Card of the Day: 2017 Topps Pro Debut – Ben’s Biz – The Crazy Hot Dog Vendor #4

The 36th Ephrata Lions Club Sports Card Show

One of the longest running sports card shows in my area is held once a year by the Ephrata Lions Club.  Its held for one day at the Ephrata Rec Center, and they always have an autograph guest.  This was their 36th annual show, and the signer was former Phillies HOF pitcher Steve Carlton.  About 40-50 dealers were setup, and they had many items for their live auction.

The show opened to the public at 8:30 am.  I left around 6:15 am in the middle of a minor unexpected snowstorm.  On the way I passed six car accidents due to the snow.  Luckily none of them slowed down traffic when I was going by.  I arrived at 8:15 am and quickly got in line.  Once the show opened the line moved very quickly.  Inside the show you needed to purchase autograph tickets for Steve Carlton.  The Ephrata Lions Club was only selling 300 tickets, and they went like hotcakes.  After the autograph tickets were obtained, it was time to dive into the show.

During this particular show I was on the lookout for Harry Kalas stuff, bobbleheads, pins, and some 2015 wax to bust.  At first glance I didn’t see too much wax.  The only boxes I saw were some 2015 Topps Series 1, 2015 Topps Opening Day, and 2015 Topps Heritage.  Those products are great, but have way too many base cards for my taste.  My usual wax dealer wasn’t there, but then I came across VSM Sports Card Outlet.  This was the second time I’ve seen VSM Sports Card Outlet at this show.  I purchased a Harry Kalas UD Sweet Spot Auto from them last year.  In addition to some very high-end singles, they also had boxes just fit for me.  I ended up buying three boxes from them – (2) 2015 Leaf Metal Draft Football, and (1) 2015 Upper Deck Inscriptions Football.  I’ll be posting what I pulled from those boxes later, but lets just say I got some fantastic cards 🙂

While walking around a little more I found a 2009 World Series Phillies vs. Yankees pin, and a Reading Phillies Crazy Hot Dog Vendor bobblehead.  I ran into a lot of people I knew too.  That includes the owner of the first card shop I ever went to back in 1997.  I hadn’t seen him in over twelve years.

Overall, it was a great show.  I can see why its been around for thirty-six years.  Now check out the photos.

Phillies HOF pitcher Steve Carlton

Reading Phillies Crazy Hot Dog Vendor bobblehead.  He has to be one of the coolest mascots in all of sports.  Its a hot dog vendor riding an ostrich.  These all came unpainted as you’re suppose to paint them yourself.  I’m leaving mine like this.

THE SHOW!!!

THE SHOW!!!

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2013 All-Star Game Hot Dog Pin

I’m hungry.  That’s why we have this delicious looking hot dog pin this week.

The 2013 All-Star Game will take place at Citi Field on July 16th.  This will be the first time the Mets have hosted an All-Star Game since 1964.  FanFest will run from July 12-16 at the Javits Center, and will feature all kinds of events.  If you’re going, be sure to stop and buy something from The Pin Man at his booth.  He has all the good stuff when it comes to collectible pins.

Flashback Product of the Week: 1992 Motor Art Iditarod Sled Dog Race

Man.  They really did make cards for everything back in the early 90’s didn’t they?  With the 2013 Iditarod right around the corner, this seemed like a perfect set to talk about.

Using sleds and dogs as a form of transportation has been around since the dawn of time, but the Iditarod only began in 1973.  This annual race takes place in early March where teams travel from Anchorage to Nome.  For up to two weeks or more, mushers and their dogs will endure some of the harshest winter weather.  Blizzards, sub-zero temperatures, and violent winds are just some of the challenges they have to face.

To celebrate its 20th anniversary in 1992, Motor Art made a 110-card set covering everything that dealt with the Iditarod.  This set features past winners, upcoming mushers, important figures in race history, scenes from along the trail, and some of the cards feature famous dogs.  Four of the cards can be placed together in order to form a map of the trail.  The Iditarod may be the biggest sporting event in Alaska, but these mushers don’t get quite the attention as baseball, football, basketball, and hockey players.  Everything in the early 90’s was a “Limited Edition”.  Today you can easily find these factory sets for under $10.00.  As a standalone product, sets like this don’t have the fan base in order to survive.

The Twenty Year Redemption

How long would you say that the average card manufacturer gives you to redeem a card?  One, two, maybe three years would be the normal response.  That sure wasn’t the case for the Red Heart Dog Food Company.  Back in 1954, Red Heart created a baseball card set in which collectors would have to send in a redemption to obtain a card from the set.  The funny thing is that Red Heart allowed collectors to do this for twenty years, something unheard of in today’s hobby.  Today its more like having to wait twenty years to receive the card you redeemed.  

I would like to see today’s food manufacturers include more sports cards within their products.  Many years ago I remember receiving baseball cards in Tombstone pizza and packets of cheese.  In fact, I think I still have a Yogi Berra popup card from a frozen pizza.  The last food product I remember containing cards were Twizzlers a few years back.  Can you imagine those videos on the internet?  Who wouldn’t want to see a video box break of a packet of hot dogs to see what card they pulled?