Night Owl Cards

  Since today is a day off that, at least for most of my life, was set aside to recognize the discovery of something that had already been discovered, it goes nicely with my recent discoveries in 1989 Topps.   This is all stuff that has already been unearthed by someone else. Long ago. And it's common knowledge for a lot of collectors, probably most of whom were kids at the time.   But although I opened so many packs of 1989 Topps, a trip or two every week to the drug store to buy a pack or two or three or six, I missed all of these discoveries. I'm just not the exploring type, I guess. Or the observant type. Maybe it was all the beer that year. I don't know.   Stan Jefferson's card has a pink-and-violet triangle at the bottom left corner of his card. Huh. Didn't know that in 1989.   He also has just a violet triangle on his card in the bottom left corner (or maybe this is the pink-and-violet version and the one above is the pink version -- this stuff can get co...

Yes, this is another Cards Acquired Post. Sorry. The thought-provoking stuff takes a lot of time. And, right now, with all the focus on my health, my free time is mainly spent worrying about whether I have the right kind of workout shoes. But don't worry. I've got some ideas in my head. I've even written some down. Just need to find the time to write them down on the blog . And, of course, there's scanning. Which has proven to be the most time-consuming exercise in human history. I spent a little time scanning these cards, which I received from Jaybarker Fan's Junk . He was emptying his card dumpster and he thought "hey, maybe I can get money for my garbage!" And I was one of the guys standing in line to fork over money for his trash. One Alexander Hamilton and one George Washington later and I had 212 Dodger cards in my possession. Not bad for 11 bucks. Of course, I had a lot of them already. There were just 38 that I needed. But that's s...

If you follow your favorite team's "official web site," you've probably come across the link that asks you to vote for the team's "All-Time 9." The "All-Time 9" is a team consisting of the best single offensive seasons by position. In other words, they're asking you to select the Dodgers' all-time best offensive season by a third baseman, catcher, etc. The promotion began in September, on 9-9-09, but I have no idea how long it will last. I figured MLB would have wrapped it up by now. Asking fans to name their team's all-time best seasons is innocent fun, but for some reason, it touched my cynical nerve. You may have noticed that I can be a little contrary at times. I sometimes like to do what no one else is doing, or poke holes in what everyone seems to like. I can't help it. It's the fun-loving side of me. One thing that will always get me going is public relations type stuff. I deal with it all the time in my job....

Before you jump to any conclusions, let me just say that the "less fortunate" in this case is none other than me. OK, on with the post: I'm not sure what I expected to receive this Christmas. But I am certain about a few things: 1. I made it known that I wanted cards. 2. I write out a list every year, and I was very specific about which cards and brands I wanted. 3. I pointed out blasters during family trips to the store. 4. Several family members observed that I was much more into cards than I had been in previous years. 5. My blog isn't a secret to certain family members. Despite all of that, another Christmas has come and gone without me receiving any new cards. I'm happy with my gifts and I don't mean to sound ungrateful. But I'd be much happier if some of those gifts included cards. I admit that I am envious of some of the bloggers out there -- the ones with grandparents who find cards for them at flea markets, the nephews who receive a ...

I cannot possibly begin a post about 1976 Topps cards without opening with the debut of the famed Astros rainbow uniforms on cardboard. This was the first year that these unis appeared on cards. What a glorious mess, eh? All I can think of is "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie comes down in the bunny outfit and his father looks at him and says, "Are you happy in that?" That's what I want to ask the Astros of that era, "were you happy in that?" Hey, I was around in the '70s, but you can't blame that on me. I was just a kid. I've already scolded my mom for some of the get-ups she put me in during the '70s. Anyway, those 'Stros are part of a monster box of cards I received Thursday from Eric of the 1987 Donruss blog . It's a new blog with thoughtful posts on his favorite card set (personally, I prefer '84 or '85 Donruss). Eric's also a Dodger fan (that's right, we're multiplying ). Eric recently bought some '...