Card Show Pickups

Damn, two shows in a week? this must mean i will not find another show to attend in the area for at least a month. As mentioned before the mall show was just that, a mall show. Nothing spectacular but then again, I wasn't expecting much.

the show I attended yesterday was a hotel show. I grew up going to these so they hold a special place. Sucked I could only attend for an hour due to the Browns game. Regardless, there wasn't many tables (I'd say 10-12) so I only needed 30 minutes or so. Would love to have looked through the vintage stuff a lot longer though. Next time.

In my 30 minutes, I spend $50. So for my wallet's sake, a half hour would suffice.

My pickups are below:




Freddy Lynn. Now up to 11 autographs...only 82 more to go!



One dealer had this card for $3. I have no idea what it came from, but I'd like to find out (hint: help me out here!). All of these current "vintage" sets like Ginter all have flags in their sets, but this one is really cool. Completely defunct country and still the cause of many problems in that region of the world. Not to mention my ancestry is Yugo.



I love the back because it isn't entirely true. Many languages were spoken in Yugoslavia, I guess Croatian was the decision though. Serbo-Cro or Cro-Serbo would have been better, but whatever. I should try and flip it on Ebay talking about Beograd and Djokovic.

Four More

I purchased these awhile back but never got around to showing them off. Adding these to the collection puts me at a total of 10 autographs from the 93 card set. For those keeping track (lol nobody) that's 10.75% of the autograph checklist done.


Cool Photo. Shitty signature. In total fairness, I couldn't careless, he's just another dude I need for my set. Also, a short print (/600).


El Presidente. When I first saw this card I had to have it. I love and miss Montreal, and Dennis was a former Indian.


I grew up loving this dude. Cubs games in the early years of my life were a staple and this guy played a prominent part. I also had never heard of a guy named Andre before and thought it was the coolest name.


Cleveland Legend/God. Sad he passed away last December. I had the pleasure of meeting him several times. He could talk for hours and all I could do was listen. A lot of people said he was a grumpy old man, and I'm sure they were right. But for all the shit he had seen in his life (not to mention fighting in WWII), he had every right to be short with some people. I'm really sad I never got to ask him about his barnstorming days, eventually I'll get my chance.

Still Impossible, Very Expensive

Still have the itch to open a pack/box of cards. Lack of funds are making this hard to do. However, if I did have money, I'd buy these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2001-GREATS-GAME-AUTO-LOT-38-CEPEDA-MOLITOR-FISK-/280678195821?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item4159b9626d#ht_500wt_1156

Would help my goal by about 38 cards.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370509364984&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

Just hope I can go to a LCS and pick some of them up for cheaper. Although opening packs would be A+.

87 Left....

87 more cards.
87 more autographed cards.

That's all I need before I finish collecting the 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game Auto'd set. Not too bad, right?

Now for the good bit. I'm 6.45% done with the set!! Picked up two off Ebay last week.

First was Carl Erskine of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Moments later Alan Trammell of Detroit became a part of the never ending set build.

Support Your Local Card Store

I've had the itch lately. You know the one. Have some money burning in your pocket and ready to purchase anything. Usually, I do just that. I've made some pretty crappy purchases due to this problem.

However, knowing full well I'll probably buy something useless I've given myself one ultimatum, don't buy any packs. If I want a chance at a hit, just buy the stupid hit. Even if what I buy is garbage, I'll have saved some cash on purchasing just a hit rather than the pack. You could argue that "well, why even buy the hit, you could just save that money towards something you really want". While very true, I enjoy getting some goofy mediocre hits sometimes.

This is one of those times.

Ideally, I was going to make this post on Saturday night after work. However, both card shops were closed. Knowing I can stop by either (or both) of them today, I'd give it a second go around.

My first (and only stop) today was to All Star Collectibles just outside of Cleveland. This store has been around for awhile, longer than I can remember. I first vividly remember going with my dad in the mid 90's. The store itself hasn't changed at all. Plenty of nice cards to look at although time is slowly catching up to most of the inserts and autographs. But with any card shop, that is expected.



If you want to purchase wax, there isn't much of a selection. There are plenty of display cases, 8 I believe, full of autographed or game used cards. 3 of the cases are given to vintage cards from the late 50's to the mid 70's. Basically, my closet.

The owner, Steve, is one of the nicest card shop owners I have ever dealt with. He always asks what I'm looking for, if he can help me find something, and what kind of collector I am. These simple customer service qualities are so rare around here. After letting me look through the basketball rookies (no Petrovic) I mentioned how I'm trying to collect the 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game Autographs. He laughed when I mentioned that I have 2 of the 93. Luckily for me he had two and said he'd sell them both for $15 total. Deal. Welcome to the collection Ron Cey and Lester Lockett. Lockett is my first autograph of a Negro Leaguer. 4 of 93 done. 4.3% completed, baby steps.




I also mentioned to him how I really wanted the Jordan rookie. I don't know what got me hooked on this card, but I want it, bad. He was quick to get my attention and said "You missed the whole set when you walked in!" $550 takes the whole 1986-1987 Fleer set out the door. I don't have that much cash to blow, but I seriously considered it for a second. On the brighter side, I got to hold the Jordan for a few seconds, and right now, that's good enough for me.



But, I still had that burning sensation in my wallet and asked to see the Game Used/Auto'd $3 box. I'm a sucker for these. Lots of random football cards, which I'm not real big on. Then I found the crown jewel.




ZAZA PACHULIA, THE LEGEND FROM GEORGIA. I really like the shiny part of the card and the back is cool too. Best part is the back where the card says "In an 02-03 EuroLeague game he shot 10-13". I guess to the card that is a huge fact for Zaza.

This is a Top 5 card purchase of the year for me. $3, wanted $10. Enjoy my $3 Steve.

2/93....2.15% Done

As I've mentioned before (nearly a year ago) I wanted to try and collect the whole 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game Autographs. Figuring that I'd continue my card quest and nothing would happen to side track me I would have a decent collection going a year later. In that time, I've purchased ZERO of the autographs. My count still stood at 1, a lonely Harmon Killebrew that I've owned for 9 years.

Harmon as of two days ago has a new pal. Paul Blair. Paul only cost $6.49, shipping included. Having wanted to get back into my quest, he was the first (and cheapest) autograph to purchase. In all honesty, I had no idea who the hell this dude was until I Wiki'd him. Blair spent 17 years in the majors, 4x World Series Champ, dominated on Defense with 8 Gold Glove Awards (had a solid run of consecutive GG's from 1969-1975), and also works out at Triangle Fitness is Eldersburg, Maryland. Paul also bowls at Kings Point Lanes in Reisterstown, Maryland. FUN FACTS!!!



So there you have it, number 2 on my quest to 93. After reading Guy's Basketball Blog and seeing his Murad chase slowly but surely happen, I wanted to try something that is a bit easier than finding the 2002 MLB Showdown DCI Promos....and I'm not sure I picked the right thing. It's a chase, but it will be worth it. And sorry for the bad picture, the auto isn't cut off, I just took a bad photo. Kill me.