WALLET CARD - Getting Caught Up

Yes.....finally.  I have scanned some cards.

(applause)

I sat down tonight with the goal of getting a little more caught up with my player collections (confirming checklists, noting 1/1 pickups and seeing just what I've managed to snag in the over the last few weeks).

Rather than dive into my Trevor Linden collection, I thought I'd ease back into the scanning and sharing world with my #WalletCard goodies.

While I've been way more relaxed lazy with my #WalletCard twitter feed, I still am having a fun time searching for....and snagging the odd Oscar Gamble card.  The last few weeks have brought in a four-pack of Gamble goodness.

This 2015 Topps Archives Fan Favourites auto is the silver parallel /199 (and I just realized that I have the 001/199 card......so that's some sort of bonus or win - right?)

When I saw this product come out and noted that there were a few auto parallels to the regular base signature, I knew that I'd have to be real patient in order to get them at a price I'd be happy with.

The silver cards were initially going for over $40us.  Not a chance.  Even at half that I'm passing.  But the patient bird gets all the worms.

I saw an ebay auction for this card.....plus a couple Blue Jays autos from the same product.  Yes....the ever popular multi-card lot.  I had a friend with a US address bid for me and ended up winning the three cards for the price I'd have happily paid for just the Gamble.

I like deals like that.

So now I've got this great silver parallel crossed off the list and a pair of solid traders sitting in the tradebox that should recoup all my costs on the lot.

Who are the Jays you might ask?  Tony Fernandez and Devon White (I believe the Fernandez is the silver parallel too).

This was a fantastic surprise from Captain Canuck.  I like that he likes my #WalletCard project.  He's already shipped a few cards my way.  But this one really takes the cake.

Not because they used the same photo as the previous card...but because of the beautiful silver foil that reads UD PROMO.

When I first saw this card I thought maybe it was the signature version...but in all honesty, this is the much better version.

Why?

This card wasn't even on my radar.  Not on my master checklist.  Not one I would have even thought of looking for.

A true rare find in my books.

Huge thank you to Captain Canuck.  Always a pleasure doing business with you.

But his generosity didn't stop there.  Included with the promo card was this gem.

A perfectly off-centre 1985 Topps offering.  Nice fuzzy text and a horrible photo.  It's so ugly that I love it.  The back of this card has the typical dark Topps cardboard that's near impossible to read.

I swear, if a card could have patina....this one would be dripping with it.

And yes, it's one that would be overpriced in a dime box, but it'll go down as a card with a story in my collection.

Thanks again!

This last one goes down as the "big purchase".  A whopping $10.  It's not in mint shape but I think it fits perfectly into what I want this collection to be.  I love the centering on the card (I've seen many that look real bad) and it's clean of creases or marks.

It's a 45-year-old card.  That's what I wanted.

This pre-fro rookie card of Oscar features Boots and Angel along side.  It's the oldest baseball card I own and I love the fact I've crossed off the first card on the list.

A easy purchase if you ask me.

I've been going pretty slow with this project.  So many of these cards I could pick up with ease (and cheap) by heading to a COMC or Sportlots, but I want this to be fun.

So I am picking and choosing.  What I really need to do is go to a show in the US where there will be more baseball.

One day......one day.

UM.....ZERO POSTS IN NOVEMBER (Almost)

Holy cow......blogging just hasn't been in the cards lately for me.

I was all excited to show off some of my Linden cards, Oscar Gamble cards, Raise The Cup cards and more.....but the cold from hell destroyed me in November (and work).

One day after my last blog post I ended up with a fever and the oh-so-fun shakes.  It drained me of all energy and it's taken pretty much the whole month to recover.  This one was a doozy.

It doesn't help that work has been busier than ever - in fact, it's the busiest November I've seen in the 7 years I've worked at this company.

But I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.....or the train comin' right at me - one of the two.

I just wanted to say 'Hello' and that I will have some stuff to show off soon.  Promise.

In the meantime, I'm going to share a quick concept I came up with (since I don't want to scan cards tonight.

OK.....with November being Movember month and guys growing out their moustaches, I think that one of the card companies should capitalize on it.  But I think it should be done a little more uniquely than just some photos and a simple design.

Hockey cards have mildly embraced the sketch card concept that has exploded in the non-sport world.  There are some great artists out there doing tremendous work.

I think there should be sketch cards of players sporting their 'stache inserted into a product like UD Series I (which came out at the start of November).  I think it would create some cool "long shot" pulls and the resulting sketch cards would be (I think) pretty desirable to chase.

You could even find a way to incorporate a way to generate funds for charity.

Well......what do you think?  Am I still "sick in the head" or have I finally come to my senses?

ZERO POSTS IN OCTOBER!!!

I don't know if that's a record or something, but boy was the month of October busy.

Work has been the ever-constant gong show, I was sick for a week and I set up at my first card show in over a decade (details on that day to come).

But I'm really focused on my nephew's video game marathon next weekend.  Saturday, Nov. 7 he will be taking part in an all-day gaming experience - all for charity.

He is raising money for the Alberta Children's Hospital.

I'm here today to let you all know that I have some great giveaways to help garner support.

Check out our Kyle 4or Kids blog page for details.

Every bit helps get us closer to our goal of $700us.

Thanks for your time!!!


And I promise more posts in November.  :)

HOCKEY POOL - Charity 50/50 Hockey Knockout Pool

UPDATE:  The pool is officially up and running.  If you'd like to join, please go to the Kyle 4or Kids blog and send me a comment with your e-mail address.  The pool begins on the first night of games so you have a little over a week to get your sheet filled out.  Thanks!



I'm going to try something new this year.  I'm going to host a hockey knockout pool with half of the proceeds going to my nephew's fundraising drive.  I was in a similar one last year and think it can be a fun way to get the hockey season going.

I will have more information in the next day or two, but if you like hockey pools (or donating to a charity), this might be a great match for you.

What I can say is that it's not a player draft or anything like that.  In fact, you don't NEED to have a huge hockey knowledge base to participate.

The more entries received, the bigger the winner's pot will be.....and the more that gets donated to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

Stay tuned.

OUTSIDE THE BOX - A PSA From K4K

For those of you who have checked out my blog for a while now, you might remember a fundraising quest my nephew and I took on last year.

Well....we are back for another year with loftier goals.

"Kyle 4or Kids" was a blog I created for my nephew Kyle and I to get our message across.  And what is that message?

We are raising funds for the Alberta Children's Hospital.

Ny nephew isn't doing a 5k run or a math olympics (boy...that would be fun), or baking cookies.  No, he's partaking in a huge 24 hour video game marathon on Saturday, November 7, 2015 organized by Extra Life.

Last year we came oh so close in hitting our $500 fundraising goal.  We raised $440 (and a huge THANK YOU to all who donated).  That was a big number in our eyes.  But we're going bigger this year.

$700 is the number set by my nephew.  Can we do it?  Absolutely.

So bear with me as I try and solicit some donations or even just some awareness.  I'll do my best to put on a contest or two to try and entice you as well.

Thank you for your time.

RAISE THE CUP - Eric Staal....And You're Welcome

When I started this "Raise The Cup" project a number of years ago, it was purely for fun.  Finding cards that capture that pinnacle moment in player's career.

At the time I thought there would be some odd inserts and base cards depicting players hoisting The Cup over their head, but I never would have imagined the boom in the evolution of this great concept.

After seeing Panini come out with their sets showcasing Cup winners (and using many photos showing the Cup-raising moment), I got a little excited.  After all, it clearly must have been my project that provided the inspiration.  Ha.

I've seen a good 4 or 5 different subsets or insert sets come out over the years and slowly I thought "Hey, quit cramping my style."  Ok, maybe not...but the project I started began to feel a little different when all of the sudden the market become a little more flooded with Cup-raising cards.

I think that's part of the reason why I've tended to avoid those sets.

Fast forward to this past weekend where I found a card - from a set - that might have just hit the jackpot.

2014/15 Upper Deck Premier

Signature Champions

#SC-ES Eric Staal auto  /99

What can I say.....it's a gorgeous card.

Fantastic photo, solid design, hard-signed auto, reasonable numbering.  This card has it all.  In fact, it perfectly parallels an idea I had for a custom TTM project (which I think I'm going to contemplate a little more).

A quick look at the checklist for this set shows that there's some beef to it.

A total of 24 cards, some numbered to /99, some /50, some /25 and the biggies /10.

Guys like Staal can be had for a few dollars while I'm sure the Messier (ugh) or Gretzky will command a whole lot more.

I contemplated building the set....until I looked at the checklist.  While it would be fun to chase, the fun might wain when it comes to the heavy hitters.  So I'm happy with this Staal being the representative in my binder.

And to all the companies that have used the "Raise The Cup" theme...you're welcome.

Current Collection - 121 cards

LINDEN CARD OF THE WEEK - Gotcha!!!

There are some cards that hit the market where I think "I'll be able to find this one locally."  It might take a few weeks, a card show or two, maybe a trade night - but I'll find it.

That attitude comes from the refusal to pay double, triple, or even more in shipping costs to secure a low priced Linden for my collection.  I just can't justify it.

It'll show up eventually - right?

Well, sometimes I ask myself if it will ever show up.  And I get more perplexed when I see dozens of other cards in the set....but no Linden.

Last weekend I finally crossed one off the list.

2014/15 Upper Deck

#GJ-TL Series I Game Jersey

Took long enough - but I finally gotcha!

I'll start by saying that this might be my favourite design when it comes to the Upper Deck flagship jersey card designs.  Full player shot, vertical aspect and a nice die-cut shape.

I've seen 4 or 5 different color swatches in the dozens and dozens of Linden cards I've passed by on ebay.  Again....not gonna pay $5 on a dollar card.  And I've considered chasing one of each color (I did that a few years back).

But after realizing it's taken nearly a year to secure this Linden, maybe I'll leave it at just that.

One and done.