First up is Chuck, a.k.a. C2Cigars. If you're not a TCDBer but the name sounds familiar, that's because he's the member Paul and I met at Paul's local show late last year. An older school collector that looks for vintage Mets, Raiders, and Sabres, plus Syracuse alumni, he followed up the vintage Michigan Football item he brought to that show with a bigger bunch of the same, almost all of which I needed:
Though none of these guys are new to my collection, it's generally been limited to their RCs, so this is certainly a bunch I can appreciate. WR Doughty (card #2) and OG Mack (4) are from 1975 Topps on a design that's miles away from the baseball version. RB Lytle (a dupe), OG McKenzie (3), and TE Seymour (3) feature on the '78 design that I think has a bit more going for it. TE Mandich's (4) second-year '76 Topps photo is very similar to the one seen on his RC. McRae's '69 Topps probably looks familiar since Jon sent it to me first and I showed it off in my last post. And LB Nunley (3) and CB Rowser (2) both make appearances in '73 Topps, which was their second-year set.
This next group begins with a card I don't really consider vintage, an '84 Topps USFL of WR Jim Smith (3), but that doesn't make me like it any less, especially since it's a cool piece of history. Then we return to 1973 for OT Steve Smith's RC plus S Rick Volk (5). I somehow missed Smith on my RC checklist so I'm glad Chuck alerted me to that, especially since he appears to have only one other card to his name. By the way, the colors used for the '73 set confuse me, so maybe someone can tell me if there's a rhyme or reason to what was used or if they're just random. Anyway, I was also treated to a second card of Volk, in this case from the '75 set you saw above. That gives me Rick's cards from '71, '73, '75, and '76, which is pretty good!
This last scan shows the other two cards from Chuck's package. On the left is a '91 Pro Set of former QB and current HC Jim Harbaugh, but it's not just any card. Instead it's from the Spanish version of the set, as indicated by some of the text you can see up front. That's a fun addition to his PC (142 cards). He's joined by recent DB Channing Stribling from Topps' coverage of the defunct AAF, the final dupe in the package.
Chuck's a great guy to deal with, as is pretty obvious considering the above, so don't hesitate to trade with him if you're on the site!
The other envelope that arrived was what the site calls a PIF, or "pay it forward." It's kind of the site's equivalent blog trading's blind trades with the idea that you pick someone and send them something they'd probably like. Member Robert (BKim), who seems like a good dude from what I've seen on the site, was nice enough to surprise me with this:
As I'm now actively collecting HOFer Ted Simmons--it took me a while to confirm he's a Michigan alum, though he didn't actually play baseball for the school, though that doesn't disqualify him for my collection--I'd updated my wantlist for the catching great, and Robert picked one of those needs and sent it my way. This is Ted's card from Fleer's 1981 debut, another appearance where he looks high but at least doesn't have long hair like a hippie. I'm glad to add it as the first Simmons in my collection that isn't included in one of my complete sets, giving me 14 overall.
I made sure to thank BKim in the forum's PIF thread and I already know to whom I'll be paying it forward very soon. Thanks to both him and Chuck for making TCDB a cooler place to be!
With lots of cards in-hand still to be covered and the likelihood of working from home starting next week you may actually see more of me! Stay safe and healthy, everyone.
