Cards from a Collector

And not just from any old collector... but The Collector, AKA Chris. For anyone who happens to be  unfamiliar with Chris or his blog, you will be doing yourself a big favor by clicking on the link and becoming a follower. Also, if you happen to be the sort that enjoys reading non-card blogs as well, I would highly recommend checking out his other work over at the the pedestrian writer.

Some of the cards shown in this post came from a trade bait post that Chris did a month or so (maybe more) ago, so if you're new to his blog, you should go back and find that post, because there was a lot of really neat unclaimed stuff within that post.

I'm a few weeks late in covering these cards that Chris was kind enough to send my way, so I don't want to waste any more time getting to them. So let's jump right in with a few of the 2013 Topps Chasing History inserts, starting with two from the base version:



     
One Holo-Foil:



                                                                       
And one of the gold Holo-Foils:      
                            


This is my first Orange Matrix parallel from the 2013 Cooperstown set.

2013 Topps Emerald Prince, pictured doing what he always did... swing for the fences!

Chris was fortunate enough to get a couple of boxes of 2017 Heritage, which just happened to contain more than a few buybacks, so of course I had to inquire as to the availability of said buybacks. Thankfully there were a few to be had, including the two Terry's above.

The Rafael Palmeiro rookie adds a little bit of name recognition to the frankenset. The '68 Don Pavletich came from one of the box topper buyback packs, of which I hope to open a few of someday, thus far my attempts at acquiring any via eBay and Sportlots hasn't worked out so well. Don may have spent most of his career as a backup, but from now on, he -- or rather his card -- will be a starter in my set.

Saying that "I saved the best for last" when referring to this Dick Groat Topps Lineage autograph would be a serious understatement, I mean look at, it's just awesome. I have six auto's from this series now, which I don't think is too bad, especially considering I only learned of their existence last year. Here's a question that came to mind after receiving this card: Why is Dick Groat never talked about? He's got a couple of World Series rings, was an eight time all-star, won the 1960 N.L. MVP. And if that wasn't enough, he was a legitimate two-sport star, having been an a two time All-American at Duke and playing in the NBA for the Fort Wayne Pistons during the 1952-53 season. If he wouldn't have had to serve his required two year stint in the military, he probably would have continued playing both baseball and basketball professionally. That's a pretty impressive resume, and yet his name is never mentioned. So what exactly does a fellow have to do to get some recognition?

Thank you again for the cards, Chris. By the by, every time I see your blog title, I think of this song:

                
Thanks for taking a moment to look at my page.