Samuari Mike

Well here is the second autographed card that I ever pulled, it is a 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends #MS Mike Singletary. Former linebacker for the Chicago Bears and most recent former head football coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He is an intense player and expects the best from his players and that he did not get from the 49ers, so out the door he went. I think that he will be back as a head coach somewhere, perhaps in the college ranks once bowl season is over and the ax falls on college football head coaches.

Merry Christmas!

Hey folks, I would like to wish each and everyone of you and your families a very merry Christmas, please be safe and have fun.

Now, I have one question, IF Santa Claus could complete just one of your personal card collections on Christmas day, which one would you wish for? I would go with my Ryne Sandberg collection as my pick. Merry Christmas,

Eli

Randomness

Here are some 1984 Ralston Purina 1st Annual Collector's Edition baseball cards by Topps. I do not remember when or how I got these, but they are pretty cool.

They were available in Ralston cereals, Cookie Crips is the only one I remember eating so maybe that's where I got them.

The back of each card has a little personal info on each player, on Brett's card it says that he has 3 brothers (Ken, John,Bobby). Lynn was named All-American at USC. Fisk was his high school's MVP in soccer and Cooper's high school team won 2 Texas titles.

The cards are

George Brett #13 of 33

Fred Lynn #29 of 33

Carlton Fisk #33 of 33

Cecil Cooper #27 of 33

Now onto this gem. Please tell me that none of you have this sweat shirt as part of your wardrobe....lol. I don't believe it was "cool" then, much less now. What was Topps thinking when they offered this to collectors as a purchase? "High quality Puffy-lettered sweatshirt" aka, wear it to school and get punched in the face. Nice going Topps.

GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

In one of the best rivalries in collegiate football, the Army vs Navy game has to rank high among all of sports. Tomorrow brings us the 111th meeting between the two service academies, it is always a great game, with both sides giving it all they have, leaving it all on the field.

Some people do not like the style of football played by both sides, but they have to remember that the academies do not recruit football players, they recruit leaders.

So come game time, I will be cheering on my Navy team to get the victory, but as a retired veteran a part of me always cheers for the Army and Air Force academies.

GO NAVY! BEAT ARMY!

Random Pack #1 2004 Fleer Patchworks

Well since things have been pretty slow on the trading front, I figured that I would do a random pack post like some other bloggers do, plus it gives me something to do....lol.

Ok, today we have Fleer Patchworks from 2004, there are 5 cards per pack. I have never seen these cards before, at least I don't remember seeing them. I actually like the look of these cards, I especially like the black background on the left side with the team logo embossed over it.

The cards pictured are as follows:

#31 Jason Schmidt

#60 Austin Kearns

#5 of 15 Eric Gagne By The Numbers

#64 Preston Wilson

#23 Miguel Tejada

Ron Santo

Chicago Cub great Ron Santo has passed away. This is a very sad day for Cubs fans and baseball fans in general. Ron always made me laugh when I listened to the Cubs on WGN Radio out here in California. He had a great laugh and his "Awwww gezzzzz" is my favorite phrase of his. He had a tremendous passion for the Cubs and for the fans as well. It is sad to know that he was never voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame while he was alive. But knowing the politics of baseball, he will probably be voted in now. A little too late if you ask me.

But I believe that Ron's hall of fame were the Cubbies, the Cubs fans and the friendly confines of Wrigley Field, that was and always will be his Cooperstown.

Rest in peace Ron, I wil miss listening to your voice on the radio.....awwww gezzzzz.

The Brooklyn Met!

I recently received a package in the mail from Jason aka thebrooklynmet over at Clearcutcards. He got the cards pictured below in a group break, so knowing that I collect Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio, he was kind enough to send them my way so I could add them to my collection. Thank you Jason, I greatly appreciate it.

1998 Dugout Axcess #1 of 20 Double Header Jeff Bagwell

1998 Dugout Axcess #130 7th Inning Stretch Jeff Bagwell

1998 Dugout Axcess #20 Craig Biggio

1998 Dugout Axcess #19 Jeff Bagwell

Texas Ranger Rob

Hey folks, it has been awhile since I last posted anything on here. I have not pulled any great cards and do not have any trades in progress, so needless to say, my card world has been pretty quiet. But not long ago, I worked on a trade with Rob at Texas Rangers Cards , I sent him some cards for his Rangers collection and in return he sent me the Pudge cards pictured above. So my Ivan Rodriguez collection is coming along well, it's almost time to split the binder and start a new one...lol. Thanks for the cards Rob, I hope that we can trade again sometime in the future.

The cards pictured are as follows.

2003 Topps Finest #18

2003 Topps Bazooka #101

2003 Donruss Studio #125

2003 Fleer Focus Jersey Edition #133

2005 Playoff Prestige Game Worn Jersey Collection #7

2003 Fleer Avant #36

2003 Upper Deck #455

2003 Upper Deck MVP #7

More for my collection.

Well I checked my mail over the weekend only to find the usual junk mail, insurance stuff, coupons and the ever present bill, but there under all that was a bubble mailer from Chris over at Budget Baseball Cardboarding. Awhile back, I sent him a bunch of Rays cards, along with some Ichiro and some other players to add to his collection. I was not expecting a package, but I was very surprised and happy to have received it.

Chris sent me some cards for my collection of Pudge, Vlad, Biggio and Bagwell. Along with those he sent a Mike Scott and Dickie Thon to add to my Astros collection in tribute to my late father.

Thanks for the cards Chris, I hope that we can trade again some time soon.

Pictured here from left to right are the following:

Mike Scott 1983 Topps #100T

Dickie Thon 1987 Topps Tiffany #386

Ivan Rodriguez 2007 Topps Heritage #370

Vladimir Guerrero 2006 Topps 2K All-Stars #7, 2007 Bowman #136, 2007 Upper Deck TP-VG

Craig Biggio 1990 Topps #157, 1990 Score #237

Jeff Bagwell 2001 Topps #407

A little of this, a little of that.

Hey, I hope that everyone out there in the sports card blog universe is doing well. Not much going on over in my part of the world, just been busy with everyday life, but enjoying it all.

As of late, I have not been motivated to mess with my cards, football season is upon us and I am ready for it to kick in full tilt. I did pick up some packs over the weekend, a mix mash of this and that, I won't post all the cards I got, just the one's that I consider a little bit more special than the others. It always feels great to bust open some packs, new or old. From left to right are,

2007 Topps DS29 John F. Kennedy Distinguished Service card.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes 127 Joe DiMaggio

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes121 Yogi Berra

2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy YSL 1979 Allie Reynolds

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes#18(Black) Frank Robinson

2008 Upper Deck Yankee Stadium Legacy YSL 2004 Yogi Berra

2005 Upper Deck ESPN GU-JE Jim Edmonds game used card.....one of my favorite players, great hustle.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #178 Pujols/Musial

2005 Upper Deck ESPN BH-21 Mike Schmidt........one of the best third basemen/player to ever play the game.

Well there you have it, not great, but not bad I guess. I plan on picking up some packs this weekend, hopefully I'll find something good.....take care.

80's Astros

Hey, I hope that everyone is well out there in the baseball blogging universe. Yesterday I received a package from blog reader Tim in Ohio. He sent me some Bagwell's, Biggio's, Ryno and Pudge cards to add to my collection of those players, but I wanted to focus on the cards I have pictured here.

They are all of Houston Astros, my late father's favorite team. I am putting together a binder of cards of the players on the 1976-1987 time frame Astros. These are the players that I remember on those teams and that I remember watching on TV with my father.

A lot of these guys are not big name players, a few are, but for the most part they are just forgotten names, but to me they are reminders of those times when my father was still alive and cheering on his Astros. In a way this is just a small tribute to him and to those players that made up the team that he so loved very much.

Pictured here are Jose Cruz, Enos Cabell, Joe Niekro, Terry Puhl, Bob Knepper, Alan Ashby, Ray Knight, Mike Scott and Dickie Thon.

Legit or fleas?

Does anyone know anything about these jersey cards? I can't seem to find much on them. Just wondering if they are legit jerseys or flea market specials. The card pictured here is a 2003 Upper Deck Rickey Henderson. Any information on these would be helpful, thanks.

The Middle Child

I received a package over the weekend from ShellieB from The Middle Child sports cards, check out her blog and work out a trade with her, you won't be dissapointed. I recently sent her some Big Mac cards, Albert Pujols and Chipper Jones cards along with a few others that I hope she will like. Here are just a few of the cards that she sent to me in exchange.


Pictured above is a 1995 Upper Deck Final Tribute Ryne Sandberg #447 along with a couple of Craig Biggio cards, a 1997 Score Artist Proof PP35 and a 1998 Pacific Paramount # 169. The scan does not do justice to the Biggio Artist Proof card, it is a great looking card.

Here a a few of the Pudge cards that she sent over, a 1998 Sports Illustrated 12 of 12, a 1998 Pinnacle Mint Collections #20, Topps 2005 Opening Day #30 and a 2006 Upper Deck First Pitch #69. Great cards to add to my Pudge collection.

Also include were some Vlad cards, he is new to my collection, but thanks to ShellieB, my Vlad collection is growing rapidly. The surprise card here is the 2005 Fleer Platinum Diamond Dominators DD/VG jersey card, I was not expecting to receive this great card. I also received a 2007 Fleer Ultra #85, a 1997 Topps Gallery and a 1998 Donruss Hit List # 346.

Thanks for the trade ShellieB, I hope that we can trade again in the future.

Another trade

I recently completed a trade with blog reader Tim from Ohio. He does not have a blog himself, but he does manage to read trading blogs and work out some trades. I sent him a package not long ago filled with some Expos, Nationals and Indians to add to his collection. In return he sent some Ryno, Pudge, Biggio and Bagwell cards. Along with those he included some 70's and 80's Houston Astros cards. They were my late father's favorite team, so I am working on putting together some cards of the players that were on the team when he would watch them on television. Here is sample of the cards he sent my way. Thanks for the cards Tim, hope to trade with you again.

Clear Cut Trade

I recently completed a trade with Jason over at Clear Cut Cards http://clearcutcards.blogspot.com/ I sent him a bunch of Piazza and Olerud cards along with some other players to add to his collection. In return he sent me some Ryno, Pudge, Bagwell, Biggio and Vlad cards to add to my collection. These are just a few of the cards he sent my way. Go check Jason out and trade with him, he is very cool.

Here are some Ryno and Pudge cards that I was missing, gotta love the Ryno TR #312.

Biggio and Bagwell two of my favorite players, gotta love their dedication to one team, very rare to see players do that these days.

And finally some Vlad, the greatest swing in baseball, the man with no strike zone....lol. I really like the UD #47 A Piece of History.

Jason, thanks again for the trade, I look forward to more in the future.

Topps Ticket To Stardom 2009

I picked up a box of old packs over the weekend at Target that contained a pack of these cards, 2009 Topps Ticket to Stardom. I have never seen or heard of these, but don't look too bad, kind of plain looking in a way, but sometimes minimum is better. I did notice however that three of the cards, Garko, Pujols and Penny are missing a little something. Look closely and you will be able to tell right away? See it? Notice the black looking bar? It's actually silver foil, it reads from left to right, position-name-card#:.
As you can see now, the three cards I mentioned are missing the silver foil. If I angle the card properly, I can see where the foil was supposed to be and can just barely see an imprint of the words position-name-card#: on there. Someone must have fallen asleep when the silver foil ran out or taken an extra long smoke break. I can see getting one card like this, but three in one pack? What are the odds....lol

Future stars

Here are some current big leaguers back when they were young, up and coming ball players. As you know by now, they have all panned pretty out well in the big leagues, the only one still with their original club is Carl Crawford, the remaining three have moved on to other teams. Of the three Carlos Lee is my favorite because of his interactions with the fans while he is playing left field, especially at Wrigley Field. El Caballo as he is nicknamed hit a home run in his first major league at bat for the White Sox back in May 1999. Miguel Cabrera hit a walk off home run in his first big league game for the Florida Marlins and is a four time All Star. Carl Crawford is a four time All Star and four time American League stolen base champion. Rafael Furcal made his debut for the Atlanta Braves in April 2000 against the Colorado Rockies. He in one of twelve players in MLB to have an unassisted triple play. He got his against the St. Louis Cardinals on August 10, 2003. Cabrera is shown on a 2001 Royal Rookies Futures #16. The others are shown on 1999 Just cards, Lee #106, Crawford #72 and Furcal #20.

Ryan Matthews

Well I know it's not football season yet, but I wanted to take some time to do a quick post on football, namely on running back Ryan Mathews out of Fresno State University, the number one draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in this years NFL Draft. This guy is a workhorse, he is tough to bring down, is quick on his feet and has good hands. So whether running from the backfield or catching a pass down field, he will play a key role with the Chargers now that LaDainian Tomlinson is no longer on the team. It will be tough to do, but I believe that he can do it and will fit in well in the Chargers offensive plans. I got to follow his career at Fresno State and plan on following him in the NFL. I will be adding him to my own football card collection. The card pictured is a 2010 Hit Football #21, the only card of Mathews that I have at the moment, but hope to add more once the season is upon us.

1981 Topps giant photo cards

Here is an oldie but a goody from 1981 Topps. As you can see, these cards are big, roughly about four times the size of your standard issue baseball card. I have three of them including this Nolan Ryan card, it is one of six Houston Astros cards, the other Astros in this set are Cesar Cedeno, Jose Cruz, Art Howe, Terry Puhl and Don Sutton.

I also have the Texas Rangers' Al Oliver and Buddy Bell cards, the others in that set are Jon Matlack, Mickey Rivers, Jim Sundberg and Bump Wills.

Back then you could order these cards in 18 card team sets for $5, available for these teams, Yankees/Mets, Dodgers/Angels, Rangers/Astros(12 cards), Cubs/White Sox. The Reds, Phillies and Red Sox were in 12 card sets each. I don't know what players were in those sets, but it would have been nice to be able to have them all. Just a quick trip down memory lane in 1981.

Backstop legends

As a kid watching baseball, the position of catcher was and has always been my favorite. There have been some great one's in the history of baseball and two of my favorites were Thurman Munson and Johnny Bench.
I was never a Yankees fan, but I was always a fan of the late great Thurman Munson. He was a 2 time World Series Champion, 6-time all-star, American League Rookie of the Year in 1970, the American League MVP in 1976, 3 time Gold Glove winner. Thurman Munson's locker has remained empty ever since his death. It serves as a small, silent tribute to this much-missed Yankee ballplayer.
Johnny Bench was a 14-time All Star, 1968 Rookie of the Year, 2 time NL MVP, 2 time World Series Champion, 1976 World Series MVP, 10 time Gold Glove winner.
Here Munson is shown on a 1976 Topps #60 and Bench on a 1981 Donruss #182.

Graig and Bert

Here are a couple of old school signatures that my wife got for me when these guys came to town. I was deployed at the time so I was not able to be here to see them in person, but I dug these cards out for her and she went and got them signed for me. I have a few other players signatures that she got for me from this same event that I will post sometime in the future.
The Nettles card is a 1991 Fleer and the Campy card is a 1991 Topps, I can't remember exactly when it was she got these signatures for me, but she said that all the players that were there were very nice and were happy to sign for the troops.

Willie "Pops" Stargell

Willie Stargell was one of my favorite players when I was a kid, I remember watching the Pittsburgh Pirates make that 1979 run to the World Series, what a post season that was for Pirates fans and baseball fans. There were many great players on that team, from Manny Sanguillen, Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Ed Ott, Tim Foli, Omar Moreno, Dave "The Cobra" Parker, Phil 'Scrap Iron" Garner, Mike "The Hammer" Easler and many others. But Pops was the main man, the leader of that club, that great smile of his was addicting and no one could resist being a fan of Willie.

The one memory I have of him that always stands out to me is when the Pirates were playing in a game, I can't remember who the opposing team was, but I recall Willie tried to steal second base, he took off from first, slid into second, but the only problem is that when he slid, he came up about 4-5 feet short of the bag. The second baseman simply walked over to him as Willie lay on the dirt laughing and tagged him out, he truly was one of the greats of the game. This particular card is the very first game used card that I ever pulled, it is a 2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers.

Bucky "Bleeping" Dent!

"Deep to left! Yastrzemski will not get it! It's a home run! A three-run homer by Bucky Dent! And the Yankees now lead by a score of 3-2!" - New York Yankees announcer Bill White (October 2, 1978).

Russell Earl O'Dey aka Bucky Dent had just hit a dramatic home run in what was to become one of the great moments in baseball and one that added more fuel to the fire to the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry. This particular card has special meaning to me even though I am not a Yankees fan. It is the very first ever autographed card I ever pulled. A 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends Epic Signatures card. I was so very happy when I pulled this card, finally something cool I felt like a kid on Christmas morning. That was many years ago, but I remember that moment like it was yesterday. One of the many reasons that I love this hobby and that I love the game of baseball.

Baby steps....

Hello everyone, this is my first sports cards blog, so we shall see how it all turns out. Well I first I would like to introduce myself, my name is Eli, I began collecting cards as a kid back in Texas, mostly baseball and football at that time. I am a Cubs fan, but I also follow the Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Dallas Cowboys and have an immense passion for college football. I collected on and off over the years, but then I stopped completely. Then I got back into it in the 80's and tried to collect everything and anything, every sport, every brand, you name it, I probably tried to collect it. I think that many collectors at that time were doing the same. A set of these cards, a set of those cards, too many different sets out at that time, huge sets, it was difficult trying to complete them all, so I gave it up on collecting once again.
After sometime away from the hobby, I jumped back in. But this time, I decided to concentrate on collecting my favorite players instead, it was more relaxing and something that my wife and I enjoying doing together. My current player collections are of Ryne Sandberg and Ivan Rodriguez in baseball and David Carr in football. I do plan on adding more players to my collection, but at this time, I'm not sure on who it will be. I still do not collect sets and do not buy boxes of one brand or another, I am more of a pack rat so to speak. I prefer to buy packs new and old of different brands and seeing what cards I get in each one. I find it more fun that way. I am not doing this for the money, but for the joy the hobby brings.
As far as this blog goes, I want to use it as a means of connecting with other sports cards collectors and as a platform to begin trading cards with them. I just recently completed organizing my cards to make it easier to search for players. I think that I can still tweak it a bit more to make it easier, but for now it works as is.
I have read many of the sports cards blogs out there, but there are a few outstanding one's that I truly enjoying reading and go back to each and every day. Many of those were the itch that got me going again in collecting and in starting this blog. So I hope to get to know you and trade with you and most of all make new friends in the process. Well until then, take care, keep collecting,

Eli