Tuesday, April 30, 2013

TTM Goodness - Johnny Edwards

An excellent TTM success here. Johnny Edwards played catcher in the majors for 14 years, 7 with the Reds, where he was a 3 time All Star and 2 time Gold Glove winner. He compiled 53 homers and 296 RBI while playing backstop for Cincy and caught for Jim Maloney's 10 inning no-hitter in 1965. A graduate of my alma mater Ohio State, he was elected into their hall of fame in 2008. Signed is a 1966 Topps #507. Also signed, an unsolicited 4x6 photo. Consider me a member of the Johnny Edwards bandwagon. Go Reds.


Monday, April 29, 2013

Dime Box Adventure - Part 3 of 3

Alrighty. The final installment of my recent dime box splurge. Let's get 'er goin'...

1988 Topps Kmart Dream Team Chris Sabo. All the Rec Spec goodness of my boy Sabo. Of the hundred thousand Kmart cards I've ever had, I don't know how Sabo went so long without sneaking in. No longer, sir! Next up...

1984 Milton Bradley Dave Concepcion. A card used in the dice-based game Championship Baseball. Something I would definitely love to gather a few friends and a few beers for. Not sure how many people I know who would enjoy that. Very few, I imagine. I can dream though. Moving forward...

Some Bowman Chrome goodness. 2010 Travis Wood and Chris Heisey. 2011 Todd Frazier. The Wood is a refractor but didn't show up at all on the scan. More Bowman parallellyness...

2010 Bowman Gold Chris Heisey, Mike Leake, and Yasmani Grandal. I enjoy the super thick golds Bowman put out, I just don't understand why the base set golds are normal thickness and draft pick/prospect sets are extra thick. Silly, silly Bowman. What's that? More Bowman parallel?...

2011 Bowman International Edinson Volquez. International is a very underrated Bowman set. At least I think so. Using the player's home country or hometown as a backdrop is smooth. I wish I had more of these. I probably have ten total, yet one exists for every player since the 90s. Unforgivable. Hey, remember that one year Volquez was friggin invincible for the Reds? That was fun. Now, invincible is hardly a word being used around him very often. Soldiering...

Hmmm. 1984 Topps? Well, yes and no. Check the product tag. Nestle! Topps had no problem shilling their designs for other companies. At some point, Topps realized never to hide their name. Not in the '80s, man. Just get cards everywhere. Ev-er-y-where. Glad they did though, so I can nab treasures like these for pocket change. Ok, closing up...


Hideous Fleer. but how could a Pete Rose card from his playing days be hideous? It can't. Of course. Pictured are 1986 Fleer, 1987 Fleer Hottest Stars, 1986 Fleer League Leaders, 1987 Fleer Record Setters, and 1987 Fleer Baseball All Stars. Sweet.

Congratulation if you made it through all three days of this. I didn' even come close to posting all the dime goodies, but such is life. They will all grace the binders in splendiferous majesty. I have some vintage goodness and some TTM successes in the holster for this week. As usual, Go Redlegs.



Sunday, April 28, 2013

Dime Box Adventure - Part 2 of 3 - Larkin, Larkin, Larkin

In honor of Barry Larkin's 50th birthday today, let's check out the new Larkins found in my most recent dime box extravaganza. Leading off...

1992 Bowman Foil. Why lead off with this one? Well, firstly, it's a great photo. Secondly, it's from a great set. The 1992 Bowmans were pretty rare, relatively speaking, had bright, colorful photography, and had tons of pre-rookies/rookies. Thirdly, it's the last Red I needed from '92 Bowman and gets crossed off my Top 15 Needs on the sidebar. Most. Excellent. Next up...

1994 Collectors Choice Gold Signature and Silver Signature. 1994 Upper Deck Electric Diamond, 1992 Upper Deck Holograms, 1990 Topps Big. Hard to distinguish the gold/silver sigs on the scan, and in real life, actually. My collection is unforgivably lacking in CC Gold Sigs. Maybe one or two. No one marquee. Until now. Boom. Moving on...

What, some boring 1992 Topps? Nope. 1992 Topps Micro. These are so small, they border on annoying. But it's Barry. So I grabbed em. Next...

More boring 1992 Topps? Ah, look closer. A sneaky O-Pee-Chee Larkin. Blame Canada. Soldiering onward...

1990 Topps Glossy All Stars, 1994 O-Pee-Chee, 1992 Upper Deck All Star Fan Fest, 1997 Pinnacle Xpress Swing for the Fences, 1992 Topps Gold, 1991 Woolworth's Topps, 1990 US Playing Card, 1996 Collector's Choice You Make the Play. Not much to say here, other than that Topps Gold is nice. Next up...

1994 Post, 1991 Post, 1992 Upper Deck All Star Fan Fest (oops. grabbed two of em), 1993 Duracell Power Players, 1992 Classic II, 1990 Fleer League Leaders, 1996 SP Marquee Matchups, 1993 Classic Game. Just a bunch of filler. Didn't know Duracell made a line of cards. But who didn't back then? Speaking of everyone making cards in the 1990's, we're closing out with my favorite of the new bunch...

1993 Milk Bone Super Stars #3. Why is this my favorite? I'll give you that the design is boring. And it's a picture of a dude with his dogs. But I'm granting a lot of respect for Milk Bone for putting forth effort to actually incorporate the players into the ethos of their product. They had to search for, or organize, photos of the players with their dogs. They didn't just buy a bunch of stock photos, slap em on some cardboard, and throw em into their products packaging. So while the result was kind of dull, the effort is to be praised. And they went ahead and bought stock photos anyway. Good thing. I'm not sure it would qualify as a baseball card without it. It would be a pet owner card where the pet owner happens to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

Fantastic haul. This brings my unique Larkin total up to a solid 556. Part 3 of the Dime Box Adventure posted tomorrow. Go Reds.



Saturday, April 27, 2013

Dime Box Adventure - Part 1 of 3

I recently landed 150+ cheapy new Reds cards. The ticker in the sidebar has been working pretty hard this month. Landed a bunch of 80's and 90's goofiness like Fleer Glossy, Upper Deck Electric Diamond, and Collector's Choice Silver Signature to fill the ol' binders. I've chosen the highlights and will show them off over the next three days. Leading off, just to give you an idea of the variety we're dealing with today and the future problems with proper storage I'm about to face...


Nice. Shown here are 1985 Donruss Action All Stars, 1987 Boardwalk and Baseball Dave Parker (the only card here that is standard size), 1984 Topps Rub Downs Gary Redus/George Foster/Gary Gaetti, Bobby Gric, 1983 Kellogg's Dave Concepcion, 1981 Topps Scratch Offs Tom Seaver, 1991 Topps Cracker Jack Jose Rijo, 1992 Topps Micro Barry Larkin. Time to invest in special pages I suppose. Worth it. Next up...

1984 Topps Glossy All Star Mario Soto, I didn't care for these as a kid, but I like them now for some reason. Soto is looking very regal on this card. In my huge new pile, I keep getting drawn to this one. Just looks good. Soto was lights out for a time back in the day. I wish I was alive to see it. Next up...

1982 Squirt Dave Concepcion. Un-perforated! Love oddball stuff like this. Card design is pretty weak, but I suppose it fits the theme of the pop cans. Speaking of weak card designs...

1980's Fleer insert sets. Yeesh. Fleer had the lamest desgins in this decade. Each individual card is deliciously hideous. Yet, somehow, when thrown into a collage like this, I'm kind of liking em. Cheap card stock. Childish, simple designs. Screaming 1980's. Fan. Tastic. Pictured, in order, are 1987 Fleer Baseball All Stars John Franco, 1989 Fleer Heroes of Baseball Danny Jackson,1989 Fleer Exciting Stars Chris Sabo, 1987 Fleer Record Setters Bill Gullickson, 1986 Fleer Limited Edition Dave Parker, 1987 Fleer Sluggers/Pitchers John Franco, 1988 Fleer Superstars Eric Davis, 1989 Fleer Baseball MVPs Eric Davis, and 1988 Fleer Hottest Stars Eric Davis. More, more, more...

1988 Donruss Baseball's Best Bo Diaz and 1990 Donruss Baseball's Best Jack Armstrong. I just always find it weird to see issues like this in the 'wrong' color. I had a flobbityjillion '88 and '90 Donruss regular issue. They're supposed to be dark blue and red, respectively. This just ain't right. Next...

Wax box cards! All the brands that put pictures of cards on their wax pack boxes not only had the excellent idea to print stats on the inside of the box, creating a de facto bonus card, but some even went so far as to use a different photo than the base card issue, like the Sabo above. A most excellent turn of events for weirdos like me. Pictured are 1989 Fleer Wax Box Cards Chris Sabo and 1988 Fleer Stickers Wax Box Cards Mark McGwire/Eric Davis. Sweet. And finally...

Underpants cards. That's right. 1993 Fleer Fruit of the Loom Jose Rijo and Rob Dibble. Not even our britches were safe from the card boom of 80's and 90's. Part 2 coming tomorrow. Go Reds.







Friday, April 26, 2013

1963 Topps Pete Rose!


Well...kind of. Sorry. Like I can afford an already short printed rookie card that all the kids of 1963 threw in the garbage because of the hideous floating heads adorning that year's RC's. There are a lot of ebay search results that pull this little Pete Rose stunt. And it's probably technically wrong, since this is likely a team shot from 1962. Unless Topps was really on the ball with their team shots. I somehow doubt it. The only candidate for being #14 is top row second from right (with the 1 tucked under his arm), but that don't look like Petey. Top row third from the right might be him. Again, assuming this is a 1963 photo. 

Ah well. I still have this excellent team card anyway (1963 Topps #63).

I just brought in 150+ cards of dime box goodness, so I have all kinds of hidden treasures to post in the next few days. 

Here's a pic of the Rose rookie, just to ease your woes. The first official featured card on Red Carboard that I don't own. Go Redlegs.


Thursday, April 25, 2013

TTM Goodness - Jack McKeon

An excellent pick up. Jack McKeon managed 16 seasons in the major leagues, 4 of which were with the Reds. From 1997-2000, McKeon went 291-259 (.529) and was named Manager of the Year in 1999 for Cincinnati. Signed is a 2001 Topps #332. Sweet.

TTM Goodness - Jim Greengrass


More vintage success. Jim Greengrass spent 3 full seasons (and a portion of a fourth) with Cincinnati. In 324 games as an outfielder he piled up 52 home runs, 220 rbi, and hit .279. On Opening Day in 1953, Greengrass hit 4 doubles, a major league record. Signed is a 1955 Bowman #49. Suh-weet.

TTM Goodness - Alex Grammas


The 1957 Topps set is one of my (any many's) favorites. This TTM of Alex Grammas on his 1957 Topps #22 is superb. Grammas spent 10 years in the bigs, 3 of them with Cincinnati, batting .244 in 255 games for the Redlegs. Later, he became a coach for the Reds under Sparky Anderson for 7 years, including the World Series team of 1975. Sweet.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

2012 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions #145 - Pete Rose

This looks more like a randy young chap gearing up for a rousing game of cricket during summer break at Eton than the greatest hitter of all time prepping to hone his craft. The outfit and the hair just don't do it for me. At all. This card is atrocious. Goodwin Champions continues to baffle me.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

2000 Pacific Invincible Kings of the Diamond #9 - Sean Casey

This is not, I repeat NOT, a ripoff of Donruss' famous Diamond Kings subsets. It's totally different. It's simply a mock-up of a playing card that HAPPENS to be the King of Diamonds. Not a Diamond King. A King of Diamonds. Or Rey del Diamonte, as it says on the back. Other than the blatant stealing of ideas, it's a pretty nice looking card. I wish they had done the entire deck. Then I'd have more than a Casey and Griffey in the ol' binders.

TTM Goodness - Al Worthington


More excellent TTM success. Been on a roll lately. Al Worthington spent 14 years in the big leagues, including all of 1963 and part of 1964 with Cincinnati. As a Red, Worthington pitched in 56 games, mostly as a middle reliever. In 88 innings he struck out 61, had an ERA of 3.57, and was credited with 5 wins. He also threw in an excellent signed photo for yours truly. Signed above is a 1963 Topps #556. Awesome.

TTM Goodness - Rudy Minarcin




An excellent vintage addition to the collection. Rudy Minarcin spent 3 seasons in the majors, including pitching for the Redlegs in his rookie year. Notched 5 wins in 12 starts for Cincinnati, including a shutout and 45 K's. Signed is a 1956 Topps #36. Sweet.

Monday, April 22, 2013

TTM Goodness - Reds Hall of Famer Jim O'Toole

What an excellent card to find in my mailbox today. Jim O'Toole spent 9 seasons with the Reds, amassing a 94-81 record with 1002 K's and an ERA of 3.59. He got an All Star nod in '62 and was selected to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1970. Signed above is a 1966 Topps #389. So. Sweet.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Tobacco Card Roll Call


Ah, my collection of Cincinnati Reds Tobacco Cards. Mostly beat to hell. Perfect. 

From left to right, Mike Mowrey, Art Fromme, Dick Hoblitzell, Jean Dubuc, and Hans Lobert from the 1909-11 T206 set, and Dick Egan from the 1911 T205 Gold Border set. 

The T206's get all the love, and rightfully so, but the T205's should be a little more popular. They're just steamrolled by the cult of personality that the Honus Wagner card has created. I'm guilty of succumbing to it as well, as evidenced by my 5 to 1 ratio of 206 vs. 205. I wonder if these players thought it was cool to be on cards like this, or if they only cared about the $10 they were given (the equivalent of about $250 today). I'm thinking they only cared about the $10. 

They all kind of look like ghosts from a different world. Faded photos, wearing strange clothing and wandering some alien landscape. They kind of are, I suppose. Only adds to the mystique of these people we know so little about, compared to the modern players, about whom we know everything from their diet to their sexual proclivities to their talcum powder preference. Whatever. These gentlemen above played the game for no other reason than the joy of sport, rewarded only in the historic obscurity of boxscores and encyclopedia entries. And they are honored, now, a hundred years later, on pieces of cardboard, sandwiched between slabs of plastic, resting on some living room shelves in my house. "How can you not be romantic about baseball?"

Friday, April 19, 2013

1993 Score Select #135 - Chris Sabo

A great photo of a great player. I loved watching Chris Sabo back in the day. Rookie of the Year, 3x All Star, and the best Rec Specs in baseball. The Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of Riverfront Stadium. This card shows off his smooth, effortless ability to rob some hapless batsman of a single. Framed really nicely too. Long live Spuds!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

2003 Topps 205 #77A/77B


Time to play Spot the Difference. This variation-laden set from a decade ago is a bit silly. I love the modern throwbacks to early 1900s cards, but this homage to the subtleties of old tobacco sets is a touch goofy. This particular set features 26 (!) variations of Adam Dunn. Three photos (if you consider the above to be two photos) and a bevy of various back designs. Throw in some green and purple parallels of these variations and you're left with a mess. In case you're still wondering, Dunn's mouth is slightly open in the card on the right, which leads to the excellent official card titles of "Adam Dunn Closed Mouth" and "Adam Dunn Open Mouth" in the checklist. So, so goofy. I wonder which one was from the original photo and which one was doctored.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

2008 Playoff Contenders #8 - Byron Wiley

I think this card might be a rookie. It's hard to know, sometimes. Maybe they should have used giant block cap letters across the middle of the card, right on top of the player's photo, saying 'rookie'. And the second largest word on the card should also be 'rookie', emblazoned on the top. That would be perfect.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

1991 Score #662 - Randy Myers


Ah, the affordable bliss of 1991 Score. A nearly 900 card set, jam-packed with rookies and subsets, one being the superb big-head all stars. Normal sized shins, bulgy quads, huge shoulders, gigantic head. These were very cool when I was 9. Now? STILL VERY COOL. Note: I could have chosen the Barry Larkin or the Eric Davis big-head. I, instead, am giving some love to one of the famed Nasty Boys. 1991 Score remains one of my favorite sets. It's a travesty that 99% of the cards book for a nickel. This is fine art, man.

Monday, April 15, 2013

1961 Exhibits #10A - Ed Bailey

For the unaware, these huge 3 3/8" x 5 5/8" cards were released by the Exhibit Supply Co. of Chicago from 1947-1966 with little evidence of when, precisely, any given card was made, as the same designs spanned multiple years. Five big cards for 10 cents at your local drug store. This one, the Ed Bailey with cap version, was only made in 1961, giving it a touch of rarity. The card is black and white, is not an action pose, only has a signature for a nameplate, is faded, and has a blank back. As boring as can be, yet I still have an affinity for this set. Maybe it's the sheer size. Maybe it gives an appearance of something out of the 1800's. Whatever. I'm a fan of Bailey and I'm a fan of Exhibits.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Mini-Show Wrap Up

Little 5 dealer show yesterday. Not much, but it kept me tided over til the huge show in Columbus in early May. Picked up some good stuff. Also got some trades in and some ebay steals. Solid few days. Leading off...
I nabbed 21 of the 22 Gypsy minis from the 2013 set. I'm only missing the Votto regular print. I didn't even realize I was this close to the entire set with my pile, else I would have triple checked this dude's inventory. Now I have an easy mission to get the missing card. I don't know exactly how shortly printed the Chapman, Morgan, Votto, Cueto, and Bench variations are, but I practically stole them. So hopefully they're rarer than the dealer realized. Score. Next up...

Sweet vintage auto! McCool played 5 years for the Reds. Also has an excellent name. More autos...

Boom. Brett Tomko, Russ Nixon, Ted Power, Juan Carlos Sulbaran, Scott Ruskin, Pete Schourek, Chris Jones, Brandon Waring, and Chris Valaika. Sulbaran and Waring haven't made a major league roster yet, but I'm hoping they both do. Continuing, two "official" autos...

2010 Bowman Sterling Travis Wood and 2012 Elite Extra Dan Langfield. Both excellent looking cards. I'm organizing an epic TTM flurry, so hopefully the autos will be rolling in, en masse, over the next few months. Next up...

Three of the Wrapper Redemption Blue Sparklies. Only 150 were printed of each, but they're surprisingly not serial numbered. Solid, nonetheless. More...
Handful of refractors. Soooooo shiiiiiiiney. More...

6 Larkins to add to the sidebar. Will get to that at some point. Good photo on the Ultra. MORE...

Some random goodness. Votto die-cut I'd never seen before. It's thicker than most relic cards, and oddly heavy. Doesn't feel like a card. Still cool. Latos is serialed out of 999. I always love the Gypsy Queen paper border cards. Nice to nab a Cueto. The Phillips Sticky Fingers is a cool design. I wish there was a second bee on the right, for symmetry. It's bothering me more than it should. Now, to close 'er up...

Five brand new Griffeys. Well, new to me, anyway. Who doesn't love a fresh pile of Griffeys? Decent pickups lately. I also have a big ol' pile of stuff that didn't make the cut today. Set fillers and such. They will proudly grace my albums, just not this post. So this has got me all riled up for the super show in 3 weeks. But I will soldier on. Go Reds.