Sunday, January 15, 2017

Life as a hockey collector

After yesterday's surprise announcement that I have gotten into the NHL, I decided today to start actively adding to the collection. With a little help from my mom and brother, I visited my favorite shopping place here in the Hudson Valley, which is an antique mall with 4 different card dealers. One of those dealers is my favorite vintage dealer I've mentioned several times in the past.

I knew there were dealers with packs of cards there...
so packs I got. That's 9 packs of 2014-15 MVP, 4 of 1991-92 Stadium Club (I think- might be 1990-91? Not sure yet), 4 of 1990-91 Pro Set, 2 of 1993-94 Parkhurst, 2 of 1991-92 Upper Deck, 1 of 2001-02 Victory and 2 of 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee. The MVP cost me a dollar each, the rest cost me 50 cents each. I've never opened anything from O-Pee-Chee ever, that will be my first. I really wish they didn't include gum, I know the top card is going to be pretty much ruined because of it. I've never opened any of these sets and I will be digging into some after I hit post. 1990-91 Pro Set is in the early lead as my favorite NHL set, I have a bunch of them I got in January 2015 (The Epic Mailday where my hockey collection went from 28 cards to 2800 in one day)

Then, I hit my vintage dealer. My vintage dealer has had some incredible stuff here, and you've been seeing cards that came from him since I started the blog...I discovered him less than 2 month before I started Cardboard History.

All he had, for the most part, were Rangers and Islanders.

Sorry for the blurriness, these are taken with my cell phone and I guess I'm still learning how to take good pictures of cards with it. (the same phone that is allowing me to watch hockey, in fact! Watching Islanders/Hurricanes as I type!) I went through the binders and tried to pick out each set that he had. I don't even know what year these are all from yet, and not all of the sets are actually new to my collection, but for a dollar or less each, I'm not going to complain! 

Then I decided to hit the showcase...
 I paid half of what is marked...the hologram is Wayne Gretzky. You all know my love of holograms, lol. So, my hockey collection now goes back into the 1950s! Previous oldest card was 1969-70. That I also got from the same dealer over a year ago, in fact.

But that wasn't all. I decided to finally get the rest of the 1954 Topps Scoop cards, which I have loved since I discovered the set. I didn't want to spend that much money but I really wanted to put a finish to these, so I can work on getting some of the other stuff he's got and not feel guilty for leaving these behind. Every single one of these I've shown on the blog has come from this dealer.

And then I saw he had a case in the showcase he didn't have before...
1938's Horrors of War! One of the most storied, more legendary, most important non-sports sets ever made. This is my 2nd and 3rd cards from the set.

Then, having already spent way more than I expected, I visited the final dealer, who I have actually known for more than 20 years now. Back int he 1990s he used to run the card shows we had in the mall most weekends, but has now moved to the current location and the card shows went away around the year 2000. He's the hardest to shop from- everything is in large boxes in random order, sometimes in runs from sets, but sometimes truly haphazard. It's not uncommon to find 3 sports in a row. I liken going through the boxes to prospecting, if you are willing to do the work you can find some real gems. I was only able to go through one full box and portions of two others before my back gave out, but I still ended up getting exactly 100 cards.
Here's just some highlights. From the bottom left to right and up: my first card from this year's Absolute Basketball, which I didn't even know was out yet, two cards SN to 25, the TJ McConnell is only my third card of him. A new Elton! I pulled and got every hockey card I found, including one from that famous 1970s set. (my first) The Brodeur is a SN card, I think a parallel, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I still have so much to learn. The top card is beat to heck but it's an Essential Credentials card, not something that you come across very often, and it's SN 25/53. I like my current cards to be in a little better shape, but with any Essential Credentials card, I will make an exception. I may have added hockey to the fold, but I am still an NBA, Non-Sport and NASCAR collector as well.

Oh by the way, not all the cards I got today were for my own collection. I've mentioned several times that various bloggers have sent me stuff without asking anything in return...well...I might be changing that soon...but I'm not going to tell you if you are going to be getting some cards, it'll be a surprise.

I had a great day, and I have not even begun to research the cards I got yet, nor break into the packs. It won't be the first hockey packs I open- I've dabbled a little in the past- but they will be the first where I now consider myself a true hockey collector.

Better late than never!

16 comments:

  1. The goalie cards (Richard Brodeur) from the 2014-15 Artifacts set aren't part of the 100-card base set. They are their own subset, serial numbered.

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  2. This is going to be fun to watch.

    You got some nice cards there, and in learning hockey, you'll get to learn a whole bunch of good nicknames. I love the Gump Worsley card, and King Richard with the Canucks. One thing that may be interesting for you is to look at the size of goalie equipment in the past compared to now. You may have noticed that on the old games that you said you watched online.

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    1. Thanks! I think I did very well considering it's a very small selection I had to choose from. I'll have to pay more attention to the equipment now...I'm still shocked that they used to do it all without helmets!

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  3. Quite a varied assortment! Some nice packs to start into. 1990-91 Pro Set I love for the errors, but it is a solid early 90s design.

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    1. Thanks! I love the large set size of Pro Set and the bright, varied team colors.

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  4. Great stuff, looking forward to seeing what you pull!

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    1. Thanks! I'm going to see if I can post any to A Pack to be Named Later, they might have been done already, I have not checked yet. Will probably post them here too!

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  5. You will definitely open up some more trade avenues by collecting hockey. Good luck with the packs!

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    1. Thanks! I opened one of each last night, and except for the Parkhurst which turned into a brick, I enjoyed it all. I think it might be great for trading, as hockey seems to be the second most popular sport among bloggers.

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  6. I like hockey, especially in person, but just don't have time to add it to my fandom full-time . I do pick up a hockey pack or two every year and have always enjoyed the Upper Deck offerings. Great to see you jumping into hockey collecting and look forward to your posts. Good post.

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    1. Thanks! I know what you mean about finding the time, it's not always easy and as of next month I'll be attempting to watch thee sports on a regular basis, which is probably going to mean I miss stuff in all of them. But it'll be fun to try!

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  7. The Stadium Club pack is 91-92, a beautiful set (IMO). Hopefully the cards won't be stuck together inside.

    That 57-58 Topps Creighton is in great condition, a great start to any 50's hockey collection.

    Well done!

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    1. They had a little bit of sticking but only one was bad enough that I will actively look for an upgrade...the very last card in the pack actually. The Parkhurst turned into a brick though, that UV coating they used could be sold for industrial adhesive! I was thrilled to find that 57-58 there in that condition for that price. Once again being in the right place at the right time has helped my collection!

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  8. I appreciate the vintage hockey but the non-sport stuff jazzed me the most. Great buys!

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