Say Hello to My Little Friends

I am now this much closer to finishing my 2009-10 Champ’s Hockey set:

48 Mini Veterans cards….

24 Champ’s Mini Rookies…

…and another 3 Champ’s Mini Rookies, 12 Historical Figures and 6 Wonders of the World. Plus 2 Mini Rookies from the 2008-09 set.

That’s 93 mini cards from the 2009-10 set (and the 2 from the previous year).  

I am only 126 mini cards away from finishing the 2009-10 Champ’s set.

I might actually finish this set before my 80th birthday.

If you have some Champ’s minis–from 2009-10 or 2008-09–that you would like to trade, take a look at my Want List.

Bures and the Beach

1991-92 Upper Deck cards #647 – Bloodlines: Valery and Pavel Bure

1991-92 Upper Deck card #54 - Pavel BureWhen the hockey card market suddenly got crowded in 1990, companies had to find a way to stand out from their competition. Parallels and inserts were not yet commonplace, so card makers resorted to an age-old tactic to make as many cards of the most popular players as possible: subsets. One subset in particular – Upper Deck’s “Bloodlines” from their 1991-92 release – features a memorable card of the Bure brothers “enjoying” a day at the beach. Continue reading “Bures and the Beach”

1963-64 Parkhurst #47 – Robert Dillabough

Time for a quick blog update before I teach class this morning. Here is another card that brings me one step closer to completing the Set of My Dreams.

I’m not quite sure why Robert (Bob) Dillabough was included in the 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey set. He only played 1 playoff game for the Red Wings in ’62-63. The year this card came out, Dillabough only played 1 game for the Wings, again in the playoffs. So, he was not a regular on the team. Dillabough would go on to be an original member of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1967-68, and an original member of the WHA’s Cleveland Crusaders in 1972-73.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: 44% Complete

2010-11 SP Authentic Box Break #1

When I attended The National Sports Collectors’ Convention earlier this month, I participated quite a bit in Upper Deck’s wrapper redemption program.

Buying 5 packs of 2010-11SP Authentic earned me one voucher for a redemption pack. In total, I bought 50 packs of SP Autentic (two 24-pack boxes plus 2 additional packs).

Here are the results from my first box: Continue reading “2010-11 SP Authentic Box Break #1”

Whitewashed Capital

1975-76 Topps card #189 – Bill Clement

1975-76 Topps card #189 - Bill ClementDuring the summer of 1975, the Philadelphia Flyers traded center Bill Clement to the Washington Capitals. This transaction was apparently important enough to prompt Topps’ art department to revise their photo of Clement for their 1975-76 set. Unfortunately, his trade wasn’t quite worthy enough to merit revision to the entire photograph. Only Clement’s jersey had been altered to reflect the trade. His torso screams “Capitals,” while his legs (and heart, probably) still say “Flyers.” Continue reading “Whitewashed Capital”

Decades 1980s: National Edition – Box Break #2

I enjoyed my first box of In The Game’s Decades 1980s enough that I decided to buy a second box a day later. I actually did a “pack wars” type break with Justin G. (Hopeful Chase) and Tim (DFG). Those guys each got a Mario Lemieux game-used card. And me? I did OK… Continue reading “Decades 1980s: National Edition – Box Break #2”

1963-64 Parkhurst #60 – Douglas Barkley

Forty! The Big Four-Oh. I now have 40 cards for my 1963-64 Parkhurst set. Douglas Barkley here (card #60 in the set) is the 40th card towards completing my set.  I started putting it together just over 3 years ago.

This card is actually higher grade than most of the other Parkies in my set build. I found a dealer who has a lot of Red Wings that were in great shape. He was willing to cut me a deal if I bought several of them. Most of the Parkies I get are in the $5 to $10 range and have one or more defects. It seemed like a good idea to get commons and semi-stars in EXMT shape for $15 each, like this one here.  Other than the yellowing, which is common for these cards, I really don’t see any flaws.

Parkhurst Percent Counter: 40% Complete