i traded something

thorzul has lived to tell the tale of how defunct email addresses can doom an otherwise healthy blog.  he's back at death stare cards, and continued the 'trade me anything' tradition which is one of my favorite annual blog events.

this year, i only chose one card from the update series, which is typically the only source of cards offered up.  i requested and received this cody bellinger greatest players insert:

thorzul also offered up some inserts from 2019 topps opening day, though, and so i also selected a red foil parallel of corey seager:

as well as a blue foil parallel of max muncy:

the blue parallels are sharp. i just may seek more of these out.

as for what i gave up for these cards, my "anything" was just a straightforward team bag of brewers and set needs. maybe next year i will get back to a more interesting package of "anything".  thanks thorzul!

andre dawson is in my hall of famer collection

andre dawson has a really nice looking autograph, even though it bears no resemblance to "andre dawson".  here's the card that represents the hawk in my hall of famer collection:

and here's the back:

that's a 2000 fleer greats of the game authentic autograph card. it is one of the nicest on-card autograph sets out there, in my opinion.

there was no doubt in my mind that the card i chose for dawson was going to show him as an expo. it's how i picture him thanks to his topps cards from the late 1970's that were burned in to my consciousness as a young collector.  his 1978 topps card was especially memorable to me as it featured the rookie cup - one of the first cards i saw with that particular adornment.

i didn't get to see dawson in action in person until 1986. the expos were visiting dodger stadium august 23, 1986 which was also hollywood stars night (somewhere i have a photo i took of john laroquette on the stadium concourse after the game). anyway, hawk went 2 for 4 with a double, an rbi, and a run scored as the expos beat rick honeycutt and the dodgers 7-2. that game also marked the last time i saw a member of the infield play in person, as bill russell was on the field for the dodgers that night.

by the time dawson left the expos to join the cubs in 1987, my cub fever had completely waned. still, i did pay attention to the monster season he had that year - 49 dongs and 137 rbi to lead the league and secure the nl mvp award. i didn't care that he played for the last place cubs - i thought he deserved the award. i do admit, however, that my opinion changed in 1988 when i decided that 'most valuable' didn't necessarily mean gaudy stats as i wanted kirk gibson to win the award over darryl strawberry.  besides, dawson winning the award in 1987 meant that jack clark didn't. i didn't care for that guy.

a few years later on april 30, 1994, i went with some friends to see roger clemens and the red sox take on the angels in anaheim (i'll address the clemens angle of that game in a future post).  dawson was in his second season with the bosox, and was in the lineup as the designated hitter.  his first time up, he hit a double off of mark leiter to drive in the game's first run. after the halos tied things up, dawson delivered an rbi single to score the game's eventual winning run.  he didn't play in the field and was replaced by a pinch runner following an 8th inning intentional walk, but i did get to see the guy hit.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relics

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relics

bob feller - 2001 topps archives certified autograph 

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relics

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints certified autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autographs

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants

andre dawson - 2000 fleer greats of the game authentic autographs

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.

*not currently a member of the hall of fame

there is more than one way to obtain a kaat (and complete the 1972 topps set)

some time around halloween, i decided to buck up and finish my 1972 topps set. i had picked up a few cards here and there this year, but had no real focus on obtaining the last 18 or so cards i needed. they were all high numbers, including rod carew's in action card and the joe morgan and steve carlton traded cards, so the task was a bit daunting.

i went to one of the local card shows in november and picked up a few cards that i needed, but didn't finish the set as i had hoped.  i live in the wrong place to find decently priced copies of that aforementioned carew card, as well as that of his teammate, jim kaat.  after a couple of online purchases, the kaat in action card was the last one i needed.

in what was a most unexpected and appreciated mailday, mr. haverkamp sent me the kaat card i needed to finish the 787 card set.

good old fashioned trading is a great way to finish a set, especially a vintage one.  thanks jim!

here are the other nine cards that made up the last ten needs.

i purchased all but the mazeroski from greg morris cards on ebay.

so now i have completed the topps sets from 1970 through 2010, although i think i sold some of my sets from the 90s that had been left at my parents' place. that's ok though, as i am toying with the idea of keeping only my flagship sets through 1979 - they are the only ones i've bindered:

my set building focus shifts now to my ongoing attempts with 1965 and 1957, along with some modern sets - 2002 topps 206 and 2001 topps heritage.  i'd love to trade if you can help a blogger out!

frank robinson is in my hall of famer collection

in a perfect world, the card representing frank robinson's membership in my hall of famer collection would be a buyback autograph of his 1974 topps card.  instead, i have this card:

that would be a 1995 upper deck autographs card.  here's the back:

and here's the uda coa:

i should clarify that redemption cards for this (and four other autograph subjects) were inserted in to packs of 1995 upper deck series 2 cards.  i was lucky enough to pull a "trade" card, but no autos.  the other four, if you are curious, are were reggie jackson, willie mays, roger clemens, and raul mondesi.

my first frank robinson card was his 1974 topps issue, which is why that would be the perfect card to have in this collection.  he was shown as an angel on that card, but by the time i acquired it, he was retired from the game. he showed up later as a manager of the giants in my 1982 packs of donruss, but by that time, i had him pegged as an angel.  of course, i had also by then realized that he had been a dodger, and i had tracked down his 1973 topps card (which is an abomination, but i really really like it), and was pining for his 1972 topps high number traded card which i finally picked up several years later.

i also learned about his career, which was incredible.  the triple crown, mvp in both leagues, 1966 world series mvp, retired as 4th all-time in home runs, first african-american manager, manager of the year, and, among other things, hall of famer.

here's my hall of famer collection as its been documented so far:

babe ruth - 2003 topps tribute world series edition world series tribute relic 351/425

honus wagner - 2001 topps tribute relics

dizzy dean - 2001 topps tribute relics

bob feller - 2001 topps archives

jackie robinson - 2004 topps clubhouse collection clubhouse relics

roberto clemente - 2005 donruss greats hall of fame souvenirs relic

warren spahn - 1999 upper deck century legends epic signatures

mickey mantle - 2000 upper deck legends legendary game jerseys relic

willie mays - 1997 topps willie mays reprints autograph

al kaline - 2001 fleer greats of the game autographs

duke snider - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 144/250

hank aaron - 2004 topps originals 1979 topps all-time record holders rbi 03/32

frank robinson - 1995 upper deck autographs

harmon killebrew - 2000 upper deck legends legendary signatures

rollie fingers - 2018 topps archives signature series 1978 topps buyback 1/3

reggie jackson - 2018 topps tier one tier one talent autographs

steve carlton - 2018 topps five star career year autographs

mike schmidt - 2002 topps archives autoproof 1980 topps buyback

don sutton - 2001 fleer greats of the game

dave winfield - 2003 upper deck sp authentic chirography hall of famers 121/350

gary carter - 1999 fleer sports illustrated greats of the game autograph collection

paul molitor - 2016 topps museum collection archival autographs 021/125

bruce sutter - 2003 topps all-time fan favorites

jim rice - 2005 upper deck past time pennants

pete rose* - 2018 panini flawless legendary signatures 15/25

barry bonds* - 2001 bowman heritage autographs

you can find the full list of hall of famers (and some not - yet) that i aim to include in this collection at my want list site.

*not currently a member of the hall of fame