Avast, ye land lubbers, he's Walked the Plank

Legendary Blogger Matt of Bob Walk the Plank has retired from the blogging community. While it stinks to lose his regular posts, he's retiring to spend more time with his family and you can't fault that at all.

As a little tribute to one of the first people to make me feel welcome in the blogging community, I'm going to post every Pirates card I've scanned. It's not many, as I'm not really a baseball guy, but I will take any card and there are some.

1958 Topps #4

1970 Topps #188

1991 O-Pee-Chee #293

2008 Upper Deck #337

And...that's it. The Trading Card Database shows that I have 40 Pirates cards in my collection, but these are the only 4 I've scanned yet.

Since that's kind of a light post, here's some more Pirates...whether they ever set foot in Pittsburgh is questionable.

1952 Topps Look 'n See #122

1952 Topps Look 'n See #123

1954 Topps Scoop #92

1954 Topps Scoop #97

Unfortunately, I don't have any cards of the Pittsburgh Pirates that played briefly in the NHL in the 1930s. They are out there, I just don't have any, yet.

Arguably Matt's biggest contribution to the hobby has been organizing the Secret Santa every December. He did it the past two years and it was awesome.
The first year  Peter K. Steinberg got me and got me this:

Then last year Scribbled Ink got me and got me this:

Both were excellent packages of cards that put some great stuff into my collection. The Al Bianchi remains the only 57-58 Topps I've ever received as a gift if my life!  And I even needed a few of the vintage NBA that Paul sent which is a pretty hard feat to pull off!

I thank you Matt, for all that you have done for the community, and just being an overall friend of the hobby. Enjoy your retirement, but don't be a stranger!

Sets in my Collection #33: 1954 Topps Scoop

Here is another one of my all-time favorite non-sports sets. I just discovered it existed in 2014, and it's become a major favorite of mine.

As I've mentioned numerous times, I love history. My favorite time being ancient history, which is almost never on cards. This set includes ancient history and all kinds of other topics. Each card is done up as a newspaper clipping, with a drawing on front, a newspaper themed back and either a drawing or a black and white photo on the back to accompany the text.

Originally these cards came with some sort of black covering that you had to scratch off with a coin or some other similar object, I've read. None that I have seen have retained the covering.

Like the Wings and World on Wheels set, I cannot show only one card front.

As of this writing, (11/20/2015) I have 60 of the 156 cards in the set, or 38.5%, but I have a local source of these and I hope to get some more soon, perhaps before this post comes up in the queue- the last Sets in my Collection post I've published as of this writing is #9, and this is #33, so it may not see the light of day for some time. This is a set that I have posted about before, and the tag for it already exists.

The cards are smaller than standard size, no other cards in my collection utilize the same size.

#20

#52

#88

#89

#91

#118

#128

The cards that involve athletes are the rarest and most expensive cards in the set, with the baseball themed cards being the most expensive, of course. I don't have any of them. I had to post all the ancient subjects I have, and I think that I have all of those.

Updates for 2018- I now have 126 of the cards, or 80.8% of the set! I also have other cards using this size- It appears Topps was experimenting with this smaller scale as a standard card size as there were several mid-50s sets using it, before deciding on the current standard size in 1957.

I also recently ranked it #1 on my list of all-time favorite Non-Sports sets.

My Top 30 Favorite Non-Sport Sets of all time : #1

Writing out #30-2 was actually a lot of fun. Ranking them was harder, and given enough time, it will probably change. Some were admittedly toss-ups as it was, in regards to ranking. The Top 20 countdown I made for the NBA would be significantly different now, as a set I ranked 12th would be pushing the top 5 if I made the list today. I will be curious to see how it may/will change over the years when I look back on these posts. The great thing about non-sports cards is...there may be a set out there that would crack the top 30, but I may not even know it exists yet. The discovery aspect is something totally missing from the NBA or NASCAR, and will someday surely be the same for the NHL. Non-sports is different.

I said when I was going in that #1 was the only one I knew for sure when I started, and that has held true. It's a set I've written about multiple times before:

#1. 1954 Topps Scoop

#20

#89

#116

An 156 card set, I have 124, or 79.5% of them. What a set this is! It covers most of known history's most important events up to that time. Well, at least those that involve the USA. Unlike almost every other set, it doesn't limit itself to American history, it just favors it heavily. It is truly the most historically minded history set ever made, and for somebody like me, who dreams of being an archaeologist/museum curator/recognized history expert, this is the be all end all. It covers just about everything, and everywhere. I can go on and on about this set, but I'm going to link to the checklist, which has all scans front and back, on the Trading Card Database. Just take a look at the wide variety of subjects included! It covers some sports events, as well.

The only bad thing I have to say about this set is that, at 156 cards, it's too small. There's so much more that it could have done. Ancient history in particular could use more coverage. The backs were interesting, in that they were all done up as newspapers. Obviously, some of the newspaper concepts had to be made up, as they didn't have newspapers as we know them in ancient Rome, for example. But it works for me. The book I read- 1990's Chronicle of the World- that got me into history and really introduced me to the ancient world- was done up as newspaper articles which makes this set even better for me,

Here's a sample back, something that I didn't post for the other 29 sets on the list. Some of the backs have photos, some drawings. All card fronts have drawings.

One thing I should mention, these cards are smaller than standard size. 2 and 3/4ths inches by 2 inches. It's not really a detriment.

This set is a fairly recent discovery by me. I only discovered it existed in 2014, when I found a dealer with a binder full of them...he got them all new as a kid. Now I have the entire contents of that binder in my collection. It took me until 2017 to get them all, but finally, I did. It's funny...so much of this countdown was nostalgia based. Some of it was entirely nostalgia. But this set? All new. Not only that, it took until I was an adult to truly appreciate it. I would have gotten the car cards at any time, but pre-2007, this series would not have done all that much for me, let alone have been my all-time favorite non-sports set. Finding these, at this point in my life, is what allowed me to truly appreciate them. And I do!

This is also the first and as yet only non-sports set I've written up a wantlist for here on the blog. I plan to do them all eventually, but I have not worked on the wantlist much lately. This set, though, has one.

=======================================================

A couple of stats, because I have some free time to work on them since I finished getting my collection onto the Database, and I built in 4 days of lead time for this post:

• Every decade from the 1910s-current are represented in some way
•  Three sets span more than one decade
• 12 of the 30 sets date to the 1990s, the second most well represented is the 50s and 80s, tied with 4 sets. I guess nostalgia did play a role.
• Automotive has 7 sets, Star Wars has 5 and history has 4, however, military, a sub theme of history, has 3 more, so it could be reckoned that Automotive and History are tied at 7.
• 9 different topics are covered
• 14 sets were produced by Topps, 3 by Skybox and 2 by Impel. None others got more than 1. 
• 1977, 1983, 1991 and 1992 have two issues each. No year has more than 2.  I did not count multi-year releases for this total, the other stats I did.
• I have only completed 5 of the 30 sets!

To recap, here is the Excel chart I made to sort for this stats section, and the final countdown.

This countdown was a lot of fun. Not as hard as I thought it would be. Some of the exact placement choices were difficult, but I enjoyed it much more than I expected. Thank you for reading, if you read all four posts. I will do something I rarely do, and end with a question: What's your favorite non-sports set? Perhaps it's one I've never heard of!

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!

Easter Additions

Whenever there is a gift giving occasion, any holiday, birthdays, even just random, my mom gives me cards. This has been going on for more than 25 years now, and this year is no different. Sometimes it's packs, sometimes it's singles...this year it was the latter and a gift certificate for COMC which will result in it's own post when it arrives.

My mom is a regular reader (and commenter, as Hotrod Mama) and this year she used the "Sets missing from my collection" chart to choose gifts for me...these below are all new sets to my collection!

2009 Showcase, one of only 4 NASCAR sets missing...

2007-08 Topps Triple Threads, the Emerald Parallel. The card has a canvas texture.

2007-08 Bowman Elevation. I'm not sure yet if this is base card, or a parallel. It's not SN so it's probably base...I have more research to do but I love researching cards so that's a good thing.

2005-06 Topps Big Game. I didn't know this set existed until about a month ago! I thought I had all the 2005-06 releases, but then I discovered this one listed on the Database.

2008-09 Radiance. This card is printed on plastic and is all holofoil. It's only my second card of Jamario Moon.

2010 Press Pass Five Star! This was the most expensive NASCAR set ever released, and both years were missing from my collection....not anymore! I am down to only two missing NASCAR sets from my collection, at least until Panini starts issuing them. This card is as thick as a patch relic and SN35 is the base card, NOT a parallel!

2009-10 Rookies & Stars Longevity. It's hard to tell in the scan but the card has a slight mirror foil effect. The 2010-11 set was much easier to tell the Longevity version from the basic but I already have a bunch of them.

In addition to the new sets, I also got ten cards from 1954 Topps Scoop, one of my all-time favorite non-sports sets. All are high number issues, with the lowest #115. Here are all 10. They aren't in numerical order or the order I got them, they are just in whatever order they got scanned.

This depicts an actual event, DeWitt Clinton poured a jug of Lake Erie water into the Atlantic Ocean at the conclusion of the first journey on the Canal.

Where did they get an electric lamp in 1803? :)

This set came out of packs with a black coating on it that you rubbed off with a coin. This card still has some of that, to the left of the caption box and on Napoleon's ear area.

Thanks Mom!

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will happen whenever COMC gets the shipment to me...it's already done and waiting for them, so hopefully it will ship tomorrow.

And, in just a few short minutes, I get to watch my all-time favorite player, Elton Brand and the 76ers, take on the Golden State Warriors, which feature three of my favorite players in the NBA currently, in Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson.

Throwback Thursday: An Explosive return

I have not done a Throwback Thursday in a while. Follow through is not my strong suite.

Here's an explosive post- downright radioactive, in fact!

From 1954 comes Topps Scoop, a set of various historical subjects done up as newspaper clippings. All cards feature drawings on the front, a couple have actual photos on the back. Originally the card fronts had some sort of black covering over the top of them, but I am not real sure how that works/worked.

This copy of the card, that I added to my collection in June, is slightly misprinted on the back. You can see the black stripe from another card at the top and part of the black stripe from this card is missing.

By the way....those boats there are actually full size battleships! The test was to determine the effects a nuclear bomb would have on battleships. (it devastated them)

It also gave it's name to the Bikini. The outfit was named after the island the test was held at. This card comes from 2011's Topps American Pie, the most recent historical subject set Topps has produced, although some of their choices were...questionable...at best. I actually pulled this card from my first retail pack. The Scoop card above is slightly smaller than standard size; in the mid 1950s a standard size hadn't been chosen yet.

Thanks for reading!