Trading Cards Help Unite The Avengers

WARNING!!!  SPOILERS!!!

Joss Whedon has officially set the bar pretty high for this summer’s superhero blockbusters.  Perhaps all future superhero movies in general.  Yesterday I witnessed Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Loki and many many many more just go at it on the big screen.  This was something I had been looking forward to seeing since that post-credit scene at the end of the first Iron Man film back in 2008.  The Avengers is pure superhero gold.  Every actor and character interacted well together and they did a fantastic job of giving everyone their own designated time on the big screen.  Attention was given to all characters and not centered around one in particular.  The Avengers is a team movie and that’s the way it should be.  Lots of attention was given to the little details like why Thor wasn’t going to see Jane Foster even though he made it back to Earth despite the Bifrost being destroyed.  Captain America’s suit was another area that they touched on.  A lot of fans, even Steve Rodgers himself thought it might look a little outdated, but they explained that an old fashion look just might be what the world needed right now.

Among all the action, one of my favorite elements of the film was the use of trading cards and how they helped The Avengers to unite.  Near the beginning of the movie, you can see that Agent Phil Coulson is a big fan of Captain America.  Agent Coulson tells Cap that he has all of his trading cards, they’re vintage, and in near mint condition.  Cap doesn’t seem all that interested.  While The Avengers are fighting among each other with their clashing egos, Agent Coulson gets killed by Loki.  Nick Fury is seen holding Agent Coulson’s collection of Captain America trading cards.  Fury uses the cards as a way for The Avengers to stop their petty fighting and work together.  He tells them that Agent Coulson never did get Captain America to sign them.  The bloody, unsigned cards are then thrown on the table.  The Avengers finally get their act together and find a way to work as a team.  If The Avengers couldn’t find a way to work together, S.H.I.E.L.D would have been forced to use the Tesseract technology to power a new line of weapons they were working on known as Phase 2.  Agent Coulson believed that they could all get along and Phase 2 wouldn’t be needed.  It took Coulson’s death for them to realize this.  Nick Fury lied a little telling them the cards were in Agent Coulson’s pocket when he was killed.  They were actually in his locker.  I love seeing trading cards make their way into movies, especially something this big.

Coming up next in this saga is Iron Man 3 due out May 2013, and Thor 2 set for November 2013.  I would love to see Nick Fury make an appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man later this summer, but I doubt that will happen.  This sure is a great time to be alive if your a major superhero fan.

The Tesseract is able to transport individuals to various worlds.  I don’t believe that Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger died.  He was transported somewhere.  But where?

A Little Autograph Help Is Needed

For a long time now I have been getting autographs on various baseball bats while attending shows and other events.  This morning I decided to sit down and make a list of every autograph on each bat just to have some kind of a record.  I probably should have done this while getting the autographs but never did.  I came across one autograph that I cannot identify.  Maybe you can help.  Here is a picture:

I went through 35 different signatures and this is the only one I can’t remember.  Anyone have any ideas who the mystery autograph might be?

Here is a list of all the autographs I have on my bats:

• Tom McCarthy
• Milt Thompson
• Dickie Noles
• Frank Howard x2
• Bobby Shantz
• Harry Kalas
• Dick Allen
• Gene Garber x2
• Brooks Robinson
• Jay Johnstone
• Clete Boyer
• Mickey Morandini x2
• Bob Feller x2
• Willie Fordham
• Bill Mazeroski
• Pat Zachry
• Mike Hargrove x2
• Pete Rose
• Lou Marson
• Lee May
• Johnny Bench
• Todd Pratt
• Andre Thornton
• Greg Luzinski
• George Scott
• Roger Craig
• Sal Bando
• Tom Herr
• J.A. Happ
• Kyle Kendrick
• Ken Griffey Sr
• Chuck McElroy
• Stan Bahnsen
• Marty Bystrom
• Darren Daulton
• Chris Coste

UPDATE:

Its Chris Coste!!!!!!!!

Q & A – Returning To The Hobby?

Question: I just got into collecting cards again. I collected when I was a kid, and now I am starting to invest in football cards. I have some quick and easy questions. Why are some cards serial numbered, IE: 219/300? What does the serial number mean? What company would be the best to buy hobby boxes of? Which Beckett should I get, monthly or semi-annually?  Do you think the 3 ring 9 card pages keep cards in good condition? Thank you ahead of time for your answers!!

Answer: Glad to hear that you’re getting back into collecting.  A serial number such as “219/300” means that there are 300 copies of that specific card printed.  There are other serial numbers such as 1/5, 100/1000, etc….  The three major manufacturers of football cards would be Topps, Upper Deck, and Donruss/Playoff.  My personal favorite company is Donruss/Playoff, but everyone has their favorite.  If you’re looking for college cards, Press Pass and SA-GE mainly manufacturer those.  As for Beckett, many collectors have their own opinions about the company.  Collectors don’t really use their price guide anymore because collectors mainly go with what cards sell for on eBay.  You can read it for the articles, but if you are looking for something better I would suggest reading hobby blogs for free on the internet.  Websites such as Sports Card Info, Wax Heaven, Stale Gum, and a whole list of others run by collectors receive product information and news a lot faster than waiting for it in print format.  I think its fine to store cards in 9-slot album pages and placed in a 3-ring binder.  I have many cards stored like that.  Congrats on returning to the hobby!

Customer Service Professional

Did your box get shorted on a memorabilia or autographed card?  Did you receive a damaged card?  Or are you having trouble with receiving your redemption card you have been waiting years for?  If your answer is yes to all these questions, then you should have this guy call for you.

How sports cards help the world

Sports cards are one of the best learning tools in the world.  Think about it for a moment.  They teach, reading, hand-eye coordination, organizational skills, money management, and how to interact with other people.   

I remember opening my first pack of baseball cards back in the early 90’s, right when I was starting school.  These cards really helped me learn how to read and write.  Since I was so young I really didn’t recognize the pictures of the players but in order for me to figure out who they were I had to learn how to read. 

Sports cards are also great tools for hand-eye coordination.  Have you ever seen a pack of cards?  As the years have gone by, packs have become more and more complicated to open.  Years ago, packs of cards used to by wrapped in wax.  It wasn’t too hard to open the back and pull the cards out.  In today’s world, packs come in foil, boxes, clamshell casing, etc……  Trying to open these packs can be great practice with your hand-eye coordination, especially for younger kids.  Also, have you ever tried getting a card into a penny sleeve?  Sometimes it can be difficult to get a card in a sleeve and then place it in a top loader.

If you were like me when I was young, I just put my cards in an old shoebox and put it in my closet.  Over the years when I got more and more into collecting, I knew that I would need to develope organizational skills so I knew where I could find my cards.  Now, I don’t use shoeboxes at all.  I have boxes for my baseball and foootball cards.  Each sport is separated and is no longer mixed.  Since I am a Phillies and Dolphins fan I keep those cards in a special place I can get to fast.  If you are just getting into collecting and your worried you won’t be able to stay organized, don’t worry, you will develope the organizational skills as you go along.  Thats what happened to me.

Money is what makes the world go around.  Collecting sports cards will really teach you money management.  It can help you learn how to save for a special card that you plan to buy.  Collecting can also help you learn how to sell something and make money.  If your lucky, and have a card shop near where you live, collecting can teach you about how a business works.

Collecting cards can provide a great social experience.  It doesn’t matter whether you buy, sell, or trade, you will need to interact with people to acquire the cards you want.  You can interact with them in person or over the internet.  Card collecting can bring people out of their shell.  Some people are very quiet, but when you touch a subject that they are interested in they could talk all day about it.

As you can see, card collecting has a ton of benefits.  They can teach a lot that you need to survive in the world.  There aren’t too many things in the world that are fun to do, and helps you learn at the same time.