A Longtime Friend

The older I get, the less social I am.  Sure there was a period in my life when popularity was important, but once I got into college everything changed.  The switch from quality over quantity was made and I've never looked back.

As a teacher, I meet new people all the time and it's important for me to play the game and interact with other teachers, administrators, and parents.  But anyone who truly knows me... understands that I prefer small social gatherings with close friends over big functions like dances, weddings, or parties.

That's one of the reasons my buddy Cody and I get along so well.  We both taught at the same elementary school back in the early 2000's.  We were part of a big group of young teachers that enjoyed hanging out together.

But life happens.  We grew up and most of us went our separate ways.  Some transferred to other schools in our district, others moved out of the area, and a handful left the profession altogether.  As a result many of us are just Facebook friends these days.

Cody was one of those teachers who moved out of the area and switched careers.  However every year he comes back to the Bay Area to visit family and friends... and every year we go out to dinner at The Drying Shed.

This year he brought me a bag of ALF trading cards:

Now Cody isn't exactly a big time card collector like some of you.  He's just the biggest ALF fan I know.  So before we look at some of the cards he gave me, let's take a peek at part of his collection:

He has ALF wall decorations, plushies, figurines, and trading cards.  He even has Gordon Shumway plastered all over his refrigerator:

As you can see, like many of us... he has a sentimental soft spot for nostalgic stuff from our past.  Except instead of hoarding baseball cards and sports related memorabilia, he collects ALF, Winchell's, Fotomat, and Baker's Square related items.

At the same time, he does have a collection of non-sports cards including Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, and of course ALF.  He gave me a nice Series 1 starter set:

There were plenty of duplicates, so if anyone else out there is interested in building this set... email me your set needs.

Okay... let's take a look at some of my favorites from Cody's bag:

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #27

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #36

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #39

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #19

Thank you Cody for these awesome ALF cards, but more importantly for being one of my longtime friends.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

A Blogger Inspired Purchase w/an Update

Are you ready for some flea market posts?  I hope so, because I have two to three posts worth of purchases that I'll be sharing soon.  There's even a card show purchase I made that hasn't been scanned and put away.

On a more productive note, I did scan two care packages containing forty-six cards for my 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter set build.  The first one was a PWE from Bo (@ Baseball Cards Come to Life!) containing eighteen cards for my set:

Greg over at The Collective Mind sent me thirty-nine cards.  Eleven were cards that Bo also sent.  Twenty-eight were unique:

The two bloggers helped bring my 2006 Topps A&G wantlist from 130 cards down to 84.  

Before

After

Thanks to Bo and Greg.... the set build is 76% complete (266/350) with 25 of the 84 missing cards being short prints.  My Sportlots focus will be on my 2011 Topps Update set, but as soon as that is complete I'm gonna try and wrap this one up.

In the meantime... here are a trio of Magic the Gathering Doctor Who cards I purchased off of eBay last week:

2023 Magic The Gathering Universes

Beyond Doctor Who #0148

2023 Magic The Gathering Universes

Beyond Doctor Who #0005

2023 Magic The Gathering Universes

Beyond Doctor Who #0003

I remember seeing Doctor Who pop up on PBS when I was a kid, but I never stuck around to watch it.  Then in the mid 2000's, I started watching the show when The Ninth and Tenth Doctors were piloting the Tardis with Rose Tyler.

Joe over at The Shlabotnik Report showed off The Fourth Doctor on his blog, which motivated me to pick up these three.

Well that's an update on my 2006 Topps Allen & Ginter set build as well as my latest blog inspired purchase.

My next post will most likely be the first half of my flea market finds from three weeks ago.  Until then...

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Just Pay Shipping

Most of my posts these days feature cards donated to me by fellow collectors... but believe it or not I buy cards too.

One of my go-to online stores is Baseballcardstore.ca, which some of us used to refer to as the Online Dime Box.  Sadly that name no longer applies, because most of the cards on their site are free.  All you have to do is pay for shipping.

The concept is simple... if you live in the United States or Canada, you can fill up your cart with 1 to 40 free cards and pay the $5.99 shipping charge, then sit back and wait for the cards to arrive.  Obviously the best deal is to choose 40 cards instead of less... which essentially means you're paying 15¢ per card... which is still better than a standard Sportlots order or the COMC minimum.

I'll routinely look for cards that I'll send in care packages, but sometimes I find something for me.

This morning, I got around to opening up two 40ct. packages from them and figured in the spirit of Canada Day, I'd showcase cards from my favorite online shop north of the border.  I've narrowed down my stack in an effort to keep your attention...

#1:  A Pair of Parallels

1992 Topps Gold Winner #531

I figured it was only right to kick things off with one of the greatest Canadian baseball players of all-time.  Plus... you know I love my well-cropped action shots.

1992 Topps Gold Winner #535

Dave Stieb might not be Canadian... but he was a member of the Toronto Blue Jays for almost his entire career.

#2:  A Rare Pirates Pose

1987 Classic #34

Tony Pena was one of my favorite catchers from my childhood... and it all had to do with his trademark squat... which I'm sure many of us impersonated.

Unfortunately... there aren't many cards of him in this stance.  And this is the only card I know of where he's with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

#3:  Sexy Stevie

1991-92 ProSet Super Stars MusiCards #176

Fleetwood Mac is one of my favorite groups... and Stevie Nicks plays a big role in that.  Pretty sure it was her Stand Back video that sealed the deal on my childhood crush.

#4:  The Set That Never Was

1997 Sports Time Melrose Place Promo #P

Not gonna lie... I only watched this show for one or two seasons.  I was more of a 90210 guy.  So the fact that this set was never produced didn't bother me.

But whenever I can add a new promo card to my collection... especially for 15¢... I will.

#5:  The Final Five

Here are the final five cards I needed for my 1992 Leaf set:

I actually bought this set complete a couple of years ago, but a handful of singles were damaged by the rings in the binder.  I also purchased the Black Gold parallel set too... and had the same problem.  I still need these eight to complete that set:

Well that wraps up today's post.  Thank you Steven and Nancy for providing a very affordable online option for card collectors.

Happy Canada Day and sayonara!

Another Weekend, Another Show

Last weekend, my buddy co-promoted his second show in three weeks.  Unfortunately it wasn't a card show.  This time around it was a toy show.  The good news is there were three dealers with sports cards and I made purchases from two of them.

Purchase #1:  A Shiny Admiral  $1

1998-99 Topps Chrome Refractor #170

My friend Tony, who was set up next to me at the card show was there and this time around I had the chance to dig through his dollar boxes.  That's where I found this David Robinson refractor.

I might not actively collect basketball cards, but I can't pass up a 90's refractor of a hall of famer for a buck.  Can't do it.

Purchase #2:  One Hot Bo  50¢

Tony is one of only a handful of dealers that actually lugs around bargain bins.  That's why his table was busy almost the whole time at the card show three weeks ago.  He doesn't have dime boxes, but he does have a 50¢ bin.  That's where I found this Bo Jackson insert:

1990 Score Hot Card #2

It's rare to come across a Junk Wax Era insert that I'm not familiar with, but this card fits that description.  I'm not going to say I've never seen it before, but I don't remember if I have.  According to Beckett, they were inserted into 100 card blister packs that contained both Series 1 & 2 1990 Score football cards.

It's from 1990, so I'm sure there are millions of these floating around... but that doesn't take anything away from the beauty of this card.  The rising (or setting) sun behind a well-cropped Bo with black borders combines well to form a hot looking card.

#3:  A Sportscaster Signature  $5

2004 Absolute Memorabilia Fans of the Game Gold Autograph #237

Have you ever seen a sportscaster running the 40 yard dash in a business suit?  If so, it was probably Rich Eisen.

My friend Tom specializes more in non-sports cards, but he has a couple of boxes of sports cards.  While killing time at the show, I decided to dig through his stuff and I found this card with an $11 price tag.  He said I could have it for five bucks.  Sticker-graph or not... I can't pass up this card for that price.

Overall... I was pretty happy with my show purchases.  The third dealer had some dollar boxes, but I didn't find anything I could use.  I didn't go through his boxes until the last hour of the show, so chances are they were already picked through a few times.

Most of the show was spent collecting money from customers interested in purchasing a photo op or autograph from Giancarlo Esposito, who is famous for his roles in Do The Right Thing, Breaking Bad, and The Mandalorian.

Fans were getting him to sign everything from action figures to Darksabers to plastic money barrels.  But the most creative item I saw was a guy who had him sign a Jordan 4.  The gentleman was inspired by this famous scene in Do The Right Thing:

I truly wish I had thought of that.  Oh well.  I didn't walk away empty-handed.  As a thank you for helping out, my buddy Mike hooked me up with this signed Funko Pop:

I also asked him if he could get me a 16 x 20 photo signed by Esposito and David Acord:

Acord is a sound editor at Skywalker Sound and is the voice of Grogu.  He was also signing at the show, along with one other autograph guest. who is popular among Seinfeld fans...

If you don't recognize who this is... you're probably under the age of thirty.  If that's the case, do yourself a favor and watch this:

Thanks Mike for hooking me up with these very cool pop-culture autographs.  I also appreciate you hooking me up with the free table at the card show.

As for the rest of you, here are today's questions of the day...

What's your favorite Junk Wax Era card design?

Do you have a favorite sportscaster?

Do you have a favorite Spike Lee movie?

Are you a fan of Seinfeld?  Favorite character?

1.  I'll probably dedicate a post to answer the Junk Wax Era question.  For now... I'll just go with the 1987 Topps baseball design.

2.  My favorite sportscasters are Jon Miller and Tom Tolbert.  Miller has a calm demeanor and knows his baseball trivia... while Tolbert sounds like a guy you'd want to hang out and barbecue with.

3.  Do The Right Thing is hands down my favorite Spike Lee film.

4.  Yup.  Right up there with Curb Your Enthusiasm, Eastbound & Down, Freaks and Geeks, and The Office.  Favorite character?  George Costanza.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!