ALMOST 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL !!!

SUPER JOE -THE FINAL CHAPTER

This first item ,obviously , is not a baseball card but just another interesting piece of my collection. Joe had a baseball school at one time and this was one of his business cards.

1983 TCMA Buffalo Bisons

Joe played for Charleston in 1982 but had no card that I know of.He liked to clown around a lot such as posing as a left handed hitter , or as in these two minor league cards , a right handed stance with a left handed grip !

1984 TCMA Prince William Pirates

After being released by the Indians before the start of the 1984 season , Joe signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates as a free agent .

1993 MCI Ambassadors

MCI and The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association , together , produced and sponsored the MCI Ambassadors of Baseball World Tour from 1992 thru 1996. Many ex baseball stars went on tour of overseas military bases and played softball games against base teams.They also made appearances at the base exchanges ( general stores ) and put on clinics for children. Military personnel who filled out an MCI application got a free set of cards.

1993 UPPER DECK ALL-TIME HEROES

This set was designed after the T202 Hassan Triple Folder set from 1912. Upper Deck also used this set to help promote B.A.T. ( Baseball Assistance Team ) which helped families , of any baseball related areas , who were in need.

1994 UPPER DECK ALL-TIME HEROES

Once again Upper Deck had the B.A.T. logo on the back of this set along with a parallel set with " MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 125th ANNIVERSARY " stamped in bronze.

2004 FLEER GREATS of the GAME

Joe had 3 cards in this set. The base card , basecard auto and the blue bordered basecard, this one #'d 14 of 80

2005 TOPPS ROOKIE CUP ORIGINAL RELIC

When I first found out this card existed , my first thought was I have to have one ! Then I realized there was only 2 of them produced..... so much for that thought. Then one day the baseball card gods were thinking of ME for some reason. The #1/2 card showed up on ebay !!! Even then it took some help from the ebay gods to make my bid hold up. This was , no doubt , my most exciting acquisition !

2006 FLEER GREATS OF THE GAME " NICKNAME GREATS "

" Super Joe " had to be included in this set even though he didn't have a long career.

2008 TRISTAR SIGNA CUT

Once again , not exactly an official card , but a nice addition # 72/75.

Well , there you have it. My " SUPER JOE " Charboneau collection. Also of note are a few more items I have , including a 1991 Cleveland Indians Yearbook with Joe on the cover , a 1981 All-Star Program with all the pages of tiny cards still intact , an All-Star game patch and a copy of the 45 rpm record entitled " Go Joe Charboneau ". I hope all who have followed this enjoyed it!

There are 4 items that I know of missing from my collection :

1982 Indians Team photo card ( the '82 has the position at the bottom center )

1982 Topps Blackless , rare version with black ink missing

1988 TCMA ? Chattanooga Lookouts Legends Team Issue

2006 Fleer Greats of the Game basecard

If anyone can help with these items , let me know . I have tons of cards and collectibles to trade !!

"SUPER" JOE PART 2

1981 SQUIRT

Topps and Squirt soft drinks got together and produced this set of two-card panels as a promotional give-a-way. Joe was paired up with Dave Parker in the uncut panel.

1981 Topps Scratchoffs

This issue was designed as a tabletop game that was played by scratching off dots which revealed either a single , double , triple , HR , ground out , strike out or flyout. Each card could be used for 24 at bats so hey could last for several games.

1981 Topps Sticker

Produced by the Italian manufacturer , Pannini , these stickers were sold under the Topps name.Sold in a wax pack of 5 for $ .40 !

SUPER JOE'S Sports Bar and Grille cards

These two cards were produced as advertising souvenirs and were given out at a bar in North Royalton , Ohio that Joe owned with a friend.The top one is standard size at 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" and is modeled after the the 1959 Topps series. Joe supposedly liked that design. The other is a 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" glossy ,black and white photo card.

1982 Donruss

By now the injuries were keeping Joe down , limiting him to 48 games in 1981 and only 22 in 1982.

1982 Fleer

1982 Fleer Stamps

These were sold in strips of 10 and an album was available to place them in.

1982 WHEATIES INDIANS

These cards were produced as a stadium give-a-way . There are 30 cards in the set and were given out in packs of 10 at three different games so you had to attend all three games to get the entire set. However , later , they were available as a complete set at the Indian gift shops .

1982 TOPPS AND OPC

As usual , the Topps were prett much duplicated and sold under the Candian company O-Pee-Chee .

1982 TOPPS PRINTING PROOFS

I happened to find these one day being sold on ebay through the Topps Vault. I don't know if there are any more of them anywhere but either way they are a nice compliment to my collection !

Stay tuned for the third and final chapter of my Super Joe collection. There is one card coming up that is in my top 10 favorite cards that I own !!

"SUPER" JOE Part 1

If Andre Thorton had not gotten injured there may not have been a " Super" Joe . Joe Charboneau got a chance to play on April 11, 1980 and took full advantage of it , going 3 for 3 with a home run. He finished the season hitting .289 with 23 homers and 87 RBI , more than enough to win the 1980 American League Rookie of the Year award . The fans and media in Cleveland were buzzing all season and talking of the days of the " Rock " ! But all the hype was short lived as injuries hampered Joe and brought an all too quick end to what seemed to be a very promising career.
Joe was drafted on 01/07/1976 by the Minnesota Twins in the 6th round of the free-agent draft but for some reason , did not sign . 5 months later he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2nd round of the secondary phase of the free-agent draft . This time he signed but then he was traded to Cleveland for Cardell Camper ( whom , I don't think , ever play in the Show ) .
He is also known and remembered for many of his zany antics such as dying his hair different colors , opening beer bottles with his eye sockets and shaving off a tattoo with a razor blade.

Cardell Camper--- His 1978 rookie card , one of 7 total cards , was the the only major league card he had.

1980 Indians team issued photo card ( light colored jersey indicates 1980 )

Joe's play in 1980 netted him an All-Star nomination in 1981 and a small ,1 1/4" x 1" , "card" that was part of several sheets inserted into the 1981 All-Star game program . That year the game was played in Cleveland.

He also made it into the the ever popular APBA game in 1981 .

1981 Donruss , one of Joe's first real baseball cards , came in the days of the never ending variations. ( see different versions below ) This being the premier year for Donruss , Joe was also one of 8 players featured on a sample promo sheet that year.

Version "A" . The sentence after 116 runs begins " For some reason..." .

Version "B" leaves out " For some reason " for some reason !!

1981 Drake's Big Hitters . Their first card set since 1950 . Stats and some info on the back are identical to 1981 Topps as they produced the cards.

1981 Fleer , also a comeback issue after an 18 year hiatus.

1981 Indians team photo card. This year features a dark colored jersey.

1981 Kellogg's This year the 3-D set was increased to 66 cards and produced in the standard 2 1/2" x 3 1/2 " size.

1981 Topps / OPC Pretty much identical , including card #'s O-Pee -Chee was the Canadian version of Topps.

However, the OPC cards have their own logo , some french translations on the back and two different colored card backs. Some on white stock and some on gray with gray being more scarce.

TO BE CONTINUED !!!

Nolan Ryan, Evan Longoria , C.C. Sabathia

Clayton Kershaw , Chris Carter , Brett Gardner

Merry Christmas 2008 ! At 7:00 AM this morning it was snowing and we had a very slight white Christmas. Everything is green again now at 2:50. I have a little time waiting to go to my inlaws for the evening so I wanted to make a short post. I received 5 packs of cards from my two sons this morning , including the cards pictured above. 35 cards altogether and not a single Tribe card !! The Ryan Mets card is nice though.And the C.C. card my be one of few Brewers cards he'll have. I'm off work now until the 31st and I'l be working on a "Super" Joe Charboneau post. Have a nice holiday everyone !!

I'm back ! All of our decorating and shopping is done. The presents will be wrapped this week-end and I can relax a little and get back to my cards. I did get one comment from David at Indians baseball cards and then some.. about my Pacific ornaments. I , for one , miss Pacific Baseball. They always had a lot of unusual inserts. I especially liked the ornaments issued in 2000-01. One of my goals is to get all 44 and decorate one small tree with them.I only have 8 so I have a ways to go. Anyone have any they want to trade ? I don't have any duplicate ornaments but I do have close to 100,000 other cards !

The set from 2000 consisted of 20 cards with various die-cut Christmas designs and a holographic background.They came with an elastic string for hanging and were seeded 2:25 packs.

Manny is the only Indian ornament but he is in both sets. This is the 2000 version #8. Also from 2000 ....

Greg Maddux # 3 and Frank Thomas #7

Scott Rolen #14 and Mo Vaughn #1

The set from 2001 was increased to 24 cards but were slightly harder to find at 2:37 packs.The hanging strings also disappeared , at least I've never seen one on a 2001 card.

From 20001 : Nomar Garciapara #5 .......

and Frank Thomas #8 with Ken Griffey Jr. #9.

To me , this is one of the fun aspects of this hobby and that's what we need to get back to. If we can show the younger generations ( and some of the older too! ) that it can be entertaining and fun to collect cards maybe we can move things in a positive direction ! I know it gave me a lot of pleasure to spend time with our two sons , going to shows and bustin' packs and boxes and even though they are now 21 and 24 we still collect together.

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!



Below left and right would be the left side of my desk , with the Dodge Ram delivering my tree. Santa and his helpers are in the Viper and Prowler. Above right: some of the boxes of decorations for the rest of our house.

Above left, that would be me and my wife ,about 100 years ago ! ( actually, only about 25 ,we've benn happily married for 28 1/2 ) I now have less hair and mustache is all white. Left and above right : This tree sets above my monitor ,all baseball related ornament including some Pacific cards from the late 1990's. Manny being Manny is near the top of tree.

Above : even our cat has her own tree,nutcracker and stocking !! She lays there with her head hanging down out of her bed thinking , " What are these people doing !"

More boxes and boxes.

Boxes and boxes everywhere !

These photos show why it will take my wife several days to get the whole house decorated, and this is just the inside stuff !!


Gotta go for now. BASEBALLDAD !