Flea market sights and sounds, Pt. 2

I don't know if ten bucks has ever gone further than it did at the local flea market on Sunday.

The goodies I showed yesterday were just a fraction of my finds. Though I did grab clusters of cards of a few select players, the dime box gods had enough randomness in store for me to make the dig even more pleasurable.

Over the years, I've learned that you can find virtually anything in a dime box. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little surprised to find an '86 Topps Traded Bo Jackson in my regular vendor's dime cards.

Granted, it doesn't command the big bucks it once did in the '80s and early '90s. Even today, though, I thought Bo would at least be fifty-cent or dollar box territory. Guess not.

While I wouldn't say I go out of my way to collect Bo Jackson, I wondered if I'd ever find another true rookie of his in a dime box again.

Into the purchase pile he went.

That was only the beginning.

Before Sunday, I don't think I'd ever found an SSPC single for a dime.

Quarter and fifty-cent bins, sure. But never a dime box. Much less one of a fairly well-known name like Red Schoendienst. (Hey, I actually know how to spell his last name without looking it up!)

The Ryan had been one of the more gaping holes in my "sunset" collection for a long time.

How I didn't already own the final Topps card of one of the game's greatest pitchers is beyond me.

I don't consciously go after specific teams in my dime box adventures, but I do seem to end up with a lot of Dodgers after every dig.

That might have something to do with the fact that I have a cabinet of trading partners who happen to be Dodger fans. Though I found a few to send their way, these two beauties are staying with me.

The Black is from the massive 1995 Topps Archives Dodgers set, while the Garvey brings me one step closer to finishing his "Topps set".

All I need is his '83 Topps Traded issue to seal the deal.

Though I've never asked him about it, I can tell my regular vendor keeps up with the new products.

These were just a couple of the handful of recent inserts I found in his dime boxes.

I bet he'll have some A&G in there before I know it.

I bought these two merely for a laugh.

The DeShields has to be one of the worst airbrushing jobs in cardboard history. That looks like a bag of Jiffy Pop on his head, not an Expos cap.

The Higginson is one of those strange cards that could only come from the '90s.

It's a poor man's Bob Hamelin.

Speaking of the '90s, let's take a look at a couple more from the decade.

Complete with cameos from Pudge Rodriguez and Will Clark, the Rogers chronicles one of the more unlikely perfect games in history. Then again, I guess every perfect game is unlikely when you stop and think about it.

I found the Showalter to be especially interesting. That particular card comes from 1996 Upper Deck, despite the fact that the Diamondbacks didn't become a franchise until 1998. I can't imagine what pulling that card back in '96 would've been like for collectors.

Diamondbacks?

Who the hell are they?

Shiny enough for you?

You can thank the '90s for headache-inducing cards like these as well.

As is the case with every flea market trip, Sunday's dime boxes were ripe with mini-collection hits.

I'm particularly fond of this "autograph" shot, as you can see the signatures of many of Cliff Floyd's fellow Expos teammates on that bat.

That's quite a piece of memorabilia right there.

Mr. Griffey received fantastic cards throughout his career.

These "at the wall" and "interview" shots are just a couple examples.

I'm not sure what type of trophy Pete Rose is holding in that shot, but I'll include "Charlie Hustle" in my "award show" mini-collection either way.

Seeing as how he was an American League pitcher in the post-DH/pre-interleague era, there aren't a lot of shots of Randy Johnson at the plate during his Mariner days.

Maybe it's just me, but he sure looks awkward with a bat in his hands.

Much like my last trip to the flea market, a slew of new oddballs found their way into my collection on Sunday.

I have no clue how this guy finds so many awesome oddities for his dime boxes on such a consistent basis. I'll have to ask him one day.

Between Drake's, Burger King, 1990's samples, and even a cool minor league TCMA card from the '70s (in the bottom-right), I get my fill of oddballs every time I hit the flea market.

And that wasn't even all of them.

As I always say, you can never have too many oddballs. Reggie Jackson in particular seemed to make quite a few oddball cameos.

Speaking of which...

...this is one of the strangest oddities I've ever seen.

I guess it was a coincidence that I just so happened to find it as the World Cup was coming to a close. Not that I care one way or the other about soccer or anything.

Still, seeing "Mr. October" holding the World Cup trophy was too good to pass up.

I'll take it for a dime all day long.

Though the 350 dime cards I found would've been more than enough, I couldn't help but do a little quarter box digging.

This guy's quarter cards aren't as substantial as his dime selection, but you can still unearth a few gems if you look hard enough.

Take this heavily airbrushed Hostess Don Baylor, for instance.

An absolute steal for a mere quarter.

More from the quarter boxes.

No matter the price, I've always been a sucker for buying new Ichiro cards. Especially ones with such flashy designs.

Still, it was way outdone by that magnificent Brooks Robinson SI cover. I couldn't get the guy to take my quarter fast enough.

It doesn't get much better than seeing magazine covers on baseball cards.

Nope, the quarter boxes still weren't enough.

I did a little fifty-cent box hunting as well.

I've said in the past that I think all these recent Flagship short-prints are stupid. But then I go out and drop fifty cents on a Jason Heyward SP from this year's Topps release.

Yes, I can be a hypocrite sometimes.

I think Topps has overdone the whole parallel thing lately.

What's that? Oh, why, yes. I did spend another fifty cents on that Vernon Wells yellow parallel.

Again, hypocrite.

I saw a bunch of those "Pinstripe Exclusives" Mickey Mantle inserts in the guy's fifty-cent box, but the single you see above was the only one I bought.

I couldn't let a shot of "The Mick" with a pigskin slip through my fingers.

Here's a couple more fifty-centers.

The Alou has been a longtime gap in my "errors" mini-collection. As you can see, the "Outfield" designation is missing from the top-right corner. Topps did issue a corrected version, which I've owned for years.

It's nice to finally have both in my binders.

I don't know that cards get much better than that Munson. It's a Yoo-Hoo oddball, anthem shot, and, well, Thurman Munson all combined into one piece of cardboard.

Fifty cents well spent.

My discount extravaganza ended with this Bobby Bonds from the dollar bin.

As an uber-high number from the '72 Topps checklist (#711), I never expected to find this one for so cheap. Thanks to my local flea market, I now own a complete Bonds "Topps set".

Everything from his 1969 rookie to 1982 "sunset" issue is now accounted for in my collection.

After finishing up at my regular vendor's table, my dad and I took a stroll through the rest of the flea market. There were a few people with cards, but nothing grabbed my attention. We both came away empty-handed.

While I should've been satisfied with the 400-plus cards I'd found earlier in the day, part of me felt the need to make one last purchase. As my dad and I were getting set to leave, I made an unscheduled detour.

I went back to my regular vendor's table, scoured his glass case of higher-priced items, and found one to my liking.

This is now the oldest Jim Palmer card in my collection.

The guy had it priced at three bucks, but gave it to me for two. This final purchase brought my final total up to eighteen bucks for the afternoon. I walked out with an even bigger smile on my face.

All in all, it was another fantastic afternoon at the local flea market. I was glad my dad could come along for the ride.

I'll be sifting and sorting through my finds as I watch the All-Star Game tonight.

It seems like an appropriate way to take in one of baseball's greatest events.