Monday, January 2, 2023

Christmas Catch-Up: Part 2

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was contemplating the crazy idea of trying to build the 1955 Bowman set, and ever since then, it seems like the universe has been trying to steer me in that direction. And by "universe", I mean fellow bloggers. And by "trying to steer me in that direction", I mean that two different people have sent me cards from the set in as many weeks. Granted, it's only been three cards, but still, that's three more 1955 Bowman's than I've received over the course of the previous 7+ years of this blogs existence.

Our resident 1955 Bowman collector, Jeff, who also helms Wax Pack Wonders in his spare time, sent me two of my three recently received Bowman's for Christmas. 

I can't remember who it was, but somebody else on the blogs used be actively pursuing this set, but they either stopped blogging altogether, or stopped posting about the set, because the only person I ever see mention it now is Jeff. [Out of curiosity, does anyone know who the other person is/was?]

As for myself, despite the not so subtle nudge that I've been getting, I haven't fully committed to pursuing the set yet. I'm not sure if it's still because of the boom, or if the set is really just that popular right now, but either way, I'm amazed at how much the starter lots on eBay keep selling for. I don't remember commons from the set selling for so much a few years ago, but of course a lot has changed since then, so maybe the prices that I've been seeing are the new normal. I'm thinking that I might have to wait a little longer, maybe until after the current buyers get what they want, before I can even think about trying to get mine.

Dave Pope is in the better condition of the two, but I like the Preston Ward, if only because it looks like two people are beaming up (or down) behind him. I'll definitely be hanging onto this copy even if I am ever able to replace it with a better one.

As Bo can attest, my Portland Beavers collection is a bit of a hot mess right now, but I do have a couple of wants posted on the TCDB for it, Stan here, being one of them. In theory, this card will be getting it's own post on the my Beavers blog at some point, so I'll wait until then to talk about Stan, but in the meantime, it was nice to be able cross off a modern want from the list, as I've been pretty focused on getting players from the teams earlier days in recent months. [Note: I'm trying to clear a bit of a backlog on this blog right now, but for those that care, I should have two new posts up on the Beavers blog by the end of the month]

David Robinson is the only basketball player, who was never a Blazer, that I've currently got catalogued on the TCDB. I added his collection to the site well over a year ago, and foolishly thought at the time that he was gonna be the start of me getting them all logged. Obviously that plan didn't work out so well. I haven't looked yet, so I can't remember if I added this card to a wantlist, or if Jeff just noticed that I didn't have it. Either way, I just moved David to a different binder a couple of weeks ago, and know for a fact that I don't have this card, nor did I have any of his other SI for Kids cards before this arrived. I really dig this card too, the border color for this particular set works really well for the Spurs.

Many thanks to Jeff, not only for thinking of me during the holidays, but also for sending this wonderfully diverse quartet.

8 comments:

  1. Glad to help! You had logged the Robinson on tcdb, so it came up on Trade Matching. I'm upgrading a couple 55s soon, so if you don't mind the FR condition ones, I'd be happy to send them, too.

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    1. Oh, thanks for noticing then! I think I'd take pretty much whatever I could get at this point. Although, if there's any possibility of you being able to use those to get other needed cards for your set, it'd probably be a good idea to try and do so.

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  2. I really like that 55 Bowman set. A local dealer, who lost his retail space back in 2019, had one of them in his case and I thought about buying it just because I liked the design. But then I discovered his binder full of 1954 Scoop, and I knew I needed all the money for that.

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    1. Sounds like you made the right decision for you :)

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  3. I think at one point I had more '55 Bowman than '55 Topps, it seems a little easier to get than other Bowman sets, even accounting for it being the last set. I don't have any extras right now. I do see that Diamond Jesters has two available in the Time Travel Trade.

    I interviewed Cliburn for my blog. Over ten years ago already! https://borosny.blogspot.com/2012/04/stan-cliburn-on-baseball-cards.html

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    1. Things have probably changed in the last few years, but back when I was still regularly attending shows, it seemed like '51 Bowman was the most prevalent of the old Bowman's for sale. And thanks for the head's up on the TTT cards, I'll have to see if I have anything older that I could send in return.

      Wow, that was a long time ago. I've bookmarked the link, and will try to circle back around later tonight.

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  4. sounds like you a hook when it comes to future 55's

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    1. You pulled a me, John! Unfortunately, I'm better at making typos than I am at deciphering them?

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