Folder of Fun: The Last Page

The Folder of Fun, as I like to call it, has been in the works for about three years. That's about the time I stopped buying retail and hobby packs and began tracking down cards which fit a certain general description: FUN.  Here's a link to the first post in this series if you'd like to go back and catch up. 

Page 28 brings us to the last page of the Folder of Fun. It's been fun showing off cards I've been squirreling away the last few years. Like Page 27, the last page also contains iconic cards and iconic players. Enjoy!

1990 Upper Deck, #34 - Nolan Ryan 5000 Strikeouts

I feel like cards of Nolan Ryan are littered throughout the Folder of Fun. I guess that's the result of being a kid when a generational talent like Ryan is breaking records left and right. He made quite an impression on me.

1996 Topps Mickey Mantle Commemorative Card Set, #2 of 19

This is a reprint of maybe the most recognized baseball card ever produced.

2011 Tri-Star OBak, #15 - Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn

When I was in middle school and trying to learn about as much baseball history as I could, I would flip through the pages of an old copy of the Baseball Encyclopedia looking for notable players, teams, and stat lines. When I got Old Hoss' 1884 season it blew my mind. It'll blow yours, too.

1991 Upper Deck, #744 - Bo Jackson

In downstate Illinois this card was one of the hottest back in 1991.

1976 Topps, #74T - Oscar Gamble

Off-centered, but I love my '76 Oscar Gamble card all the same.

1991 Topps, #170 - Carlton Fisk

This is artwork on a 2.5-inch by 3.5-inch canvas.

2011 Epoch, #PR6 - Sadaharu Oh

This card came to my collection through the generosity of Zippy Zappy. Sadaharu Oh hit 868 homers in his career. It's my only card of baseball's all-time home run king.

2016 Topps "Berger's Best" Insert, #BB-2 - Satchel Paige

This is a 2016 reprint of a card I would so desperately love to add to my collection. Maybe some day!

1990 Score, #697 - Bo Jackson

Bo Knows. Has there been a better sports marketing campaign in the last 30 years?

Well, that puts a wrap on my Folder of Fun. Over the past couple of years I've been more binder focused and I've centered my attention on adding to the pages of certain binders. I think if I had to assign a pecking order to my favorite binders it would look like this:

1. Vogelmonster player binder
2. Hall of Fame binder (one card for each HOF player)
3. Folder of Fun
4. Sandberg player binders #1 & #2
5. Cubs Frankenset binder

I'm happy I was able to show off on of my most treasured binders.

How about you? Are you a binder person? Which one is your favorite?

Introducing the Folder of Fun: Peanuts (Page 1)

It's a new month so let's try something new.  Something positive.

When I need an escape from the on-goings of the real world, which seems pretty frequent as of late, I head on down to the man room and pull out a binder. Flipping the pages quickly takes me away from reality as my thoughts begin to circle around card designs, players, the photo selection and sometimes how the card was acquired. Each card tells a story . . . you just have to look closer at some than others.

I realize not every collector is a binder person, but I am and have been since I began collecting in 1988. Outside of the "hunt" for a certain card, adding to a player collection binder or finishing a set so that I can finally "double bag" the cards in pages is my favorite thing about collecting. I enjoy binders so much earlier this year I built an end table with the sole purpose of giving me more space to add more binders down the road.

The Folder of Fun, as I like to call it, has been in the works for about three years. That's about the time I stopped buying retail and hobby packs and began tracking down cards which fit a certain general description: FUN.

If an acquaintance asked me why I collect cards I suppose I would retrieve this particular binder and ask them to flip through the pages. With any luck I wouldn't have to say a word and their question would be answered. 

The Folder of Fun

My Folder of Fun is a work in progress and it's my second favorite project right behind my Vogelmonster collection.

The first section of the Folder of Fun has to deal with movies and television.

I'm a collector who prides himself on organization, thus the tabs!

Here's page one:

I picked up this 9-card set from Dave & Adam's a few years back for five bucks. In fact, once I committed to this project these were the first cards I added. As a result they lay claim to the first page in the binder.

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #1 - Snoopy

Snoopy is my favorite character from Peanuts. Most dogs are incredibly quick, so he probably makes a perfect shortstop. Check out those stats!

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #2 - Charlie Brown

Charlie Brown is good kid who can never catch a break. PB&J is a solid sandwich choice.

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #3 - Lucy

Lucy is my least favorite character in this cartoon. She's particularly mean to Charlie Brown, she's always hitting on Shroeder, she's quite bossy, and apparently she can't catch a fly ball. 

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #4 - Linus

Tuna salad is an underrated sandwich in my book. Observation: Linus is without his blanket. 

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #5 - Sally

Sally, the little sister of Charlie Brown, favors a cream cheese and jelly sandwich? I've eaten many a sandwich in my day, but I've never optioned for that specific combination.

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #6 - Woodstock

Woodstock is the MAN. I enjoy any comic strip he makes an appearance in way too much.

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #7 - Schroeder

Shroeder, an excellent pianist, is the catcher. This bothers me a bit because catcher's fingers are at great risk for injury during a baseball game.

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #8 - Peppermint Patty

Peppermint Patty always wears sandals, even on the baseball field. SMH.

1991 Ziploc Peanuts, #9 - Franklin

I'm a fan of Franklin's pants: green with black pinstripes. Some of the other characters are wearing shorts, but Franklin looks ready to play some ball. Also, grilled cheese is a solid sandwich choice, but not one I would seal up in a Ziploc bag and bring to work for lunch.

There you have it, page 1. I don't think I'll photograph the backs of all the cards in the folder, but I couldn't resist these. Good stuff all the way around.

What's you favorite card of the nine?

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more Folder of Fun content.

Folder of Fun: Page 27

The Folder of Fun, as I like to call it, has been in the works for about three years. That's about the time I stopped buying retail and hobby packs and began tracking down cards which fit a certain general description: FUN.  Here's a link to the first post in this series if you'd like to go back and catch up. 

Page 27 is our penultimate page (hat tip to Nachos Grande for teaching me the word) of the Folder of Fun. The last two pages focus on cards which I am simply attracted to for one reason or another. For the most part these pages feature iconic players or in some cases they are iconic pieces of cardboard in our hobby. 

2005 Topps Pristine, #128 - Buck O'Neil

The contributions Buck O'Neil made to the game of baseball cannot be quantified. I definitely needed to find a card of his to add to this folder.

2007 Upper Deck Masterpieces, #8 - Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig on the day he retired from baseball. What a sad moment.

1991 Upper Deck, #SP1 - Michael Jordan

This is arguably Jordan's most coveted baseball card.

2010 Topps National Chicle, #240 - Cy Young

Cy Young has an award named for him, which in itself is enough to qualify for inclusion into the Folder of Fun. Bonus points for the spider!  If the Cleveland Indians ever go through a re-branding I hope Cleveland Spiders is taken under consideration. 

2001 Topps "What Could Have Been" Insert, #WCB1 - Josh Gibson

Josh Gibson is my second favorite Negro League Player. You'll see my #1 at the end of this post.

Business Card for Sports Card Heaven

This is actually the backside of a business card for a sports card shop in Ft. Lauderdale, which shows the stars of Baseball's Sad Lexicon.

1998 Topps, #21 - Roberto Clemente

Clemente was such an amazing player and from everything I've read he was an even better human being. I love the flag of Puerto Rico in the background.

1990 Upper Deck "Baseball Heroes" Insert, #18 of 18 - Nolan Ryan

Seven no-hitters and 5,714 strikeouts over 27 seasons. Yep, Nolan Ryan was something else.

2016 Topps Gypsy Queen, #324 - Satchel Paige

Satchel Paige was such a character: Super talented, a total showman and he had plenty of moxie to spare.

Which card is your favorite from Page 27? If I had to choose one it probably be the Lou Gehrig card from Upper Deck's Masterpieces set. It's beautifully executed and documents such an important moment in baseball history.

Stay tuned for the last page of the ever growing Folder of Fun.

Folder of Fun: Page 26

The Folder of Fun, as I like to call it, has been in the works for about three years. That's about the time I stopped buying retail and hobby packs and began tracking down cards which fit a certain general description: FUN.  Here's a link to the first post in this series if you'd like to go back and catch up. 

Page 26 shows off nine more cards today from the "Tells a Story" section from the Folder of Fun.  

1991 Studio, #260 - Bud Black and Steve Decker

As a kid I found this card interesting because I believe we had a Black and Decker coffee pot or something in our kitchen. It's not as novel to me now, but it still makes the cut.

1991 Score, #841 - The Griffeys

Baseball at its best: a father-son duo playing on the same team. Does it get any better than that?

2009 Tri-Star Obak, #28 - Pat Venditte

I read an article about Pat Venditte, the switch pitcher, when he was in college at Creighton. I've always thought having him in the bullpen would be like rostering an extra player, one who could be both a lefty and righty specialist. Unfortunately, he was buried in the Yankees' system for far too long, because he didn't throw very hard, but he did put up good numbers in the minors. He made his MLB debut with Oakland at the age of 30 in 2015.
He's pitched a total of 68 innings in MLB, with his best run coming with the Dodgers in 2018.
Venditte was a volunteer at a couple of local winter camps hosted by Ben Zobrist. He can still be seen working out in P-town at a local indoor baseball facility from time-to-time.

1984 Fleer, #638 - The Pine Tar Incident with George Brett and Gaylord Perry

This card helps remind me that Gaylord Perry tried to hide the bat after the incident. What a crazy moment in baseball history.

1991 Donruss, #744 - Dr. Dirt and Mr. Clean with Lenny Dysktra and Dale Murphy

Dale Murphy feels like the poster boy for the straight-and-narrow. Lenny Dykstra is anything but.

1986 Donruss, #645 - Phil and Joe Niekro, the Knuckle Brothers

The knuckleball sure could extend the career of a pitcher. Phil is 45 and Joe is 40 years old in this picture. The two Niekros would pitch a total of 46 seasons between them before calling it quits.

2009 Tri-Star Obak, #44 - Steve Dalkowski

Steve Dalkowski passed away in April of 2020, so maybe you've heard of him. He is said to have been the hardest throwing pitcher ever and he was the inspiration for the character Nuke LaLoosh in the movie Bull Durham. If you have a second take a look at his 1958 or 1960 seasons, specifically the number of innings he pitched and how they compare to his walk and strikeout totals. You won't be disappointed!

2014 Panini Golden Age, #52 - Eddie Gaedel

Gaedel was 3'7" and walked on four pitches in his only plate appearance. Gaedel was one of Bill Veeck's more widely known publicity stunts and he was introduced to the baseball world between games of a doubleheader when he popped out of a cake wearing a baseball uniform with the number 1/8 on the back.

1992 Upper Deck, #82 - Cal Jr. and Billy Ripken

Brothers turning two. Just fantastic. 

For the next Folder of Fun post we'll focus on some of the more iconic cards and players in baseball's history.
Thanks for reading!