Cards from the Cardboard Clubhouse

Adam, the proprietor of Cardboard Clubhouse, and I were both part of the original Super Traders group back in the day. Well, I guess that was 2016... can I really say "back in the day" in this situation?

Ahhh... whatever.

Nevertheless, I found some pretty swell trading partners through the Super Traders group, and I would list Adam among them.

I went to the Cubs Convention in January of 2016 and got the autographs of Steve Trout and Jay Johnstone. 

 Steve Trout was the one listed as the designated signer, but Johnstone and he must good friends. The two of them were at the same table and were very talkative. The were having the best of times with the fans. Isn't that way a fan-fest should be?

 I don't have too many Leon Durham cards in my collection and this is a great looking card from one of my favorite Topps designs.

 Moreland and Fergie!  Fantastic!

 Just four more of my favorites: Assenmacher, The Penguin, Jim Frey, and Slammin' Sammy.

Adam mentioned he included some Hall of Famers for my HOF binder project.

 Jim Palmer and Gaylord Perry from the 1973 Topps sets. Vintage!  I love it!

  Man, I really like these Sporting News All-Time All-Stars. What a great subset within the 1977 Topps set.

 What's really cool about these is they also have full career stats on the back. That's the only way to go for a Hall of Fame career!

Now, here's a dilemma.  Should this card go in Ty Cobb's slot or George Sisler's?

I'm not sure right now, but I'll get it figured out eventually. I think I'll have to re-work my HOF checklist this summer to delineate between vintage and modern day cards. All of the ones Adam sent me would get a check mark in the "vintage" column and would be tough to upgrade.

Thanks for the great assortment of cards, Adam.  I especially appreciate the help with my HOF project!

And as always, thanks for stopping by and reading!

A Quick PWE with a New Guy

Jason German's name is starting to circulate around the blogs a little bit as of late and he seems like a more than generous dude. He hit me up with an e-mail asking if I would be interested in some 2017 Series 1 Cubs cards. I asked what I could send back, but he was pretty adamant about not wanting anything in return. You know that doesn't sit well with yours truly, so I fired off a PWE post-haste.

 I'm working on a Cubs World Series binder and the Arrieta and Cubs card, below, will certainly make their way into pages.

This Kris Bryant card doesn't specifically mention the World Series, so it'll be added to the Kris Bryant player collection. Most Valuable Player is his second full season. Crazy.

 

This Schwarber was an unexpected toss in to the deal. I love extra cards!

 I think I have this card, but it's not refractory like this one. So, add another one to the Kyle Schwarber collection. Score!

Thanks for the quick and easy trade, Jason!

Cubs Swag From Once a Cub

Throw-back Cubs jersey from giveaway at Wrigley.

 Thankfully I'm on spring break right now so I can afford to sit around at home and wait to sign for a certain USPS priority box which arrived two days ago. Actually, it caught me off guard as I was doing household chores, but I'm thankful I was at home so I didn't have to go to the post office to sign for it.

 

I've mentioned on the blog how I'm building a binder full of cards commemorating the Cubs World Series Championship and this package was to contain 100+ Cubs Topps Now cards which Matt, from Once a Cub, had been purchasing for me.

From what I understand, Matt had purchased copies of all the Cubs Topps Now cards in small quantities, which lowers the price per card somewhat. Obviously, he would set aside a copy of each card for himself, sell a couple others to recoup the money sunk in, and graciously enough, he set copies aside for me as well.

As we all know, these Topps Now cards are not cheap, especially when you're purchasing 100+. So, I did some shopping on the internet and set out around P-town on two separate occasions. My goal was to buy Cubs World Series swag to send to Matt as a thank you for all of his efforts and to compensate somewhat for the finances he committed to such a project. Matt lives on the east coast, so I was happy to go shopping and try to find some unique items he wouldn't be able to find in his area.

Really LARGE Cubs cards!

So, I was a little shocked yesterday to sign for a box much larger than I was anticipating. I've done enough send of cards to realize that the cards I was expecting could have fit in the smallest of flat rate boxes.

5"x7" numbered Cubs team sets

Instead, the box is big enough for my two younger cats to enjoy. They have been sitting/playing in the box almost non-stop since I opened it.

Yeah, cats are crazy.  

Myrtle Beach Pelicans team set

Matt threw in a little bit of everything: a throw back jersey, a program, a Ron Santo statue, the Rizzo tarp catch bobblehead, and those really cool over-sized cards.

How about this one?  An autographed card of A's prospect Matt Olson!  That's pretty cool, you know, because we share a surname.

 Besides the Topps Now cards, which was all I was expecting, here is my favorite:

It's a scorecard with David Ross on the front! It's already in the binder right after my mini David Ross Cubs cards collection. What a great photo!

The whole package has got me thinking I can take over Rhashan's job as Director of Smiles.

Yep, Matt sent this card, too. Which seems like a great way to close the post because of how smiley I am.

Thanks for the package, Matt! At sometime during the fall, once all the Cubs World Series cards from all the various sets are released, I'll do a post of my World Series binder.  That's a post I'm really excited about writing!

Zippy Zapped, '17 Edition

I'm six days into spring break and I'm just now finding enough time to knock out a blog post. Zippy Zappy sent me a Cubs-centric padded mailer last week and I've got the cards from this mailer separated into four different parts. Ready?

Part I: LUUUUUUIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!

A ZZ Custom!

Spring training will come to a close for most teams in about ten days and I'm still waiting to see what happens with Luis Torrens. Hopefully, it's better news than what The VOGELMONSTER received today. One thing is for sure: it's an exciting time of year for baseball fans!

Part II: American Based Baseball Cards

 I remember when Micah Hoffpauir came up and sent Cubs fans into a craze. He was the hottest thing at my LCS, which tells you all you need to know about the Cubs in 2009. Paul Hoilman manned first base for the Peoria Chiefs in 2012, and then just like that he retired from baseball. I suppose Hoilman's proclivity to strike out and the emergence of Anthony Rizzo at his position may have forced his hand. Regardless, I love me some chromey refractory goodness!

 Ryan Harvey, another former Peoria Chief, was a former #1 draft pick of the Cubs who did not pan out. I think he may be the last Chief to record 100 RBIs in a season.

 Koyie Hill was a fan favorite of mine and Soriano won me over as well, although not until his last season in Chicago.

 The Hawk! 

I can't say that I remember the game described on the back of the card. My best memories of Dawson are the bleacher bums bowing down to him when he returned to right field after clobbering a homer. Good times!

Part III: Japan Based Baseball Cards
This is where the package gets really cool. I don't have access to cards from Japan, but ZZ found a few cards for a humble guy from P-town on his latest trip. 

 I'm still collecting Kosuke Fukudome, but things have really slowed as of late. Baseball Magazine has upped their game with the foily Genesis brand. The 2016 edition is on the left and the 2015 edition is on the right. Under Fukudome's name on 2015 card is the following quote, "Play for victory as a united body. The players always show the team spirit."  That's pretty cool.

 I've watched enough Japanese baseball highlights on YouTube to know that the giving of flowers happens from time-to-time to celebrate accomplishments. I really like the flowery design commemorating Fukudome's 2000 combined hits between MLB and Japanese Central League.  I'm up to 160 different Fukudome cards Nice!

 Kyuji Fujikawa didn't have much success stateside, but I still went all-in with a player collection of him when the Cubs sign him. Turns out Fujikawa and Fukudome were teammates last year for the Hanshin Tigers.

 Lastly, Zippy Zappy sent me some Asia Edition Bowman cards. I like the potential of both Morrison and Kellogg, but they need some more seasoning down on the farm.

Donnie DeWees was sent to Kansas City for Alec Mills this winter. I was never a big fan of DeWees, but that's only because he was constantly out shined by the guy drafted ahead of him, Ian Happ.

Part IV: The Repack!

I love a good Zippy Zappy Repack, but unfortunately I don't have any spare packs laying around the house. I'll have to make a trip to my LCS to pick up something good to pit against this Yu Gi-Oh! Monster League Battle Pack.  So, stay tuned for a Pack Wars post coming soon!

Thanks for thinking of me on your vacation, Zippy Zappy!  I'm in the process of tracking down some cards to fit your new collecting tastes. Be patient, my friend.

Thanks for stopping by and reading! 

P-Town Tom Dances (Video)

So, yeah.  You remember that post about me stressing over dancing in front of the student body for the Prom Fashion Show? 

I promised you video if I could find it.  Well, I didn't find it, but my wife and I were on a double date last night and seconds after I had told the other couple about my dancing exploits they had the video up on their phone. I never thought to check YouTube. Go figure.

If you fast forward to the 55 second mark in the video you'll find me walking out on stage in a gray tux. This first dance is less than a minute long.

My second dance number comes at the end of the show and is at the 13:30 mark in the video below. I'm on the right, same gray tuxedo, but occasionally I'm not in the picture.  Just as well.

Thankfully I was paired with a social studies teacher who knew what she was doing! FYI, tickets were $2 at the door and all the proceeds ($1,300+) went to the Peoria Children's Hospital.

Okay, let's put all that dancing behind us and show some cardboard. I mean, that's why you come to this blog anyways, right? (Or do you just visit today to see me "dance" poorly?)

Steve, from Collating Cards, contacted me about a few Cubs cards which he thought I might have interest in. He wanted junk wax Mariners in return.

Who am I to argue? So I sent him the stack of cards pictured above.

What did I receive in return? 

 First up is another card for my Wrigley Field Celebrates 100 Years insert set build. I need just five more and then I can put this one to bed. Unfortunately, it's really six, because I still need a copy of this Sandberg card for the Ryno player collection binder.

 This card goes into my Cubs World Series Auto/Relic project. It's a pretty sweet looking piece of cardboard for sure.

 Lastly, it's a black parallel of Willson Contreras from 2016 Topps Update, numbered 56/65. I wasn't a fan of the smokey corners from 2016, but the pentagon honeycomb pattern is something the math teacher in me can definitely get behind. Very nice!

Steve, I dropped off the small brick at the post office this afternoon using one of those automated teller machines. A nice pile of Mariners should reach your door Wednesday. Thanks again for the trade!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

I Survived, So I Bought A Pack Of Donruss to Celebrate

Today was the Prom Fashion Show at the my high school, which I alluded to in my previous post. You know, the one where I had to dance in front of the student body in a tuxedo...

Did I fall off the stage?  No.  (Although, I did hear the Vegas odds makers had it as a 7:5 proposition.)

Did I sufficiently embarrass myself? Yes, but there's not need to dwell on that. (There's video out there, but I haven't seen any on social medial channels which I follow. If I ever find any I'll post it on the blog, because sometimes we all need a good laugh.)

Did I have fun?  Yes, I guess I did.

Did the kids get a kick out of me participating? Yes. Yes, they did.  And honestly, it's all about the kids anyways.

Would I do it again? Nope. I don't think so.

To celebrate surviving the morning of inevitable embarrassment I dropped three dollars on a pack of Donruss at my LCS.

 

Kris Bryant is Topps' poster boy for Series 1 and Panini is battling back with Kyle Schwarber.

I opened up the pack and the backside of a Cal Ripken card was staring at me. Not a bad way to start a pack if you ask me.  All the card backs are done in black and white, but I've been told there are colored back parallels. Go figure. Every card company is on the parallel train these days.

I like the design and it reminds me a little of 1990 Donruss. I'm not a fan of all the white, but I think it's an improvement over the red from 1990.

Next up are two of the NL's best pitchers. Notice how Panini has selected photos where the jersey logos wouldn't be as obvious when removed. Nice job. BTW, any pack with a Cub these days is a winner for me!

I was just talking about Yoenis Cespedes' younger brother playing in the World Baseball Classic with the card shop owner right before I opened this pack.  I do like the throw back Donruss design, although I'm not a big Todd Frazier guy. Some guy in Plainfield will wind up with the Frazier before too long.

Speaking of sending cards out in the mail...

I hear there's a pretty fanatical Pirates card collector in Morgantown. I think he'll like this Josh Bell "The Rookies" card.

Kirby Puckett and the aforementioned Cal Ripken card to end the pack. 

Finding these two players in a pack in 1990 would have been great. Twenty-seven years later and it's still pretty awesome.

Thanks for stopping by!