Night Owl Cards

  Blogging in detail can take a lot of time and effort. I've got several observations and pick-ups to discuss and none of them are worth dedicating a whole post to -- so let's drag out the "housekeeping"' label and piece together a bunch of unrelated topics! I do that a lot, though not since 2024.   Up first is this terrific Hideo Nomo Dueling Dugouts insert from 1997 Pinnacle Inside. I've been intrigued by these from afar for a long time and finally received my first one last year (Karim Garcia on "the back" of the Vladimir Guerrero card). It was time to get a full-fledged Dodger one this time.   The kicker to these is you can turn the dial on the side and it shows the player's stats for that year in the center windows. So cool. Here is a look at the other years on this card:   Outstanding. Interestingly Nomo's stats with the Japan Pacific League's Kintetsu Buffaloes are shown for 1994 but 1993 is blank despite Nomo playing for the same ...

  I found out about a monthly card show in town just coming up on three years now, and already I'm wondering how soon it will be before there's nothing there for me anymore.   I went this past weekend fully aware that I'd see more tables dedicated to TCG stuff. When I walked in I thought I would try to count how many tables were selling Pokemon/Magic/Yu Gi Oh and how many were selling cards of actual humans. But after spotting the three tables to my immediate right all selling it and knowing the table to my immediate left always sold it, I gave up on that and tried to focus on someone, anyone selling something I could use.   It's pretty clear that kind of dealer is taking over this show. Without doing the count, I'd guess that at least half of the tables were TCG this time. Then, out of the other half that's sports cards, cross off the dealers focusing only on graded stock and also the dealer or two selling nothing but boxes they got through a month's worth ...

I've written many times that I discard most of my rules for condition for a card from the 1950s or earlier. If I have a shot at getting a card from at least 70 years ago, I will not care if the corners are rounded, that there are a few creases, that it shows wear as a card like that should . (But I'll usually veer away from old cards that are stained or drawn on).   But those relaxed rules don't apply to most of the cards in my collection. Anything from the 1970s forward better be in tip-top shape. If it isn't, I'm probably going to upgrade it at some point.   But what about those cards between, say the mid-1950s through 1969? Where am I drawing the line?   I never thought about that until I acquired card #1 in the 1963 Topps set. It showed up yesterday.   This card has long been a Dodger need for the 1963 Topps set. It's fallen under the radar -- for years -- because 1) There are five rookie cards from this set with Dodgers on them that I still need and a coupl...

I'd like the Dodgers to sweep tonight, but I'm not confident about it. The Yankees would really have to be in rough shape to lose to Brent Honeywell Jr. and friends. But it could be one those 13-11 games, so there's a shot, and if it's going to happen it will be the second time the Dodgers have swept the Yankees in the World Series. The first happened in 1963. I wasn't around in '63. So I've often wondered what that was like. The Dodgers sweeping the Yankees on the grandest stage is my dream come true (why it needs to happen today ). Damn, the only time in my life I've wished I was 10 years older. All I can do is read about it . And go back in time the way only my little blog can do to see what life was like 61 years ago.   Since this is a card blog, I'll address the card portion first. In 1963, the Topps monopoly was picking up steam with only Fleer mounting a minor challenge.   Fleer put out a dandy little set in 1963. (The green card backs might b...

  I joined this hobby, was sucked into it, in the mid-1970s. Not too long into my time in the club, maybe a couple of years, I caught on to the one primary goal of card collecting.   The name of the game was completion, set completion.   That's changed in the nearly 50 years since. Sure, there are still set collectors, but we're a much smaller percentage of the entire collecting scene, unlike when I was a kid, when it was just about 100 percent.   Still, I can't get that goal from the '70s out of my blood. It's there forever. It is THE reason why I collect -- to complete the mission, to finish the set, whether it's a team set or a set set. This is what makes sense to me in the hobby, and no matter how much I try, I still can't fully grasp what the heck other collectors are doing if they're not trying to finish sets. What does it even mean? So, my second Sportlots order of the year arrived recently, the last cards showed up today. Without even thinking ab...

  I'm one of those "don't get your hopes up" people.   I assume this is a defense mechanism to avoid crushing disappointment. It manifests itself in many ways, and yes, it shows up in the hobby.   Even from the beginning of collecting as a kid, I set my standards low. The only thing I knew to collect were the packs at the store down the street. But I didn't have any money or transportation so I knew any thoughts about completing the entire set were unrealistic.   When I became aware of vintage -- what we called "old cards" then -- I was grateful for whatever came my way, which wasn't much. I had to pick and choose what I wanted, a particular favorite card or cards from a set I liked.   This is how my attachment to certain sets grew. I gravitated to sets like '71 Topps and '56 Topps because I liked them and I knew if I focused on just those, I could accomplish something. Why try to chase down everything? You'll never get those. You deliver...