1957 Topps Lou Skizas

This card really gets around.

Back in May, Chris over at The Vintage Sportscard Blog showed off this Lou Skizas card (the one on the left). He mentioned how he had recently upgraded the card and that the old (three-piece) card was now available. He later posted that he never thought anyone would want the old beater.

But I did.

So I offered Chris a 1951 Topps Ringside card of Lee Savold. He said yes and the trade was made. To my surprise, when the card arrived, it was accompanied by the card on the right.

He would later write: I tossed another card in along with that Lou Skizas, so it wasn't a complete "rip off" trade. Get it, rip-off. Very clever.

I thought it was a great trade. I love both cards but in particular the three-parter. If you look close enough, you may notice the card was at one time both stapled and taped together.

Oh, the stories that card could tell.

1946-47 Propogandas Montiel Larry Baldwin

This morning I got a new comment on this blog. It was from William and it came to me via e-mail on my iPhone.

It read: Where have you gone? I loved reading this blog!!

So I thought, "Had it really been that long since my last post?" Answer: Nearly five months.

At one time I tried to post something every day. Then it became every other day. I woke up every morning to see if someone had commented on my latest post. Whenever they did, it gave me confidence that at least someone was actually reading this silly thing.

Five months ago, I was an eBay monster searching for poor old baseball cards and spending a good amount of money on them. Today, not as much.

It's been a while since I last bought a baseball card on the Internet.

Does this mean I've grown up and no longer care about these little pieces of cardboard? Nope, I've been collecting since I was a little kid and am not going to stop now.

In fact, William may have given me the boost to post regularly again. Thanks William.

Oh, and about that poor old old baseball card: It's a lovely Cuban card with plenty of creases, dings and even what appears to be a hole that was at one time an insect's lunch.

Just the kind of card I like.

1943 La Ambrosia Jose M. Valdes

I love it when I find a new set I've never even heard of, let alone seen.

I recently bought a handfull of these Cuban cards and they're all in horrible shape. Perfect for this blog.

As far as I know they contain players from an amateur Cuban league.

What really drew me to post this particular card is it's watercolor-like look. The paper is extremely thin and each card is very delicate.

And check out that moustache on Mr. Valdes.

You wouldn't see a major leaguer wearing one of those in the 1940s.

1953 Topps Whitey Ford

I've come to the realization that being a baseball card collector has really changed over the years.

And it's all eBay's fault. Really fault is not the right word. I really think things have gotten better because of the Web site. Especially for buyers.

I spent a few hours this afternoon in Anaheim, Calif. for the annual All-Star FanFest. It was pretty cool but I was a bit disappointed with the number of baseball card dealers.

For those of you old enough, this was the type of event where you could expect to find those rare cards your local card shop didn't stock.

And while the show had those cards, they were really expensive.

There was a certain dealer who had some really nice stuff. He even had a few poor old baseball cards. When I explained to him my unique niche, he seemed to have just the card for me: a 1958 Topps Micky Mantle that was pretty trashed.

One problem, it had a price tag of $100.

Was it worth $100?. Yeah, probably.

But not in the day of eBay. He was even willing to let it go for $80, but as an eBay veteran, I thought I would be able to eventually be able to find one cheaper.

Just like this 1953 Whitey Ford. An eBay steal at $7.99.