Card show report: 9/30/12

A nice little windfall came my way courtesy of a small side job this week helping someone with a few computer issues, so I decided to reward myself--despite a good amount of spending this month, which I'll be making up for in the last few months this year--with a quick trip to the monthly card show in Taylor.  My main goal today actually wasn't cards as much as supplies:  I have a bunch of thicker cards in-hand and soon to arrive from COMC and I wanted to be ready, so I hit up my favorite supplies vendor there.  More on him a bit later, but here's a quick look at what I picked up today that's relevant to this blog:

 Don Baylor 1972 Topps RC:

I hit up my favorite vintage dealer as usual and spent about $11 on a couple cards for me (the two you see here) as well as a few for Jeff.  While I may fill in my small vintage collection with stars at some point, right now I'm more interested in working on some older RCs for this collection.  I consider Baylor a significant enough player to be included, and I don't think I'd get too many arguments about that.  He hit 300+ homers in his 19-year career and was the 1979 AL MVP before going on to manage the Rockies and Cubs.  He's now the D-Backs' hitting coach, extending his already lengthy baseball career.  It's also worth noting that Oates was also a decent player who went on to be a pretty good manager.

Tony Oliva 1964 Topps RC:

I'm no huge Twins fan, and Oliva was definitely before my time, but I also considered him a significant enough RC to join the club.  Tony played his entire 15-year career for the Twins and was the 1964 AL ROY thanks in part to more than 200 hits and a .323 avg.  Both the Baylor and this one were among the rough condition 90% off cards that I always scan, and I was happy to snag each of them for $1.20.  They're obviously both a bit battered--especially the Oliva--but I'm perfectly happy with them exactly as they are.  And I'll certainly be checking out those same boxes the next time I hit a show!

Now onto the best pickup of the day for me:  as I mentioned, I stopped by to see my supplies guy, who recognizes me by now, which is always nice.  I buy a good amount of stuff from him, so he cut me a bit of a deal on a ton of top loaders I needed.  As I was walking out, I noticed a table piled with autographed 8x10s, especially Tigers.  With a bit of money left in my wallet (we can't let THAT happen, can we?) I asked him if he'd give me a deal on one, and he was nice enough to do just that:

And because he was that cool, I now have this beautiful black and white 8x10 auto of my favorite Detroit catcher of all time, Bill Freehan!  Now THAT, folks, is how you earn repeat business.  I'll soon be framing this guy and putting it up in my card room alongside the rest of my Tigers stuff and autographed baseball memorabilia.

While the show didn't start off looking too promising, I definitely ended up with a nice haul again.  Please check out TMM for the rest of my purchases today.