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The Black Friday haul from COMC proved quite fruitful for a few reasons.   Part of the purchase was knocking off part (or all) of the want lists on the “Almost Done” page.  Making this a quick and simple post of just 6 cards, which removed one want list and shaved down a couple more…Why I didn’t chase these down sooner, I can’t explain.  But getting the last 3 RC’s (at least I believe they are, you never know anymore) from the 2015 A&G set puts it to bed.  Now I can start to work on the 2016 set, maybe some time in 2017 I’ll start buying some more packs.There’s still a bit of hope that the ’64 set may be completed in the next 18 days.  We’ll have to see how the Christmas budget goes.  If I spend more than I expect on holiday gift giving, then the final couple of big ticket cards may have to wait until the new year.  Joe & Jerry here are on card #564, another high number off the list.   There are some of you out there that will like the 2nd high number card I bought more…For just under $7, I finally was able to get a copy that was in nice shape at an affordable price of the LA Dodgers team card.  The only flaw on the card, front or back, is the soft lower left corner.  A lot better condition than I expected. Finally, the rookie shortstops card from the ’73 set is now in hand.   Completing the ’73 set wasn’t on the priority list for this year, even though I’m down to just 3 cards.  But finding a Schmidt RC at a decent price has been very tough, and I imagine that will continue for the foreseeable future, unless I get lucky.  I also have the Dwight Evans RC to pick up as well, so the ’73 set will probably wait until sometime into 2017 before it’s done. There are only 14 cards remaining on the 3 want lists on the almost done page.  2 of which I have already bought from the ’64 set.  Maybe my next goal will be to wipe out that page entirely before I get another set close enough to move onto the page.We’ll see how that goes…Thanks for reading, Robert

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One of my long term collecting goals will be to complete each of the O-Pee-Chee sets from the 1980’s, beginning with the 80-81 set and moving right on up to 89-90.  Some of the sets I have bits and pieces of starts, there are a couple that I may only have a card or 2 of, and there’s a couple that are just about done.With the black Friday sale at COMC recently, I finally decided to get the last card I needed for the 87-88 OPC quest.  As it almost always is with older sets, the final card or 2 ends up being a star or some other valuable card in the set.  In this case, it was card #53, Wayne Gretzky.What I decided to do is scan each of the pages to show off this morning.  What I found while going through each one is that the set is very colorful, meaning that the majority of the photos feature the players in their road uniforms (I’m guessing about a 80-20 ratio). Enjoy!The last card for my 88-89 set is the Hull RC.  Then I get to sit down and see where I am with the 89-90 set (I know those cards are around here somewhere…).  The 80’s for me will probably be my all time favorite as far as hockey goes, it was a real run and gun game then where it wasn’t uncommon to see teams hit double digits in goals on a given night. While these sets may not be as nostalgic for a lot of you compared to 60’s or 70’s baseball, I will never get tired looking through any of the 80’s hockey sets. It’s about what you like, right?Thanks for reading, Robert

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More than baseball, I think hockey card collectors eagerly flock to the latest crop of rookies.  Each year brings the promise of new players, and new hope to teams as well as collectors.   Fresh faced youngsters starting out their NHL careers in search of stardom.I admit it, I’ve bought and hoarded cards in the past of the “next best thing”, the kid that was going to guide me towards retirement.   That foolishness is long gone, but there are still card companies banking on some collectors being prospectors, and making sets of cards that feature a lot of rookie cards.  In the end, most of the rookies that appear on these cards last long enough in the NHL to drink a bottle of Gatorade.So, while looking through the stack of serial numbered hockey cards that Doug sent me, the common theme that I came up with this evening is cards with some form of the word rookie on them.  Enjoy.This is what being in the western conference does for you.  I couldn’t recall Stanton at all until I looked up his stats.  I was kind of surprised that he has played 120 games in the NHL to date, but nothing so far this season.  He is currently property of the Colorado Avalanche and is playing in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters. This card is from the 2013-14 Panini Titanium release, and what’s interesting is that he played only 1 game for the Blackhawks in the 2012-13 season, which got him a card (love that rule) but the card pictures him in a ‘Nucks uniform.  This card easily made me scratch my head, because unlike Stanton above, I’ve not heard of Garrett Stafford at all.  Looking at his stats I see why.  A total of 7 games played over parts of 3 seasons with Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix.  Garrett was a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, and while not earning a regular spot at the NHL level, he played 10 seasons in the AHL with 9 franchises.  This card is from the 2008-09 Trilogy set.Now we’re getting into some names I’ve heard before.  Kevin Fiala was the Predators first rd pick in 2014, and has earned a regular spot with Nashville this year, scoring 5 goals so far.  The back of his card chronicles that he is the 6th youngest player to appear in a playoff game, doing so at the age of 18 years and 273 days old.  This card is from the 2015-16 Artifacts set.  Anyone who enjoys a tough player that loves to fight will know this name, Daniel Carcillo.  He came into the league fighting, and led the NHL in penalty minutes in his second year with 324.  Most of the players of his type (Enforcers) have kind of been phased out of the game over the past couple of seasons, as the league turns to more youth and skill instead of brawn.  Daniel wound up playing 429 NHL games scoring 49 goals.  This card is his SPx rookie from 2007-08.Ben is in his 2nd season in the NHL, and is playing a lot of minutes on the Vancouver blueline, averaging almost 22 minutes a game this year, largely due to injuries.  Ben is finishing out his entry level deal this year, and has already signed for the next 2 seasons at $2.8 million/yr.  This card is from the 2015-16 Fleer Showcase Hockey, and sports the familiar Fleer Ultra logo.Almost halfway through showing the envelope that Doug sent.  Still more rookies, a lot of Artifacts, and a couple of sets that are out of the norm.Thanks for reading, Robert

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I developed a good relationship with some bloggers over the years.  You know how it is, you just get comfortable enough with someone that you see a few cards that you think they might like, pop them in a PWE and send them off, no questions asked. Thankfully, I have that kind of kinship with AJ from The Lost Collector blog.  I pulled open the mailbox door yesterday to find the latest PWE installment from AJ, filled with cards from recent releases.Horizontal Blue Jays from Series 2 and the Update set.  How’d he know I didn’t have these?More Jays goodness from Update and Series 2.  I never created a want list for either release, can AJ read my mind?Archives, Donruss and GQ mini.  Again, no want lists there.  I haven’t lit any fires at the new house, so I know I’m not sending smoke signals telling AJ what I need…My guess is, he’s just that damn good.This PWE also reminds me that I’m slacking on getting my entire Jays collection in order, a lengthy task that I started a while ago, but have kind of backed away from for the last few weeks. 8 cards, 8 players, chances are only 2 of them are in Jays uniforms come spring training.  I’m hoping EE will sign to make it 3…Thank you AJ!!  A much appreciated envelope to say the least.Thanks for reading, Robert

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I’ve never considered myself overly tech savvy.  However,  I do enjoy looking at any new bright and shiny object, just like most other 21st century males.  95% of them I’ll never learn how to use, but just like women they’re always nice to look at.I also can be quite forgetful, which is why I took to a simple little idea that pretty much every browser that I use employs, the bookmark.I have so many different pages that I like to go and look at from time to time, it’s a pain to try and remember all those domain names.  I also enjoy trading with my fellow bloggers and blog readers that I have to bookmark their blogs and want lists so I can quickly look up their lists to see what they’re looking for.Case in point:  While going over my bookmarks last week, I came across one that I hadn’t viewed in quite a long time.  Blog reader Greg A. (whose comments show up as GCA everywhere) has a pretty detailed want list that I had a few cards for.  So I sent him a quick email, and lo and behold, the spoils arrived today.The 1970 Topps set was one that I started putting together because I was able to get a nice starter set from my previous vintage dealer in PA on the cheap.  After that, I maybe bought 25 or 30 more cards, then promptly set it aside while working on other pursuits. My recent devotion to getting more want lists on my blog led to Greg sending me 15 cards from the ’70T want list.They were all low numbers from the 1st series, but that didn’t matter.  15 cards off of a vintage want list is fine and dandy for me!!Check out the wad in Jack McKeon’s cheek!!Greg also sent me some cards from the ’74 Topps want list, a set that in terms of starting and chasing is very similar to the ’70 set.  Bought a nice lot, added a few cards to it and set it aside. Added the want list to the blog recently and voila!!  10 more off the want list (the KC Royals team card didn’t make the scans today).I believe this is the 3rd trade I’ve completed with Greg, and as memory recalls each one was very quick and easy. Thank you very much Greg for the trade, the cards are really appreciated.   I’ll try not to go so long next time between trades.Now if you’ll excuse me, I have another trade to work on….Thanks for reading, Robert

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