A Sunday night milestone post.

I was just getting ready to start a trade post tonight and realized I was at one milestone and very close to another, so I decided to combine them both into one story. Only I had no idea what I was going to say ! I filled in the title and went to the kitchen and made a big mug of hot chocolate (it's chilly here with the storm coming) and did a little contemplating and reminiscing. This is my 400th post and in 19 days this meager blog will celebrate it's 4th birthday. 400 posts in 4 years is certainly nothing extraordinary. Barely 1 per week. And most of the contents of my posts won't leave you wondering why you didn't already know that little tidbit about the 1995 Topps set or how certain players have had two cards in one set with different poses and numbers. The research some of you guys do is totally amazing !

Our youngest son, Andy, is now a professional sports writer. He had a blog long before me and was also very active on the on-line trading sites. After reading his blog for awhile I began to notice all the other baseball card blogs out there and decided to try it myself. I had no idea what I was doing ! Sometimes I still don't. I think my original intentions were to write mostly about the Cleveland Indians and Indian baseball cards. I had no idea of the trading that went on between the bloggers. I quickly learned that this group was like one huge family of collectors. Several of you stepped right up and made me feel like I had been a member for years !  I'm not sure how many active blogs there were at the time, but in the last couple years the number has grown immensely. When I discover a new blog that has not been around for long I try to help and encourage that person in the same manner.

Trading cards did become a major part of my blogging activities. I know I have added at least 1500-2000 cards to my Indian collection, maybe more. All through trades and an occasional group break.I need to do an inventory of my collection and come up with some better want lists. That is one of my goals for this winter. And to stay on top of my trades. I have several trades in process and several that were going to be shipped out tomorrow, but that will change. I want to wait until this storm passes to send out any packages. Especially ones going east.

 

Trades can easily get of hand though. Sometimes I get too many going at once and start to get behind. I have all the trades I'm involved in labeled and orderly, I just have to finish all of them. Sometimes I'm just too picky. I want everyone I trade with to be happy with what they receive and to get more than what they expected. I have thousands of cards to get rid of, but if I'm not filling a specific want list, I get very precise about what I send out.

 

The packages I receive are great also !  Everyone seems to have the same basic philosophy about satisfying the other traders. That's what makes this whole blogging community so great.

 

Some have written stories about losing interest in collecting. Some obviously have, as some blogs sit on my list with no posts for months. I still have as much desire as ever and always look forward to seeing new products. Maybe because I went through the era when Topps was basically all there was. Back in the mid to late '90's the market was literally flooded with  cards. In 1998 there was well over a hundred different  packs of cards you could pick from. I think that was really too many. There is almost no hope for a team collector to find all the inserts and parallels from that era. They talk about about rainbows today, take a look at 1997-98 Score. You are lucky if you can identify, let alone find all the variations. And don't get me started on 2000 Pacific Prism or Topps Tek !!  Oh, but it's all been fun !

 

I hope to partially retire soon. I'll be 62 in December. But I don't intend to slow down with collecting, trading or blogging.

 

I do hope to start posting a little more consistently and mix in some more interesting material. And mark November 16th on your calender. That's All - Tribe Baseball's birthday and I plan to have a contest of some sort. 

 

For those of you who may be in the path of this storm, I hope you are well prepared and no harm comes comes to you and your families. I will be praying for God to be watching over all.

 

 

Wrap a wrap a wrap they call it a wrapper ! 1979-85

Wrap, wrap, wrap you know I'm after.

Your wrappers !

Many, many times I have mentioned having a wrapper collection.

Some probably think I'm crazy.
Some probably doubt it's actual existence !

But many of you have contributed to my cause and I do appreciate it.

So now I am starting a series of posts to show off my wrappers.

If you have or know of any wrappers I don't have, please feel free to contact me.
I will compensate you for additions to my wrapper collection as well as my card collection.

There is at least one website, that I know of, dedicated to baseball card wrappers.

I would also be happy to hear from anyone else who collects wrappers or would like to.
I have lots of duplicates !

So here we go !

 

I have a serious lack of bookshelf space. I don't even have room for all my card binders right at the moment. This box sits on a shelf next to my desk and houses my wrapper binders for now.

 Each page holds 3 wrappers on each side. The albums are designed for horizontal photos so, obviously, you open it sideways to view the wrappers. Eventually I want to have a system to display a base card with each wrapper. These would work well for that, a wrapper on top and a card on the bottom, but I don't have enough albums or space right now.

The wrappers will be shown in chronological order as they appear in my collection. If you see any mistakes, feel free to let me know. I'm old and tend to make mistakes !! Also, most older wrappers are not dated so, in some cases, I rely on what I'm told when I acquire them. I will try to update as I find new additions so these posts can serve as a have/want list.

 

So here we go, enjoy your trip into the past !

 

My oldest wrapper, 1979 Topps.

First of all, "purist" collectors, display the wrappers flat and unfolded. That allows you to see and read the advertising, as there are variations during the year for different promotions. I think it takes up too much space that way and the older ones are too expensive for me to try to get all of the varieties anyway. I just fold them to approximate pack size.

1980 Topps

 

1981 Fleer

 

1981 Topps

 

1981 Topps Baseball Scratch - off

 

1981 Topps Giant Photo Cards

 

 

1982 ? Fleer Star Stickers

 

1982 Topps Stickers

 

1983 Donruss HOF Heroes

 

1984 Donruss Baseball Champions

 

1984 Fleer Star Stickers

 

1984 Topps

 

1984 Topps Baseball Rub-Downs

 

1985 Donruss Action All-Stars

 

 

1985 Fleer Star Stickers

 



Trade with Life and Baseball Cards

 

Lonestar, over at  Life and Baseball Cards , previously known as Behind These Hazel Eyes, sent me a HUGE stack of Tribe cards. I've seen a couple other similar posts, here and there, in which some other bloggers were also blessed with his generosity. CC hasn't posted in a while and I'm trying to get some additional info on that.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, here are some of the highlights of this stack of Tribers.

 

An early Fausto Carmona Hernandez jersey, note the crooked cap ! CC must have been his idol.

V- Mart bat.
I really like these Donruss Champions cards. The colors go very well with the Tribe logo.

Another Victor Martinez. 2004 Leaf Limited jersey. #'d  2 of  5 ! Very nice card.

Then there was a very wide variety.

1975 Topps Fritz Peterson,  1994 Collector's Choice Jose Mesa silver sig.
1976 Topps Roric Harrison  ( there's one you don't see very often !)
1992 Fleer Eric King

2011 A & G  back  Fausto Carmona mini,  2012  Gypsy Queen Jason Kipnis mini.
2012 Topps Ubaldo Jimenez mini, 2010 Topps Cy Young  Red Back mini

Shiny and Gold !!
2008 Topps Grady Sizemore Chrome refractor, 2008 Topps Victor Martinez Chrome X-Fractor
2009 Bowman Cory Burns gold,  2009 Bowman Wyatt Torregas  gold.

2012 Topps Golden Moments Asdrubal Cabrera, 2011 Topps Opening Day Chris Perez blue border.
2008 Upper Deck X Grady Sizemore Exponential, 1991 Topps Traded Reggie Jefferson

1987 Fleer Limited Edition Joe Carter, 2006 Topps Bazooka Sticker Card Victor Martinez
2010 Topps National Chicle Cy Young, 2010 Topps National Chicle Carlos Carrasco

1985 Topps All-Star set Bert Blyleven, 1993 SP Sandy Alomar
2012 Bowman Asdrubal Cabrera, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Michael Brantley Wall Climber

 

 

2009 Topps A&G Kelly Shopach, 2009 A Piece of History Victor Martinez  #'d 481/999

2009 Topps A&G Trevor Crowe, 2010 Topps A&G Michael Brantley  RC.

 

 

 

Thank you very much CC for the great Cards !!



 





Sorry Night Owl, I'm a little past deadline....

I'm still catching up here.

This is really a nightmare, I swear I will never let this happen again.

That is, if I ever get caught up !


When I started this blog, nearly five years ago ( wow, I had to check my profile !), I had no idea that I would be trading cards with so many people from so many places. It has really been fun and I hope to keep it up for a long time but it has a way of getting away from you.

I always used to post trades and send return packages within hours or at least a few days of receiving a mailer. Now I still have a box full to sort through.

Just about everyone knows Greg from Night Owl Cards. He was among the first few bloggers to greet me and we have sent cards back and forth many times. Tonight I pulled his mailer out of my trade box. Dated April 16. At least it was from 2012 !

This is what he so kindly sent.

 Upper Deck X. It seems that you either like or hate this set. I myself, like it !
I think it was one of those fun sets meant to appeal to younger kids. I guess that explains it.
My wife always says she had three little boys. Two she gave birth to, and one she married.

Like it or not, you have to admit that the color and foil on these inserts is cool !

At one time in his career with Cleveland Charlie dyed his hair blond. You can see it sticking out from under his cap. I don't know if lost a bet or what, but it was not a pretty sight !

I love this set ! The1993 Upper Deck B.A.T. set. It is one of the very few, unadvertised sets that I am trying to complete.

Whoa !! You can tell from the photo, but this is a 1975 mini ! Hmmm.... something is vaguely familiar here. I know ! It's this !!

 



 

Greg, you sent me this card in February, and the one above in April !!

And it's only taken me six months to notice !

Thanks for the upgrade !!

 



I also love stickers and logo cards. This is a very cool gold version.

I would like to complete the Cleveland version of this set also. Gee, maybe I should make up a want list. Pretty brilliant thought for an old man !  I'll be 62 in December and may partially retire, then I'll have more time !

 

 

 

We'll finish up with a little 2012 base and Heritage.

 

Sorry this took so lonnnnnng!

 

Thanks so much for the great cards !!



Oh no ! I'm trying to catch up.

I'm beginning to think it's a lost cause, but slowly, I am getting caught up.

I'm making an early New Year's resolution to form a better plan for next year.

But first, I have to tie up a lot of loose ends for 2012.


A while back, like April, Ryan at  "Oh no !!! Another Orioles Blog", offered some cards and I found a couple I liked. He graciously sent me these :

 

I know, an Indian and a Yankee side by side.  The reason for the Feller is a given. The reason for the Mantle, well, it's freakin' Mickey Mantle !!  I grew up with mid 50's baseball and every kid loved "The Mick". I was a hard core Indian fan but I always wanted to see Mantle hit one out.Even when he was hitting against the Tribe, as long as that was their only run and the Indians scored at least two !



And then, not quite so long ago, Ryan, through some deals of his own, had some extra 15 pocket pages for minis to get rid of. He also had a lot of mini cards. I requested 3-4 pages and any Indian minis he had. Once again a package quickly arrived.

A baker's dozen of cards. Eleven Indians and a pair of Jack Glasscock minis.
From 1879 to 1874 Jack Glasscock played for the Cleveland Blues.
Unfortunately, these cards portray him several years later when he played for the  Indianapolis Hoosiers. I still like them because of my interest in the history of baseball.



And then......just recently (see, I am catching up !) Ryan held his first group break.
The product years matched up with some of the Indians good years so I decided to jump in.

First we have 1996 Zenith.
These were some of the early high end cards and I always liked them a lot.

The golden bats in the background were a really nice touch to this design.

Then we have 1995 Finest.
Another high end product with lots of refractors to chase. I wasn't lucky enough to get any Indian refractors this time around.

Then there was 1999 Fleer Sports Illustrated.
This was an interesting set with very nice photography and a wide array of subsets.

Then there was one Sports Ill. card of an Indian on a Tampa Bay card.
Not too long ago I had been thinking about saving cards, from other teams, that have Indians pictured. This will be the first one in my "sub" Indian collection !

Next we have the all too familiar " are they Indian cards or Oriole cards ? "
I don't think I am alone when I say I hate it when card manufacturers  do this.

As part of the group break, my 2nd randomized team was the Brewers.

 I did a double take with these cards. I thought it was the same player at first glance.
Strikingly similar poses.

 

 

 

Well, that catches me up with Ryan.

Ryan, if you are reading, I also sent a package out to you today !

 

Thanks for the great trades, the break, the blog and everything else !!

 

Go O's, beat the Yankees !!

 

No offense Yankee bloggers !