Army-Navy Game Day and Two Heisman Winners

I'm getting old.  I used to love football but the changes in the game are causing a waning interest from myself.  Today is the Army-Navy game and I watch it yearly.  There's much more of an innocence and old-timey feel to it.  Perhaps I was born a few years too late.  Regardless, I will take the opportunity to show off some of my vintage Army guys.  Sorry Navy, I don't have any vintage Midshipmen in my PC.  Well, I kinda do (you'll see at the end).

Any discussion of Army football history isn't legit unless it contains "Mr. Inside" and "Mr. Outside." 

LINK: MR. INSIDE & MR. OUTSIDE

1955 Topps All-American #59 Doc Blanchard 

1955 Topps All-American #59 Doc Blanchard (back)

Doc Blanchard played one year of (freshman) football at North Carolina before enlisting in the Army.  During his three years at Army playing fullback the team complied a 27-0-1 record, winning three National championships.  He was named a Consensus All-American all three seasons.  For the 1945 season Blanchard won the James E. Sullivan Award, Sporting News Player of the Year, Maxwell Award and the Heisman Trophy.  He was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.

After his playing days, Blanchard joined the Air Force.  He flew 84 missions over North Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  Mr. Inside died of pneumonia in 2009. 

1950 Bowman #16 Glenn Davis

This particular card isn't mine, but I will own a copy of it soon.  I did have a 1951 Bowman "Mr. Outside" Glenn Davis at one time, but must have sold it somewhere along the line. 

Davis played in the same backfield with Doc Blanchard and was a part of the same three championship teams, and was an All-American the same three seasons.  Blanchard won the Heisman Trophy in 1944 as a junior and Davis won in 1955. 

Davis served three years in the military before joining the Los Angeles Rams for the 1950 season.  He was named an All-Pro that season but injured his knee in 1951, ending his career. 

Davis died in 2005 and is interred at West Point Cemetery. 

If you love history of the game and don't know much about these gentlemen, I encourage you to research. 

As I went through my 1955 All-American cards I pulled the other Army and Navy players from the set.  However, there either are no Navy players, or I don't have them. 

1955 Topps All-American #95 Chris Cagle

1955 Topps All-American #25 Cas Myslinski

1955 Topps All-American #44 Ed Garbisch 

1955 Topps All-American #32 Hank Foldberg 

1955 Topps All-American #53 Jack Green 

I mentioned that there were no Navy players, but this is close.

1955 Topps All-American #6 Nile Kinnick 

1955 Topps All-American #6 Nile Kinnick

Nile Kinnick did not attend the Naval Academy.  He won the Heisman Trophy playing at the University of Iowa in 1939.  As you can read on the card back (wait, card backs matter?) he died piloting a Navy plane in 1943.  Kinnick was five weeks shy of his 25th birthday and the first Heisman Trophy winner to die. 

If you don't know who Kinnick is but the name sounds familiar, the University of Iowa football stadium has been named "Kinnick Stadium" since 1972. 

This was a different type of post for me and I hope that you enjoyed it.  If you can, tune in for the game today.  It is on CBS at 3pm eastern.  Throw out the records.  Throw out the stupid offenses and throwing 60 times a game that most run now.  Enjoy some football, the way it was created to be played. 

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $150 in a year (including $15 back on one Black Friday purchase last week).  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!

Show Stuff

Sometimes plans don't work out the way you imagined.  Today I planned to make the 45-minute drive to Plano, pick up three cards from David and head back home.  I left with many more than three cards. 

David gave me a great price on a card I needed for the 1955 All-American set a few months ago.  I decided to pick up the rest of the ones he had.  I have a copy of the Larry Kelley already, but it's a graded one.  I honestly prefer raw cards anyway, so this one goes into the set.  I needed the Leo Nomellini, and this one is in fantastic shape.  I had a copy of the Beattie Feathers already, but this one is also in great shape and a significant upgrade. 

Not two minutes after I paid, I won the hourly door prize, which is a certificate to use with any seller.  So, I kept looking.  I ended up spending way more than I planned, but I'm not complaining.  I pulled cards out of the dollar box, including some I never thought I'd see in a dollar box. 

Six cards I needed for the 2001 Topps Heritage set that I'm passively working on. 

Two cards (on top) for my personal collection and three others I will list on Trading Card Database to trade. 

You're seeing that correctly, 47 cards from the 1952 baseball set.  Sure they are all in low grade, but at (less than) a dollar, I took every one in the box!  What a great starter lot to add to my collection, not that I will ever attempt the set.  I picked these up eight hours ago and the smile hasn't left my face yet.  It's the perfect example of why I love card shows.  I don't know that I'd ever find a lot like this on eBay and even if it existed, I'm never looking for 1952 Topps.  I just jumped on the opportunity to add these to my collection. 

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $100 in about seven months.  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!

Saturday Show Spoils

It was card show day again today!  I didn't plan on picking up much and walked out with more than I planned to.  I walked away very happy though.

Before I went to the show, I stopped by Triple Cards in Plano.  They are one of the Topps Baseball Card Day participating stores so I wanted to stop in and claim my pack.  You can check out what I walked out with here.

When I first got to the show, Stephan was already there (with Angela) and he was digging through Rich's boxes of cards.  I'm not even sure he looked at other tables the entire show.  After chatting for awhile, I made my rounds.

I chatted up the gentleman that's promoting the new Fort Worth card show.  He will be moving the shows to Saturdays on some future dates.  I guess that means I won't be attending many since college football is just TWO WEEKS AWAY!

I talked with Nate momentarily.  He submits to BGS frequently and I need to get my Auston Matthews Canvas Young Guns submitted.  He looked at it for me a couple of months ago and believes it's easily a 9.5,  WINNING!

My purchase was from a seller that I've bought from before.  He always has an impressive 3-for-$1 box and I raided it again today.

The next two scans are cards I picked up off one of the regular sellers at local card shows.  I don't dig through his stuff often (he has SO much), but went through a few boxes today and picked these five cards up for $30.

It's been probably a year since I've picked up any cards for my 1955 All-American set.  It's fallen off the radar as I've learned more about other cards.  I believe another thing that keeps me from finishing it off is that there's just so many of the cards out there.  Dave puts "book" value on his cards and then everything is half that or less.  The Germany Schulz has a book value of $30 and this one is in great shape.  I was happy to pay $15 for it in that condition but his son told me $10.  YES, PLEASE!  Hindsight is 20/20, but I should have seen what he wanted for the other ones he has.  They would be doubles, but all would be set upgrades for me.

I actually bought the cards in the second scan at a different time and got them for $20.  The Will Clark has a canvas finish.  I picked this card up solely to send to Clark and have him sign for me.  I'm not striving to collect all cards of hometown hero Jedd Gyorko.  There's just too much and it's like pissing into the wind.  However, I do want to pick up any cards from the baseball sets I like (Heritage, Gypsy Queen and Allen & Ginter) and I didn't have this autograph yet.

I will likely never put together the 2000 Fleer Club 3000 Memorabilia set and this is the first one that I have acquired.  If anyone has any of them that they don't want, please let me know.  I don't have many Tony Gwynn cards, but I pick up some if I come across them at the right price.  Memorabilia cards are "meh" to me anymore but this one is from back when they were a much bigger deal.  I do still need a Tony Gwynn autograph.

I picked up the two cards below from Rich.  I probably overpaid for them (considering the Stautner condition), but I've gotten some good deals in the past and it takes the sting off it.

As I was about to leave and looked down at my watch, it was 20 after the hour.  It was just ten minutes until the hourly drawing for a $15 voucher to spend with any dealer.  I figured it was worth the wait, so I stayed.  Yup, my ticket number was drawn.  There was nothing I'd seen and REALLY wanted but passed on.

I had looked through Leon's T206 cards earlier and recalled that he had a few cheapies.  The Hobe Ferris card is a pretty common card in the set and it's not overly impressive.  However, I didn't have it and it was free.  Hard to beat that combination!  This is the 15th T206 in my collection.

1909-11 T206 #171 Hobe Ferris

It was a good day!

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back from purchases there.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $100 in about seven months.  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!

COMC Mail - Oldies, but Goodies

Thursday, another package arrived from COMC.  I'm going to break it down over multiple posts, but let's start with the vintage goodies that were inside.

1952 Topps #129 Johnny Mize

 I love this card.  I'm no Yankees fan, but it's the image that gets me on this one.  The 1952 Topps set is art.  I wish cards still had this look.  The horizontal look, holding three bats, the facade of Yankee Stadium...it's just beautiful.  Believe it or not, this is my first card from the set.  There is one more that I want, but it's a high-number.  Some day.  Maybe.

1959 Topps #88 Herb Score

 I have a couple of copies of this card, but for 20 cents, I wasn't passing up another hobby.

1971 Topps #5 Thurman Munson

I mentioned this card as my favorite card from the 1970s in my 30-Day Card Challenge post.  I had to pick up a low-grade copy.  Not just ANY low grade copy, but the one that I used for an image in that post.

1955 Topps All American #75 Hugh Gallarneau

1955 Topps All American #91 Bob Odell

For $7.99 apiece, I decided to add these two cards to my collection.  I have a set on the PSA Registry.  I don't often add to it, but when I can find cheap, graded copies, I pick them up.

These five cards were the only vintage that came this time.  It'll be all modern in the upcoming days.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $100 in about seven months.  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!

30 Day Card Challenge - Day 9

Today's card is "one of your favorite cards from the 1950s."

The 1930s and 1940s would be easy for me.  I've already used the 1955 Bowman Frank Gatski earlier in this series.  So I decided on a card from a set I'm passively working on.

1955 Topps All American #37 Jim Thorpe

I picked this card up raw from Indy Card Exchange four or five years ago.  After moving to Fort Worth, I submitted it for the BGS grading at a local show.  It is certainly one of the cornerstones of my collection.

If you shop online and haven't signed up and used ebates yet, you're missing out.  I also use it on eBay to get money back.  Between referrals and cash back, I've gotten over $100 in about six months.  FREE CARDS!  If you're on Twitter, please give me a follow.  Happy collecting!

30 Day Card Challenge - Day 1

30 Day Card Challenge - Day 2

30 Day Card Challenge - Day 3
30 Day Card Challenge - Day 4
30 Day Card Challenge - Day 5

Two Birds, One Stone (30 Day Card Challenge - Day 6)
30 Day Card Challenge - Day 7
30 Day Card Challenge - Day 8

Sunday Show Spoils

This is the final of four posts on my show pickups from last weekend.  If you missed any of the first three, links are below.

LINK:  The Monster
LINK:  Old-Timey & Non-Sporty
LINK:  Two Set Needs. Oh, Just One.

I picked up some cards that I really love on Sunday.  Yes, the T206 card was the big boy, but it's possible to love smaller pickups just as much.

1955 Bowman #119 Frank Gatski

Something that is expected, but I don't like, is the "wheeling and dealing" aspect of collecting.  I'm not a deal maker and rarely try to make one.  I know I should do that more but it's just something that makes me uncomfortable.  I talked to the seller to see if I could get this any cheaper than what he was asking but he wouldn't come down.

I understand.  The card is in great shape.  It's a little off center and has a minor print flaw but I think it's solid.  Did you know that Frank Gatski is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?  Did you know that per Sports Card Forum's Inventory Manager, he only had eight "cards" produced during his playing days?  Of those eight, only this one was a "mainstream" issue.  I pick up copies of it as I see them, if they are at a good price.

That's my little collection of this card.  I have a couple of cut autos and some other pieces, but they aren't germane to this post.  When I was in my teens, I remember being asked if I knew who he was.  I didn't and was informed, and also told that I had played baseball (and later attended high school with) his grandson.  I was never a friend of the grandson and never had the opportunity to ask him about it.

One other fun fact if you've never heard the name Frank Gatski before today (or perhaps if you had).  He played football at Farmington High School in West Virginia.  Farmington is a coal town that never has had a census population greater than 900 people.  A decade later, another Hall of Famer graduated from that same high school.  If there are other high schools that have produced two football Hall of Famers, I doubt the high school was as small as Farmington.  That other Hall of Famer is Sam Huff.

1965 Topps #36 Bobby Wine

I got this card off the same seller as the Gatski.  As I was about to leave the show I stopped back by to chat with Dave (the seller) and he took a look through my pickups.  He told me that he has something to give me (seeing what I had picked up) and pulled this card out.  He and I have done a lot of business buying and selling each way and there's no doubt that played a role in it.  A 50 year old PSA 8 card for free?  I can give that a good home!

1961 Fleer Wallet Pictures #110 Paul Hornung

I wasn't sure exactly what this was when I picked it up.  Neither was the seller.  A couple of minutes of research on SCF and I had it figured out.  I looked and don't see any up for sale on feeBay right now and only found one in the sold history.  They don't appear to sell for much, as the only sold one I found was a SGC96 and sold for just $12.50.  No matter what, it was going to be "worth" the $3 that I spent on it to me.

1956 Topps #140 Herb Score

Like the Gatski, any chance that I have to pick up a Herb Score rookie at a good price, I jump on.  The same seller as the Hornung also had these two copies and I scooped them up.  Score was the color commentator on Indians radio broadcasts when I started listening in the early-1990s.  He's certainly a candidate for baseball's "the greatest that never was" and I'm accumulated a few cards over the years.

Also like Gatksi, I've picked up a few autographs and other cards over the years.  This will always be my favorite Score card, however.

1934-36 Diamond Stars #83 Paul Waner

I'm lucky to have walked out with this card (and the one below).  Once of the dealers was looking to buy all of Rich's (who I bought this off of) vintage graded.  Not sure if they ever completed a deal but I was able to snag these two.

I was surprised at the low asking price on the Paul Waner card.  I love the card and the price I paid is just a little below what it would probably sell for on feeBay, but before the fees.  I'm glad Rich had it because otherwise it's not something that I would have looked for.

1968 Topps #558 Johnny Edwards

This one was really a "I'm already spending xx on the Waner, what's $5 more?"  I mean, it cost more than $5 to get something graded!

1955 Topps All American #85 Sid Luckman

The final card I picked up was shortly before I left, from the seller I picked up the Hornung and Scores from.  I already have a copy of this card for my set that I have an attachment to, so this one won't make it into the set.  The one in my set was in the lot of cards I picked up from the Indy Card Exchange when I first started this set three or so years ago.  The Exchange was my LCS in Indianapolis and it, along with the 500, are about the only things I miss about that city.

I got this one for a great price.  I know the centering is off but the color is fantastic and corners and edges are solid.  Perhaps I will find a trade partner someday and use it to pick up one of the bigger cards I still need for my set.

It was a great show.  This particular one is run twice a year and draws some different sellers than the ones that I typically see.  It's also run as a fundraiser, which I like.  Oh, I walked out with some cards I'm thrilled to have.

Happy collecting!

Two Set Needs. Oh, Just One.

I walked out of Saturday's card show with three cards for my collection.  In addition to the T206, I picked up two 1955 Topps All American cards for my set.  Or I thought I did until about five minutes before writing this.

1955 Topps All American #70 Bill Daddio

1955 Topps All American #70 Bill Daddio (back)

1955 Topps All American #25 Cas Myslinski

1955 Topps All American #25 Cas Myslinski (back)

When I looked at my checklist, I thought that I needed both of these.  The Cas Myslinski was highlighted that I had, but my note that I'd bought from COMC was still there.  Months ago I picked up a copy from there and didn't pay attention to the back of the card.  The damage was terrible and the card number was not there.  So, I never put it into the set.  

Sometime since then, it appears that I picked up another copy from Nick's and now I have a double.  It's not the first mistake I've made and it won't be the last.  

With this addition, my set is 64.7% (66/102) complete.  

Happy collecting!