2001 UD Hall of Famers -- Origins of the Game

Y'all seemed to be losing interest in this set but it's been three weeks so I'm going to give it another shot.  These 10 cards are a subset called Origins of the Game.  I'm not really sure why. I do think they're nice looking.

Not Really a Pack Break

My wife bought me some packs for Christmas.  I just opened a pack of 2008-09 UD Hockey.  Don't tell her but I have a complete set (a pack she bought me inspired the purchase).  I posted some of my favorites way back in 2009. Since there were no inserts I'm only going to share the best card from the pack.

As a photographer I like tightly framed shots like this.  Derek is letting a Canadien know that he doesn't like him screening his goaltender.  A stick in the back oughtta do it.

A Striking Goat

This is the newest addition to to my tobacco card collection.  It's from the N87, 1889 Duke's Shadows series.   

Just for fun here are the standings for the 1889 major league baseball season.

Major league baseball final standings

National League final standings

v t e National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
New York Giants	83	43	0.659	—	47–15	36–28
Boston Beaneaters	83	45	0.648	1	48–17	35–28
Chicago White Stockings	67	65	0.508	19	37–30	30–35
Philadelphia Quakers	63	64	0.496	20½	43–24	20–40
Pittsburg Alleghenys	61	71	0.462	25	40–28	21–43
Cleveland Spiders	61	72	0.459	25½	33–35	28–37
Indianapolis Hoosiers	59	75	0.440	28	32–36	27–39
Washington Nationals	41	83	0.331	41	24–29	17–54

American Association final standings

American Association	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Brooklyn Bridegrooms	93	44	0.679	—	50–19	43–25
St. Louis Browns	90	45	0.667	2	51–18	39–27
Philadelphia Athletics	75	58	0.564	16	46–22	29–36
Cincinnati Red Stockings	76	63	0.547	18	47–26	29–37
Baltimore Orioles	70	65	0.519	22	40–24	30–41
Columbus Solons	60	78	0.435	33½	36–33	24–45
Kansas City Cowboys	55	82	0.401	38	35–35	20–47
Louisville Colonels	27	111	0.196	66½	18–46	9–65

That's Gold Jerry! Gold!

Here's a bit of 90's die cut goodness I found in my collection.  Vlad sure had some impressive offensive numbers:   .318 BA, 477 doubles, 449 home runs, 1496 runs batted in, in 16 seasons.

Let's Play Two!

Those three words instantly identify the subject of today's post.  The same seller I bought last post's Ron Santo cards from was offering this lot of six Ernie Banks cards. Combined shipping made this an easy bid.   I won them for the starting bid of 99 cents.

The first three cards are from one of the best art card sets out there, 2003 Topps Gallery.

It's hard to tell from the scan but this is the shiny "artist's proof".

These two are the base version.  The one on the left is the striped hat variation.  I have no idea what the relative scarcity is (if there is any).

The next three are 2005 Upper Deck inserts.  Each one is serial numbered to 50.

Not a bad buy for less than the price of a pack of flagship.

One of These Things is Not Like the Others

I won a lot of 15 Ron Santo cards on ebay last week.  I already own all of them and in most cases several copies.  So why did I shell out $2.24?  Well, there was one card I didn't have.  Now it's time to play our game:

Here's 9 of the 15

Can you tell me which one?  Scroll down for the answer.

Yep, you were right!  It's a 1969 or 1970 Transogram.  There's a little ding on the right edge about a third of the way down.  Otherwise it's in excellent shape.  Scratch another vintage oddball piece off my list.

Here's what a complete panel looks like:

 And here's a box with the figures:

Unusual Card of the Day

Here's 2 time NBA MVP and  Hall of Famer Karl Malone doing what he does best --acting?  Despite what the card says about movie stardom, Karl did not (wise move) quit his day job.  Here's something I noticed.  This is a 1990 card and the movie has a release date of 1994.  Problems?

Here's the poster:

This Post Has No Title Just Cards and Few Words

OK, that's a really tortured Elton John reference.  Sorry.

Years ago I bought few large flat rate boxes full of cards for under $15 each.  They contained mostly junk but there were some nice cards.  Here's a handful of 2005 Topps Chrome.

Here's the artist and his artwork:

Card of the Day -- Good Kid

Indians fans remember Lou Boudreau for leading their team to their last World Series Championship in 1948.  I remember the "Good Kid" as the radio voice of the Cubs on WGN along with partner Vince Lloyd.  Although Lou was raised Catholic (his parents divorced when he was young) it has come to light that his mother was Jewish.  He's now regarded by most as the third greatest Jewish ballplayer behind Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax.

This card would be nicer if the MVP plaque was more attractive.

2001 Upper Deck Hall of Famers White Sox to Yankees

I really miss sets like this 2001 UD Hall of Famers.  I picked this one up for $8.00 shipped.  Lets look at them all.

A nice set up shot of Luis doing what he did best.  He's pictured here in the Go-Go White Sox era.

Only Ozzie Smith had more assists at short than Little Louie.

Is there a more unflattering photo of Yogi?

He may not have been pretty but he was a winner.

If there were Yankees holy pictures this would be one.

Note the missing war years right when Joe was in his prime.

Love this shot.  Wish I had the ball.

In 16 seasons Slick only lost 10 or more games twice.

Numbers to drool over.  Check out the total bases from 1927-34.