Three Cheers For The Lovely Wife!

I assume you guys don't want to listen to me carry on about how much I love my wife, so I won't go on and on, other to say: I definitely got a good one with her.

Not only is she my best friend, she is the heart and soul of our family, the smartest person I know, and most importantly, she is scorching hot. 

She also got me two of the most awesome 1952 Bowman cards in the set from Cleve's for Christmas:

When I opened this Christmas morning and sat there stunned and slack jawed, she said, "I hope I got the right ones.  Cleve showed me the 1952 Bowman cards he had and I remembered you mentioning Bob Feller.  Is that one ok?"

Is that one ok?  Um, yes just a bit.

Under the Feller was this:

My eyes bugged out of my head and she continued, "Cleve said you could exchange these if you want something else."

Yeah, no I am not returning Bob Feller and/or Duke Snider.  Even IF I weren't building this set and needed all the cards, there is NO WAY I would trade these two for something else.

What I also enjoy about these cards is picturing her visit to Cleve's to make these purchases.  I would love to have been a fly on the wall for that visit.  

Small Business Saturday At Cleve's

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday!  It was nice to get away from work and be totally worthless on my in-laws couch for a few days.  Like many of you, I participated a little in some online Black Friday card deals (COMC.com was my choice of websites), but I also made sure to do my heavy card shopping at Cleve's Collectibles (my LCS) and support my favorite source of cards.

I took my sampler album to the shop today and had Cleve help me fill in some gaps.  I'm very pleased with what I picked up:

1951 Red Backs Page:

I definately should start with this Bob Feller card.  I don't have Fellers in my Sampler Album yet, so I was very interested in buying this card, even with a crease in it.  I also only have one 1951 Topps card and the page looks really empty.  I asked Cleve what he wanted for the Feller.  He looked at it for a moment and said, "No, this is your Christmas present."   Those of you who read this blog will not find that act of generosity from Cleve surprising in the least.  I don't even know what to say anymore other than, "wow!"

With the Feller already gifted to me, I insisted on paying for another 1951 card.  This Duke Snider is a beauty, and now my 1951 page has 3 cards instead of one.

1954 Page:

I absolutely love this card!  Mathews is an all time great, and this card is in fantastic shape.  No creases, the corners are good, and the color is sharp.  This card on it's own would have made the day a success.

I also picked up three more 1954s and completed the page.  I'm really sorry about the crop job on the above image.  Since the 1954 page is done, I'll be putting up a post about it soon.  It's a really good page, and I'm anxious to show it in full.

1955 Page:

My 1955 page is also light, but I picked up 2 more solid cards to get it closer to completion.  Hodges is better than solid I should say.

 I have 6 of 8 slots filled on my 1955 page, but I have a handful of graded 1955 cards in a box.  I'll probably free two of them from their shells and be done with it.  Anyone have good tips for breaking out cards from graded cases?

Finally, Cleve didn't let me leave without one more gift.  This is a playing card of Honus Wagner from the mid 1950s from a company called Brown and Bigelow.  I don't know anything about these other than it's a cool oddball card and the artwork is beautiful.   What can I say?  Thanks again to Cleve for being such a generous man!  

Cleve’s Christmas Auction Preview Part 3: Dem Bums

There are a few very nice Dodger cards at Cleve’s Christmas auction next week:

I think this Duke Snider Red Heart card is pretty rare.  They’re pretty pricey on eBay.



Any of these would be great for my collection, but the ’55 Robinson is the big wish.

For those of you interested in these, or any of the other cards from the Christmas auction (or any auction for that matter) Cleve does take write in bids.  You can reach him at:   479-927-0067 

Cleve’s Auction Night: Back In The Saddle Again… Part 1

I’ve been in a bit of a slump at Cleve’s lately.  The Holiday Auction was too rich for my blood and I didn’t see anything I had to have at the auction last Tuesday.   But, I got back on track in a big way this Tuesday night.  Well, let’s not get carried away, it wasn’t that big of a night, but I’ve got good blog material for at least 4 days now thanks to this auction.  I got some good singles, sets and a goodie box that was loaded with little treasures that I can’t wait to show, some of the most interesting bits having nothing to do with baseball cards. 

Ironically, I was just yesterday bemoaning to the lovely wife the fact that with eTopps apparently slipping into the night, I was going to have to find a new source of topics to take it’s place on the blog.   At least temporarily I have plenty to write about from this auction.   I almost have so much, I don’t know where to start.

I guess I’ll start with the singles I picked up:

 Yes, this Duke Snider has seen better days, but I’m pleased with it anyhow, especially for $5.

 

For $2 I couldn’t resist this dual relic Diamond King card of Scott Rolen.  It’s also numbered to #25.

This may have been my only “mistake” of the night.  My hand was a little slow on the draw and I got snared with a $4 bid rather than $3 for this Marshall Faulk/Steven Jackson dual relic.  But it’s numbered to #230 and has a current and perhaps future Hall of Famer on it.

Another $2 purchase.  I’m pretty proud of this one.  Both cards are of Jeff Bagwell, who better get in the HOF next year.  The “Play at the Plate” card has batter’s box dirt in it, and the other card is numbered to 1,000.  Plus they both came in screw down holders which I can always use.

Finally, I picked up an autographed card of Eddie George.  I think this is a rookie card as well.  I’ve always been a fan of Eddie George, so this was a steal at $2.

Not a bad way to start huh?

Here are my self given grades:

Duke Snider 1958 Topps $5=  B-  : I probably should have passed on this given it’s condition, but I wanted to make sure I got a good vintage card, and I don’t have a card of the Duke.  

Scott Rolen Relic #25 $2= B+ :  I hope I can get a good trade out of this.  I don’t care that much about Rolen, but this is a nice card.

Panini Jackson/Faulk Relics $4= B-  :  I spent more than I meant to on this, but it’s still a nice card.  

Jeff Bagwell Lot $2 A :  I love the stadium dirt gimmick, and getting two screwdown holders is a plus.  

Eddie George Auto $2= A+:  This is a steal in my opinion.  I’m sure I could triple my money on it, but it makes a nice addition to my small autograph collection.

Tomorrow, I’ll cover the non-sport treasures that I’m extremely excited about!