Work-Related Goodies (PSA 10s To Boot)

A big shout-out to one of my favorite customers, Davey, who passed along some awesome Dodgers' cardboard as a token of his gratitude for my assistance at work. It was not necessary but it is always and much appreciated!

Kershawwwwww! A beautiful PSA 10 encasing this newest addition to my Kid K Collection. This is the first 10 of any kind that found its way into my collections.

You can never have enough Corey Seager rookies (or cards in general).

Some vintage goodness! The '61 Alston is particularly near-minty.

Three more new Kersh cards for the collection.

Finally, another PSA 10 with this Kenta Maeda RC. Davey has an eye for nabbing PSA 10s when he submits. I'm consistently and eternally impressed.

Thanks a bunch Davey! You're a mensch!

1952 Parkhurst Frostade: Johnny Podres' First Card! I'm Calling It A RC, Dammit!

I'm exceptionally excited to showcase this pickup today as I had no idea this set even existed before stumbling upon it late one night. I was browsing a vintage card website looking for oddball food releases from the '50s and '60s when I came across the 1952 Parkhurst Frostade set. A bit of research revealed Frostade to be a Canadian competitor to Kool-Aid, and the checklist was rife with future Dodgers.

There were only a handful of copies on eBay within a price range I was comfortable with but one stood out above the rest and I was determined to land it: the above Johnny Podres, slabbed an SGC 10. The seller had it listed for a reasonable BIN with a Best Offer option so I submitted what I thought was a fair enough offer. It was quickly accepted and for $14 delivered I landed what is essentially Podres' rookie, although technically it's a pre-rookie to his 1953 Topps offering.

Podres is pictured in a stoic portrait shot looking off into the distance. He was a member of the Montreal Royals in 1952, then the Dodgers' AAA affiliate. The set features only three teams and they're all Canadian, as you might imagine: the Montreal Royals, Toronto Maples Leafs, and Ottawa Athletics.

Prominent future Dodgers include Podres, Walter Alston, Tommy Lasorda, and Jim Gilliam. I'd love to nab the Gilliam one day, even more so than the Alston or Tommy. Putting together the Montreal Royals team set is....tempting.

The backs are really cool although it might be difficult to tell in Johnny's plastic tomb. All of the writing is in red and kids are clearly encouraged to send in 25 cents and the "front panel from 2 packages of FROSTADE" in order to receive a "smart new plastic six-shooter!".

My favourite part of the back -- and I absolutely adore everything about it -- is that it lists Podres' 1951 team which I previously did not know existed. I didn't even know the league the team played in existed. For the '51 campaign Johnny pitched in the Mountain States League for the Hazard Bombers of Hazard, Kentucky.

Baseball Reference also lists the Newport News Dodgers of the Piedmont League as a stop for John in '51. God I love the internet.

Card Show Recap: 1933 Goudey, Vintage Galore, Cheap Hits, Trade Bait, Set Help, and Kate Upton.

I attended a card show this past Saturday in my Las Vegas 51s' jersey. The show was put on by the same people who ran the first show I attended back in May. I was hoping to find some nice PC additions, some nice bait, and some awesome vintage. I met up with Oscar during the show, and you can find his recap here.

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Purchase: 1933 Goudey Ray Benge RC - $8

This was my second-to-last purchase. I hadn't spent much at this point and didn't expect to find anything at this table of mostly high-priced vintage. I noticed a stack of '33 Goudeys and hoped I might find one of the four remaining cards I need to complete the Brooklyn Dodgers' team set. I thankfully struck gold in the form of Ray Benge. It was marked as $10, and I was hoping to nab it for 8. I offered 7, the dealer countered with 8, and we had ourselves an easy deal.

Purchase: 1961 Bell Brand Walt Alston & 12 Non-Sports Vintage Cards - $10

I've now made a large and enjoyable purchase of non-sports vintage from the same dealer at both shows. Patrick has a lot of cool stuff to pick through, and he gave me a great deal on top of letting me know about the Bell Brand Dodgers he had. He mentioned that he had me in mind when he brought them, which is just awesome. One of the Michigans is ticketed for our resident Michigan collector, if he wants it.

Purchase: Lot of 7 Hits - $10

Here's where things get interesting. This was the last table I hit up, and it was as the remaining dealers began to take their stuff down and close. The guy was nice enough to let me pick through his one and two dollar boxes and mentioned someone had earlier found a Johnny Bench auto in the two buck box. I didn't expect to find anything, but after randomly picking out a handful of cards, I hit the jackpot in that same box of two dollar cardboard: a Peyton Manning #'d autograph.

I wanted to make sure he saw where I had pulled the card from, and when I finally got his attention, he took it and showed another dealer the mistake the guy who put his boxes together had made. I did not get said autograph for two dollars, and he didn't even give me a price.

Was he obligated to sell it to me for $2? No, but should he have considering the mistake was his, not mine, and the box is advertised as $2 per card? Probably, especially considering someone had found the Bench auto earlier and you'd think he would take the time to search it for other misplaced cards.

He evidently was appreciative, as he thanked me later and gave me the above seven hits for ten bucks when they would have been $20.

Purchase: Matrix and UCLA Basketball Pickups - $3

The first table I landed at when I arrived belonged to a dealer who was at the first show. I made a much smaller purchase from him this time around but was just as pleased with my additions.

Purchase: Ginter Set Needs, Kershaw, Kate Upton, and Dick Pole Leading To A Rusty Kuntz - $2

I WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO KNOCK OFF A COUPLE OF GINTER SET NEEDS. I was pleasantly surprised at that outcome when the Rios and Miggy were found. Both Kershaws are new additions to my Kid K PC, bringing me just shy of 200 unique Clayton cards.

The Dick Pole card was directly in front of the Rusty Kuntz RC, and for a quarter each, I wasn't leaving them behind.

Oscar also brought some cards for me, so a big thanks to him for that!

Koufax, Campy, Drysdale and More!

I picked up a team card with some fantastic names on it. Koufax, Campanella, Drysdale, Snider, Reese, Newcombe, Podres....the way a team card should be.

It'll fit splendidly in my Campy Collection, and was had for $5.50 delivered. The coolest thing about this vintage bad boy is that it's from the Dodgers' first year in L.A., which also means it features the last Blue Crew squad to call Brooklyn home.

Whomever previously owned this 1958 Dodgers' team card/checklist made use of said checklist to the fullest.