Thursday, July 25, 2024

Mysteries of the universe


There are many great mysteries of the universe, one of which is the question of why I still have a Twitter account. 

I rarely use Twitter. I don't interact with people on Twitter. I don't want to see most of what comes up in my feed on Twitter (I refuse to call it "X"). Even the vast majority of the baseball card content I get is the usual sales/breaker stuff I don't care a lick about. 

But every once in a while, a light at the end of the Twitter tunnel appears: like, in this case, a message from @raiderjoe that simply says something along the lines of "I've got a big box of cards to send you."




He's done this to me before, and this most recent offering was a particularly glorious mix of unpredictable madness.

Case in point: my first and second cards from the 1960 Baseball Hi-Lites set (and both Senators!), the oversized precursors to my beloved '61 Nu-Scoops. 

Couple that with a Maury Wills autograph and a pair of Topps Supers, and you have a heavy-hitting start to what was a wild romp of cardboard.




These conventional '82 Topps singles had a very unconventional twist to them - as you can tell from the oblong edges and varying sizes, they look to have been hand-cut from a sheet (or the product of an inebriated Topps employee?). 

I'm not great with a pair of scissors, but even I could do better than this.




If you wanna put a smile on my face, send me miscuts, send me scribbled-on cards, send me evidence of glorious imperfection.




Minis of many shapes, sizes, and nationalities - among the many great things about Kellogg's cards is that even receiving ones I already have (like those two, sadly) is still a treat.

I don't specifically chase those '70s discs - keeping track of the 846 different variations would make my head explode - but I certainly won't refuse any that fall into my lap (especially Vida Blue!). 




More miscellany that warms my heart - I've spent the good part of my collecting life ignoring vintage team cards, and I've often wondered if it's time to change that.




This box was a fitting parallel to my Twitter life in general, in that I can't explain a lot of what was in there (don't even begin to ask me what that frightening clown is doing on a baseball card). 

Took until now to learn that Campbell's Soup released a handful of Richie Ashburn reprints in the late '80s - this, of course, led me to purchase the rest of the set (which was surprisingly affordable).




Vintage League Leaders have never been high on my priority list, but my God has there ever been more star power on a single baseball card??

I may be showing a '61 Fleer Greats Hughie Jennings here, but please don't tell anyone because I feel like these are among the better-kept (see: cheaper) secrets in the vintage universe. 




I also can't give a good reason why I love hand-cut cards so much - but you better believe my head almost hit the ceiling when I saw this slew of box bottoms...THAT I GOT TO CUT!

I went to a burger place once where the fries were served in a taco shell, thus meaning that the container was itself edible - I think of that whenever I see box bottoms.




One particular box bottom caught my eye: at first I was floored because I didn't know these Cramer Greats were ever issued as box bottoms, but then, upon closer look...




...hark, that's a Hoyt I need!

I'm proud to say I don't secure many new Hoyts these days because I already have so many. But every so often I'll find one that slipped through the cracks, and in this case it was attached to three other cards (that I also needed!). A few short scissor snips later, and voila, there's a rare new Hoyt!

Maybe, after such a staggering cardboard romp, I don't mind saying something I once thought was impossible: to admit that, yes, I'm glad I have a Twitter account.

13 comments:

Doc Samson said...

I pray whoever cut those ‘82 Topps isn’t a surgeon.

Big League said...

Those miscut '82s made me wonder if the human involved had a chimpanzee cut the cards from the sheet.

That clown card was a random card that was in a big "free box" from one of my local shops. I am one of his most loyal customers and I am given free boxes from time to time. Most are filled with junk wax cards but sometimes there are nice cards and cards out of left field. As not a big clown fan, I figured I should trade that card to someone who might like it.

I figured you would the boxes. I bought packs of the Cramer Greats but back then I had no idea that there were box bottom cards for that series.

Raiderjoe_FO

Bo said...

I'm so curious about that Antique Advertising card. Wondering what else is in that set. Looked a bit online, found some other "big league cards" but not those. They made some Beatles cards apparently.

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

I had no idea there were panels of the Cramer cards either.

Elliptical Man said...

Voting for Charboneau.

Mark Zentkovich said...

👍

Brett Alan said...

Wow, I bought the early series of those Cramer Greats cards, but I had no idea there were box bottoms! I need that Hoyt too I guess. Very nice.

Fuji said...

A. I love miscuts and scribbled-on cards too!

B. The 1962 NL home run leaders card (in 63T) features five hall of famers: Mays, Aaron, Cepeda, Robinson, and Banks.

C. Love those box bottoms! I typically leave them intact... unless I have duplicates. Then I cut them too.

Nick Vossbrink said...

Curious of those 1982s were cut from Dynomite or somesuch magazine.

That 1958 Phillies Team Card is the only card featuring John Kennedy (Phillies colorline breaker) out there. I've been considering buying one just for that reason.

Love the box bottoms and had the exact same reaction when I found out about the Cramer panel a year or so ago. 1988 Score panels don't surface very often either.

Oh and what set are those flags from? Sorta giving me 1910 Recruit vibes but there are so many flag sets out there I'm always interested to learn about a new one.

Oh oh. Twitter DMs remain useful even thjough the site itself is not.

Shlabotnik Report said...

Like Nick V., my initial thought was "I bet those 1982's are from an issue of Dynamite" (Which, if you're not familiar, was a magazine put out by Scholastic Books).

Here's a Tweet which features 1984 Topps cards inserted into a copy of Dynamite
https://twitter.com/PostWarCards/status/1803473107140878523

Mike said...

Wow,quite the gift! As you know,I love odd antique stuff and that card is definitely ODD!

Jon said...

I was never comfortable on the Twitter, and aside from being able to quickly DM a few people from time to time, don't regret closing my account. That being said, if people had been lining up to send me mailings like this, I might've thought twice about doing so.

Jafronius said...

I'm not a Twitter guy at all, but that's cool that you got some nice cards! Better keep it open!