The Elation Of A Filled Up Sampler Album: 1964 Topps

I noted yesterday that I'll miss showing the progress on the 1952 Bowman set when I turn out the lights on Napkin Doon March 4th.  The other bit I'll miss is showing off my Sampler Album progress.  I'd say my Sampler Album has been the most fun and interesting project I've taken up with my card collection.

I filled up my 1964 page a few weeks ago, and it's very lovely in it's completed form:

 

I expect to tinker and change cards with most of my pages over time, but I can see this one pretty much standing pat.  I've got some big names, and some minor names and no repeat of teams.  Except for the Staub, all the cards are in first rate condition.  The Staub is ok, just a little dinged in places. 

The Elation of a Filled Up Sampler Album Page: 1954 Topps

I thought the 1954 page would be on of the toughest to complete in my Sampler Album.  But I was feeling sporty and laid down some coin (although not THAT much coin) at Cleve's recently and filled the page.

It's not perfect, but it's pretty darn awesome:

The Jackie Robinson is, no surprise, one of my most prized cards.  In fact off the top of my head it is in the top two, next to my T206 Ty Cobb.  I've had the Robinson for a while.  I bought it back when I was single and didn't have to worry about spending money on chicks because they would have nothing to do with me.

Most of the rest I've picked up this year.  The other "big" card here is the Eddie Mathews and I  just bought the it last week at Cleve's.

All the rest are pretty good too.  Here are my tidbits about each one:

Walt Dropo:  Dropo was Rookie of the Year in 1950 with a monster offensive campaign (he was also 6th in MVP voting).  He looked to be a superstar in the making.  The next year he fractured his wrist and was never the same.

Matt Batts: I got this because his name is Matt Batts.  And Cleve sold it to me for $2.

Andy Pafko: Honestly, I got this because Pafko was card #1 on the 1952 set, which for some reason is a well known fact in the baseball card world.  He also was a 5 time all star.

Eddie Stanky:  Probably the 3rd biggest name on this page.  The "Brat" was big pain in the ass and a pretty complicated man.

Ferris Fain:  I think of two things when I think of Ferris Fain: Ferris Bueller and that he sold pot.

Ed Lopat:  It's always good to have a vintage Yankee, right LC? Plus now I have three Eds on this page.

At some point I will upgrade a few of the names on this page, but for now I'm completely happy with it!

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!  

The Elation of a Filled Up Sampler Album Sheet: 1959 Topps

I hadn't planned on showing this page just yet, since I have a few upgrades in mind that I'll likely execute in the next few weeks.  But with the passing of Stan Musial this weekend, I thought I would go ahead and post  up the 1959 page from my sampler album since there are two cards here of "The Man."

I'm relatively happy with the page.  I've got my eye on a Bill White rookie from 1959 and a cool Jr. Gilliam with a pink border that I'm hoping will find spots on this page soon.  Otherwise, it's not bad.  The Don Newcombe and "Hitters Foes" cards aren't in the best shape, but not terrible.

The Musials and Eddie Mathews cards will obviously stay put, unless I find a more centered Musial base card. It was sad to hear about Musial passing.  It's a loss to a sports world (not just baseball) where good and decent people are much needed these days.

I'm showing the backs because I'm curious if anyone knows why some of these cards are brighter than the others.  Is it just the effect the aging process has?  Were some of these cards less subjected to it than others, maybe due to how they were stored?  Or was the card stock just different?  That's what it looks like to me, but what do I know?

Cleve's Auction Night: Did I Really Buy Those?

Not only did I get bullied around at Cleve's Tuesday night, I walked out with something I had no business walking out with.  More on that later.  I did get two cards I'm happy about, and the way my night went I guess I should be grateful.  I didn't get too much of what I really wanted, so I guess August-erity is still on track.  There were a ton (around 35) of people at the auction Tuesday night, which is a pretty packed house, and many were irritatingly in buy mode.   In fact, I don't everything was bought Tuesday night which isn't usually the case.  Are cards making a comeback?  My perception, based not only on Cleve's increasingly popular auctions, is that card interest is on the upswing.  Is anyone else sensing that?

Anyway, here are the two cards I bought:

Crap, I guess I need to clean the scanner again.  Sorry for the jacked up images.  This 1959 Eddie Mathews was in good shape and I fended off the other bidders to get it for $6.

I'm very happy with this 1961 Ernie Banks MVP card at $5, as it is in pristine condition.  Banks is one of those HOF players I'd like to collect more, and this is a good start.

So, sure the card purchases were fine.  I'm also proud of myself for yet again refraining from a 3,000 count goodie box of crap.  However I did make a bit a poor move tonight.  Cleve whipped out a stack of last minute vintage comics that had pretty high book value in good condition.  Thing is, these were not in good condition.  However, everyone was getting into it and when a lot of 2 old Avengers comics came up, I got sucked into the fun, joined the mob, and made a bid.  Here's what I got:

The top is from 1966 and the bottom is from 1965.  Other than the tear at the top of the 1966 comic, they aren't really that bad, but what was I thinking?  I don't need these.

Grades:
1959 Ed Mathews $6:  A   A great card for my sampler album
1961 MVP Ernie Banks $5: A+  great value for a cool player to collect
1960s Avengers Comics $8:  C  I guess they're cool, but come on Napkin!
 

On The 5th Day of Brycemas

My Harper Gave to Me:

5 Gol-den Kiiiiiings:

I hope and think Bryce Harper will do well.  I don’t think he’ll be as good as this guy:

Or Him:

Or Him:

Or Him:

Or Him:

My first vintage Koufax card ever!  Yes, there is a push pin hole at the top of his hat, but I love the 1965 set and this was the best shape of the card I was going to get if I wanted to be able to buy anything else with my Harper funds.  It’s good enough for me.