Some Awesome IP Autos From Billy

When the Down East Wood Ducks held their first exhibition game against Mount Olive College, the second person I met at Grainger Stadium (the first being my friend, Scott) was a guy I knew for a long time as the "Pickle Man."  He always wore a Mount Olive Pickles hat, which is why I referred to him as such.  After graphing together for a while, I struck up a friendship with Billy.  He has been coming to Grainger Stadium for quite a while, and I marvel at the players that he saw come through Kinston.

Recently, we decided to trade some autographs that we had gotten in the past, and he brought a small stack of cards today.  Telling me I could keep them all, I was blown away at what was in the stack after he said was a "20-minute search through his boxes..."  Amazing.  Obviously, the card that really got me was the above 1992 Topps Manny Ramirez.  I know Manny came through Kinston back in the day, but here is an early autograph, before Manny was Manny.

The hits kept coming, an Adrian Gonzalez, Tom Glavine, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jake Arrieta.  All of these guys were amazing finds in the stack.

I liked this Jose Constanza because it is just a really cool auto.  It looks similar to some other guys I've seen.

It just amazes me to think of all of the guys that Billy has seen come through as he has graphed ove the years.  I believe he told me he has gotten autographs in Kinston since the 70s.  He also told me that he used to be a popcorn vendor there, which must have been a sight!

A lot of these guys are players that I have heard of over time.  I would love to get a chance to really dig into his albums and boxes to see all of the stuff he has gotten signed over the years.  It also makes me think of just how others could be amazed at the stuff I've gotten signed over my short time graphing.

These 2001 SAL Top Prospects cards were also really cool.  I like these old team sets, especially when you are able to see whatever stadium is in the background.

Thank you so much for the cards, Billy.  Most importantly, though, thank you for the camaraderie over the last several years at the games.  Like I said earlier today at the game, this is fun and all, but it is so much more fun when you can go to the games and have someone to enjoy it with.  I'm glad we have gotten close, and I look forward to many more games and experiences together.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Tom Glavine

I picked up my 113th Hall of Fame signed baseball at the National Card Show when I got a steal on this Tom Glavine signed ball from the BBC Exchange booth.  I know they sell wax boxes at good prices, but I guess they have branched out into the signed memorabilia market a bit as well.  They had a lot of signed baseballs at really good prices (even Maury Wills at $10.00).

Glavine (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1987 to 2008 for the Braves and Mets.  He was a huge member of the Braves rotation (along with John Smoltz and Greg Maddux) for years.  I already had the other two, and adding Glavine completes that trifecta.

He finished his career with a 305-203 record, 3.54 ERA and 2,607 strike outs.  He was a 2-time Cy Young Award winner (1991 and 1998) and a 10-time All Star.  He won 20 or more games 5 times.  He was a member of the 1995 World Series Champion Braves.  Glavine was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2014 (his first ballot) with 91.9% of the vote.

A Vintage Care Package From Bryce

I got a nice care package in the other day from my buddy, Bryce, from Instagram.  I have helped him with his collection a bit recently, and in return, he sent me a nice surprise.  I didn't expect a bunch of vintage to be inside the envelope he sent, but there ended up being a lot.

Most unexpectedly, there was a 1952 Topps Eddie Kazak included.  I don't own a whole lot of 1952 cards, but I do have some of them.  Most notably, I have the Bob Feller and Virgil Trucks from that set.  I also have two Yankee guys.  I have seen a sweet Yogi Berra floating around on Ebay that I have been eyeing, but I haven't been able to pull the trigger on it.  This Kazak card is really sharp, and pops really nice when scanned.

Speaking of cards that pop, this 1954 Topps Paul Minner card is a really nice one.  Included with two other '54s, I chose this one because of the red background; easily my favorite color among the 1954s.  I have quite a few '54s now, and if I could land a few of the key rookies, I would consider this set as one of the sets I would pursue when I complete 1959.

Not pictured were two really nice 1971s (Fingers and a World Series Highlights Brooks Robinson) and a "not quite vintage" 1986 Sportflics Reggie Jackson.  Those cards were nice, but I felt like this 1988 Topps Tom Glavine RC would look nice when scanned and put up on this blog.  I was right.  The yellow of the name ribbom and the red of the Braves header really make this card stand out.  It is very reminiscent of the 1967 Topps Hank Aaron that I have.  Subtly so, at least.  I think it is a really cool card, and I will include it with my Hall of Fame rookies.

Thank you so much for the care package, Bryce!  You have no idea how happy I was to open the package and to see all the vintage goodness inside!

Box Busting - 1994 Topps Series 2

Chris and I were bored this weekend (I think Saturday night) and decided to bust a box of cards that I had stashed away in the closet.  I have a couple boxes of 90s 'junk wax' sitting around so we chose 1994 Topps as the product that we were going to bust.

I had forgotten how sharp 1994 Topps looked.  Card collecting took a major hit following the 1994 season, when baseball went on strike.  The year before, Topps released the 1993 set, a behemoth of 825 cards, but slimmed back down to the 80s-90s standard of 792 cards.

There are some good action shots in the set.  I think my favorite that made me stop and look was the above Roberto Alomar card, turning a double play on his brother Sandy.  I just like the concept of the photo.

This is a great shot of Jim Thome possibly blasting a homer.  Who would have thought back in 1994 that Thome would have over 600 homers to his name?

 We got some pretty decent inserts.  In 1994, Topps Finest was an insert set, inserted one into every 36 packs.  The cool thing was that we pulled an Oriole.  It would have been nice if it was Cal, but I will take a Chris Hoiles.

We were also lucky enough to pull a Black Gold Tom Glavine (which is up for trade).  These were one for every 81 packs (or so, I have already thrown out my wrappers).

In all, we did pretty well with our box.  Lots of good photos and a couple decent inserts.  Chris had a good time with it, so that really is all that matters.  I think I'm going to be on the lookout for some more cheap 'junk wax' boxes that he and I can bust together.