Night Owl Cards

Sometimes I feel a little sorry for the players whose careers spanned the so-called Junk Wax Era. I don't hold any particular allegiance to that period. Unlike what seems like 75 percent of collectors writing blogs and on Twitter, I did not grow up with cards during this period. The late '80s/early '90s was actually my first return to the hobby. I had collected for 10 whole years before the JWE hit the big-time around '86, '87. But still, my heart goes out to those players whose cards are deemed a mere pittance because card companies couldn't control themselves and issued obscene quantities of cardboard. How would you like it if you put a decade of sweat and toil into a career and decades later your cards are still worth 10 cents apiece? That never happened to dudes from the '50s and '60s. Heck, not even the '70s! People still want their cards and they're willing to put down real live dollars! Simply through bad-timing, these Junk Wax Er...

Tonight is Game 7 of the World Series, which means no one will be reading this. But I don't care. I've done a bunch of half-assed research and I must spill it somewhere. There have been 36 Game 7s in World Series history. Tonight's game between the Cubs and Indians is the 37th. I know fans are bracing themselves for an epic battle, the so-called "instant classic," but Game 7s produce dramatic games about as often as regular-season games. And that's why we constantly repeat the Game 7s that are memorable, because what we actually wished for came true. Other times, it's the Tigers beating the Cubs 9-3 in 1945 (I know you don't remember that, but it happened). Fans looking for a close Game 7 may or may not get their wish. There has been just one more extra-inning Game 7 (1924, 1991, 1997) than Game 7s that ended 11-0 (1934, 1985). There have been 12 one-run Game 7s and seven decided by more than four runs. Surprisingly, there have been nine shuto...