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!!!!!  

I'M 50 I'M OLD!!!!!

                               I am officially 50 today hard to believe I share the same birthday as Frances Gumm seen here.

 
What you ask you never heard of this little girl I find that hard to believe. I reveal whom she is at the end of this post so stay tuned!!!!!

I also share my birthday with this lovely lady 

I might not be Catholic but Sister Kate can surely make me convert quickly had Justin didn't snatch her up before me.

I figured one more its a Habit I couldn't seem no one would complain about anyone else willing to convert either.

Lucky for me I can celebrate my birthday with a person from my hometown.

Now as for that little girl well she grew up to become this iconic movie star that you see below here yes Frances Gumm became Judy Garland.  Like I mentioned before you knew whom she was & if ya didn't know then now ya know.

Now if you excuse me I am off to celebrate my birthday my party awaits here 

By the way I started a tab hopefully my good blogging buddy Bo will pick up my tab. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIRTHDAY BUDDY

         Tomorrow I will celebrate my milestone birthday in the meantime I thought I would start my milestone birthday by wishing my birthday buddy Mr. Donald Fauntleroy Duck a Happy 91st Birthday. We both are Geminis were both Fowl tempered when we get angry & sometimes people don't understand us when we talk. Besides Donald just is my favorite of all-time of the regular Disney characters. Plus Donald has been featured in more movies than that Mouse known as Mickey.

Not all cartoon characters get a Hollywood Star like my boy Donald.

Donald in his debut back in 1934 after appearing in The Wise Little Hen.

Donald in the 1980's & 1990's

Donald in 2025 

So my valuable readers give a salute to my favorite Disney character & birthday buddy by wishing him a Happy Birthday!!!!!! Until then I am reminded in something Donald once said "Happiness is the richest thing we will ever own."

NEXT WEEK MILESTONE!!!!!! DAY

             I want to first thank all my readers in advance as I get closer & closer to my milestone birthday. So I won't bore you with a big post today so I can prepare myself for it.

                Yeah I know its advertising the 2001 year but I just liked how Topps logo was that year especially when I get inching closer to that milestone. So with this being a short post Ill leave you with a quote that is real short by a little person "Its the Little things that make big things happen." This quote was from my name sake shown here. 

TRAVELING BACK

 

                  Back in the fall of 1986 I was coming home from a bad day at Gardner Jr High School & needed a small pick me up in cracking open a pack of 1986 Fleer Baseball cards at this place called Lu's & just maybe if I was lucky I could take home the box this week since I basically bought most of the packs & this was the first year Fleer like Topps did the same year unlike Donruss who did it the year before showcased 4 cards on the bottom of it in hopes to get the panel that featured Cardinals/Fisk/Browning/Carter. The reason I wanted the Browning card after he was the last pitcher to win 20 games their rookie season.
                 

       After making my way to the candy area where the box laid I was shocked to see it gone in its place a box that featured packs that are on top of this post. I asked Ms. Lu what happened to the baseball cards she said I apologize in advance to my good friend Marc aka San Jose Fuji from The Chronicles of Fuji Blog in her very thick Asian accent said "No Baseball......Basketball only I charge only $.25 per pack baseball no one want but crazy glasses boy wear red hat all time you buy basketball." Needless to say after arguing who I was to her I was the kid she described for 20 minutes it seemed I left the store no Fleer baseball cause I wanted baseball not basketball & baseball wasn't over with the ALCS & NLCS gearing to start soon. Oh how I wish I could go back in time & beat the living shint out of 11 year old me saying ask Ms Lu if she take $20 for the whole 3 cases she had of them in the backroom open 1 case leave the other 2 unopened & convince Grandma to keep the other 2 cases in her attic.

How I wished I didn't pass on this box then. Or the 3 cases I saw in the backroom.

         I sometimes wonder what would happen I did certain things all over again & I am sure some of you can share your stories of something they could have gotten in the hobby as a kid knowing later as an adult would been worth having in cards let me hear from your comments below. 

      Another time I missed out at a National no less a chance to get a monster box filled with the 2011 Diamond Anniversary cards in it. My friend Greg called me told me about the box & I didn't rush over right away to get it or neither did he purchase it for me either cause we both thought it would still be there when we met up at the show. Needless to say I missed a great opportunity to get even closer then I am already 85 cards for me to complete the set of both the regular set & update set as well the shortprint Legends of the game like #355 is both Justin Verlander 

& the legend is Bob Feller

.

This also including the Mike Trout #US175 card which is astronomical out of my price range at the moment unless I am able to find someplace that has an unopened box of the Update for a cheap price & pull it from a pack or I find someone thats willing to give me the card for decent price. By the way if you can help me with any of these cards you can find my lists of the regular set well as the Update on my Baseball Wantlist part of my site & let me know what you have from it.

Only wished I jumped on the box earlier than later in hopes to get closer to complete my set & how I wish I could find this card as well.

             The only time I am glad I didn't pass on a good deal was in 2001. I was called told about an auction at a card shop that was going out of business & they were going to liquidate everything from graded cards to starter lots to complete sets to showcases basically anything that wasn't bolted down to say the least. Anyways they started on a wall filled with complete sets on it from lots of the "Junk Wax" Era sets to the most recent factory sets that being the 2000 Topps set. I had won the bid of $10 & I could take as many sets I wanted to get for $10 at the time I saw a small 50 card plastic box that featured the complete set of the 1974 Topps Traded set at the time I knew where I could find a bunch of the regular set at an antique store nearby to get me started on the building the set & I picked that cause it seemed like a fair price to pay since most of the time I'd seen remember this was in 2001 the set go from $40 to $70 range. The other set I picked up was a very questionable box labeled 1990 Leaf set so I had asked the auctioneer if I could see if the set was what it said it was he gave me 2 mins to check it out upon opening the box I saw the Grey Header card following right behind it #2 Mike Henneman of the Tigers then #3 Steve Bedrosian immediately I went to the last card seeing that it was #528 Ryne Sandberg Checklist card & prior to the checklist was #527 Greg Myers of the Blue Jays. I quickly closed the box up & then took it knowing & hoping & they were after I got home the 1990 Leaf RCs of Frank Thomas & Sammy Sosa.

Glad I didn't misread the box when it came to this set back in 2001 do you think that I got a great deal.

Anyways as I mentioned before I like to hear from my readers on stuff they passed on they wish they could go back & get &

Oh!!!Yeah!!!! I eventually got the 1986 Fleer baseball box I mentioned at the beginning of my post but sometime in 1989. Until then I am reminded by Rogers Hornsby quote about signing autographs for little kids "Any Ballplayer who doesn't sign autographs for little kids ain't an American, He's a Communist."