so it begins - the (mostly) regular issue steve garvey binders

i've got essentially four full binders of steve garvey cards and assorted items (not to mention my garvey posters, prints, first baseman's glove, louisville slugger bat, and signed balls).  two of them feature oddball items (which i've shown over the past few months) and the other two feature (for the most part) standard sized cards.  over the course of the next unknown amount of time, i'm going to show you the contents of those two binders.

here we go - page 1:

this first sheet features:

1. 1971 dell today's team stamp
2. 1971 o-pee-chee
3. 1971 topps
4. 1971 topps dodger team
5. 1972 topps dodger team
6. 1972 topps
7. 1973 o-pee-chee
8. 1973 topps dodger team
9. 1973 topps

here are the backs, just remember that they are reversed since i just flipped the sheet over to scan it

a couple of notes about this sheet - i obviously decided to include team cards (topps only) as the garv is in the front row of the 1971 card, the third row of the 1972 card, and the middle row of the 1973 card.  also, the dell today's team stamp is also sometimes referred to as the 'mlb official stamp'.  the only garvey release i am missing from this period is the 1972 topps venezuelan stamp. good luck to me.

here's the second sheet:

featuring:

1. 1974 o-pee-chee
2. 1974 topps
3. 1974 topps dodger team
4. 1975 hostess
5. 1975 kellogg's
6. 1975 o-pee-chee
7. 1975 o-pee-chee 1974 mvp's
8. 1975 o-pee-chee 1974 nlcs
9. 1975 topps

and the backs:

in case you're wondering, garvey's in the middle row of the team card.  here i'm missing only the 1975 hostess twinkie card (it has a black bar on the back, which the regular hostess card - as seen above - does not).

this is the third sheet of the binder:

featuring:

1. 1975 topps 1974 mvp's
2. 1975 topps dodger team
3. 1975 topps 1974 nlcs
4. 1975 topps mini
5. 1975 topps mini 1974 mvp's
6. 1975 topps mini 1974 nlcs
7. 1976 hostess
8. 1976 kellogg's
9. 1976 o-pee-chee

these are the backs

garvey's still in the middle row on the team card.  you might notice a couple of things here.  first, i am missing the 1976 hostess twinkie card (again with a black bar on the back), and the 1975 sspc card is not where it should be. instead, i have a 1976 o-pee-chee card there.  that's because i used to catalog the sspc card as a 1976 release (which is how it's listed on the official beckett garvey checklist).  since starting this blog, however, i have come to refer to that set as the 1975 sspc set based on the copyright date on the back of the cards.

so, there you have the first three sheets of cards in my basic steve garvey card collection.  there will be more.  lots more.  stay tuned.

a christmas eve edition of random cards from the scanned folder

i'm putting this post on autopilot since it's december 24th and i'm traveling for the holidays.  enjoy some cards that i scanned without a clear purpose over the course of the last few years.

1994 pinnacle brett butler museum collection

i need to add cards from this parallel dodger team set to my nefarious 9.

1962 topps johnny podres

looks like johnny was out late in chicago last night.

1987 fleer league leaders bob welch

the wrigley field ivy in the background and the odd cropping of the photo reminds me of 1981 fleer

1991 upper deck dennis cook

batting practice in dodger stadium!  cook's wearing tommy john's number and doesn't seem to know what to do with the bat.  plus, a jim poole sighting as a background lurker.

1975 topps mini rick rhoden rookie card

in a related note, congrats to night owl on finishing his 1975 topps mini set.  he would not allow his scanner to skew a card from that set as wildly as mine has.

1998 upper deck black diamond alex cora

and here's the back of brett butler's 1995 upper deck collector's choice special edition card.

and so the post is bookended by butlers.  i'll try harder next time.

merry christmas to all, and to all a good night.

graded garveys from the oddball binder

i've got a few four-pocket pages in my steve garvey oddball binder that hold graded cards.  i did, for a very short time in the early 2000's, buy into the idea of graded cards.  i sent a few off to be graded, including some modern cards, before i thought better of it.  i also bought a few graded steve garvey cards during that short stretch.

the first sheet has a garvey 1971 topps rookie, his fantastic 1974 topps card, a 1975 topps mini, and a 1978 topps, which is a masterpiece

i wanted a rookie graded, and got one with a qualifier.  that right there made me realize that this is not something on the up and up.  it's an 8, but it has issues.  then it's not really an 8.  bccg grading is a quicker/cheaper grade which again makes little sense.  the '75 came in a lot - i didn't seek that one out like i did the others there.

the second page has a gem mt 10 1978 topps card, plus a 1980 topps and two 1981 topps cards

the 1978 card in gem mt 10 was a requisite for this garvey collector.

next up are a couple of cards from 1982 donruss, plus a 1983 topps and a gem mt 10 1987 fleer glossy

garvey's last topps card as a dodger provided a bookend to the 1971 rookie.  the fleer glossy was a cheap gem mt 10 grab.

the last page features a 1988 score glossy gem mt 10, and two cards i sent off myself - a 2001 fleer greats of the game card, and a 2002 topps tribute card

like the rookie, the 1974 and 1978 topps, and the 1983 topps cards, having a graded 1988 score card (in this case glossy version) was necessary.  i obviously knew i wasn't going to have a complete run of garvey base cards graded so i wanted to hit the main points.  sending those two modern cards to be graded was a mistake and unnecessary.

still, if anybody has a graded garvey card they don't want/need, i have an open spot in my binder!

upgrade!

i'm at the card show this morning, so i figured it was a good time to show an upgrade i made at the big annual show back in march of 2010.  yes, it's been that long since i scanned these cards.  i was working on my 1976 topps set at the time, and i already had a copy of dennis eckersley's rookie card:

i was able to find an upgrade that didn't have the chipping along the top, or the touched corner.  it's pretty nice

sweet.  the back is nice, too, even if it includes the text 'circus midget'.

i picked up the eck from a dealer who is based up in duluth.  great dealer - i wish he did more shows down in the twin cities.  he had the largest collection of 1975 minis i have ever seen.  i was looking for the terry forster/mike marshall saves leader mini, and he was lamenting that he had at least a dozen nolan ryan/steve carlton strikeout leaders, but was having a hard time finding the card i wanted (he eventually found a copy for me).

anyway, i was also able to pick up the last card i needed for my 1976 set, which was also an upgrade.

i don't have a scan of my earlier copy of the ruth card though.  all done.

but then, when i was looking through the binder a while ago, i noticed that my carl yastrzemski card from the set could probably use an upgrade of its own

thanks to a touched corner.  guess i'll be hunting for yaz this morning.

anybody else need anything?

10/10/14?

i suppose it would have made sense to show a couple of ron cey cards followed by a dusty baker card today (10/10/12), but i'm not going to do that.  instead, i have 14 ron cey cards that i have been lucky enough to have signed by the penguin himself through the mail over the last few years to showcase.  i have been kind of lax in posting my ttm successes (obviously); most likely because a ttm success post is not the most interesting type of post.  today i don't care - get ready for a cavalcade of cey.

1975 topps mini

scuffed up, but still nice.  dodger stadium works well with the two-toned border, i think.

1976 topps

hatless penguin

1981 donruss

wrigley foreshadowing

1981 fleer

doing the hokey-pokey?

1982 fleer

back to dodger stadium, finally without a bat

1982 o-pee-chee

back with a bat.  and, the facsimile autograph doesn't match

1982 topps (in action)

with actual action.  hello, mo.

1983 donruss

another bat photo.

1983 fleer

back at wrigley.  still with a bat.

1983 o-pee-chee

i was curious to see whether he put the '10' inside the 'r' on this one.  he did, which makes sense since it's a dodger photo.

1984 o-pee-chee

no '10' on this one, of course.  he wore 11 with the cubs.

2001 ud decade 1970's

at dodger stadium

and at bat.

2006 fleer greats of the game (nickname greats)

thanks ron!

the topps dodger autograph project - the late 1970's

now we're in my wheelhouse - the dodgers of the late 1970's!  as usual, all of these cards were signed through the mail for free.

ron cey, 1975 topps

cey is easily one of the best ttm signers out there. i've had a number of successes with him; maybe too many.  i also have 1975 topps cards signed by other former dodgers, including bill buckner, manny mota, doug rau, ken mcmullen, and joe ferguson (world series card).

joe ferguson, 1975 topps mini

while not necessarily part of this project, i figured i would show it since i have it.  you'll have to take my word for it, but that is a mini.  fergie has signed through the mail for me a few times which is all kinds of awesome.  i also have 1975 topps minis signed by ron cey, al downing, jim wynn, and manny mota.

bill russell, 1976 topps

ropes is another good ttm signer whom i have hit up several times.  i also have signed 1976 topps cards from these other dodgers:  ron cey, davey lopes (with fee), al downing, joe ferguson, john hale, burt hooton, charlie hough, tommy john (in person proxy via trade), lee lacy (in person), leron lee, ken mcmullen, manny mota, doug rau, stan wall, and rick rhoden (with fee).

dusty baker, 1976 topps traded

as i mentioned in the last post - i don't consider the traded sets to be part of the 'project', but i'll show them if i have them.  johnnie b used to be a reliable ttm signer, but i haven't seen any successes from him lately.  it used to be he would sign and return cards in january or february, so maybe there's hope.  i asked him to sign at a spring training game a few years ago, and he said that he would when he got back to his dugout.  sadly, i never made it over to that side of the field.  so, i'm happy to have the few cards that he signed for me through the mail in my collection.  this is the only 1976 topps traded card i have signed in my collection.

steve garvey, 1977 topps

the garv.  how stoked was i when i learned that my favorite player signed through the mail.  very stoked.  1977 was his big power year (33 home runs), and i have learned to love this card - even with the scratch on the printing plate and the candlestick background.  other 1977 topps cards signed for me through the mail by former dodgers include bill russell, ron cey, tommy john (in person proxy via trade), davey lopes (via trade), rick rhoden (with fee), elias sosa, ellie rodriguez, and stan wall.

dave lopes, 1978 topps

i consider myself extremely fortunate that lopes signed and returned both of my 1978 topps cards (this one and the nl championship card) when i first began my humble 1978 topps dodger autograph project. they remain the only successes i have had with the former dodger second baseman/current dodger first base coach.  of course, i have some other 1978 topps cards signed by members of that dodger team, all except ed goodson.  most of those cards were obtained through the mail free of charge.

charlie hough, 1979 topps

knuckleballer (and closer) from the team of my youth, charlie hough is another good ttm signer.  i have a few of his cards in my autograph collection, including some of his non-dodger issues.  other dodgers from the 1979 topps set who have signed for me include dusty baker, pedro guerrero (with fee), bill russell, bob welch (with fee), ron cey, bobby castillo (with fee), joe ferguson, steve garvey, tommy john (in person proxy via trade), rudy law, doug rau, and lance rautzhan.  i also have a card signed by steve yeager that i picked up on the 'bay.

that's it for the 70's.  here's the list of each year's representative card (so far):

1951 topps - preacher roe (purchased)

1952 topps - rocky bridges

1953 topps - bobby morgan

1954 topps - billy herman (purchased)

1955 topps - don zimmer (purchased)

1956 topps - randy jackson

1957 topps - carl erskine

1958 topps - joe pignatano

1959 topps - fred kipp

1960 topps - chuck essegian

1961 topps - bob aspromonte

1962 topps - norm sherry

1963 topps - ed roebuck

1964 topps - ken mcmullen

1965 topps - dick tracewski

1966 topps - john kennedy

1967 topps - phil regan

1968 topps - jim campanis

1969 topps - jeff torborg

1970 topps - al mcbean

1971 topps - sandy vance

1972 topps - manny mota

1973 topps - wes parker

1974 topps - claude osteen

1974 topps traded - jim wynn

1975 topps - ron cey

1975 topps mini - joe ferguson

1976 topps - bill russell

1976 topps traded - dusty baker

1977 topps - steve garvey

1978 topps - dave lopes

1979 topps - charlie hough

they're not mint, mister.

there's a big card show in the twin cities this weekend - a few hall of famers are signing on saturday.  i'll probably go on friday evening and not worry about that, however, no matter how badly i would like reggie jackson to sign one of his iconic 1978 topps cards for me.

i went to this same show last year, and picked up a hefty dose of bargain vintage.  being a dodger fan, and being a dodger fan without the backing of the guggenheim group, that means i bought non-mint stuff.  like this beautiful-to me 1957 topps don drysdale rookie card.

and you can't have a drysdale without a koufax, so i picked up a 1960 topps while i was there

now, the first thing i saw when i walked into the earle brown center was mr. mint.  he was set up at a table directly in line with the entrance.  right next to him was one of the regular twin cities' dealers with the vintage bargain bins.  i set up shop there, and kept one ear on what was going on at the mr. mint table.  he didn't have a whole lot of traffic and spent most of his time talking to his younger companion (son?) about real value vs. sentimental value.  he also had some stories about some of his past purchases, but i can no longer recall any specifics.

now don't get me wrong - i have no illusions when it comes to value of these things we collect.  monetarily, they are only worth what someone else is willing to pay for them.  and, if you are selling to mr. mint, you must understand that you are dealing with a middle man who wants/needs to make a profit off of what he is buying from you.  apparently, many folks don't understand that.  and, i am guessing that this is a speech that mr. mint has had to give thousands of times in the past, so the fact that he was so matter of fact about it while crushing the outlandish hopes of some would-be sellers should not have surprised me.  and it didn't, even though i still cringed at his brusk tone.

in the two hours or so that i spent poring through boxes of vintage cards, many with rounded corners and/or creases, no less than two babe ruth signed baseballs were presented to mr. mint.  he looked at them nonchalantly and made offers on each - offers that were far less than their owners had hoped to receive.  were they fair offers? i don't know.  even dealers came down to see what he might pay for some memorabilia.  not once did i see money or merchandise exchange hands.  he didn't seem to be enjoying himself, that's for sure.

i had a good time though.  i finally found a 1962 bob uecker rookie card that i could live with at a decent price.

being a dodger fan, this is one of the tougher multi-player rookie cards to pick up, especially in the upper midwest.  thanks doug camilli for making it difficult.

not to be outdone as far as rounded corners go, here's a 1962 post daryl spencer card

i am sure i could get a much better copy online for probably close to what i paid for it at this show.  but i don't care!

that's not to say that i didn't pick up some decent looking cards for their age, like this 1956 topps billy loes

 or this charley neal from the same set

and, this sandy amoros

and this don newcombe

from the 1958 topps set are both upgrades for me.  there was another dealer there who had a ton of mid-70's stuff, and he helped me (almost) complete my dodger team set from the 1975 topps mini issue.  for not much money at all, i picked up a 1956 mvp card featuring newk and some triple crown winner

 plus a 1955 campy (with some other catcher)

and a 1963 koufax featuring yet another yankee

this year i will try to complete my 1973 topps set (15 cards to go) and maybe pick up a 1959 topps koufax to finish my dodger set from that year.  and with my budget, mint cards need not apply.

anybody else need anything?