Vintage Knicks eBay Pick Ups

One of my goals for 2013 was to finally start building Knicks team sets. I have a bunch of Knicks cards, but I haven't had time to really put them into 9 pocket pages and binders as I have been concentrating on getting my Yankees and Jets collections into some sort of order. With the Knicks in the playoffs and playing well, I have been wanting to pick up some Knicks cards to add to my collection.

One of my other main goals is to pick up more vintage cards. I have been doing this with my Yankee team sets and my Jets, to some extent. Now that I working on building Knicks sets, I want to start adding vintage almost right off the bat. Luckily, I came across an eBay listing for 3 1972-73 Topps Knicks cards that could start me on my way toward my goals. After winning the auction for the extremely high price of $4.95, I got me some vintage.

The first card I got was a Bill Bradley. The future Senator was a starting forward on 2 World Championship winning Knicks teams. He was also an NBA All Star, Had his number 24 retired by the Knicks and was inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame. He was backed up by a future coach who would go on to win 11 Championships as a coach, Hall Of Famer, Phil Jackson.

Right off the bat, I love the way these cards look. they just scream 1970's with the lettering and choice of colors. Then there is the lack of background. No arena, no crowds, not even a gym. Just a yellow background and the player in a "basketball" pose. I like the simplicity in that. Nothing to distract you from the player whose card you are holding.

Probably one of the smartest players to have ever played for the Knicks. And I mean smart as in brainiac smart. As a player, he was a 7 time All Star, an NBA Rookie Of The Year, an NCAA Champion, won a Gold Medal in the 1960 Olympics and won a Championship as a member of the Knicks. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall Of Fame in 1980 and named to the NBA 50 Greatest Players. After his retirement, he wrote 3 best selling books and works as a educator and memory expert.

What strikes me about this card is the jersey. There is no orange New York across Lucas's chest, but his last name and number stands out. It's like the photographer told Lucas to turn the jersey around and wear it backwards. I'm sure Topps didn't have the licence to show the NBA team logos and uniforms, but this is ridiculous. They couldn't just wipe out the lettering? Still, it's pretty unique to see.

The last card I bought in the lot was a player who I have read so much about and has become one of my favorite players without my ever seeing him play a quarter. Dave DeBusschere was known as the missing piece of the Knicks puzzle. He was drafted by the Detroit Pistons out of the University of Detroit. He was traded to the Knicks for Walt Bellamy and Howard Komives. He won 2 World Championships with the Knicks, was an 8 time All Star and had his number 22 retired by the Knicks. He was also named to the NBA's 50 Greatest Players list.

My memory of DeBusschere was during the 1985 NBA Lottery, when the Knicks won the first pick of the upcoming draft, DeBusschere, who was the Knicks GM at that point, pretty much jumped out of his chair and banged his fist on the desk in front of him. The Knicks used that pick on a center from Georgetown named Patrick Ewing. I bet you didn't know that DeBusschere was also a baseball player, pitching 2 seasons for the Chicago White Sox. In those 2 seasons, DeBusschere went 2-3 with a 2.90 ERA.

DeBusschere's death from a heart attack in 2003 broke my heart, personally. It was around this time I was learning more about the 2 World Championship teams and how much DeBusschere meant to that team. I had hoped to have the chance to meet him one day, but unfortunately, I never got the chance to.

I am a huge fan of the 2 World Championship Knick teams. I love watching film about them and reading about them. I have always wanted to collect those 2 teams and now, with this awesome purchase, I have begun that collection.

The Knicks cards I am now needing from this set are:

#32-Phil Jackson
#52-Dick Barnett
#88-Dean Meminger
#165-Walt Frazier

Now, unless I am not looking at a complete checklist or there were no cards made of them, I see two big names missing, Willis Reed and Earl Monroe. Now, I'm not the most knowledgeable about basketball cards (just yet), so I am now wondering if there are cards of them in this set.

Not only do I need to hunt down the cards I am missing, but I need to find out the riddle of the missing Hall Of Famers. Riddle me this, Batman!

Oh, and the seller threw this in for free

Come on, who doesn't love Yogi?

First Picture Of Yankees SGA Derek Jeter Bobblehead

Recently, The Yankees announced that this season there will be 5 bobble-head give a way dates during the 2013 season at Yankee Stadium. 4 player and a second Snoopy bobble-head given away. Here are the dates:

Monday July 8th-Derek Jeter
Sunday July 28th-Hideki Matsui
Friday August 30th-Yogi Berra
Tuesday Sept 24th-Mariano Rivera
Wednesday Sept 25th-Snoopy

I am not too crazy about this list as the Yankees have given away Jeter, Matsui and Rivera before. I would have like to have seen a CC, Cano, Teixeira or maybe a Mantle, Ford or Gossage bobble-head  Anyway, I won't complain too much. I'm just thrilled that the Yankees are giving away bobble-heads. Now, I don't have to look at Giants or Dodger fans green with envy.

The Yankees released a picture of the Derek Jeter bobble-head recently. Here is the Jeter:

I have two thoughts. A-I hope this is not a mini bobble-head  B-I'm thinking this looks like the 3,000th hit. Maybe the Yankees are doing a great moments set, which might explain why we are getting a Matsui. Possibly, it could be one of him during the 2009 World Series or his Grand Slam during his first Yankee Stadium game. Rivera's could be him on the mound, tipping his cap after getting save # 602. Not sure what Yogi's could be. Yogi behind the plate? Been done already. I hope they come up with something good for Yogi.

I cannot wait until these bobble-heads are given away. I have been screaming and pounding the drum for the Yankees to give out bobble-heads again, especially since I missed out when they initially gave them out during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. I have been slowly picking those up off eBay. Now I am praying for sell outs so the Yankees will continue to give out bobble-heads each season. I'm still praying for a few players to add to my bobble-head collection, so I hope Yankee fans support these great give away and make it hard on the dealers who come out and hog up all the bobble-heads to sell.

Excuse me, I have to make room on my bobble-head shelf for the new arrivals.

Welcome To The Collection

Remember last post when I mentioned that I had another autograph coming my way? Well, I finally got it in the other day and I am thrilled to finally say I have a Yogi Berra signed baseball in my Yankees Signed Ball PC.

This was one autograph I have wanted in my collection for a while now. But for some reason, I could never get one. I missed appearances. I didn't want to pay what his kids were charging over on the Yogi web site. There was always a reason why Yogi's autograph never made it into my collection. I mean, I have a couple of certified autographed cards but not the one thing I really wanted.

I finally had a chance to pick up his autograph at a recent card show I went to. I passed by a table that was lined up with autographed baseballs from various players. As I was drooling over some of the plavers I saw on the table, when I saw a signed Yogi ball. I asked the dealer how much he was asking. 90.00 was the reply. Too rich for my blood, I thought. I thanked the dealer and started moving along when he suddenly told me he would let it go for 75.00.

Bingo.

I casually told him I would think it over and calmly walked away for a few feet then ran to the ATM and got the money.

I walked back to the table and  bought the ball. During the transaction, we were discussing some of his autographed hockey pucks, including a clear Washington Capitals puck signed by Alexander Ovechkin. I made a mental note regarding some of the puck he had for future purchases. After a bit, I bid farewell to the dealer and headed home.

Once I got home, I sat down and pulled the ball out of my bag to admire it's Yogi goodness. The ball was wrapped in some sort of clear wrap, which I will remove and as I thought about my score I noticed that Yogi's signature all of a sudden looked a lot like Chuck Knoblauch's. Hey, wait a minute. It was Chuck Knoblauch's autograph. Thankfully, I had the dealer's card and I rushed to call him. Lucky for me, the dealer had realized the mistake and held on to the ball for me. He asked that I send the Knobby to another customer, who bought the ball after I left and he would send me Yogi. True his word, Yogi came in the mail soon after.

Ta-da! Finally, I added a Yogi Berra signed ball to my Yankees PC. This is the one player I felt I needed in my collection and I'm so happy to cross him off the list. Once I get up a display of my signed baseballs, I will put him in between my Whitey Ford and Don Larsen signed baseballs.

So, now that that hunt is over, it's time to start another pursuit for my Yankees signed ball PC. The collection looks kind of empty with out you, Mr. Winfield.