Mattingly Monday

Whenever I get a few new cards to add to my Don Mattingly collection I'm going to set them aside to do a Mattingly Monday post.

I've got 5 cards to add to the Mattingly binder today. 

First up is this fantastic 1993 Stadium Club horizontal card showcasing.

From the same set, but an insert is this Superstar Duos card of Mattingly and another player I collect; Doc Gooden. I need to get a second card for my Gooden binder. 

Next up are a couple of sunset cards for Mattingly who finished his playing career in 1995. Here is a 1996 Donruss card. I love the shot of him peering over his sunglasses, looking right at the camera.

This 1996 Fleer Ultra card is features Mattingly wearing a different pair of sunglasses.

The final card is a 2014 Donruss card that is pretty plain compared to the rest of the cards on this post, but it's a card of Donnie Baseball nonetheless.

I love finding Mattingly cards in dime boxes to add to my collection and hope to be able to make Mattingly Monday post a semi regular feature.

Card Show Pick Up: 1962 Topps 1961 American League Home Run Leaders

I picked up this 1962 Topps card at the card show this past Saturday. I got it from the same dealer that I got the majority of the 1971 Topps cards from, but on a second look through his boxes. I started looking at the oldest stuff, which was T205 and T206 stuff and went up through 1964. I picked out a few cards, but ran out of cash, so I stopped.

With this card commemorating the breaking of the single season home run record which had been held by Babe Ruth for 30+ years, I have come to think of it as a pretty iconic card. I do wish that Topps would have used a better photo of Maris and Mantle though.

This card had a $12 price tag, but I got two other cards at the same time and got a few bucks off, so it was around $10 in the end. Happy to add it to my collection. As a kid I picked up a 1961 Topps Roger Maris card and remember thinking how big of a card that would have been if I had been a kid in 1961 watching Maris and Mantle battle it out that summer and then Maris finally pulling away and breaking the HR record, so this card also pairs nicely with that card.

I need to look for the National League Home Run Leader cards from 1999 and then 2002 and put them with this one. I think that would be pretty cool.

What other cards do you have in your collection that pair with other cards?

How many players in 1971 weighed less than Larry Bowa?

Yesterday I showed the 1971 Topps Larry Bowa card I picked up for my set for a quarter. One of the things I noticed while looking at the card was how skinny Bowa was. The back revealed that he weighed in at 155 pounds. My question to everyone was how many players would weigh in under 155 from the 1971 set. 

There were several guesses ranging from 0 to 42. I went through my set and then double checked the players that I still need. There are only 6 players that are listed at under 155 pounds. There were another 13 players listed right at 155 pounds. 

There is an outfielder and then three shortstops and two second baseman. There are a couple of rookies, some familiar names and even a Hall of Famer.

The Joe Morgan is one of the cards I still need for my set, so this picture came courtesy of eBay.

So the smallest player was 150 pounds. How about the biggest? I found two players listed at 250 pounds on the back of their 1971 Topps cards. The 6'7" slugger Frank Howard and another 6'7"player. This time though it is rookie pitcher Buddy Harris of the Astros.

So with the number of players under 155 pounds being 6, it looks like Bo was the closest with his guess of 9. Bo, send me an email to confirm your address and I'll send you a couple of well loved 1971 Topps Hall of Famers.

The Skinny on 1971 Topps and Larry Bowa

In my post yesterday I mentioned how sparse my posting has been this year so far. I am hoping to change that. So let's do another post.

My plan for the card show that I went to on Saturday was to get as many cards as possible for my 197 Topps set. The first two stops I made were for this sole purpose. I picked up 5 cards for the set. Yesterday I showed 4 that I got from one dealer. I picked up the Ernie Banks, Lou Brock, Willie Stargell and Brooks Robinson, along with another $2 card for $30. The sticker price, if you add the other $2 card, was $36, so the dealer gave me a nice discount.

The other 1971 Topps card that I got from a different dealer at the show was just a quarter. It was this Larry Bowa rookie cup card.

I tend to think of Larry Bowa a a manager first, but as the Topps All-Star Rookie Cup indicates, Larry had a nice rookie year in 1970. He played well enough at shortstop to win two gold gloves and play in 5 all-star games.

There is a lot to love about this card, starting with the Rookie Cup. I'm a fan and especially like the big version found on these 1971 cards. You also get a look at a young and skinny Bowa. Look at how small his thigh is. The back lists him at just 155 pounds. A quick search shows just 8 current MLB players weighing in at less than 155 pounds. We also get a to see Bowa sporting a batting glove under his fielding glove, which isn't unheard of, but I feel like it's a pretty rare sight on cardboard.

How many players do you think weigh in under Bowa as listed on the back of their 1971 Topps card. If anyone gets the number correct I'll send you a well loved 1971 Topps card of a Hall of Famer.

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone out there is having a great Father's Day! I am looking forward to having lunch with my dad and several of my siblings and then watching the Suns vs. Clippers in the Western Conference Finals. Go Suns!

In addition to the card show yesterday I stopped by a card shop that was only about a mile away from the show. I'm glad I did.

I've mentioned it before, but this particular shop, The Batter's Box, is always buying collections and so they put out new stuff all the time. They price things reasonably, so stuff usually doesn't last long. I've learned the hard way that if I see something I want I need to get it quickly, before it's gone.

Such was the case yesterday with this particular item. 

I've had a Joe DiMaggio autograph before. I bought a box on eBay back in 2002 and pulled it from there. I sold it for $1000 to help me buy my first car. I regret it. So when I saw this at the card shop I splurged and got it knowing if I hesitated it would be gone. So I got it as a Father's Day gift for myself. 

While I wish it was signed on the front, I am happy with it for the price that I paid considering that it has been authenticated by PSA. I got it for $125, which I think is a fair price.

Hope everyone out there has a great Father's Day! Maybe you got something card related from a loved one, or maybe you got yourself something like I did. Let me know below.

How did you celebrate my 12th blog-o-versary?

What were you doing 12 years ago today? I don't remember everything I did 12 years ago, but apparently I went to a card shop and then I blogged about it. I started this blog 12 years ago. Crazy how time flies.

This blog has been a great resource for me to help me keep track of my collection. I've also met a few fellow collectors/bloggers over the years because of my blog, which has been a lot of fun. I'm not sure how many trades and care packages I've received over the past 12 years because of the blog. Too many to count.

My blogging in 2021 has been spotty at best. This will only be my 37th post this year. I typically average about 175 posts per year, so I am way behind that pace. I hope that changes. 

Well, how did I spend my blog-o-versary?

I went to a card show of course. Then I went to a card shop.

This is the third weekend in a row that I went to a card show. The hobby is still going strong even if we are seeing some dip in prices. I'm okay with that. That's not why I collect.

So what did I get at the card show today?

I have been focusing on finishing up my 1971 Topps set recently and so I was able to grab a few cards I needed. 

I got these 4 from the same dealer that I have bought from before. A couple of months ago I snagged the Nolan Ryan and Roberto Clemente cards I needed for my 1971 Topps set from the same dealer.

You can see that I am not a stickler for condition. For example, there were three other Brooks Robinson cards that I could have gotten that were in better condition, but I gladly took the $4 option. 

With the cards I added today, I am down to needing just 12 cards for the 1971 Topps set. Most of the big names are gone. There are a couple of high numbers, but no short prints, so it is just a matter of tracking them down. I would like to find them locally verses buying them one by one on eBay and paying $4 just for shipping.

My question for you is what did you do today? It's summertime, Juneteenth, and Father's Day weekend. There are a couple of NBA playoff game 7's and baseball is in full force. Maybe you went to a card show or card shop today as well. Let me know.

Card Show Recap

Yesterday I attended a card show in Phoenix. I had never been to this particular show before. Honestly, I doubt I will be back. I posted this on Twitter to recap my experience.

While this particular exchange never actually took place. This is certainly how I felt. There was very little vintage and even less from the 80's and 90's. Most everything was modern and the majority was graded. There were a couple of boxes with dollar cards, but there was not a single quarter box to be found. The shows that I enjoy attending always have a plethora of quarter boxes and usually some dime boxes.

I have a couple of other observations that I want to share. 

1) The show was well attended. I got their about 30 minutes after it opened and it was packed and stayed that way the entire time I was there.

2) More women at the show than I am used to seeing at card shows. Many were helping their significant other as a dealer, but there were others walking around with their significant other.

3) There was a lot of trading going on between patrons and the dealers.

4) Speaking of trading, everyone was carrying around a briefcase with their graded cards. I've seen a couple people before at shows, but at this particular show, it seemed like everyone had one.

5) Soccer cards are on the rise. I saw people buying soccer cards and talking about soccer cards more than I ever had before.

I asked about a couple of cards. There was an SGC 1.5 Tom Seaver rookie card that I thought might be in my price range. I was wrong. The dealer wanted $750. The Suns are on fire right now, eliminating Lebron James and the Lakers this past week, so I asked about a few Devin Booker rookie cards, but $400 for a PSA 9 Prizm rookie card is not in my budget currently.

I did however pick up two cards at the show. I got them from the same dealer.

I have been watching The Last Dance again with my oldest this past week and as I we watched it reminded me of some of the great basketball that I watched during the 90's as a kid. After each episode I would pull up YouTube and show my son clips of some of the greats that I grew up watching. One such player was Vince Carter. So I know that's the reason why I ended up making this purchase, but that's okay.

I know I have some Vince Carter rookie cards, but I've always liked this one and was happy to add it to my collection.  

The Carter was in a showcase. I asked about the price and the dealer told me $20. I had found this Andrew McCutchen Topps Chrome rookie card in a $5 box at the same table so I ended up asking if the dealer would do $20 for both cards and the dealer agreed.

So while I happy with the two cards that I was able to add to my collection, I don't think I will be attending this show again anytime in the near future.