The Easter Bunny Likes Baseball Cards in My House

I'm not big on giving out tons of candy to the kids. I'm not raising a pair of Todd Marinovich's, but I just don't want pass out chocolate and sugar by the basket. A little is fine. I'm have a soft spot for Peanut M&Ms and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, but a basket filled with it? Not so much. 

Instead, the Easter Bunny at our house gives out baseball cards and packs of them. The boys usually get a few packs of Topps, maybe an Upper Deck pack, t-shirts, and some chocolate candy.

I'm thinking of getting a few Jumbo Topps packs and maybe even some old-school wax packs this year!

What's the Problem with the National Sports Collectors Convention?

Let's call them "opportunities for improvement."

The National Sports Collectors Convention has started their email marketing campaign, launched some prices and began spamming the facebook fan page. Does that sound familiar? Well, it should. It's the same process and product with problems we (collectors) have received for years.

My next blog posts are dedicated to identifying these opportunities and providing solutions for them.

I really want to see The National do well. I started the original facebook group for The National and along with VOTC, started the twitter hashtag #NSCC for use when discussing it. The next several posts will reveal:

• Partnership Opportunities
• Pricing Opportunities
• Marketing Opportunities
• Vendor Management Opportunities

I've thought a lot about these areas and how The National can take advantage in them. 

Does this Dallas Texan Look "Sneaky Fast?"

The back of this card describes Chris Burford as "Sneaky Fast!"

In 1961, Burford averaged 16.7 yards per reception and 51 catches for 850 yards and 5 touchdowns.

This 1962 Fleer is the latest Dallas Texans card I've picked up on eBay. I only have five more before completing the team set.

Great Action Shots from Dallas Texan E.J. Holub

The 1962 Fleer set I'm collecting is entertaining if nothing else.

I'm focusing on the Dallas Texans and some of these cards are pretty hilarious. This is E.J. Holub, a linebacker from Texas Tech.

As David commented on my previous blog post about the 1962 Texans, "Part of the reason for so many local collegiate guys was to help create an interest in the team by having the fans recognize the players. They were referred to as "Territorial Picks."

Great comment and thanks for the contribution.

Signs Your Baseball Career is Going in the Wrong Direction

There are several key signs to alert a player that his baseball career is trending in the right direction. A player's bat speed could slow down, velocity on his pitches may drop or getting injured more frequently are all signs that the career is in the wrong direction.

Former NY Mets pitcher Dennis Ribant could also see this by reading the back of his 1966 Topps card!

This is a '66 card, but the highlight listed in the top right corner is, "Dennis led the midwest league in ERA in 1961."

So his career highlight is 5 years ago . . . and it's a minor league accomplishment. Dennis ended up having a decent 1966 season in New York, but was out of baseball a few years later.

My Vince Coleman Autograph Request

Former Met and friend of firecrackers, Vince Coleman, is signing autographs.

Vince is signing at the Mounted Memories November 21 show in Chicago, IL.

What are the chances Vince signs a firecracker for me?

If you don't remember Vince's little problem . . .

Pete Rose 25 Year Anniversary - Free Print

I attended the Pete Rose 4192 celebration on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010. Everyone who went through the Reds Hall of Fame received a free print.

The picture has Pete's swing from Sept. 11, 1985. I have the picture of Pete on first base with Steve Garvey, but I didn't have one with the swing. It's a pretty nice print I'll get signed some day. One in ten given-away at the Reds Hall of Fame were already signed - I wasn't lucky enough to win one of those.

The Answer: Stephen Strasburg

The Question:
Why should collectors avoid the temptation to overspend on rookie cards and buy into the hype of the yearly "greatest player ever?"

That's my weak attempt at Jeopardy.

I hate to see Strasburg have this injury. It hurts the game and the hobby. I kept quiet on all the people talking about buying his latest card and spending thousands of dollars on an autograph card. Everyone has their own taste and interests, but this is why I resist going all in.

Let's hope Bryce Harper isn't next.

Day 1 of the 2010 National - Blogger Kiosk

Here's a collection of some of the Day 1 National Sports Collectors Convention Reports:

• A Cardboard Problem
• Stale Gum - Video
• Field Level View - Redemptions
• Voice of the Collector - Media Coverage
• Sports Cards Uncensored - Not in attendance, but a cool guide

Let me know if there are other Day 1 Reports.

Dan Edwards Could Be the Old Spice Guy

This 1952 Bowman Large Dallas Texans card is my latest eBay purchase. I'm pretty happy with the condition for the price I paid.

At first, I thought Dan Edwards looked a lot like former Pennsylvania senator, Rick Santorum.

Then I noticed the tilted head, the smile, the football in one hand and the other hand on his hip. There's something senior picture-like about this card.

But the best comparison is to the Old Spice Guy. Can't your hear Dan Edwards, "look at your man, now look at me, now look at your man, now look at me . . . . I play for the Dallas Texans." -Add whistle jingle.

Use Foursquare to Get Free Autographs

The Columbus Crew (MLS Soccer) is offering a free autograph poster.

The next foursquare "mayor" of Crew Stadium will receive a free autographed Columbus Crew schedule poster. To become the mayor, you need to have check-in to Crew Stadium more than anyone else in a 60 day span.

Mail Bag Delivers: Barney Poole 1952 Bowman Large

I added to my 1952 Bowman Large collection. I picked up Dallas Texan Barney Poole for a good price on eBay. It's not perfectly centered, but that isn't a big deal to me.

Poole began his pro football career with the New York Yankees in 1949. The Yankees moved to Dallas for the 1952 season - their only season as the Texans.

Sports Autograph Collecting is in our DNA

My boys have really enjoyed collecting baseball cards in the last two years. It's been fun for us to collect team sets, add them to a binder and talk about the teams and the players. We haven't done much on the autograph side of things.

I have a lot of autographs and they are displayed in one area of the house. We see them and talk about them when I get new ones, but I've never taken them to get one. I just wasn't sure if they would be into it yet.

Then it happened. I'm not a scientist, but I'm pretty sure somewhere in that double-helix there is an autograph collecting gene.

Saturday night at the Columbus Clippers game, all kids received a free baseball. (The Clippers are the local minor league baseball team for us.) Between one inning, there was a lot of commotion behind our lawn seats and the boys ran over to see who it was.

At first I thought they'd come back with a free foam finger or free game tickets. Then I saw kids running around with pens and their baseballs. Maybe a local legend was in town?

They came back 2 minutes later with autographs on their baseballs - it was from the Clippers Mascot: Lou Seal.

I guess it's a start.

$500 Panini Autograph Session at Football HOF

Panini is partnering with Mounted Memories and the Pro Football Hall of Fame for a $500 autograph session. Whoa!

$500 is a bit much if you ask me. In the session you get an autograph of every member of the 2010 Hall of Fame class which includes: Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, John Randle, Floyd Little, Dick LeBeau, Rickey Jackson and Russ Grimm.

Panini is also offering individual autograph tickets for Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. Emmitt's prices are the most expensive I've seen: $299 for a full size helmet and $189 for an inscription. This is nuts. $189 for Emmitt to write "HOF 2010."

I'm a big Cowboys fan and have all the other HOFers (sans Landry), but I won't be going for this one.

Click here for details.

My First Game Used Memorabilia

While cleaning out some old boxes this weekend I found this gem - My First Game Used Memorabilia.

This is the baseball I saved from my 1985 Little League Championship game. I was the catcher when Rob Cuerton struck out the Ben Hayes for the final out of the game. I remember our pitcher, the hitter and saving the ball and holding on to while we jumped up and down on the pitcher's mound.

What a good time. It looks a little odd next to some of my HOF autograph baseballs, but the memories of getting it are a little better.

Grrrr Zollie Toth

Zollie Toth is mad as hell and he isn't going to take it anymore!

This card is great. The picture of Zollie Toth gritting his teeth and carrying the football is awesome. This is Zollie Toth's 1952 Bowman Large - Dallas Texans card.

Starting to Collect a New Team Set

I can't decided if I'm looking forward to the new challenge or wondering what I'm getting myself into. Starting to collect a new team set is exciting and fun, but can be extremely frustrating at the same time.

I recently finished my '52 Bowman Small Dallas Texans team set. I really enjoyed the look of the cards, so I've decided to do the 52 Bowman Large version of the Texans.

The Bowman Large cards are approximately the same width of a regular card, but they almost .25" taller. I had to get some taller sleeves for the binder - Chris Olds from Beckett recommended The2Buds.com - good site and I picked up some bigger pages to store these '52 Bowman Large cards.

I picked up this card of Barney Poole at the CSA Show in March.

Free Comic Book Day is May 1 - Reminder

I've always liked comic books, but never really had any. I appreciate the art and story telling, but for one reason or another I didn't get into it.

I do plan on going to my local comic book store for Free Comic Book Day - Saturday, May 1. I'm taking the kids to Comic Town to pick up our free comic books. I blogged about this earlier in the month here.

If you're on twitter, check out FCBD10 and hashtag #FCBD for the latest info on comic book events in your area.

Did Topps Inspire Legos?

Is the Lego brand taking a page out of a baseball card manufacturers playbook? It's not quite the same, but it looks pretty similar.

Last year, Topps introduced the Topps 3D cards. I had a blog post about them on March 9.

This year, Lego is introducing a similar feature.



Can a box top like this be far behind for Topps?

Sure it's a little gimmicky, but how cool would it be if a box of cards you purchased had a similar feature?
- Could it be a preview of what the cards look like?
- Will audio be next?

The technology already seems to be there with the Topps 3D. Maybe this is the next step?

Proud Parenthood Hobby Moments

It's a moment we've all thought about. I wasn't sure it would happen. I didn't want to force it. If it happened great, if not, that's OK too.

On Friday, one of my boys said, "Dad, can I take my cards to school for Share Day?"

I don't think they make a Hallmark card for the event, but damn it - they should!

He didn't want to bring one or two... he wanted to bring the entire box! My answer was an emphatic YES! Bring the box in, let everyone pick them up, read the backs and check them out.

We celebrated Friday night by having Mac and Cheese for dinner. Good times.