As I mentioned a few months ago, I had to miss my favorite annual card show in Kalamazoo, and I didn't care at all because of a special little lady. But I did make it to another annual show in Grand Rapids recently. Not as good as the Kalamazoo one, but I got some sweet stuff.
I've mentioned plenty on this blog how much I love the 1952 Bowman set, probably my favorite vintage set. I'm getting close on my Tigers team set. But I also avidly collect catchers in gear. The gear here is awesome. Love the mask in hand, the chest protector, and the iconic Catchers-Finding-Jesus pose (term copyright the wise doctor over at Carl Crawford Cards). We also get one of those oddball backgrounds often featured on vintage Bowman cards. Overall, a fantastic card of an average player.
Along with the Eddie Fitz card, I picked up this Ray Scarborough. It's a cool card, that I'll probably trade eventually. I know there's probably some Red Sox collector pals out there who need this one and have some sweet Tigers vintage to send my way.
This Mike Schmidt jersey card was my other big purchase of the show. I've always admired Schmidt, and this card was a great deal. The design is fun with Minty Beans' friend Elmer McPunchy bounding out behind Mike's knee. Also, you can't beat that jersey pinstripe.
I notice a lot less collectors being interested in GUs these days, but I still love them. Then again, I got this for a few bucks, not as my one hit in a $75 box. I have to say, though, I'll always be a fan of these cards, especially with great designs like this.
Next post, I'll jam out my dime box finds. You never want to miss those.
I recently missed my favorite annual card show in Kalamazoo, due to the small coincidence of my daughter being born on the same day. However, I still have a card show from a few months ago in my bank. This show happened in Holland, Michigan, a town known for its windmills and tulips and Dutch culture. Go figure.
Few know, though, that the Dutch are also famous for their great deals on vintage cardboard. And thanks to them, one of these cards could be yours, if you go and enter the Vealtones Vintage Contest.
I snagged this 1952 Bowman Monte Irvin from this one dealer who was getting rid of a bunch of sweet vintage. I actually paid less than the price listed at the top of the card. And what a steal. I love the batting cage background and how Monte is captured here looking so inquisitive.
Another infamous Giants Hall-of-Famer here with the legendary Leo Durocher. This is my first card of his, and I'm thrilled to own it.
Not a Hall-of-Famer but a respectable player: Hank Bauer. He's looking mighty noble here, chin up against the shadowy stadium risers.
One more. Carl Erskine. Another very cool background here. It looks like some kind of old-timey ad behind him. I wish I knew what it was. I love the look of the three different cobbled wall materials. And, of course, Carl's wind-up is so cool. Bowman did a great job to capture his leg and then run the signature up it. I have always wondered if the players chose where to put their sigs.
Moving on from Bowman, I couldn't pass up a good deal on a Johnny Podres 1958 Topps. I may have picked this up thinking trade bait more than personal collection. Any Dodgers collectors who don't have this card?
I also scored this card, along with all the others above, from this same dealer. And I think this card was the biggest steal of the day. I absentmindedly snagged it out of the 3 for a dollar box, thinking it looked cool. I didn't realize until I got home that this is Tiant's 1965 rookie. How about that! This goes right into the iconic rookies personal collection, and becomes one of my best cheapo box finds.
Eddie Kazak's 1953 Topps card came from a different dealer, and it cost me 2 bucks. Not the same steal that the Tiant was, but a nice addition to my vintage Tigers team sets. My '50s Topps sets are still in very early stages. So, this card is cool, but it's just not as cool as any of those '52 or '53 Bowmans. The headshots from this set are meticulously detailed, but they're just a little too boring for me.
To wrap things up, here are a few bargain box finds. Great names and great cards, and I think these were out of a quarter box. I've always been a Lou Brock fan, so his 1968 All Star card was a good find for me.
Tomorrow, I'll try to post the rest of this show, mostly my dime box finds. Don't forget to head over and enter my first contest for some '50s vintage of your favorite (or second favorite) team.
Walter Hoot Evers wants you to head on over to Nachos Grande and vote in the Blog Bracket Contest. Now, we here at the Vealtones aren't saying you should vote for us (dhoff); we say vote for the best. However, Hoot thinks our unbiased advice is stupid, and he wants you to vote for dhoff. You can check out our entry here.
By the way, this 1952 Bowman Hoot is brought to you by Captain Little Sister o' Mine, the same one that gifted me a 1955 Bowman Kaline last Christmas. What a gal! And she actually checked out my blog's want lists for vintage Bowman Tigers and found a card I needed. That's a pretty cool sister.
After my last post of the dime boxes at the card show, it's time to show off the big buys. I mostly bought vintage, because that's mostly what interests me these days. But I'll start off with a modern card that I just couldn't pass up.
I already had one of these, which I bought out of the dime box at my LCS the season Halladay won the Cy Young. Go figure. A few years pass, and now I'm paying $1.50, but that's still one hell of a deal. I couldn't resist a double of a key rookie for a bargain.
I pulled this out of the dollar box, just because I didn't have a '53 Topps card. And it's in pretty nice shape. I was hoping maybe I could turn this into a '53 Tiger in trade eventually, but it's a great card all the same. I'm not a huge fan of the obsession Topps had with headshots in this set, but I'm starting to appreciate it more. According to Baseball Reference.com's Bullpen page, Fritz Dorish here was one of MLB's first true relief pitchers, and the last American league pitcher to steal home. I love the Bullpen page.
So my best finds from this card show came from one dealer, who had some decent quarter boxes, but then I noticed some cards he had out on display, a set that always draws my attention. I dropped my stack of quarter '70s vintage, and went over to gawk--note, it takes a lot to make me quit looking at quarter boxes.
He had a bunch of '52 Bowmans, one of my all-time favorite sets, marked cheap. No bargain Tigers, of course. Not at a Michigan show. Still, I found some great cards:
A bad scan of a sweet card. A very nice looking Carl Furillo. A Dodgers lifer and fan-favorite from one of my favorite sets. I have to admit, I picked this up thinking this also might net me some nice vintage in trade some day. But I'd have no problem hanging onto this card.
I also nabbed Red Schoendienst. Again, it doesn't necessarily fit into my collection, but it's a hall of famer from a favorite set.
And finally, Charlie Silvera, not as big a name as the others, but he fits into my collection of vintage catchers wearing their gear. Charlie was the backup catcher for Yogi. I love this background. Charlie looks like he's playing at some little field built in the woods, which is, I guess, what you do when Yogi's the starting catcher. No fences in this background, just some blurry trees. Perfect example of what makes this set unique.
The dealer told me these were his doubles from his set. He had many other great names, and now I'm wishing I would've picked up a few more, but I'm happy with what I got. Always nice to find vintage Bowman at a show. When they're priced fairly, these tend to go fast, and I'm just glad I actually found a few nice vintage cards.
Most of what I posted from the card show came from one dealer, and this last post is the high-end cards I bought. Warning: high end for me is a couple bucks. Nothing here that cost more than a Lincoln, but all great buys, and all vintage.
Here's a vintage rookie of a fantastic catcher that I never thought I'd own. This one was a steal, and a mini at that. The pictures are a bit blurry, and the centering is a bit off, but overall this Carter rookie is in great shape.
My LCS has a ton of cheap vintage Bowman, but never any Tigers, so I was happy to find this. They're in great shape, too: bright color, no severe creases, and all Tiger. This card came at the end of a long career for Hank. He played 10 seasons for the Yankees, and won them a bunch of games. Only three wins as a Tiger.
Another Tigers pitcher from 1951 Bowman. Ted Gray didn't have the career Borowy did, but he played for the Tigers longer. Another great-looking vintage Bowman card for very cheap.
Here's my favorite vintage pick-up of the card show. Here we have vintage Bowman, a Tigers player, and a catcher in gear--that hits three of my favorite collection criterion. It's just a great pose, too, Matt pulling his mask, gazing at a pop-up. And I dig the perspective of the picture, with so much of the chest guard featured. Matt Batts only played 2 and a fraction of a third season with the Tigers. Not a long-term Tiger, but he makes for an awesome player pick-up from a favorite vintage set.
Twins team card, why would I pick this one up? Well, because it was combined in a penny sleeve as a discounted pair of non-mint vintage with this one:
Now there's a great card, and it's even in better shape than the Twins card. I didn't have this Kaline yet, and it was a much-needed pick-up.
That does it for the South Haven card show. There's another one coming up in November, and I'll be there. I just hope the dealer I bought so many cards from shows up again.
