1/2/15 card show report: first one of the year

Before getting to today's post I thought I'd say a quick few words about Cubs legend Ernie Banks, who passed away yesterday a couple weeks shy of turning 84.  Banks was "Mr. Cub" for a reason, playing 19 years for the North-Siders, with a joy and passion for the game that few could claim to match.  Just as there's an indelible image in my mind of Ken Griffey Jr. with his hat backwards and grinning while showing off his sweet swing in batting practice, or Lou Gehrig bravely addressing the Yankees faithful one last time, I will always picture Banks enjoying what he did best with a smile on his face, and of course, "Let's play two!"  The world has lost a true legend, but I trust that legend will be passed down from father to son as long as the sport endures.  RIP, Ernie, and thank you for everything you gave to the game and its fans.

Ok, so more than three weeks after attending this show I'm finally getting around to showing off the goods because I wanted to get to some trade posts plus my 1000th football hit milestone on TMM.  This was another trip to Taylor Town Trade Center, and I actually managed to spend a bit more than usual there--$55--because I had some nice like digging up more trade bait and PC stuff.  I made two purchases of $5, but most everything was from quarter, $0.50, and $1 boxes, giving me a nice mix once again.

As usual I have some to share on TMM as well, but here's what's relevant to those of you that read this here blog:

First up is one of my $5 purchase.  One of the sellers I frequent had a ton of base and insert sets he was trying to blow out, and sadly I missed out on one of 2001 Topps Archives Reserve, which someone got to before me.  Still, for just a few bucks I managed to grab this set of 2007 Topps Draft (...Picks & Prospects, but that's too long of a name).  My interest mostly stemmed from cards you'll see if you check TMM, but there were a few other highlights as well, namely RCs of these guys:

Not a bad little group there, eh?  Best of all, the set includes my favorite design element:  college photos!  And non-airbrushed ones at that.

Speaking of rookies, I managed to do pretty well in the quarter and $0.50 boxes, landing this pair:

 Adrian Beltre 1997 Bowman RC

This '97 Bowman Beltre makes for a nice trio along with his Bowman's Best and Bowman Chrome cards from the same year.

Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Bowman RC

Though it's not in mint condition I happily added another copy of Griffey's oversized '89 Bowman rookie to my collection.

While I'm on the subject of Griffey (man, these segues are just writing themselves today), I found a fun cheap insert of his too:

Ken Griffey Jr. 1996 Emotion-XL D-Fense

Collectors from the 90s like me probably remember this oddly-named product and the D-Fense insert, with its framed, matted design.  Not a bad add to my Griffey PC.

While I was at it I found one card each for three other baseball PCs:

Kirk Gibson 1998 Sports Illustrated World Series Fever

Fleer's SI sets included some fantastic photography and design, like this cool base card of a more obscure moment in World Series history that I scored for my Gibby collection.

Lou Whitaker 2001 Topps American Pie

Sweet Lou got into the act too with this '01 American Pie base.  This was one of Topps' goofier sets that mixed baseball with pop culture way before their A&G/Gypsy Queen crapfests that are the hobby's version of Bill Simmons.  I love the photo of a young Whitaker with a great career ahead of him, though.

Barry Larkin 1997 Finest Bronze Refractor

Finally, it's Refractor time!  I don't remember which box I pulled this from but either way it was amazingly cheap--try finding Larkin Refractors for less than $1 on eBay or COMC.  The '97 set featured one of the product's best designs and I love how much the shininess enhances it.

As I mentioned I landed some trade bait as usual for several of you so keep in mind you may be getting cards from me again soon!  If not, there's always next show, which I may just attend if I feel like it.