Card of the Day: Willie Stargell 1981 Donruss #132

Card of the Day: Willie Stargell 1983 Donruss #610

Card of the Day: Willie Stargell 1966 Topps #255

Mauer, Longoria, & Stargell Highlight Monty Sheldon’s ’12 Gypsy Queen Art Patches

One of the best things that came out of Gypsy Queen last year were the hand-drawn colorful patch relics created by sports artist Monty Sheldon.  Collectors can look for more of his artwork in the 2012 version of Gypsy Queen.  Here are a few closeups of what you can look forward to pulling.

Card of the Day: Willie Stargell 2000 Upper Deck Legendary Signatures

My First Card Show Purchase

For some reason tonight I felt like looking up Willie Stargell stuff on eBay and I found a card that takes me way back to my early days of collecting.  When I attended my first card show back in the mid 90’s, in addition to meeting Scott Rolen while he was working his way through the Phillies organization, I would try to acquire cards of players whose signature I had on baseballs.  The first autographed baseball I ever received was Willie Stargell when I was 3 years old.  That day at the show I was looking for a Stargell card, especially one that wasn’t too expensive.  I remember finding this Willie Stargell 1970 Topps Scratch-Off card sitting in the front part of one of the dealer’s boxes.  This was my first purchase I ever made at a card show.  After awhile I stopped obtaining cards of every athlete I met and a few years ago this card made its way into another collector’s hands.

What was your first purchase at a card show?

Card of the Day: Willie Stargell 1963 Topps RC #553

Blog Bat Around – Sports Card Info

(This post is a response to Sports Cards Uncensored)

The year was 1989.  People were flocking to the movies to see Batman and Ghostbusters II.  Nintendo released the first version of the GameBoy, and I attended my very first sports memorabilia show.

When I was only three years old, I attended my very first sports memorabilia show at the local mall.  I don’t remember a lot about it, except that Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Willie Stargell was signing autographs.  I can remember being pushed around in my stroller and looking at a lot of things, but I really didn’t  have any idea what was going on.   When it was time to get in line to meet Willie Stargell, for some crazy reason I started to cry.  I kept crying the whole we were in line and even when Stargell was signing my baseball.

Even though I didn’t really start getting involved in collecting sports cards and memorabilia until about nine years later, I kept the baseball he autographed for me.  It still looks the same as it did the day he signed it.  It will remain in my personal collection forever -where it can be found sitting safely atop one of my shelves, safely tucked away inside a protective ball cube.  Right now I don’t collect Pittsburgh Pirates memorabilia, but I consider this ball the centerpiece of my collection because it is the very first piece of sports memorabilia I ever received.

The hobby is filled with a lot of different collectors.  Some are out just for the money, and others are in it for the fun.  I hate to say it, but I think more people are entering the hobby for the wrong reasons.  Sports cards should, and will always be part of America.  People need to sit back, relax, and not get ticked off when they break a box and don’t pull that one-of-one.

Just in case you’re wondering.  The only time I cry at a sports memorabilia shows now, is when its time to leave or I’m out of money.