2019 Cubs Calendar

I have a calendar hanging in the Wrigley Wax World Headquarters.  Of course it is a Cubs calendar and it has been for years.

I get the calendar put out by Turner Licensing.  Turner has an early deadline for deciding which twelve players are included.  Several years ago the calendar was a real joke.  The Cubs were in full rebuild mode and many of the players shown were no longer with the team.

The worst was the 2013 version.  By December of that year, only two of the twelve were still with the Cubs.  There was some serious turnover happening.  Things have improved since then.  The past two years had just one player off the roster, in 2017 it was David Ross and Jake Arrieta was on the 2018 calendar.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The 2019 version has even bested them and it is a perfect twelve for twelve.  Everyone shown is still with the team!

Things may change as the winter progresses.  Addison Russell and his domestic situation leave him vulnerable.  Jason Heyward may be moved once the Cubs sign Bryce Harper (I can dream, can't I!!). The rest are pretty locked in.

Five Random Cubs Cards

I've got 16,246 Cubs cards from 135 different brands listed on a spreadsheet. A random number generator picked five cards, one each from the past several decades.

1900s - 1970s: 1965 Topps #528 George Altman  After spending the past two seasons with the Cardinals and Mets, Altman returned to the Cubs, with whom he played from 1959 - 1962.  He was twice an All Star during his first go-around in Chicago.  Age caught up with him and during the second stint he was a back-up and a pinch hitter.

1980s: 1989 Bowman #287 Lloyd McClendon  Looks like Lloyd is getting ready for some springtime action.  I bet Wilson appreciated the free ad, too.

1990s: 1998 Topps Chrome #259 Rookie Prospects Courtney Duncan   A prospect in 1998, Duncan reached the majors in 2001.  He spent parts of two seasons with the Cubs, posting a 3-3 record but an ERA of 5.06.

2000s: 2004 Topps #480 Todd Walker Walker was signed as a free agent by the Cubs following the 2003 season.  Kudos to Topps for showing him as a Cub in the base set, update.

2010s: 2013 Allen and Ginter #232 Andre Dawson  The Hawk was included in the 2013 A&G set.  It was his first as a Cub, and he would be in the set again in 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Another Trade!

I should have included making more trades in my yearly goals because I'm on a record setting pace.  Well, a record setting pace for me, not most of the other bloggers.

This was another SCD extra cards trade.  My partner was David, the blogger at From a 1980s Baseball Card Collector.  He got the Andy Van Slyke card and I got a stack!

Some OPC...

Some stickers...

...a Hall of Fame battery...

.. big and little Donruss cards (the Sandberg is a Cracker Jack mini) ...

 

...a couple flash in the pan rookies from the late '80s...

 

... and two box panel cards.

An awesome eclectic stack of cards... thanks David!

I Made A Trade!

SInce I buy mostly Cubs things, and just one of each,  I don't make many trades with other bloggers.  I have nothing to trade.

That changed recently.  When I picked up the missing Sandberg SCD card, I bought the entire book to get the card.  That meant seven non-Cubs cards that I didn't need.  I made them available to anyone that wanted them.

Tom from The Angels, In Order put in a claim for the Jim Abbott card.  I sent it his way and he sent me some Cubs cards...

Since I already had most of these, they will end up in the birthday packs that I give to the kids at my school.  I give them a mix of Tigers (since Detroit is the local favorite) and Cubs (since the kids need to get cards from the best team ever, as I tell them!).

Thanks Tom!!

A Couple Final Things With the 1996 Cubs Convention Set

I'll be wrapping things up today with the 1996 Cubs Convention set.

First, when I showed the media cards, I mentioned that radio play-by-play man Pat Hughes had been hired over the offseason.  He didn't have a card in the set though the other broadcasters did.

Pat has gone on to have a great career in the Cubs booth.  He'll be starting his 23rd year in the spring and recently signed a contract extension for several more years.  By the time his career is over, he will be the longest running radio voice in Cubs history.

It was a shame that the new guy was snubbed in the convention set, so I decided to take care of Pat.

The picture I used is from the 1996 media guide.  This is what he looked like when he was hired.

My last item with the set concerns it's listing in the Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards.

While many collectors consider the catalog to be the bible of baseball cards, there is one big difference - The Bible is infallible, while the catalog is not.

The listing for the 1996 set shows 24 cards.  There are actually 28 cards in the set.  The catalog does not show the cards for...

 

 

....Mark Grace, Andy Pafko, Ryne Sandberg, and Steve Stone.

I'm pretty sure that the catalogue is no longer updated.  The only catalogue they produce now is for vintage cards.  So I guess this mistake will never be corrected.

My Collection Goals For 2019

I've settled into a collection that I am very content with.  The goals are mostly the same (just one new one) and meeting them is not too difficult.

GOAL #1: Add my usual Cubs team sets as they are released: Topps flagship, Heritage, Opening Day, Factory Team set, Bowman, Allen and Ginter, Chrome, Gypsy Queen, Archives, Update and whatever else comes along.

GOAL #2: Add the complete sets of the flagship, update, and Allen and Ginter. I've got a flagship run starting with 1969 and the complete run of Traded / Update and Allen and Ginter. I see no reason to stop.

GOAL #3: Add any autograph and relic cards for Cubs players that haven't previously had one. I'm done with players from previous seasons, so now its just a matter of adding new guys as cards are issued.

GOAL #4: Continue adding to the player collections of Darwin Barney, Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, and Billy Williams.

GOAL #5: Add odd-ball sets and sets of smaller brands that I missed earlier.  I've been having fun with this one and hope to add several more of the smaller sets.

GOAL #6: Write something about the collection every day, though if I take a day or two off, that is OK.

GOAL #7: Enjoy working on goals 1-7. I'm in trouble when I can't meet this goal.

Grading My 2018 Collecting Goals

On January 1 for the past several years I've gone back and graded myself on my collection goals from the previous year.  So how did I do in 2018?

GOAL #1: Add my usual Cubs team sets as they are released: Topps flagship, Heritage, Opening Day, Factory Team set, Bowman, Allen and Ginter, Chrome, Gypsy Queen, Archives, Update and whatever else comes along.

Grade - A:  this was easy, especially with super breaker Brentandbecca taking care of me.

GOAL #2: Add the complete sets of the flagship, update, and Allen and Ginter. I've got a flagship run starting with 1969 and the complete run of Traded / Update and Allen and Ginter. I see no reason to stop.

Grade - A:  another one made easier by Brentandbecca

GOAL #3: Add any autograph and relic cards for Cubs players that haven't previously had one. I'm done with players from previous seasons, so now its just a matter of adding new guys as cards are issued.

Grade - A:  If a player has a card that follows my rule, I add him.  There were three autographs (Maples, Bote, and Caratini) and two relics (Darvish and Caratini) added in 2018.

GOAL #4: Continue adding to the player collections of Darwin Barney, Ernie Banks, Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, and Billy Williams.

Grade - B:   I did add a few more missing Barney cards and some new Billy Williams and Ernie Banks cards. 

GOAL #5: Add odd-ball sets and sets of smaller brands that I missed earlier.

Grade - A: This one has been fun as I've added several smaller sets to the collection.  This is becoming a larger focus for me as I have most of the biggies already completed

GOAL #6: This is a new one --- get certified autographs of all the Cubs that played in the 2016 World Series.

Grade - A: I got this wrapped up pretty early in 2018.

GOAL #7: Write something about the collection every day.

Grade - A-:  I had only 358 posts this year, my lowest total ever.  I took a week off from the blog while Mrs. WW and I were on vacation.  I don't regret that decision at all and may take a week off in 2019, too.

GOAL #8: Enjoy working on goals 1-7. I'm in trouble when I can't meet this goal.

Grade - A:  If I wasn't enjoying it, there wouldn't be 358 posts!