1987 Topps Set - Complete!

The last package of 1987 Topps arrived at my door late last week.  Chris, from Old Foul Cardboard sent me the last five cards I needed for my set. 

Al Pulido!  Ahhh, another one!  Yes, I must "bip" someone at some point. 

Ray Searage (#149) has a mighty crease across the center and will probably need to be replace, but I have all 792 cards in some shape or form! 

The 1987 Topps Project is complete, and I didn't purchase one card!  Further evidence that the Blogosphere is pretty righteous.  Today is a day to celebrate!

My First Local Trade in 2+ Years

 In late January I was contacted by a gentleman, by the name of Bret, who lives in a town about 15 miles north of the local card shop that we both frequent.  We didn't actually meet in person as we used the LCS as a drop off point and conversed through e-mail.

Bret is also a Cub fan and mentioned that he likes cards of Maddux, Dawson, Jenkins, Santo, Banks, Williams, and Sandberg.  I'm sure glad Ryno was on his list, because I don't like to trade away my only copies of Cubs legends.  But as a super-collector of Ryno I had over 100 unique duplicates I could happily hand off to my trading partner.  I threw in a few other Cubs cards and I think Bret was pretty happy.  Nice.

What was in the return package?  Set help!

 Oil Can Boyd and The Hawk were two of my favorites from the healthy stack of '88 Donruss.  Hey, I only need 4 cards to finish off the set.  Can you help me out?

I have a soft spot in my heart for those Rated Rookie cards.  And the Kid?  Yeah, I never was very good at pulling his cards.  8 more cards and I can put this '90 Donruss set to bed.

Moises Alou and The Big Hurt.  The '91 Donruss set wasn't in my plans for 2014, but that all changed when I received an unannounced package last month.  I'll have more on that story later.  For now, I only need to acquire 80 more cards from the 2 combined series.

 Here are the three cards that started the trade.  These cards were missing from the checklist I pilfered from the interwebs, and I didn't know I was missing them until I thumbed through my '87 cards.  I'm missing only a handful of cards from the '87 Topps project and hopefully they're in the mail on their way to P-town!

 How about some Cubs?  Kosuke Fukudome!  I'm not sure how many Fukudome collectors reside on the continent of North America, but I now have 92 cards of a guy who only played parts of five seasons in the States.  Not too shabby.

Ooooh!  Some Peoria Chiefs autograph mojo!  Nice.  Nick Struck is still in the system and hopefully will reach Wrigley Field sometime this season.

Rounding out the package are three Kerry Wood cards. The one in the middle is serial numbered, which is nice, but then I realized it was a duplicate.  Huh.  No matter, because the two cards flanking it are cards 299 and 300 in my player collection of Kid K.  That totally makes up for it!

I love it when I hit a milestone!

Speaking of milestones... The Sandberg at the top of the page is from the 2011 National Sports Collectors Convention and it is the 695th different Sandberg card in my collection.  Five more and another milestone!

Thanks for the set help and the terrific Cubs cards, Bret!

The Joy of a Completed Set: '92 Topps

I finished off my '87 Topps Project in less than a month.  I think part of the draw for the blogosphere to participate was the opportunity to win a blaster.  Each of the bloggers who traded '87 junk wax my way had their names placed in the randomizer (1 time for every 10 cards) to win a blaster of cards from the big box store with red parallels.

Kyle, from Nolan's Dugout, sent me 280 cards to help me with the '87 Topps Project.  Possessing 28 entries out of the 66 it was no shock that the randomizer spit his name out.

So, I sent Kyle a box of Bowman Chrome as his prize and pulled a Puig parallel and an auto.  Good deal!  I was pretty happy for him!

Then I received a "thank you" package from Kyle for his contest winnings.  I'm not adverse to thank you presents, but Kyle went above and beyond.

 

He FINISHED my '92 Topps set for me!  Man, the blogosphere is one generous place.

Thanks, Kyle!  Talk about a win-win for everyone!

I thought I was done, but...

... the checklist I snagged from baseballcardpedia.com was missing a couple of cards from the '87 Topps set.

See what I mean?  Somewhere between Willie Wilson and Terry Francona should lie #784,  Cal Ripken.  You know the guy.  The man never missed a game in a 162 game season, yet somehow he's missing from this checklist.  Weird.  Just weird.  Fortunately, a local collector has already tracked down a copy of the Ripken for me.  How cool is that?  I haven't been able to swing a trade with a local collector in a little over two years.

Duff, from Bleedin' Brown and Gold, has #642 for me, which was also skipped over on the checklist.  I've never heard of Al Pulido before, so I will excuse the checklist makers for the error.

I was also missing #387, T.R. Bryden, from a trade package.  Again, a simply junk wax oversight from a fellow collector.  No biggie.  It just means I get to trade more!

So in summary, I thought the below trade package from AJ, The Lost Collector, was one of the last packages for my '87 Topps project.  Wrong.

I still need #387, T.R. Bryden .  Can anyone help me out?
Update (1/28/14): The set is complete!  The blogosphere is so clutch.   

In other news...
We have a new blog which I plan to frequent everyday for a good long while. Matt, from Once a Cub, does a really nice job of breaking down the Chicago Cubs cards on his blog: finding the Getty image depicted on the card and then matching it up to the box score from that game.  Now he's decided to undertake the same process for every Topps base card from Series 1, Series, and Update. 

I'm not going to buy any flagship this year, because I've decided to save my card collecting fund for a different set (TBD).  What's great about Matt's project is I still get to enjoy Topps' main product, at a very deep level, without blowing my card budget.  I can't wait!  Check out Matt's initial post at The 2014 Topps Blog.

Four Trades & the Joy of a Completed Set

Ryan, from "O" No! Another Orioles Blog, just knocked off the last four cards from 1989 Topps set.

I sent Ryan as many O's I could find from my trade box, and in return he packed a 200-count box of junk wax with foam and bubblewrap.  Man, I thought I was the only one who appreciated junk wax!  Thanks for the great care in packaging, Ryan.

Besides finishing off one set for me, Ryan also contributed a healthy amount of cards to my other set needs, including my now infamous 1987 Topps Project.

Bert, from Swing and a Pop Up, sent some '87 Topps...

As did Kyle, from Nolan's Dugout, ...

And so did a reader by the name of John H.

Man, make a silly request for junk wax and it seems as though everyone is ready and able to help out!  Thanks a bunch guys.  I hope each of you enjoyed the return trade packages I sent!

Cats, Prowling and Otherwise

Zenus, from The Prowling Cat, is another one of the dozen or so bloggers who volunteered to help me with 1987 Topps Project.  I sent off some inserts to help out his 2013 Topps Opening Day Set and he chipped in with an '87 Topps Barry Bonds and Nolan Ryan. 

Zenus also threw in some bonus Cubs.  I love me some Leon Durham, The Penguin is Talking to a Fish, and Goose is sporting some seriously fun facial hair.

A gold Chuck McElroy?  Jody Davis Sportflic?  Talk about mixing it up a bit!

This '84 Batting & Pitching Leaders is one of my favorites.  I already had one in my Jenkins collection and now I can slide one into the Moreland section of my binder.  Very nice.   A sticker of Carmelo Martinez is something I never would have expected.  This must be from his rookie year, perhaps a 1984 edition?

Zenes, you're one cool cat.  Thanks for the awesome trade package and helping out with my '87 Topps Project!

Meet the Heat: a Nachos Grande Trade Post

Meet the Heat?  Huh, so this is what I missed when I was using my discretionary funds to buy college textbooks rather than '90s cardboard.

Man, I need to get on this bandwagon and make a card to send in trade packages.  Chris, the author of Nachos Grande, is pictured above on his own mini A&G baseball card above.  He also sent the below note when shipping off some junk wax for my '87 Topps Project. 

Good Luck?  Ha!  The set is complete! Um... well, I still have to wait for the rest of the cards to trickle in. 

The above picture is Nachos Grande's contribution to my '87 Topps set.  Obviously, Chris did more than his share to help me complete the 792 card set.  Thanks for your help, Chris!

You can see that the top card in the package is the backside of the Meet the Heat spring training contest card, which is featured at the top of the post.  Chris used four of these to help "pad" the very expensive junk wax in our most recent transaction.  The winner of the contest would go to spring training in 1999 and visit the World Series winner from the previous season: the Yankees.  Ugh.

On a happier note, I'm actually going to spring training in Arizona to watch my last place Cubs from 2013.  I can't wait to meet the heat!

I recieved some Old Foul Cardboard

I never imagined that the 1987 Topps Project would send shock waves through my entire collection. 

Yet, that's exactly what this simple little junk wax effort has done for me.  Exhibit A: Old Foul Cardboard was only supposed to send me the above wood-grained bordered cards.

In addition to the '87 junk wax I received a nice little group of Cubs cards. I seem to be a dumping ground for cardboard that features Slammin' Sammy, and I'm okay with that.

I also received a nice little boost to my Kerry Wood player collection.  Up to 295 different Kerry Wood cards.

Thanks for a great trade, Chris!

Let's Randomize Us a Winner!

Winner, winner, chicken Dinner.  By now the blogosphere is probably tired reading about my 1987 Topps Project.  But, hey, it is pretty cool that I knocked that set out in a week's time.

I promised all of those who contributed cards through trade that they would be given one entry into the randomizer for every ten cards of '87 junk wax they sent my way.

Here's a screenshot of all the participants and the number of entries each was awarded.

The winner will get to pick a blaster from the following selection:
     A. 2014 Topps Series 1
     B. 2013 Bowman Chrome
     C. '13 Topps Chrome
     D. '13 Topps Update
     E. '13 Topps Update with 2 packs of Chrome (but it was severely mangled box)
     F.  '13 A & G
     G. '13 Heritage 
     H. '13 Panini Prizm

Okay, and with no further delays, here's the top of the randomized list:

Look's like Kyle, from Nolan's Dugout, is the big winner.  Way to go, Kyle!

And here's a look at the bottom.  You know, just for kicks.

Um, Zenus, better luck next time!

Kyle, if you would, rank your top three choices for a blaster in the comments section.  I'll do my best to pick up #1 for you and #2 & #3 will serve as back-ups just in case my local big box store's inventory has taken a hit.

Thanks again for everyone that chipped in!  And to everyone who didn't, you only have one more '87 Topps Project post to make it through: the obligatory "Joy of a Complete Set" post.  Nice!

'87 Topps Project = Complete

On January 3rd I threw down the collecting gauntlet to the blogosphere offering to randomize off a blaster to a contributor to my 1987 Topps Project, a challenge to complete the '87 set without purchasing any of the cards. 

A week later, the following comment was left:

First of all, "the rest" was only about 30 cards, so don't be too embarrassed, Swing And a Pop-up.

Secondly, wow, did you guys step up!  I started out with 192 of the 792 cards, and within a week TWELVE different bloggers had committed to sending the other 600 cards through trades.  Simply ridiculous.

I'm still waiting on trades to come in, but the first few have already arrived. I sent a slew of trade packages out Thursday, and the last of the group will go out early this week.

The above picture shows the mail I received in the span of one week.  I'm an infrequent-trader at best, but this project has certainly started the year off with a bang.  Oddly enough, only two of the above packages actually had 1987 Topps in them.  A couple have boxes for a group break I hope to do, one PWE contains prize winnings from a contest, the other PWE is pure generosity, there's a couple of eBay wins, and a sportlots.com purchase in there as well.  I spent most of the afternoon sifting through the cards and watching football. Fun times.

I'm not quite ready to randomize off the blaster.  I'm going to wait until next weekend, a three day weekend, to do so.  Just never enough hours in the day to get everything done, but the extra twenty-four next weekend should help.

Overall, 66 entries have been awarded for the blaster and they'll be placed into random.org probably on Saturday.   I did award a few entries to individuals who just sent cards willy-nilly and didn't give me a chance to keep my google docs list up-to-date.  Yeah, they'll all wind up being duplicates, but they're still getting an entry because I'm a generous fellow.

Also, I found time to make it over to my Big Box Store of choice and I scoped out the card aisle.
It contained at least one of the following blasters:
A. 2013 Panini Prizm
B. '13 Bowman Chrome
C. '13 Topps Chrome
D. '13 Topps Update
E. '13 Topps Update with 2 packs of Chrome (but it was severely mangled box)
F.  '13 A & G
G. '13 Heritage 

Last time I was perused the aisle I found an entire section of older blasters.  I guess they must have sold?  So, keep in mind that the stock may be different next week.  Remember, if you're willing to wait, another option would be 2014 Topps Series 1.

Thanks to everyone who has set up a trade to help me complete my 1987 Topps project without actually purchasing any cards.  Well, let's not count the coin I spent on shipping out trade packages or the Andrew Jackson I'll drop on the blaster.  Those are just details.  When it comes to set building I'm more of a big picture kind of guy.  Besides, trading and awarding a prize is fun!


And, it's been a very fun 2014 so far. 

The first shipment of '87 Topps arrives...

Jeff, from One Man's Junk (Wax), has started the ball a rollin' on my '87 Topps Project... PWE-style.  Nice!  I'm still short 47 cards and need another blogger to step up to the plate and help me out.  Remember, a blaster of cards is on the line! 

Not to get lost in the PWE generosity were in three cards from the '89 Topps set, and now my want list is down to four.  Thanks, Jeff!

Oh, and just in case there's any confusion here: people aren't just giving me cards, I'm trading for their '87 junk wax cards.  Yeah, I know, all this snow and cabin fever have made me a little loopy.

No matter. If my day goes well I should be able to make it to the post office with things to mail out to the following zip codes: 60451, 16933, T2Y5E1, 95843, and 48912.  Oh, and to the guys who call 60706 and 35750 home... well, they're not '87 Topps related packages, but something is on it's way to you as well.

My '87 Topps Project = Win a Blaster

pic swiped from fangraphs.com

I started collecting during the summer of 1988 when I was ten years old.  An '88 Topps rack pack was given as a party favor at my best friend's birfday party and I was hooked.  I bought tons of Topps that year, but only the '88 product.  The '87 set caught my eye, but I didn't understand why someone would buy older cards when there was new stuff to be had.   Ten year old me, "Vintage?  Bah.  Give me more '88 Topps!"

Now, I understand that '87 Topps is not vintage and it more than appropriately falls under the category of junk wax, but that doesn't make me want to chase it any less.  I really do enjoy the design.  Honest!

January is traditionally a slow month for cards as everyone is waiting on Topps flagship to be released.  So, let's make things a little interesting in the meantime.

Let me welcome you to my 1987 Topps Project!

Goal: Complete the '87 Topps set, without purchasing any cards before 2015.

Current inventory: 
     A. I had 115 cards to start with, which I had accumulated over the last twenty-seven years.  Most of those cards came from repack boxes and my Cubs box.

     B. I won a Listia auction for two rack packs and 77 more cards were added to the project.

     C. Then I made a trade with Nolan's Dugout for 76 more cards and Jaybarkerfan's Junk dumped another 113 cards on me.

I'm sitting at 381 cards and I'm turning to the blogosphere for help to get to the magic number of 792.


Proposal:  Take a look at my need list and trade me your '87 Topps.  For every ten cards that fit into my set I'll give you one entry into the dreaded randomizer for a blaster.  Oh, and don't just send me your entire stack, because I will send all duplicates back in my trade return package.  Yes, I want to complete the set; no, I don't want to fill a monster box with '87 Topps.

Details:
     A. My trade box isn't busting with autos and relics, but I'll do my best to send something back that interests you for your junk wax... er, I mean '87 Topps.

     B. Entries for the blaster: Nolan's Dugout (76 cards) will be rewarded 8 entries into the randomizer and Jaybarkerfan's Junk (113 cards) will be given 11.  I'm a math teacher.  I round.  Deal.

     C. The blaster?  When the set is completed I will type all the entries into the randomizer.  I'll make a trip to my local Big Box Store and report the list of inventory back to winner.  The winner will have their choice of current product.  Nice.

     D. How to get the ball rolling: Check my need list and find what you can contribute. E-mail me at mrcoach00 at yahoo dot com with "87 Topps" in the subject heading, state the number of cards that you can help with, and be sure to mention what you're collection interests are.  I'll e-mail you back with what I can send back and an address.  Pretty simple.

Summary: 
I'll trade you for your '87 Topps and you might win a blaster for your efforts.  I'm out the cost of a blaster, but I complete a set, drum up a little traffic for the blog, and potentially find a few new trade partners. 

Sounds like a win-win if you ask me.