Night Owl Cards

So, it's the day after Christmas and what did I get? That's all you want to know, right? Well, I think you know my situation enough to know that there's no money to blow on hobby boxes or expensive hits. That was especially true this year when we decided to dedicate Christmas fund money to home improvements. That meant a lot less for individual gifts. But the good news is that finally -- what's this, year four that I've been begging my family for cards? -- the majority of my gifts were card related. There was a new card binder, which I've already used to replace the forlorn excuse for one that barely protected my far-from-complete 1982 Topps set. I used to dread looking for cards in that binder because I could barely turn pages, and when I did, it was a 20-minute project to get the thing closed again. There were lots of pages, too. Very useful. There were two rack packs of 2011 Topps Series 2 from my daughter. The first rack pack yielded the Campy 60...

When it comes to the 1965 Topps set, I'm like a lot of collectors. It's my favorite of the 1960s. Actually, I go back and forth between whether the '65 or '67 set is my favorite. I might like the front of the '67 set better. I know the '65 set has that pennant, but I find the clean look of the '67 cards rather intoxicating. So that's why the backs for the 1965 set are so important. If '65 is going to keep up with the greatness of the '67s, it's got to have a supreme card back. And it does. Here it is: Topps has not used the color blue for its card backs very much. So when it does, it really stands out. Any card back that uses blue will become an instant favorite of mine. I'm nobody special in saying that blue is my favorite color. I've always been attracted to teams that wore blue -- the Royals, the Houston Oilers, the Buffalo Sabres. And, of course, that Dodger Blue team. All of them had a built-in color advantage. The ...

The Dodgers have been very busy this offseason, adding just about anyone that will fit into their budget, which is to say they haven't added a single player who I think can help them win a World Series. In fact, it would be more inspiring seeing Bo Derek out there in the outfield, riding her horse after fly balls, than Jay Gibbons, Tony Gwynn Jr., Marcus Thames or Gabe Kapeler. Inspiring in a different kind of way, perhaps. But this isn't a post about Derek or Dudley Moore or the movie I really, really, really wanted to see when I was 14 years old. This is only a post about the number 10. There are a lot of new additions to the team and I'm curious to know which Dodger will land the coveted uniform number 10. It has always been my favorite uniform number, not because of Derek's cinematic breakout but because of a player who worked for the Dodgers from the early 1970s to early 1980s. Before and since that time, the No. 10 has been worn by Dodgers low and high....

I thought it would be appropriate on the day that the NHL playoffs begin that I feature the junk wax packs that I received from Captain Canuck at Waxaholic . But first I wanted to mention that by sending one card, he answered one of the many nagging questions that I have had about cards that were issued during the time I wasn't collecting. This one relates to the Upper Deck Vintage cards released in 2002. The design mimics the 1971 Topps cards, except that the information is on the bottom of the card instead of the top. As we found out yesterday, UD has landed itself in court because Topps says that some of UD's 2009 inserts look like past Topps designs. I don't know why Topps filed a lawsuit now when UD was doing this back in 2002. But anyway, that's not the question. The question relates to the back of the 2002 UD Vintage card. The back looks almost identical to the 1971 Topps card, except in one key area. It's yellow instead of the familiar dark green '71 b...