Night Owl Cards

  Well, that upgrade post from a couple of weeks ago gained some traction! Thanks to that post and the generosity of reader Paul, I've been able to make some progress on an upgrade project that's been in the back of my head ever since I returned to collecting. I've mentioned before that my collecting return was sparked by a couple of instances: 1) Finding Topps' All-Time Fan Favorites cards from 2004 in the toy department of a K-Mart in Buffalo; and 2) Building the 1975 Topps set from a pawn shop downtown. I'd go to the pawn shop (it's long gone, by the way) on my lunch break or in the afternoon on a day off and leaf through the one dealer's card offerings. He had almost the entire set of '75s in boxes on one glass display counter, and behind me was another couple of boxes of vintage cards, mostly stuff from the '60s or early '70s, on another counter. And in the glass display were all kinds of cards I couldn't afford then (but probably coul...

(I am vacationing this week, which usually means more time for blog posts. But all that extra time makes me feel like avoiding blog posts. Why is that? It's time for Cardboard Appreciation, but it's going to be a short one. This is the 338th in a series): I received a two-card envelope from The Collective Mind a short time ago. Both cards were Dodgers of the vintage type, both former want list material. I did own the 1961 Post Maury Wills card already but this one is unmarked, whereas the other one I received 12 years ago had some updates. At the time of receiving the "updated" card, I mentioned that I appreciated this kind of an update. Wills had an exceptional 1962 season and whoever owned this card absolutely had to get that season down in writing and where better than on the man's own card. It's all there in ballpoint pen -- games played, at-bats, hits, home runs, RBIs and batting average -- from the fabled 1962 season (nothing about his then-record 104 s...

  I'm one of those "don't get your hopes up" people.   I assume this is a defense mechanism to avoid crushing disappointment. It manifests itself in many ways, and yes, it shows up in the hobby.   Even from the beginning of collecting as a kid, I set my standards low. The only thing I knew to collect were the packs at the store down the street. But I didn't have any money or transportation so I knew any thoughts about completing the entire set were unrealistic.   When I became aware of vintage -- what we called "old cards" then -- I was grateful for whatever came my way, which wasn't much. I had to pick and choose what I wanted, a particular favorite card or cards from a set I liked.   This is how my attachment to certain sets grew. I gravitated to sets like '71 Topps and '56 Topps because I liked them and I knew if I focused on just those, I could accomplish something. Why try to chase down everything? You'll never get those. You deliver...

I opened the back door into the kitchen where my wife was peering into the food pantry. She looked at me, confused, and said: "What?" "Forgot my money," I said and hurried upstairs. That was clue No. 1. And I hadn't even started on my journey. From there, the signs of advancing age and senility were all over Sunday's card show adventure. Looking back on it now, I know that this hobby of ours is not a young man's pursuit. Sure, there were kids at the card show. There always are. But, what I heard, over and over on Sunday, was the sound of cranky old men. It began with this cranky, old man setting out, filling up his gas tank and then realizing in mid-pump that he left his cash back home. But I drove an hour without any further absentmindedness and made it to the show. The Syracuse card show takes place at the state fairgrounds and there are always other activities going on as I make my way to the building that houses the show. This time, I ha...

A little over a year ago, I wrote about the early 1960s Post and Jello cards and their similarities and how I still don't have a single Jello card in my possession. While Post cards ran between 1961-63 and I believe were available pretty much everywhere, Jello cards appeared only from 1962-63 and their availability was restricted mostly to the Midwest. So, it took someone from the Midwest to finally get me my first Jello card. Tom from Waiting 'Til Next Year recently announced that he had discovered a bunch of 1961 and 1962 Post cards at his card shop and dug out several in hopes of helping people complete their Post sets. You see, Tom lives in Illinois, which I am now convinced is the center of the card collecting universe. There seems to be a card shop or card show or flea market on every block. As a trade off, nobody cares whether there's a place for you to go to the bathroom at the Cubs game, but that's a trade I'd make in a second. Just let me work on...