TTM Success: NFL Hall of Famer Andre Reed

In late February of this year I watch the 30 for 30: Four Falls of Buffalo. I was fascinated. I was only 9 years old when they had their first of four consecutive AFC Conference Championships and was strictly a baseball fan at the time, but I do remember them making it to the Big Game (I don't want the NFL coming after me for using the other name) four consecutive times and losing. But for the most part everything was new to me and I loved it.

On 2/29/16 I sent 4 cards to former Buffalo Bills wide receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Andre Reed and he returned all four signed on 3/22/16.

1 or 2?

I've been sorting again and every once in a while I come across something that makes me scratch my head and write a blog post.

As card collector's we're all very familiar with parallels. The slightest variation creates a separate card and it gets added to a checklist.

Here's an example.

It doesn't scan well but the card below is a 1st Edition parallel to the base 2004 Topps card above. The only difference between the two cards is that little bit of foil. 

So here's a question for you. Do you consider the cards below the same card or a different card? They are 2010 Topps Attax cards and each feature a unique code to be entered online. Does the code make each of these cards a unique card? 

To me the difference between the two is bigger than the difference between the 2004 Topps and the 2004 Topps 1st Edition. I don't think they are two different cards, but it did make me think for a minute and I thought I'd pose the question to the card blogosphere. 

And we complain about when Topps...

uses the same photo on multiple cards.

I've been going through my cards which are currently sorted by team and am sorting them now by player. I was sorting through the Indians and came across several cards of Cliff Lee where Donruss used the same photo.

Here are 6 cards between 2003 - 2005 where Donruss used the same photo on cards in its various brands including Playoff Absolute Memorabilia, Donruss Classics, Donruss, Leaf, and Leaf Certified Materials.

In that 3 year period Donruss probably produced 30+ different sets, so I wonder how many other cards there are of Cliff Lee with this same photo.

A Mid-Life Card Crisis

I think we've all been there. Especially those who not only collect sports cards, but those who blog about collecting sports cards.

I've had an active blog for almost 8 years. I've seen a lot of great blogs come and go during that time. Sure, there are a few bloggers that have withstood the test of time, but they are few.

Collecting takes a lot of time and money. Blogging about collecting takes even more time. Both time and money for collecting and blogging about it are becoming harder and harder for me to find.

I'm going to continue blogging though. I just can't seem to give it up. It's been 10 days since my last post and that is too long.

So here is some cardboard for your viewing pleasure. This time it's some football cards from a fellow YouTuber Dave whose channel Dave's Mid-Life Card Crisis inspired the blog title.

Dave sent some Arizona Cardinals cards for my boys and I. Thanks Dave!

Logan Thomas was a 4th round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2014 NFL Draft and only spent 1 season with the Cards before being released, but this is a really nice quad jersey/patch autographed card of Thomas who only has 1 completion in the NFL for 81 yards and a touchdown to his name. Dave also sent a nice jumbo jersey card of Thomas as well.

Next up are some cards of current Cards including QB Carson Palmer, RB Andre Ellington, and WR Larry Fitzgerald. 

Let's finish off the package from Dave with a 4 spot of Patrick Peterson cards including a base and parallel Platinum, a mini Topps Magic and a really cool looking Panini Crusade card.

Golf Gloves on Baseball Cards

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson is credited with being the first player to wear a glove while batting in a Major League game during the 1963 season. The story goes that he wasn't expecting to play one day against the Yankees and so he spent the morning playing 27 holes of golf and when he got to the ballpark he saw he was in the starting lineup. During batting practice he noticed a blister from all the golf and so he decided to wear his golf glove during the game. Not only did it help him protect his blister, but he hit two home runs. 

The practice of wearing a golfing glove was not uncommon during batting practice, prior to 1963, and some say that Bobby Thompson first wore a glove while batting during the 1949 Spring Training, almost 15 years before. 

Recently I've been on the lookout for pre-1963 cards featuring players wearing a "batting" glove. 

Here's a 1961 Topps card of Johnny Romano that I picked up recently for a dime, which features him wearing a batting glove.  

Let me know what pre-1963 cards you have in your collection that feature a player wearing a "batting" glove. 

Package from Topps85401

I got a package a few weeks back from a fellow YouTuber, Nate, who runs the YouTube channel Topps85401. Nate is a huge Giants fan and is a Barry Bonds super collector.

Nate sent a bunch of great cards from the 80's and 90's, plus some great D-Backs including these two 2012 Gypsy Queen cards of Ian Kennedy.

I didn't even know that there was a Kennedy SP, so it was nice that Nate, not only sent them to me, he also labeled the penny sleeves so I would know. 

Nate also sent this awesome 1989 Baseball Talk over-sized card of Hank Aaron featuring the 1954 Topps rookie card. 

Here's the back. There was a special machine that you could put these in and it would play sound. I actually had one of them back in 1989 or 1990. Wish I still had it, but I'm glad to have this in my collection!

Nate also sent me this 1964 Topps Giants card of Carl Yastremski. Giants is because it's big, not because of the San Francisco Giants. This thing is really cool! 

Nate also sent me a book to read and pass on to another YouTuber (sorry bloggers) called Mint Condition: How Baseball Cards Became an American Obsession. I read it and loved it. I would recommend it to any baseball card collector. 

A big thank you to Nate for an awesome package!

Gonzo from Bob Walk the Plank

I got a package on Friday from Matt, of the blog Bob Walk the Plank. What a great way to start the weekend! If you've ever gotten a package from Matt before, then you know why I was excited when I pulled it out of my mailbox. 

Matt's generosity and thoughtfulness is hard to match. When I opened the package I saw just two cards, but I also saw that both cards were encased Topps Tribute cards. 

Check out these beautiful Luis Gonzalez autographs that Matt sent me! Initially I scanned them, but the scans didn't so them justice so I had to take pictures to be able to show them off properly. 

Thank you so much Matt! I'll be on the lookout for some Pirates for you! 

TTM Success: Clayton Kershaw

I got this ttm autograph from Clayton Kershaw a few weeks back. It turned out great and I like that it highlights his winning the 2013 NL Cy Young Award.

I know last year I questioned the authenticity of the Kershaw returns a bit because I got one postmarked from Texas when he would have been in AZ for Spring Training.

Let me know what you think.

TTM Success: The Great Ham-Bino

I sent Josh Hamilton 4 different ttm requests (one for me and one for each of my boys) last year and got them back a few weeks ago.

Josh is a great player with a ton of talent and I wish him all the best. 

Mystery Pack from YouTuber Ricky Russo

There is a YouTuber named Ricky Russo who's known as the King of Wax because her opens so many cases of cards that it's ridiculous. And yes, I meant cases, and not boxes. It's usually high end stuff and it's all four major sports. 

In addition to busting wax, Ricky entertains viewers with his commentary and stories during his videos and he's one of the most generous YouTubers out there holding contests on a regular basis. 

Every once in a while he will sell Mystery Packs. They are $25 + $3 shipping, so $28 total. I bought one baseball and he's what I got minus a Bowman Chrome auto that I already packaged up for another YouTuber. So 12 hits, for $28, or $2.33 apiece.

I know you can't read the name on this first one, but it's Jon Denney.

This is a Shadowbox auto numbered to 49. 

This mini bat relic is numbered 24/25.

And because Ricky knows me, my Mystery Pack contained 3 D-Backs cards, two of which were Paul Goldschmidt.

Chris Owings Rookie Inscriptions auto numbered 44/99 from Immaculate.