Night Owl Cards

I'm writing this late because I fell into the trigonometry trap left by my daughter. Never again. So, as I write, the Royals are leading the A's 3-2, but that could all change and everything that I write from here on out may be obsolete in an hour or two. Oh, well. How often do I get to write about the Royals? The best thing about Kansas City playing a playoff game is it evokes memories of what I call my first collecting era. That era runs basically from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. Or, in other words, the same period of time that the Royals were winning playoff games and playing in the World Series. My glory card years were their glory years period. So I wanted to show some Royals card favorites from that period -- I kept it to 1976-85 since that is when K.C. began and ended its postseason run -- in recognition of this feat from what has always been one of my favorite teams. The trouble is, I've actually shown a lot of Royals cards from this time period a...

(I have this dream every once in awhile that it is snowing in July. I don't know what that means. But I do know that it is May 10th and it is 36 degrees right now. How about some baseball cards to keep my mind off what could be a frozen summer? Time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 113th in a series): Dennis Leonard will always be a hero in my baseball world. He was the winning pitcher in the first baseball game I ever saw in person. He beat the evil Yankees in enemy territory, and I treasured all of his cards from that point forward. This card of Leonard also appeared in the first baseball price guide I ever saw. It was the representative card of the most modern, up-to-date set of the moment, the 1979 Topps set. According to the '79 Sport Americana Baseball Card Price Guide, you couldn't get any more recent than a 1979 Topps card. I was always intrigued by what cards price guides chose to represent a respective year. I would silently judge whether it was a...

I'm going to refrain from posting any unpleasantness about the Yankees tonight. Even though the Yankee Stadium lovefest was a bit much to endure, I just don't have it in me to go through a litany of all I don't like about them. So, instead, I'll talk about the fond memories I have of the Yankees. All two of them. The first is Roy White. I always liked him. He played during an era when the Yankees weren't very good, and then when the Yankees grew into perennial champions in the late-1970s, he remained above all the petty, obnoxious garbage that went on with that team back then. He was a quiet, consistent performer, much like Bernie Williams, although Williams had more talent. Seeing the huge ovation Williams received from the fans Sunday just goes to show you -- you don't have to be a jerk to be popular in New York. The second memory is my one-and-only trip to Yankee Stadium. It was the day before my birthday. We went down to the game on an overnight visit...