Classic masher

Despite being about as "junky" as overproduction era cards can be, I've never had much Classic in my collection, especially from back when their cards were part of a trivia game, before they focused on the minor leagues. I wasn't avoiding them, I just rarely seemed to cross paths with them.

Looking to get better acquainted with the card line and fill some cheap PC holes, way back in [*looks it up*] January of 2019, I picked up a sealed 1991 Classic Baseball Card Trivia Board Game for $15 shipped (it comes in this big "board game" box, so I'm sure postage ate up about half of that $15 for the seller). I set aside the box for a rainy day rip. Months went by, and I finally tore off the plastic wrap late last fall. The cards inside were in 2 separately wrapped packages, the first of which has the distinction of being the first cards I ripped in our new house (I really hadn't opened any cards since before covid, so it had been a while and I was starting to jones.) The second sealed package of cards was set aside for another rainy day, and today was that day. Now it's time to get a post out of them.

Highlights here include some interesting in-game shots you don't see on cardboard too often, including a conference on the mound between Roger Clemens and John Marzano, plus what looks to be George Brett after a stab at the hot corner, and Kirby Puckett appearing to have just ended an inning at the plate.

And here we've got the Chicken Man staring a pitch into the glove, the Cobra staking claim to second base after a double, and Rickey diving back to first. Cool shots.

A couple hot rookies of '91.

Padres I collect represented here with a great, a very good, and a never-was.

Some big names.

And just as happy to add these needs of lesser names I collect.

So yeah, lots of PC fodder. Bang for your buck, no way a contemporary blaster could come anywhere near to providing this many keepers.

I bet it was fun playing the trivia game back then with fellow baseball-obsessed buddies. I took a curious look at the game pieces and whatnot, but I'm tossing most of the non-card stuff from the box rather than find a place to keep it. ...but I've got some thoughts for repurposing the game board for a future display idea.. so don't be surprised to see it pop up on the blog some day down the line.

And as long as we're on the subject of Classic cards, here's a follow-up to the Phil Niekro PC post from a month ago. As a sucker for legends in unfamiliar uniforms, I was compelled to snag the only official card of Knucksie as a Blue Jay. Ran me 18¢ on Sportlots plus PWE shipping taking it to closer to a buck, but still a great deal in my eyes.

I tweeted the observation before, but I'll ponder again if any kid ever had the nards to ask "Ineffective Phil" to sign the autograph area on the back of this card. 

Also note the "Torondo" typo.

Ha, Classic was kind of the annoying little brother of card companies, but I for one am glad they were able to put out the several sets they did, giving collectors like me a few diamonds in the rough to track down.

Phil Niekro PC

We lost yet another baseball great this year with the passing of Phil Niekro last night. :(

Figured I'd pay tribute by documenting my Knucksie PC on the blog today.

There was a time not too long ago when I'd ask for high-end baseball card boxes for Christmas/ my birthday (oh, and thanks for all the birthday/holiday well-wishes in the comments of my previous post, btw!). I pulled this auto from a box of Tribute a couple years ago.

These Rookie Stars cards aren't technically in the player collection, but I've got them in my 1964 (in-progress) and 1965 (completed) Topps sets, so let's show them off here. Ha, did Topps really just reverse the negative for Phil's picture to make it seem different? Hadn't noticed that before. I guess you can do that when the logo on the cap looks the same backwards.

Here's a nice assortment of vintage from the 60s and 70s.

80s Topps (and an OPC).

Modern Topps.

Some playing-days cards from Donruss/Leaf.

And some more modern stuff. I snagged that stickergraph for a good price a while ago (and the similar jersey card came with it) thanks to the numbering on the back...

Christmas Card!

Upper Deck getting into the mix.

Wrapping things up with Fleer and the rest.

Love the '88 Score, his one true sunset card with complete career stats on the back.

So that's what I've got. Only a little over halfway to my standard "100 unique cards" goal, and I wouldn't mind adding to the PC, but I'm pretty much satisfied with how it stands. I've got what are the big bullet points in my eyes:

• rookie card
• memorabilia card
• autograph card
• christmas card
• sunset card

The one thing that'd be on top of my Phil Niekro wantlist would be a card from his short-term stop in Toronto (just 3 games near the end of his long career), but I think 1988 Classic Update Red Travel Edition #199 might be the only option there, and update: I just snagged one on Sportlots for a buck, so hopefully that'll be showing up in a week or so.

Another update: nearly forgot about the 2003 Retired auto.

Thanks for reading.

RIP Knucksie

A birthday box of 2018 Topps Tribute

Merry Christmas, everybody! My mom has had a hot streak of getting me great high-end boxes for my birthday. First there was a box with two Mike Trout autos, and then a box with a Trout 1/1.

Will this year's box carry on the tradition?

Boom! It's not Trout, but this is still a terrific start to the box! I've got one Kris Bryant auto already, but it's an unlicensed Panini card so I'm thrilled to be able to add a legit-Cubs autograph to the PC. From peeking on eBay, looks like this card is already "live" so shouldn't take me long to redeem it.

As for the other autos in the box, there were a couple young guys with promise who haven't quite put it together yet (Bradley Zimmer [orange /25] and Lewis Brinson [green /99]), and an old guy, HOFer Phil Niekro [/65]. The box promises 3 autos, so that means the Bryant redemption was just a sweet bonus.

Lots of star-power with the relics, though the jersey pieces themselves are nothing special, just boring grey or white jersey swatches. But hey, they're all numbered under 100 and I sorta collect all these dudes, so I'm happy with these pulls. Max Scherzer, Ichiro, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo.

Decent base cards, too. Trout doesn't get shutout. The Benintendi is a numbered parallel (/99).

Good stuff.. thanks, Mom! No Mike Trout hits, but still plenty of good cards for my collection.

As for my December 24th otherwise, it was a nice evening at the in-laws. I'm a little sick of It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street every damn year, but it makes my mother-in-law happy, so I can deal with it, lol. It was a nice birthday. On social media, despite a few solid tweets, I lost 2 or 3 followers (what kind of monster unfollows someone on their birthday?!)-- can't please all the people all the time, I guess. Screw 'em. But yeah, was a good birthday overall.

A few classic pics from Baseball Card Breakdown's Christmas past.

Did you know that the holiday season of Christmas actually lasts for 12 days and begins on 12/25? Yep, while counting down to Christmas might be more popular these days, the 12 Days of Christmas technically lasts into January.

Going old school, I've got a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway starting now. Here are the rules: The eligible people are listed below, thanks to their recent commenting.. always appreciated. Y'all only get one pick.. once you successfully claim a prize, you're done. Just be the first eligible person to pick a prize (from the prize pool) by commenting on this post. Go! [Update: Chris took Day One, claiming the Tiant auto] Once there's a winner, you'll have to wait till the next day for your chance to pick again. And be specific.. if you just say "give me whatever" or something like that, your pick won't count.

Sport Card Collectors
Collecting Cutch
Bulldog
Julie Owens
Brett Alan
Fuji
John Miller
TSHenson
shoeboxlegends
The Lost Collector
Jafronius
Tony Burbs
Chris (The Collector)
JediJeff
madding
Nick (Dimebox)
Billy Kingsley
night owl
Jon (Penny Sleeves)
Dennis (Too Many)
Trevor P
Zippy Zappy
Bo
Nick Vossbrink
Corky
P-town Tom
gregory
GCA
ketchupman36
Jason (HeavyJ)
Greg Zakwin
CrazieJoe
Marc
Brian (Highly Subjective)
Coast To Posts
Rob
Laurens
SumnoMenkoMan
Jeffery Turri
Mark Hoyle
Twitch
Rod (Padrographs)
RAZ
Nick Sheren
Larry Presnall

Prize U - Luis Tiant 2003 Topps Retired auto

Congrats, Chris! 

Looks like people are still picking in the comments.. Sorry for any confusion, but the contest is "dead" for today now. Check back tomorrow for another chance.

There's no trade like a Bo trade

As you might know, Bo from Baseball Cards Come to Life recently dropped the "no going after vintage" guideline to how he collects, diving headfirst into old cards now. So that's opened up some trade possibilities with him, and I was able to find a bunch of available vintage to send his way. He hit me back with a nice return package.

Bo's recent influx of vintage included some dupes, including this lovely '68 Phil Niekro I needed for the modest Knucksie PC I've got going.

I needed that '81 Bird too, plus an '87 Fleer Update need taking me down to just 5 more cards to wrap up that update set (I recently caved and bought the Maddux and McGwire rookies during the recent COMC sale).

More Didis for my PC.

Wow, my Kevin Maas PC just doubled!
No wait, make that tripled..

¡Mas Maas! ¡Gracias!

Some good star-power here in this '82 Topps lot. Won't be long till I knock this one off.

And a big lot of 1978 Topps. Very nice. Gotta love that awful Greg Minton card. I think I'm probably past halfway with this set now.

Big thanks for the trade, Bo! I'll round up something to balance the scales soon.

1st time taking public transportation to the card show

I've said it before, but the worst part about only having one car since my wife's car got totaled last year is playing Russian Roulette that the monthly card show falls on the same Saturday as her monthly pedicures with her folks (which she needs the car for, since her folks live out in Hillsboro). And unfortunately there was a bullet in the chamber for this weekend. I'm not going to stand in the way of my wife and her parents (you've seen the high-end boxes they gift me for Christmas, right?!), so my options were either sit out this card show or take public transportation.

I was on the fence down to the wire, but ultimately decided to go. I know I'm spoiled having a solid monthly card show that's a 15-minute drive from my house, meanwhile lots of collectors out there either have no shows, or have like a couple shows a year they have to drive 4 hours both ways for. So I can't complain too much about a 20 minute ride on public transportation plus a 10 minute walk.

The only hiccup was that I just missed the homeward train afterwards and had to wait around 17 minutes for the next one. But in this era of smartphones to occupy your time, it's not really a big deal.

Anyways, I made 2 purchases: $30 from the old vintage guy and $30 from Bill's bins. I also bumped into Rod and he graciously surprised me with a nice box of various cards, too.
Let's cover the vintage pickups today.

Probably my best deal of the post. Not long ago, I thought I already had a Phil Niekro rookie card since he's got a 2-player rookie in 1965 Topps, which I completed last year, but turns out he's also got one in '64. And it's a tough high-number. This one is a bit off-center, but I was through the roof (pun intended) to score it for just $4. Looking at eBay sales, this card in this condition would likely sell for over $20.

Also a few more cards for my '64 setbuild. (Accidentally grabbed a dupe of Art Fowler.)

And I found 16 needs for my '57 Topps setbuild. Not a lot of familiar names, but there were a couple from the tough 4th series plus Bob Friend who was an All-Star a few times. This lot officially pushes me past the ⅓ complete mark with the set! (Now at 33.81% complete.)

Some various fun stuff I threw on my pile. I'm getting near the end of reading Jim Bouton's Ball Four.

And here's a trio of cards I already owned, but they were in too nice of condition to pass up for a buck each (actually I think the '71 was from the 50¢ box). Upgrades headed to my Killer PC, '71 set (and I collect all 3 of those guys, so the dupe will have a home), and '73 set.

Not a bad haul! More card show pickups to feature later. Thanks for stopping by.

Big name Braves knocked off my 1965 set needs

Here are a couple recent key pickups for my Strive For 65 (copyright infringement), coincidentally Milwaukee Braves teammates.

This Hank Aaron is just how I like my A-lister vintage: soft corners to bring the price down a bit and maybe slightly off-center, but otherwise a terrific looking card. Always great to add an old Hammerin' Hank to the collection, set need or not.

Young Phil Niekro amusingly seems to be giving the side-eye to smiling Clay Carroll. While Knucksie is the star of the show here, Carroll was no slouch himself, a two-time All-Star and member of the World Champion 1975 Reds.

I was happy to score this HOF RC for single digits. Here too, the corners and centering aren't perfect, but otherwise it's in amazing shape, with a back so clean and bright I had to put it in a stack of other 65s just to be reasonably confident it wasn't counterfeit (It checks out).

So yep, a couple big ones checked off my 65 Topps wantlist.
Thanks for reading and stay cool out there.