So, what do I have to show tonight?
First off, I found at a reasonable price a mug that I should have just stolen from one of the many break rooms in the offices and factories I worked in as a teenager and college student:
This coffee mug was one of a nearly yearly giveaway from Maxwell House Coffee of a Brewer coffee mug. As with many of these useful-type giveaways, most of them end up actually being used for their intended purpose -- here, drinking coffee, obviously -- rather than on a shelf somewhere. This one looks pristine and did not cost more than about $6 or $7 with shipping. It's a nice oddball add to my Yount collection.
Then, I hit a milestone. I bought my first 1 of 1 Robin Yount card. It's one of those Topps Vault money grabs, to be sure -- one of the blank backs -- but it is a gorgeous card nonetheless. It's the Topps Tribute blank back:
This is the item over all others that I really liked but which I really had hoped to pay far less. But, on the plus side, I paid less than $75 for a unique Robin Yount card with a hologram authentication and everything. It's better than paying $390 for a signed sticker with a piece of cloth and a piece of wood embedded in the card, in my opinion -- based almost entirely on price alone.
On the other hand and in the vein of my Mat Latos 1/1 Turkey Red blank back, I saw another Topps Tribute blank back that I was shocked to see lagging well below $20. Once again, I just knew that this card should go for far more than that. Once again, it did not. As a result, I am now the proud owner of a Topps Tribute 1/1 Blank Back of none other than the Ryno -- Ryne Sandberg:
Since Sandberg spent most/all of the time that I really got to watch the Brewers in the National League, I never felt any problem with cheering for him and for the Cubs. So, I always liked Sandberg. I have never actively collected his cards, but I liked him as a player. It reminds me of a story.
I had an aunt that lived in Chicago until about 1992 (she passed away just before Christmas, and her funeral was on my birthday...ugh), and she was a huge sports fan -- and, in particular, she was a huge Cubs and Bears fan. She loved those Cubbies in 1984 in particular, and even bought my mom and I tickets to go to the Cubs "baseball card" day in August of that year. It was my first trip to Wrigley -- and it would be my only trip there until 2007 -- and the Cubs finished off a four-games-in-three-days sweep of a key series against their NL East rival New York Mets. I know it was the game in the box score because I recall vividly that Walt Terrell was pitching for the Mets. Sandberg stole a base in that game, drove in a run, and generally made things happen.
I'll never forget that day, but not for Sandberg.
