Happy Anniversary to Me

Today is Can't Have Too Many Cards first anniversary.  It wouldn't be very fun doing this blog if no one was reading so thanks everyone for stopping by.  I do want to celebrate by giving away some cards but I'm not quite finished with the details.  Keep watching.

Good Luck, Theodore!

Ted Lilly was traded today to the LA Dodgers, the team that originally drafted him back in 1996.  He was traded to the Expos halfway through the 1998 season before he made the bigs.  Here's a very young looking Lilly back in the mid 90's.

I really like Ted and I hope the Dodgers score more runs for him than the Cubs did.  He is a free agent at the end of this season and I'd love to see him come back.  

Santo Saturdays -- Tea anyone?

This plastic and paper coin would have been found in 1962 inside a package of either Salada Tea or Junket Pudding.  I'm sure I would have preferred the pudding.  Chocolate please!  There were 221 players in the set but with variations the total number of coins was 265.  The colors of the rims and backs varied with the team.

1962 was a lackluster year offensively  for Mr. Santo.  Playing in all 162 games he finished with 17 HR, 83 RBI but a meager .227 BA and only 44 runs scored.

Here's an ad I found on the web.  It's from a July 1962 DC comic book called Challengers  of the Unknown.

Pack Break -- 2005 UD Pros and Prospects

I saw this pack as a $1.59 markdown at Target.  Not too often I see a pack from 5 years ago so I thought it was worth getting.  Here's the contents:

Future Cub, not bad

9 time Gold Glove winner

Meh!

Future Hall of Famer

Future Hall of Famer?

Meh!

Overall, not a bad pack.  I got future Cub Alfonso Soriano, Torii Hunter, John Smoltz and Jeff Kent.  The photography is nothing special but the colors are good and they have a nice gloss and feel to them.

Check Out My COMC Cards #9 -- A Misnomer?

About half of the cards in my first COMC purchase were of the vintage variety.  This is the oldest, a 1954 Topps.  Besides that fact, I love the serious expression on Mr Jolly's face.  It must be hard to live up to a name like that.  His nickname was "Gabby" though, so I'm guessing he wasn't as serious as he looks here.  

Dave pitched for the Braves for six seasons before retiring at the end of 1957.  He did have his best year in 1954, going 11-6 with 10 saves and a 2.43 ERA.   Following surgery for a brain tumor, Dave passed away in 1963 at the age of 38.

1954 Topps #188

Paid $3.49

Check Out My COMC Cards #8 -- A Short Cheer

Card collecting is definitely not all about value and superstars.  Here are a couple of my favorite cards from my first COMC purchase.  

2001 Bowman Draft #BDP66

Paid $0.25

2001 Bowman's Best Exclusive Autographs #BBEASC

Paid $2.96

Answers to Yesterday's Trivia Question

Yesterday's challenge was to name the Jewish pitchers (not named Sandy Koufax) who threw no-hitters in the 1960's.  Night Owl knew the best one, Ken Holtzman.

1989 Swell #129

On August 19, 1969 Kenny no-hit the Atlanta Braves 3-0 at Wrigley Field.  He pitched a second no hitter in 1971 against the Reds.

Joe (Joel) Horlen of the White Sox tossed a 6-0 no-hitter at Comisky Park on September 10, 1967 against the Detroit Tigers.

Some post ideas come from opening new cards, some from the day's events.   This one actually came from my picking an old book off a bookshelf in my living room.  It's a book I've had for over 30 years and I haven't read it since the 70's.

Notice anything familiar about it?  Check out the back cover.

Yes, you got it!  1972 Topps

I kid you not,  I picked this particular 1972 card because Nolan was an Angel.  It was only after I uploaded it here that I recalled his 7 no-hitters.  

Bo Belinsky threw a 2-0 ho-hitter against the Baltimore Orioles on May 5, 1962.  It was the first Angels no-hitter and the first at Dodger Stadium. It was only Bo's fourth major league start.

Belinsky started his career winning his first five games.  It was downhill from there.  He became more well known for his off the field activities than his pitching.  Below are a few shots  taken with a young Ann Margaret.  A-Rod's got nothing on Bo.  Bo knows chicks.

Sandy and the Boychicks

There were 7 no-hitters thrown by Jewish pitchers in the decade of the 1960's.  Four of them were by the man pictured below.  Just for fun, off the top of your head, can you name the pitchers who threw the other three no-no's?  I'll post the answer tomorrow.

My one and only vintage Koufax

Best Geico Ad Yet?

Santo Saturdays -- A Bit of a Rant

Am I happy to have three Ron Santo jersey cards?  Yes.  They're nice enough looking cards and they're all serial numbered.  Wonderful. Ahh, but that's where I start to have issues with this set and others like it.

The backs of all three cards are identical.  If I showed you one I've shown them all.  The photo on all three is the same.  The logo's the same.  The squares are the same.  The swatches have no discernible difference.   All that Upper Deck has done is add the words "Silver" or "Gold" and "Limited" and changed the color of the serial numbers.   And as long as I'm complaining, there were only 75 more of the first one made and it is serial numbered.  Why doesn't it say "Bronze Limited"?

There comes a point where I am inclined to just buy one of these cards, if possible the "rarer" one,  and leave the others alone.  I guess this line of thinking opens a can of worms.  What is collecting all about, etc.?  Why collect any cards at all, blah, blah, blah but I guess all of us have drawn lines in the proverbial sand when it comes to our collecting habits/philosophies.  I'd love to hear what you guys and gals think.

A Giant Eyeball

Last week I visited Chicago's newest outdoor sculpture.  It's a 30 foot tall fiberglass eyeball by artist Tony Tasset that sits in a park just to the south of the Harold Washington Library on State Street.  Not everyone's cup of tea but it is mine.


I took these first two shots through the window blinds inside the library.

Here are two more taken at ground level.  I only have about four or five more because it was so hot and sunny (like just about every day this summer).

For Dayf

Tomorrow is Santo Saturdays.

Tristar Obak Re-view

I've bought very few new cards this year but I'm really excited about the release of a new set of Tristar Obak's.  I never got around to buying any of the mini's last year but I did buy a complete base set.  In case you missed them here are eight cards that should give you a idea of what was included.  Like A&G there are some interesting subjects but in Obak's case they are all baseball related.