Before They Were "Wild"

The Blackhawks currently have a 2-0 lead in their 2nd round Stanley Cup series against the team from Minnesota, known as the Wild.  With no offense to their fans when I think Minnesota hockey I still picture the North Stars.  The North Stars first season was 1967-68 but their first cards were the ones below, 1968-69.  With the exception of Claude Larose, who was, like Danny Grant, pictured as a Canadien, this is a complete team set.  While certainly far from "pack fresh" I did pull these cards from packs over 45 years ago.

La Vie Parisienne -- Playing With Zeppelins

This has nothing to do with cards.  I saw it in B&W in a book I'm reading, "Paris at the End of the World", about Paris during WWI.

Santo Panini

No, I'm not talking about an island in the Caribbean.

In general I'm not a fan of logo-less products but for the last few years Panini's Cooperstown baseball has been about the only place to find any new Ron Santo items.

If you're unfamiliar with these pennants they're about the dimension of an index card and the surface is flocked.  The little photo is just that, a glossy photo.  It took me quite a while to pick this up.  When they first came out the prices were way higher than what I thought they should be.  In fact the last one that came up on ebay (a week after this one) sold for more than double what I paid.  Hey, on a positive note it's great to see anything that celebrates Ronnie's overdue honor.

Again, if you haven't seen these in person, they're just under 2-1/4" in diameter, significantly larger than the 1909-11 originals they're modeled after.  I love this image of a young smiling Santo.

The backs seem to have been directly reproduced from the originals.

I Can't Get No

I'm still getting no satisfaction from this year's cards.  I like the look of Gypsy Queen but can't pull the trigger on three bucks a pack. A blaster of A&G is still in my plans.   I did get this card on ebay for $.16 shipped.

Holy Terwilliger, Batman!

I don't know, that just sounded good.  Here's a card I've had for a good while but never got around to sharing.  I doubt I'm the first.  It's from the 1950 Bowman set.  Don't let the scan fool you.  This is a small card, just 2-1/16" x 2-1/2".

I just love the look of this card.  Wrigley looks like a field of dreams.

Here's a great shot of Wayne that could have been from the same day as the photo this card was based on.

Blackhawks Move On

The Chicago Blackhawks, after falling behind two games to none in their series with the St. Louis Blues came back to win four straight and will be moving on to face either Colorado or Minnesota.  I have to admit I'm pleasantly surprised.  The team seemed to have lost  their edge in the second half and came limping into the playoffs having lost 5 of their last 8.  The season was marked by an inabilty to finish games and they tied for the most overtime losses in the league with 15.  So what do they do?  With their backs to the wall they end up winning two of the last three in OT. I'm sorry I doubted you guys.  As Denis Savard said, "You've got to commit to the Indian".

The first three cards below came in a  big mixed sports Chicago package from Whalers fan Shane of Shoebox Legends.  The others are the Hawks I pulled from a rack pack.

They're All Champs

I don't know the story on Upper Deck's Champs hockey.  Was it released in the US?  Was it a limited quantity?  There don't seem to be a lot out there.  Here are four Hall of Famers I got my hands on.

That's So Mature!

Stop mispronouncing my name jackass!

David never made it to the show.  Now age 49, it looks like he's working in the financial services field.

2001 UD Hall of Famers -- National Pastime Part One

Here's another subset with another nice design.  Awesome shots of Josh Gibson and Joe D.

I know, I know.