Thursday, August 29, 2013

Vintage Trade Bait: Well-Loved '50 and '60s

Below you'll find scans of some vintage cardboard that's up for trade. I'll be adding this to a new page that will consist of all my vintage trade bait. You'll find the link next to my modern trade bait  and want lists at the top of the page. There's more to come in the future.
 
Note that this stuff is all well-loved to different levels of affection, meaning this stuff is creased and stained and written on and certainly not mint.
 
Archie Wilson: 1952 Bowman

Don Larsen and Casey Stengel: 1959 Topps

Minnie Minoso: 1959 Topps

Joe Frazier: 1955 Topps (horrendously off-centered)

Ruben Gomez: 1955 Topps
Harry Dorish: 1953 Topps

Ned Garver: 1952 Bowman
George Zuverink: 1957 Topps
Gus Bell: 1957 Topps
Harry Simpson: 1953 Topps
Eddie Yost: 1956 Topps
Jerry Lynch: 1958 Topps
Don Larsen: 1958 Topps

Dodgers: 1959 Topps


1968 Topps

1947-1966 Exhibits: Earl Torgeson

Jim Delsing: 1952 Bowman
 

If you see anything you like and have some similarly vintage Tigers or catchers in gear to trade, or other stuff I might be interested in, leave a comment or send me an email: dustinhoff86 at gmail dot com. Thanks for looking.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Pair of Trades: Rhubarb and a Shoebox

It's time for some very belated trade appreciation. To start off, Rhubarb Runner and I completed another trade. This was our third or fourth. He's one of my oldest and favorite trade partners. If the alliterative name doesn't sound familiar--and it should if you're reading baseball card blogs!--perhaps his difficult to pronounce blog name will, é rayhahn, rayhahn.

This was the favorite card of the trade, which was a nice and simple one. Topps Heritage usually puts together a pretty classy GU card, and 2008 might be the best with the baseball diamond design and homeplate-shaped bat chunk.

Here are some Rhubarby extras. Great Kalines and Pudges. I kept trying to figure out why Ivan would ever be on a cover that says "Best of the Worst." What the heck, ESPN.

The Runner is always a great trader. If you have some snazzy Twins, hit him up for a trade. You won't be disappointed.

Next up, was a new trader for me. Shoebox Legends and I traded some bricks of Sox and Tigers.

From '94 Score to 2007 Heritage short prints, lots of Tigers I hadn't seen before. I love the super-close-up of Sweet Lou's shiny helmet.

Here are some of my favorite Tigers inserts. I'm a big fan of framed Masterpieces, even if Mr. Shef is featured. A pair of wood-framed Pudges are no scrubs either.

I always appreciate some Verlander rookies.

Shane didn't just send a bunch of great Tigers, he also filled a bunch of player collection needs. These were a few of my favorites.

And some Ripken and Cabreras, too.

Believe me when I say these were just a few of the cards in this huge batch. If you have a Red Sox cards to trade, swing on by Shoebox Legends.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Trades Coming and Going: Vintage from Nolan's Dugout

I sent out five trade packages on Monday. If your zip is one of these, expect some cardboard awesome very soon: 48105, 64076, 23231, 60586, 07030. I think most of you have already received these.

I've got some good stuff in the works, and I'm always happy to trade with more of you if anyone has an offer or interest in my trade bait. I always have more good stuff to trade I haven't posted yet, too, so just ask.

And with the outgoing, there's plenty of incoming to report, which I'm perpetually behind on. Like this very sweet vintage trade with Nolan's Dugout.

Steve Souchock is considered a high number from 1952 Bowman at #235, and it's a hard one to snag. Kyle really helped me out a ton with this one. Besides it being a high number, the card features one of those signature Bowman blue-sky-white-cloud backgrounds. Steve looks so happy, a virtual Elysian cherub Tiger.

Kyle also include this:

Those 1950 Bowmans are tough to knock off the list, too. Jerry Priddy's wooden-fence background is a little less romantic, but no less classic.

Along with knocking needs off my vintage list, Kyle also found a few 2007 Bowman Heritage cards I needed. Only a few more to go. No matter what you think of Pettite, you have to admit that card is cool.

And there were more extras.

Amazing Kalines

Pudge-tastic

Even a glow-in-the-dark Ripken, oddballs and inserts.

Kyle hasn't posted much lately. Let's hope he gets back to it again soon. He's a great trader. Mosey over to Nolan's Dugout and give him a little nudge. He collects Yankees and some of the less junky junk wax cards.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Card from the Pantry: Hall of Fame Autograph

I've inherited a decent amount of cards from family and friends, stuff they find when they're clearing clutter out of their basement. You can guess the kind of stuff I usually get; some ten-year-old's collection of 1991 screaming-yellow Fleer, or something of that ilk.

My mother-in-law recently moved into a new house, and when she was cleaning out the pantry, she found a card for me. Just one. She plopped it down in front of me, and it looked like '90s stuff, but a design I'd never seen. And what I originally thought appeared to be a manufactured auto looked a lot more real than usual.

Enough with the teasing. On with the card:

Once I got home, I looked the card up and found out that the auto is legit. The card's a little beat up, but it's a freaking Jim Palmer on-card auto. How about that!

Turns out, Nabisco was running a box top send-in type deal where you could get Hall of Famer autographed cards. They came with COAs, I think, and they ran this offer with two different sets in 1993 and 1994. Palmer, here, is from the 1994 set. You can read more about these cards here. There were some pretty ridiculously great names in this set: Ernie Banks, Don Drysdale, Catfish Hunter, Phil Niekro, Brooks Robinson, Willie Stargell, Frank Robinson, Bob Gibson, Duke Snider, Sparky Lyle, and, of course, Jim Palmer.

This is such a great card in that it's something really special from the heart of the junk wax era, and it's totally oddball. The unlicensed airbrushing and the simple design just adds to the oddball effect. While designs were getting busier and crazier in the '90s, Nabisco was going back to the basics: a great picture and a real autograph.

So, thanks, Mom, for the coolest find I've been gifted from someone's pantry. To date, that is. You hear that, rest of the family, better start digging through your cupboards for cardboard.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Trade Post: Pudge from The Dimwit

Long long ago, I approached the world's most articulate dimwit about a trade. He'll have to forgive my abysmally tardy posts, as anyone who trades with me must.

Anyway, it was one of those short and simple trades. Three cards for three cards. And they were good ones:

I collect all Pudges, and here we have two great cards featuring the Fisk. This Masterpieces card is one of my favorites. He's mean mugging through the eye-black. On the other side, we have a bright and sunny Fisk, who'd be happy to help an old lady cross the street. Don't ask that other Pudge, though. He'll block that other side of the street and force that old lady into a collision at the plate.

For the third card, a classy looking black border Verlander from GQ.

Great cards. Thanks a ton, Sam. Be sure to head over to The Daily Dimwit for a great blog and, if you're lucky, a stellar trade partner.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Cracking a Hanger of 2013 Topps: Lots of Royal Blue Stuff

Everyone's showing off Ginter, so that means it's about time for me to show what I got in my hanger of boring ol' flagship. For my birthday, the good ol' Ma wrapped me up a box of 2013. I haven't opened much from anything this year, because, like every year, I'm cheap. I buy discount, always.

But I won't stop Ma, if Ma so chooses to gift me the new goods.

So what did I get?

A few green sparklies. Pretty nice names to get Hosmer and Pujols. Two Royals out of the three greens in the box. Keep this in mind. Spoiler alert: it's the theme of this box. Oh yeah, and it's the title.

Some more inserty inserts. Love those Calling Card inserts, though Pap is about the worst card I could get.

Then a bunch of these Chasing History thingies. I was pretty excited to only get one current player in Kemp and the rest all Hall-of-Famers. These are some regal-looking cards.

And finally, a crapload more Royal blue. I'm happy to land a hit, even if it is a Moustakas, which really has no place in my collection. I guess, for novelty's sake, it's the first piece of blue jersey I own, I think. Pulling a camo parallel feels pretty lucky, too. I think Lough is actually doing decently lately, too.

So, a pretty decent box overall, even it the colors were all wrong.

Friday, August 9, 2013

I Drove to Texas for Two Cards

I recently made a little road trip from Tennessee to Texas, which was a pretty insane climate shock for a Michigander. It was under pretty sad circumstances, to help my little sister in a time of grieving. As sad as the situation was, I still got to do a road trip with my awesome sis, who has been noted on this blog in the past for her cardboard gifting.

So, the south is pretty dern hot, eh. Beautiful, though. I actually really enjoyed all those mesquite trees and stubby cacti in west Texas. But that water, man. Holy hell, that's undrinkable!

I found a little mall card shop in little sis' hometown of San Angelo. Sportsmaniac is a little mall shop. It was nice and clean and had some lovely cards. Me, I prefer musty messes of disorderly dime boxes. The closest they had to that was a $2 box. I found two pretty neat cards.

I don't really care about Gordon Beckham, but it's a piece of hat! How about that? Do you like my hat? I do not like your hat.

I couldn't pass up a piece of "college worn hat" just for the sheer novelty of it. The piece is all stained and stitched and looks to have maybe an ink stain. I love the really used game-used cards. This may eventually end up as trade bait, but for now it's a neat card to have.

And I found this Mike Trout Heritage Minors rookie. I figured that's just too good of a deal to pass up for $2. Arkansas Travellers was a team name I was unaware of.

So that's it. I drove all the way to Texas for two cards that cost me $4. Oh, yeah, and to hang with little sis Holly. So it's time once again to show off the best card I ever received as a present. Boom:

Best little sister ever, right?

Monday, August 5, 2013

More Bowman Heritage I Don't Really Need

Adding needs to my 2007 Bowman Heritage set is slow-going these days. I only need a few more cards, and I fear Bowman may bring back Heritage sets before I finish.

A recent trip to a not-so-local LCS yielded a few cool additions to the set. They had some hits for a buck. Now, I'm not really hoping to collect all the Pieces of Greatness GUs, but, hell, for a buck, why not?

I have a heap of admiration for this card's design. I love the stands in the back and that they decided to feature Kent bunting. Another feature I dig is how the player's full legal name is printed. Franklin, eh? 

This one's a little less interesting, but Rich sure does look happy. Whatever happened to this happy-go-lucky Canadian? Baseball Reference doesn't know, but they do note his full name as James Richard Harden. So, there goes the full name theory.

Maybe if the player has adopted a version of their middle name as their first name Bowman decided not to step on any toes. Fan favorite Trot Nixon's full name is Christopher Trotman Nixon. But, hell, you'd call yourself Trot, too, if given the option.

OK, I'll leave this full-name issue now. This is the last 2007 Bowman Heritage hit I snagged for a buck. Like Harden, here's another previously effective pitchers who went AWOL. Too bad, too. Dontrelle was fun to watch, and his wind-up makes for a great-looking card.

So, as much as I'd like to just get the base set of 2007 BH completed, it's not going to happen soon. Luckily, I can just keep filling my pages with stuff I don't need like this.