Card Show: Vintage Scrounging

I spent a lot of time digging through the cheap boxes at the card show, which I posted about yesterday. I found myself having little interest in the game-used and auto singles for sale. Most of the players I collect are over-priced in Michigan, so I count on trades and eBay for those. When it comes to actually spending a few bucks on a single card, I'm often uninterested at shows, even good ones.

But then there's always vintage. And I found a dealer with the best prices of the day, selling cards at ten percent of BV. I was happy to indulge. I can't turn down vintage at those prices.

Wertz was my first vintage Bowman purchase when I got back into collecting. I picked up his 1951 card, which is still one of my favorite cards. I like Vic, even if he's not in Tiger uniform. And 1954 isn't my favorite vintage Bowman set, but this is one of my favorite players from this era. By the way, if anyone has a 1950 Bowman Wertz for trade, I'll find some good stuff for you.

I didn't pick up this card at the show, but I'm feeling nostalgic, so here's another look at that sweet 1951 Wertz:

That's one hell of a card.

Back to the show:

I can't pass up a Granny on my woodgrain TV. One of my favorite names in baseball here, and a great looking card. This one was two bucks, I think, and well worth it for a vintage all-star. The corners are a little rough, but the centering is nice.

This is actually my first 1955 Topps card. Sure, Jack Parks never made it to the majors, but he got a nice card. I couldn't be happier to add this oddball player to my collection, even if it's the only card I ever pick up from this set. Parks is in full catcher gear--my favorite pose on a vintage card.

That does it for this batch. I'll show the rest of the vintage I snagged in the next post.

Card Show: Wonders of the Cheap Boxes

So, I kind of founded this blog on three things: Coot Veal and his awesome Vealness, Bowman Vintage, and dime box treasure. I haven't been very good about posting dime box stuff recently, yet I have all of these dirt cheap gems to share. I'm way behind on posting this batch, which I picked up at the last card show I went to, almost two months ago.

I'll try to keep this short and just show the cards.

What? Diamond Stars in a dime box? Yoinks! I didn't fool you for a second. Yes, these are reprints, but they're good reprints, and I can't pass up art deco for a dime a piece. The weird thing about these is that they're paper thin. Not like early '90s thin, but we're talking piece of cheap white paper thin. Still, worth a dime a piece.

Or, even better than reprints for a dime a piece, these 2002 206 were four for a quarter. The dealer had jammed a bunch into a top loader bursting at the seams with minis. This was such a great set. Too bad I wasn't collecting when this was out. For some reason, the newer 206 sets, while still great, don't quite measure up to this one.

These were in the quarter box, too. This is my first Masterpieces framed card. I do love framed cards, and even though I'm not a Papelbon fan, I appreciate an intense squatting pose as much as the next fella. The Jim Longborg was numbered to 50, which seems crazy low for a quarter box.

In the bottom right corner, there's the back of the Longborg card. Otherwise, some nice rookies for a quarter. I think some of these were even for a dime. But not the Machado auto. I mean, it's a Machado auto, on card! The Ludwick and Span cards are both those chunky gold versions. All of the chunky Bowmans I've seen have had busted up backs, where it looks like the black ink around the edges is cracking. Anyone else encounter this? Oh, and there was something weird about this Koji O-Pee-Chee card. Check out the back:

No, I'm not just trying to win the prize for most boring scan in history. This is the back of the Koji card. Nothing. I'm wondering if this is a promo version or something.

A few more nice rookies. The Youk can even be peeled and stuck to one's trapper keeper or forehead, if one so chose to do so. I have a double, so I just might. The Corey Hart rookie was a nickel. Nice.

You don't expect to find vintage Kaline cards in a dime box, unless they look like this. This one went through the spokes a few dozen times. Good thing I picked up this card from my LCS a few months ago:

It even came with a nifty screw-down case. If the kid who mangled the other card put this one through the spokes, he'd get a face full of asphalt, which is the proper punishment for defacing a Kaline card. Well, unless said defacement means I can buy Kalines for a dime. Then, okay, kid, mangle away.

Here's the last one I'll show from my scrounging through the cheap boxes:

1973 Topps Lou Gehrig. Hey, this card's not even mangled. Besides slightly touched corners and a bit of off-centering, it's in pretty great shape. This is a great-looking card, and maybe one of my best finds in the dime boxes ever.

Not a bad haul, eh? Most of these are up for trade, besides some of the rookies. Let me know if you need any.

The Battle Creek Bombers and Their Exploding Manager

Thanks to Groupon, I was able to attend three games this season of my local minor league team, The Battle Creek Bombers, which is part of the Northwoods League, which means every player must attend college and no one gets paid. Ouch. Still, they play with a ton of heart.

One of the games I went to was a baseball card give away day. I ended up with a bunch of team sets, and managed to get a few autographs after the game. The problem was, I had to stalk outside the exit of the Bombers' locker room looking creepy. That and the guys came out wearing street clothes, so I really had no idea who was who. However, I always root for one of the players, since he goes to Western Michigan University, where I teach. I recognized him, and asked him to sign. So here's my Jimmy Martinez autograph:

J-Mart has a nice signature, and I saw him make some great plays. Best of all, Jimmy lingered around signing autographs longer than any of the other guys. It's always nice to meet a good person when you're getting a sig, and that'll make me a fan as he continues to play. I wish him the best.

I think Jimmy was a bit disappointed with his card. A young kid got a signature from him first, and I heard Jimmy say that his card was kind of hard to find, since he looks like a manager in his picture. Not exactly the best action shot here. And these cards have pretty autrocious designs. They look like the bastard child of 1990 Donruss and 1995 Score.

The highlight of these games was not accomplished by one of the players. The manager stole the show.

Donnie Scott spent four partial seasons in the majors, but it looks like he's doing better as a manager. What makes a good manager? The real answer is someone who can do this:

Credits go to my sister, who taped this show. What you miss in the video was Donnie yanking up first and tossing it, then trying to tear up second, which wouldn't come up, so he just kicked the shit out of it. So, yeah, he went through each base, and I believe that counts as a home run for a manager.

To his credit, the umps were really making terrible calls. But also his blow-up had every person in the park standing up and cheering like crazy. It was the best ejection I've had the pleasure to see in person.

Nice work, Donnie. Now, go Bombers. Good luck in the playoffs.