Great Googly Moogly..

Hide your women and children...

2012 Topps baseball is live. Here, and here, and here and.............

Hope your RSS feeds can handle the onslaught...

I think I'll go watch a hockey game... maybe a re-run of the ProBowl.

A complete masterpiece

As most of you are aware, Night Owl started a new feature called 'One Card Challenge.' It, like it sounds, is where everyone can list the one card they need to complete a set. Any set. So other collectors can see it and help each other out. A lot like a wantlist, but in point form, if you will.

I immediately put up five cards I needed in order to put five sets to bed. I got two responses almost immediately.

The first of those arrived today.

Robert emailed me (not sure if he has a blog or not...) and told me Ozzie would be on his way North.
Today ended his journey, and he is now with the rest of his friends in one of my binders.

Thanks Robert!!!!

1965 Topps Embossed Inserts

I saw a post over at Vintage Sportscards that reminded me about two cards sent to me by Baseball Dad around xmas time.

They are inserts originally found in packs of 1965 Topps baseball cards. Embossed in gold foil and slightly smaller than a regular card.

Of course you know they just happened to be Braves.

#12 Catcher Joe Torre...

 and #62 outfielder Lee Maye

It was a 72 card set, with each league having 36 cards. The National League cards, as seen here, have red backgrounds, while the American League had blue.

Quite a few Hall of Famers in the set, and singles can be picked up relatively cheaply.

Thanks Jack! A return package is already on it's way.

A checklist, for those of you that are interested...

1    Carl Yastrzemski
2    Ron Fairly
3    Max Alvis
4    Jim Ray Hart
5    Bill Skowron
6    Ed Kranepool
7    Tim McCarver
8    Sandy Koufax
9    Donn Clendenon
10   John Romano
11   Mickey Mantle
12   Joe Torre
13   Al Kaline
14   Al McBean
15   Don Drysdale
16   Brooks Robinson
17   Jim Bunning
18   Gary Peters
19   Roberto Clemente
20   Milt Pappas
21   Wayne Causey
22   Frank Robinson
23   Bill Mazeroski
24   Diego Segui
25   Jim Bouton
26   Eddie Mathews
27   Willie Mays
28   Ron Santo
29   Boog Powell
30   Ken McBride
31   Leon Wagner
32   Johnny Callison
33   Zoilo Versalles
34   Jack Baldschun
35   Ron Hunt
36   Richie Allen
37   Frank Malzone
38   Bob Allison
39   Jim Fregosi
40   Billy Williams
41   Bill Freehan
42   Vada Pinson
43   Bill White
44   Roy McMillan
45   Orlando Cepeda
46   Rocky Colavito
47   Ken Boyer
48   Dick Radatz
49   Tommy Davis
50   Walt Bond
51   John Orsino
52   Joe Christopher
53   Al Spangler
54   Jim King
55   Mickey Lolich
56   Harmon Killebrew
57   Bob Shaw
58   Ernie Banks
59   Hank Aaron
60   Chuck Hinton
61   Bob Aspromonte
62   Lee Maye
63   Joe Cunningham
64   Pete Ward
65   Bobby Richardson
66   Dean Chance
67   Dick Ellsworth
68   Jim Maloney
69   Bob Gibson
70   Earl Battey
71   Tony Kubek
72   Jack Kralick

Fight SOPA / PIPA

Blog blacked out on 1/18/12

Joy of a completed set.... almost.

A little while ago I received an email from Kyle of the newish blog Just A Bit Outside. Not sure if he named it in honour of Just A Bit Offside... but he told me he had some '83 Topps off of my wantlist.

Great!

Maybe the best set from the '80's...

Pete Falcone Pete was winding down his career when this card came out. Debuting in 1975, retired in 1984. Pete played for four teams, ending with Atlanta. He went 14-11 with 2 saves and a 3.89 ERA in his time with the Braves.

 Terry Forster  Terry debuted in 1971, retired in 1986. He spent '83-85 with the Braves. 7-5 with 19 saves and 2.29 ERA in his stint with the Braves. 

 Mike Jorgensen Journeyman Mike only spent 88 games with the Braves. Acquired from the Mets on June 15th, 1983, he was traded to the Cardinals on June 15th, 1984 in the swap that brought over Ken Oberkfell. 1 HR 15 RBI and a .257 avg is Mike's legacy with Atlanta.

 Craig McMurtry I believe we may have Craig's rookie card here... maybe... I think. 1983 saw Craig go 15-9 with a 3.09 ERA. Craig spent one more year starting and two years relieving for the Braves. After being in the minors for a year, he played three seasons with Texas. Four more years in the minors and then one last hurrah with Houston in 1995. Nice 'stache Craig.

 Pascual Perez Here we have a true odd ball. Pascual's middle name is Gross. 'Nuff said. After acquiring Perez from Pittsburgh, Pascual pitched for four years in Atlanta. In the first three, he went 33-20. In year four, 1-13. Done. Gone. Out of baseball. A year later, back with the Expos, 7-0 and a 2.30 ERA. Go figure.

This little package leaves me with needing only one card. #401. But thanks to Night Owl's 'One Card Challenge' blog, that card is soon to be in my needy hands.

Need one last card to finish that set? Check it out.

Please, with your donations, the Mets can be helped

Please, give what you can afford.... stop the suffering.

Sophmore Slump

One of the benefits of a player you like going through the dreaded sophmore slump, is that you are able to pick up cards of them a lot more readily. And cheaply too. Mr Heyward is an example of that.

I've gone from not even seeing cards of his as people hoard them away in tightly sealed vaults, to being able to pick them up at card shows and card shops whenever I want.

I visited one of the local shops awhile back and they brought out this little beauty from behind the counter.

 From 2011 Topps Lineage. No one seemed to like this set but me. Although I still didn't collect because of the price point, and the dreaded UNO backs. But this one had a decent back to it.

 For those of you scratching your heads as you can't remember seeing this one in packs, it's okay because it wasn't available in packs. It was a box topper. And bigger than the normal 2 1/2 x 3 1/2.
Here's a shiny Phil Hughes to demonstrate.

Phil is for trade by the way......

Jason set me back $1.25.

Now the only problem is........ how the hell am I going to store this sucker???

Victory is Mine!

After a lengthy 14 day, hard fought battle, Windows 7 lays in ruins, as I and my scanner stand victorious.

Expect normal posting to resume shortly. In anticipation, please return your tray tables and seat backs to their original, fully upright position. Thank you.

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