A Plug and Cool Surprise from Angus

I spend a lot of my free time -- in between posting here, working, reading blogs, and trying to be a good husband -- on Twitter. Often, it's the first thing I read in the morning (usually to catch up on what is new in the world of European soccer) and many times it's the last thing I actively read before playing a mindless game of "Civilization Revolutions" on my iPad and nodding off to sleep.

A few weeks ago, I got a new follower on Twitter called @CardMavin. Card Mavin is a completely free website that gives people a realistic view on what their cards are worth based on real time eBay sales and listings. Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, the site may include aggregation of information on sales -- or at least asking prices -- from COMC, Sportlots, Just Commons, etc.  That probably will take some intellectual property rights agreements with those sites, I'd suppose.

That said, the folks behind Card Mavin reached out to me and told me how much they enjoyed my writing. After I asked if they had the right "Tony" from the blog world, and after I asked if they had actually read my blog -- oddly, the answer was yes on both counts -- I was sufficiently flattered enough to be receptive to their approach for me to write a guest blog. 

After a couple of weeks where work conspired to keep me both busy and lacking in inspiration, finally I sat down and hacked out my post: "Advice for Getting Back into Card Collecting." Thanks to trying to be brief -- which, as many of you know, is more of a challenge for me than trying to extend a post to a particular length -- I set forth a list of three pieces of advice for folks considering whether they should get into collecting or back into collecting. 

Please take a read of my thoughts there and provide some advice of your own. And, while you're there, check out how CardMavin works and give feedback on Twitter to @CardMavin.

Okay, now that I have plugged one of the first appearances of my writing that does not involve writing about construction law (I am, in fact, general editor of a book published 15 years ago and I am a general editor as well of a book that is in the works now about trial practice in construction cases...seriously), I need to give full props to the blogosphere's Canadian Cleveland Browns fan, Angus of Dawg Day Cards.

First, he has watched as his team has actually improved its QB situation with RGIII, a QB who caused his own offensive line to hate him in DC -- to the point where they hardly helped him up after sacks and whose seeming refusal to take any blame for mistakes rubbed everyone the wrong way. I mean, after Johnny Manziel, perhaps everyone who is a sentient being is an upgrade at QB, but when people from around the league come out and say that you are a "jerk" who "didn't stay humble", you know you have some problems.

Still, as a Browns fan as Angus is, he found the bright side of things and noted that having a guy like RGIII for the here and now while the team tries to build isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Is there a comparable situation in all of the Big 4 sports to being a Browns fan? I mean, at least in baseball, most every team has gotten to the postseason in the last 15 years.

I really feel for Angus on that level. It is close to the situation in Milwaukee from 1993 through 2006, when the team just sucked and sucked and sucked and it didn't look like there was any plan in place under the Seligs other than, "Let's suck as bad as possible so that we can prove our point that small market teams can't compete."

Amongst all this, Angus still finds time to sprinkle sunshine around to all of us bloggers. 

I've seen two others of these now around the blog world, and I'm happy that Angus sent one my way. The nine discs on the Milwaukee Brewers "Triple Play Funmeal" include Robin Yount, Sal Bando, BIll Travers, Sixto Lezcano, Von Joshua, Charlie Moore, Jim Slaton, Jerry Augustine, and the cleft-chinned Eduardo Rodriguez. 

Even without seeing the 1977 copyright date, I could have dated this item to that very year for a couple of reasons. First, if this had been issued in 1976, Hank Aaron would have been included. Second, Sal Bando would not have been included in 1976 because he signed as a free agent from Oakland after 1976. Finally, it could not be from the 1978 season because the Brewers simply cut Von Joshua after spring training in 1978 and they traded Jim Slaton after the 1977 season to Detroit for Ben Oglivie. Slaton then re-signed with the Brewers after the 1978 season.

Angus, many thanks once again for the fantastic surprise you sent my way.

Breakdowns

I'm in the mood again for a good theme post.  Late last week, I received a package from Defgav at Baseball Card Breakdown with some great cards for my Brewers collection. Since I love music and discovering new music, I thought, "hey, I'll see what comes up when I try to find songs called 'Breakdown'".  

There were five cards that I scanned in the envelope, so five songs called "Breakdown" will go with these cards.

Thusly I spake unto him that a card blog theme post was born.  And it was good.

I hope.

1.  Super Junior-M, "BREAK DOWN"

So, who's up for a Chinese-South Korean boy band (a/k/a Mandopop)? This song was released on SJ-M's second studio album also called Break Down.  The Chinese version of the album hit number one on the Billboard World Album chart and number forty-nine on the Billboard "Heatseekers" Album Chart (I think that's the "Top 200 Albums").  

In case you don't listen or watch, it's a strangle melange of Mandarin and English with Korean subtitles that occasionally show up in English too.  It's a super-catchy, poppy song. If you're not careful, you'll get it stuck in your head.  

Its card equivalent?

A Bowman Gold Parallel of Zack Greinke. Why? Well, the gold catches your eye.  It's flashy -- almost catchy -- and having Zack on the Brewers appears to be a strange melange as compared to the current team.  I mean, to have a real pitcher on the team?  Nearly inexplicable.

If you're not careful, the thought of the Brewers being good might get stuck in your head!

2.  Jack Johnson, "Breakdown"

I saw Jack Johnson in concert once. One of my work seminars took me to Palm Springs, California -- I know, tough life, someone has to do it -- and to the incredible La Quinta Resort.  I had been in the Middle East the week before in Dubai (to see if I wanted to move there...two words: Hell. No.) so I was all out of sorts. 

It took until Thursday for me to find out that the Coachella Music Festival was going on that weekend.  If I had known that, I'd have stayed the whole weekend.  Instead, I could go only on Friday.  So, I did.  It was excellent, too -- saw The Verve, The Raconteurs, Serj Tankian from System of a Down...and Jack Johnson.

I remember two things from that concert.  One of my friends got completely baked, and I ended up tracking him -- not babysitting, mind you...just tracking him.  The other thing was the fact that nearly every woman in the crowd knew every word to every song that Jack Johnson sang -- including this one.  To me, they all sounded the same.  

His music is innocent enough.  It's harmless. I don't actively avoid his music, but I don't seek it out either. I just am not that big of a fan.

Sort of like Bowman Chrome and its X-Fractors. It's harmless and innocent enough.  There are a ton of people who just love the stuff. And, as with Jack Johnson, it's not that I actively avoid the cards -- I just am not that big of a fan.  

I was surprised to learn that this Cole Gillespie is the same Cole Gillespie that played for the Diamondbacks a few years ago and continues to play in the Miami Marlins system this year. The dude is Quad-A through and through -- too good for Triple-A, not good enough for the major leagues.

Sort of like Jack Johnson.

3.  Noisestorm, "Breakdown"

I know a lot of people like triphop/dubstep/techno/electro/whatever the hell this is called. I don't mind it, for the most part.  Honestly, it just gets boring to me after a while. 

Then again, I never understood the allure of jam bands until I took a hit of a hippie's pipe at a Bela Fleck and the Flecktones show at Music Midtown in Atlanta.  When I emerged from haze I found myself in, I felt like I'd lost a day -- but I knew Bela Fleck was the coolest act ever.

So, I just haven't taken the right medications, I suppose, to make this make sense.

On the other hand, I'm not sure there are enough medications to make Danny Klassen make sense.  Let's just move on before I roll a spliff.

Not that I could, mind you.

Ahem.

4. Seether, "Breakdown"

I thought I needed drugs for that last one?

Yikes.

Seether is a very earnest sounding alt rock band who have songs that I've thought were decent in the past -- Remedy is pretty catchy and all -- but this one sounds like 2009.  It just does.  

But it has that throwback feel about it too.  It's new, but it feels like mid-90s rock.  

Likewise, the Topps Archives 2001 set were new, but they felt old.  Like this reprinted 1981 Topps Sal Bando, mocking Brewers fans for (at that time) the futility of the 1990s under Bando's watch as the Brewers General Manager (until August 12, 1999, when he finally resigned his position and the equally inept Dean Taylor took over).

Sal was very earnest about his position as well, to be fair. He loved Milwaukee, became a paragon in the business community, and really seemed to want the best for the team.  

But it was like the Green Bay Packers in the 1980s -- only after the team threw off the shackles of past glories (such as, for Green Bay, hiring first Bart Starr and then Forrest Gregg as its head coach) could the team succeed.  

5.  Tom Petty, "Breakdown"

This is a classic off Petty's first album, performed here live in 1978.  I picked this because the versions with the album cut are literally the song playing with a single PowerPoint slide saying "Tom Petty - Breakdown" on it for the whole song.  

This is almost certainly the best known song called Breakdown, at least to me. It is the one that I could sing along with, certainly.  

I actually like it.  I hate to say that about anything from Gainesville (other than Johnny at the Trading Spot), but I like this song.

Nothing, though, can approach this Bronze Topps Clubhouse Relic from 2004 serial numbered to 99.  I had the base of this relic in my collection previously, but I did not have this one.  

Trust me when I say that it's far better than Tom Petty in my book. 

Let me close by saying I echo the thoughts of Defgav's cable company, as set forth on the advertisement to protect the cards enroute:

Thank you, Gavin, for these great cards.  I think some Reggie Jacksons might have to come your way!

It's All About The South...Really

There's an earworm country song by a band called The Cadillac Three called "The South." The song features guest vocals from Florida Georgia Line, Mike Eli of the Eli Young Band, and fellow Vanderbilt graduate Dierks Bentley (who transferred in to Vanderbilt the year after I graduated).

I won't put you through the pain of getting that song buried in your head. But, it does provide me with an introduction to a crazy oddball of an item I got from everyone's favorite purveyor of vintage items, Mark Hoyle.

Yes, Mark sent me an RC Cola can from the 1970s. RC Cola, surprisingly to me, actually was first invented in the south. In fact, it was first developed in my wife's hometown of Columbus, Georgia, way back in 1905 by Claud A. Hatcher. 

Claud developed the cola because the local Coca-Cola company would not give him a better deal on syrup for his use in his pharmacy. As a result, he said he would make his own cola. It took a while for that to happen, as Claud first released a ginger ale called Royal Crown Ginger Ale. The company was renamed as Chero-Cola in 1910 and then as Nehi Corporation in 1925. 

But you didn't come here to read about RC Cola's history. Why, pray tell, would Mark be sending me an old steel RC Cola can from the 1970s here in 2014? Would his local trash company not take it?

No -- he had a very good reason to send it to me.

That reason, is Sal Bando. The can dates from 1977. While the photos are not licensed by MLB, the MLBPA did provide their okay to use player likenesses.

And now, let's take a trip down memory lane (for some of us) or into the depths of our imaginations (for others)......

Think about how great it was back in the 1970s. For breakfast, you have Frosted Flakes and inside, there is a baseball card! 

For lunch, you have a sandwich on Wonder Bread (football cards!) and down it with a nice RC Cola with a player on the side...or a Pepsi Cola with a player on a disc in a glove stuck in the 6-pack of bottles. 

Or, maybe, you stop off at a fastfood place and grab a burger -- and get a complete team set of discs. 

Finally, after a long day at work (assuming you are old enough then), you can stop off at the package store, grab a 12-pack of Iron City Beer, and get a beer can featuring the Pittsburgh Pirates or Steelers (and oddly enough, I think I might still have one or two of those at my mom's house).

Back to 2014

And those paragraphs are why collecting sports items is so much fun. If only we could get that fun back today through a few cool oddballs, life would be a lot more interesting and fun in the grocery store.

Does anyone know why we DON'T have food issues any more? Is the cost too high?

At any rate, this RC Cola can was just an incredibly cool item to receive in the mail. As always, Mark, I cannot possibly come up with a way to thank you other than saying it: thanks AGAIN, Mark!

Card Show Post #3: The Newer Stuff and The Hits

After my luck in bin diving and dime box digging, it's almost overkill to give the rundown on the other items and cards I got.  But, I was able to find a ton of great hits and fill some holes in my collection both from finding some more expensive cards and, again, digging in the dime boxes.

Let's start with the most expensive card from the show.  I paid $20 for this, and I am okay with having done that because it is my first Ryan Braun autograph:

The fact that it is a Topps Tribute card serial numbered 9 of 99 is a pretty big bonus to me.  Now, for the "lesser" hits, none of which cost more than $5 and most of which were $2 or $3:

Yovani Gallardo Gypsy Queen Auto

Zack Greinke Gypsy Queen Relic

Yovani Gallardo Topps Tier One Crowd-Pleaser Autograph SN/99

Ben Sheets Upper Deck Decades Autograph

Jean Segura Topps Tier One On the Rise Autograph SN/399

I got all of these from the same vendor who had boxes of random autographs from various sets around.  I stopped at another table of a guy who runs a monthly show south of Atlanta, and he had some inserts of Ryan Bran and Gary Carter that I needed.  Here are a couple of those:

So, by this point, I finished all the other tables and circled back to the dime boxes.  As I mentioned before, the guy had about six or seven of those 5000-count boxes packed with cards in addition to the 1000-card box of vintage.  Here are some samplers of what I picked out of the dime boxes that was newer than 1976. To be honest, I don't even know what set some of these cards come from (some are obvious, others are not):

Two final stories from that show.  When I first got back to the dime box table, there was another guy there talking to the dealer at whose table I took up residence.  The new guy was from St. Louis, and was commiserating with the table holder about how slow Saturday afternoon had been.  The St. Louis guy said that they have decent shows there, but they tend to revolve around autograph signers as this one did.

When I started talking to them, I realized that I am rather spoiled for choices when it comes to card shows -- there's the monthly show an hour south of town, and then there are the three monthly shows that are just about on my doorstep around the northern suburbs of Atlanta.  To top it off, the guy who actually promoted the show this past week has a card shop in Marietta and occasionally runs autograph and other memorabilia shows. I didn't realize how lucky I am.

Anyway, Mr. St. Louis guy starts poking around the table and finds a complete set of the Squirt soda bottle hanger cards that Topps put together for Squirt in 1982.  They did a set in 1981 as well.  The St. Louis guy turned out to be a Detroit collector who wanted the Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson out of the set, and paid $4 for the whole set to get those.  He looked through the set, and it had both a Cecil Cooper and a Rollie Fingers card in it.  I said I'd give him a buck for those two -- which, considering it was an 11-panel set, was a good deal for him. He thought about it, hemmed and hawed a bit, and ended up finally agreeing to it.  So, I left with these:

I didn't win $1,000 in groceries, but I'll take these two panels.

Mr. St. Louis wasn't done.  He saw a packaged-up set of Classic 1990 cards there and bought those for $1. I was a bit ticked that I didn't get those cards -- I mean, that would have been great oddball trade bait.  He opened the set and there was not a single Detroit Tiger in the entire package.  He was upset, but then gave me the one Brewer he found in it...who just happens to be one of my late 1980s PC guys, Greg Vaughn:

Finally, as I was struggling to get to the 200-card level from my dime box dealer, he started moving those boxes off the table.  He was replacing them by putting up the $1 bins from earlier in the day and changing them into 25-cent bins.  He said that I could use anything from the bins to get to the 200 mark, and he'd treat it like a dime card, but that he'd have to charge a quarter for anything over the 200 card mark.

Not wanting to stick around too much longer, I went into one bin that had caught my eye earlier in the day. It was filled with round things -- discs, coins, marbles, what have you.  I was hoping to find some of those MSA discs from 1977, whether labeled with Isaly, Chilly Willee, Zip'z, or what have you.  And what do you know -- I did:

This is just one that was nice to have:

That's a Sal Bando Chilly Willee disc.  These next two -- well, they were awesome to find and one of them goes right into the BIG collection.  First, let's start with the Isaly's disc of a legend.

When I found it, it had a sticker on the front of it.  It turned out to be a fairly new sticker, and it came off without leaving any residue behind or even a scratch mark from me getting the sticker off.

Finally, here's the one I felt best about.  I would pay between $2 and $3 at least on the multi-colored Bay for this one, but I got it here for basically a dime:

And that is the Chilly Willee variety of those crazy discs of Robin Yount.  It brought my total number of Robin Yount Items to 560, of which I think I got about 80% since I got back into collecting early this year!

Thanks again for reading, and to those of you I owe packages, please be patient with me!