Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Caption Fun - Great if you are bored or feeling creative!

Here is a photo that TSN had as their top story and I thought the photo was priceless!! Definitely a lot of different captions can go with this one. If you are bored, feel free to share one!




Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Mike Richards 05-06 Trilogy Rookie

I respect his game, I respect his talent, I just wouldn't say I am a huge fan. Despite that, this card was priced so low at my LCS I couldn't leave it behind.


#'d to 999 this is one of my better Richards rookies in my collection. Glad to snap it up and it may make good trade bait some day.

Monday, November 26, 2012

My first baseball card I ever bought

First off I need to say I do OWN baseball cards. Not many, and how I got some of them I will never know. Sometimes they were in a pile of hockey cards I bought, or sometimes I just ended up getting them because people thought I would want them. I did participate in a JBF Tradebait draft, but I don't really consider those cards bought either. A little while back I actually laid a bid down on a baseball card and won. Here it is:


My favourite player of ALL-TIME. Living or dead, I am a huge Randy Johnson fan. I grew watching any game I can on TV, listening to others on the radio when they weren't televised. He may not have been the greatest of all-time, but he certainly ranks as one of the best lefties in MLB history and a player I have always worshiped.

The card is from 07 Artifacts I believe and is from a time period I would rather forget. I really wished that Randy never went to New York and parts of Randy I am sure would agree too. He was first and foremost a Mariner to me even though I own a Johnson Expos jersey. His finest pitching was with the D-Backs and I did enjoy seeing him there too. The Yankees thing was a sad part for me, but still to down a piece of Randy is special to me and even more special since it was 99 cents plus shipping. Autos are much harder to come by, but someday I hope to have one along with his 89 UD rookie. I guess my baseball card buying days aren't done yet.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

My First Beehive - Alex Delvecchio Group 2 Corr

This recent pick-up is a case of two firsts. The first being my first ever Bee Hive photo and second being another new addition to my Alex PC. This is part of a three group series of photos which started way back in 1934 and eventually ended in 1967. Alex Delvecchio appears twice in the Group 2 series and twice in the Group three series. In terms of collectability, there is a pretty big following out there of these Bee Hive cards and they even have their own online museum. If you are interested in a fun read, go here:   

Anyway, as far as Group 2 goes, Alex appears in two forms, once as Alex Delvecchio and another as "Bill Delvecchio" which is an error. There appears to be far more corrected ones online for sale than the original error ones. I am going to try to land all four as part of my PC since they are all produced during his playing days. Displaying them is something I haven't given much thought about, but I am sure Ultra Pro has something for collectors.

The design is pretty simple. There is a beige background for the series 2 which has a picture glued at the top on the beige paper. Typically you can see a little "staining" where the glue is, in this case it looks like a bit of water damage. In person, this actually looks much better than the scan shows and I was pretty pleased to land it for 5 bucks plus shipping. The backs are blank for those interested to know...


1944-64 Bee Hive Group 2 Alex Delvecchio

The fun thing about these is the fact that the superstars for the most part are very affordable and some of the rare ones are the less talented players and they can sell for thousands. Pentti Lund in a Boston Bruins uniform books for about a $1000 and I have never seen it before online for sale, while his Rangers one can be bought for about $15-20.

Monday, November 19, 2012

A couple more Gil's

I was at my LCS this summer and I found something in the dollar bin that peaked my interest. There were two random and rough looking Gilbert Perreault autos. What made them different was they were signed Gil. I received my first and only Perreault auto a while back and it was a TTM which cost me 5 bucks instead of his new price of 10 bucks. In that auto, which I am positive it is authentic, he signed it Gilbert. So were these ones fakes, forgeries or the real deal? I did a little digging and it looks like he does/had signed autos at one point with Gil. In fact, his 74/75 card lists his name as Gil Perreault, so it is entirely possible that he did sign that way. I am not sure what time period it was, but some of the older autos I have seen around of his did have Gil rather frequently so I felt confident enough to drop two bucks on these cards and save them from the dollar bin.

 Here is his 76/77 OPC card, his full name is on there. I like this card because I am currently working ont he set and I think that it goes well with the project.

This is his 74/75 OPC card, every bit as rough as the first one. It looks like whoever owned this card first, had it taped down and then pulled it off the sheet to get it signed because his auto is over the tape residue. The guys at the LCS said they found it buried in a collection they found and just shoved it in the dollar box because they had no idea if the card was legit.

I am pretty sure these are authentic...I might even go as high as 90% on that. Of course, I will never really know for sure and they aren't really worth authenticating either. I think the 74/75 is available for trade bait if anyone wants it, I would be more than happy to ship it off for another auto of someone I like or don't have.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

BAM! A Linden card, finally

As I have mentioned before, sometimes people's passions are contagious and I end up trying to land a card into my collection that I might not have ever considered before. Other times, I happen to like the player and I just haven't had the chance to chase one of their cards yet. Linden is a combination of the two for me. In the early 90's I really respected him as a player and I would always keep an eye on how well he was doing on the west coast. There was even a time where I wanted to include Linden as a possible baby name for what would be my first born (son).  My wife wasn't a Linden fan (both name and player) so needless to say that won't be used at any point in our current naming process.

Back to Trevor, at some point he was traded to the east coast where he would bounce around a little between NY, Montreal and Wash. It was a dark time in my opinion and I sorta lost track of him from 97-02. When he returned to Vancouver, I began watching him again, but of course time wasn't on his side at this point and even though he was productive, he wasn't the same game changer he once was.

Nevertheless, my collection which is loaded in 89-90 Linden rookies, didn't contain a single autograph. I have watched countless auctions and it turns out that his autos rarely can be found on the cheap (Brett I know your pain now) and his low numbered ones run for prices that can sometimes challenge Crosby and Lemieux cards. Patience is a virtue and I was rewarded finally with this one for 99 cents plus shipping.


True it is a typical modern BAP signature card with a sticker, I still like it because the auto is front and centre and looks pretty sharp. Sometimes I see he will sign his number with the auto, but that wasn't the case here.

Happy to land this one and who knows, maybe a second will come some day.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

A Sidney Crosby Young Gun (of sorts)

This baby is a Sidney Crosby Young Gun.....just no where near as valuable or desirable and many wouldn't even consider this is a rookie card. I am not sure where I am on this one, I want to call it a rookie, but the "c" word is on it. 

Odds are just as likely to pull this over a standard Crosby Young Gun, but turns out Corey Perry ruins the card significantly for some unknown reason so this card books for about a 3 cents on the dollar when compared to the other one. Perry a former Hart and Richard winner, defaces this Crosby card. I don't know about you guys, but I have the feeling Checklists just get no love at all.

What are your thoughts on Young Gun Checklists? Valuable as Young Guns or some hybrid between a base card and a scrub Young Gun rookie.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Bill Guerin Game Used Stick

One of my first ever favourite players was Bill Guerin. As far as watching and cheer, I followed him around and wished him well at every stop. I really wished the Devils held on to him, but at the same time, Arnott was a big player in our 2000 cup win and certainly wouldn't trade that for anything in the world either. As far as collecting Bill, I have a few game used cards and autographs, but that is the extent of it. In fact, my autos aren't even "certified" so really I have NOTHING official other than some swatches of my boy Billy G.

That is all about to change as I landed a pretty cool game-used stick piece from the 2001-02 Private Stock release. These cards were limited to 200 non-numbered copies and the one I landed was pretty darn sweet. During that period of time he was using a Vic Graphite stick which came in both black and white. He used the white one at some points during his time with the Oilers and a black one which you see pictured. I wish they had the white on in the photo, but if you are interested, here is a shot of the stick in action. Now there is no way for sure to tell if that was the same product of stick, they seem to match in my opinion which I guess is all that matters...

What I love about this piece is that it is really 4 colours...White, black, blue and black-smudge...I haven't touched the smudge to see if it was stick tape or puck-mark, but either way I really like the character it has.



This was a great find and the price was more than right. I put in a bid that received very little competition and I brought it home for less that I would have been willing to pay. Also my pattern continues of more focused and purposeful collecting.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

53-54 Parkhurst Alex Delvecchio

Lately my collecting has certainly been more focused in the past and partially that is due to the lockout and partially that is due to my budget. I picked this little gem up in the summer and like the Milt Schmidt, I was very pleased with the appearance. This card was at a buy it now that I felt was a little steep, especially because the seller said it had a bad corner but was still calling it Excellent. 

Personally, I have got to the point were I put NO FAITH in what the seller grades it as and I just do the best I can with the scan and pay for what I see. The price was too much for me, so I went rather low, but not too low to not get a counter and after I exhausted all my counter-offers we arrived at a price that I was willing to pay. The book value is 100 bucks ( in near-mint condition) because it is his third-year card. I personally think the card is a safe EX when it arrived I noticed the bottom half is a little rough, but the back is nearly flawless. The colouring is also pretty great and I am extremely pleased to have this in my collection. Right now this card is counting double (one for my PC and one for my 53-54 Set). I think this is card number 13, but at this stage I am not too sure as my total number is approaching the low 20's so maybe I will just run a few posts with the other cards and leave a final total after the last post. 

Anyway, here is the Alex Delvecchio which currently is the oldest one in my collection.


Love the action shot on the card, Alex has a few neat action shots in the early Parkhurst sets. He has two from the 54-55 set which feature him in action against the Leafs. Any one have an idea whose head is next to Alex? Mostly curious, but also gives me a greater appreciation for this piece of art!

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Sets of Yesteryear - 91-92 Score Hot Cards

Here is another installment of "Sets of Yesteryear", and since we went all the way back to 1991-92 last time we might as well pick up another grossly overproduced set from that year. Some liked the Euro-stars, some hated them. Lets see what you all think of the 91-92 Score Hot Cards.

A little background, these cards came as a special insert for anyone wanting to by a blister pack of 91-92 Score Hockey. The blister packs came with 99 base cards and one insert card (if memory serves me right). The bad thing is I believe that the 91-92 Score Hockey (thanks to Collectors Corner for a cool review) was one of the ugliest set of all-time, the good thing is the Hot Cards look nothing like them! Here is the set in its entirety.


Card #1 Eric Lindros
I think Score made nearly a dozen cards of Lindros before he even played an NHL game. In some respects I think they felt that he was their ticket to printing money and in some ways that was true. I remember I bought two of these Blister packs at my local Sears store and I ended up with a Gretzky and a Jagr. The BV of the Lindros back in 1995 was 10 bucks and it has since dropped to a paltry $2.00. I really like this card as it features Lindros in his Team Canada World Junior jersey.


Card # 2 Wayne Gretzky
Love this card too, the action shot of Wayne streaking down the ice and a goalie who is out of the photo likely wetting himself in fear of the Great One all in black. The design is pretty simple with a full red border and a yellow accent in the trim. 

The backside is a paragraph of stats and information. I like that there is a photo on the back and the photo does differ from the photo on the front. The back design again is pretty decent and 20 years later doesn't look as terrible as other releases from the time period.


Card #3 Brett Hull
 During the early 90's every set and insert set NEEDED Brett Hull. The best goal-scorer from the early 90's period and the last player to an official 50 in 50 and last to score more than 80 goals in a season. I think the hooking Scott Stevens is doing in the background might get called in today's game.


Card #4 Sergei Fedorov
Another staple of any early 90's set was the hot upcoming prospects like Sergei Fedorov. With only one full season under his belt when this came out, he had much to prove and accomplish still, but if you look back at his career now, he is a shoo-in for the HOF.


Card #5 Mario Lemieux
 At the time this card came out, Lemieux had already begun his battle with back injuries and was limited to just a little over a quarter of a season. Still managed 19 goals and 45 points and may have been the best player in the set at the time.


 Card #6 Adam Oates
 Glad to see Oatesy get some respect by his inclusion in the set. At the time he was the other half of the Hull and Oates combo and some say Hull made him a super-star. Fact is, Oates made himself and proved it when he scored 45 goals and 142 points with the Bruins in 1992-93. If you were wondering who were his wingers at the time...it was likely a combination of Steve Leach, Dmitri Kvartalnov, and Vladimir Ruzicka. Definitely no Brett Hull!

Card #7 Theo Fleury


A cool goal celebration card featuring a star who lit the lamp often early in his career. That is a great looking Woody in his hand, btw.


Card #8 Jaromir Jagr
Either this is a practice or a warm-up photo because there are lots of empty seats over there and at the time everyone wanted to see Mario Jr.

Card #9 Ed Belfour
This is my favourite card in the set. I wanted nothing more in life than to be Ed Belfour when it came to street hockey. I even had the Hawks jersey to go along with the dream. The only goalie in the set, Score picked a fine player with Belfour being the reigning Vezina, Calder, and First-Team All-Star goalie.


Card #10 Jeremy Roenick

 Even though NHL '93 was a year or two away, Score made him the last card in the set. At the time Roenick had his first 40 goal season and the best was still yet to come. I personally love seeing the old Easton Aluminum sticks.

In all, I think the set is still reasonably attractive and has aged rather well when compared to the 91-92 Score base cards. It offers much more star power than the Euro-Stars set did but at the same time, it is a smaller set and not as nice looking to me personally. The book value of the set these days is 15 bucks with the most expensive card being Gretzky which books for 8 dollars. I managed to pick up a complete set at my LCS for the change in my pocket at the time which I think was like 3 bucks.

So what are your thoughts on the set? A must have or a must avoid? I personally think it would be a fun addition to someone's collection and gives you a reason to avoid 91-92 Score! I give this set a 4/5. Decent design, nice player selection and a couple cool photos you can really appreciate!






Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Ilya Kovalchuk - ITG Superlative Volume 2 Auto

Well, still no end in sight to this LOCK-OUT, so on to wishful thinking. I picked up another Kovy auto for my collection (free of charge) thanks to eBay dollars. The card is from the ITG Superlative Volume 2 release from 2008. I have never bought or seen any of these cards, but in person it is a pretty simple and nice card. The auto is on card and the back is very plain. It may not be the nicest Kovy card in my collection, it does offer a large and well displayed auto and the price was right!

08-09 ITG Superlative Volume 2 Ilya Kovalchuk A-IK Auto

As you can see, this is limited to just 50 copies. Even though it isn't the rarest or nicest Kovy auto in my collection, I do love it the same as the others and I like that the card is a little thicker in stock and really focuses on just the player's penmanship. If the player didn't have much of a signature the card would clearly suck, but for players with nice autographs, the design works for it.


For those who aren't following the KHL as of Nov 6, Alexander Radulov is leading the league in scoring with 31 points followed by Sergei Mozyakin with 29 points and Malkin and Kovy finish out the top 4 with 28 and 26 points respectively. Of the four, Kovy has the highest points per game and highest +/- rating. If Kovy kept this pace in the NHL for a full 80 game season he would have 45 goals and 130 points. 130 points in the NHL would smash the Devils points in a season record (Elias has it with 96), a fella can dream right?

Monday, November 5, 2012

Cool Goalie Masks - Grant Fuhr

When it comes to goaltender mask I am definitely a fan, but I would never call myself fanatic. I enjoy seeing them on cards as part of the goalie's attire, but the whole Pinnacle Masks thing from 90's was a little lost on me as I never saw why a photo of a mask would carry such a high premium.

Nevertheless, I did and do goalie mask and cards I have just never bought a card for that reason....until this summer.

Browsing my LCS I saw this beauty for 3 dollars and I talked them down to a toonie and took it home.

08-09 The Cup #46 Grant Fuhr
This card oozes cool. Sure it is from the most supreme of hockey sets "The Cup", but look at the sweet pads and that mask is just awesome. For some reason, I never remember Grant Fuhr catching right, but I guess that is the difference between memory and fact.

Here is the back of the card, a nice close-up of the mask again and a snap-shot of Fuhr's numbers between 86-91. The GAA and SV% were never any good but Fuhr always stopped the last shot and the win was more often his than not. Wayne always said if the game was on the line, he wanted Fuhr in goal and I guess that must count for something too!

In all, I just love this thick piece of cardboard and really it is a nice card that I just couldn't pass up. I don't own many Cup cards so this is a nice addition just based on the face that I don't have many to begin with, but certainly is an awesome addition because of the sweet photo/mask.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Marcel Dionne Auto and Used

A few deals have come my way featuring Marcel Dionne. I do have a TTM from him which set me back 10 bills but both of these cards each clocked in for less than that! Enjoy


11-12 Certified never fails to impress me, here is a nice on card auto numbered to just 99! 


Here is another expo card, this time it is the Ultimate Memorabilia 10th edition. This card is numbered to just 9 copies and I had watched it as an auction a couple of times fail to get any bids. Finally the seller dipped the price to the point where I wanted to lay a bid in and sure enough I was the only one. Hard to believe there aren't any big Dionne fans out there. The scan came out blurry because of the holder, but it is a pretty nice card with a good sized yellow swatch (I love the old Kings yellow).

For those wondering, I will post this weekend details on the Travelling box and we can get this all started up!