A scanning project milestone!

This one was one I knew was coming, and it's been a long time coming...10 and a half years! As you may know from previous posts, my main focus is on getting at least one card of every person to ever get one, in the NBA, NHL and NASCAR. What you may not know is that I'm also getting as many different people as I can, total, besides just my three main sports. I'm generally not seeking them out in baseball and football, but I'm not unhappy when I get some randomly. I'm sort of seeking them out in non-sports cards, in that, if I have a choice between two cards that are otherwise equal, I'll pick one for somebody not yet in my collection.

I call all this the Names Project. Yes, it's more than just names, but that's what I originally thought of it as so that is what it got called. It spun out from when I went through and compiled all the names of people in my collection, circa 2014 or so. Thus- Names Project.

Also you also probably know, I'm copy & pasting one example of each person into a folder called "Alphabetical Directory", which you can see on my Cardboard History Gallery by clicking the green link. When I finished the January uploads, I saw that three letters were getting tantalizingly close to having 1000 people scanned...letter B was at 993, letter M was at 996 and letter S was at 997....

As you can see from this screencap, B sits at 993 as I said, and if you look to the right, what I'm about to upload is highlighted... (Remember you can click the image to enlarge it)

And there we go, milestone hit! B becomes the first letter to clear 1000 people scanned!

The actual thousandth person to get uploaded?

Juan Bell, a baseball player. This is one of the cards Dan gave to me at the New Windsor show.

Country singer Neal McCoy has the honor of being the 1000th person in M...

...and Cynthia Scherr takes the 1000 spot for the letter S. (this card was also a gift from Dan)

Interesting, to me, that none of the milestone cards were from one of my three sports, which dominate my collection by a wide margin. Also, I know for certain that both McCoy and Scherr are the only cards of them in my collection. I'm not sure on Bell, see below. 

Even though B started out in third, it actually now has the most people scanned with 1019. Both M and S now have 1015. The overall lead among letters will probably stay fairly close, I expect.

It will be a while before any other letters join the 1000 Club. The next closest letter is actually H with 737 people. I thought W would be higher, but it's not...only 579 people, 6th overall. Because I was curious to see how many people I had scanned, I typed them into an Excel chart and let it do the math for me. 

10,914...that's way more than I thought. And to think that each and every one of them...and all the people I have not scanned any cards of yet...will eventually get their own album on the Cardboard History Gallery! At my current rate of scanning, and adding people, it will probably be at least 2024 before even H hits 1000, unless I start specifically seeking them out in my "waiting to be scanned" boxes, which I have zero intention of doing. And even if I did that, I don't think I currently have enough people needing scans to even get me there anyway. When I was so burned out last year I lost track on entering the people into my overall Excel chart that lists everyone and how many cards I have of them...and the cards have gotten all mixed up, so I probably will just update it when I get them scanned, but knowing exactly who I have is no longer really possible for me. Last year at this time I would have been able to check and see if I had enough people missing scans to put any of the other letters over 1000. Disappointed in myself for letting that go. According to what I entered before I gave up, I had 955 people who's last names started with H. I have no idea how many I've added since then. Is it 45 people? Who knows? (my gut feeling is no, but I don't have a good memory handle on the baseball cards I've received as gifts since then) I had 13.922 people typed into the chart when I lost track. So I'm closer to getting everyone scanned than I have ahead of me. Still years worth of work, but at least I enjoy it. 

It would be arduous, but I could get that info back. I maintained my Excel chart where I listed the exact order I got every card. I could open them both split screen and go line-by-line using Control+F to search on every name I'm unsure on, but I don't know if I want to put in the effort. The last time I entered anything into that file was in June 2019. That's a lot of effort...but what else do I have to do, besides scan? It's still too cold to work on models outside. Hmmm...

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

I really like the Alphabetical Directory because it's one of only two spots where everything is all mixed together, scan wise...sports and non-sports, all in albums sorted by their names. It's fun to look through. Heck, it's fun to just keep refreshing the Alphabetical Directory itself and see the album sample image change! 

I don't exactly know when the next scanning milestone will be. I wonder if I will even remember that the first letters to hit 1000 all did it in February 2020? Of course, it'll be even longer if I take the time to resurrect my overall chart! 

PS: Tomorrow is my Mom's Birthday! I don't intend to post tomorrow, with the next one scheduled for Tuesday. Happy Birthday Ma!! 

Top 12 Cards of 2019

I like to finish each year with a countdown of my top 12 cards of that year- one from each month. This year I was mostly on burnout mode because of my Card of the Day project in 2018, basically just going through the motions until about mid-November, when my passion returned (as I'm sure you've been able to tell by how much I've been posting since then) I have even less preconceived plans about what will "win" each month this year than I have in the past couple of years, so this should be fun for me to compose, hopefully for you to read, as well.

January:

2017 Absolute Racing Tools of the Trade Dual Gold

It's hard to argue against a dual relic SN to ten that I pulled from a pack myself, which is not something I do very often! Couple that with the fact that it's got two colors on the sheet metal piece and parts of the Goodyear lettering on the tire, I just can't beat that! 2017 Absolute was also the only hobby box I bought for myself during the entire year...although not the only one I did. I got three for Christmas as well. That's it though, the least I've done in a year since 2008 when I did none.

February:

2015-16 Ultimate Collection Jumbo Materials Patch

I attended my first card show since either 2004 or 2005 in February, that was a thrill for me! This is the marquee card I got, and I actually got two from this same insert set. I had hoped to attend the card shows at least two times a year but it just didn't turn out that way for me, attending each one only once. But the fact that I got to go to two is just so amazing to me, I hope to get back to at least one in 2020.

March:

Hitting 2017 Absolute Racing again, but this time from the Plainville CT card show, not the box. This has a piece of neon yellow sheet metal, and having grown up in the 1990s, there are two things that will ALWAYS catch my eye- holograms and neon. This is my first piece of neon sheet metal, although not my last, as I purchased three pieces from the same seller at the show all at once. As you can tell from the photo, Menard is ecstatic.

April:

Here's a card I got from another blogger, this one coming from Chris of the Collector. It completed my Starting 5 promo set for that year, which is quite an accomplishment because I wasn't collecting NBA at that time, and promos are notoriously hard to find after the fact.

May:
I'd like to show you the favorite card I got in May, which is a Henrik Lundqvist card I got in trade from Kenny/Zippy Zappy. But, I lost the box I put it in and the other cards he traded me, as well as the rest of the Beach Boys box I finally finished opening, so I can't. I've gone nuts looking for them, because I didn't even get a chance to list them in my paper listing yet. Very frustrating, and a sign of how much I was just going through the motions in those months.
What I CAN show is one of his trademark pretty girls he's known for sending. Somehow, I managed not to lose them.

2013 Seven Colors #62

I have no idea who this lady is, I think possibly a musician, but she has a lot of cards issued. Unfortunately, I can't find full checklists so I can't post them on the Database, making them and the Sumo cards Ryan sent me a while back the only part of my collection not properly documented.

June:

2018-19 Panini Threads Dazzle Gold #86

I never pull cards SN to 10 or less...I did it twice in 2019! My brother bought me some cards when we took a one-day-up-and-back trip to Lake George, and I happened to pull this Russell Westbrook card SN 01/10! And it's really cool looking in person, much nicer than it does in scans.

July:

1966 Batman Black Bat #51

I was able to add three 1966 Batman cards in 2019, bringing my total to 4. I need more of them, but they are quite hard for me to find! The Black Bat set was new to me in 2019. I still lack the Blue Bat set totally.

August:

2000-01 Stadium Club #236

August was probably my worst month in the hobby since 2008. I didn't scan even a single card during the entire month, the first time that has happened that I can recall. The one and only highlight of the month is that Ryan / SumoMenkoMan sent me a box of stuff totally at random, and I really like the design of the 2000-01 Stadium Club hockey set- this is only my second or third card from the set- so it got the nod.

September:

2011-12 SP Game Used Authentic Fabrics Patch

I think we all knew that this was going to be the card. I passed this card by last time I went to the shop it was for sale in in 2017. I didn't get there at all in 2018, and I assumed it would be sold...lost to me forever. When I got back there on September 3rd, it was still there, so I made sure that I would not leave without it- even if it's the most I've paid for a hockey card to date. (tied) This is probably my favorite card of the entire year, to be honest. I can't tell you how many times I had thought about and regretted leaving it behind.

October:

1887 Allen & Ginter Arms of All Nations

I got a lot of REALLY great cards in October. For new cards, it was one of the best months of the year. Getting my oldest card, a full 131 years old, that can't be topped so it gets the nod.

November:

1972-73 Topps #87

In November, I found out I was losing my favorite place for vintage cards, where I've gotten all sorts of great oddballs and hockey since 2014, due to the owner pulling the lease to put in "upscale coffee shops". Well, I went and got as much as I could afford, which was a lot of Rangers cards, and a partial set of 1972-73 Topps, which I suspect was complete at one point, but had gotten picked over over the years. I chose this card, instead of the many Rangers I got, because it has such a cool, unique photo on it. (and it does have a bit of a Rangers tie in- the photo was taken at Madison Square Garden.) This is a really unusual and creative photo for 1972-73...about 95% of the set are posed photos, not even action photos, which makes this stand out even more.

December:

2019-20 Upper Deck UD Exclusives #86

Although I got a lot of great cards in December, including my COMC order that had been building since August of 2018, a card I pulled had to get the top spot. I have been a fan of the UD Exclusives parallel since it was introduced in 1998-99 for the NBA, and as I would come to find out, the NHL as well...although it would be years until I learned about that sport, which has now taken firm control of the #1 spot in my collection...not in card totals but in interest. The UD Exclusives are always SN, usually to 100, although some sets to 500. They are not common pulls, and since I began collecting the NHL, this is only the second one that I've pulled from a pack, following one from 2010-11, which I pulled from a single pack I found somewhere. In the grand scheme of things, these are my third-favorite parallel concept, but are de-facto #1 since the first two are no longer issued in my sports, or at all. (Refractors, which sort of live on in Prizms from Panini for NBA and NASCAR, but not quite, and Ultra Gold Medallions). The fact that I pulled a Ranger, a player from my team, makes it so much more special. I pulled this on Christmas day, and I got the base version as well. My brother's Christmas Present to me was $100 on COMC, and a good portion of that was spent on other UD Exclusives issues, including a full page from the 2017-18 set...I'll post about them when they arrive, and my recap of the cards I actually got on Christmas will be coming soon...hopefully by this weekend....but next year, nonetheless!

I ended 2019 on a high note, Cardboard History wise, and 2020 is going to be starting out much the same way, as I have almost 30 posts in the queue waiting for their time in the sun...

Thanks for another great year of reading!

New People added in November (Non-NBA/NHL/NASCAR)

I have got to come up with a better name for this series. Any suggestions?

1990 Topps #89

1990 Topps #609

1990 Topps #419

The first three came to me via Jon of A Penny Sleeve for your Thoughts in January or February, but I held onto them until November. Another card from the same set was my Card of the Day for that day.

1993 Portfolio Endless Summer Wild Wave #2

This is a one-per-pack parallel. There were two people in the pack new to me, but the other card was too damaged by being stuck in the pack for 25 years so I didn't scan the card. (I had to edit out damage on this one, too, which I did because the scan was needed for the Trading Card Database)

1992 Pacific The Story of WWII #33

1992 Pacific The Story of WWII #29

Surprised this was my first card of Patton. Both came from the same pack, opened November 11th.

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Heroes #121

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Legends #127

2008 Upper Deck Baseball Legends #139

Some BIG names, from Shane of Shoebox Legends!

1982 Topps #578

1982 Topps #580

1982 Topps #581

Some vintage(ish) baseball, also from Shane. I tend to break vintage as older than me, which I know is pretty arbitrary, but these cards do predate me by two years.

1967 Philadelphia #34

 Actually my first card from this entire company!

1968 Topps #92

Both of these came from C2Cigars on the Trading Card Database, both athletes who battled diabetes during their careers.

And that was it for the month. It was very baseball heavy, including some very big names.11 of the 14 cards came to me as gifts from other collectors!

Now, whenever I hear "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio" I'll know...into my box labeled "Baseball - Scanned"

Card of the Day : November 2018

Unlike October, I'm being proactive and starting this during November, not halfway into December, hah! Well, that was the plan. I wrote that first sentence and the captions up to and including the 13th, but didn't touch the post again until December 7th, and almost the 8th- 11:40 PM to be exact- when I made a mad rush to get everything scanned and somewhat close to caught up. I ended up getting myself backed up again- something I said I would not do- but I did. Again.

November 1st:

2003-04 Bowman Signature #114

Back to the COMC box and this set again. I believe this is his only card. Too bad about the terrible photoshop job.

November 2nd:

2015-16 Ice Rookie Relic Jumbos #RRJ-NG

My first time going to Target since I think June or July. This is the guaranteed hit out of a 20-pack for $20 repack I purchased that day. It is also my first card of him!

November 3rd:

1990 Topps #178

Running out of things to do without a computer, I actually wrote out a paper listing for this set, the first and probably only time I will do that for Baseball. Naturally, I went through some I had on hand. These were sent to me by Jon from A Penny Sleeve for your Thoughts back in January.

November 4th:

2009 Rookies & Stars #30

I almost forgot to do the card this day. It was after 11:30 at night when I remembered. That would have been my dad's 72nd birthday.

November 5th:

2014-15 O-Pee-Chee Retro #364

This one came from Shane of Shoebox Legends. This is such a great design. It looks like it is from the 70s, but it's actually a new design from 2014. I got my first two from Shane that day (also getting Kevin Bieksa) but I want to get lots more of these.

November 6th:

1993 Portfolio Endless Summer Cover Card #1

I thought I got my computer fixed this day, so I was busy doing card stuff on it all day. I decided the day was worthy of a girly card. Unfortunately after 25 years being sealed in the pack, all but the non-UV coated cover card took bricking damage. I didn't even realize until I entered it onto my list on the Database that she wasn't wearing a shirt. I guess I'm officially old.

November 7th:

2004-05 Bowman Chrome #135

Received in trade with Chris, The Collector, although done through the Database. Minard is a rare player...he only has 14 cards, and this is only my second of him. I got the basic Bowman card, non-chrome, when the set was new. I actually opened the package from Chris while waiting for my computer to turn on that day. Before I got done reading the cards, I knew it was dead. Later that day I went to Best Buy and got a new one.

November 8th:

1998-99 Upper Deck #53

Hadn't hit the Sousafly collection for a while, so I did.

November 9th:

2018-19 Panini Stickers #404

I knew the set was out, but I was pleasantly surprised when my mom got me 3 packs from the dollar store. This is my first from the set!

November 10th:

2018-19 Panini Stickers #159

That could not have been better! After seeing how much I was enjoying the stickers from the previous day, my mom went back to the dollar store and got me more of them. My first one out happened to be my favorite player!

November 11th:

1992 Pacific The Story of WWII #33

I wanted to have a military themed card for Veterans Day. Since it was the 100th anniversary of the end of WWI, it would have been nice to have a card from that...but I don't. The Pacific WWII box I bought in 2014 would do nicely, and it did. The entire first pack I opened was duplicates. Not the first time it happened.

November 12th:

1994 Simpsons II Promo #B5

For those of you who think I'm organized...you have not seen my storage units. You know how things look after a tornado, strewn about every which way? Well, picture that...only stacked higher. The common running joke in the family is that if something goes to storage, it never gets seen again. It's not wholly unfounded, but I'm trying to change that. I would love to have it organized and be able to find what I'm looking for, when I'm looking for it...I'll settle for eventually finding the specific things I'm looking for. We only did two boxes today (I'm writing to this point in the post on the 13th, but before going to bed) but I did manage to find a card I had absolutely zero recollection of ever having seen before. It took some damage, as the box appears to have gotten wet in our previous storage units, which leaked- but everything in it was from 1994 or older. Luckily the card was still in it's original 1994 shrink wrap, so the damage was minimal.
Those holes are supposed to be in it, by the way. It also came with an instruction card showing how you should string a string through it and spin it around.

November 13th:

2017-18 Upper Deck #478

Hitting the blaster of 2017-18 UD series 2. I opened three packs but this was the only new card.

November 14th:

1998-99 Upper Deck Super Powers #S23

I missed scanning this one, I got so backlogged, and had to find it an scan it so I could make this post. As I'm writing this, I have not even gotten the back scan edited yet.

November 15th:

2018-19 Panini Stickers #117

I'm really enjoying the Panini Stickers. You will see them again in this post.

November 16th:

2006-07 Hot Prospects #84

This is a gift from Shoebox Legends...not the box that he sent me in September, but one he sent me sometime late in 2017! I had saved some for the Card of The Day Project and I'm getting near the end of the year...and still have a bunch of stuff.

November 17th:

2016-17 Complete Silver #165

From my pack stash. Happy to hit a Knick totally randomly.

November 18th:

2018 Victory Lane #81

The 18th was the final day of the NASCAR season. It's funny, last year one of my all time favorites dominated, but I didn't enjoy it at all. This year, two of my all-time least favorites dominated, but I enjoyed it more than I have in years. I don't get it. I purchased a blaster of this set specifically to open it that day.

November 19th:

2007-08 Upper Deck #266

An even bigger box showed up from Shoebox Legends that day! This was the first card out of it...and it was also my first card of him, too!

November 20th:

1967 Philadelphia #34

A gift from C2Cigars on the Trading Card Database, part of his package of athletes who were diabetic during their careers.

November 21st:

2018-19 Hoops #80

I'm not going to be chasing Hoops as much this year, but the local dollar store has them. And they have an exclusive parallel. So far, this is the only time this year's set appears in the project. I don't have any of the 18-19 Upper Deck or O-Pee-Chee hockey sets at all, either, and I'm not sure I will. I want to, but it seems like it might not happen. Maybe for Christmas.

November 22nd:

2018-19 Panini Stickers #407

Last time the Panini Stickers appear this month. Just coincidence that two of the four times are Wild.

November 23rd:

2016-17 O-Pee-Chee Platinum Royal Blue Cubes #42

This is such a cool looking parallel. I snagged it off COMC.

November 24th:

2017-18 Prestige #15

Still working on the blaster I bought in June.

November 25th:

2011-12 Panini Contenders #180

Back to the COMC box.

November 26th:

1968 Topps #92

Another from C2 of the Diabetic athletes.

November 27th:

2004-05 Topps Chrome #187

From COMC box again. Pretty sure this card and it's parallels are his only cards.

November 28th:

2017-18 Prestige Horizon #141

Back to the same blaster. This is a neat looking parallel in hand, doesn't scan as well as it looks.

November 29th:

1995-96 Collector's Choice Debut Trade Player's Club #T1

I got this whole 30 card set out of the Sousafly Collection. I didn't have a single one beforehand!

November 30th:

1999 Episode I Widevision #61

I got these packs back before Disney got Star Wars and made it stinky. I pull from them occasionally. It may be the last time Star Wars is in this project, though. If it wasn't for Disney it would have been a much larger presence throughout this project.

Just one month to go! This project started out fun, got tedious quickly, and now, I just want it to end. But I cannot, will not bail with now less than a month to go until completion.

BONUS!

Remember last month, I couldn't find a card, and figured it was accidentally put into one of the boxes? Well, I wasn't quite right with that. I found it, but it was not in one of the boxes. it was in a much worse place. It had fallen under my table, and only by pure luck did I not step on it or run it over with my chair.