At long last - Maurice Richard Auto

There are somethings I think all serious collections need and in my case it was a Maurice Richard auto. I also plan on getting his rookie someday as part of my Parkhurst Project, but in the meantime his autos are a bit more affordable than his rookies. With that being said, because he is now playing hockey at the big rink in the sky, his autograph days are pretty much numbered and unless there is a sheet of his autographed stickers out there, no new cards will be out there. (it freaks me out that Bob Probert autos are still being released thanks to sticker technology)

His autographs do demand a pretty steep premium and are often in the 75-300 dollar range depending on the release. Signature rookies had a few releases with his autograph on them which are on the lower end of the range and I was lucky enough to trade a few items in and land this gem. 

I was actually after an auto for quite a while and a blogger out there was nice enough to offer me an uncertified one for a very fair price. However, I had a lot of bills at the time and didn't end up pulling the trigger and then a few months later I found this at the LCS and was able to trade some extra unwanted cards for this beauty.

1995 Signature Rookies Championship Series Maurice Richard Auto /1500

Those quick goal-scorer hands did get a little shaky as Maurice got older, but still a beautiful signature and much nicer than most kids are firing off day in the NHL. 1500 isn't exactly an exclusive release and Signature rookies isn't exactly the gold standard in cards but I feel this card has lots of the good elements I look for in an auto. 

Much like the front, here is a Maurice photo later in his career with an airbrushed jersey because of no NHL license. There is a hologram on the back for authenticity purposes but no "congratulations" write up which I also like. I would be curious to have seen what the Rocket would have done with a FULL modern NHL season in 44-45 when he scored 50 in 50. Could he have hit 80 goals that season?

Very happy to have added this one to my collection! It crosses off one of the greatest NHL players off my to-do list while costing me nothing out of pocket and I will try and do that whenever I can!

A Pair of Delvecchios, One Modern and One Vintage

Most NHL stars have photos that tend to be used more than once and with Alex Delvecchio that is certainly no exception. This past year ITG blew the dust off an old photo and used it in their Patch of Honor insert. Check out my Alex Patch!

It should would have been nice to have had an actual GAME USED patch, but I will settle for a manufactured patch for now. If you look closely you will see either Alex has some spinach in his teeth or some serious tooth decay.

57-58 Topps  #34 Alex Delvecchio

Here is an amazing looking 57-58 Topps Alex Delvecchio. Without a doubt the best conditioned card in my Delvecchio collection from the 50's. The auction I landed this from a couple years ago listed it as NrMt++++++. I was skeptical because of all the pluses but I took a chance on a NrMt price. Sure enough I won it for less than a blaster and when it arrived I was floored at the condition. It was phenomenal. I thought it was easily worth what I paid and more. I suspect if I got it graded I might get lucky and get an 8 or 9 on it. Perfect gloss, a little off center but 4 razor corners and a nice aging of the white in the paper.

Here is the backside of the card. Great design, which I think makes this one of the nicest sets from the 50's and really is a steal of a deal if you wanted to try and build it because the book price is a modest $3000 dollars with no card booking for over $500 (Howe).  There are still some awesome rookies like Bucyk, Pilote, Hall and Ullman. This card books for around $50 dollars and is one of my favourites in my PC so far.

Those of you who know vintage might also recognize that photo from this card too!

52-53 Parkhurst #53 Alex Delvecchio 2nd year

Here is where I think the original photo came from. I don't own this card yet, but Parkhurst included this in their 52-53 set. What is interesting is ITG has a zoomed in head shot to avoid the Red Wings logo but for some reason the Topps card has the logo air brushed out! I know Topps has a license to use the American teams in their set so that part doesn't make sense. However, I am guessing maybe Topps had to alter the card to avoid copyright infringement? If someone out there knows why the 57-58 card is airbrushed I would love to know. For now I will continue to enjoy my collection and try and track down a 52-53 Parkie to join my collection. 

72-73 OPC Series 3 Team Logos

Last season Upper Deck decided to pull something from the past (40 years ago) and bring back the NHL logos insert set. Unlike 72-73 they are seed one every three boxes and are a manufactured patch instead of a die-cut punch out. They were very popular with collectors so they brought them back this year along with another 40 year old idea, NHL rings. Here are a few 72-73 OPC logos I picked up at the LCS last year.

If you ever looked at the book value of the 72-73 OPC logos you will find that they are pretty expensive and when you look on eBay you will find indeed sellers want a load of cash for them. One reason is they were only released in the much more rare third series and secondly kids often punched the logos out because they were meant to be used that way.  The high value for the set of 30 NHL/WHA books for $1000. While my cards all are tape stained, they are all intact and relatively in good shape (except Bos has a crease and Stl is missing a small piece of the border). They card backs are blank and are listed alphabetically in the Beckett. 

 This one is considered a common and books for 12 in great shape. Mine isn't great but I felt it like the others was a deal for $1.50.

This one isn't a common though I think it should be. Books for 15 in great shape, another deal for $1.50.

Another common, however worth pointing out if you ever got your hands on the Philadelphia Blazers logo, it is an SP'd one and can be worth some good coin. You guessed it, $1.50 for this one.

The most valuable of the non-Sp'd is this one. The defunct Seals books for $25 and I took it for a $1.50.

Another one that books for $25, and another $1.50 purchase. I have actually always loved the look of the NHL shield. For me, it is between the NHL and MLB for the best league logo.

Such a better looking logo than the Orca! This books for $20 and it was also $1.50.

The second last $1.50 logo was Les Canadiens. Apparently not that popular with collectors as this is also a common.

Here is my last one which was also $1.50. You can see a little damage at the top to go with my tape stains. These all are still good looking in my opinion and more importantly they are complete. I might chase this one some day but for now,  I have $12 tied up in a little over a quarter of the set. It is worth pointing out that all the WHA logos and two NHL logos are SP'd and they can range from 60-200 dollars so this will be a lifetime project and not one that will be over anytime soon.

Here is one of the WHA ones just for fun.

A very cool looking card and proof that sometimes the old ideas are often the best ones.

1947 R773 Goudey #79 Nootka

Super fast post today as time is short! I have heard lots about Goudey cards but never owned any. When I bought a few cards including my Alex Delvecchio  and Gordie Howe Coke cards the dealer had a few other interesting cards. One more from that lot purchase was this one for 99 cents.

1947 R773 Goudey #79 Nootka

Rough I know, but a beautiful looking image nonetheless.

I took an interest in the card because of the image, subject matter and its connection to Canada. Just seemed like a nice piece of history sharing a huge piece of history. Clearly the focus on physical traits wouldn't be appropriate for today's day and age but the reverence for their tribe's canoe craft is pretty neat to read. 

A big thanks to Jeff at 2 x 3 Heroes for two very cool PWEs and some advice please!

A little while back, Jeff at 2 x 3 Heroes was kind enough to offer people a chance to receive a nice random PWE with some players from their favourite club. Even though I am a huge baseball fan, I don't have much in the way of cards so getting some free Tigers cards sounded like lots of fun. Several weeks later one envelope arrived and then yesterday a second one arrived which means I need to thank Jeff for some serious kindness. Here is the loot!

Here are the cards from the first batch. A great variety of Tigers from an equal varied amount of sets. I love the variety and without a doubt my favourite of this batch is the Doyle Alexander. It almost looks like he is asking God a question. A pair of Sweet Lou's and Willie's Stache make this a pretty awesome six pack.

 Jeff then sent a second batch which is equally awesome with a nice Miggy insert and some Devils action. I am going to have to mail this Clarkson away to Toronto in the hopes that maybe David will sign it for a Devils fan with all that free time he now has.

Thank you very much Jeff and unlike the last envelope I was smart enough to save then one so I am going to try and hit you back just as well as you hit me! Thanks for showing me once again sports card bloggers are some of the greatest people in the world.


There has actually been a bit of a side effect of getting these PWEs and my recent acquisition of a Randy Johnson rookie and that is I think my collection might need ONE complete baseball set. However, there are two problems. One is I don't know what set to get and second is budget. I want a set but I don't want to drop hundreds on a set. So if anyone out there has a suggest for a set, please make one here is what I want.

A baseball set with a good number of decent rookies, costs less than $40 and is aesthetically attractive. Do you know of something that fits that discription? Please share. Also if you have one you want to sell or trade please feel free to email me too. I don't mind trading some hockey for a baseball set.

Thanks!

12-13 Sp Game Used Pack Hit

Way back in the spring/early summer I bought a box of 12-13 Artifacts and a pack of 12-13 Sp Game Used. I have been meaning to share the contents of the pack but it just kept being put on the back burner so I am just going to share the hit and put that puppy to rest. 

The pack was a success in my opinion. With pack prices approaching 30 dollars, they aren't cheap and the guarantee of a hit isn't always a comfort which is why I have avoided this product in the past. I don't mind paying the money if I know what I am getting is awesome, but 30 dollars for an event used card of Bob Bourne isn't exactly awesome. So given this was bought with a pile of trade in stuff I thought I would take a chance.

My pack had a few base cards and a super thick card in the center which turned out to be a REDEMPTION....arrrrgh! But upon reading the redemption I was relieved to see it would be something pretty cool and here it is:

12-13 SP Game Used Draft Day Marks Casey Cizikas /35

While I am not an Isles fan or Cizikas super collector, I do like getting a rookie year auto card of an everyday NHL'er who did play for Team Canada at the WJHC. Casey really impressed me last year by playing some solid NHL minutes and putting up 15 points in 45 games. During the playoffs he stepped it up even more scoring 2 goals and 2 assists in his 6 games series against the Pens. I was very pleased to land this card and I think I will be holding on to this one for a long time.

Childhood Idol TTM Success - John MacLean

While this return too a pretty long time to get to me, it was MORE than worth it. Check out the rest of the post on Dirty Dangle. 

1933-34 OPC Series A #31 Frank King Clancy

One thing I learned in my adult years that I didn't fully know as a child is that a card is really only worth what someone will pay for it. I use a guide to help inform my decisions but over the past while I have seen some super amazing deals and seen cards sell for 4 times book value. It really goes both ways.

1933-34 OPC Frank King Clancy  

When I saw this online it was a total fluke. I did a search on some old OPC's and I found it and I wasn't even looking for it, I just saw an amazing card with a starting price of $0.99.  The seller was actually an hour away from my house too so I decided to lay down a bid. I wasn't sure what this card was worth because it has a small tear on the bottom left as you can see so it is really less than a card. With that being said, the book value on this in ex-mint condition is 1000 dollars! There are no creases in this card believe it or not, some corner rounding and a small stain on the front and back. So as far as I am concerned, sure it is in poor condition, but I see this as far better than poor because that tear is insignificant and the rest of the card is phenomenal for a card that is nearly 80 years old. 

Here is the back side, again very clear and sharp looking. The dimensions of the card are a little neat as it is a tiny bit taller and a little narrower than your standard sized card.

Now I am not going to preach that this is the most amazing deal ever had online because I am sure it is not. For some collectors this missing piece of this card has rendered it completely worthless. However, I feel it is worth 4 times what I paid for it and more.

In case you were wondering, I won this for about the price of a blaster with shipping!

The Most Important Card In My Collection...

Do you remember your first time? A pretty ambiguous question I know, but when it comes to card collecting do you remember? I do. I mentioned in a previous post my first pack of cards was the dubious 90-91 Pro Set and how I actually remember my first card. Since that time I have spent thousands of hours and dollars on the hobby and apart from playing and watching hockey it is one of my favourite ways to relax. Here is the card:

 

The card is now in a top loader and I recently found it prior to the move to my new house. I made a point to track it down because I knew I still had it and it was a matter of just searching.

The card itself is very insignificant in appearance and value. It is in VG shape after much handling and learning how to and how not to maintain mint cards. Funny how that one card lead to me owning the massive collection that currently occupies my man land and the joy that I still feel ripping something new or landing a sweet card via trade. I have actually grown to really love collecting in my adult years (after taking many years off) and I have a new appreciate for many aspects of the hobby and while it isn't perfect I see many more years of collecting in my future and 90-91 Pro Set is to blame.

On a side note I have finished my complete set a little while back and I am going to share a few more posts on 90-91 Pro Set (you have been warned).

The New Guy's 05-06 The Cup Gold Rookie

Maybe the most iconic set in the last decade is the 05-06 The Cup Set. Iconic for the fact that it was the premier of the ultra high-end hockey set and iconic for the cards you can pull. Rookies of many superstars thanks to a dual rookie class and many current NHL all-stars can call that their rookie year. Crosby, Ovechkin and Getzlaf just to name a couple. One that may get forgotten as a member of the historic rookie class is a guy that the Devils acquired as a free agent, Rostislav Olesz. With our busy off-season, much attention has been given to Clowe, Ryder and Jagr. However, given our weakness along the right side, Olesz could sneak his way onto the third or fourth line. He is a very solid two-way forward with some offensive upside. He did score 19 points in 14 AHL games last season and he was a former 7th overall pick. 

05-06 The Cup Gold Rostislav Olesz Rookie /85

Beacuse of the ultra high price per box of this stuff, common rookies even have high prices! This gold parallel actually books for $100 and I got is for less than a Blaster. What I like about the card other than the awesome gold foil is it actually is my first 05-06 The Cup card. I know I will never buy a box of this stuff ($1400 is a little steep) and even singles like Crosby and Parise are insanely priced. However, here is a 05-06 The Cup card featuring a Devil, it's a gold parallel and affordable.

Are there any 05-06 The Cup Rookies in your collection? Do you want any? Other than Crosby or Ovechkin I wouldn't mind getting a few more someday if the price is right.

Parkhurst Project Card 28

The final of my 1951 Parkhurst pickups is an Alex Delvecchio rookie. For regular readers, you may know that Alex is a player who I collect heavily so this card is performing double duty right now! I came across this in auction as I was checking eBay for recent Alex additions and when I saw this I thought it would be perfect for my set. On the lower end condition wise I thought that I could land it for a decent price and sure enough a last second upping of my bid landed it for a very decent price. I was able to use the rest of my birthday money to help subsidize the purchase so in the end the $60.22  I paid was only about 35 out of my pocket.  

Here is the card, the seller stated that it was VG-EX, however, there was a tiny hairline crease on the card. It is located just left of his head at the top. Apart from that, everything was as I expected with some corner wear, solid colouring and no serious staining. I wasn't sure how I felt about it, I contacted the seller and they offered a refund but at the same time I knew a card booking for $400 even in VG condition is probably $100+ card on most BIN's. Sure enough I did some digging and it was half the price of most cards in worse condition so I decided to keep it in the end. I must say I am glad I kept it because it does fit well in my set because it isn't in the worst or best condition and being one of the higher booking card it is nice to have some integrity to the set. I think my goal is a VG set in the end so Alex is right in the mark for me.

Progress:

Card # 63 and # 28 of my set


Percentage Complete:

26.7%

Cost of the Card:

$35.22 of my money


Total Cost of Set to Date:

$222.99

Parkhurst Project Card 27

This one is a HUGE one to cross off my list. Doug Harvey's rookie card was one of the 6-7 cards I feared would cost me a FORTUNE, but believe it or not, this cost me NOTHING! Free!!

Ok, I need to be honest, I have some really nice In-Laws who gave me some birthday money because they know of my addiction and last year were kind enough to help me land some C56's and I am sure they were hope this year I would continue buying some cool stuff. So armed with a generous amount of money, I was able to buy this card and a portion of my next one too. 

Doug Harvey is pretty much one of the top 4 defenseman of all-time and depending on who you speak to, he could even be top 2. Doug was an 11 time all-star and a 7 time Norris trophy winner, and while he may have had some tough demons to live with, there is no denying his amazing on ice ability. He was an offensive star in a time when defense really didn't chip in much offensively. Before there was Bobby, there was Doug. in my opinion, Doug really revolutionized the role of the offensive defenseman, Bobby just took it to a whole other level.

The card itself isn't great condition wise, but I still think it looks great! There are two major creases running top to bottom and the corners have some rounding. There is also a minor crease going from left to the C on Doug's jersey. However, the colouring is great and no fading of the text which is common for Parkies. The back is also clean and stain free. I contacted the seller who had a BIN on it and gave him a best offer scenario and he took it. 50 dollars. Sure the card is rough, but crossing off a card that books for 600 with a copy I could live with is worth it. I know some of the other biggies from this set will need to be wounded whales as well, but again I am building a set of character, not a mint set. (Though I may nab a Viper Reprint set someday so that I have a mint set to compare with)

Progress:

Card # 10 and # 26 of my set


Percentage Complete:

25.7%

Cost of the Card:

Free (gift)


Total Cost of Set to Date:

$187.77

Parkhurst Project Card 26

Made a few changes to my website. I am not sure what will be permanent and what is currently just in flux, but I do like my banner. It is the seam piece of an 83-84 OPC Wrapper and the main background is the back of my Ed Slowinski 51 Parkhurst card. I choose this one because it is clean and NOT mint. I like the small back side crease on it and I think it adds some character. However, I will continue to reflect on my blog because after 520+ posts, it is nice to change some stuff up!

Harry Watson is my latest addition to the Parkhurst Project. Harry is a HOF'er who won 5 Stanley Cups and was a part of 7 All-Star games. Harry did finish second in the league in goals once and he scored 10+ goals in every one of his 14 seasons.  One of his reasons for being in the Hall was due to the advocacy of broadcasters like Don Cherry and Brian Williams who felt his generation was being over looked. I for one can't argue for or against his inclusion since he did miss a couple years due to the War and I wasn't alive to see all aspects of his game not included on a score sheet.

This is card number 26 in my set, and it is a pretty nice piece of cardboard. The card is crease free, but rounded corners and a little black mark on the card (not sure what it is, sharpie?). Book value on this one is 125 which makes it middle of the road cost wise as far as the set goes, but I felt that picking this one up for 14.99 was a pretty solid deal considering I think this is easily VG+. In case you were wondering, that little black mark is actually a printing flaw! I thought it was someone's handiwork with a sharpie, but I found proof here: 

Progress:

Card # 70 and # 26 of my set


Percentage Complete:

24.8%

Cost of the Card:

$14.99 with shipping


Total Cost of Set to Date:

$187.77

So that pretty much has me at the quarter mark with less than 200 invested. I suspect I am going to have to shell out more than 800 for the whole set considering I am still missing Terry, Gordie and Maurice.

Parkhurst Project Card 25

So over the past year and a bit I did manage to land five more Parkies so here is number two of those five. I am sort of going in order of "impressiveness" but mostly in order of how much I like the card. This post is all about the last card in the set, Jim Conacher.

What some modern collectors don't know is back in the day the first and last cards of sets usually took a beating. Kids had all sorts of creative ways to keep their cards together which included the infamous elastic band. As a result the "ends" of the set often were the only forms of protection so middle cards had some good padding but the end cards absorbed much of the abuse. The end result is many vintage cards have serious premiums on the first and last cards in a set. The 51-52 Parkhurst set is no different with card number 1 Elmer Lach (not a rookie) booking for 500 dollars and the last card 105 Jim Conacher books for 200 dollars. While this card isn't even remotely close to grading about poor, I do actually like it. The previous owner(s) kept this card safe by using tape and at one point it might have even been on a ring in a binder via a nice hole punch. Like Fred Glover, I may choose to upgrade this some day but at the same time I do love the punishment it has suffered over the last 62 years that I may just keep it and all its character.

As for the subject, Jim Conacher had a few decent seasons prior to the making of this card. From 1946-1951 he scored 188 points in 270 games which is pretty excellent when you consider HOF'er Elmer Lach put up 213 points during the same time period. However, after his 30th birthday production tailed off severely and he was out of hockey by the end of the 52-53 season.

Progress:

Card # 105 and # 25 of my set


Percentage Complete:

23.8%

Cost of the Card:

$9.50 with shipping


Total Cost of Set to Date:

$172.78

Parkhurst Project Continues With Card 24

Even though it has been over a year since I last updated the chase I assure you I have made some pretty decent progress. I have nailed a few huge ones off the list so I will share them over my next few posts! Lets start with the least significant and work our way to the most significant, and hopefully by the end of it all my 33-34 OPC will have arrived.

So Frederick Glover pretty much Reggie Dunlop as he spent the last 6 seasons as a player-coach with the AHL Cleveland Barons which include a championship in 63-64. In fact Fred Glover was an AHL superstar scoring the second highest career point total in AHL history with 1334 points. Sadly, he never hit his stride at the NHL level where he managed 13 goals and 11 assists in 92 career games. Despite that limited NHL success, he does have a Stanley Cup to his resume as well as a number of AHL awards and Championships. Fred did sadly pass away back in 2001 but he is survived by his former teammate and brother Howie.

The card itself is in horrible shape and I may consider upgrading it but I couldn't pass it up based on the price.

Progress:

Card # 60 and # 24 of my set


Percentage Complete:

22.9%

Cost of the Card:

2.99 with shipping


Total Cost of Set to Date:

$163.28

A little recognition from Upper Deck

A little over 3 years ago my life changed as the birth of my first son happened! Quinn came into my life and as unlucky as I was to have had my parents divorce (and other subsequent divorces too) but at the same time I had two fathers who I would have considered to be very influential in my development as a man. My biological father was key in nurturing my scholastic abilities and athletic interests and my step father was key in nurturing my athletic abilities and collecting interests. Neither father was pushy on my and both did their best to bring the best out in me. They had radically different approaches but both have had long lasting impacts on my life and as a father myself now I am trying my best to use the best parts of both of them.

I have mentioned a few times about my step-father and our shared passion of collecting and that is something I hope to do with both my boys Quinn and Rhett. Quinn is 3 now and he knows about my cards and he likes to look at them from time to time. He also have a few of his own, which he will put in and out of pages and he seems to really like to "organize" them. Rhett is now 7 months old and he loves looking at his mobile while I am getting his bath all ready or doing some work in his room. People would often comment on how cool they thought the idea was, so I finally sent a tweet to Upper Deck showing my handiwork and it actually snowballed into a pretty cool post, check it out here! Thank you Upper Deck for the recognition, I do believe that kids are never too young to start collecting. However, Panini and their 9+  age suggestion on packs may disagree!

My Hockey Card Mobile


I made this mobile from a shower gift that I was given. Having not liked the little flowers hanging from it I used fishing line and a few of my extra hockey cards kicking around. I was purposeful in my card selection, at the centre was Martin Brodeur and David Clarkson (see Clarkie you cut me deep). I had some cards from 89-90 OPC, 90-91 UD because those are sets I really liked. Then I picked current and former Devils both in and out of Devils uniforms including the Niedermayer Brothers which is very appropriate considering I ended up having two boys.

Both boys loved the mobiles as infants and like my fathers I will not push them to play hockey or collect but if they choose to pick up the game or hobby, I hope to help create similar memories to ones I had and hope that they will have as much fun as I did.

Three 12-13 SP Game Used Auto Rookies

Here is a lot that is a few months old but better late than never. As many of you know I can't get enough of autographed rookies and SP Game Used had a nice parallel set to the base which featured all autographs. Surprisingly the auto versions of the rookies are far more plentiful than their unautographed base counterparts. Each rookie is numbered to their jersey number and the autographed parallels were unnumbered.

12-13 SP Game-Used Auto Tyson Barrie 

By far the best of the three so far. Tyson was a Team Canada World Junior which is why I had interest in his card and I did hit him as well in my 12-13 Artifacts box. Tyson had 42 points last season when you combine the AHL and NHL in 70 games which is pretty solid for a defenseman. Given the weak defensive corps in Colorado I would suggest he will be getting lots of ice time this season.

12-13 SP Game-Used Auto Cody Goloubef

Got beef? Cody is another Team Canada World Junior and unlike Tyson isn't as offensively talented. Still he is a pretty decent kid with some potential at being a solid defenseman, but I expect a regular NHL'er and not an all-star. Still nice to add another Team Canada player to my collection.

12-13 SP Game-Used Auto Maxime Sauve

Maxime is now a Blackhawk and he speaks French well because he was born in France and grew up in Quebec. I think he auto isn't very special, but he did wear the number 74 which is pretty neat. He could be a bachelor and I suspect he might also like Pepsi. To be honest, I only grabbed this because it made my lot extra cheap and it is actually for trade if anyone wants it.

Loot thanks to my Raphael Diaz - Three HOF Rookies and a HOF Auto

This post is going to be focused on some AMAZING cards that I landed thanks to the sale of my Raphael Diaz and my Clarkson Spectrum card. I actually didn't need the full value of those two cards to buy all these but the left over money will be put towards some new season wax when I find a product I want to dive into.

So, here is what I was able to score:

80-81 OPC Ray Bourque Rookie

 One of my regrets as a collector was trading away my Ray Bourque rookie as a kid. I traded it along with a Roy OPC rookie for the complete 87-88 OPC set. At the time it was a fair trade according to BV, but as we all know the late 80's sets plunged in value and can be had for less that half what they used to cost. Luckily the same can be said for some ungraded rookies too so that is what happened here. I landed an amazing Bourque rookie which I think is nicer than my old one. The card is off-center and the bottom is slightly rough cut but that is all. The top is an optical illusion from the screwdown holder. I love this card and I landed it for a great price.

80-81 OPC Mike Gartner Rookie

 I didn't have one of these growing up, but I did pick one up as part of my Topps set. However, like the Bourque a great deal was waiting for me online and I snatched it up for less than the price of a pack of Artifacts. The bottom right corner has a tiny bit of wear but that is the only blemish on this great card.

94-95 BAP Martin Brodeur Auto

 My only Brodeur auto to this point was a TTM request success. I do regret not sending his rookie, however I will have to settle for his Rookie Auto! This is the first auto that Brodeur has issued via a licensed agreement so I am calling this an Auto rookie. Ok, that is a serious stretch, but this is my first certified Brodeur auto and I grew up always wanting this card. Ugly as hell with cool gold sharpie. These were the days when sticker technology was years away from being used.

89 UD Randy Johnson Rookie

What a baseball card? What is this doing here. Oh wait, I have always wanted one of these and I was able to pull the trigger finally after no success finding someone who would trade me one. I put out a request a few years stating that I would trade for one but since I didn't mention I would have trade at about 3x's its BV I guess no one felt it was worth their time. Anyway, it is graded which I really don't care about either way and it is all mine. My favourite pitcher of all time will certainly be appreciated and I do like the look of the 89 UD set. Maybe I will try and get the whole thing some day.

So there you go, a four pack of HOF'ers and I know Brodeur and Johnson aren't there yet, it is safe to say they will be!

Not all hard feelings Clarkie...

I must admit that with some recent eBay sales, it isn't all hard feelings now between me and Clarkson. He gave me indirectly 400% of what I paid on one of his cards and 1000% of what I paid on another. Those types of returns make me wish I spent more heavily on him but alas who can predict the future. So as a parting gift with my last one selling I was without a Clarkson auto so to commemorate our good times I did purchase a nice low-end auto for 2.50. Here it is:

09-10 BAP David Clarkson Auto

Nothing special here, I just didn't want to sell off all my autos without keeping one. So I sold off my valuable ones and replaced them with a cheap one. I used the rest of the proceeds to purchase an amazing insert set from 73-74 OPC and an equally amazing card from 33-34 OPC. I will share both when they arrive. Thanks David for the good memories and helping me land some pretty amazing cards that I wouldn't have otherwise likely been able to purchase. I also want to share a few more cards I was able to buy thanks to selling off my Raphael Diaz Rookie Patch Auto. That will be my next post!