I Met Another Blogger

When I met Dennis from the blog Too Many Verlanders at the local card show he was holding what I thought was a bag of purchases he had made that day. Little did I know he had been lugging around a sack of goodness for me that would make Santa jealous. First, let it be known; if I send you a package without setting up a trade it does not need retaliation. I often send small packages to bloggers I enjoy just as another way to let them know they are appreciated. We need to support each other as we have all felt the blog-burnouts from time to time and I don't want to see anybody quit the game.
Anyway, to say Dennis "one upped" me would be an understatement. I usually don't remember what I send to people. Such is the case here but I hope it gave him close to as much joy as his bag of goodies gave me. Look at the haul I took home from the card show from what Dennis generously gave me:
(I apologize for the horrible scan job, I wanted to get a post up ASAP)

Growing up my brother and I worshiped Kenny Lofton. I have never had a Lofton auto ever. This thing is PC for life! Who was cooler than Kenny Lofton in the 90's?

I can still recall sitting on my parents' bed watching Kerry Wood throw his 20K game on WGN. This is my first Wood auto too!

Chris Shelton was a beast for like 3 weeks in 2006. I will never forget him or that season.

My first black jersey relic of JJ. So sweet!

A bunch of new Big Daddy cards for the PC.

Take a closer look at this gem!

I have had this 5x7 on my ebay watch list for months. Look at that, I didn't even have to pay shipping on it. Pretty stoked for this one.

That gold Inge card is so sweet I wish I could have it in poster size!

Look at all the Boesch RC's! I think I only had one of these. The teal is even numbered and the diamond anniversary is the best.

Two Grayson Greiner cards for the investment pile. Anytime I can get a Joba in the Old English D its a good day!

JJ's for days! All PC!

Dennis hit me from every collection angle with cards, oversized pieces and even figures! Check out this Megatron relic/card standee.

Two Fidrych cards I needed!

Casty on the board

These two cards together are awesome Both gold #'ed, sequential years, both homerun derby shots, and both PC all the way.

I've always said when somebody sends me Rey Ordonez cards they dug deep and deserve something nice in return for their efforts. Needed both of these for the PC as they are rare refractors.

Crazy Robbie Alomars. These aren't even all of them!

Salty is back with Detroit in a way. I am happy to see that and super happy to add these cards to the Salty book!

Scherzer cards by the pound including over a dozen of the SI for kids card bottom left. I have to believe those aren't all that easy to find.

8x10 of Tony the Tiger. Now do I get it signed? It looks nice the way it is and his auto's are a scribbled mess. Hmm.

Looky here. The black box version! I think I only need the white box and the scribbled version for the set!

Jim Thome SLU in his Indians gear! The only way I'd want it. So awesome. This guy will be staring at me next to my monitor for all my posts to come!

As you can see, Dennis is a crazy generous guy and one of the best bloggers around too. If you aren't following him yet, do it now : TOO MANY VERLANDERS or his other blog TOO MANY MANNINGHAMS for football stuff. Thank you very much Dennis, I hope this measly post illustrated how grateful I am for all the great stuff.

A Huge Loss, A Big Gain, and 3 TTM Returns

A Tough Loss

I am a bit behind on posting and shipping packages. My wife's Grandmother and wife of the infamous Papa Jack passed away from ALS this past weekend. She was the matriarch of the family and will be missed everyday by a lot of people. Thats about all I'll post on here about it.

A Big Gain

The blog must go on I suppose. I was able to get up to Papa Jack's place on Sunday to be with everybody. The snow was a bitch and I put 18 hours behind the wheel over two days to get there and back. Wouldn't change it and definitely wish I could get up there way more often. Anyway, Papa Jack loaded me down with cards and memorabilia again. He had a huge tub loaded with cardboard and found some sweet posters and plaques to give me to take home.

My "What's In Papa Jack's Box?" segments will carry on for years with all this stuff on top of all the stuff I haven't even gotten to from previous gifts. I am going to post some of the treasures that got me excited as I peeked around in some of the boxes.

Yup, these are legit. I have never really handled cards from the 1950's but I knew right away they felt different and were an odd size. I took them down to the LCS and sure enough; they are the real deal and in crazy good condition. I will post more about them soon!

I finally have one!

So check this out...I open this box expecting a bunch of sorted junk wax and behold: 4 boxes containing 1989 Topps Traded TIFFANY sets. The cards are pristine. I have never had cards graded before but I am probably going to have to.

There were five sets of 1991 UD Football and they all have this card in them.

3 TTM Returns, Suddenly!

Some cards are just so cool you have to send them out no matter who the player is. Hellickson is no bum and this card is magnificent now!

My first Granderson return. Both he and Hellickson's card were sent out on Valentine's Day 2017.

The greatest inscription ever scribbled.

TOPPS 2018

I finally found some 2018 Topps. Here are some cards:

Of course my first card is bittersweet.