Spring break in paradise, Pt. 3: Binder up

While picking through cheap Heritage and other modern cards was a blast, I had the most fun with my discount vintage digs on Saturday.

To me, it seems like the ways other collectors peruse bargain bin vintage is very methodical. Most people have their set lists or whatever and simply dig for cards that fill their needs.

I've never brought one of those lists to a show. Of course, the main reason for that is because I'm not a set collector. Along with that, though, I want to be up for whatever when it comes to discount vintage.

I'd say about 90 percent of the vintage-minded people I see at shows have lists with them. There doesn't seem to be many of my "up for whatever" kinds at these things. I did, however, encounter one of my own on Saturday.

One of the dime boxes I unearthed had a stack of Kellogg's cards inside. I'll repeat that again.

Dime Kellogg's cards.

It doesn't get much better than that.

One of my goals for this show was to find me some Kellogg's, so it was pretty much perfect.

I scoped out a few of the ones I needed and went to dig through the vendor's other dime box treasures. Literally seconds after I finished up with the Kellogg's, another guy came up to me and asked about them. He must've caught a glimpse of all the 3-D cards I was holding.

Shortly after that, he bought the entire Kellogg's stack. I don't even think he looked through them. I guess he just enjoyed Kellogg's that much.

Still, had I found that vendor's table just minutes after I did, my quest for Kellogg's would've come up empty. I would've never found the likes of Quisenberry, Raines, or Oliver. And, as nice as it would've been to meet one of my own kind, I would've been pissed.

I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.

Those were far from the only vintage oddballs I found on Saturday, though.

Take a look at these...say it with me now...

MMMMMMMMIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The same guy with that big lot of '84 Donruss and all the 12/$1 cards also had a box of 5/$1 cardboard that was largely filled with '75 minis.

Just days before this show, I was looking through my Red Sox binder and noticed that I hadn't yet found the mini for Mr. Tiant. I fantasized about how cool it would be to own a copy.

That fantasy came true on Saturday.

About halfway through the show, I managed to stumble upon a 3/$1 vintage bin.

Among the gems I found inside was this neat '62 Post Eddie Yost, a card that qualifies for my "sunset" collection.

At some point, a young collector updated this one to reflect Yost's position as a coach with the Senators. Note the "No Record" label at the bottom as well.

These "updated" vintage cards will always be fascinating to me.

Here are a couple more gems from the 3/$1 bin.

That Alou was actually in the lost Just Commons order I placed a couple months ago, so finding it in this discount box was especially sweet.

This same vendor had a small fifty-cent vintage box on display as well.

I didn't find a whole lot from it, but I was extremely happy with this pair of Cooperstown inductees.

Plus, it always nice to add a Browns card to my collection.

One of the first tables my dad and I stopped at had a 90% off vintage bin on display.

These are almost always a ton of fun because they usually house off-condition cards of some big names. If you see one at your next show, I'd recommend digging through it.

I think I paid about 50 cents for this one. Besides, it's one of those ultra-rare "pie in the face" short-prints. Right?

Oh, wait. This card is from 1967.

Topps wasn't pulling that crap then.

"Maz" for 80 cents?

Yes, please.

Mr. Santo for 60 cents?

You know it.

In honor of Heritage, one of my other goals for this show was to pick up a few real '65s.

Boy, did I succeed in that department. Not only did I nab that Marichal for a mere 80 cents, but I also tracked down one of my most desired '65s with the Fox.

At $2.50, it was one of the pricier purchases of the day. However, as Fox's last card, it's a new cornerstone for my "sunset" collection.

A small price to pay for such greatness.

Another goal of mine was to track down both Carl Yastrzemski's and Johnny Bench's 1975 Topps issues.

I'll spoil it now by saying that I failed on those. However, I probably one-upped myself with the "Yaz" anyways by dropping three bucks on his '66 Topps single.

I've seen it on a few other blogs thus far and have wanted a copy ever since. It's a nice departure from the stone-faced expressions "Yaz" seems to have on most of his other cards.

I was actually thinking about making this one of my goals for Saturday's show instead of the '75, but figured, "Nah. I doubt I'll find that one."

Never assume anything when you set foot into a card show, my friends.

Here's something I certainly didn't think existed before Saturday.

That, my fellow readers, is an entire binder full of Hostess cards. I didn't take as many pictures as I would've liked at this show, but I did remember to snap a shot of this monstrosity.

It might be tough to tell from the photo, but this thing was absolutely huge. I'm pretty sure it was one of those gigantic three-inch binders.

Each section was separated by year. At the end of all that pecking through the binder, I'd added about 65 new Hostess singles to my collection. The vast majority of the ones I bought were anywhere between 40 and 75 cents a pop.

I usually don't even dig through these types of set-based binders at shows, but I'm sure happy I found this one.

How happy?

This happy.

I'd never seen so much Hostess in one place before.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The 1975 section was probably the smallest in this guy's binder.

Between Cardenal, Lee, and Gamble, though, it had some of my favorite names.

While you go through these next few scans, by the way, I invite you to play a little game.

It's called "Spot the Bobby Grich".

The very patriotic 1976 design is probably my favorite in Hostess history.

Now that I think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a shot of Al Hrabosky with facial hair that wasn't his famous fu manchu. He looks a little strange with just an ordinary old mustache.

Oh, and note Mr. Grich in the bottom-right-hand corner.

The guy's binder got more plentiful as the years moved forward.

I landed a good dozen of these '77 Hostess cards from his selection. The Tenace and Tiant were discounted to just a quarter each because of the candy stains.

In a lot of ways, I actually prefer those. They add a good amount of character to these things.

Grich, bottom-left.

I probably found more '78s than any other year.

I'd have to go back and check, but I believe I came away with about a couple dozen of these. I'd always assumed that Lyman Bostock's only tragic "sunset" card was his '78 Topps issue. I'd never known that Hostess card existed until I found it in this binder.

Note yet another fantastic Oscar Gamble 'fro in the center here as well.

Grich, bottom-left.

I always get the '78 and '79 Hostess designs confused because they look eerily similar.

Sadly, this is where the tale of Hostess ends. For whatever reason, the brand discontinued the legendary oddballs after 1979.

They'd make sporadic appearances in the '90s, but none of them even came close to the greatness of the originals.

Oh, yeah. Grich, top-right.

Not only did I add a whole bunch of sugary cardboard to my binders, but I also unwittingly landed the complete run of Bobby Grich Hostess cards.

I didn't realize that until after I got home from Saturday's show.

The Hostess extravaganza ends with Mr. Munson here.

At a whole dollar, it was the most expensive card I purchased from the binder. Like the '78 Bostock, it's yet another tragic addition to my "sunset" collection.

Still, it's a serene piece of history, and one I'm proud to own.

I'll have to do more binder digging at the next show I attend.

This Hostess find was the binder of a lifetime.