I read this blog !

Jeremy, over at, No one's going to read this blog found out that he was wrong and someone WAS going to read his blog !

They say good things come in small packages. In this case they were very right.

Jeremy sent me a small package, with a couple small cards but they are very big in my book.
Especially the A&G mini,Sizemore jersey.Thanks for the great cards!!

Trade with First Day Issue

Yeah, I know these are football cards. There's a story here!

The yellow bubble envelopes keep coming in and I keep sending more out.Sometimes it seems like a vicious circle,but the end results are worth it!

This package came from MadHandle11 over at First Day Issue .

The last time he sent me cards, there were 2-3 Browns football cards included. One was a Mayo Cut Plug and I mentioned that my youngest son was working on that set.I am guessing that's why the cards above were in this package! That's just a sampling of the ones he sent and the timing couldn't have been better.Friday was Andy's 22nd birthday! He will be home next week-end and these cards will be waiting for him.

Not nearly as many cards as we traded the first time,but still some great quality Tribers.

I didn't have this Bazooka comic,and it is absolutely priceless!

The Lofton chrome didn't photograph too well,

but the Manny hologram turned out nice.

I guess I should ask Santa for a scanner this year!

This Sizemore jersey card was really nice !

As was this Hafner A&G.

You don't see too many of these 1999 Skybox Metal Explosion cards.

I have a Thome, Manny Ramirez and now David Justice.

Anybody got any more !!!

This was only a few of the Indians MadHandler11 sent this way,but some of my favorites!

Thank you very much. I'm working on some Mariners to head out west!

Tribers from Kansas

I just received a very nice package of Tribe cards from,Todd, over at Wax Pack Relapse .

Regardless of what he might tell you,Todd was standing on a 12" box for this photo from the Nationals !

(Yeah, right)

First we have Grady, Cliff and Victor.

Then Travis and Jeremy from "Ticket to Stardom"

Along with Ryan and Cliff......

and Grady and Kerry.

Plus a ripped Fausto Carmona.

But the best was yet to come !

A Goodwin Champions Kelly Shoppach on card auto !

Thank you,Todd, so much for these great cards !

The Munchkins in Oz are Celebrating !!

Bye Bye !!

Ding dong the manager's gone.
And now it's time,
For a brand new song.
Ding dong let's start all over again !


We got young talent ready to go.
Some can hit it far,
Some can fly right home.

Ding dong let's see some hit 'n run !

Ding dong, bunt the ball,

Move 'em around,

Do not stall.

Ding dong just wait until next year !

These Tribers are for the Birds

More specifically, Oriole birds. Even more specifically, Beardy's Orioles.

I had yet to make any deals or trades with "The Bearded One" but thanks to him, I now have my first Obak Indians.

These cards are very interesting with the little tidbits of information on the back.

Like, I did not know (or forgot - good possibility at my age !), that Herb Score was both, the 1954 MiLB Player of the Year and American Association MVP !

Al Rosen was the 1947 Texas League MVP.

Then there is Carlos Santana, who was named the 2009 Eastern League MVP, playing for the Eastern League Champion Akron Aeros. ( That part wasn't on the card because it just happened : http://www.akronaeros.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1252084236 ).

Beardy also sent two shiny, chrome Tribesmen.

Well, 1 Triber and 1 ex-Triber. Lee's an Indian on the card though, so that's OK.

How about Sandy Alomar for manager ?!!

Thank you Beardy, for the great Tribe cards and some Orioles will be flying your way soon!!

If I build it, will you come?

When is a baseball card a football card ?

I recently purchased some loose 9-card pages, full of cards, at a local flea market. I glanced at this one,not recognizing the design, thinking is that a young Ken Griffey Jr.? Then I noticed that it was football card ! Flipping it over filled me in on the information I needed to know.

A baseball card is a football card when it is a young Ronnie Lott, who envisioned himself as Brooks Robinson !

If I build it ,will you come?

Cleveland and the Minor Leagues Part I

Minor League Baseball of the Cleveland Indians

Where did Minor League baseball start? When did it start? If you have never looked into the answers to those questions you may be surprised! I'm not going into a lot of general details but you can can get more info here:http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/history/ and here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_League_Baseball .

This post is concerned with the teams, over the years, that have been affiliated with the Cleveland Indians.

The following is a list of those teams through 1939

A rough comparison to today's classification would go like this:

Open = AAA

A,A1,A,A- = AA / A

B,C,D,E, = Rookie Leagues

YEAR / CLASS / LEAGUE / CITY-TEAM NAME

1929

D Blue Ridge League ( PA-MD-WV ) * Frederick Warriors

1930

D Blue Ridge League ( PA-MD-WV ) * Frederick Warriors

1931

1932

B Central League* Ft. Wayne Chiefs

B Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League * Quincy Indians

B New York-Pennsylvania League * Williamsport Grays

D Mississippi Valley League * Burlington Bees

1933

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

C Middle Atlantic League * Zanesville Grays

1934

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

C Middle Atlantic League * Zanesville Grays

D Northern League * Fargo-Moorhead Twins

D Pennsylvania State Association * Monessen Indians

1935

AA American Association * Minneapolis Millers

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

C Middle Atlantic League * Zanesville Grays

D Evangeline League * Opelousas Indians

D Northern League * Fargo-Moorhead Twins

D Pennsylvania State Association * Butler Indians

1936

AA American Association * Minneapolis Millers

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

C Cotton States League * Clarksdale Ginners

C Middle Atlantic League * Zanesville Grays

D Evangeline League * Opelousas Indians

D Northern League * Fargo-Moorhead Twins

D Northern League * Wausau Timberjacks

D Ohio State League *Mansfield Tigers

D Pennsylvania State Association * Monessen Indians

1937

AA American Association * Milwaukee Brewers

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

B Southeastern League * Montgomery Bombers

C Canadian-American League * Oswego Netherlands

C Middle Atlantic League * Springfield Indians

D Evangeline League * Opelousas Indians

D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League * Hopkinsville Hoppers

D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League * Owensburg Oilers

D North Carolina State League * Newton-Conover Twins

D Northern League * Fargo-Moorhead Twins

D Northern League * Wausau Timberjacks

1938

AA American Association * Milwaukee Brewers

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

C Canadian-American League * Oswego Netherlands

C Middle Atlantic League * Springfield Indians

B South Atlantic League * Spartanburg Spartans

D Florida State League * Gainesville G-Men

D Georgia-Florida League * Tallahassee Capitals

D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League * Hopkinsville Hoppers

D Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League * Owensburg Oilers

D Northern League * Fargo-Moorhead Twins

1939

AA International Buffalo Bisons

A1 Southern Association * New Oleans Pelicans

A Eastern Wilkes- Barre Barons

A- Penn-Ontario-NY (PONY) Niagara Falls Rainbows

B Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League * Cedar Rapids Raiders

B Piedmont League * Winston-Salem Twins

B South Atlantic League * Spartanburg Spartans

C East Texas League * Tyler Trojans

C Middle Atlantic League * Springfield Indians

D Alabama-Florida League * Troy Trojans

D Bi-State League ( NC-VA ) * Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets

D Evangeline League * Opelousas Indians

D Mountain State League * Logan Indians

D Northern League * Fargo-Moorhead Twins

D Ohio State League * Mansfield Braves

Obviously there were many more leagues and teams in the early days.

Baseball was THE sport during the late 19th and early to mid 20th centuries. That's when it was a game. Today all sports are more business than pleasure, just as many bloggers have noted the changes in the card companies and collecting habits.Card collecting is still a hobby and a lot of fun to me and probably to most of you who are reading this. If only we could get more young kids interested again. I've tried and tried but it's hard to compete with computers and video games.

If I build it,will you come?