Yvan Cournoyer TTM

A while back after landing a 72-73 Topps Yvan Cournoyer I decided I would write to see if he would sign it for me. Well the results are in and no success. Much like Captain Canuck said, he sends along a different card signed along with your original unsigned. I am certainly not disappointed and am happy a legend would be so kind to sign for a guy like me!

Check out the rest at Dirty Dangle as always.

80-81 Topps - Wayne Gretzky

I personally don't have a list, but there are a few cards I really want to own before I die and the 80-81 Topps/OPC Gretzky card is one of them! When I had the chance to land one online for less than 20 bucks I thought I would jump at the chance. Of course, you can always land a Gretzky card for under 20 bucks, but I wanted one in great shape. Wanting a quality 80-81 Gretz means I probably would need to go for a Topps version and sure enough I landed one.

The card isn't mint. The scratch and reveal puck has a tiny bit of scuffing and the card is off-centered but, apart from that, there is nothing wrong with this card (unless you have a problem with the treat on the back). I took the photo of the card in the top-loader it arrived in because I don't have a screw-down for it yet.

The reason why I have always wanted to own the card is because it is a sweet photo. It is iconic to my childhood as a collector seeing it in the display cases of a few sportscard stores and not being able to afford it. But there is more, in my second life as a collector, I have come to realize that if there wasn't a WHA, this WOULD be a Gretzky rookie. In addition, Gretzky's rookie (correct me if I am wrong) actually features a photo from his WHA playing days so this card would actually feature The Great One during his first NHL season in which he SHOULD have won the Calder Trophy.

Here is the front side. You can see it is a bit of a miscut.

Here is the backside with a little waxy treat.
When I read that there was a Wax Stain on the card I knew I had to throw a minimum bid on this card. When I was the winner, I was probably as excited for this card as I have for any I have received in the last couple of years.

The card certainly has some significance to me because of years and wanting and in the short term it certainly will be the best Gretzky card I think I will own. I still am not in possession of a Gretzky rookie, but someday when the time is right I hope to get that one too.

So I am curious, do you have a list of must own cards? Or are you like myself and there are cards you want to own but there is no formal list. What cards are on that list?

Card of the Week - Sidney Crosby

Love him or hate him, damn he is good! Not just because I have him on one fantasy team (2nd round pick), but 4 points in his first game back and hopefully a chance to show fans what he is really capable of when he hits his prime! I am a fan of him, and I wish him all the best this season and future seasons.

05-06 Parkhurst #657

Front side

I am a big fan of the rookies in this set. I don't think it is just because it is a Parkhurst release, but I think it is due because it is an attractive set of cards. The rookies are simple yet eye catching and I think this card is a good example of the Parkhurst Rookies.

Back side
Like the front, the backside is attractive and simple looking. I think each passing year has these cards looking better and better to me. At some point I will grab a few boxes and try and build the set. I did buy a retail box once hoping to pull this card. No such luck, but I did pull a few other gem rookies but no Crosby. Ovechkin of course has a rookie in this set which I did pull from a repack box.

How I received the card: Purchased on eBay for $18.00

Beckett Value: 20 - 50 dollars

Martin Brodeur TTM

WOW!!!!!!!! Was my first response when I opened the mail as saw this. I really didn't expect to ever see the card as where I mailed it was a long-shot at best.

The rest of the story can be found at Dirty Dangle.com. I would share my contact address if I could, but I don't want to betray their trust in helping me get this auto so I will apologize in advance that cannot share it.

Congrats to Justin Verlander!

Owning one of these just got a little more expensive!

Verlander has capped off a pretty amazing season today with an AL MVP to go along with his pitching triple crown and his Cy Young award. I knew from his rookie season he had it in him and he showed the baseball world this season what he can do. I really would love to see him repeat and become the dominant pitcher he can be. I think he could have a few Cy Youngs left in him before he hits 35!

Edgar Laprade Article

I love it when I stumble upon a blog I have never read before and find neat little gems. I checked out greatesthockeylegends.com a little while back and today I found a link to a great article in the Globe and Mail on Edgar Laprade on their site.

I lived in Thunder Bay for about 15 years and one of my regrets before moving away was never knocking on his door. My dad lived about 5 minutes by bike away from his home and I have an aunt that lives on his street. If I ever get back there I certainly won't make that mistake again. I just chalk it up to a kid that was too nervous to take a chance. Though getting an auto in the mail from him a little while back certainly makes up for that mess up!

Custom Boxes of 11/12 Score

Last year, I was all over Score. I immediately ordered 3 boxes and had some success with those three. Nailed ALL SP rookies, one SSP rookie, one auto, one french back and most of the base cards. However, I was still about 50 cards short and even now I still don't have a complete set (please see want list). I was pleased with the experience, but I wondered if I could do better. Sure pulling a Nugent-Hopkins rookie would be awesome, but chances are certainly against you and getting an auto rookie hit of some prospect now in Europe isn't too appealing.

So I asked myself, do I want to run out and drop 100 bucks and have another partial set with a couple cool inserts? Or would I like to try and build my own boxes and secure a complete set of 11/12 Score. A few fellow bloggers have built their own boxes, and I felt why not do something similar with the goal of landing a set and a few other fun cards.

I will share the loot when it arrives, but as a little teaser, here is what I ended up with:



3 "Boxes" Which yielded a complete set 1-546


0 inserts (which I am fine with)


1 SSP Rookie from 11/12 Score


1 Autograph from another set


6 Vintage "Buybacks"


1 Game used card from another set



My idea is the boxes each yield two vintage buybacks plus one other hit(SSP, Auto, Game-used).


My "hits", aren't from the Score set with the exception of the SSP which makes things more fun in my opinion, but you could easily do it all with Score cards.


Anyway, they should all be here by next week!

Theo Fleury - TTM

I received a couple autos from another childhood idol, Theo Fleury. Check out my other auto and my post at Dirty Dangle.com


He was kind enough to sign two cards and number them with #14. He had them signed and back to me in less than 2 months.

Trade Bait and other pick-ups

Well my Tigers fell short of making it to the World Series, but there was some consolation in my fantasy baseball team upset a few teams and made it to the finals. I ended up losing on the last day but I earned a few bucks which allowed me to have some eBay fun.

I decided to go hunting for some deals and here is what I picked up. Some good trade bait and a few things I was looking for.

10-11 ITG Decades Auto - Wayne Babych

10-11 Score Rookie Update Box Set
Been wanting this for a few months. My auto hit was a decent prospect, Jordan Caron.

10-11 ITG Decades Auto - Wally Weir

10-11 ITG Heroes and Prospects Auto - Matt Puempel
Puempel is off to a great start with 11 goals in 18 games.

06-07 Sweet Shot Rookie - Evgeni Malkin
These rookies are seriously undervalued!

98-99 BAP Auto - Pierre Turgeon
Pierre will likely be a Hall of Famer and a great addition to the collection.

07-08 Sweet Shot Auto - Alexander Radulov
Love these autos. I would buy them all day for 99 cents a piece.

I also picked up a 90-91 Wayne Gretzky UD Promo. I will save those scans for a later date.

Card of the week - Jaromir Jagr

One of the bigger surprises of the early part of the 11/12 season is how well Jaromir Jagr is playing. It almost seems like he is sharing a water bottle with Temmu Selanne as he has turned back time and is playing like it is 2006 all over again. Currently he is on pace for 33 goals and 80 points which isn't too bad for a player who will be 40 before the end of the season.



When I think of Jagr, I think of this card:

1990-91 OPC Premier #50
Here is the front side. Long-time readers know this is one of my favourite sets. I remember buying a pack of these in my early days of collecting at a 7-11 for like 40 cents with tax. Then it seemed over night the prices sky-rocketed and I remember shelling out 10 bucks for a pack in Toronto (luckly I pulled a Fedorov RC from that pack which HAD a BV of 50 bucks so I felt good about the transaction). Fast forward 20 years, the value of the set has stabilized and the most valuable card in the set is Jagr at about 10 bucks for a raw mint card. I bought a box a while back for 20 bucks and had fun pulling a pair of Jagrs as well as a few other goodies. What is neat about the set is the players are in there alphabetically based on last name which I haven't seen occur too often.

Design is clean and simple. The top border was reused for the baseball release and the photos are in game action shots for the most part. This set contained only 132 cards and can be found in the 30-60 dollar range online. Card shows may have better deals, but I wouldn't know.



The back side

Back sides are neat. They don't have year by year stats and they don't have anything beyond games and basic offensive stats. Love it when photos are included on the back and you see Jaromir rocking the 90's era mullet.

Beckett Value: 4 - 10 dollars

How I received the card: Pulled from pack

Nail Yakupov - TTM

Awesome return from a future superstar in the NHL. I mailed the card out and had it back in less than a month. That is a pretty fast turnaround if you ask me. He included some original artwork with his autograph! Check it out at Dirty Dangle.com!

This is one of the most fun returns I have had....ever! Glad to have it in my collection and thank you Nail! I hope you always find time for your fans!

Tape Stained Rookies - Re-upped

I hated how poorly the last batch of scans came out, so here they are again.