Reminder and An Arbitrary Box of Cubs Goodness

Last call for entries in my 2018 Card of the Year Posting Contest! Get on it!

I received a package from Brian, of Highly Subjective and Completely Arbitrary, right before we were set to take off for our vacation to Belize. Usually I'm pretty good about getting things posted shortly after they arrive, but this box would have to wait until 2019. And yes, it was a box.

Hugo's resolution for 2019 is to sit in more boxes.

A box large enough for a cat to sit in.

Apparently Brian purchased a box of 2017 Gypsy Queen, featuring Schwarber and Bryant, and has been slowly filling it with Cubs Goodness to send my way.

The box, for what it's worth, will be placed in one of my glass display cases and filled with Cubs items. Way. Too. Cool.

 The contents of the package spanned several decades and included the 1991 Cubs information guide with Ryne Sandberg on the front cover and two minor league sets of my beloved Peoria Chiefs!

The 1991 ProCards, set, above, is new to my collection. This 1989 promotional giveaway set is most definitely not. My copy of the set is . . . ahem . . . very well-loved.

I can't tell you how many times my middle-school self pulled those cards in and out of 9-pocket pages in an effort to resort them according to my favorite player of the day. My family went to a BUNCH of games that year and my favorite player list was constantly in flux.

Names you may recognize from the '89 Chiefs.

The Chiefs were very fun to watch that year and the players, on the whole, were a jovial bunch and super accessible to kids. They finished second place in their division with a record of 80-59 and they led the league in ERA with a sparkling 2.69 figure.

Some of my favorites from the '89 season, spot-lighted by Elvin Paulino and Eddie Williams' smile.

That was a fun trip down memory lane!

Vintage team cards are great. Team cards that have Yosh Kawano on them go in the binder! Yosh is on the far left in the blue top.

"Smiling Stan" Hack and Gabby Hartnett each have pages in my binders. The 1979 Hack is a wonderful card I didn't know existed!

Bowman Buyback? Sure, why not!

 Oddballs?  Yes, please!

A parallel of a parallel? The card on the top is the Holiday parallel of the 2017 Topps Anthony Rizzo card.

The card on the bottom is the sparkly snowflake parallel of the Holiday parallel. Confused yet?

More parallels! Donruss has gone completely overboard with their variations the last couple of years.

 The more I see the 2017 parallels of Topps' flagship product the more I like the design as a whole. 2017 by itself? Meh. 2017 with the colorful triangles? Sure, why not!

Nomah! He also has a page in my favorite Cubs binder, but only Cubs cards!

A new Ryno! I'm now up to 919 different Sandbergs in my collection and this 2015 Stadium Club gold parallel represents the second card Brian has contributed to my Ryno collection over the years.

Inserts? Heck yeah! I didn't have any of these inserts from 2017.

Past Cubs greats:

 That's a pretty well done Fleer insert card. I guess time really does heal all wounds as I'm starting to finally miss Sammy a bit.

Topps Bunt! This package just keeps getting better and better!

More parallels!  I love me some Willson Contreras!

 More inserts! Personally, I'd like to know how much Franklin had to fork over to get included as an insert set in Topps.

The Rizzo Franchise Finest card is so shiny!

This is a beautiful card of Bryant at Spring Training. Just gorgeous!

Hey, I've been Bipped Rey Sanchezed!

Bat relic of the guy people once nicknamed Messiah Mark. What a crazy time that was to be a Cubs fan.

Carl Edwards! Topps went all in on Edwards autographs a few years back. I probably have a handful already, but I'll gladly take a new one!

No package would be complete with a card of The Hawk. Great ball player and an even better man.

Another parallel!  Holy Cow, look at Bruce Sutter's cheek!

More Willson!  Holiday snowflake relic thingy!  Woo-Hoo!

And wow, such a super thick card to round things out!  This is a "Team Ring" manu-relic card celebrating the 1958 Cubs and Ernie Banks.

Mr. Cub won his first of back-to-back MVPs in 1958, but there's no mention of an MVP anywhere on the card. For the record, the Cubs finished 5th out of the 8 teams in the NL that year.

Hey! It's Kevin Roberson showing you some love for making it all the way through this picture heavy trade post!

Brian, thanks for such a great package. I've been stashing a few Twins cards for you, but I think I'll have to add to your stack considering the quality and quantity of the Cubs goodness you sent my way! I'll hit you up soon... maybe even later today. (Checks tracking number.) Wait USPS delivers on Sunday now?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope your first week of 2019 is treating you right!

First Package of 2017

Tom, from The Angels, in Order, and I have been exchanging cards for nearly four years now. Not that I'm biased or anything, but I've found that all guys named Tom are really stand-up traders, and Tom has proved this multiple times over. I'll ship him out my unwanted Halos and I'll receive back players donning Cubs blue. It's a great relationship, it truly is.

Recently, I dumped some Angels on Tom during the Great Purge of 2016.  He responded back with what is my first new-to-me cards of 2017.

Tom sent back some beauties, including these nice Fukudome cards for my player collection.

 I love me some World Series Cubs and Zobrist is one definitely one of my favorites. Actually, I think the Topps Bunt design was my favorite of 2016 as well. We need more large team logos in the background!

Carl Edwards will be one of the livest arms in the bullpen this year and I'm looking forward to seeing how many of his opponents will chase that curveball of his. It's downright filthy. 

 Eric Karros and Mark Grudzielanek were two of my favorites on the 2003 playoff team. Grudzielanek actually received MVP votes that year. I bet you didn't know that!

 Four of the more recent familiar faces of the Cubs franchise are featured on the cardboard above. The Dunston cards looks to be a little grainy, so let's take a closer look.

 Nope, the picture is crystal clear, but the weather that day was not. Didn't you just love those black & gold parallels from Leaf back in the day?

This unused linen postcard is an absolute gem.

It's an older postcard for sure, but I can't figure out the year exactly. It was produced by The J.O. Stoll Co., and the back holds a place for a "one cent stamp" in the corner. Through a little bit of research I know this postcard must have been produced before 1952, when the price was upped to two cents. Maybe Wrigley Wax, who seems to be a historian on all things Cub, would have an idea of when Wrigley looked like that. My guess would be in the 1930s. No?

Regardless, the postcard is beautiful and will be on display in my man room.

Lastly, we have a 1983 food issue card from Post's Super Sugar Crisp.

 This is a scratch-off card from 1983 which gives you a chance to win a ColecoVision (old-school gaming system or an autographed baseball.

The contest states that children between the ages of 6 and 14 years of age as of Dcemebr 31, 1984 were eligible to win. I was seven back then, but MLB baseball wasn't yet on my radar.

The back sports a little team history, which needs to be updated: Hack Wilson has now been credited with 191 RBIs and the Cubs got lights in 1988. Plus... maybe we should add something about a World Series win in 2016? 

Tom, thanks for the cards!  My favorites were the postcard and the Super Sugar Crisp Cubs scratch-off. Great stuff!

#Supertraders from the Great White North

Unannounced packages are the best and I think that's one of the top two reasons I like being a part of the #Supertraders group.

This one arrived last Friday and comes from Douglas, the mind behind the ever enjoyable read known as Sportscards From the Dollar Store.

It also comes with a bit of a taste from America's neighbor to the north.  See, here's the other side of the cards shown above:

And as one might expect there was some O-Pee-Chee cards included, too.  Nice!

 This is a 1994 O-Pee-Chee advertisement, but is number 7 of 25. Twenty-five different variations on an advertisement for a individually numbered, jumbo, gold stamped twenty-five card factory set?  Craziness!

 There were lots of cards in the mailer including one for my Doug Dascenzo player collection.

 Here's a cool shot of Big Z breaking his bat during a swing. I figure he cracked it on contact and it broke over his shoulder, right? I know he was strong, but breaking a bat over your shoulder is not an easy order. I like the Upper Deck X Soriano as well. So much blue and red!

 How about a couple of nice gold framed Gypsy Queen cards of Cubs Hall-of-famers?  Sweet!

There was a quality grouping of Fleer Ultra cards from my high school days, back when I did not collect. These filled a nice gap in my Cubs collection.

Lastly, I'll leave you with an auto. Topps flooded the market with autos of this player in 2014 and 2015, yet this is my first one.  And what a beauty it is!

This is a 2014 Bowman Sterling autograph of Carl Edwards, Jr.  Edwards has been in the Cubs bullpen for most of the second half of the season, and I'd argue he has the filthiest stuff in the pen. Sure Strop and Rondon have nasty sliders and Chapman can light up a gun, but Edwards has a starter's repertoire, including a 12-to-6 curve that buckles knees, and his fastball has movement. He is one tough cookie to hit.

Thanks for the nice surprise, Douglas!  Good luck to your Mets as they try to secure a playoff spot!

Cubs on Cards from Cards on Cards

Kerry, the Cardinal-loving author of Cards on Cards, sent me a nice #SuperTrader package the other day. On the included note he mentioned something about scraping the bottom of the barrel with his Cubs.

 Panini stickers?  This is a sweet way to start off an unexpected package!

I was just flipping through my binders the other day and noticed how few cards of Sarge I actually have. Mid 80's Fleer is something I have very little of in my collection. Period.

 

 And here's a little more. Those red wristbands sure do pop on this card!

 Fan favorites!  Matt Stairs wearing a BP jacket with the sleeves rolled up.  Mitch Williams has the sleeves down. Either way, I wish I had a jacket like that to wear as I cruise into school every morning.

 Ahhhh!  Earl Cunningham!  I remember when he was drafted in the first round and then came to play for the Peoria Chiefs.  He was built like a house and stood out like a men among boys. That was back in the day when teams drafted athletes and thought they could teach anybody to hit.

A 1994 Topps Gold card of Rick Wilkins from a spring training shoot. Classy.  Very Classy.  For what it's worth, he's another guy who played in P-town.

 The 1987 Topps card of Ed Lynch was in the package, and it reminded me of this awesome sketch card I received a few years back from dayf.

Babe Herman and Riggs Stephenson

 I didn't know there were older Conlon cards. I mean, I know about the one's from the early 90s with the black borders, but I like these even more! These are from 1988 and I love the fact they are full bleed.

 I'm going to pose like this pose from Jolly Cholly as much as I can this spring when I coach my high school team. Maybe I'll wear my socks high this year, too.

Any card back that mentions a banjo is a fantastic card back! I've always been a fan of the Conlon write-ups on the backs.

Bottom of the barrel?  I would be lucky to always have it so good.

Thanks for the great cards, Kerry! And, good luck to your Redbirds as they try to secure a playoff spot.