Cards I Aspire To One Day Own

When it comes to cards, I can be a bit greedy. I have so many, yet I want more and more and more. Unfortunately, my cards are not organized and are in boxes without any rhyme or reason. So, I am currently, in the midst of organizing my cards, slowly. Since there are so may cards, this will take a lot of time. Especially since time is limited for me right now. But as I go through them, I uncover a few gems I had forgot I had, so it's turning into a fun time.

Fuji over at The Chronicles Of Fuji, is doing the same thing I am is is discovering he has some real nice cards. Check out his blog post at:http://sanjosefuji.blogspot.com/2014/07/yeah-thats-ticket.html

Like Fuji, I am finding gems, but I am also working on various player PC's. Some I've been working on for a while, like my Pennington, Teixeira, Tino and Ewing and others I'm starting work on like my Jeter and Curtis Martin. Working on my PC's got me thinking about cards I'd love to add to my various collections. Maybe one day I can own some of these.

1973 Topps Roberto Clemente

I had this card. I remember trading about 10 of my prized Yankee cards for it back in the early 1980's. It somehow disappeared from my collection and wound up in a friend's pile. Of course, he claimed it was his, which was a bold face lie. It was a wreck at that point, so I didn't argue with him. I want it back now. Not because it was his last Topps card, but because it was my first Roberto card I ever owned.

1993 SP Derek Jeter

Now, I have only started putting all my Jeter cards in a binder and I have a lot of Jeter cards. More than I originally thought. I also have quite a few of his rookie cards. But I don't own THE rookie card and that would be the 1993 SP card. This one is the expensive card. I see these cards on eBay go for $99.00 to $150.00 raw. There was a dealer asking $479.00 for a slabbed one, graded BGS 9.

1986 -87 Fleer Patrick Ewing

Funny thing, I am not really a rookie card collector. I don't break open packs of Bowman, looking for that high dollar card. To me, that's not what collecting is about. So I never went looking for rookie cards. Now, I am regretting that. I have another rookie I would love to have in my collection.

I've been a Ewing fan ever since I watched him with Georgetown. When the Knicks won the number 1 draft pick and grabbed Ewing, I was elated. Ewing has been my all time favorite Knick and for me not to have his rookie card is a crime (at least to me). Thankfully, it's not too expensive, so I should be able to pick it up sometime soon.

1969 Topps Mickey Mantle

I don't own any Mickey Mantle cards. OK, let me rephrase that. I don't own any vintage Mickey Mantle cards. For me to own just one would be a big deal to me as I am a Mantle fan. I don't have a Mantle PC, but I still want to own a Mantle card. I picked this card only because it's relatively affordable. I can pick up a nice card for under $100.00, unslabbed. Slabbed, I'm looking to drop $150.00 large and up. Not too bad for a Mickey Mantle card. Better than dropping $200-$400 dollars for a 1959 Topps card.

Going through the cards I already have and finding lost gems is already making a good collection even better. I hope that I can one day add these cards and make my collection even better. I will never stop looking for cards to add to my collections, but that is the life of a collector, isn't it. Always on the hunt for those precious cards to add to various collections. But, it's also fun to own a piece of sports history. I may never have seen Roberto Clemente throw a runner out at third from the warning track or seen Mickey Mantle launch one of his famous tape measure home runs. But I feel owning their cards is just as good. Owning their cards is almost like owning a piece of Americana.

Things I Want: NFL Action Team Mates

As a New York Jets collector, I think I have some pretty cool stuff in my collection. Cards, autographs, programs, bobbleheads, figures, I have a nice Jets stash and I can't wait until I can display everything either on a shelf or in a cabinet of some kind. One thing that I don't have that I hope I can add to the collection at one point is a New York Jets NFL Action Team Mate.

What's that you say? You don't know what those are? 

Pro Sports Marketing put out a set of 7 1/2 inch plastic figures called NFL Action Team Mates. They came with a display stand, a removable helmet, a football and a playbook. All 28 teams in the league at the time were represented with figures that came in team colors and had stickers on the helmets. I'm not sure they were supposed to represent famous players or not, but I can swear I've seen a Terry Bradshaw and a Fran Tarkenton figures.

Here's an example of what it looked like on the shelves in your Sears or JC Penny's or which ever store your parents bought your toys at. This one is a Philadelphia Eagle player. Looks like they came in a box with a cellophane window and had the helmets of all the teams in the NFL circa 1977. If I squint, I can see the Jets helmet on the box.

Here's a vintage ad that I believe was in a Sears catalog, I remember always looking at the Christmas catalog and checking off what I wanted that year. I remember wanting this, but not a Jets one. I rooted for the Steelers as a kid because I was Bradshaw fan and because my buddy at the time told me I was a Steelers fan, like him. He was a big kid. 

Here are some pictures of the figures themselves:

Houston Oilers

Los Angeles Rams. I for one would love to see the Rams move back to LA.

Kansas City Chiefs

Washington Redskins

Oakland Raiders. As I say their name, I can hear Chris Berman in my head.

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals.

I love these figures. As a child of the 70's,  these toys bring me back to a less articulated youth. You could tell these were made in the 1970's. I love the the uniforms these are sporting as well. I actually remember the stripeless Bengals helmets. I remember when the Rams had yellow in their unis, not the gold they currently trot out. Heck, I remember when the teams in Baltimore and Houston were called the Colts and Oilers. These may not be as good looking as McFarlanes Sports Picks, but I will take these any day of the week. Heck, they look better than Starting Lineups. (Ducks as a Patriots helmet is thrown).

You notice what's not shown? A picture of a Jets Action Team Mate. Want to know why? Because I cannot find one. I don't think I've ever seen one in person or on eBay. They obviously exist, but are hard to find. 

I looked up some eBay auctions and seen that these can go for a pretty penny. I'm seeing auctions for 79.99 to 200.00 for carded figures. Finding a Jets figure at a decent price will be a pretty difficult task, but I'm up to the challenge. There will be a Jets NFL Action Team Mate in my Jets collection one day. If I have to look through every box at every flea market, toy show, yard sale, I will find it or my name isn't Ladamore. And it isn't.

Happy 4th Of July!

I just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Independence Day. I hope you all got to spend your day with family or friends or both. Hope you ate a ton of BBQ and had some adult beverages.

Me? I am spending mine watching the Yankees/Twins game. So far, the Yankees are winning, so I am hoping they hold on for the win.

Today, the Yankees are wearing special 4th of July caps.

I think they're alright. I will pick up one if I can find one that fits my tiny cranium.

Today is also the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's famous speech. Major League Baseball is celebrating with a special video of the speech read by every first baseman in baseball and a special short stop.

I think MLB did a wonderful job producing this video and I'm sure everyone involved was honored to be asked to read a piece of what is essentially baseball's Gettysburgh Address.

Also, a commemorative patch has been produced for the players to wear today

 
I've always wanted to start collecting the patches the Yankees wear on special occasions. I would love for this to be the first one I grab.

To end this blog, I will post the speech Lou Gehrig made on this day back on July 4th 1939. I don't believe a full copy of the speech exists. From what I have read, a lot of the writers who were there that day go very emotional and not a one wrote down the speech word for word. I don't think it exists on film in it's entirety as well. But whenever I read what does exist, I get all choked up.

Happy Independence Day everyone!