Set Building – Page 4 – SABR's Baseball Cards Research Committee

The Firsts Shall Be Last (Or, At Least, Most Recent)

Interesting that Jason, our Committee co-chair, should highlight this card in his recent post of cards on cards.

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Interesting, because the post hit right as I was acquiring two lots to get close to finishing the set. It’s the 1974 Fleer Baseball Firsts set, a 42-card issue of R. G. Laughlin’s great work.

I’ve written before about Laughlin sets. I’ve been able to complete some that I had a head start on (1972 Famous Feats, 1973 Wildest Days and Plays). Others I had – 1971 World Series and 1974 Pioneers of Baseball. One I picked up super cheaply – 1972 Great Feats (red). Still more are pricey as hell, but I’m playing a long game.

I knew I had some of the Baseball Firsts cards from buying packs. I dug them out and found I only had 17 of 42. Not enough to really work with, but I started checking out some lots. I found one with 7 cards I needed and, in a co-bid with Mark Armour, picked up 37 of 42. (20 are headed to Mark, 17 stayed with me).

Here they are (sorry for the sheet glare):

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I find it amazing that, in 1974, the earliest days of intense labor strife in major league baseball, Fleer would issue a Players’ Association card. Brave, and maybe a big middle finger to MLB and Topps, who kept Fleer at bay (and would for 7 more years).

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The Carl Mays card is creepy AF, capturing Mays’ delivery, shrouded in black, with the Grim Reaper peeking out behind the pitcher’s mound. On a lighter note, the Helmet card seems to feature scrubbing bubbles.

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None of these cards should really run more than $1-2, and having a somewhat anonymous Jackie Robinson helps. I have no doubt that if the front of the card had his name, it would cost $10.

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The Farm System card looks like a scene from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. The empty spot on this page is reserved for Landis, on reserve at COMC.

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The one I need, #6, is this:

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If anyone has it, or an extra, let me know. I’ve got its final resting place already prepared:

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Non-sports? Look for the Toehold

There are lots of great collectors on Twitter. Their posts are nearly always cool, but there are some that cause me to act. Kevin Lutes (@klutesphoto) always mixes in non-sports cards, which I love. When he shouted out about the 1976 Topps Happy Days set (44 base cards and 11 stickers), I was forced to track one down and, now bought, is en route.

I’ve wanted to write about a few non-sports sets I’ve worked on, or am working on, but the topic doesn’t fit our blog. Or does it? Our co-chair Nick not only advised me to look for a toehold to connect to baseball card, and even supplied one:

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So here we go.

Last year I worked on a magnificent set, the 96 card 1953 Bowman Television and Radio Stars of NBC set. Fantastic photos of once famous, and some still famous, celebrities. It’s a relatively tough set to put together. Centering can be a problem, but that’s not a real issue for me. What was an issue was that, for reasons unknown (to me), the odd numbered cards are noticeably harder to find. I lucked out with a big haul of odds at last fall’s Shriners’ show in Boston.

There’s also a 1952 version, a shorter checklist – 36 cards with some overlap with 1953 – with horizontal text on the back (the 1953s have vertical text). These are harder to find, period, but I’m working my way through it, a little less worried about nice corners and the occasional crease. I’ve got 22.

That’s the background; here’s the baseball.

Pioneering sportscaster Bill Stern got a card in the horizontal set. Stern’s connection to baseball is strong – he broadcast the first telecast of a baseball game in 1939 and appeared in Pride of the Yankees.

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Bob Considine also gets a card in the 1952 set. Sportswriter, baseball writer, author of books and screenplays, Considine was a giant in his field. He wrote The Babe Ruth Story with the Babe himself and then the screenplay. Yeah, I know, it’s a crappy movie, but still…

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Speaking of the movie, the faux Babe, William Bendix, gets a card turn the following year. No mention of his baseball work on the back.

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Another set I’ve been casually working on is the 1957 Topps Hit Stars. An 88 card masterpiece of radio, TV and music titans, prices cover a wide range, with multiple James Deans, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, The Crickets and an Elvis a little more than I’m ready for right now. Lesser stars, and some bigger names, if I’m lucky, run me about $1.50 each. Here’s a Jimmy Piersall, as played by Tony Perkins.

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It may be nicer than Jimmy’s 1957 Topps card. It’s close.

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That’s all for now. As non-sports baseball cards come to my collection, I’ll keep you informed. Until then, ask not what non-sports cards can do for you, ask what you can do for non-sports cards.

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Donruss – Originals?

There are a lot of sets that I’ve bought that I’ve forgotten about. Some bring back memories; others I can’t believe actually exist (or that I have).

The 2002 Donruss Originals set came as a complete surprise to me when I saw it written on the end of a storage box. I pulled it out of the pile to investigate, had no idea what lurked within, and ended up surprised at how much fun it was.

The gimmick is simple, and now done ad nauseum – bring back old designs with contemporary players. Donruss went back into their 20+ year history and came up with four looks they felt worthy of tribute – 1982, 1984, 1986 and 1988. Classic cardboard? Not for me to decide, but the set does work.

The 400 card issue is not evenly divided between the four years: 1982-1986 get 115 cards each, 1988 gets 55. Perhaps Donruss themselves knew that 1988 was pushing it in terms of historic sets.

What’s weirdly interesting about this set is the repetition. Donruss chose to feature many of the same players in all four designs, so the checklist isn’t 400 individual people. Let’s ask Miguel Tejada, as 2002 a guy as I can think of, to demonstrate:

1982

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1984

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1986

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1988

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Odd, but compelling, almost hypnotic, but nothing’s wrong with having a set that’s .75% Corey Pattersons?

A Really Big, Though Not National, Show

I went to the East Coast National in White Plains on Saturday. Why is it the East Coast National? By definition, it’s not “national” if it’s “East Coast,” but, you know, there’s this:

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All card shows start the same for me. I have an optimistic plan of everything I’m going to find, but then I hit the room and am immediately disappointed. Not so this time.

I’m uber focused and organized, but the ideal me is more spontaneous. I watch with awe the collectors who simply buy stiff they find looks cool, or is a bargain in a discount box. That’s not me. However, I printed up a 1955 Bowman Football checklists, marked the 10 I had, and hoped I’d find a box or stack of low price cards in nice shape to jump start the set. I’ve always loved this set, and I’ve seen tons of them in bargain bins.

It didn’t take long. I found a guy with stacks of cards, each at great prices, and I went nuts, losing all sense of time and place (to the point of missing a meet up. Sorry Matt!).

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A couple of dealers later I was now working on a set. My friend Greg scouted out some cards and helped chose the best cards for the price. When I used to go to shows, I’d see tandems working on sets together. I always wanted to do that, and last weekend I did. Greg and I share a lot of common interests and, when it comes to cards, he immediately knew what I was looking for. It was great fun having him choose while I checked off the list. I came home with 45 cards for $85. I even have my first completed page!

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That first dealer also had a stack of 1952 Bowman Television and Radio Stars of NBC. I knocked off a set of 1953 vertical backs last year, and was wavering on whether to go for the 36 card horizontal back set. You know where that wavering led; I’m totally working on the set. I came to the show 7 cards in, and picked up another 11, including two sports guys, Bill Stern and Bob Considine. With two more on the way I’m already close to the end. A bit lesser condition than my verticals, but they are definitely harder to find. (These were 50% off the listed price, don’t worry.)

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Alright, alright, now on to the baseball cards.

I put a big dent into the last of my 1961 Post set, a full half of my want list at prices I’m not finding online. I’ve been hard pressed finding cards at prices I find reasonable (I wrote about that last month), but I knocked off these at exact the dollar amount I was looking for. Flood and Antonelli were a buck each and I’m thrilled to have gotten the Mathews for $15. I’m in the home stretch now – 11 to go!

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If you’re a consistent reader of my posts, and, really, why wouldn’t you be?, you’ll know I’m committed to the 1960 Leaf second series. I’ve been pretty successful getting nice ones – EX or better – for less than $10 per common. It’s not super easy, though not super difficult. The opportunities come and go quickly. I pored through a pile of them and tried to talk the guy down from $15 to $10. He landed at $12, which was fine. It was good to knock 6 more off the list. I’ve got 27 of 72 and my average per card cost is still $7.93.

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Early in the recent history of this blog, I wrote about how online buying knocked shows out of my system and, I thought, good riddance. Of course I was kind of wrong (kind of right too) because in the last two years I’ve been to great shows and made purchases at a level that can only occur at big events. I find myself already anticipating the next one!

My 1887 Old Judge…not!

Just so everybody here doesn’t think that as a defender of card grading, I’m a shill for PSA, I’ll share a weird experience I had a few years ago with an amazing goof on a card I sent to be graded.

I needed a graded card of Hall of Fame umpire Hank O’Day to add to my “unrestricted” set of Hall of Fame cards. “Unrestricted” means any card of any year, even if it’s long after a person played or lived, including graded Hall of Fame plaque postcards or Dick Perez portrait postcards. Generally, people create such sets with cards they already have from other more standard issues, but obviously folks like me buy other PSA graded cards to fill holes in these kind of sets. To each, his own. It’s how collecting works.

Yes, I know. I don’t consider these postcards really standard baseball cards but – rationalization here – some HoF members have very few real cards, and the one or two that exist are outrageously expensive in any form. So sometimes, I have settle for HOF postcards (which, proudly, I bought at the HOF gift shop in Cooperstown. The clerk was interested to know why I was buying these obscure players’ and execs’ postcards.)

Well, I sent PSA a Conlon card (early 1990s. obviously) of Hank O’Day to be graded. Silly me, I thought it looked pretty good and might rate a PSA 7 grade. Duh. It came back as a 5.5; pretty much worthless in graded form for a card from this set. (I eventually added it anyway as a Conlon to my set.)

Remarkably, PSA had somehow encapsulated this Conlon card as an 1887 N172 Old Judge. Gosh, I wish that had been what it really was! At that point, it was in the PSA registry as if the company had graded a 1887 Old Judge 5.5, which would be quite a find.

I posted this card for sale with the scanned image on eBay, clearly pointing out that it was NOT an 1887 Old Judge. Since I had another raw O’Day card, I was hoping to recoup the grading cost and mailing fee (both quite steep, as those who submit cards to PSA know well). Normally when I list a nice card on Ebay, I might get half a dozen bids and maybe two dozen page views. If I recall, this card got more than 15,000 views in a day.

Immediately, the administrative assistant to PSA’s CEO contacted me, asking that I take down the listing and send the card back to be re-slabbed. Well, I wasn’t born yesterday (literally). PSA does correct what it calls mechanical errors free of charge, and I have taken advantage of this a couple of times, much to my benefit. Player’s names or years sometimes are incorrect on PSA cards out there. Mistakes happen.

But this Old Judge snafu seemed especially egregious, and I wasn’t inclined to send this card back to PSA just to get something pretty much worthless in return. I asked for a couple of free gradings, which were agreed to (though l still had to pay shipping) in addition to the corrected holder for my 5.5 Conlon card back. I probably could have driven a better deal, but I wasn’t looking to cheat or hurt anyone.

I do not share this experience to knock PSA. I understand the grading critieria. I pay to be a Collectors Club member, and I enjoy reading the monthly magazine articles about different sets, many of which are written by SABR member Kevin Glew, a journalist who is a major Canadian baseball authority (and who I have encouraged to post here). I enjoy and appreciate the Set Registry, which is free to participate in.

PSA told me the mistake happened after the card itself was graded. I accept that, but my gosh, I hope a better final checking process is now in place. I’m sure thousands of images of this card were downloaded when it was up for sale on Ebay, so I don’t hesitate to post it here.

Mac ‘n cards

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, baseball cards could be found in or on the packages of numerous food and other consumer products. In 1987, the budget minded gravitated to the prepared food isle where Kraft Macaroni and Cheese boxes featured two card panels. The “crafty” Kraft folks-utilizing a pun- called the series, “Home Plate Heroes.”

For the past 32 years, ten intact boxes have languished in my collection, generally taking up space. Recently, I made an executive decision to separate the panels form the boxes. The panels fit perfectly in four-pocket pages. I kept two boxes intact, since they were duplicates.

This process piqued my curiosity as to the number of panel combinations and total cards in the set. It turns out that 48 different players appear on panels in five different combinations each. As you can see, Mattingly had multiple partners in the hedonistic 1980s.

The last Mattingly panel pairs him with Mike Schmidt. Notice that the two cards are in numerical sequence. Each player in the set has a combination panel like this. This means collectors could put a set of 24 panels together to form the complete set of 48 players. Hobbyists didn’t have to cut out the cards-individually-to order the set by number.

If you are the obsessive type who believes that a complete set is possessing all the panel variations, it will require the accumulation of 120 separate panels.

After cutting the boxes, I checked eBay to see if a complete set existed. There was a 24-panel set in numerical sequence for around $6 with postage, which I bought.

As far as oddball sets go, this one is not bad. It harkens back to the Post cards of the 1960s. However, not gaining MLB rights to show logos is a strike against them. Still, there are numerous Hall-of-Fame members and notables from the era.

The macaroni in the box still looks good and the cheese powder is perfectly preserved by salt and chemicals. I plan to cook up a box and eat it all while pondering the majesty of Eddie Murray.

Feats Don’t Fail Me

Last year (a year and a month to be exact), I posted about my Laughlin regrets, how I missed my chance 40 years ago to buy those wonderful card sets of the ‘70’s. While I did finish my 1972 Fleer Famous Feats set, that seemed to be the end of it. No way I was going to get any of the other sets I wanted, prices being what they are. [NOTE: COMC lists the Fleer set as 1973. I think it may have been both years, based on shaky memories of buying them in candy stores and ice cream trucks.]

Still, I never gave up, keeping a futile eBay search alive for Laughlin sets. Last week, I finally succeeded, with the 1972 Laughlin Great Feats set for less than $50. I assume these came out before the Fleer ones though I’m not sure [Editor’s note: Correct!], and I was fascinated by both the slight differences in the cards that appear in both sets, and the fantastic drawings of players/events that I’d never seen before.

First of all, there are two versions of this set. One is in red, with simple black and white drawings. The other, in blue, has flesh tones colored in. Here’s the different looks (yes, my blue Mize is signed.)

The cards common to both the Laughlin and Fleer sets are identical, save for color. At first I thought there were cropping differences, but it was an optical illusion brought on by the Fleers being oversized. The art space seems the same size.

Some of the feats in the Laughlin set are obvious, and, in retrospect, it’s hard to believe DiMaggio’s hit streak and VanderMeer’s two no-hitters didn’t make the Fleer issue.

Others are of lesser renown, though the all-time pinch-hit record used to be a big deal. Smoky’s record has long since been surpassed (I had to look up who’s first – Lenny Harris with 212), but Burgess is still fourth on the list. Glad he topped the record book in 1972, because this card rocks.

These three are spectacular as well…

…and prove that Laughlin would have made an excellent Simpsons animator (check out Casey’s hand).

I was struck by the Mantle card. It’s wonderful, for sure, but it stands out as being the only card signed by the artist. I wonder why? Did he need to make his mark on one card to stake his claim, or was he a big Mantle fan and wanted to be associated with The Mick? Perhaps Mike Aronstein or Pete Henrici at Baseball Nostalgia know. I’ll have to check.

The last six cards of the set, all unseen in the Fleer issue, stand out. They make for a perfect page.

There are other Feats sets: a 40-card Fleer set from 1980 with blank backs and a 22-card Fleer set from 1986 with logo/sticker backs. A good idea is hard to leave behind.

Editor’s note: More history on the connection between the Laughlin set and the Fleer set is available here, including this Laughlin ad that explains how his first Great Feats set came to be self-produced.

eBay eTiquette

A few months back, a friend and I were talking about selling on eBay. He was surprised that I would sell low priced cards, $5 and less. Why bother? (I think I sold this for $1.50).

Three reasons: 1) money is money and $3 net is better than $0 net, 2) it’s very easy for me to send cheap cards via plain white envelopes and almost as easy to go to the Cooperstown Post Office if need be (I know a trip to the local post office is harder in other places) and 3) set collectors should be served. As one myself, I’m thrilled when someone has a single, inexpensive card listed that I need, or will break up a lot for me, and I’m happy to help someone else looking for a single card.

I’m always a bit shocked when someone won’t break up a lot for me. Not the big sellers, I get that. They have hundreds, if not thousands of auctions/Buy It Nows going off all the time, so asking them to peel off a single card or two from a lot and changing the listing is a hassle for them. But non-pros, or smaller sellers – why not? I’d do it for you!

I was recently annoyed by a guy selling three 1960 Leaf cards. Two low numbers, including a Hall of Famer (Luis Aparicio) and one high number (Joe Hicks), which you know I’m working on (read here and here).

I was willing to pay more than half his listing price for the Hicks card, and he told me no, he wants to move them all. Now, the guy doesn’t owe me anything, but he’s likely to get the same sale price (or more) if he peels off the high number to me and relists the other two, including Aparicio.

My favorite part about eBay is the interaction, when it happens, and finding out what people are collecting, and why they’re selling. I send and receive a lot of messages. Usually people are willing to meet my needs.

The same idea of aiding set collectors is a big reason why I’ve been selling off, or trading, a lot of my 1970’s doubles. They don’t do me any good sitting in boxes, I can sell cheaper than dealers, and, in recent weeks, I’ve parlayed around 1,000 dubs for a 1965 Soupy Sales set, and 1969 and 1970 Topps Football sets. I’m ecstatic to have those sets, and I know the people who have bought cards from me are very happy with my nice old cards.

So, eBay sellers, think of the collectors and do the right thing. Fill want lists!

News from the Post Office

I’ve been working on some football sets lately that I’ve always wanted to complete, and a few non-sports sets. (Have I told you about the glorious 1965 Soupy Sales set! That was a fun project.) I haven’t been working on baseball cards too much because I’m stuck. I literally need one card to complete the 1936 Goudey Wide Pen set (Type 1) and one card to finish the 1963 Bazooka All Time Greats set. I’m treading water on my hand cut 1975 Hostess set (14 to go) and my 1961 Post set.

With three more 1961 Posts in transit, I’m down to needing 26 to finish. It’ll end up a pretty nice set overall, maybe VGEX-EX. I’ve enjoyed getting hand cuts because condition is harder to peg. Nobody seemed to really know how to use scissors back then. I picked up a Mantle that was very nice, except for a crease (the price was right and I’m happy with it) and a Bob Shaw short print that was well below what I expected to pay. That’s all good.

What I’m running into is a clear case of short prints that, according to my admittedly out of date Standard Catalog, are not listed as SPs. I’m not talking hard SPs (Estrada, McMillan, Stobbs) or even tougher variations (Minneapolis v. Minnesota, company issue v. box), I’m talking about cards that should be priced as commons, but aren’t. Some examples:

58 – Gary Bell

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I can’t find it for close to $2-3, which is where it’s supposed to reside (company or box).

Orioles Group: 71 – Milt Pappas, 74 – Steve Barber

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Box version of Pappas should be cheap, and all I want is the cheaper variation. I know Barber should be a buck or so more, but that’s not where I see them priced.

Phillies Group: 115 – Dick Farrell, 116 – Jim Owens, 122 – Ken Walters

Again, a mystery in cost. Eventually I’ll pull them in for less than $3, but that’s going to feel like a rip off.

West Coast Group: 142 – Johnny Antonelli , 156 – Norm Larker

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No reason I shouldn’t be able to find these for $2 or less, but it’s not happening.

I do realize I’ll have to pony up for the Estrada, Stobbs and McMillan cards, but I think there are relative bargains to be had. If anyone knows why the cards above are harder to find than I figured, let me know. Maybe it’s because I’m using a 2009 Standard Catalog and discoveries have been made since then. That has certainly been the case with certain numbers in the 1975 Hostess set, which came as news to me.

Of course, if you’ve got dubs of any of them (and the others I need), let me know.

The Grand TCMA Decade Sets (Some of them anyway)

Followers of this blog and our Facebook and Twitter accounts have been a bit TCMA obsessed since several of us gathered in Cooperstown for the opening of the Hall of Fame’s Shoebox Treasures exhibit in May. A chance run in with Andrew Aronstein, son of TCMA founder Mike, touched off a bit of TCMA frenzy. (I’ve known Andrew and Mike for a few years, so I’m glad others in our card world are getting to know them).

My own recent TCMA interests have circled around the big baseball decades sets (and the football, basketball and hockey sets). Not all of them, actually, only the 1950’s and 1960’s sets. These are all beautiful, simple cards, with magnificent photos, as you’d expect. I picked up the entire 1950’s set at Baseball Nostalgia in Cooperstown (where else?), which started over 40 years ago as the TCMA flagship store.

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The cards are wonderful, the checklist is wide ranging and they look wonderful signed. Released in 1979, the 291 card set is a must have.

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With that set safely acquired, I marched forward to get both 1960’s sets, but was warned at Baseball Nostalgia that they’re harder to find than the ‘50’s set, and pricier. This proved to be true. The first set, released in 1978 with 293 cards was easier to spot, but I didn’t want to buy that series without the more difficult second series attached. (I learned this lesson when I picked up a cheap TCMA football base set and still find myself struggling to get the 12 card update at a reasonable price. I’d have been better off waiting to buy both sets.)

The 1981 (yay Split Season!) series 2 has 189 cards, but the problem is that about 1/3 were printed compared to series 1 (according to the Standard Catalog). Whenever that series would appear, it was too pricey for me.

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Well, as of last night, my long waiting is over. I got both sets for a good price and they’re on their way! I can’t wait. Like the 1950’s cards, the 1960’s sets have fantastic variety of names, from superstars to non-stars to Jim McKnight.

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And they look wonderful signed.

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