Card of the Day: Bill Murray 2003 Grandstand Cards Brockton Rox – Director of Fun

Card of the Day: Ray Kroc 1978 San Diego Padres Family Fun Centers

Even More Sportkings Series E Fun Cards To Find

May 3rd is just around the corner, and that is when you’ll be able to find Sportkings Series E.  I’ve shown you some of the case hits, and even did an interview with their Lead Portrait Painter Jared Kelley, but here some more cards that you can look forward to finding.

One of the best things Sportkings has done this year is have premium base cards that have a letter on the back.  Once you collect enough cards to spell out “SPORTKINGS” you can receive quad-relic cards, sketch cards, and even art cards.  Base cards usually don’t excite that many collectors, but having a program like this can really add value to them.  Mini base cards are found 1:2 boxes and you can look for Gold and Silver parallels.  Gold is limited to 3 copies, and Silver is limited to 7 copies.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Gary Carter 1984 Fun Foods #3 Pin

Yesterday baseball lost one of it’s best, Gary Carter, to brain cancer.  He was only 57 years old.  The above pin was issued in early 1985 but has a 1984 date on it.  The set consists of 133 pins.  These were mass produced and can easily be found for under $1.00.

The Weird Stuff I Notice

I notice a lot of weird stuff.  I’m telling you its some kind of sickness I have.  Did you ever notice that the foam cut out around packs of 2009 National Treasures Football resembles a certain logo all collectors should be familiar with?  Take a look!

Maybe I just have Upper Deck on the brain.  Or perhaps I’ve uncovered one of the biggest stories of the year 🙂

Win a FREE Box of 2009 Topps Series 1 Baseball

Our friends over at Sports Card Fun announced another contest today.  They want to know how you store your collection.  The winner will receive a FREE hobby box of 2009 Topps Series 1 baseball cards.  Here are the contest details:

Here’s the topic:
How big is your sports card collection and how and where do you store it?  (For example, on shelves, special bookcases, in binders, a safe, etc.)

As always we WANT THE DETAILS! You’re welcome to tell us about your collection, how big do you think it will get? did you learn the hard way about storing and protecting and displaying your cards?

Here are the rules and additional guidelines for you to follow:
1. Stick to this topic: How big is your sports card collection and how and where do you store it?
2. You must write a MINIMUM 200 WORDS (less than 200 words do
not get entered to win)
3. All essays must be turned in by Sunday February 22nd, 2009
5. Use our contact form to submit your finished entry.
6. Entries of our choice will be posted on Sportscardfun.com

Remember,  Sunday February 22nd, 2009 is the deadline!

____________________________________________________________

Here is Sports Card Info’s entry:

I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I probably have one of the most organized sports card collections in the world.  My collection consists mainly of Phillies, Dolphins, Dan Marino, Scott Rolen, and relic cards of older players.  But I’m one of those collectors that has the constant urge to bust a box of cards, which means that I usually have a lot of cards to keep organized.  My Phillies, Dolphins, Dan Marino, Scott Rolen, and autographed cards are all placed in individual albums.  The baseball and football base cards are all in white cardboard boxes.  If I pull any serial numbered inserts or rookie cards with Chrome stock I always place them in either the baseball or football top loader box.  Since I open a bunch of boxes which usually yield jerseys and autographs of less desired players, I have two white boxes for baseball and football memorabilia cards.  In my office I have a few shelves hanging on the wall that contain some of my most valuable cards.  I just can’t seem to place them in a box where I wouldn’t see them.  I learned my lesson the hard way when not keeping your collection in order.  When I first started collecting, I would mix baseball and football cards together.  After years of doing that over and over again, I realized that it was really difficult to find something I thought I might have.  Over a period of a few weekends, I separated all my cards by sport and have kept it that way ever since.  Now you won’t catch me even placing a card upside down in a box.

Fun With Photoshop

Yes, it is available as wallpaper 🙂

Sports Card Fun Contest Entry

I’m sure that you have heard by now about Sports Card Fun’s writing contest that ends on December 7, 2008.  I just thought I would share my entry for you to read:

            My favorite type of baseball cards to collect are relics of older players and here’s why.

            Over the years I have been slowly picking up memorabilia cards of players from baseball’s past.  I find it fascinating that you can own a piece of bat, jersey, or pants from some of baseball best players.  A goal of mine was to own a piece of memorabilia from each of the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame class of 1936 which included Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson.  It took a few years, but I was able to get a Ruth 2002 Fleer Fall Classics Bat SP #’ed/25, Cobb 2004 Topps Tribute Bat, Wagner 2003 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts Pants, and a Mathewson 2005 Upper Deck Trilogy Pants #’ed/75 added to my collection.  No card manufacturer has released a Walter Johnson memorabilia card yet because his relics are so difficult to obtain, but I was able to find a Johnson 2004 Upper Deck Sweet Spot Commemorative Patch #’ed/10 that works well.  There is one card in my collection that stands out the most.  That would be my Willie Mays 2001 Fleer Tradition Stitches in Time Negro League Worn jersey card.  This is the only Mays relic card that contains an actual jersey swatch from his Birmingham Black Barons uniform.  Trying to find a regular Mays jersey card isn’t all that hard, but the Stitches in Time cards are hard to spot.  Some other old relic cards I own include a Napoleon Lajoie Topps Tribute bat, Mickey Mantle Sweet Spot jersey, and a Jim Thorpe Playoff Absolute jersey.  I am a big fan of the 2002 Topps T206 relic set.  That set contains old relics of players such as Jimmy Collins and John McGraw.  There are at least two “holy grail” cards I would like to add to my collection, but just haven’t seen or were to expensive at the time I found them.  The first would be the “Shoeless” Joe Jackson 2001 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts bat, and the second would be the 2002 Topps T206 Honus Wagner bat. 

            Believe it or not, most of my old relic cards have been purchased in person at either my local card shops or attending a few shows.  One of my favorite shows, the Philadelphia Sports Card and Memorabilia Show, usually has a dealer from New York that always has a few glass cases full of old relics.  That is where I saw the Joe Jackson Legendary Cuts bat card for the first time in person.  Browsing through cases and finding a relic card of an older player is fun, even if you never heard of the player.  Collecting old relics connects you to a simpler time, when baseball was still in its infancy.       

Dating & Sports Cards

There are a lot of woman that don’t find sports card collecting very interesting, so the next time your out on a date and they ask, “What do you do for a living?”  Just say, “I’m a cardiologist.” 🙂