A weekend of meeting my childhood heroes – A story of customs and autographs

As a kid, you always dream of meeting your favorite ball players. I was fortunate enough to have met Jose Canseco twice over the past two years. Whenever someone would go to a show, I would always think that the people who paid these big bucks to get autographs were ... well ... nuts! Why pay $100 on an autograph, when you could get them on ebay for half or less? As I have been creating custom cards over the past few months now, my eyes have been opened. What a rockin' ice breaker to be able to talk to

Rollin’ with Nolan – I met him, got 6 autos including a custom book … pics inside!

As an avid reader of Beckett when I was a child, I absolutely loved an article they did entitled "Rollin' with Nolan". It was an interview-style article, which highlighted Nolan offering pitching lessons to a baseball card dealer in exchange for his own rookie card. He cited the reason his offer instead of cash was because of how expensive the card was.  The article ended up being an April Fool's joke, but it stuck with me. Fast forward to this past weekend. We went to a book shop about a half hour away for our friend's book release party. I

Craig’s lister calls me a scammer and crook … yay!

After a fine dinner with my family, my wife and I did the dishes, and I decided to hit up Craig's list to see if there are any killer deals.  To my astonishment, I found the following post: BEWARE OF GUY SELLING RARE CARDS IN TOMBALL BY SILVERADO Uhmmmm wait ... I'm a guy in Tomball by Silverado!   There is someone that does live close to me that is a scam artist.  Surely, this posting was about him! WRONG.  <Enter torrid thunder and lightning sequence here.> It was about yours truly.  Rather than tell you what he said, let

First family baseball outing = lots of goodies

It has been a *very* busy week, so I am just now posting this.  As an early birthday present, my family and I went to the game last weekend since my team, the Oakland A's were in town. I was really going back and forth about whether or not I wanted to go or not.  I mean, when you watch a game on television, you have the play by play, a better view, it is free, and if you have to pee, you don't have to use a urinal next to uncle creepy. The day of, I decided to finally

Frank Thomas Rated Rookie? Former Donruss Employee Confirms Existence

SPORTS CARD DAILY ONLINE Monday, March 17th 2014 Written By: Joseph King Frank Thomas Rated Rookie? Former Donruss Employee Confirms Existence.  In what could be the most exciting news to come out of baseball cards from the early 90's, a former Donruss employee has confirmed that there are a very small number of Frank Thomas "rated rookie" baseball cards from the 1990 Donruss "AQUEOUS" set in existence.   Known by collectors as the "junk wax" era, the late 80's and early 90's were dominated by the "big Five" - Topps, Donruss, Fleer, Score and Upper Deck. "The printing presses literally

A VERY good week for my Personal Collection

I have posted a few times this week about some custom cards for my pc (Canseco). I was really bitten by the custom card bug hard. Mainly because Canseco prematurely ended his career, and I wished that the card companies would make more legends cards of him. Since that didn't happen, I decided to step in :) Soooo ... I pulled out the big guns ...   After doing a few mockups, I knew I wanted some of my favorite years of Topps ... in some of my favorite colors, blue and yellow: of 2009 ... and 2011 ...  and

Jose Canseco PC 2.0

Over the past few years, I've gone from being an enjoyer and collector of cards, to a hardcore hustler of cardboard crack.  Anything I could get my hands on, I would flip for profit.  Not that there is anything wrong with that - we all have to make money somehow, and it might as well be doing something we love! I have always kept aside the Canseco cards.  The collection had gone from going to card shows as a child and buying single Canseco cards that I didn't have, to, mindlessly tossing anything that had Canseco's name on it in

A Gentle Answer Turns Away Wrath, But a Harsh Word Stirs Up Anger…

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you may recall a guy I bought some cards off of - I agreed to buy them as long as he brought or sent me his Chrome Red Refractor of Peyton Manning.  That day never came.  Until, that is, this past weekend.  As I was browsing for some cards online, I saw the card for sale with a bunch of other cards.  A Topps Chrome Red Refractor of Peyton Manning.  My Peyton Manning.  This had me FUMING.  Where does this guy get off trying to sell the card that was mine?!?!?  It

You know you are a collector from the 80’s & 90’s when…

I run into people all the time who are coming back to the hobby, be it for themselves or for their children.  I thought it would be fun to put together a list, so feel free to add to it! You know you are a collector from the 80's & 90's when... You carefully inspect each corner of a 25 cent card before buying ... with a magnifying glass. Your retirement plan consists of a closet hoard of 1988 Donruss complete sets, and a nice stash of guys like Mo Vaughn & Albert Belle You still refer to Todd Van

Mining for Black Diamonds and the Case of the Missing Bautista

Greetings from hot San Antonio!  As I write this, I am in the hotel with my family.  I took them for a vacation to Sea World this 4th of July weekend.  I have been meaning to update my blog, so with my wife passed out on the bed from lack of sleep, and my son on his ipod, I figured this would be the perfect time! This past week has been another busy one.  First off - a few gems!  I picked up a cool small collection of autographs.  A Nolan Ryan autograph, a Tom Seaver vintage autographed baseball, a