Sports Card Tour Scavenger Hunt - Milwaukee

We're going to shake things up a little bit on the Sports Card Tour. Today we're in Milwaukee... for a Scavenger Hunt!

Milwaukee has two pro sports teams - the Brewers and the Bucks. The Brewers have reached the playoffs four times in their 49 MLB seasons; they won the American League pennant in 1982. The Bucks needed just three seasons to win their first championship, in 1971. They returned to the NBA Finals three years later, losing to the Celtics in 1974.

 The greatest player in Brewers history without a doubt is Robin Yount.

I have over 100 Yount items in my collection - including nearly a hundred cards, three autographs, three Starting Lineup figures, and the Danbury Mint figure pictured in my blog header.

Yount and Don Mattingly were my two favorite baseball players in the late 1980s-early 1990s.

Unfortunately I do not have an actual Robin Yount RC in my collection. His 1975 Topps card has passed through my collection but I've sold it at least twice. A PSA-graded copy was sold in hopes of upgrading to a Mint 9. However that auction ended at over $330; more than a college student could afford (in hindsight, I should have found a way - Yount 9s sell for three times that now!)

I bought an ungraded copy on COMC for about $20 - but when I got it in hand I found that it had been 'diamond cut'.

Robin was named American League MVP (twice) almost as many times as he was named an American League All-Star (three times) which seems preposterous given that every team must have one All-Star per season and Yount played two positions and the Brewers weren't exactly a juggernaut.

When he made an appearance at the East Coast National in White Plains a few years back, the ad specifically stated "Mr. Yount will not personalize any autographs The Kid or Rockin' Robin." I don't blame him.

Yount and Stan Ross* are the only players who collected their 3,000th hit in a Brewers uniform.

*see Corky's comment

Paul Molitor's 3,000th hit came as a member of the Minnesota Twins - the team he's now managing. You might see more Molly in my next SCT post. 

Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder powered the Brew Crew to the 2011 NLCS, where they lost to the Cardinals in their last playoff appearance. I've mentioned before that I initially believed Ryan Braun's PED denial - it seemed entirely plausible that the technician who admittedly held onto his sample too long had caused a false positive. But that was before Braun's ties to the Biogenesis lab came to light. 
 
Prince Fielder was one of the game's most durable players until he turned 30; a neck injury forced him to retire at age 32. I still keep his cards in my star player box - even though similar (if not better) first basemen like Mark Texiera and Carlos Delgado are in my commons binders.

The rest of my Brewers hits. I held onto the Plesac buyback because he's on the MLB Network (if Shane or Jon really needed it I might be persuaded to let it go) I remember thinking the Select Aces were a tough pull back in the day. Maybe I was just buying the wrong packs.

Matt LaPorta was a prospector's dream ten years ago (someone on SCF literally called him "God".) I pulled a LaPorta auto out of a jumbo pack of 2008 Bowman and sold it for over $100. You could probably buy one for $1 now. 

I also pulled a Jimmy Nelson 2013 Bowman Chrome purple refractor autograph numbered to 10 - from a blaster box, believe it or not. It was a very cool looking card, but I immediately sold it because I figured his ceiling was a fourth starter for the Brewers. How valuable could that be? I soon found out; the guy who bought it from me on eBay (for about $65) got it graded and flipped the now-gem mint copy for about $400.

I pulled a third Brewers auto out of a jumbo box of 2015 Topps - and this one is still in my collection. 

Jason Rogers had about as much big league success as LaPorta. This card is absolutely available, if anyone wants to send me an equivalent Red Sox auto (Will Middlebrooks?)

 One last Brewers thing I wanted to share...

When I went to Cooperstown with my then-girlfriend we were about to leave town and running out of money. I spotted a Teddy Higuera Starting Lineup figure in a memorabilia store and planned to buy it - until she spotted a used Duran Duran cd and asked to borrow the $5 I would have spent on the Higuera. And it wasn't even a good Duran album, either. It was Big Thing, ffs.

My Atlanta post mistakenly included a couple modern Milwaukee Braves cards. Luckily I saved the vintage Braves for this post. The Braves were only in Milwaukee for 13 seasons, but they won back-to-back NL crowns including the 1957 World Series, defeating the Yankees in seven games.
 

Of course the Yanks had to get the last word, winning the rematch in 1958. 

I have eight Braves from the 1956 Topps set. Four of them are ungraded...

...and four of them are graded, including Ernie Johnson - father of broadcaster and NBA on TNT host Ernie Johnson.

And Frank Torre - brother of Hall of Fame manager Joe Torre.

This Warren Spahn was one of the two cards I bought after I sold the Aaron Judge auto.

My 1956 Topps set build (un)officially began with this card, as I noted in my second-ever post on this blog.

Ed/Eddie Mathews is the most recent addition to my 1956 set. eBay had a special May The Fourth coupon code - which I didn't see until I got home from my mother-in-law's that night. By the time I was able to use it the promo code was about to expire. With only a half hour to find something over $50 to buy - and a very slow internet connection stressing me out - I grabbed this card with one minute to spare. 

I don't have a Hank Aaron card from 1956...but I do have a vintage Aaron in my collection:

This 1962 Topps card was the one Aaron card I've always wanted (other than '55 and now '56.) I bought it on COMC after selling my Carlos Correa Heritage auto. 

It was a huge gamble for me, at a price of $82.73 it was the most I've ever paid for a non-graded vintage card. Any fears I had about finding a hidden flaw were put to rest when it arrived. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I could see myself becoming a Milwaukee Bucks fan. I like their slogan and their court layout. And they have a legit superstar in Giannis Antetokounmpo (plus my guy Delly.)

Unfortunately the only Giannis base card I have is part of my 2015-16 Donruss set. 

Last night I finished organizing all of my basketball cards - and I counted them in three categories: commons, star base cards, and inserts/parallels/decent RCs. These are all of the Bucks stars in my collection.

My best Bucks card is this Jack Sikma jersey/auto - which didn't even cost me two bucks. I was able to snatch it up on COMC for just $1.45 due to dings on the bottom corners.

One last Bucks note..I've sort-of started collecting 1988-89 Fleer because it was the first basketball set I remember. Now I can't recall if I bought one pack as a kid or eight, or if I picked the packs or my dad brought them home for me. But I am certain that Randy Breuer was in the first pack.

I don't have this card in my collection at the moment - but I'll get it back eventually.


Now let's get to the Scavenger Hunt!

As part of my Sports Card Tour giveaway contest draft thingy I'm awarding points for each comment on my posts. The more points you earn, the higher your draft position will be. 

I've thought of another way for you to earn points - if you are participating in the contest. (If you haven't signed up yet, leave a comment here confirming you want to play.)

Within these Sports Card Tour posts I've been sprinkling in some pop culture references. Some of them are very direct - like a picture of an actress I like. Others are more subtle.

This one doesn't count, sorry.

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to identify as many pop culture references as you can - and post your findings in the comments. Include the city/post name in your comment. For example, the Stan Ross card above would be Stan Ross card, Mr. 3000, Milwaukee 

I will award one draft point for every pop culture reference you find - but only to the first person who correctly identifies each specific reference. I may even award extra points for more obscure/difficult ones. This game will end in seven days. Happy hunting!


Favorite Brewers player (all-time) : Robin Yount
Favorite Brewers player (current) : None really, but I'm glad they added Yelich and Cain.

Favorite Bucks player (all-time) : Ray Allen
Favorite Bucks player (current) : Giannis

Next tour stop: Minneapolis-St. Paul


Thanks for reading!


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