Night Owl Cards

*Gasp* "Did you hear what night owl just said?" "'Who needs a card show?'" "Card collector blasphemy!" All right, settle down everyone. I admit I'm just a wee bit frustrated with the number of card shows I've read about in the still relatively young year of 2018. I believe somebody was going to a card show on New Year's Day! My first card show of the year -- if I make it that far -- will be in April. There is one in March, too, but whoever set the date is obviously not following high school or collegiate sports because that is one busy weekend for people who are shooting hoops or pucks. I'll be occupied. But it doesn't matter because just a week or so ago, the mailman placed something quite heavy on my porch (no doubt cursing as he did so). It was the package from Johnny's Trading Spot . Inside that package was three long boxes stuffed with cards. "Call it the best damn dime box," Johnny said. OK, I ...

I have wanted to own a card of "Shoeless Joe" Jackson for a long time. Who wouldn't? He is one of the great tragic figures in major league baseball history. He is a deserving Hall of Fame member forever banned from the place for which he was destined. For years, the only Jackson card that I knew about was the famed Cracker Jack card that I will never own. I was totally unaware of the 1975 TCMA issue or even this 1992 Conlon Collection prototype card, which was issued at the Anaheim National Sports Collectors Convention in 1991. It differs from the Jackson card in the '92 Conlon set because of the "prototype" stamped across the back. The card number is also different I believe. There's also a more popular color version of this card. Even though this card can be had for a dollar or less, it isn't often that I come across a Shoeless Joe Jackson card. So when I was at my favorite garage sale last month, and I saw this card, I snapped it up quic...