Weird Card Wednesday: Why Aren't You Blogging!

Hi everyone,

I know it's been several weeks since I've posted anything significant, and I hope my fellow bloggers won't kick me off their blogrolls for inactivity. I'm trying to put parts of my life together--more on that later--and I just haven't had time to think about my card collection in a while. Thank you so much to my 26 loyal followers and I promise to start posting again soon.

Meanwhile, since I missed last week's Weird Card Wednesday segment, I thought I'd pull another card from my childhood E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial collection for your amusement: #26 "Time for a Snack." (I feel like this card looks lately!)

Speaking of my E.T. cards, I really should sort through them and see which ones I'm missing, just to have a complete set. I remember when it was a big deal for me to walk a few miles to the local convenience store (Q-Mart or Smith's Grocery) with a handful of quarters and buy several packs at once. That was a big deal for me to buy more than one at a time! Ah, childhood memories.

Sorry for the Absence

If only we could collect cards for a living (sigh).

Real life has a way of interfering with our hobbies, and mine has been no exception over the past two weeks. It's nothing that a lot of folks in America aren't battling right now but when it happens to you, everything else stops for a while.

Anyway, Greg over at Night Owl Cards sent me a great little bubble mailer stuffed with Cardinals goodness--Allen & Ginter's, Topps Heritage, regular Topps--which I promise to repay soon. (Thanks so much, Greg!) I'll also post some pics and details about what he sent in a few days.

A few folks have emailed me about possible trades, and I apologize profusely for not responding to you yet. I'll try to do that this week.

I'm also sorry I haven't posted as regularly as I had planned--I even missed a Weird Card Wednesday--for all my loyal readers. I'll do my best to get back in the swing of things soon.

Weird Card Wednesday: The Tipsy Alien #32

OK, this one's not a baseball card, but it's still weird all the same.

Before I collected baseball cards, I saved my quarters and bought packs of Star Wars, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial cards at Smith's Grocery on North Royal in Jackson, Tennessee in the early 80s. (Sometime I need to complete some of those sets.)

This week, while looking for some cards to trade, I came across one of the E.T. cards (#32) and thought it would be an excellent candidate for Weird Card Wednesday honors.

Trade Bait: 1995-96 Upper Deck NBA Basketball Factory Set

Here's some trade bait for anyone interested in basketball cards:

I have a boxed factory set of the 1995-96 Upper Deck NBA cards I'd be willing to trade for Cardinals cards from my want lists. Just email me or post a comment below if you'd be interested in a trade.

Trades with Crackin' Wax, Foul Bunt, Get the Bat Off Your Shoulder, and $30 a Week Habit

The past two weeks have been good for cards in the mail!

Crackin' Wax sent me a package of Cardinals cards--but I'm ashamed to say I can't remember which ones. (I really need to start keeping track of my trades--sorry about that.)

William at Foul Bunt sent me three cards I needed for my 1990 and 1991 Topps and 1982 Donruss team sets, even though I had no cards he needed. Thanks so much, William!

I sent Anthony at Get the Bat Off Your Shoulder a few 2012 Topps cards to help him complete Series I and he sent me a few Cardinals to help fill my team set--thanks, Anthony!

Today, I received a bubble mailer filled with recent Cardinals cards from Robert at $30 a Week Habit. Almost all of them were ones I needed (the ones I didn't had just been bought at a card shop last weekend). Needless to say, I now have a head start on a few sets I didn't even know about.

Let's start with a new favorite of mine--and many other fellow bloggers, I've learned: Allen & Ginter's. Robert sent me four cards to start my 2011 set: #188 Daniel Descalso, #132 Colby Rasmus, #BHS-5 Albert Pujols (Baseball Highlight Sketches), and #HH9 Adam Wainwright (Hometown Heroes).

Another favorite set is the Topps Heritage, of which I received a 2009 #507 John Smoltz (my first Cardinal card of him) and 2011 #223 Ryan Theriot. (I also received several other 2011's, though they were the ones I just got at the aforementioned card show.)

There were four 2009 O-Pee-Chee cards for #493 Yadier Molina, #568 Jason Motte, #215 Ryan Ludwick, and #587 Colby Rasmus. Call me old fashioned, but I like these cards: no gold, no gloss, no stamping of any kind. A baseball card like it was meant to be. These give me a great start on this Cardinals set!

Robert gave me a great start on a few sets, especially the 2011 Topps set, with nine cards--including this cool #121 of Chris Carpenter.

There were even a couple of the recently departed Albert Pujols.

My take on the whole Pujols defection is: I was upset on the day it happened--because he could have ended his career in St. Louis, held many of the career batting records, and become a one-team franchise icon like Stan Musial and Bob Gibson. But then I was OK with it because he was given way too many years and way overpaid; he basically took the money and left. Still, he is arguably the greatest player of his generation and I can say I had a chance to interview him in his only season in the minor leagues before he became Albert Pujols. (I'll have to tell that story one of these days.) These were two nice cards!

One odd card Robert sent me was a 2011 Topps #57 Mark Trumbo. Who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The team Pujols left St. Louis for.

I'll take this as an honest mistake--both the Cardinals and Angels wear red, after all--and not a jab at a very sensitive spot in this Cardinal fan's heart. (wink)

Thank you to everyone for the trades! I've been writing this blog for less than a month and I already have several trades under my belt. If anyone would like to trade with me, please check out my want lists in the top left column of the blog. Thanks!

Weird Card Wednesday: Bernie Carbo

In this installment of Weird Card Wednesday, we look at Bernie Carbo's 1973 Topps #171 card.

It looks like the Topps photographer failed to take a photo of Carbo down in Florida during spring training. So he shows up at Busch Stadium, walks into the Cardinals clubhouse, and asks Carbo if he would pose for a quick picture. Not having time to tuck his shirt into his pants, Carbo strikes a menacing batting pose beside the dugout. Surely the graphic designer back at Topps corporate will crop the photo above the waist, he thinks.

Nope.

My Weekend: First Card Show in 20+ Years and Visit to Cards-R-Fun

On Saturday, I went to the Middle Tennessee Sports Card Show in Nashville, my first show in over 20 years. It wasn't a large show--only nine dealers, I think--held in a small gymnasium, but I did come away with some Cardinals cards and a great start on 2010 and 2011 Topps Heritage team sets. I also discovered some cards I'd really like to start collecting: the 2010 Topps Vintage Legends.

I love these cards! Jackie Robinson on a 1976 Topps design...Thurman Munson as a '59 card...Jimmie Foxx on an '86 card! I think they're really cool and even though they're not Cardinals, I'd like to finish the set.

I did OK on my spending at the show ($24)...but then I stopped by Cards-R-Fun about five minutes down the road. What started out as "just a few minutes" became four hours! (If you've ever been to this store, you'll know why.) It's a great place to find tons of commons, but man, it's disorganized! I went with the intention of finding some Topps Heritage Cardinals--and a found a few from different years--but you have to search through boxes that contain multiple years and sets. You pretty much have to dive in and find whatever cards you've never seen before. When it was over, I had 150+ cards and a $33 bill. Yikes! There goes my card budget for March.

Overall, it was great to go to the show and one dealer from whom I bought most of my cards said he would bring more Cardinals for the March show. I only wish there had been more dealers to choose from.

Weird Card Wednesday: Bob Forsch

Every Wednesday, I'll feature a card from my collection that has something unusual or weird about it.

This week's Weird Card Wednesday candidate is 1981 Fleer #537 Bob Forsch.

The Fleer Corporation of Dubble Bubble gum fame broke Topp's monopoly of the baseball card industry and produced its own set of cards in 1981. Among them was #537, which shows Forsch sporting a perm. Up to this time, his Topps cards always showed him with straight, longish hair. It's weird because I'm not used to seeing him look that way!

Apparently at some point during the season, Bob abandoned the curly look and went back to his natural look as his 1981 Donruss #69 card shows.

One of the all-time great Cardinals pitchers, Forsch passed away suddenly on November 3, 2011.

2012 Topps Trade Bait and Want List Updated

Just a quick post to let everyone know I've updated my want list for Cardinals cards I need for 2012 Topps Series I and my trade bait list for the same.

I'm also still on the lookout for 1974 Topps cards to complete my set. I have several in the mail right now, which should reduce the number of cards I need to 107.

If anyone can help me out, please comment or email me through my Google profile. Thanks!

2010 Topps Heritage Cardinals Team Set

OK, maybe I'm getting a little greedy with my expanding want lists.

In addition to filling my standard Cardinals team set needs, I'm already working on the 2012 Topps Series 1 and 1974 Topps sets. But I have a few more followers now and blogs that have kindly added mine to their blog rolls, so I'm going to just throw this out there to anyone who may have some duplicates of the 2010 Topps Heritage set.

I love the vintage card designs incorporated with today's players. Unfortunately, I've not been lucky enough to find a lot of them at the card shop I frequent. I have a few 2004 and 2006 cards, but none for any of the other years.

I'd like to start a Cardinals team set for the 2010 Topps Heritage: I've always liked the 1961 design, and a few of the cards I've seen look pretty sharp. I'm starting from scratch and don't have a single card. If anyone has any Cardinals cards from this set--base cards, inserts, etc.--I'd love to trade for them. Thanks!!

Trade from Wrigley Wax and Redemption Card from Dutch Card Guy

I've been blogging about baseball cards for a few weeks now and reading other blogs to get ideas for my own posts and learn more about potential traders out there. I'll admit up to now, I've been jealous of my fellow bloggers, who've posted about trades they've made and the cards they're received.

Now I'm proud to post my first gift and my first trade!

Yesterday's mail brought a letter from the Netherlands and a small bubble mailer from Michigan. The Dutch Card Guy kindly sent me a 2012 Topps Prime 9 redemption card. I just hope the only card shop in my area--Cards-R-Fun--will redeem it. Thanks so much, Jeroen!

Next came a package from Paul over at Wrigley Wax. On Valentine's Day, I posted about my goal of completing my dad's 1974 Topps set and Paul responded that he had a lot of cards to help me. Yesterday, they arrived--two stacks of 64 cards total sandwiched between two plastic card holders and wrapped in easily-removable painter's tape (a great idea by the way). When I posted the card numbers I needed, I had no idea which players would be on them, and I was surprised by the number of star cards included (or at least players who had respectable major-league careers). Here are the highlights:

Two Hall of Famers--Harmon Killebrew (#400) and Rich "Goose" Gossage (#542)--as well as Manny Mota (#368), Cardinals third baseman Ken Reitz (with chewing gum bubble) (#372) and outfielder Jose Cruz (#464), and Bucky Dent's rookie card (#582). What's the deal with the off-center photo of Gossage, Topps?

Three Hall of Famers--and one who should be soon--Phil Niekro (#29), Frank Robinson (#55), Jim Palmer (#40), and Joe Torre (#15). Jesus Alou, the youngest of the three Alou brothers (Felipe and Matty) and troubled slugger Dick Allen (#70) complete this group. I especially like the Alou and Niekro cards; I'm not sure what's happening to Torre on his card!.

One Hall of Famer in this group: Tony Perez (#230), the great Cincinnati Reds first basemen of The Big Red Machine days. Despite having over 400 career home runs, Darrell Evans (#140) remains outside the Hall of Fame. Jack McKeon (#166) shows him in his first season as a major-league manager with the Kansas City Royals in 1973 at age 42. Last season, thirty-eight years later, he was manager of the Florida Marlins at age 80!

I really do appreciate your help, Paul! I've been putting together some Cubs cards to send your way this week. With his contribution, I now need just 149 cards to finish. If anyone else can help me complete my 1974 Topps set, please check my want list and send me a comment or email.

Remembering "The Kid"

I was sad to hear that Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter passed away today at 57.

I remember well the battles between the Cardinals and Carter's New York Mets for dominance of the old National League East in the mid to late '80s. My best friend in high school was a big Mets fan, so there was a lot of back-and-forth smack talk between us all the time. The Cards won in '85, the Mets in '86, and then a dramatic late September '87 series at Shea Stadium almost saw the first-place Cards drop their lead to the "Pond Scum" (as they were affectionately called in St. Louis). But Terry Pendleton's improbable homer to deep center field won the crucial game for the Cardinals and a third trip in the decade to the World Series. My friend wasn't as trash-talking the next day at school.

Though he could get under the skin of the opposition, Gary Carter was a class act, always smiling on the field but definitely a hard-nosed competitor. Thankfully, he was able to enjoy his election to the Hall of Fame and bask in its glow for several years before he was diagnosed with inoperable cancer. God bless you, "Kid."

2012 Topps (Series 1) Trade Bait

Updated February 24, 2012

These are the cards I have available for trade, preferably for Cardinals cards I still need from this set.

1, 4, 6, 11, 13 (3), 14 (2), 16, 20 (3), 25 (2), 28, 29 (2), 31 (2), 32, 38 (2), 39, 45, 47 (2), 60, 61, 65, 67, 70, 73, 75, 79, 81, 83, 84 (2), 86 (2), 88

101, 107, 111 (2), 123 (2), 126, 128, 130, 131, 132, 136, 138, 141, 155 (2), 161, 177, 178, 181, 184, 187, 188, 195, 197 (2), 198

209, 212, 218, 219, 226, 231, 236, 238, 239, 249, 250, 252, 253, 254, 257, 262, 265, 267, 271, 276, 280, 283, 284, 285, 292, 295, 296

300, 301, 304, 308, 323, 324, 325 (2), 330

Minis

TM-18, TM-50

Special Cards
I have no duplicates for the Classic Walkoffs, Timeless Talents, Golden Futures, Gold Standards, Golden Moments, and Golden Greats cards, but I would be willing to trade one for the same type card for a Cardinals player. Email or comment on this post if you're looking for a specific card or cards.

Refractors
I'm not much for the refractor cards, so I'll offer these up even though I have no doubles for them:

41, 156, 297

Blue-Bordered Parallel Cards
96, 321

If you're interested in trading, just email me or comment on this post. Thank you!

2012 Topps Cardinals (Series 1) Needs

I've bought several packs and jumbos of the 2012 Topps over the past few weeks, but out of the goodness of my heart (and to encourage my 13-year-old son to collect) I've let him keep all the Cardinals and I take the duplicates.

So far, the only ones I have for myself are Matt Holliday #320; David Freese #273; World Series #53, and #124 Active Leaders (Pujols/Guerrero/Helton).

Thanks to Paul over at Wrigley Wax, I now know which ones I'm missing:

Base Cards:
#3 Jaime Garcia, #44 Edwin Jackson, #77 League Leaders (Albert Pujols), #92 Active Leaders (Chris Carpenter), #264 Chris Carpenter, #192 Active Leaders

Minis
TM-19 Lance Berkman, TM-21 Matt Holliday

Golden Moments:
GM-6 Red Schoendienst, GM-27 Lance Berkman, GM-29 Albert Pujols

Golden Moments Relics:
GMR-AP Albert Pujols, GMR-DD Daniel Descalso, GMR-MH Matt Holliday, GMR-SMU Stan Musial

Golden Moments Autograph Relics:
GMAR-RS Red Schoendienst, GMAR-SM Stan Musial

Timeless Talents:
TT-19 Stan Musial/Lance Berkman

Timeless Talents Dual Relics:
TTDR-TTH Bob Gibson/Roy Halladay

Gold Standards Inserts:
GS-2 Stan Musial, GS-5 Bob Gibson

Golden Greats Inserts:
GG-66 Albert Pujols, GG-67 Albert Pujols, GG-69 Albert Pujols, GG-70 Albert Pujols

Golden Greats Autographs:
GGA-AP1 Albert Pujols, GGA-AP2 Albert Pujols, GGA-AP3 Albert Pujols, GGA-AP4 Albert Pujols, GGA-AP5 Albert Pujols

Golden Greats Relics:
GGR-66 Albert Pujols, GGR-67 Albert Pujols, GGR-68 Albert Pujols, GGR-69 Albert Pujols, GGR-70 Albert Pujols

Golden Greats Autograph Relics:
GGAR-AP1 Albert Pujols, GGAR-AP2 Albert Pujols, GGAR-AP3 Albert Pujols, GGAR-AP4 Albert Pujols, GGAR-AP5 Albert Pujols

In The Name Jumbo Relics:
ITNR-LB Lance Berkman, ITNR-MH Matt Holliday, ITNR-YM Yadier Molina

Variations:
#93 Skip Schumacher (Rally Squirrel) (I can dream, can't I?)

Note: Cards in red underlined = Cards promised in TTM

I have a list of 2012 Topps trade bait cards here. Thank you!

Weird Card Wednesday: 1970 Topps Carl Taylor

Every Wednesday, I'll feature a card from my collection that has something unusual or weird about it.

This week's Weird Card Wednesday candidate is the 1970 Topps #76 Carl Taylor.

Two bad things happened to Carl on this card:

First, because he was traded by Pittsburgh after the 1969 season, he was relegated to a hatless head shot the following year while clearly wearing his Pirates jersey.

Second, on the day the Topps photographer came to spring training, Carl had the misfortune of a bad fever blister on his bottom lip.

It makes you wonder whether Topps ever gave a second glance to the photos they selected?

1974 Topps Complete Set: A Work in Progress

Ah, the Seventies! When players wore long hair and afros, sported mutton chop sideburns,and wore polyester uniforms and stretchy-waist pants.

I was three years old when my Dad starting buying wax packs for the 1974 Topps cards. When I started collecting cards, he gave me his collection, which was rubber-banded together and stored in a cardboard box in the hall closet. The oldest cards were the 1974 Topps. When blogs like Mark's Ephemera and Night Owl Cards renewed my interest in the hobby, I sorted those cards into numerical order to see which ones I needed to complete the whole thing. (This will be a side project to my main Cardinal team set collecting.)

I'm still looking through a few boxes of random cards that are jumbled together, but I've come up with a working need list:

(Thank you to Wrigley Wax for sending 69 cards and Dave Chase for sending 43!!)

Red = Potential TTM cards

1, 2, 3. 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 19, 20, 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 36, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51, 53, 55, 56, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 70, 71, 74, 75, 78, 79, 80, 82, 83, 84, 88, 89, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 108, 112, 114, 118, 122, 124, 126, 132, 134, 137, 138, 140, 146, 151, 153, 158, 166, 170, 173, 175, 176, 179, 184, 186, 190, 194, 195, 201, 202, 204, 206, 207, 209, 212, 213, 220, 222, 223, 227, 230, 234, 236, 237, 239, 240, 241, 245, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 258, 260, 261, 262, 264, 265, 266, 268, 270, 271, 272, 276, 279, 280, 283, 285, 286, 288, 290, 294, 296, 297, 300, 301, 303, 304, 305, 307, 308, 312, 313, 315, 321, 322, 324, 336, 338, 339, 341, 343, 344, 347, 350, 351, 353, 355, 358, 360, 361, 366, 368, 371, 372, 373, 374, 376, 378, 390, 391, 393, 396, 397, 398, 400, 404, 409, 410, 412, 417, 419, 421, 438, 439, 441, 442, 444, 445, 456, 464, 467, 470, 472, 478, 481, 496, 500, 517, 520, 530, 542, 547, 548, 549, 550, 555, 561, 571, 572, 573, 575, 576, 580, 582, 584, 596, 599, 614, 619, 630, 647, 652, 654, 655

So I have 67% 77% 84% of the set and need 220 215 214 148 103 cards to complete it.

If anyone has any duplicates in their collection, please comment below and maybe we can work out a trade.

Everyone Needs a Mantle Card for their Collection

My 1959 Topps Mickey Mantle encased in protective plastic

The Lost Collector posted about his latest eBay purchase of a somewhat beat-up 1967 Mickey Mantle--his first Mantle card. I congratulated him and commented that every collector should have at least one Mantle card in their collection. Mine is a 1959 Topps #10.

When I was 17, our next-door neighbor's brother found his collection of baseball cards and offered to sell me whatever I wanted. This was early in my collecting and I didn't have very many 1950s and 60s cards. It was in October or November, and my father let me pick which ones I wanted and they would be my Christmas gift. The neighbor's brother was kind enough to let me keep that box of cards at my home while I looked through them and decided which ones I wanted to buy.

There were some tough choices in that box. The first picks were easy: all the Cardinals cards he had, which became the foundations for many of the sets I completed over the next 25 years. But I wanted at least one card of superstars like Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Roger Maris, etc. I picked a '55 Williams, '59 Aaron, and a '58 Banks. I remember having to choose between a 1959 and 1961 Topps Maris and going with the '61 because it showed him with the Yankees.

I think I had two or three Mantles to choose from, but this is the one I picked, mostly because I liked the way it looked. He wasn't a Cardinal (although having grown up near the Missouri border, I don't think he would've minded being one), but he was a classic baseball player, warts and all.

If it's within your budget--even if you find a less-than-mint one--I recommend getting a Mantle...any Mantle.

1952 Bowman: Billy Johnson

The 1952 Bowman is perhaps my favorite baseball card set of all time.

Its design is simple vintage--no logos, no gold stamping, no refractoring. Just the player and his autograph.

Each card is a colorful work of art, a portrait of baseball from a bygone era.

I first started collecting them in 1999. So far, I have eight out of 14 Cardinals cards to complete the set. Here are the ones I still need:

• #30 Red Schoendienst
• #62 Joe Presko
• #107 Del Rice
• #160 Eddie Stanky
• #196 Stan Musial
• #232 Enos Slaughter

Wow--three Hall of Famers, including Stan the Man. Presko, Rice, and Stanky are doable. But Red, Stan, and "Country" will take some saving and looking for the right deal on eBay. Still, it would be a great set to have in my album! Another card-collecting goal for 2012.

Happy Birthday, Hal Rice

Today's Cardinals birthday is Hal Rice, who was born 88 years ago today in 1924 in Morganette, West Virginia.

Rice spent six seasons with the Cardinals from 1948 to 1953. As an outfielder on a club with future Hall of Fame outfielders Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter, it was difficult for him to be an everyday player. In 1952, with Musial at first base, Rice played in a career-high 98 games for St. Louis, batting .288 with seven homers and 45 RBIs. The following season, with Musial back in left field and having played just eight games, Rice was traded with cash to the Pittsburgh Pirates for third baseman Pete Castiglione. A lifetime .260 hitter, he played his last major-league season in 1954 with the Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Rice passed away on December 22, 1997 in Bloomington, Indiana, and as a World War II veteran, he was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Cards in the Mail: Traded and Update Cards

Today's mail brought one of those eBay auction wins that was done for only four cards I needed out of 11 offered, but the price was too good not to buy them all.

This was for a group of Cardinals 1990 traded and update cards. The ones I needed were Fleer Updates #U-52 Geronimo Pena, #U-53 Lee Smith, and #U-54 John Tudor.

Now I just need three regular-set cards to complete the Cardinals team set: #249 Frank DiPino, #255 Jose Oquendo, and #656 Cardinals Checklist. If anyone has these cards and would like to trade, please send me a comment or email. Thanks!

The fourth card I needed was a 1990 Donruss Rookies #31 Todd Zeile.

It still leaves me needing:

• Eight cards for the 1990 Donruss set (#29 Todd Zeile, #161 Jose Oquendo, #163 Joe Magrane, #319 Todd Worrell, #418 Scott Terry, #518 Frank DiPino, #536 Jose DeLeon, and #653 Ted Power)
• Five cards for the NL's Best (#22 Ken Dayley, #34 Terry Pendleton, #71 Todd Zeile, #83 Ozzie Smith, #138 Vince Coleman), and
• Two cards for the Learning Series (#9 Ozzie Smith and #34 Joe Magrane).

Hall of Fame in Storage

The triangular building in downtown St. Louis that once housed the Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum sits vacant, while its artifacts, jerseys, and other team memorabilia rest in storage at nearby Busch Stadium. Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch updates readers about what's happened to them and the eventual goal of a new building at Ballpark Village whenever that projects finally breaks ground.

It's a shame the collection isn't available for fans to see when they're going to the game, but many items will be on display for fans in and around Little Rock, Arkansas this spring and summer, per the article above.

In the meantime, Cardinals fans can take a virtual tour of the collection on the Hall of Fame Museum's new website.

Set Completion: 1982 Topps Cardinals

Today's mail brought the last card I needed to complete my 1982 Topps Cardinals set: #108T Lonnie Smith.

"Skates" had been traded to the Cardinals from the Philadelphia Phillies on November 20, 1981, as part of a three-player deal with the Clevand Indians. He spent three full seasons in St. Louis (1982-85) and by the end of his 17-year career, he had played in five World Series for four different teams (the Phillies, Cards, Kansas City Royals, and Atlanta Braves). In his first season for the Cards, he finished fourth in the National League with a .307 BA and second in the league with 68 stolen bases. Though he enjoyed good seasons in St. Louis, drug and alcohol problems plagued him and with rookie Vince Coleman and fellow outfielder Andy Van Slyke vying for playing time, Lonnie was dealt to the Royals in May 1985. Of course he came back and played against his old team for the World champion Royals that fall.

I've been searching months for this particular card and finally found an auction for it on eBay a few weeks ago (along with another Cardinal, #79T Steve Mura, though I already had him). $4.99 for both cards, but the shipping was free.

Steve Mura (along with fellow pitcher Al Olmstead) was part of the multi-player deal with the San Diego Padres that brought Ozzie Smith to St. Louis on December 10, 1981. He had a 12-11 record with a 4.05 ERA as a starter for the World champions before being selected as a free agent compensation pick by the Chicago White Sox in January 1983.

2007 Topps Heritage: Jim Edmonds

A few years ago, I came across the Topps Heritage cards for the first time while looking through some eBay auctions. I thought it was cool that Topps would place modern-day players on vintage card designs, so I bought a few Cardinals cards here and there from the 2004 and 2006 sets.

Last weekend when I went to Cards-R-Fun, I found this 2007 Jim Edmonds #210 in a box of Cardinals cards.

I always liked the 1958 Topps set and I have a complete set for the Cardinals (which includes #464, Curt Flood's rookie card). The solid, single-color background with the player in the center kind of pops out at you and the triangular team logo with the yellow background hearkened back to the 1955 set.

This is the only card I have for this particular set. If anyone has any Cardinals they'd like to trade, please let me know and maybe we can work something out. Thank you!

Weird Card Wednesday: 1966 Topps Mike Shannon

Welcome to the debut of Weird Card Wednesday!

Every Wednesday, I'll feature a card from my collection that has something unusual or weird about it. The inaugural card is Mike Shannon's 1966 Topps #293.

Mike Shannon was an outfielder, third baseman, and emergency catcher for the Cardinals from 1962 to 1970. Today's fans know him more for his unique play-by-play style of broadcasting Cardinals games on KMOX, for which he was nominated in 2011 for the Ford C. Frick Award for Broadcasters given by the Baseball Hall of Fame. (Former teammate Tim McCarver won the award.)

This has to be a very unflattering card for Shannon. Who wants to have their armpit hair immortalized on a bubble gum card for kids across the country?

Getting Back into the Game

Now that I have my own card collecting blog, I've been reading a lot of fellow bloggers' work out there and adding their sites to my blogroll, getting ideas and learning what folks are working on. I've also discovered there are more guys like me who are getting back into card collecting after 20-plus years away from it, such as Ryan's Pitch and a few others.

For me, one big reason I lost interest was being overwhelmed by all the different manufacturers and sets that were available. When I started collecting back in 1987, there was Topps, Fleer, and Donruss. Those were the "Big Three" and each company produced one set per year (plus traded or update sets)--easy to keep up with and financially feasible to find all the cards and create team sets. Then came Upper Deck and Score, both of which brought simple designs and quality photography and elevated collectors' expectations about what a baseball card could be. The result was the "Big Three" producing their own higher-quality cards with names like Bowman, Bowman's Best, Stadium Club, Fleer Ultra, Pinnacle, Topp's Finest, Leaf, Emotion, Studio, Upper Deck SP...ugh. And of course those premium cards came at a premium price. It was just too overwhelming and expensive to keep up with them all, so I stopped buying them. All of them.

"The Big Three" manufacturers--Topps, Fleer, Donruss--in 1987 B.C.
(Before Cardmageddon)

I take that back: I stopped buying new cards and stuck with the vintage ones, working to complete the old Cardinals sets from the 50s, 60s, and 70s that I had started with my dad. And that's what I've been doing the last 10-15 years.

I'm getting back into the card-collecting game mainly to fill in my existing sets from the 80s and 90s (while easing my way into the 2000s) and encourage my 13-year-old son to collect. Every week or so, I'll stop by Wal-Mart (the only place in town where I can find them), buy two jumbo packs and two regular packs of 2012 Topps cards, and sit down with him and open them and compare what we have. That's the best part for me: seeing his interest in the hobby. And yes, like his old man, he mainly collects Cardinals cards, but he likes the Golden Moments ones too with DiMaggio, Mantle, and Musial.

The Bearded One, Mr. 600 Homers, and an Ex-Cardinal

A brief review of the 2012 Topps cards: I like them. The design is simple and not distracting, and the team logos are a nice touch. (I don't really like designs in which the name is spelled out.) The photography is great and the white backs are easy to read (compared to the gray ones back in the old days). I really like the 1987 design minis and could see myself collecting all of them, even the non-Cardinals. (I've yet to see one for the Cardinals though.)

Minis!

Most Wanted

The Top 10 St. Louis Cardinals cards I need to complete sets (in no particular order):

Red = Either trade or purchase is in transit

Updated 3/1/12

1. Any Allen and Ginter's Cardinals--I love these cards! (The only ones I have are 2007 #26 Jim Edmonds; 2006 #146 Mark Mulder; and 2008 #173 Rick Ankiel and #287 Chris Carpenter).
2. 1991 Classic #39 Ozzie Smith
3. 1990 Classic Series 1 (Blue front) #18 Ozzie Smith
4. 1990 Score Dream Team #3 Todd Zeile
5. 1990 Score #233 Ken Hill
6. 1991 Topps Traded #1 Juan Agosto (gray back)
7. 1991 Topps Box Card #0B Willie McGee (with Dwight Evans information on back)
8. 1989 Bowman #432 Joe Magrane
9. 1993 Bowman #488 Dan Cholowsky
10. 1975 Topps #202 Ken Boyer MVP

Name Change

Since the primary cards I collect are St. Louis Cardinals, it just seemed right that my card collecting blog should reflect it. So I've changed the name from Books and Baseball Cards to St. Louis Cardinals Cards with a brand new address. I'll still be collecting books, but I may shift that focus over to another blog. Thanks!

Trade Bait

For the last 10 or more years, I've been away from card collecting. So my trading pool is significantly more shallow than many other traders out there for newer cards, especially the autographs, relics, and other specialty cards.

If you're looking for mid-70s to early 90s, I have a ton of cards gathering dust that many traders might need to fill their want lists. If you have specific needs, please let me know and I can see what I have. Maybe we can work out a trade!

Cards-R-Fun in Nashville

Today I took a trip to one of the few--if not only--card shops left in Nashville, Tennessee: Cards-R-Fun. I had been to their old location on Trousdale Place several years ago, which wasn't far off I-65 and easy to reach. I remembered it being somewhat disorganized, but still a great place to find practically any kind of trading card you might be looking for. (Mark Aubrey visited the old location a few years ago and posted about it.)

Today, the shop is located beside a Firestone Auto Center at 16125 Old Hickory Blvd., harder to access than the old location but still worth the trip. I thought I'd stop by for an hour or so but ended up staying four hours instead! The location may have changed, but the shop is just like I remember it: floor-to-ceiling sports memorabilia and boxes stacked upon boxes of trading cards everywhere. For a first-time visitor, the layout can be a bit daunting. It took me a minute or two to get my bearings because there's just so much stuff! There's no rhyme or reason to how the boxes of common cards are arranged: football can be mixed with baseball or hockey or Nascar cards. The boxes aren't sequential either, so the want list I had scribbled on a few index cards was quickly discarded as I began working on boxes in one corner of the shop, thumbing through the cards looking for St. Louis Cardinals.

At the end of the day, I had 150 cards from various years and sets, and the price was only about $25.00! John, the owner of Cards-R-Us, is very helpful and his prices are very affordable. I would definitely recommend visiting if you're ever in the Nashville area. I was only able to conquer two shelves on this trip, so I'll be back again when I have more money and more time!

My Book Collection

Up to now, the first seven posts to this blog have been about my passion for baseball card collecting. Now it's time to shift gears and share a little about another obsession--uh, passion--and that's book collecting.

A book I still have from childhood

I've loved reading for as long as I've been able to read, I suppose. The earliest books I remember were a set of six books published by the Standard Educational Corporation in 1972, with titles such as The Story Hour, Words to Know, Parade of Stories, and The Bible Story Hour. These books still sit on my bookshelf 40 years later. As you can see by the front cover, I also practiced my handwriting and drawing on them! The pages are torn from a few of them, but I still remembering reading them all and would never get rid of them.

My favorite books to read and collect are biographies, American and Tennessee history, and baseball books, especially ones on the St. Louis Cardinals and the minor leagues. I'm fortunate to have my own space in the house to keep four bookshelves, although the shelves are becoming very crowded! 

Like most bibliophiles, I haven't read every book I own. I do a lot of research and writing--baseball history, the Civil War, Tennessee history--so a lot of them are used for reference purposes more than sitting down and reading them. I don't own an electronic book reader (and don't intend on buying one anytime soon). I suppose I'm getting older and set in my ways, but I enjoy holding a book in my hands and turning the pages. I like the look of a well-stocked bookshelf--to me, it adds sophistication to a home.

Just like my card collection, I'll share stories about particular books I own and comment on recent acquisitions to my library. If you'd like to browse through my collection online, I have them cataloged on my LibraryThing page.

Seeking Potential Card Traders

Thank you to Mark Aubrey for the nice mention on his blog tonight! After two days of being "live" with my new blog, I now have three followers. Thanks for your interest!

As I emailed to Mark, I'm new to online card trading so I'll need help getting started from more savvy collectors like yourselves. He advised me to post my want lists and give potential traders an idea of what I have to offer in exchange. I'm working to complete my St. Louis Cardinals team sets that I started way back in 1987 when I was 16 years old. There are links to my want list posts in the upper left-hand column of the blog. As you can see, most of the cards I need lie between 1948 and 1975. But I'm also looking for more current cards as well; I stopped collecting about 12 years ago and there are LOTS of Cardinals cards I also need between 1998 and 2011, too.

I recently organized my father's 1974 Topps cards to determine which ones I'm missing so I can create a complete set. If anyone would like to part with some of these cards, I'd be very interested in trading.

As for what I have to offer, I have boxes of cards ranging from a few 1974 Topps to cards all the way into the early 1990s. If you have specific needs, let me know which ones and I can see what I have.

I look forward to exchanging emails and bundles of cards with many of you over the coming months!

St. Louis Cardinals Want List (1991-2011)

These are cards I need to complete sets between 1991 and 2011:

Note: This list is a work-in-progress--last updated 3/1/12


The 2000s are essentially a blank slate for me, with only three or four cards per years and no complete sets in my collection. I pretty much need everything for the decade, and I'm learning that's a LOT of cards!


1991 Topps Rookies
#14 Felix Jose
#33 Todd Zeile

1991 Topps All-Stars
#16 Ozzie Smith
#32 Pedro Guerrero

1991 Topps Stand-Ups
#31 Ozzie Smith

1991 Topps Debut 90
(Need all 9 cards)

1991 Topps Desert Storm
(Need all 30 cards)

1992 Topps
#96 Tom McKinnon
#658 Checklist

1992 Topps Traded
#2 Jeff Alkire
#36 Andres Galarraga
#58 Brian Jordan
#85 Donovan Osborne
#88 Mike Perez

1992 Topps Traded Gold
#2 Jeff Alkire
#36 Andres Galarraga
#58 Brian Jordan
#85 Donovan Osborne
#88 Mike Perez

1992 Topps Magazine
#57 Ozzie Smith
#71 Lee Smith

1992 Topps Debut
#35 Mark Clark
#40 Rheal Cormier
#66 Mark Grater
#153 Stan Royer

1992 Topps Gold
(Need all 30 cards)

1994 Topps
#567 Mike Perez
#713 Kirk Bullinger
#719 Tom Pagnozzi
#788 Brian Barber/Rich Batchelor

2008 Topps Allen & Ginter's
I need all except #88 Troy Glaus, #263 Yadier Molina, #287 Chris Carpenter and #173 Rick Ankiel (mini)

2010 Topps
#61 Skip Schumaker
#100 Albert Pujols
#126 John Smoltz
#136 Adam Wainwright
#140 Matt Holliday
#207 Colby Rasmus
#232 Cardinals team card
#280 Mark Derosa
#319 Ryan Franklin
#325 Julio Lugo
#327 Albert Pujols (MVP)
#333 Ryan Ludwick
#452 Allen Craig
#455 Cardinals Franchise History

2010 Topps Update
#US-6 Adam Ottavino
#US-83 Jeff Suppan
#US-200 Albert Pujols (All-Star)
#US-203 Jon Jay
#US-215 Albert Pujols/Ryan Braun
#US-285 Jaime Garcia
#US-298 David Freese

2010 Topps Peak Performance

PP-9 Bob Gibson
PP-23 Stan Musial
PP-36 Dizzy Dean
PP-46 Rogers Hornsby
PP-80 Ozzie Smith
PP-109 Colby Rasmus

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter's
I need all except #219 Adam Wainwright

2010 Topps Turkey Red
TR4 Albert Pujols
TR16 Ozzie Smith
TR36 Matt Holliday
TR99 Ryan Ludwick
TR128 Chris Carpenter
TR139 Johnny Mize

2011 Topps
#2 Jake Westbrook
#11 Adam Wainwright/Roy Halladay
#23 Jaime Garcia
#43 Brenden Ryan
#44B Rogers Hornsby
#82 Adam Wainwright/Josh Johnson
#87 Daniel Descalso
#90 Yadier Molina
#100 Albert Pujols
#100B Stan Musial SP
#138 Albert Pujols/
#199B Ozzie Smith SP
#212 Pedro Feliz
#295 Jon Jay
#299 Chris Carpenter
#318 Albert Pujols/Adam Wainwright
#334 Cardinals card
#425B Johnny Mize SP
#429 Skip Schumacher
#448 Colby Rasmus
#452 David Freese
#490 Matt Holliday
#538 Jason Motte
#547 Albert Pujols
#548 Ryan Franklin
#553 Kyle Loshe
#645 Adam Wainwright
#645B Bob Gibson SP

2011 Topps Updates and Highlights
#US39 Eduardo Sanchez
#US52 Lance Berkman
#US65 Mitchell Boggs
#US69 Gerald Laird
#US86 Rafael Furcal
#US133 Fernando Salas
#US242 Matt Holliday
#US248 Octavio Dotel
#US330 Lance Berkman

2011 Topps Heritage
#60 N.L. Strikeout Leaders (Adam Wainwright)
#198 Tony LaRussa
#269 Lance Berkman
#285 Adam Wainwright

2011 Topps Heritage Minor Leagues
Need ALL except #222 Shelby Miller

2011 Topps Allen & Ginter's
Need ALL except #188 Daniel Descalso, #132 Colby Rasmus, #247 Yadier Molina, #BHS-5 Albert Pujols, #HH9 Adam Wainwright. (I have none of the T206 sized cards.)

2011 Topps Lineage
Need ALL except #47 Lance Berkman and #83 Adam Wainwright

2011 Topps Bowman
Need ALL except #42 Adam Wainwright (black border), #122 Matt Holliday (black border), #165 Jaime Garcia (black border), #6 Albert Pujols (gold border), #42 Adam Wainwright (gold border), #96 Chris Carpenter (gold border)

St. Louis Cardinals Want List (1948-1969)

Below are cards I need to complete sets:

1948 Bowman
#17 Enos Slaughter
#36 Stan Musial
#38 Red Schoendienst
#40 Marty Marion

1949 Bowman
#24 Stan Musial
#40 Red Munger
#54 Marty Marion
#65 Enos Slaughter
#79 Ron Northey
#95 Howie Pollet
#111 Red Schoendienst
#126 Al Brazle
#158 Harry Brecheen
#174 Terry Moore

1950 Bowman
#35 Enos Slaughter
#36 Eddie Kazak
#71 Red Schoendienst
#72 Howie Pollet
#88 Marty Marion
#89 Red Munger
#90 Harry Brecheen
#180 Harry walker
#207 Max Lanier
209 Johnny Lindell

1951 Topps Red
#47 Tommy Glaviano

1951 Topps Blue
#6 Red Schoendienst
#7 Gerry Staley
#14 Red Munger
#21 Billy Johnson
#28 Harry Brecheen
#30 Enos Slaughter

1951 Bowman
#10 Red Schoendienst
#34 Marty Marion
#58 Enos Slaughter
#85 Eddie Kazak
#86 Harry Brecheen
#121 Gerry Staley
#122 Joe Garagiola
#157 Al Brazle
#166 Stan Musial
#194 Peanuts Lowrey
#228 Cloyd Boyer
#263 Howie Pollet
#264 Don Richmond
#265 Steve Bilko
#300 Hal Rice
#301 Tommy Glaviano

1952 Topps
#19 Johnny Bucha
#38 Wally Westlake
#56 Tommy Glaviano
#65 Enos Slaughter
#68 Cliff Chambers
#76 Eddie Stanky
#79 Gerry Staley
#91 Red Schoendienst
#165 Eddie Kazak
#196 Solly Hemus
#220 Joe Presko
#228 Al Brazle
#242 Tom Poholsky
#263 Harry Brecheen
#287 Steve Bilko
#334 Vinegar Bend Mizell
#378 Les Fusselman
#386 Eddie Yuhas
#398 Hal Rice

1952 Bowman
#30 Red Schoendienst
#62 Joe Presko
#107 Del Rice
#160 Eddie Stanky
#196 Stan Musial
#232 Enos Slaughter

1953 Bowman Color
#17 Gerry Staley
#32 Stan Musial
#49 Eddie Stanky
#53 Del Rice
#81 Enos Slaughter
#85 Solly Hemus
#101 Red Schoendienst
#115 Cloyd Boyer
#140 Al Brazle
#142 Larry Miggins

1954 Bowman
#158 Stu Miller
#190 Joe Presko
#206 Steve Bilko

Opening Night for 2012 Topps Cards

Tonight after church, I drove to Wal-Mart and picked up two standard 12-card packs and two jumbo 36-card packs of the brand new 2012 Topps Series One cards. When I got home, I let my son Braden pick one of each type pack and we opened them at the same time. It was a cool experience and reminded me of opening a brand new pack of cards with my own dad. It's been a while since I've bought him any cards, so I was surprised when he spent a few minutes spreading his best finds out on the coffee table and placing a few into his album.

Of course the Cardinals cards are the ones we're really looking for and together we netted three standard cards for Yadier Molina (#174), Jon Jay (#258), and Kyle Loshe (#26), as well as a 2011 World Series Game 6 card for David Freese (#291).

For me, the best Cardinals card was a nice Gold Standard one for Stan "The Man" Musial (#GS-2), which highlights his 3,000 hit at Wrigley Field on May 13, 1958. It's great that Topps introduces younger collectors to superstars from the past, and even though this one was part of my packs, I gave it to my son. He really liked it.

Another old-school hero Braden found was Mickey Mantle (card #7 of course!). Again, a great way to introduce younger fans to stars from the past. Plus it's a really sharp-looking card!

There were a nice surprise in these packs. We found two "mini" cards based on the 1987 Topps set, which meant a lot to me because it was the first Topps cards I ever collected. (I remember buying the jumbo packs at the local Kroger in my hometown of Jackson, Tennessee.) They were Mariano Rivera (TM-36) and James Shields (TM-41).

Hopefully Braden and I can have a few more moments of tearing into a few packs this season!

St. Louis Cardinals Want List (1970-1990)

This are cards I'm currently seeking to complete team sets:

1975 Topps
#202 Ken Boyer 1964 MVP

1981 Fleer
#544 Mark Littell
#539 Tito Landrum
#654 Checklist

1981 Donruss
#68 Tom Herr
#69 Bob Forsch
#70 John Fulghum
#188 Mike Phillips
#189 Pete Vuchovich
#190 John Urrea
#191 Tony Scott
#307 Ken Reitz
#309 John Littlefield
#310 George Frazier
#311 Dane Iorg
#428 Terry Kennedy
#429 Silvio Martinez
#430 George Hendrick
#505 Darrell Porter
#539 Keith Smith
#550 Bruce Sutter
#580 Mark Littell
#583 Ken Oberkfell

1982 Topps Traded
#108 Lonnie Smith

1982 Fleer
#111 Steve Braun
#121 John Martin
#122 Silvio Martinez
#126 Orlando Sanchez
#128 Larry Sorensen
#132 Gene Tenace
#649 Checklist

1982 Donruss
#64 Sixto Lezcano
#120 Bob Shirley
#152 Gene Tenace
#166 Dane Iorg
#246 Larry Sorensen
#292 Tito Landrum
#316 Mike Ramsey
#343 John Martin
#372 Bruce Sutter
#404 Ken Oberkfell
#418 Steve Braun
#442 Mark Littell
#469 Silvio Martinez
#545 Garry Templeton
#588 Luis DeLeon
#615 Gene Roof

1983 Topps
#71 Steve Carlton
#451 Ted Simmons

1983 Fleer
#15 Willie McGee
#22 Ozzie Smith

1983 Donruss
#190 Willie McGee
#217 Tom Herr
#404 George Hendrick
#544 Dave LaPoint

1984 Fleer
#319 Joaquin Andujar
#320 Steve Braun
#321 Glenn Brummer
#324 George Hendrick
#326 Dane Iorg
#327 Jeff Lahti
#328 Dave LaPoint
#330 Ken Oberkfell
#331 Darrell Porter
#332 Jamie Quirk
#333 Mike Ramsey
#336 Ozzie Smith
#337 John Stuper
#339 Andy Van Slyke
#340 Dave Von Ohlen
#660 Checklist

1984 Fleer Update
#53 Ricky Horton
#54 Art Howe
#66 Tito Landrum

1984 Donruss
#13 Bruce Sutter
#625 David Green/Willie McGee/Lonnie Smith/Ozzie Smith

1985 Fleer
#219 Neil Allen
#221 Steve Braun
#223 Bob Forsch
#224 David Green
#225 George Hendrick
#227 Ricky Horton
#228 Art Howe
#229 Mike Jorgensen
#230 Kurt Kepshire
#231 Jeff Lahti
#232 Tito Landrum
#233 Dave LaPoint
#236 Terry Pendleton
#237 Darrell Porter
#238 Dave Rucker
#242 Andy Van Slyke
#243 Dave Von Ohlen
#631 Ozzie Smith
#656 Checklist

1985 Fleer Update
#19 Bill Campbell
#25 Jack Clark
#28 Vince Coleman
#123 John Tudor

1985 Donruss
#83 Ricky Horton
#327 Andy Van Slyke
#534 Terry Pendleton
#534 Jeff Pendleton (error)

1985 Donruss Highlights
#20 John Tudor
#29 Willie McGee
#38 Willie McGee
#52 Willie McGee
#54 Vince Coleman

1986 Fleer All-Stars
#2 Tom Herr
#12 John Tudor

1986 Donruss
#43 Todd Worrell
#109 Willie McGee
#181 Vince Coleman
#353 Bob Forsch
#412 Andy Van Slyke
#596 Pat Perry

1987 Fleer Update
#7 Rod Booker
#23 Bill Dawley
#65 Jim Lindeman
#71 Joe Magrane
#83 John Morris
#98 Tony Pena
#119 Lee Tunnell

1987 Fleer All-Stars
#8 Todd Worrell

1987 Donruss Rookies
#40 Joe Magrane
#41 Jim Lindeman

1987 Donruss Highlights
#36 Vince Coleman

1988 Fleer
#628 Ozzie Smith
#634 Vince Coleman
#654 Checklist

1988 Fleer All-Stars
#11 Jack Clark

1988 Fleer World Series
#7 Dan Driessen
#10 Tom Herr

1988 Donruss
#31 Lance Johnson
#234 Jose Oquendo
#263 Ozzie Smith
#641 Stan Musial

1988 Donruss MVPs
#22 Ozzie Smith

1988 Donruss All-Stars
#37 Ozzie Smith
#63 Ozzie Smith

1988 Donruss Baseball's Best
#75 Danny Cox
#100 Joe Magrane
#156 Tony Pena
#243 Ozzie Smith
#268 Todd Worrell
#299 Ken Dayley
#313 Jose Oquendo
#324 Greg Mathews

1989 Fleer
#443 Luis Alicea
#447 Danny Cox
#448 Ken Dayley
#452 Bob Horner
#453 Tim Jones
#454 Steve Lake
#455 Joe Magrane
#456 Greg Mathews
#457 Willie McGee
#458 Larry McWilliams
#459 Jose Oquendo
#460 Tony Pena
#462 Steve Peters
#464 Scott Terry
#465 Denny Walling
#466 Todd Worrell
#652 Ken Hill
#658 Checklist

1989 Donruss Traded
#43 Milt Thompson

1989 Donruss All-Stars
#62 Ozzie Smith

1989 Donruss Baseball's Best
#19 Vince Coleman
#44 Ozzie Smith
#75 Pedro Guerrero
#100 Jose Oquendo
#131 Joe Magrane
#156 Terry Pendleton
#187 Tom Brunansky
#212 Milt Thompson
#243 Todd Worrell
#268 Ken Dayley
#299 Tony Pena
#304 Ken Hill

1989 Score
#155 Vince Coleman
#259 Larry McWilliams
#265 Todd Worrell
#286 Greg Mathews
#397 Scott Terry

1990 Topps
#59 Ted Power
#82 Scott Terry
#115 Tony Pena
#312 Dan Quisenberry
#590 Ozzie Smith
#610 Pedro Guerrero

1990 Fleer
#249 Frank DiPino
#255 Jose Oquendo
#656 Checklist

1990 Fleer Update
#52 Geronimo Pena
#53 Lee Smith
#54 John Tudor

1990 Fleer Soaring Stars
#1 Todd Zeile

1990 Donruss
#29 Todd Zeile
#161 Jose Oquendo
#163 Joe Magrane
#319 Todd Worrell
#418 Scott Terry
#518 Frank DiPino
#536 Jose DeLeon
#653 Ted Power

1990 Donruss Rookies
#31 Todd Zeile

1990 Donruss NL's Best
#22 Ken Dayley
#34 Terry Pendleton
#71 Todd Zeile
#83 Ozzie Smith
#138 Vince Coleman

1990 Donruss Learning Series
#9 Ozzie Smith
#34 Joe Magrane

1990 Donruss Previews
#1 Todd Zeile

1990 Score
#134 John Morris
#233 Ken Hill

1990 Score Dream Team
#3 Todd Zeile

State of the Card Collection, January 2012

At the end of every month, I'll access additions I've made to my Cardinals card collection and determine which cards I'd like to add in the coming month(s).

After Christmas, I purchased my first group of 1933 Goudey cards and only the second time I've ever purchased for this set. (The first was #62 Pepper Martin I found for $25 at the Nashville Flea Market years ago.) These are now the oldest cards in my Cards collection. There was a seller on eBay who had starting prices around $1 each, so I focused on the Cardinals cards and netted four out of maybe six he was offering. The ones I won were Ethan Allen #46, Bill Hallahan #200, Bill Walker #94, and Jimmy Wilson #37. It's a good start for this set, though I still have nine more to go.

Around the same time, I also won my first 1939 Play Ball card (Lon Warneke #41). Seven more left to complete this set.

In January, I decided to complete some sets where I only needed one or two cards to do it. The 1953 Bowman Black and White was fairly easy, as I already had Dick Sisler #10 and only needed Stu Miller #16 and Wilmer "Vinegar Bend" Mizell #23 to finish. Next was the 1955 Bowman, which is now done after getting Eddie Stanky #238.

Sometimes you only have five or six cards in a set that has some 20 cards, so it's just better to purchase the whole set rather than piece it together over time. That's what I did with the 1981 Donruss and 1984 Fleer sets in January.

I read on a card collecting blog (sorry, the name and link escapes me) about a 1975 Cardinals set produced by a company called SSPC. It's a simple design, but the photos look much better than what Topps was producing in the decade.

Ideally, I'd like to go back to my want lists and complete some more sets this spring, as money permits. (That's always the deciding factor, isn't it?) I'll try to create a want list in case any fellow card collecting bloggers would like to trade. I have lots of '80s and early '90s commons just gathering dust and I'd be willing to help fill other's cards needs as well.