I have my reasons

When I claim cards from the massive Time Travel Inventory, they are often unrelated to the set I’m after and rarely target Dodger. In fact, there’s seemingly no rhyme or reason as to why I chose them, as if I’m just gobbling them up at random. But there is always a reason. Always.

Let’s see what those reasons are, revealed in beautiful, enlightened words for all the world to see. I will proceed chronologically:

1964 Topps Jerry Adair

It’s probably not necessary to justify buying a vintage card, but 1964 has never been on my list to complete. I wanted this rough cut of the Jerry Adair card because this card is one of the cards I bought eleven years ago at a card show that had written updates on the front. My copy has “+SS” written in pen under the 2nd base. That kind of thing is charming, but I prefer unaltered cards in the collection.

Juan Marichal by Kellogg from 1970

A newcomer to the Time Travel inventory and I had to have it. I immediately jumped on it and didn’t even realize there were some rips and scuffs in it. I don’t know what happens to Kellogg’s cards that makes them look nice and warm around the edges, like they’ve been roasted on a stick over a campfire. I’ve never experienced that with my Kellogg’s cards, but I’ve seen plenty of examples.

Of course, all 1970s Kellogg sets are final missions of completion for me, but the 1970 set is probably the lowest on my wish list.

1982 Topps Stickers Manny Trillo

My 1982 Topps sticker book is completely filled, but it would be nice to have all the 1982 stickers loose as well, since they are my favorite sticker set – easily. This goes to that gentle chase.

1982 TCMA Waterloo Indians Ed Tanner

A little peek behind the curtain at night owl when he first opens today’s blogs. It wasn’t long before I woke up, fluttered down the stairs and poured myself some cold coffee. It’s probably around 10:30 or so. The brain is foggy and that’s why I thought this player was Ed Farmer, the former White Sox pitcher. This makes no sense at all. It doesn’t look like Farmer. Farmer was also in the middle of a Major League career with Major League cards at the time. Why would he be in a minor league set?

Oh well, I now have my first Ed Tanner card (who was an infielder, by the way). And I still love TCMA minor league cards from this era.

1984 Fleer update Alan Bannister and Dave Beard

I try not to regret my hobby, but one of the misses from my first non-collecting period (the mid-1980s) was not ordering the 1984 Fleer Update set. I bought packs of the 1984 Fleer main set and quite liked it. But I was still in a Topps frame of mind at the time and finding an update set that wasn’t Topps wasn’t a priority at all. I bet I didn’t even know the Fleer Update set existed at the time.

By the time I got back into the hobby and tried to get my hands on cards from the 1980s, the price of this thing shot out of reach. So I’m limited to adding commons here and there when I can. Maybe I’ll finish it in 2056.

1986 Donruss Highlights Ernie Lombardi

It’s been a policy since I first saw the 1986 Donruss design: avoid all cards with that design. That has usually been a good policy. I don’t need those seizure-inducing things in the house. But sometimes I missed things like this.

The Highlights set consists mainly of current players from that era, but also includes cards from the 1986 Hall of Fame class. It’s strange to see cards of Bobby Doerr, Willie McCovey, and Ernie Lombardi in a period when major sets focus on almost nothing other than current players. That’s why this is cool even with the tightly packed isobars.

Don Baylor, 1987 Fleer Baseball game winner

I’ve completed several 80s Fleer box sets, but this one is one I didn’t pursue – not crazy about the hospital blue borders. But this one features a favorite and includes the most popular statistic of the time: game-winning RBIs. It’s a must have.

Pro Set Barry Sanders from 1992

Football cards from the early 90’s are not part of my collection unless they are Buffalo Bills. The Pro Set look from the early 90’s doesn’t appeal to me. In general, the only full bleed sets I like are from Stadium Club and some Upper Deck sets. But Barry Sanders is an exception.

Sanders and I share a birthday. With this card I am one spot away from a full page of Sanderses.

Those are the others, probably most – if not all – were sent to me by Sportscards From The Dollar Store. I haven’t been very good at making a birthday folder for the 7/16 athletes, but I should at least have a Barry Sanders page (and probably Shoeless Joe Jackson). That’s why I added the Sanders card.

All of the TT cards shown were acquired during the post celebrating the 400th Time Travel Trade, so to mark the occasion I’ve included a few more cards than I normally do. It really is a great way to acquire cards you want while also getting rid of extras in your collection.

Full props (does anyone say that anymore?) to Matt for running the show all these years.