PWE - NRA

Plain White Envelope. No Return Address.

 A few weeks ago I received a PWE in the mail. I had come home from work.  Picked up the mail on the way into the house.  Shuffled through it.  Bill.  Bill.  Ad.  PWE.

That caught my attention.  I opened it and these came out.

1969 Topps Mini Album Inserts
Cleveland Browns (Bill Wade) (card # 4)

1990-91 Skybox
Del Harris (card # 315)

1981 Detroit News Tigers Centennial
Earl Wilson (card #51)

1989 O-Pee-Chee
Orel Hershiser (card # 380)

1996 Topps Stadium Club - Virtual Reality Members Only
Orel Hershiser (card # 26)

They were all on my Elusive Eight want list.  After dinner I rushed out to some meeting or rehearsal, thinking that I'd scan and put them away later that evening.

I don't remember what happened.  I guess I forgot about them, or decided to do it later.  The cards were placed back in the envelope and set aside.

When I went looking for them later, they were not to be found.  I looked in drawers, near the computer, on my bedside table, with the other cards.  Nowhere.  A sickening feeling started to form in my stomach.  I renewed my search with vigor.  That stack of papers.  With my other cards.  With my other cards on the bookshelf.  With my other cards in a box.  Nothing.

I let it go for a few days.  Ah.  That special place where I put the important papers.  That's where I left them.  No.  Inside the cover of that book I want to read next.  Back to the stacks of paper.  Near the other bills.

My wife had noticed that I was actually doing some cleaning while looking for the cards.  That made her happy that I was decluttering, but made me sad that I still hadn't found the.

Time to retrace my steps.  I finally found the envelope.  It had fallen off the stack of a clump of papers, down near my dresser.  They had been found.  There was much rejoicing.

So, kids.  This is a true, but cautionary tale.  Get a system in place to process your cards.  Know where they are.  I don't care if you scan them, blog about them, file them a month or even a year later.  But know where they are.

So, a big thank you to whatever kind and benevolent reader took the time to go through my wantlists, procure and send me these cards.  I'll be a better steward next time.

Earl Wilson likes pizza

Dime Box Nick showed some of these beauties a few weeks back.  The card design does a decent job combining advertising/sponsorship and honoring a team.

1988 Domino's Pizza Tigers
Earl Wilson (card # (26))

This is an unnumbered set, but the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards organizes them by surname.  I picked this one up from COMC for more than Nick did his Tigers at his flea market.

Another card crossed off on the Earl Wilson checklist.

Trade with David K.

A while back I showed off some Fräuleins. Reader David K. wanted to trade for one of them.  He sent over this sweet looking Earl Wilson.  Sharp corners and all.  There's a bit of surface dirt, but I'm not complaining in the least.

1965 O-Pee-Chee
Earl Wilson (card # 42)

Another Earl off my list.  Thanks, David K.

1969 Milton Bradley Earl Wilson

Another card from generous Daniel of It's like having my own Card Shop.  This has been on my want list for quite some time.  Actually, any card I don't have of Earl Wilson is on my want list, but you know what I mean.  Thanks, Daniel, again.

1969 Milton Bradley
Earl Wilson (card #NNO-294)

I'm not sure how to distinguish the 1969 and the 1972 Milton Bradley cards. From the images that I've seen, the front photo for Earl Wilson is the same. I haven't seen both backs.

I never played the Milton Bradley games. I also never played Strat-O-Matic growing up. I must talk to my parents about denying me those opportunities.

New (to me) Earl Wilson cards

Trying to round out some of my player collections.  Yesterday it was Bill Wade.  Today is back to baseball with Earl Wilson.  Both cards are from COMC.

1978 TCMA
The 1960's
Earl Wilson (card # 148)

1990 Swell Baseball Greats
Earl Wilson (card # 120)

Like yesterday, I updated my Earl Wilson wantlist page.

Oddball Earl Wilson

I was browsing ebay this morning and came across some oddball cards I'd never heard of. ZeeBall.

ZeeBall Test Game
Earl Wilson (card # 7977)

I lifted the image from this ebay auction.  Apparently there are baseball and football cards aplenty, but I don't know anything about their origin.  Can anyone shed some light on these cards?

Little Earl Wilson Cards

These cards are not your "normal" baseball card sized cards. They're little.

The Globe playing card is 1-5/8" x 2-1/4".  The paper stock is very thin.  When this arrived from BargainBaseballCards.com I almost thought that it was a photocopy.  But it was nice to pick up an oddball for just 15 cents.

1969 Globe Import Playing Cards (blank back)
Earl Wilson (5 of Diamonds)

This approximately 2"x3" Broder card came from ebay.  A bit more pricey.  $5 delivered.  But I used some ebay bucks that I had accumulated by purchasing things for work.  Free cards for me.  And a fantastic ebay seller.  Great communication and super quick shipping.

1974 Broder PCL "Popcorn"
Earl Wilson (card # 49)

I didn't know that Earl Wilson played for the San Francisco Seals.  A bit of poking around old newspaper accounts indicate that he did play in some preseason games but went to serve in the military before the season actually started.  My research there is not yet complete.

1963 Post - Earl Wilson

1963 Post
Earl Wilson (card # 83)

Here's a card from my Elusive Eight list.  I purchased this on ebay for a dollar, two dollars shipping, a total of three.  Maybe a bit on the high side for a card in this condition.  But as several bloggers have pointed out there's a certain appeal for non-pristine cards.  Sure, when collecting, the adage is, "Buy the best condition you can afford."  I agree with this, but I'd rather have some extra coin in my pocket to pick up some more cards.

I had $2.26 in an ebay gift card left over from last year that I had forgotten about.  This one cost me 74 cents, then.  I like to look at it that way.

I collect Earl Wilson cards because he played for the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings of the in 1953 Arizona-Texas League, a class C organization.  The connection is that I graduated from a high school in that same county.  There were scores of other players that played on teams in that county, but John, from The Pursuit of 80's(ness) blog sent me my first Earl Wilson card in a trade.  Earl doesn't have that many cards so I figured it is much easier (and cheaper) to collect him than a major star.

The day after I made this purchase I received an anonymous tip that my Elusive Eight list would be severely shortened. Through some investigative techniques I was able to determine that this Earl Wilson card would be coming my way shortly.  Doh!

I guess I'll have two, perhaps the seed of a contest prize.  But I'll wait until it is in my hands.

Elusive Seven

In the never ending series of blog posts that some might interpret as a love fest for Mr. Night Owl but really isn't, I present yet another card that Greg sent me.

2001 Fleer Boston Red Sox 100th Anniversary
Earl Wilson (card # 50)

This is one of my Elusive Eight cards.  Well, now that list is down to seven. I'll have to find another Earl Wilson card to take the place of this one.

I think I put that page up because everyone else was doing it.  Nefarious Nine.  Sought-after Six.  Flappable Five.  Okay, now I'm making them up.  But it worked.  I can only assume that Greg found my narrow wantlist and helped me knock it down.

You know what else works?  Zistle's new Customized Collections feature.  Here are the Earl Wilson cards I own. Try it, you'll like it.

Thanks, Greg, for the Earl Wilson.  Just a few more of these posts and you'll be released from me splashing your name all willy-nilly.

Thoughtful Cards

Yeah, I'm sure that the blog post title of "Thoughtful Cards" has been used before when one is posting about cards from Adam of Thoughts and Sox.

Out of the blue, Adam sent me an envelope with just two cards.

2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites, Carl Erskine (card #24)

1961 Topps, Earl Wilson (card #69)

Both of these are players I collect. I already have these cards. I'm not complaining at all, even though it sounds like I just did. I'm very thankful I have them. I'm going to send the Carl to Anderson, Indiana, to see if Mr. Erskine feels like signing it. The Earl, I'm going to take to work. Put it next to my computer screen. Remind me of the Heritage. No, not the cards, but the Heritage of baseball. The Heritage of Black Baseball.

No, Earl Wilson didn't play in the Negro Leagues, but as the first black player signed to Boston, I'm sure that he heard some comments from the stands and perhaps his fellow players.

I was able to visit the McClung Historical Collection in Knoxville earlier this week. I took a long lunch after being released from Jury Duty and transcribed a week's worth of newspaper stories about Black Baseball in and around Knoxville. From 1921.

Very interesting stuff. This Sunday afternoon I'll be attending a talk and presentation about Negro League Baseball at a local library. Rick Mosley will share his boardgame, Legends of the Game and Bryan Steverson will present the talk portion of the afternoon. I've been in contact with Bryan over the last six weeks or so and he's been a great encouragement in my pursuit of information on the Knoxville Black Giants.

So, thank you very much, Adam. Unexpected gifts are always welcome.

My SportLots.com Experience

I've been waffling back and forth between SportLots.com and CheckOutMyCards.com to pick up a few more cards. A few weeks ago I decided on SportLots. I had done my research and the two were very different, in ease of use, selection, pricing and shipping fees.

Being the frugal guy that I am, I went with quantity and price per card over the higher priced cards. I was able to purchase 25 cards that I wanted for a total of $8.57. It was $7.03 for the cards, $1.75 for Budget Postage/Handling. The seller gave me a 3 % discount on the cards, so that knocked off $0.21. That works out to about $0.34 per card.

About now I'm guessing that your saying, "Well, those were probably all base cards." Nope, not all of them.

The most expensive card was the 1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Gold for $1.75.

1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond Gold (card #74)

Contrast that to the 1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond for $0.18. The difference? The color of the foil stamp on the front.

1995 Upper Deck Electric Diamond (card #74)

The next most expensive card, well, there were three that came in at $0.50 each.

1986 Drake's (card #31)

1990 Bowman Tiffany (card #84)

1988 Score Glossy (card #470)

The rest of these are the $0.18 cards.

1995 Upper Deck Trade Exchange (card #TC1)

1996 Fleer Post Season Glory (card #3)

1994 Stadium Club Golden Rainbow (card #400)

I was also able to get an Earl Wilson and two Carl Erskines. Still at $0.18 each.

1993 Upper Deck All-Time Heroes, Earl Wilson (card #127)

1993 Ted Williams, Carl Erskine (card #13)

1992 Action Packed All-Star Gallery, Carl Erskine (card #54)

I didn't show you the Topps Stickers, Fun Food Button, the Panini Sticker, the seemingly endless Fleer mini boxed set cards and a few others. Interestingly, I got this package in the mail the same day that Night Owl sent some cards. I opened his first because I didn't know what was in there. This package I knew. Several of the cards that he sent were ones that I had ordered from SL. He gets credit for giving me the cards and the ones that came from SL are now dupes.

Comparing SL to COMC for these cards, there were only two of the 25 from SL that COMC had. They were priced higher at COMC ($0.18 vs $0.25 and $0.18 vs $0.99). The shipping from COMC would be higher ($3.00 for the first card plus $0.25 for each extra card). If I purchased these cards from COMC it would have cost me $9.00 just in shipping alone.

Finding cards on COMC is much easier. Search for the player you want and add the cards to your shopping cart. COMC shows me all of the Hershiser cards that they have in stock. Each one of them is scanned, front and back, with the cards graded by (I'm assuming) the owner of the card. What is M to one might be NM to another. I'm not that picky on cards from the 1980's and 1990's. No, I don't want them creased or dinged, but if there's a speck flaw, meh.

Finding cards on SL is a different beast. Select the player, then you are taken to a checklist of years that the player had cards issued. Select up to three years and see what's available. Then they show you the the cards available. Selecting a specific card drills you down to individual cards, their condition, price and seller.

When your done adding the cards to your cart, you can search another three years. Yes, only three years at a time. Once I found a seller that seemed to have a number of cards that I wanted, I could look for any Hershiser that he had in his inventory. Each SL seller maintains their own stock. At COMC, the cards are all in one location and get shipped from one site.

The seller that I dealt with shipped my purchase very quickly. Too save money, I selected his Budget Shipping option. Each seller lists their own shipping costs, based on the number of cards and any extra services (insurance, packing materials, etc). The pin I ordered was wrapped in plastic, but the clasp was against the cards and put a dent on the front of the Trade Card. I probably should have spent that extra dollar and gotten premium shipping, but this didn't ruin it for me.

I've started a spread sheet with the cards I want, lowest price and then grouped by SL seller, with a column for COMC prices. For the cards I'm looking at, I'll probably place another order with SL and then take the plunge and place an order with COMC. But, these are cards I want, not need. I'm in no rush and perhaps new cards will show up before I place either of those orders.

Bottom line, for me it was some work to determine which cards I wanted and from which site. I'm happy that I spent some time and chose to go with SportLots.com. I can recommend them with confidence, even though I could only search three years at a time. Spending the time researching I was able to add some cards to the Zistle database. That helps me and the collecting community. I'm happy.

Now, how to organize them? I guess that's another post.

Admire, don't acquire

Although I like cards of certain players, I know that I'm never going to be able to own them. So, while preaching a message on finances this last Sunday, our preacher used the term, "Admire, don't acquire". It struck me as pertinent to card collecting. Personally I can't see spending big bucks on a single piece of cardboard. I understand the desirability of cards, the historical significance of them and I'll continue to collect meaningful (to me) low priced cards.

While glancing around ebay, I found this very nice 1968 Bazooka Earl Wilson.

The seller is asking $250 for this. Would it fit in with my small collection of Earl Wilson cards? Yes. Am I willing to spend that much on a single card? No.

So, I'll admire it for now, realizing that it is a fine specimen of a fine card of a fine player.

Seymour comes to Seymour

One day last week I got a package in the mail. It was from Adam of Thoughts and Sox. He was the most recent caretaker of the T206 Cy Seymour that has been floating around the blogosphere. (See Carl Crawford Cards' post that set this in motion.)

He also included a T206 of Red Ames (hands at chest pose). Adam is claiming that this is a fake and sent it along for comparison. I agree with him, but I'm trying to put together a post as to why I think it is a forgery. That includes better scans, and a bit of research, then actually putting it down on the blog. Seeing my track record for blogging this month, don't look for it tonight.

Adam also included a 1960 Earl Wilson Rookie Card. I've got this one already, but it is slabbed in a bit of graded plastic. No, the plastic isn't graded, the card is. Now I've got one to put in the binder. Yippee!

And, since no one saw their way fit to send me any of the graft or bribes I was asking for during the Gint-A-Cuffs fiasco, Adam shared with me a coupon for "any breakfast sandwich" from McDonalds. Finally I can eat.

Thank you, Adam. His in-laws live not too far from me, so we might have a blogger meet and greet next month.

The title of the post? I actually live in a town called Seymour, even though I tell people that I live in Knoxvegas. I sound cooler that way. Now I am cooler since I have Cy to keep me company.

Card Show recap

Things I leared from attending the card show this weekend...

Know where the show actually is.

I knew the area, but wrote down the address and plugged it into my GPS.  It helped.

Make sure you have plenty of time.

Since card collecting is a pastime for me and not my vocation I made sure that my attending the show did not interfere with any family obligations.  I was clear and my wife even said that I deserved a bit of time away.

Have your checklists ready.

I knew what I wanted, but I was scrambling on Saturday morning, assembling and printing the checklists.  I had one on a work computer, one on the laptop and one that I'm continually working on and is in no shape to print.

Know what you want.

This goes with having your checklists ready.  I ended up only bringing two checklists.  Earl Wilson and Carl Erskine.  I wanted to fill in as many Topps Earl Wilsons spots as I could and I wanted to see what was available for the Erskines.

Set a budget and stick to it.

I set my card buying budget at $20.  I didn't count the entry fee.  It was $5, but they offered a $1 coupon.  I did print that in advance and used it.  I should have brought a mess of 1's and 5's.  I just had the 5's.  Nothing like two guys fumbling with their money pouch and wallets, digging in their pockets while juggling a handful of cards.  In the end I was probably within 10 % of my budget.  I went over by just a bit.  I was waffling at the end over an early 1950s slabbed Bowman.  No, I don't know what year or even who the player was.  But the card was good looking.  I looked at it.  Went back.  It was half off the stickered price, but it would have put me over my allotted funds.  I left the card there.

Budget your time.

Once I got to the show I scoped the place out.  It was a small show.  I walked by the tables, getting an idea of who I wanted to come back to.  That lasted about half way through the floor and then I just started looking at the cards.  I ended up with plenty of time and then made a second pass.  It was a toy/comic/sportscard show.  The second pass consisted of looking at the toys.  Don't spend an hour flipping through a big box of 25 cent star commons when there are two more aisles to look at and the show closes in half an hour.

Talk to the vendors.

I spent time talking with seven vendors.  Finding out where they came from.  Did they have business cards?  Surprisingly, only about half of those I asked had them.  But then again, I didn't have any of mine.  I really should get some printed up.  Blog and contact info.  That sort of thing.  I wanted to find out where they were from in case they had something back home that I was interested in.  Several were locals (within a few counties).  Some were from several states away.

Be open to new things.

I wasn't looking for hockey cards, but I saw quite a few that I liked.  I didn't buy them, but I liked them.  Same with some older football.

So, what did I get?  It is now time for show and tell...

1961 Topps Earl Wilson (card # 69)

1967 Topps Earl Wilson (card # 305)

1968 Topps AL Pitching Leaders (w/Earl Wilson) (card # 10)

1968 Topps Earl Wilson (card # 160)

1970 Topps Earl Wilson (card # 195)

1971 Topps Earl Wilson (card # 301)

This put a serious dent in my Earl Wilson base set.  I'm starting to go with the collecting philosophy of getting the widely distributed cards (Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, UD, etc) of the player I want when they were actually playing.  Other cards (oddball and regional) are cake.

The other part of the my collecting philosophy is to get the best quality card that I can afford, but also get the best bang for my buck.  I think that I'd rather have three Near Mint cards rather than one Gem Mint card.  Now, that depends on the card, but I think you know what I mean.

I also picked up two relic cards.  Keeping with some of my earlier collecting intents, I stayed with Hall of Famers and cards that interested me.  Okay, one of each.

2006 Fleer Decade Greats, Steve Carlton (card # DEC-SC)

I had a Brooks Robinson bat card in my hand for the longest time.  I already have a Brooks Robinson autographed card, so I thought I'd go a different route.  "Wait", you're saying. "Why a Carlton bat card?  He's a pitcher."  That's what got him into the Hall, but he was also a decent hitter.  For a pitcher.  Batting Average of .201 with 13 Home Runs.  The HRs put him into 21^st place on the "MLB all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers" list.

2001 Upper Deck Legends of New York, Legendary Dodgers, 

Game-Worn Jersey, Carl Erskine (card # LDJ-CE)

1959 Topps Carl Erskine (card # 217)

Carl was a pitcher with the Brooklyn (and then the Los Angeles) Dodgers.  He ended his career with 122 Wins and 78 Losses over 12 seasons.  His ERA was 4.00.  Not great.  He was selected to the All-Star team in 1954 and wears a ring from the 1955 Dodgers' World Series championship.

The jersey card is thick.  Well, in the jersey part of it.  Thick wool.  It has a great look and feel.  The fabric isn't shiny.  It is what uniforms used to be like.  Not slick and full of breather holes.

I decided to start collecting Carl Erskine cards this week.  Although we've never met, we share something.  But that's for another post, at another time.

I picked up a small set for a family member, but since he reads this blog, I can't share it here.  I will reveal that purchase in the future.  If he lets me.  I'm sure he will.

Later this week I'll post about some of the vendors and product that I saw.  And liked.  My budget won't allow me to collect them, but darn, I liked what I saw.

 

The man who never ages

Apparently Topps had no money in the late 1960s to hire photographers...

1968 Topps - Earl Wilson (card #160)

1969 Topps - Earl Wilson (card #525)

1970 Topps - Earl Wilson (card #95)

I left the following as part of a comment over at a blog I've started to read, Lake Effect Baseball Cards (which I like very much - but has left the blogosphere as of December, 2010).

I'm starting to collect Earl Wilson (1960's pitcher). I think that I'm going to start with only the Topps regular set issued cards.

There are quite a bit of 'extra' cards out there. Bottle caps, superballs, posters... things that were big in the '60s. If I should come across them for cheap, yeah, maybe. This will help me stay focused.

I've started to assemble a checklist for Mr. Wilson.  It is a work in progress, not yet completed.  I'm not sold on the format I'm using.  Basically, it is a quick reference tool for me.  And yes, some of the images were lifted from ebay.

1967 Earl Wilson Topps cards

Here are the 1967 Topps cards that feature Earl Wilson. They are numbers 305, 235 and 237. In the middle of June of 1966 Boston traded Earl away to Detroit. His cards from 1967 reflect that. Sort of.

The card clearly states TIGERS, but the trained eye will still see the stylized B of Boston on his jersey.


Here we see Earl wearing a blue, airbrushed cap.


And then a partial airbrush job.

At least he's wearing a cap on the League Leaders cards. Look back at the first card. No cap.

This is what is known as BHNH* (Big Head No Hat) syndrome. Very convenient for the card producers when a player gets traded mid-season.

"Quick. We're supposed to go to press in an hour. Find that photo of Earl Wilson without his hat. You know the photo. Yes. That's the one. Good. Enlarge it to crop off the Boston from his jersey. No one will notice. Trust me. I'm in marketing."

Earl went 5-5 for Boston and 13-6 for Detroit that year. He completed 13 of his 37 games started for the season. He finished up the year with a 3.07 ERA. He also had 7 HRs. Producing them, not giving them up. He gave up 30 of them.

* I did not coin the term BHNH. I'm not sure where I read it, but it was probably a Baseball Card Magazine from 1989 or so.