Will Topps Attend the 2010 National?

I can't remember the last time Topps attended the National Sports Collectors Convention, but could they make a return this year?

Considering their leadership changes and customer outreach via social media, it seems now would be the perfect time to make a big splash at the 2010 National in Baltimore, MD.

I posted the discussion on the Facebook National group page.

Help Flood Victims - Buy Vince Young's Autograph

Vince Young's autograph can help Tennessee flood victims.

Donate $100 and you'll receive an autographed Pro Bowl photo of Vince Young and a Flood ‘10 Reebuild t-shirt. According to the Vincent Young foundation, "Aall proceeds will benefit flood victims and rebuilding efforts."

Click here to access the foundation's website and get your Vince Young autograph.

James Hammond or Hulk Hogan Leg Drop

James Hammond's '52 Bowman Large is kicking the crap out of the Wisconsin Badger.

Seriously, that is one high leg kick. And why does a Wisconsin full-back have a picture of him punting?

Or maybe he's doing the Hulk Hogan Leg Drop?

Billy Martin - The "Perky" Yankee

How would you describe Billy Martin? Aggressive? Competitor? Hot-tempered? Winner?

This Topps 1962 card describes Billy Martin as "perky." In the fourth line on the back of the card Topps writes, " . . . the perky second baseman set a World Series record . . ."

I don't know about you, but when I think "perky" I'm not thinking of Billy Martin!

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.

Best HR Catch By a Fan with a Camera

I've only caught one foul ball and that was in batting practice - I don't think it should count for much.

The closest I came to a foul ball catch during a game was at Riverfront Stadium for a Mets/Reds game. I won the argument over my younger brother that I should have the seat on the end of the row so I can move to catch a foul ball hit our way. My brother is 4 years younger than me and was in 5th grade at the time. I felt pretty certain he wouldn't be able to catch it.

After five innings my brother's complaining finally won my parents over and I had to switch seats with him. Instead of sitting in seat #1 at the end of the row, I was in seat #4.

Sure enough, in the 6th inning, Mets catcher Mackey Sasser hit a foul ball our direction and I was trapped. I couldn't maneuver anywhere to get a better shot at it. And of course it headed exactly where I was sitting.

What happened next haunts me to this day.

I tracked the ball from Sasser's bat all the way to seat #1. Yes, I followed it to the seat and NOT my brother's glove. The ball ricocheted off my old seat and landed a few rows away from where I was sitting one inning earlier.

Where was my brother and his glove? The glove was on his head for protection in seat #3 shared by my mother! I didn't talk to anyone the rest of the game. I couldn't tell you who won and to this day that is the only ticket stub that I ever threw away.

Now I see this YouTube video of a guy catching Andrew McCuthen's home run at Dodger Stadium while video recording it. It's very cool!

Every Team Needs a Jose Oquendo

Jose Oquendo was one of my favorite players - it didn't matter what team he played for. This is his 1984 Topps - his 2nd year with the Mets.

After playing in 120 games with NY in '83, Jose's games dropped to 81 games in 1984.

He became a legend (and inspiration to utility players everywhere) once he landed in St. Louis. Whitey Herzog played him everywhere! In 1986 he played 5 different positions. In 1987 he played every position except catcher - he even pitched in one game, but gave up 3 earned runs. In 1988 he finally played every position!

His fielding stats on baseball reference are awesome. I kept thinking of how valuable a Jose Oquendo player is during the Mets 20 inning game this year.