Baseball cards

On Apr 28, 6:32 pm, "Colin William" <colintwill... RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
> Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
> BTF:http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_he...
>
> It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
> in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?

I bought some cards back in the 90's, but never a lot of packs. Got a
couple mixed batches at a good price from time to time, but in any of
that I'd just pick out the players & teams I liked and find a way to
pass along the rest. I put more effort and money into collecting the
Starting Lineup sports figures [which actually included cards, but I
kept most of them in-package]. Like the cards I rarely went for whole
sets or subsets, just players & teams I liked and a few other
rarities.

When Kenner finally lost out on all the sports contracts to McFarlane
Toys, I did buy some of his figures for the first few years. They were
much larger scale with better detail, and he only put out about 6
players at a time. The variants made the search interesting, and since
I didn't want every single player, the higher price wasn't so bad. But
now it is hard to find any of them at retail stores and too many
people are glomming the variants, often before they hit the pegs.
That, combined with McFarlane choosing very few players who interested
me, has me to the point where I have only bought one or two in the
last year or so. I should probably pick up that Hank Aaron one before
Walmart clears them out, though.

As for just cards, the only sports ones I have bought in the last
several years were some Braves team sets from Disney. My card buying
has pretty much shifted into the non-sport world now.

---
Nick
http://www.myspace.com/nickmonitto
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

On Apr 28, 6:32 pm, "Colin William" <colintwill... DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
> Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
> BTF:http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_he...
>
> It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
> in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?
>
> I bought packs sporadically in the early to mid 90s. Stopped because I
> couldn't justify the cost, and got sick of getting a gazillion duplicates of
> the same Luis Gonzalez cards. I have them all in a box somewhere around
> here, but damned if I know where.
>
> My favorite card, as I think I've mentioned before, features Glavine in his
> Braves uniform playing hockey. I also tend to like cards for guys late in
> long careers, so chock full of stats on the back. Nolan Ryan cards were
> especially good for that.
>
> Colin

I got my first cards when I was 5 in 1975. A lot of my spare money
started going into packs. I probably had 3000 cards from 75 to 79.
Then I started buying Topps complete sets from about 1980 to 1986. I
also got a complete set maybe 3 years ago. I've still got them all.
Somewhere around 10,000 cards. I hate that they have gotten so
expensive. Just give me a picture and the stats on cheap cardboard, I
don't want a piece of the jersey in the card. I want my kids to be
able to spend a quarter and get 10 cards and not feel like they can't
touch the cards. $2 for a pack is obscene. I was very happy for my
last birthday Ruth bought a pack of about 40 Greg Maddux cards on ebay
for uner $10. I've got a couple of display panels up in my basement
that each hold 20 cards. About 10 of them feature Maddux. It kills
me that in my youth I would sometimes cross out a team name and write
in the new one when a player got traded. I even would cut the
prospect cards that featured multiple players (that will hurt a cards
value). I used to pour over the stats. In 1977 or was it 78 Jeff
Burroughs hit 41 HRs for the Braves second only to George Foster. I
used to be amazed that Burroughs won the MVP in 1974 with a 301 BA and
something like 31 HR and 118 RBI. Offensive standards were much lower
then. I loved that he won, I suspect he did not deserve it. I used
to play the game on the back of the card where you flip it and on the
back it says single or pop up or ground out. Of course I quickly
learned that Nolan Ryan had a HR on the back. I used to sort them by
team and then position (all the pitchers at the front, then catchers,
1B, etc). If a player was traded he changed teams.

I also used to play a dice baseball game (maybe APBA). You had two
black dice and 2 white dice. You totaled the colors up and you might
get a 5-8 Which would be on the back of the hitters card and it would
give you the result. If the first number was greater than 7 it was on
the pitchers card. Loved that game. Anyone know what it was. I used
to always be the Braves and my friend Tim would be the Tigers. I'm
pretty sure he consistently beat me.

Shining the Light,
Marty Winn
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

On Apr 28, 6:32 pm, "Colin William" <colintwill... RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
> Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
> BTF:http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_he...
>
> It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
> in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?
>
> I bought packs sporadically in the early to mid 90s. Stopped because I
> couldn't justify the cost, and got sick of getting a gazillion duplicates of
> the same Luis Gonzalez cards. I have them all in a box somewhere around
> here, but damned if I know where.
>
> My favorite card, as I think I've mentioned before, features Glavine in his
> Braves uniform playing hockey. I also tend to like cards for guys late in
> long careers, so chock full of stats on the back. Nolan Ryan cards were
> especially good for that.

The first card I can remember getting was a 1987 Zane Smith Topps
card. I started collecting shortly after that and my collection is
currently the subject of questioning from my parents (of the "Will we
be expected to continue housing this collection indefinitely?"
variety).

I collected both baseball and hockey cards, and suspect that the value
of my hockey cards is probably double that of my baseball cards.
Well, if I had the slightest clue on value right now. Realistically,
they're all pretty worthless I'm sure and the major period of my
collecting was during the "glut phase" (as it was described at BTF).

My favorite memory was attempting to (I can't recall if I succeeded,
which is probably a pretty good sign that I didn't) collect the rookie
cards for all members of the 1993 Atlanta Braves. Those I know I
still have, the McGriff, the Pendleton, Smoltz, Glavine, Maddux, and
yes, even the Lemmer and Rafael Belliard.

Sometime I should go through everything and decide if I'll be keeping
it or not or what I want to do. Maybe in another 10-20 years.

Jon
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

"Colin William" <colintwilliam.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:67n1kgF2pegnaU1@mid.individual.net...
> Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
> BTF:
> http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_hea..._the_da
>
> It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
> in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?
>
> I bought packs sporadically in the early to mid 90s. Stopped because I
> couldn't justify the cost, and got sick of getting a gazillion duplicates
> of the same Luis Gonzalez cards. I have them all in a box somewhere around
> here, but damned if I know where.
>
> My favorite card, as I think I've mentioned before, features Glavine in
> his Braves uniform playing hockey. I also tend to like cards for guys late
> in long careers, so chock full of stats on the back. Nolan Ryan cards were
> especially good for that.
>
> Colin

First cards I bought as a kid were the '74 Topps. I think bubble gum packs
were about .15 cents. The wrappers were sealed via wax, and I remember the
unlucky card at the back usually had wax creases on it.

I collected heavily up until college in '86, all of this before the
explosion of the "premium" cards, and then sold my collection en masse to a
dealer for about $1200 if I remember correctly. I had complete mint sets of
the '73 and '72 Topps received as my favorite boyhood Christmas gift. I also
managed to collect various cards going back to Topps "red back" origins,
Hank Aaron rookie card, Koufax, Berra, early Leaf, and various oddities
including a "cigarette card." I used to send off for the Kellogg's 3-D sets
and cut off the 3 card panels that used to be on the back of Hostess
Twinkees, team logos air brushed out as Topps had exclusive rights.

I used to organize all the cards alphabetically in great stacks by teams.
They covered my desk like miniature skyscrapers. That is, I would have every
Johnny Bench card from rookie to current year in order in the great Reds
pile with every other current player on the team. I kept up with all the
roster moves in The Sporting News and would move cards around accordingly.

They also became like flash cards to me, all of the stats on the back
quickly committed to memory. I also played a little game where I would have
a friend conceal a card behind another card and have them slowly reveal a
tiny strip at the top. I could name the player on practically any card by
seeing less than a 1/4 inch strip revealed and usually without even any of
the player in the picture -- not an obsessive ability mind you, I just
picked it up by handling the cards.

I still regret selling the cards for the usual nostalgia reasons, though I
still have any of the cards I managed to get autographed. One day when I'm
wealthy...


Robert
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:11:39 -0400, "Robert Glenn Plotner"
<rgplotnerNOSPAMALOT.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> wrote:

>"Colin William" <colintwilliam.TakeThisOut@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:67n1kgF2pegnaU1@mid.individual.net...
>> Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
>> BTF:
>> http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_hea..._the_da
>>
>> It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
>> in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?
>>
>> I bought packs sporadically in the early to mid 90s. Stopped because I
>> couldn't justify the cost, and got sick of getting a gazillion duplicates
>> of the same Luis Gonzalez cards. I have them all in a box somewhere around
>> here, but damned if I know where.
>>
>> My favorite card, as I think I've mentioned before, features Glavine in
>> his Braves uniform playing hockey. I also tend to like cards for guys late
>> in long careers, so chock full of stats on the back. Nolan Ryan cards were
>> especially good for that.
>>
>> Colin
>
>First cards I bought as a kid were the '74 Topps. I think bubble gum packs
>were about .15 cents. The wrappers were sealed via wax, and I remember the
>unlucky card at the back usually had wax creases on it.
>
>I collected heavily up until college in '86, all of this before the
>explosion of the "premium" cards, and then sold my collection en masse to a
>dealer for about $1200 if I remember correctly. I had complete mint sets of
>the '73 and '72 Topps received as my favorite boyhood Christmas gift. I also
>managed to collect various cards going back to Topps "red back" origins,
>Hank Aaron rookie card, Koufax, Berra, early Leaf, and various oddities
>including a "cigarette card." I used to send off for the Kellogg's 3-D sets
>and cut off the 3 card panels that used to be on the back of Hostess
>Twinkees, team logos air brushed out as Topps had exclusive rights.
>
>I used to organize all the cards alphabetically in great stacks by teams.
>They covered my desk like miniature skyscrapers. That is, I would have every
>Johnny Bench card from rookie to current year in order in the great Reds
>pile with every other current player on the team. I kept up with all the
>roster moves in The Sporting News and would move cards around accordingly.
>
>They also became like flash cards to me, all of the stats on the back
>quickly committed to memory. I also played a little game where I would have
>a friend conceal a card behind another card and have them slowly reveal a
>tiny strip at the top. I could name the player on practically any card by
>seeing less than a 1/4 inch strip revealed and usually without even any of
>the player in the picture -- not an obsessive ability mind you, I just
>picked it up by handling the cards.
>
>I still regret selling the cards for the usual nostalgia reasons, though I
>still have any of the cards I managed to get autographed. One day when I'm
>wealthy...
>
>
>Robert
>

We used to buy them and of course mom tossed them all out at some
point. We were from Mass but went to Maine each summer for vacation
and it was great because there we could get packs with the Red Sox
players in them whereas in Mass you almost never got any cards with
the Sox. One of my first introductions to targeted marketing. They
made you buy more cards in the Boston market to collect the Red Sox
players.
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

Tarkus wrote:
> Though I don't recall anything specific, I'd imagine I had some pretty
> valuable cards (now) back in the day, especially if I took better care
> of them (bicycle spokes aren't conducive to maintaining mint condition).

But eh, what'd be the point. A few posters expressed the sentiment in
that BTF thread, with which I agree, that I just don't get the whole
thing of hoarding unopened packs as investments or whatever else.
especially when one is young take them out, look at them, trade them if
you have friends who also collect, have fun with them.

Colin
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:34:26 -0700 (PDT), Marty Winn
<marty.winn.DeleteThis@gmail.com> gave us:

>I also used to play a dice baseball game (maybe APBA). You had two
>black dice and 2 white dice. You totaled the colors up and you might
>get a 5-8 Which would be on the back of the hitters card and it would
>give you the result. If the first number was greater than 7 it was on
>the pitchers card. Loved that game. Anyone know what it was. I used
>to always be the Braves and my friend Tim would be the Tigers. I'm
>pretty sure he consistently beat me.

That's not APBA you're describing. I have every APBA baseball card
set from 1976 until the present, and ran an APBA league for nearly 20
years. In APBA, you have one large red die and one small white die.
You read the large one first, so that a red 3 and a white 5 would be a
"35".

--
Lance

"Anna Nicole Smith is a hillbilly butterhog."
- Rudy Canoza


----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =---
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

On Mon, 28 Apr 2008 18:32:02 -0400, "Colin William"
<colintwilliam.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> gave us:

>Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
>BTF:
>http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_heaven_the_day_baseball_cards_died/

>It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
>in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?

>I bought packs sporadically in the early to mid 90s. Stopped because I
>couldn't justify the cost, and got sick of getting a gazillion duplicates of
>the same Luis Gonzalez cards. I have them all in a box somewhere around
>here, but damned if I know where.

>My favorite card, as I think I've mentioned before, features Glavine in his
>Braves uniform playing hockey. I also tend to like cards for guys late in
>long careers, so chock full of stats on the back. Nolan Ryan cards were
>especially good for that.

I have a few cards from 1969 and 1970, but didn't really start buying
them until 1972 (when I was . I collected them pretty religiously
throughout the 1970s, but stopped almost entirely when I was in high
school. There was a brief period in the late 1980s and 1990s when I
gave it a go again, but the only cards I buy now are the occasional
pack that I'll pick up for my son.

I have two Bob Gibson cards (one from 1973 and 1975) that he
autographed for me personally, so those would probably be my
favorites.

--
Lance

"In a world filled with hate, prejudice, and protest,
I find that I too am filled with hate, prejudice, and
protest." -- Bob Gibson


----== Posted via Pronews.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.pronews.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! >100,000 Newsgroups
---= - Total Privacy via Encryption =---
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

In article <bkde149bvvm5oelgalg7hlb52mn58g7jpi RemoveThis @4ax.com>, tcol RemoveThis @toast.net
wrote:

> On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:33:05 -0400, Colin William
> <colintwilliam RemoveThis @hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >But eh, what'd be the point. A few posters expressed the sentiment in
> >that BTF thread, with which I agree, that I just don't get the whole
> >thing of hoarding unopened packs as investments or whatever else.
> >especially when one is young take them out, look at them, trade them if
> >you have friends who also collect, have fun with them.
>
> We used to flip them "for keeps". I also recall getting a strip of cards
> which had to be cut an, I believe, there were 8 cards on a strip. Not sure
> of the cost but probably a penny or two...came alone with no gum or candy.
> Of course, not all cards were baseball..some were of comic characters.
>
> This was during the WWII era and immediately afterwards.

I'm a bit younger, but I definitely remember flipping baseball cards.
The ones I remember came with gum.

--
"My goal in Usenet life is to post something funny enough
to become someone's sig line!"
--Bob Horton lives his dream life
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

In article <p8FRj.410$_.249@bignews8.bellsouth.net>,
rgplotnerNOSPAMALOT DeleteThis @yahoo.com says...
> "Colin William" <colintwilliam DeleteThis @hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:67n1kgF2pegnaU1@mid.individual.net...
> > Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
> > BTF:
> > http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_hea..._the_da
> >
> > It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did you
> > in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?
>
> First cards I bought as a kid were the '74 Topps. I think bubble gum packs
> were about .15 cents. The wrappers were sealed via wax, and I remember the
> unlucky card at the back usually had wax creases on it.

I, too, got some baseball cards with my gum sometime in the late 70's
to early 80's.

All I remembered was shuffling them, and noting what a hoss this Bob
Knepper fella was, even though I'd never heard of him. Apparently
San Francisco didn't play many games of the week against the Dodgers
or Mets. (or Yankees)

Some misguided family members gifted me a pretty set of cards for the
'91 or '92 Braves, thinking that I actually gave a damn about them
(the cards, not the teams).

--
Cranial Crusader dgh 1138 at bell south point net
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

This message is not archived
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards 

In article <MPG.2283ed9b5c49a062989b44.DeleteThis@newsgroups.bellsouth.net>,
Dale Hicks <dgh1138.DeleteThis@southernbell.com> wrote:

> In article <p8FRj.410$_.249@bignews8.bellsouth.net>,
> rgplotnerNOSPAMALOT.DeleteThis@yahoo.com says...
> > "Colin William" <colintwilliam.DeleteThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:67n1kgF2pegnaU1@mid.individual.net...
> > > Some discussion of baseball cards and when they jumped the shark over at
> > > BTF:
> > > http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wax_heaven_
> > > the_day_baseball_cards_died/
> > >
> > > It got me to wondering, do any of you ever buy them these days, or did
> > > you
> > > in the past? What are your favorites, and why did you stop?
> >
> > First cards I bought as a kid were the '74 Topps. I think bubble gum packs
> > were about .15 cents. The wrappers were sealed via wax, and I remember the
> > unlucky card at the back usually had wax creases on it.
>
> I, too, got some baseball cards with my gum sometime in the late 70's
> to early 80's.
>
> All I remembered was shuffling them, and noting what a hoss this Bob
> Knepper fella was, even though I'd never heard of him. Apparently
> San Francisco didn't play many games of the week against the Dodgers
> or Mets. (or Yankees)
>
> Some misguided family members gifted me a pretty set of cards for the
> '91 or '92 Braves, thinking that I actually gave a damn about them
> (the cards, not the teams).

I have some unusual "baseball cards". US Playing card company standard
decks of cards (Ace, Deuce, ... King) I have a Braves set, a first year
of the Rockies, a first year of the Marlins, and an All-Star pack.

dick
 >> Stay informed about: Baseball cards