January 2017 Trade & gift recap

Before I begin the post, you may notice that I've now added some rudimentary tradelists among the top bar of Cardboard History. I've got a long way to go before I have everything posted there- we're talking years here- but maybe it will help me make some more trades with my readers. I will accept any sports card in trade and pretty much any non-sports card- no Garbage Pail Kids please- even if I don't actually need it or actively collect the sport. Yes, you can trade me early 1990s baseball cards that had 22 billion copies each made- I don't want to let any possible trade be missed, I'll even do a trade for "future considerations"- if you absolutely don't have anything to send me although considering I'll accept just about literally anything that should not be a problem. (I also collect diecast cars, plastic models, comic books, coins, currency, stamps and books about history so I would trade cards for any of them as well). I don't know how many cards are waiting to be typed in, because my tradelist on the Trading Card database lists over 7000 cards for the NBA alone- and I have about 7 Avon boxes waiting to be typed in...each Avon box holds about 2000 cards if my memory is correct. And that's just the NBA. I have not even looked in the boxes since 2004 or 05.

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January 2017 was a very interesting month for me in the hobby. I knocked out my two main goals on the year and finally- on January 31st- got some work done on my wantlist on here, something I really need to put more effort into. I only did half of one season but at least I worked on it some. I also began the process of getting my NASCAR cards up on the Database.

Of course the biggest news of January is that I went full on into NHL hockey. It's really changed my life- for the better- already. Since January 1st I have watched at least some hockey, even if it is only the nightly recap show on NHL network, On the Fly- every single day. I've still managed to stay up with the NBA and fit in most of the 24 Hours of Daytona- my favorite auto race of the year- at one point streaming the race on my computer and watching the NHL all-star skills competition on my phone at the same time. (not easy to do!)

I only pulled off three trades in the month of January, one of which I posted about already. The next  was with Trading Card database member Sportzcommish. Oddly enough, I got all football from him. Yes, that is not a misprint, lol. I had some cards he wanted, and I will take any sports card in trade, so we made a trade. He sent me a bunch of 1990 Action Packed. Here are just two of them.

Technically they are both from the Rookie Update set.

A trade I almost forgot about and had to edit the previous paragraph for was with spazmatastic, also of the Database and NUTS, someone I've traded with before and chat with often- just about every day. He sent me the Panini Instant card for Jimmie Johnson's 7th championship and I sent him some Grant Hills and a Jimmie Johnson he didn't have. I ended up sending him 10 cards for this one and I still don't feel I've sent him enough after agreeing to a trade last month and not being able to find the cards. He's a big Jimmie fan.

I still have not purchased one of the Instant cards for the NBA. I really need to so I can have the set represented in my collection.

On the 31st I agreed to a huge trade on the Database (of course) that is going to see about 400 cards change hands. It'll be my largest trade in about 2 years, when I pulled off a massive trade (yet again on the Database) that saw more than 1000 cards change hands, the largest trade I've ever been involved in.

I received several gifts from fellow collectors this month, mostly "Welcome to hockey" gifts. Card collectors are very generous people, I knew that already, but I am going to always be in a debt of gratitude for the gifts I have received from fellow hockey collectors. I know that I will never be able to repay the generosity I've received over the years, and continue to receive. I'm truly humbled- I feel quite a bit like George Baily at the end of It's A Wonderful Life, truly.
I received a gift that will get it's own post shortly- probably tomorrow- that I've had written since the past weekend. I received not one but two gifts from CrazieJoe-one I have shown, my first error of the year, and one that is really huge and would have gotten it's own post had I not been feeling a little overwhelmed! He sent me a 660 count box stuffed full with hockey cards! I suspect they may be rejects from his SantaLot, but I don't mind. They are all new to me. I didn't go through all of them yet. To keep from getting overwhelmed and spread out the fun I decided to only go through a portion of the box the day it arrived and I've pulled out some cards since then. There's been some great stuff in there, but of course, to me it's all great.
I have not scanned most of them yet but it's mostly early 1990s- truly the best time in cards. A big run of 1990-91 O-Pee-Chee, 1991-92 Upper Deck, 1991-92 Pro Set, three different versions of 1991-92 Score, and so much much. Also included were some minor league cards, which I enjoy.

Although this screams 1980s it's actually from the 1990-91 season.

My first and only card of either person, and team! There's so much more but they are all on the Database already so I've set them aside for now. I missed pulling any out of the box yesterday, I need to make up for it today. There are enough cards left in the box that I will not be finished going through them in February.
One card back I want to show...that is one seriously creepy brand logo.

It's the podrace announcer from The Phantom Menace! Not really, but close.

I got a gift from a Database member that included some more hockey cards. they went as far back as a 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee card that he had recently upgraded, to a regional promo from 1993-94:

to a super shiny Hall of Famer (my first card of him)

to a stack of 2008-09 O-Pee-Chee Retro parallels in the famous skate design.

and more. But my favorite has to be this final card. And Howe!

My first WHA card! When he wrote up descriptions for me of what he was sending, he likened the WHA to the ABA, knowing that I am coming from a predominantly NBA background. When doing research on Wikipedia I found out he was much closer on that mark than I could have imagined or inferred- the same two men founded the ABA in 1967 before founding the WHA in 1971! It really IS the NHL's version of the ABA! Both upstart leagues were absorbed by their respective main league that they were trying to compete against, both leagues saw four of their teams become members of the currently active league with the rest folding. However, unlike the NBA where only the Nets have moved since absorption, the four WHA teams that made it in the NHL have seen three of the four teams move and even change names/identities.

Unusual to not show any NBA in a trade post, but with my broadened horizons you never know what will show up here.

Overall, it was actually a pretty terrible month- so much pain for me physically that I could barely stand it- but card wise, it was incredible. Thank you to my trading partners and friends. I have the feeling that I'm forgetting someone/some trade, but I've been so "out of it" due to my continuing health problems that if I did leave somebody out, please know it's not a slight but just me not remembering.  And even though I showed only a tiny fraction of the cards, I am very appreciative of all of them!