Getting a Christmas card from a card blogger reminds me of the first giveaway I did. :)
Of course this card had smaller cards tucked inside it, including an Alex English for my 1988-89 Fleer set build, and an Aaron Rodgers Panini Certified Cuts card I didn't have. Some local flavor here too: the Knicks, the Nets, and the UConn Huskies are represented.
Billy wrote a very nice message inside, and made it clear that he was not my Secret Santa - which would have been weird because he was already my S.S. two years ago!
My Secret Santa is not a blogger, but he is a veteran blog reader and commenter (and a Red Sox fan) Mark Hoyle sent me a stuffed bubble mailer on Monday. There were some old Sox inside:
Oooh a non-card item. Is it me, or does Yaz look like he's posing at a camp site?
Tony C! Nice little run here. Unfortunately I bought a copy of the '69 at the Milford card show in March. Anyone collecting vintage Sox or building the 1969 Topps set? I'd be willing to trade my extra copy.
Mark included some sealed packs. You can't find these on the shelves at Target. (I wonder if he has a pack stash?) The '89 Topps baseball yielded three more Red Sox..
..but the non-Sox selection was bleak. Van Slyke and Wells were the closest thing to 'stars' I could find. At least the Skybox basketball pack had a Hall of Famer..
Wes Unseld was one of four Bullets in the pack. My favorite card here has to be the Nuggets logo. I like this design more than the 1990-91 Fleer set...
..but there was a lot more star power in that one. Is there a better card I could have pulled than this Michael Jordan? I think not.
Jordan and David Robinson were far from the only NBA legends I received:
Vintage hoop! Every time I see Dennis Johnson I think of that famous steal by Bird.
These 1979-80 Topps cards would make a nice 9-pocket page. The Alex English Rookie Card and Rick Barry are my favorites here. The Gail Goodrich is my first New Orleans Jazz card.
ABA cards, including Kentucky Colonels. Seattle just got an NHL expansion team and it's only a matter of time before the NBA returns. Is Louisville a viable option for a 32nd NBA franchise?
Bing! More stars from 1975-76 Topps, on the NBA side. I've never seen a Pat Riley card from his playing days. These are all fantastic cards but one of these two dozen singles really stood out to me:
Boom! Two all-time greats on the same card and two different poses for each player. This Kareem/Oscar card is in fantastic shape, too. It would have been perfect for the Milwaukee stop on my Sports Card Tour.
Mark, Billy..thank you both for your generosity! I am very pleased with my cardboard gifts :)
I'm going to try and wrap up my Nostalgia post this weekend so that I can get my 200th post in before Christmas. Hope your Secret Santa has been good to you all!
~
I could use the '69 Conigliaro. I can find some 70s Red Sox or something else for you.
ReplyDeleteI'll take a closer look at your '77 tradelist tonight. Maybe I can use some of those..
DeleteVery glad you like. Believe it or not I didn't plan them to be local connections. I thought you mentioned you were going to work on the 1999-00 Hoops X set, and that's what I had on hand. The Chris Childs was just a space filler so the card would be even sized across, LOL. Mark knocked out my 1979-80 set a couple years ago as well.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I did mention that 99-00 Hoops set. I'll have to check TCDB and see how many I need. Gotta add these to my collection there anyway.
DeleteThat Yaz button is really cool!
ReplyDeleteThat Jabbar Big O leader card is sweeeeeeet
DeleteGlad everything made it safely. Was hoping the Hoop cards would fit into the collection. Happy Holidays.
ReplyDeleteNice surprise!
ReplyDeleteMark never disappoints! Great selection of vintage, and even though he didn't mention it, I'm guessing that some of these might be cards that Mark pulled in his youth.
ReplyDeleteAnd that was almost a perfect pack of '90-91 Fleer, any collector would've been thrilled to open such a pack back when they came out.