1955 Bowman

I have asked it before and I don't mind repeating myself. What is the matter with '55 Bowman cards? Why is there no love for '55 Bowman - 'the TV set'?

I won an auction on e-bay UK for 49 cards from this set, without challenge. They may not be in the best condition, ranging from poor to fair, but they are from the 1955...and Bowman...and I love this set. The last set produced under the Bowman name until it resurfaced in 1989.

The previous owner (owners)has made some of these cards unique. A number are cut down by a fraction possibly to make them fit in some sort of holder, wallet or pocket? A few more have names added; C.C owned a couple, then one or two have been used a playing cards with 2 and 4 added to the four corners of the back.

The best individualisation by far is #96 Ray Narleski. At first glance I thought of Superbad but then realised that the previous owner had drawn daggers across his arms and face. The back was subjected to a similar fate. What is that about?

For those who are interested the auction included;

#4 Eddie Waitkins Orioles

#67 Don Larson Yankees

#83 Max Surkont Pirates

#96 Ray Narleski Indians

#106 Del Rice Cardinals

#107 Solly Hemus Cardinals

#120 Ed Burtschy Athletics

#127 Hank Majeski Indians

#131 Willard Marshall White Sox

#137 Bob Talbot Cubs

#140 Bobby Shantz Athletics

#141 Wes Westrum Giants

#144 Art Houtteman Indians

#145 Bob Nieman White Sox

#146 Don Liddle Giants

#150 Bill Klaus Red Sox

#153 Eddie Robinson Yankees

#155 Gerry Staley Redlegs

#157 Ernie Johnson Braves

#162 Charlie Maxwell Orioles

#163 Sid Gordon Pirates

#165 Maurice McDermott Senators

#169 Carl Furillo Dodgers

#176 Joe De Maestri Athletics

#177 Willard Nixon Red Sox

#180 Johnny Logan Braves

#182 Bob Rush Cubs

#190 Fred Baezewski Redlegs

#192 George Strickland Indians

#193 Howie Judson Redlegs

#197 Ralph Kiner Indians

#203 Steve Gromek Tigers

#211 Sonny Dixon Athletics

#212 Jack Dittmer Braves

#217 Del Crandall Braves

#218 Joe Adcock Braves

#219 Whitey Lockman Giants

#221 Skinny Brown Red Sox

#223 Hal Jeffcoat Cubs

#226 W.J.McKinley Umpire

#237 Johnny Wyrostek Phillies

#249 Billy Gardner Giants

#257 Tom Alston Cardinals

#261 Walt Moryn Dodgers

#271 Bob Hopper Indians

#299 Lonnie Warneke Umpire

#300 Tommy Byrne Yankees

#307 R.A. Pinelli Umpire

#310 Ken Lehman Dodgers

They are rough, pre-loved, but what an addition to the collection.

2009 Goodwin Champions

For the past few years, because I have so much time on my hands... I like to choose a particular set to complete. There is no rhyme or reason to the set except I like them and as they are placed in their nine little beds they look pretty good.
The sets I have attempted to collect are:

1980 Topps -completed

1994 UD All Time Heroes 107/225 needed

2000 Fleer Showcase 9/100 needed

2005 Topps Heritage 175/385 needed

2006 Fleer Tradition -completed

2007 Masterpieces 15/90 needed

2008 Goudey-completed

Now in 2009 Goodwin Champions.

My excitement grew when Upper Deck gave us a Product Review and then the Checklist. Fortunately I was gifted a Blaster and my pursuit was firmly set. But there is still a long way to go before completion. I require 112 from the 150 base set. I need:

1, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 83, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 101, 102, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 120, 121, 122, 124, 126, 127, 128, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 139, 140, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147 ,148 ,149 ,150


There are short prints(#151-190), super short prints (#190- 210) and mini exclusives (#211-252) in this as well.

Trade with Adam from Thoughts and Sox

I feel grateful to be included in the popular trend that swept across the baseball blogs- Bipping, that now has a cease and desist order pending. I am always behind when it comes to baseball related items, so here is to the first and possibly only overseas bip to take place...thankfully. Say hello to 9x 2008 Donruss Threads #62 Jon Still courtesy of Adam at Thoughts and Sox.

I have often wondered what happened to multiple doubles that are collected. I remember a while back that a blogger suggested making boxes, but the cards had to be folded, hence destroyed, to make them. Didn't someone give away cards as Halloween trinkets? What about wallpapering a bedroom? Tasteful decoration of items around the home or pencil holders, and maybe with a little tinkering- fridge magnets. Surely we can come up with something.

Adam also sent along a large pile of Red Sox cards from my wants list, too numerous to mention all of them except my favourite from the bunch.

2007 UD Elements #89 David Ortiz 'plastic fantastic' card.

Thanks Adam. Red Sox are on their way.

Trading with Mark from Cornwall.

Last May I joined the ranks of Through the Mail autograph collection. There was only one signature I was after -Jacoby Ellsbury. Before you ask, the cards I sent have not come back.... yet.
At the time a few collectors commented that patience is key when it comes to TTM and unfortunately hinted that Jacoby isn't the most prolific of signers.
This post lead to a number of e-mails with useful advice about collecting autographs in general. One of the people to make contact was Mark from Cornwall, who shared some of his secrets for successful autograph collecting. He is a veteran collector and just hearing about some of in-person autographs he has collected such as Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, yes all of the fab four and a number of major political names, is interesting reading. He regularly attends sporting events with specific people in mind. He was just starting to get into baseball autographs. If our recent correspondence are any thing to go by, he is beyond the 'dipping my toe in' stage to a full on English Channel swim, purchasing autograph cards aplenty.
Mark took his family to the US in the summer and collected some more autographs when he attended a Lowell Spinners game. As a bonus his son was chosen to run the bases and be the official game mascot. Unfortunately for Mark, who is Athletics fan, his son became a instant Red Sox fan. While on holiday Mark was kind enough to purchase some packs for me, Allen +Ginter, OPC and Bowman, which I will bust over at Pursuit of Red Sox. He intends to return to the US again this summer and sign his son up as an Red Sox Nation member. That must really hurt.
Thanks for the packs Mark, maybe I will pull an autograph.

Trade with Steve at White Sox Cards

As another year moves swiftly on, (where did January go?) and as Christmas becomes a distant memory, it was great to get back to trading baseball cards. I received a package of cards from my friend Steve at White Sox cards filled with all manner of Red Sox goodness. I have lost count of the trans-Atlantic White Sox/ Red Sox parcels but it was no surprise that this particular package didn't disappoint.
Steve managed to include some cards that never saw the light of day over here such as; Topps 206, ticket to stardom and the 2009 edition of Upper Deck X. Included also were some more cards from 2009 Goodwin Champions, which is the set I chose to complete 2009.
Thanks again Steve, much appreciated additions to the ever expanding Red Sox collection.