53-54 Parkhurst Pick-ups

Back in the summer I got a chance to pick up my first 53-54 Parkhurst card. It was a Benny Woit card and it represented the first time I ever actually saw a 53-54 Parkie.

Since then, I have fallen in love with them and picked up a few more.

Lee Fogolin

Lee is another player from my hometown and would raise a son (Lee Jr.) who would also make the NHL. Lee Sr. was good enough to make it to two all-star games in his career. His son would win two Cups with the Oilers in the 80's.

Cal Gardner

Love this card, it looks like a nice piece of artwork. Look at Cal's intent look and the captain's patch on a beautiful Bruins sweater. The scans on this card and the next card seem to show sides that aren't even but that isn't true. Both cards are even cuts, but of course have a little rounding on the edges and the odd crease or two. Both Cal and Lee cost me 1.99 on eBay which are steals in my opinion.

Tim Horton
I am most proud of this card. For a card that is almost 60 years old and books for 300, I felt paying 25 for this was a steal of a deal. There are some round corners on it, and a crease across the middle of the card which certainly lower the value. But, this is another case of you need to see this card in person to truly appreciate it. The glare from the toploader certainly ruin the scan, but you will have to take my word on the impressiveness of this little piece of cardboard.
Here is the back shot. Again you can see a little damage on the corners and the crease is more obvious on the back.

So with these three, it brings my 53-54 total up to 4. Not sure what I will do in the long run if I am just going after singles or the set, but in the meanwhile if I am seeing them at a good price, I am going to grab them.

I should also add, I have an Andy Bathgate RC coming soon....Will share when it arrives...

Back Checking - Jeff Carter

This month has just flown by and now that the exams are all marked and grades taken care of, I feel like I can spend a moment or two on this blog finally. I have picked up lots of cards and sets in the last couple months and have had no time to share.

So with a couple moments to myself, here is another back checking post.

Being a writer for the backs of cards must be a pretty fun job if you ask me. I don't know if the pay is very good, but to have your thoughts and writing immortalized on cardboard and collected by hundreds of thousands people would be a pretty cool gig. Certainly not one I could do as my regular readers know (I HATE proof reading), but if I were paid enough, I might be convinced to give it a shot!

Jeff Carter's 10-11 Luxury Suite card is a prime example of how a situation can change in as little as months.

Love the front side of this card. Nice stick and jersey piece, and it happens to be my first stick card. I received this card in a trade with Sal from Puckjunk.com

On to the back, as you can see it is both numbered and guaranteed! Of course, that isn't why I am showing this card. Check out the text on the left of the photo. I think it speaks for itself as Carter is now a member of the Blue Jackets and probably wishes he was still in Philly right now, even if it meant he couldn't have all he could drink. There was no way the author of this card could have predicted a club would sign someone for an 11 year extension only to trade him less than a year later, but it happens and it kinda makes this write up seem foolish!

Flash forward less than a year after this card was created, Jeff is off to the worst season in his career, he is up on the trading block again, and Columbus is currently trying to Fail for Nail. It is amazing how quickly things can change for an NHL player regardless of talent. Well Jeff, drink up because this off-season is going to be a little longer than you are used to and it isn't going to get any easier for you!

Back Checking - Chris Terreri

Without a doubt, one of the most memorable card backs from my childhood is the 90-91 UD Chris Terreri rookie card. The front side of the card is a neat photo of Chris doing something (I could never really figure it out...

But the backside is pure gold, and maybe one of the best photos from the entire set. I can only imagine how cool this card would have been had UD included horizontal cards in their inaugural hockey set. Nevertheless, this card features a sweet action shot that looks as painful as it does amazing. I believe that the only thing that would have been cooler, is if a puck was in that glove!

Chris is still kicking around the Devils organization and even dons the pads occasionally in practice if the Devils are short a goalie. Last season he showed he can still do it at his age, check out this save:

Johnny Bower TTM

Got these in a little while back and like everyone says, Johnny Bower is a very generous signer!

Mailed him one and got back two with a note!

Here is the one I sent, a Topps reprint card.

Here is the note and bonus card!

Really glad to land these, I mentioned it last week on my Dirty Dangle post for those interested!

Have you ever been ripped off?

I must say, I really enjoy trading cards. There are many bloggers out there I have traded with, and some on multiple occasions. There have been some great cards that have come into my house and have left my house because of trades and each time I have been happy with the results until now.

For starters, I am no fool, I make trades that sometimes have me ahead in my opinion and other times have me on the losing end. But that isn't why I trade, I trade because it is nice to help others and sometimes it is fun to get something different into your collection even if it means someone gets a better end of the deal. Don't get me wrong, I am not trading Ray Bourque rookies for a Patrik Stefan rookies just to be a nice guy, but we all have comprised on occasion and ended up ahead on occasion.

Just recently (October) I made a trade with another blogger. One card for one card, except he received my card and mine.....never arrived. I have written them and no response and it now has been over three months since we agreed to the trade so I ask my fellow bloggers....Has this happened to you? What should I do?

Should I name them in this public forum or do I just suck it up as a loss and be more careful next time? Fact is, I was certainly on the losing end of this trade even if the card arrived, I was purely making the trade to be nice, but they have turned around and f*cked me over and I really am a little angry. I am a pretty calm and calculating kind of person, so I must say I am having trouble deciding what to do next and I am asking for help. All ideas and suggestions are welcome.

On another note, Michael, I am out of bubble mailers and will have your trade in the mail on Thursday, sorry it is a few days later than I said. But have no fear, I have found a few fun goodies to include in the meantime!

Back Checking - Pat Lafontaine

A new feature I want to do on my blog is called back checking. What I am going to do is post a neat or interesting card back that I have in my collection. I love reading card backs and may enjoy it as much as the photography and designs on the card front.

I recently picked up a part set of 85-86 Topps. Essentially I got all cards in NrMt-Mt shape except for the Lemieux rookie. He was not a part of the deal, but the 164/165 cards were won with a 33 dollar bid. Essentially I got almost the whole set for about 20 cents a card. Sal from Puckjunk.com had traded me a Mario Lemieux Topps rookie with a wax stain back in the fall so together I have a pretty nice complete set.

When the set arrived I threw it into pages and began flipping through. I owned a couple of the cards either in Topps or OPC form but not the whole set. It was nice to go through and see the different cards and of course read the backs. I came across one neat back which I will share today.

85-86 Topps Pat LaFontaine #137

This is a Pat Lafontaine second year card, it features an action shot of Pat playing against the Whalers.

When you look at the back, I found two things jumped out at me. First was the awesome 13 goals in 15 games during his first season. Not a bad way to begin a career if you ask me. He would score only 19 in 67 during his first full NHL season. But the more interesting thing jumps out second and that is he centered what was called the "Diaper Line". I thought the "Baby Oil" line name was bad, this is just gross! I have a toddler at home and I know the nastiness those packages can contain and to have a line named that is pretty bad. Of course, it was in reference to their young ages but still, NASTY!

In all, a pretty cool card anyway, I have a couple LaFontaine rookies, but this is my first time seeing and owning his particular card and reading it taught me something!

Are there any worse line names that you can think of than the Diaper Line? I can't think of any, but I am sure they exist!