Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Another great pickup at last weekend’s card show was this 1957-58 Topps Hockey card of Hall of Fame defenseman Fern Flaman.
No major flaws or blemishes. Practically a steal at $11, considering that it is over a half-century old.
It has been over 3 months since I last acquired a card from the 1963-64 Parkhurst Hockey set.That changed this past weekend, as I picked up this J.C. Tremblay card for $6 at the Sun-Times card show.
The condition of this card is pretty nice. No creases, good gloss and just a touch of corner wear.
In last night’s Toronto-Montreal game, Maple Leafs’ defenseman Mike Komisarek accidentally passed the puck to Canadiens’ forward Mike Cammalleri, resulting in a sweet one-timer goal. Hilarious, because everyone knows that you should never pass the puck in front of your own net.
Even more hilarious was Leafs’ goalie Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson bellowing the F-Bomb at the top of his lungs after he realized that it was his own d-man who set up Cammalleri.
Here is video of Cammaleri’s goal and Gustavsson’s reaction.
I’m going to the Chicago Sun-Times Sports Collectibles Convention. Thus, no time for a long blog post.
If you live in or near Chicago and like sports cards, this is the show to go to. Here are the details:
Chicago Sun Times Sports Collectibles Convention
November 19-21, 2010
Donald E. Stephens Convention Center
5555 N. River Road, Rosemont, IL 60018
$10 Daily Admission (Children 7 & under $5)
More details can be found on this website.
Hopefully on Sunday, I’ll post some scans of all the awesome stuff I get.
A few weeks ago, I picked up 11 vintage hockey cards, but have not had the chance to post them until now. Feast your eyes on these:
Two 1963-64 Topps cards
Unfortunately, the Hadfield has a bit of a tear on the back, and the Kennedy has a stain on the lower right corner. I find it odd that the cards use black and white pictures of other players on the fronts.
Seven 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee cards
These cards are in awesome condition. No stains, creases or flaws. Four sharp corners, too.
I actually built a 1968-69 Topps set, and have been meaning to start piecing together the OPC version.
Two 1969-70 O-Pee-Chee cards
The Angotti has a slight bend–not really a crease. I also have a 1969-70 Topps set, but not the OPC version. However, I don’t like this set as much as its predecessor.
OK, time to brag. I paid $25 for all 11 cards. None of them are of superstars–though Dennis Hull was a 2nd Team All-Star, and I think Dallas Smith was too.
Do you consider stickers “Rookie Cards?”
Sure, stickers lack the rigidity of their cardboard cousins, though some stickers have stiff backings.
Maybe they are not “cards” per say, but why don’t stickers carry the coveted RC designation?
Both stickers and cards are printed on paper. Stickers usually don’t have stats, but many old hockey cards didn’t have stats either.
In order to be considered a “rookie card” by Beckett’s standards, a card has to adhere to the following 3 guidelines. Continue reading “RC, or Not RC…? That is the Question”
Just wanted to give a shout out to Jeff Kline for hooking me up with some 2002-03 Pacific Hockey cards. Jeff sent me 8 cards, nearly completing my set (I only need #362 – Tomas Kaberle).
He also gave me this Impact Zone insert card of Jarome Iginlia. That also nearly completes my Impact Zone insert set (I only need #7 – Saku Koivu).
So, thanks Jeff, for bringing me one step closer in my never-ending collection.
If anyone is wondering how I’ll spend the majority of my free time this weekend…well, here’s your answer. It’s time to party like it’s 1991.
I received this eBay purchase in the mail today. Finally, I’ve added a “big card” to my 1957-58 Topps set build.
This is Hall of Fame defenseman Pierre Pilote’s rookie card.
As you can see, the centering is way off.
However, there is no creasing and the corners are good.
Plus, I did not pay much for it. The Beckett high price for a Pilote RC is around $100. I got this for $23 shipped. It feels good to get another card for this set–but it feels really good to get one of the big boys out of the way.
Those of you who read my Autograph Blog know that I recently visited all 30 American Hockey League websites, looking for each team’s player roster.
For the record, I am a professional web designer and graphic designer. I would love to be the webmaster of a pro hockey website. I think that mistakes or poor design on a professional website show laziness or lack of interest on the part of the webmaster / web team.
Thus, I feel the need to point out some of the more amusing mistakes I found on a few of these sites.
Mistake #1 – Distorted Images
Nathan Oystrick looks fat. In fact, every Peoria Rivermen player looks fat because their headshot photos are distorted.
Without getting into boring technical solutions, the picture needs to be taller, like this:
See? Much better? And it would only take them 5 minutes total to fix this problem for all the player pages.
Mistake #2 – Incorrect Data
Allegedly, the Syracuse Crunch have a center on their roster named COMING SOON. He has a page on the site, too.
Though COMING SOON’s height and weight are unknown, he was born July 06, 2010. I tell ya, these prospects keep getting younger and younger.
But he must be good because he is the first player listed under Forwards:
Even worse are the stats for goaltender Timo Pielmeier:
C’mon, guys–fix your database! Because I really want to know how well he did with the Cologne Sharks!
But this third one really takes the cake…
Mistake #3 – Bad Graphic Design
Amputee cheerleaders! Yes, the New England Patriot Cheerleaders–and their phantom limbs–will be at the Worcester Sharks game on Saturday. This image is currently on the Sharks’ home page:
Why do the cheerleaders fade out below the knee? To make room for the text, of course. But it looks stupid. When it comes to design, you try until you get it right…or don’t try at all.
In Other News…