Moving on to my second trade package of November, this one was actually hand delivered to me at a show (the first of two times that happened last month!) by Angus of Dawg Day Cards (who also goes by armac on TCDb). The Ottawa native wasn't too far across the border on Sunday, the 2nd, as he was nearby for a wedding. He'd let me know he'd be around with the possibility of meeting up, and fortunately that was day 3 of my monthly show. I made my usual trip on Friday to see my favorite seller, then headed back on Sunday while Angus was working his way across the border and dealing with all the fun that entails.
We arrived at practically the same time which worked out great, and I'd say we both really enjoyed talking cards and sports and stuff while looking through boxes. I may go into that more when I cover those two show trips in an upcoming post once I've taken care of recaps of the other trades that arrived last month.
Here we are. As always I'm the short one, though at this angle it doesn't seem like such a huge difference. Anyway, we each brought some cards (and more, in Angus's case) for the other person since that was a huge savings on postage, assuming you don't take into account how much he spent on gas. Hey, at least he was nearby for a fun reason before the show!
I have to say that what he brought put me to shame, but I did try to make up for it a couple ways, like buying him a few Browns he needed (which you can read about in his recap) and shipping a trade package for him.
Here's a quick look at all the cool stuff he brought:
Here's some of the non-card and oddball stuff. First is a Tiger Stadium giveaway radio. I have one or two of these from back in the late 80s or early 90s, but they're not in great shape like this one! Next is a souvenir cup and pin from the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings bowl. I believe Angus said he was at this game, in which Michigan lost 31-14 against Kansas State, largely thanks to a 3-TD game by future pro WR Tyler Lockett.
A few more pins join the fray, including a mix that mostly came from Little Caesar's and come with informational panels. Two celebrate previous World Series wins (1935 and '68) while the other two focus on '68 stars Mickey Lolich and Denny McLain. A 90s Pinnacle pin of Travis Fryman rounds out that group.
Then we have a couple team sets: 1990 Procards' Bristol Tigers, which I'll get to in a bit, and a '92 Coke/Kroger stadium giveaway Tigers set.
And last up is a matchbook featuring Al Kaline. Mr. Tiger graces the front of this item that appears to be from 1980 Liberty Superstar Matchbooks. I see a total of them on psacard.com, and the multisport set also includes Larry Bird, Guy Lafleur, and Willie Mays, among others. This is among the most unique Kaline (or anyone for that matter) items that have entered my collection.
And here's the back of some of the above items for those of you that would like to see more.
Before even getting to the "regular" cards this was a very generous pile of interesting stuff from Angus and I really appreciate it! But there was lots of cardboard to enjoy too:
Angus and I briefly discussed how he found himself starved for Topps cards in Canada the same way we Americans would describe ourselves when it came to O-Pee-Chee. Fortunately these days a diplomatic trade agreement that benefits residents of both countries is very easy to make! This scan leads off with the biggest star for me, Mark Fidrych, and his OPCs from 1978 and '80, and you'll see him again in the next scan. He's joined by '77 OPC Tigers Hiller, LeFlore, Oglivie, Ruhle, and "Le Grand Orange" Staub, plus a '72 of the late Joe Niekro. I didn't separate out the other stuff so an oddball Barry Larkin 1992 Investor's Journal single breaks things up a bit, but I still very much appreciate it!
Late SS Tom Veryzer joins his teammates from the '77 OPC stack, and a Ted Williams Pog card ends the "regular" stack of vertical cards, pairing up Detroit with their four-time World Series foe the Cubs. Chicago won the first two meetings in 1907 and '08, but Detroit got its revenge in 1935 and '45.
Next I'll do a quick summary of the horizontally-oriented cards you see. #1 is the third Fidrych of this post, also from 1977 OPC. While I still lack his Canadian RC, I now own his other appearance in that set that mirrors '77 Topps, which celebrates "The Bird" leading the AL (and both leagues, really) in ERA with a tiny 2.34. That season he put up a 19-9 record with a league-leading 24 complete games and crazy 9.6 bWAR, good enough for the AL Rookie of the Year and a second place Cy Young finish, but nowhere near the MVP. It was a season for the ages, even if it would precede a quick decline due to injuries.
The other horizontals were quite nice as well. Nolan Ryan was in his final season as a Met (and wouldn't crack 300 strikeouts until the following year with the Angels) so Lolich was able to take the K crown with 308. He'd go 2/3 on the pitching triple crown thanks to second place strikeout guy (301) Vida Blue's ridiculous 1.82 ERA (Lolich had 25 wins to Blue's 24). Mickey's teammate Joe Coleman was a distant third with 236.
Ending the all OPC run are team cards from 1973 and '76. What a cool look back at some vintage Canadian Tigers cards!
I also included some of the '90 Procards Bristol Tigers in this scan. The Virginia city hosted Detroit's Appalachian League (rookie ball) team from 1969-94, a rare long-term partnership for a minor league affiliate. Most of the players represented on these cards were in their first season with the club, and I picked two notables to go along with a Michigan PC guy and an occasional Tigers PC.
OF Danny Bautista played in parts of 12 MLB seasons, which is pretty solid, though most of those were away from Detroit (including the Series-winning '01 Diamondbacks). Late pitcher Jose Lima is definitely better known for a pretty good 13-year career mostly spent in Detroit and Houston.
Meanwhile, pitcher Greg Haeger's card was on my wantlist as one of just seven made of the Michigan alum, and it became my first in his collection, making this set an even better addition for me! And lastly we have 1B Tony Clark, the 1990 #2 overall pick, who played pretty well for the franchise and over his 15 years in the league. He's been head of the MLB Players Association for more than a decade so he's done quite well for himself.
The last of the baseball includes a couple oddballs and lots of stickers. Travis Fryman makes another cameo (or two) on Sports Collectors Digest and Baseball Cards Magazine inserts from '92 and '93, respectively, calling back to Topps designs from 1974 and 1968. I think cards inserted into magazines are great and loved getting a couple here.
There's also a stickerpalooza starring Tigers Fred Lynn and Jack Morris plus big four PC guy Cal Ripken Jr., and what's fun about these is that they're all Canadian versions. That goes for the Panini stickers, which is everything but the first Ripken, and that exact one which was produced by OPC.
A nice baseball haul to be sure, and we're not nearly done with this post yet!
Angus is a Browns fan so of course he knows football, especially when it comes to his favorite team. I'm sure he had dupes of the two Braylon Edwards cards he brought for me, one of which is 2009 Donruss Classics jersey numbered /299 on the back, which comes with a swatch in the color of, well, what else? That's my 97th hit of the former star WR.
Current Colts DE Kwity Paye doubles up Braylon with four additions from Panini Playbook and Prizm, a wacky Wild Card Alumination, and just my fifth signature of the seeker of sacks, this one out of 2021 Aspire, a SAGE brand. It may be airbrushed but we all know what team he's repping there!
And last up is a really nice pair of autos of defensive back Ambry Thomas, a Wolverine from 2017-19 who played in 42 games between 2021-23 for the Niners and has most recently been found on Philly's practice squad. Panini Contenders Draft Picks is a boon to a college collector like myself and I really enjoy the ticket motif plus the college action photos on the base and Red parallels you see above. Also, Ambry has a pretty nice signature even if he abbreviates his first name. My hit count for Thomas tripled thanks to this beautiful pair from Angus.
If you've read this far, congrats, you've made it to the final scan! I suppose they'd let Angus out of Canada no matter what, but could he really return home if he hadn't brought some hockey cards to a hoser across the border? No way!
First we have a fantastic pair of cards starring Wings HOFers Gordie Howe and Norm Ullman. Those came from a 1988-89 set called Esso NHL All-Star Collection. They're just a bit smaller than a standard card and I have to say I really like the design, which is very simple allowing for more attention to the classic photos.
Detroit legend Steve Yzerman is up next and three of the four items are brought to you by Kraft Dinner, one of the most Canadian things I can think of. The fun food issues you see above came out in 89-90 and 90-91. Lastly, The Captain appears on a more mainstream card: 1994-95 Finest, the first year that brand made it on the ice.
And lastly we have a pair that I think Angus was pretty excited about since they're Canadian stickers of Wolverines I collect. Debol has all of 6 cards listed on TCDb and his '79 Panini sticker is just the second I know have for his collection. Shand doubles him up with 12 to his name, and the former Flame now claims three items in my Michigan Hockey collection.
Angus, once again I want to say thank you for making the time to cross the border both ways to hang out at the show, and above and beyond that, for bringing me so much cool stuff that it took me this long to show it off! I'm definitely looking forward to scheduling another show with you (and potentially others like Night Owl) and maybe getting out to a Blue Jays game as well. Until then, it's a pleasure trading with you and I'll try to build up some good Browns to send your way.
I'll be back soon with November trade package #3!
