Thanks, Night Owl!

A while ago, Night Owl put up his wantlist for 1982 Fleer.  I had opened a few packs in the early days of this blog, and had some from my original collection as well, and sent a few dozen cards his way.  He returned the favor, and here are the Phillies and one Pirate I got in exchange.
When he asked what I wanted in return, I first thought about the overwhelming bulk of my collection, and said that I'd like any pre-1994 Phillies and Pirates oddballs he might have to spare.  But then I thought about what complements my collection, and asked for some modern cards, since I have almost no modern cards.  I asked in particular for whatever he could send to commemorate the 2008 Phillies World Series winning team in my collection.  And here we have them: Hamels, Victorino, Rollins, Howard.
And another Rollins, and Utley, Ruiz, and Burrell.  I grew up in the Philadelphia region, in Delaware, which could be considered far suburbs of Philly.  I went to college in Pittsburgh, grad school in North Carolina, and then worked in New York and then South Carolina.  Then I took a job in Philly starting in fall 2008.  I moved back home just in time to see these guys win it all.  It was a great time, and I'm glad I have them in my collection now.
Night Owl took care of both of my requests, as this TCMA Wes Covington and SSPC Johnny Oates show.  Interestingly, I posted a different TCMA Wes Covington not long ago, of him with the Braves.  The main things I know about Johnny Oates are that he was the Orioles manager when I was in high school, and that he is one of the several players and managers that died of a similar brain cancer, including some other Phillies (Darren Daulton and Tug McGraw).
The lone Pirate in the haul is this Topps Big of Jose Lind.  I really liked those Topps Big sets back in the day, and I didn't have this one of Lind.
Then we have two Kellogg's cards, in various stages of beat-up condition, Dick Selma and Willie Montanez.  I think the Montanez is my favorite of all the cards Night Owl sent; I'm a sucker for Kellogg's.  The 1982-style Ryan Howard is probably the runner-up.  And the Ruiz with the rookie cup is awesome.
Finally, there were a handful more.  I don't have the stamina to write about all these guys, but I sure appreciate the cards.  So, thanks Night Owl!  And thanks, everyone, for reading!

Merry Christmas to you! And, some autograph pickups

Merry Christmas, to all who celebrate Christmas.  And if you don't celebrate Christmas, then happy Tuesday to you!  Today I'll show some nice presents I gave myself, you could say.  They weren't really Christmas presents, but they had been in my COMC account and arrived in my Black Friday box. 

Timeless Treasures Mike Schmidt.

Card back, numbered 35/50.

I restarted my collecting when I had the epiphany that as a grown man, I could afford the Mike Schmidt rookie card that was impossible when I was a kid.  And there are other things possible, too, like a Schmidt autographed card.  I don't have a great concept of what all of the early-2000s sets were, but this appears to be from Donruss Timeless Treasures, and Donruss back then must have still had a license to show team logos.  Schmidt and Carlton were the two huge Phillies stars of my day and I did manage to get Carlton's autograph at a show with Dad back in the early 90s.  A Schmidt auto is something that I think my collection really needed, and now I've got it.

Donruss Optic Rated Rookie Josh Bell.

Card back, numbered 29/150.

I've been enjoying watching Josh Bell play for the Bucs, so I wanted to get an autograph of his, too.  There are a bunch to choose from, and I picked a Rated Rookie.

Triple Threads Gregory Polanco 41/50.

I've been enjoying watching Gregory Polanco, too, at least when he's healthy enough to play.  So I got this Triple Threads of him, marking him as a Future Phenom.  I like the emerald color.

2016 Topps Archives Signature Buyback Kent Tekulve, numbered 38/134.

Finally there's this Topps Archives Signature Buyback (or something like that) of Kent Tekulve.  Back when they won the World Series in 1979, Teke was a premier reliever.  He may have never led the league in saves, but he put up solid numbers and did lead the league in games pitched and games finished several times.  He spent a few years with the Phillies and Dad and I got to see him pitch at the Vet a few times.

Happy holidays, and thanks for reading!

My first trade in 25+ years

After I posted about developing a George Foster player collection, GCA (Greg) from The Collective Mind offered to trade me a few Fosters.  I wasn't optimistic that I would have much to offer, since my collection has been frozen in time at 1994, when I stopped collecting (both because I was in college and there was the strike).  It turns out I did have four cards from his wantlist, and we made a deal.  After a few days I received a 1971 Topps George Foster rookie, a Kellogg's card, and the first card in my collection manufactured after 1994.

1971 Topps George Foster rookie card.

In the expanded player collections I'm developing, I mostly am not looking for base set cards.  There are exceptions, though, if I especially like a card, or in this case, because it's Foster's rookie card.

George Foster on a Kellogg's card.

This is the 1983 Kellogg's card, after the trade to the Mets.  I've always liked Kellogg's cards; until recently, I only had a handful.  I think they were harder to come by in the pre-internet days.  I'll make a post about the ones originally in my collection soon.

George Foster on a Topps Tribute

This 2003 Topps Tribute card commemorates George Foster's first World Series appearance.  He didn't win that year, with 1972 being the first of three straight wins by the A's.  But a few years later he'd win two in a row.  It has always struck me how the 1970s was a decade of dynasties.

So, thanks, Greg, I'm really happy to have these cards in my collection, and it's nice to be back in the hobby and to have made a trade again.