’s always personable and friendly as well as having a tremendous amount of great cards. In my visit with him, he pulls out this triple auto card with RGIII on it that I can only manage to drool over. No idea how much it was and really didn’t want to know…it was too much for me, but a beautiful card no less. I walked away with a new orange Kerrigan card and a serial numbered Fred Davis along with a couple other items.

$11 TC Ryan Kerrigan Orange Refractor$

After Tom’s table, I typically just move down the line knowing the other tables I want to visit will have some good stuff for me. I worked down the line and ran into a new guy, Greg who had some nice stuff to offer. He dropped a Kirk Cousins auto Prizm and Alfred Morris in front of me…$10…why, yes, thank you.

The next couple of items I picked up came from a couple of different tables at good prices…can’t go wrong with any RGIII in my mind.

One table I visited was very interesting. The guy was selling DVD’s, comics and had a box of cards with a really nice and shiny Derek Jeter on top…so I stopped to take a peek. His sign said ‘this box $1 each’, but he tells me that if I buy 5 cards or more, I can have them for 50cents each…hmmm. If I buy 4 cards, that will be $4 but if I buy 5…it will set me back $2.50. I used to be really good at math and from what I can recall it was in my best interest to max out my purchase at this guys table. Unfortunately, I only managed to pick up 5 items. 4 Jeters and my only Rickey Henderson of the show.

As I worked my way to one of my new favorite table, for some reason I have never asked for the guys name…but I always spend a good amount of money on his stuff. He always has great stuff and gives you a nice deal…plus he’s really cool. I was sifting through his 50% off box when I heard some loud cursing. I turned to see some kid darting out of the aforementioned Famous Footwear with some new Nike kicks in his hand. The kid was fast, but I can see that corporate check on those sneaks a mile away.

THE KID WAS HELLA FAST!

He was being chased out of the mall by Paul Blart’s slimmer brother, well, slightly slimmer and Segway-less. This mall cop had no chance, but it was a valiant effort. I should have offered him a slice of my Hawaiian pizza, they were on sale that day…daily special.

Anyways, back to marked down cardboard. Homeboy hooked me up with some RGIII goodies along with an Aldrick Robinson auto and a Ryan Torain auto that I’ve passed up many times. At least I can cross it off my imaginary list.

Last stop before my wife kills me for being late. New table, friendly guy and great cards that were marked down to 80% off. 80% off! Why in the hell would I pay retail when I can get great cards for 80% off! The guy had a few boxes of nice serial numbered cards with Clinton Portis and Santana Moss cards that I could use for my PC. Unfortunately most of the cards were in their previous teams kits, but still guys I loved to watch.

01 UD Santana Moss Game Gear Jersey510:1000

04 PP Clinton Portis Jersey 39:100

02 TD Santana Moss 139:199

All in all, a great show that included great deals, food and a petty crime. Can’t beat that at all. I ended up staying under my budget and walked out a happy guy…plus it was sunny and warm on a March day in Portland, Oregon. Life is good

One last thing, I couldn’t help but notice this sign and think of The Chronicles of Fuji.