Night Owl Cards

  Two straight posts on 1979! Hey, I guess I'm old! Forty-five years ago tonight was Game 7 of the 1979 World Series, when Willie Stargell clinched the Series for the Pirates, the most recent championship for the Pirates. That Series is notable for Stargell stars, "We Are Family," and some of the most colorful uniforms to appear together in a single WS. It's also the first World Series that I watched almost in entirety and the first Game 7 I saw to the end. Because of that, it's been one of my favorite World Series, and it helped that it came immediately after experiencing the Dodgers lose to the Yankees in back-to-back years. Finally, I had a relaxing series to watch in which the team I rooted for actually won. (This is still a rarity). I looked forward to 1980 Topps when I could see a few cards devoted to the '79 World Series as Topps had done in previous years. But, to my surprise, there was no recognition of the Series at all. It was the first time that To...

  I'm sure I'm not the only one waiting on overdue packages right now. We've all heard the post office tales and I'm not immune. One of my Christmas gift purchases that I bought in mid-October has been sitting in a warehouse at the Los Angeles International Airport for nearly two months. A few packages have arrived, but not quickly and there are a couple of others that are still out there. And some card orders have been slow to arrive as well. Remember when that notification that said, "your package has shipped!" would get your blood pumping? Now it's almost the modern equivalent of "your check is in the mail." I'd be a bit more relaxed if I didn't see the constant arrival of packages addressed to my wife. I suppose I should be pleased as possibly some of those packages are for moi. But, man, what does the post office have against me?? I've been keeping them in business all year round! So I was even more excited than usual today when ...

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...

I don't know about you, but around here antique shows far outnumber card shows. In general, I have a faint appreciation for antiques. Old stuff is always interesting, except when you start getting into drapes or blankets and then it gets kind of creepy. And speaking of creepy, nobody wants your ancient clown dolls or oversized baby head paintings. But, for an hour or so, I can amuse myself with looking at old furniture or toys or wall hangings. Not that I'll buy any of it because it's far too expensive. It also falls under the heading of I DON'T HAVE ROOM FOR THIS STUFF, which is why I collect cards. I have a lot of cards, but probably, if I really, really tried, I could get them all into one small room in my house. If I collected antiques, a couple of shows would force me out of that small room. I usually don't bother with antique shows because the chances of cards being there are very slight. But, as you know, card shows have been disappearing at a rapid r...