3 WEEKS TO GO

 

                  Just 3 weeks from today I am hoping still to be at the 2025 National Sports Card Convention in Chicago. For the past 5 days starting last week Friday on the 4th of July I've been busting my hump at Dollar General while my Store Manager was on her vacation nice eh!!!! Anyways the reason I am saying I am hoping still is my Store Manager has yet to let me know I can take time off from work. If anyone who's been following my blog knows I have done a lot for the company only to be given a cold shoulder attitude back cause I requested for this time off way back in January of this year & recently am being treated like a pawn that my job should come first & am not allowed to go on this trip. With that I am calling B.S.!!!!!! 

              The card you see at the top of my post was a give away during the 2010 National in Baltimore. I still have it in its sealed pack that it came in I am looking forward to what goodies that will be given away to the VIPs as I mentioned in my June 23rd post I am still on the fence on whom I want to get signed if I go for any of the autographs.  I am also doing a small countdown to when my friend & fellow blogger & the guy whom we don't need to identify but we can all say we know its the guy from THE COLLECTIVE MIND blog aka Greg. We're just 12 days in hopes that he arrives in Michigan for his visit. I have great shops for him to go & explore as well some of the old places he has visited as well. Even though he won't mention it on his blog cause he has been busy with his work as well other things I'll mention it here so keep watching for reports from his trip through our blogs hopefully he'll find the time to post when he visits. I hope to share some of our insights as well. 

I end this post by saying that some of you Fuji,Mike Matson,Night Owl,Angels Tom, The winner of my 1 year anniversary post contest,My new Little Brother Jeremy watch your mailboxes I'll be heading to the post office today mailing out nice goodies to add your collections. Until then remember that All-Star Rogers Hornsby once said about signing autographs. "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."  

WEIRD SCIENCE

                                                        ⚠️ ⚠️ WARNING!!!!! WARNING!!!!! ⚠️⚠️

                     What you are about to read & see might make you lose your appetite & question me for insanity for doing this & why do I still have it around after all these years. Now with that said I don't want to say I didn't warn my readers. What you are looking at is an experiment that I conducted in 2016 when my friend from the Blogging community the writer of The Collective Mind aka Greg from the great state of Maryland (He's glad he's far away from what I am about to say & you will too keep reading *lol*) came up to visit me for during my spring break we bought about 4 1990 Topps Baseball boxes to create a 1990 Topps set that Greg wanted to make as part of the Junk Wax Era set. We got all 4 different boxes bottoms for the set plus he wanted to see if he could get that infamous Frank Thomas NNO Rookie Card.                     Unfortunately we didn't get lucky to get it but we did in 1 box I recall he pulled 3 of the regular RC along with 2 Sammy Sosa RCs. Now as anyone knows prior to 1992 Topps included gum in their packs & many people nowadays when opening any packs fear that gum being stuck to cards well.......the gum didn't stick to these cards what we did was take a quart Mason jar & place the gum in the jar 144 packs open later we added water to it then tried to cap it closed then let it set to see what would happen to the gum. Well........here's the results of the science project through the years.

This was in 2016 mind you.

Looks funky eh!!! keep scrolling.

Some of the pictures were taken at different times of the year.

I once joked during 2020 that it could be the cure for CoVid. 

Have ya lost your lunch yet.

I myself have not touch it to see if its still firm. I don't think I ever will.

This is one month into it looking like bits of ham slices if ya ask me.

From this view after 1 month you can say its not gum but ham slices still right.  

How many pictures did I take to drive ya crazy yet with this science project.

What could posses me to do this ya ask well......cause I always wondered what might happen to the gum.

Leave your comments in how much $$$$$ would ya send me to touch it or when ya lost your lunch.

I wonder if Matt spit out his coffee when looking at these photos yet. 

Don't worry your almost done looking at these pictures maybe I can win some kind of End of the Year Blog Award for most Insane Blog post that is worth reading or viewing. 

After this photo ya have 3 more times looking at this project.

                    Yes I know that your thinking will I continue to hang onto this gum experiment one simple answer Yes!!!! I plan on a sequel post maybe a year from now unless someone wants me to do Bi-monthly reports on it or should I give it as an award to my next contest.

This is what it looks like now in 2025. I decided to make this a post after Greg asked me last week Thursday night if I still have the gum jar.

                    This is the top view of the last picture of the gum in 2025 & I haven't touched the gum since that day we opened those packs & placed it in the jar. Please share this post to all those guys that like opening vintage packs & want to try to chew the gum I bet after they look at these pictures they will change their minds in wanting to chew it.  Am I an evil crazy madman. In the words of Greg doing his best David Spade impression from the show Rules of Engagement "Yeah.......ya kinda are....."

                       This is Greg as you can see on the table is the 1 of the 4 boxes that started this whole thing back in 2016. Oh yeah Greg was able to make his 1990 Topps set but whenever he looks at it he is reminded of this project *evil chuckles* So thanks for the time to share this wonderful science project with me hopefully you didn't lose your lunch but I did warn you at the start of this post so let me know when I should do an update on this until then I am reminded of Rogers Hornsby once said about signing autographs for little kids. "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist." 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME

 

                        Yesterday before I left for work at Dollar General I ventured out to head to a Walmart that I hoped from visiting it the day before saw that they had 3 blasters remaining of the `23/`24 Hoops Winter & the odds against me in finding the last 10 cards I need for my set. The reason for hoping is the day I visited I saw a card vulture looming around grumbling & mumbling how there wasn't any 2025 Topps Series II Hangers available (I have a friend who is making my 2025 Topps set so I was chuckling to myself to his mumbling.) As well no 2024 Topps Football Chrome. He asked me what I was looking for basically I said surprised that they didn't have any 2025 Heritage. That's when I hoped he didn't see those 3 blasters so I could get them. I called him a vulture cause his mood changed when he found 4 hidden boxes of the 2024 Chrome football & said he hopes to pull the Bears Quarterback Caleb Williams duel Red signature again. Must be nice to flip shinte like that & then he glances at the blasters I was thinking about getting he thought nope Wamby's RC was the following year he muttered. I hoped he wouldn't bring out his phone to check the DB site for reassurance he didn't.

                    So that brings me to yesterday I got there as soon as could got to card area restocked with 2025 Topps Series II saw 1 of the 3 blasters I was eyeing & behind that was the other 2 quickly I snatched them up went directly to the checkout right after I checked making sure I didn't miss anything else I hadn't. Got inside my house & started right away ripping open the first box then the other 2 for 3 piles of 6 packs each to open up in search for the last 10. In my first pack I opened of course as usual I pulled the Victor Wembanyama 2 cards back to back like the 5th time & everytime I opened a blaster of this product it seems like I get the Wemby  RC now don't get me wrong its a nice hit but why can't I get this lucky with some of the baseball guys I need on some of the products I crack open to complete those sets ya know.  Anyways I eventually finished opening the rest of the packs & started to put them in order so I can place all the dupes (If anyone wants starter lot of the set lmk & we can make a deal or something for them & yse you won't need to worry Ill include the Wemby's for you) in the duplicate box for trade bait or for the next time I do a show someone can find what they need still if they are building the set or on the hunt to finding the prospects they want.  If anyone noticed that I said in the title of this post I said Merry Christmas to me if you know what todays date is its June 27th we just had the 25th which put us under 6 months left until Christmas Day & well did I find the missing 10 card well......I no longer have any singles listed on my Wantlists so that should tell you the set is done. Less than 4 months ago I accidently started to make this set & I completed it. Now I could try to make the regular Hoops set cause I know of a shop that has a bunch of them but more than likely I will say no thanks for right now unless I can find a bunch of the cards that a featured like those I still need for my `21/`22 Hoops set still (I hope someone can help me get these to complete this set please!!!!)  I will pass for now cause I feel like I won't be lucky like I did with the Winter set in finding Wemby so with that set complete I have to check my records to see where I stand on my New Years Card Resolutions on completing sets. Before I end this post I will say again to TDK I responded to your comment on my last post so I hope to hear from you soon so I can get that Alex Rodriguez to you soon & now with that said I am reminded what Rogers Hornsby once said about signing autographs for little kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign any Autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's an Communist." 

COUNTING DOWN TO THE NATIONAL SPORTS CARD CONVENTION

 

                   First things first congratulations to The Diamond King who successfully & was the first to respond to the contest that I ran during my 1 year anniversary post. So I hope you can send me your information via email & I'll be glad to send you the 1994 SP Alex Rodriguez RC in the mail also tell me how you figured it so quickly & which clues gave ya a hard time figuring out. Now for the reason behind the title of this post. It's quite simple & hopefully I can get the time off to attend it the 43rd National Sports Card Convention is Rosemont,Illinois.  

I generally go with my partner in crime as you know from the blogging world the author of THE COLLECTIVE MIND Blog from Maryland my friend Greg ever since we try to make it our annual trip to visit the other person. In years past since the 1st one we attended back in 2010 in his home state of Maryland the Baltimore show we try to make the Chicago trip every other year when we can. The Reasoning behind those 3 cards shown on top is 1 of the signers that if I was lucky to get on an official ball & then a card would be Al Oliver the card shown is from Greg's & mine case break when we opened a case of the 2024 Topps Heritage Low Numbers last June when I went to visit him unfortunately the Oliver card is Greg's so Ill have to get my own somehow I am also trying to convince him to get an official ball to go with it but he's not interested in doing that not his top priorities at the moment but each his own eh. The other signers that we might run into even though I have met Bill Madlock before shown in this picture with yours truly I never had the 4x Time Batting Champion sign an official ball for me so I would get him on that as well another card so I can put it in a display holder to add to my PC but time will tell if I am going to do that. 

The other signer who might run into is former NBA Star center of the Hometown Chicago Bulls Bill Cartwright!!!! Would I go for getting a guy like Cartwright to sign Yes & No the reasoning behind that answer is well.....back when he was a Bulls dominating center for them I was a die-hard Detroit Pistons fan of the Bad Boys like Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Dennis Rodman, Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, John Salley. So I would be like going to the Dark side of the 2 rivals & would just maybe yell like our good friend Mr. Wong shown here Cartwright!!!! Cartwright!!!! see if he'd answer. But the collector in me would say get him at least to sign his `88/`89 Fleer Card,`89/`90 Hoops Card or `89/`90 Fleer Card or 1 of 3 years when the Bulls won the Championship cause ya know ya ain't ever going to get Michael Jordan to sign anything as well an official ball to go with my Magic Johnson autograph ball & my Chris Kamen autographed ball as well so I am not sure yet on if I will do it or not. The show starts in 1 month & 1 week from this post & I can't wait Ill try to do a daily blog report from the show during my 2.5 Night/day time if I am allowed to go so stay tuned for more news about my trip to the National again until then I am reminded by Rogers Hornsby who said " Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."   

1 YEAR AGO TODAY CONTEST TIME

               It's time for another celebration to commence on my blog. I celebrated last week Tuesday with my Milestone birthday & today I am celebrating my 1 year with the help of my readers as well friends in the trading world as well my good friend Greg from The Collective Mind Blog who helped me design the Tavern that ya see before ya. Today is my anniversary in starting this blog hard to believe I made a whole year writing this & sure things haven't been the greatest but I am looking forward to continue to write this blog for many years to come as long as I have content that I can fulfill my readers with my insights of the hobby of collecting Sports Card Memorabilia. So lets get this party rocking again my friends. Stay Tuned for a post about my goal for the 2025 National Sports Card Convention in Rosemont, Illinois. In the meantime. I have a list of teams the first person to identify all the teams as well a bonus what all have in common with the clues I provide will win a 1994 SP Alex Rodriguez RC. GOOD LUCK!!!!!

1. 6 Rulers from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
2. Brotherly Love City national bird.
3. Windy Cities adult version of the baseball team.
4. Bronx Military Pests.
5. Bronx 747s 737s. 
6. Tempe's Pope wannabees.
7. Motor Citys Big Cats. 
8. Emerald City Ospreys. 
9. Nashville's Huge team.
10. Floridians Fancy cars.
11. Floridians paying price for vegetables.
12. Californians who were born in 1976. 
13. Hollywoods Ewe Mates.
14. Floridians little girl's toy with flippers.
15. Quaker State Iron heads
16. Adams,Van Buren, Truman position.
17. William Cody. 
18.  Ohio city Poop.
19. Ohio Franklins Sees Girls.
20. William T. Sherman Marched with these birds.
21. A colorful inlet getting ready for a vacation.
22. Big Sam's city & what he claims to be.
23. Hollywood wives favorite way of paying.
24. Edgar Allan Poe are 3 birds that pay tribute to this team.
25. Had the 1989 3rd overall pick from the draft been selected he wouldn't had changed teams just moved south instead.
26. Unlike the baseball version where this team plays might end up as a baseball town but both have moved to at least 3 times in 3 different locations.
27. Before winning the championship in the new millennium they were rhymed with their winning ways.
28. If the Iraq war scud missiles that were fought in the 1770s instead of 1990 this team would have won their share of championships until Tom led them in the 2000s.
29. These top cats came in the league as well another cat in the 1990s.
30. & 31. #30 is the adult version of #31
32. This team has a Wolf mascot even though they aren't the Dawgs.

Once again I am reminded by the great Rogers Hornsby saying this "Any Ballplayer whom doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a communist." 

DO IT OR NOT TO DO IT THAT IS THE QUESTION

 

              Don't hate me I was debating in sending this to Mr. Night Owl cause of the Cey as well my other friend Greg cause of the Foster.

                 For my Milestone birthday last week Tuesday I went to a shop for a nice shopping spree where I picked this card up for a nice price of $15.00 that you see up on top. Now this leads me to the question I have before you in the title of this post. Do I do it or not to do it that's tis the question I pondered there's currently only 19 Quad Bats from the 2001 Upper Deck Decade 1970's set. I already did the single bat pieces set & yes I know there's short prints in the Quad pieces as well. So I am the only person as a set builder or collector that had this dilemma when it comes to making a decision like this.  

Why do I do this cause I collect for fun not for profit like most.

                   Another choice I had to make cause I received a pack for my birthday (The person who got me the pack didn't know I didn't have any so not at fault.) then at the same shop where I picked up the Quad bat card I picked up I joked reaching a milestone on my birthday the guys at the shop offered me some free cards mainly base from this years Heritage as a nice gift. I had another decision again & after getting a blaster as well 4 Retail Fat Packs at the local Target over the weekend I figure what the Hell I'll do this years Heritage set I guess. Why do I put myself through this torture in making stuff when I have a lot of other things that aren't completed yet again? Am I the only one who feels this when deciding on things?  After all I still have yet to finish what Greg & I started working on last years Heritage. (The High Numbers are a pain to find blasters. I was lucky to pull this Jackson Holiday Game Used from 1 out 3 Blasters I was able to find at Meijer)

Not a bad pull in the few High Number blasters I was able to find.

            I am still looking for inserts for them as well regular cards too. I hope I can find some soon or attend a show where someone cracked & opened a lot of product & is willing to complete my needs. I was also thinking of doing the Game Used single pieces of these as well but after seeing that there were 100 of them in the Low Numbers & 60 in the High Numbers I said no.   Knowing that more & more people are buying the magnetic holders, I prefer the Pro-Mold PC18II 1" Screwdowns for my Game Used collection (If anyone can't find anything from my lists I wouldn't complain in getting 2 boxes or a case of these cause I can't find any shops of late that sell them & I prefer them over the Stinking Magnets).

Well those are the problems I faced this last week when I am just not sure what to do so I am leaving it to my readers to tell me if I am doing the right thing in making the Heritage set & should I do the Quad bats or not until then I am reminded of Rogers Hornsby when it came talking about autographs for kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

 

                                          HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!! to all the fathers & to especially to mine. Unfortunately I wont be able to celebrate it with him cause I will be working at my job at Dollar General & he will be recovering from doing his annual tractor show that being a trustee helps put together. In the past I would read blog posts about how The Chronicles of Fuji how he would talk about his father. So I thought I share my thoughts about mine. My father worked as a Millwright for over 30 years at Oldsmobile & during the mid 1980s my father was on a softball team & had me tag-a-long to play catch with as well help my mother keep score for the team. Its hard to believe my father & I have the same coloring in our hairs I am not sure when he started to get grey but I started when I was in my mid 30s & its still hard to believe I am 50 now & he'll be 77 in October. The best thing that my father taught me was next time instead of being a total jerk to my mother was to duck reason I say that is cause 1 day I was being a total jerk to my mother & he decked me right in the jaw instead of giving me a total boot to the back of me till this day my day still wonders if I remember that day. I do dad & thanks for raising me to becoming the man I am today. So in closing of this short post I wish again to all the fathers HAPPY FATHERS DAY!!!!!