A Huge Haul From Reader Michael

Several weeks ago I got an email from a long-time reader, Michael.  He was in the process of paring down his collection and offered to send some cards my way.  I've already been the recipient of his generosity and I gladly accepted this latest offer.

He was serious when he said he was paring down, because look what arrived at the WW World Headquarters:

Wow!!  That's 480 cards!  Thank you Michael!  I broke the cards down and here's what I got:

Year	Brand	Cards
1968	Topps	2
1985	Fleer	29
1987	Donruss	9
1989	Donruss	25
2005	Bowman	19
2005	Bowman Gold	16
2005	Timeless Treasures	3
2006	Bowman	11
2006	Chrome	13
2006	SP Legendary Cuts	12
2007	Bowman Heritage	12
2012	Gypsy Queen Mini	8
Player	Assorted non Cubs	46
Player	Assorted Cubs	16
Player	Ernie Banks	3
Player	Andre Dawson	17
Player	Mark Grace	30
Player	Greg Maddux	59
Player	Rafael Palmeiro	26
Player	Ryne Sandberg	107
Player	Sammy Sosa	17

Many of the cards were already in my collection.  They will probably end up with my third and fourth graders.  Baseball cards make great prizes and my kids are learning to like getting Cubs cards as much as Tigers....especially if they hope to make it to fifth grade some day!!

But there were many that I'd never seen before.  Some will go into my player collections...I'll have those tomorrow.  Today, I've got some of a couple players that I don't collect, Mark Grace and Sammy Sosa.

I'm not sure what I'll do with them.  I doubt I'll start player collections for these two.  And I'm not sending them to school.  For now, I've got a new box for miscellaneous Cubs.

Thanks Michael for getting the box started!

2012 Heritage High Number Cubs Team Set

Topps put out a 100 card, $100 Heritage high number set this year. Only 1000 sets were made, and Topps sold out pretty quickly. I thought about buying a set, but only for a couple seconds. I saw the checklist and counted the Cubs.

Or more correctly, I counted the Cub. Yup, only one Cub made the checklist. The other 29 teams can share the remaining 99 cards, the Cubs have claimed one.

Bryan LaHair was the lucky Cub to make the list. I'd assume it was because of his strong first half and All Star appearance. It probably wasn't because of his second half slide and Rizzo-induced bench stint.

And now LaHair has been DFAed and is on his way to Japan. Sayonara and good luck, Bryan.

Blackwell Friday

Black Friday has become Blackwell Friday, as I take a look at the Cubs back-up catcher from the late '70s and early '80s.

Tim Blackwell joined the Cubs prior to spring training 1978, having been released by the Expos a month earlier.  The Cubs would be his fourth organization, having also been with the Red Sox, Phillies, and Montreal.  He didn't show much with any team, so the Cubs were probably his last shot.

In four years with the Cubs, he played in about 60 games per season.  The exception was 1980, when he became the starter and played in 103 games and hit a career high .272.  In 1981 he reverted back to his no-hit ways, and the Cubs released him after the season.

Though with the team in both '78 and '79, he didn't get his first card until 1980...

...and we get our first look at his floppy mustache.

 

The action cards the next couple years hide the 'stache a bit, but on this

Topps Giant card from 1981 we get to it in all its glory.

And if you hit the stores today, pick grab one of these...

....for Tim Blackwell

Hope You Enjoy Your Bird Today

Here's hoping that the bird you're enjoying today is better...

...than this nasty looking Bird.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Barney Heritage Update

After writing the OYO Barney post on Monday, I realized that it's been a while since I've given an update on the Barney Heritage No Position card.

The card is considered a super short print.  But it's been my contention that there were more of these made than you may think and the price is artificially high.

I've tracked sales of the card since Heritage was released in March.  The first one was sold on March 17 for $122.50. Since then another 27 have been moved on Ebay.  The average sale price is $101.14.

The market has really dried up in the past three months, with only one available in September, one in October, and one so far in November.  Oddly, with the market drying up, prices haven't gone up.  In fact, their dropping like a rock.  The October card went for only $63.  The November card was the first graded card that I've seen (a mint 9) and it went for...

...only $49.26.  The first graded card went for the lowest price yet.

The big unknown is how many of the cards that have been pulled have shown up on Ebay.  Is half a good guess?  One third?  Two thirds?  And how many more are sitting in packs in a warehouse?

Because you can make decent money, I'm inclined to say at least half that have been opened have ended up on Ebay.  If 28 have been sold on ebay, then is 60 a good guess for how many are out there?

If it is, let's compare these prices to another /60 card of Barney, the Gold Mini card.  How much do they go for?  You can get one today for ten bucks.

Heritage set collectors are probably a main reason that the card goes for so much more than another /60 card.  But ten times more?  Still seems high to me for a card that isn't that  rare.

Tile Tuesday: 30 Years of '69 Cubs

I came up with something new for this tile.

The 1969 Cubs was the team that got me hooked and broke my heart.  It's one of the most noted teams that never won anything.  And today's tile features them.

My premise:  Make a tile with all of the Topps cards that show any of the '69 Cubs as an active Cub.

There were 41 different players that made an appearance for the team, and 33 of them were shown as a Cub at least once.

The run starts with Ernie Banks in 1954 and ends with Fergie Jenkins in the 1984 set; a span of 30 years.

Ernie Banks was the lone player until Billy Williams and Ron Santo made the '61 set.  For the next few years, it was just those three.  Gradually the numbers increased until it peaked with 23 players in both the '69 and '70 sets.  Then the numbers dwindled and by 1975 there was only one left.

Then a few returned...Randy Hundley in the '77 set, Ken Holtzman in '78 and '79, and finally Fergie in the '82 - 84 sets.  The total number of cards is 169

 

I think I'll do the same with the '84 and 2003 teams.  Look for those in the upcoming weeks.

Mini Barney

Today I've got a mini Darwin Barney, but it doesn't look like this...

...or...

...this

In fact its not even a card.  So what is it?

 

It's a Darwin Barney mini Lego figure.  Actually, its not from Lego (but they are compatable with Lego sets), but from a relatively new company, OYO Sportstoys.  Blessed with both an MLB and MLBPA license, they've put out mini-figures for over 300 players.

The face is made to somewhat look like the player...

...and the back has his uniform number and name.  I like that OYO used the correct font for the numbers on the back.  They also come with a home plate stand that is numbered, though I have no idea what the numbers mean.

The only thing the figure lacks is a card, like Starting Lineup used to do.  I suppose the Topps monopoly put the kibosh on that.