April 2018 Card of the Day

The year is already a third over, and my project to get at least one new card every day of the year to celebrate my 30th anniversary in the hobby rolls along. I have to admit, some days have become a bit of a struggle. As you may know, I am a scale model builder...well, for some unknown reason, in 2010, my skills totally left me. I didn't change anything, but it stopped working for me; everything I touched turned to garbage. Well, just as mysteriously as they disappeared...they have returned. Just in the past week I've completed the same number I was able to complete the past three years combined, and I have a few more that I expect to finish before the weather turns too hot for me- due to my health problems, anything over about 75 degrees Fahrenheit causes me some problems, so I have to close the windows and put on the A/C. I generally only have a few weeks in the spring and fall each year where I can truly build. You can see the best of the three I finished this week by checking out my modeling blog here: Scale Modeling History. Eventually I'll post the other two as well, but need to take photos of them yet.

Anyway, this is my card blog so here's my Card of the Day for April. I promised more diversity in card subjects this month, and I don't know if I really delivered on that...but I did get one baseball and one football card in so at least I can say I tried.

April 1st:

2017-18 Panini Prizm Red, white & blue Prizm #270

That's quite a long name for a parallel! April 1st was Easter, and my family has given me cards for Easter as long as I can remember....this year was no exception. Since my local Target didn't bother to bring in this year's Prizm, it was my first card of the set. It was supposed to be my first card of the guy as well, but it turned out that I pulled one from the Sticker set and forgot to update the list my mom went off of to buy this card, oops!

April 2nd:

2016-17 Grand Reserve Rookie Cornerstones Granite #128

 That's an impressive card! It came to me directly from Panini- it was the redemption from the box of Grand Reserve I got in the 2017 Black Friday sale. It may not have been in the box, but it was the best card of the box for sure. Only my second card of his, and I don't think that number will rise much- the Knicks cut him, a poor choice, but...well, it's the Knicks.

April 3rd:

Beach Boys #97

 This one came to me from the most recent box that SumoMenkoMan sent me. (Thanks Ryan!) I really need to chase this set more- I've been a fan of the Beach Boys since I was in Junior High, and then we found out in late 2016 that the Wilsons and Mike Love are/were distant cousins. (Dennis and Carl both met with tragedy)

April 4th:

2006-07 Bowman Sterling #41

 From my COMC box, where I chased cards of people I didn't have in my collection. His name is the closest to my name in NBA history, so I like him off the bat already. My only card of his right now.

April 5th:

2012-13 Panini Contenders #13

 Not a fan of Noah, but you can't pick which card is the first to come out of a pack.

April 6th:

2017-18 Panini Instant #116

 I don't really do the Instant stuff too much- at $10 a card they are too expensive for what you get, and a lot of the photos are kind of generic. However, last year I missed players who ONLY got Instant cards- no regular cards, no other options. They are proving very hard to find, and I need them for my project of getting at least one card of every NBA player. In fact, I have not been able to find any of them that I missed last year. (Some of the players were in the NBA all season this year but Panini ignored them, the Instant cards of last year remain their only cards). Quinn Cook got called up out of the D- G-League to fill in as starting point guard for the Warriors when Steph Curry went down with a sprained knee late in the season. He got an Instant card, which is his first and so far only NBA card, well, it and it's parallels. He made the playoff roster so he SHOULD get a card in the Warriors Playoff Team set- which I ordered- but with Panini, you really never know.

April 7th:

1994 Flair Marvel Annual #127

 This one came to me in a trade with Shawn Norris on the Trading Card Database. I'm more of a DC fan- to be honest, I've read less than 10 Marvel comics in my lifetime, so far- but I will gladly take them in trade.

April 8th:

2016-17 Parkhurst #160

 I opened a pack from my stash to find this card. It was done to mark the end of my first full NHL season. I'm one of if not the only person I know who prefers the regular season to the playoffs.

April 9th:

2017-18 Upper Deck UD Portraits P-24

 Another pull from the pack stash. While I'm happy to get a Ranger, who was already a former Ranger by time I pulled this, a black and white card in this day and age is really not necessary. We are in the 21st century,  after all.

April 10th:

2016 Leaf Babe Ruth Career Achievements #CA-02

 From the pack stash, I THINK this one came to me from Angus, but I can't remember for sure. It's not only my first card from the set, it's my first card of Babe Ruth, who even I know is the best there ever was.

April 11th:

2017-18 Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Shock #176

 A hat tip to Sports Cards & Memories, who posted about a Target-exclusive Mega Box of Donruss Optic. I had no idea it existed, but each box had a 50-card Rated Rookie Shock set exclusive to the Mega Box. I wasn't feeling well enough to go check, but my Mom went to our Target- and they actually had it! It was the first new card product they had brought in since before Christmas. This is my first card from Optic and of Anigbogu.

April 12th:

2017 Donruss Green #17

 While at Target, Mom picked up a fatpack of 2017 Donruss. I did a hobby box of the set so there isn't much I need, but I did manage to get five new cards- 2 base, 2 insert, and this green parallel, which if you look closely, is SN 111/199. Just a few weeks later McMurray would be the first to flip the new Camaro when he barrel-rolled in practice at Talladega.

April 13th:

1938 Church & Dwight Useful Birds of America 10th Series #1

 A gift from Cnagle on the Trading Card Database- Thanks Chad! the 10th series was one I was missing, and he sent me 17 of them, more than half the set! Not only that, they were in better condition than most of the ones I had previously. You probably remember how I've gone on about these Useful Birds of America cards before.

April 14th:

1990-91 Bowman #199

 A gift from Mark Zentkovich, also on the Database. Thanks Mark!

April 15th:

2010-11 Rookies & Stars Gold #107

 Hundley was known more as the long-time broadcaster for the Utah Jazz, joining them while in New Orleans and moving with them to Utah- he stayed with them about 40 years, and only retired a couple of years ago, if memory serves while battling cancer, which claimed his life a very short while later. This is my first card of him, and came from COMC.

April 16th:

2010-11 Adrenalyn XL #271

 Until very recently, this card would not have counted as part of my collection. But, I've expanded my horizons and now include it as part of my collection. I had gotten a pack of this set out of a repack years ago- probably 2012 or 2013. Frankly, I forgot about it! I found it cleaning and opened it for my Card of the Day. Once I got all the dust off it that had been collecting for about 5 years...

April 17th:

2009-10 Champ's #79

 From my pack stash, that came from the local K-Mart, which is not really a hot spot for cards. Unfortunately, the packs were hit by pack-searchers, which left every single standard sized card bent in the exact same pattern. Annoying. The minis are generally undamaged, which were one per pack.

April 18th:

1991 Wild Card #88

 I'm not someone I would say is a fan of football. I will, however, take football cards, if they are free. A Database member who has asked to remain nameless sent me this back in 2015, and I've been holding on to it just for this project ever since.

April 19th:

1990-91 O-Pee-Chee #157

 I'm a little slacking, as I had to scan this card to make this post, even though I got it more than 10 days ago. It came from a pack via SumoMenkoMan.

April 20th:

1990-91 Fleer Rookie Sensations #10

 This one came to me as a gift from a member of the Collector's Universe forum. Thanks Ben!

April 21st:

1994-95 Flair #161

 April 21st is one of the busiest days of the year- it was the date of this year's NNL East, the world's largest scale model car show, which is held in Wayne, NJ, and which I have attended since 2001. It's a difficult day for me physically, but it's worth it. Waiting for me when I got home was a large trade with Database member AirPete, and I was so tired after getting home, I only took out one card from the package, this one, and set the rest aside to do later (which I still have not done, to be honest)

April 22nd:

1995 Ultra Casper Spectre-Blast Chromium #1

 Also in the mailbox on the 21st was a package from Scribbled Ink, but I was too tired to open it that day- I saved it for the next day and this was the first card I needed looking back at me. Thanks Paul!

April 23rd:

1990 NBA Superstars Black Back Larry Bird (shooting)

 Bootleg city! The 1990 NBA Superstars set is actually three sets, and is pretty decent quality for an unlicensed knockoff. I pulled off a trade with Database member BOBSCARDZ to get most of them- I think. Hard to track these bootlegs.

April 24th:

1997-98 Totally Certified Platinum Blue #122

 This was the closest I have come to missing a day in this project. Mom had pulled a card out of the COMC box to give me, not knowing if I had gotten one for that day, this was on the 22nd. She hadn't gotten to putting it away yet, which turned out to be the lifesaver for this project- as we were getting ready to return the rental car, I happened to see it sitting on the counter and saw that it was a Blackhawks player. Well, I got busy doing models and other stuff, and I forgot to do my card of the day! I woke up around 3AM the next day, actually having fallen asleep on the couch, and I realized what had happened...but then I remembered seeing a Blackhawk earlier that day...it was enough to make it count for my card of the day, and keep the project going! If she had not pulled it out, or had put it away, I would have missed a day...that was close.

April 25th:

2017-18 Donruss Optic #170

 Just a random card from a pack of Optic that I opened specifically to get my Card of the Day.

April 26th:

2008-09 Upper Deck Spectacular Saves #SAVE3

 On April 26th, 2013, I came literally 5 minutes short of dying from a disease I didn't know I had. Every year since then, we celebrate May 1st as "Glad you're not dead day"- sort of a second birthday, as it's when my life really began anew, my first day home out of the hospital. I asked my mom to pick a good card out of my COMC box and this is the one she chose. I expected it would be either Henrik or Elton.

April 27th:

2017-18 Panini Instant #134

 Andre Ingram has to be the feel-good story of the NBA this season. He toiled for 10 years in the D/G League. 10 years! Without ever getting a call-up by an NBA team. The G-league salaries aren't enough to pay the bills, so he also worked as a teacher! Well, the Lakers finally called him up to the NBA for the final two games of the season...and he practically dominated. He almost single-handedly powered the Lakers to a win over the Rockets, though in the end the Rockets just had too much depth, but still, it was an incredible performance. He was the best player on the court while he was playing and the Lakers only lost the lead while he was resting on the bench. Hopefully, they will keep him on the team next year- they could really use his skills and uplifting personality. I was disappointed in Panini for not giving him an Instant card- this is the exact thing that Instant should be about- and even gave them the what-for on Twitter, which, not surprisingly, they ignored...but a few days later, they offered this card, and I made sure to get one.

April 28th:

2017-18 Donruss Optic #91

 Another day where I was mostly working on models, and rushed to open a pack in the 11 o'clock hour to get a card of the day. In fact, it was the 29th when I finished all three models that I finished this week- one of which had less than 10 minutes worth of work left when I put it away sometime before 2018!

April 29th:

2017-18 Ice #95

 Every year my family gives me cards to celebrate Glad You're Not Dead Day, and this year was no exception, with a box of the brand-new Ice set, which is all on clear plastic. Really great cards...this one happened to be the first out of the box.

April 30th:

2018 Sports Illustrated for Kids 5 #719

I still maintain my magazine subscription to get the cards, although in theory I read them too. In actuality I have not read one yet this year, but I will...eventually. (probably when my Magazine backlog stack gets too big and takes up too much room and I just power through and read them so I can send them to my storage unit, the destination of most of my magazine collection)

And that's April...the project survives, even if it was just barely on some days. No Elton this month, kind of a surprise.