Card Show Report: Valley Forge 2016 02 27

Just a couple of highlights from this weekend's Card Show at Valley Forge.

1951 Bowman Eddie Waitkus

Card collecting wasn't dead at the Valley Forge convention center this weekend. It was very alive - or at least Autograph Chasing was. Much of the large crowd was likely due to Brian Dawkins being at the show, but I would like to think that while there some of the patrons took a look at some cards and other memorabilia

For a year or two I sponsered Eddie Waitkus' Baseball-Ref page. He is better known as the subject the story Malumud's "the Natural" was based. 

1961 Topps MVP Ernie Banks

Slowly working on putting together the 1961 MVP Subber. The above Banks card was an upgrade $7.

1962 Topps LL Ws Whitey Ford, Frank Larry, Steve Barber, Jim Bunning

I picked up a LOT of HoF League Leader Cards. This is thee earliest of the bunch. All went for $1 or $2, I think this was from the Dueces.
 
1967 Topps

1967 Topps Duos Twin Terrors Bob Allison and Harmon Killebrew

Our research into the 2016 Heritage/1967 Topps led us into a couple of purchases of the original cards. Mostly Hall of Famers and Subset cards like the Special of the Killer above.

1967 Topps #103 Checker Mickey Mantle 

The 1967T bounty included this Checker for $2. Little steep for a Checklist except this one features a floating head of MICKEY MANTLE - and it is UNCHECKED.

1954 Topps Johnny Podres 

I have been working on 1954T at the last couple of shows. Checked about a half dozen commons on Saturday, plus this semi-star. Podres went for $5. I also picked up a more significant 1954 Card of one of a fellow Dodger teammates, which I am teasing here for a future post.

1971 Topps Johnny Briggs, Rick Wise, Jim Lonborg, Dick Drago

There was a dealer that had 1971 Topps for a dime a pop. I picked up 40 of them. The selection was solid and included HI NUMBERS, Dick Drago in the bottom right is card #752 which is the last card in the set.

1956 Topps Mickey Vernon

Local Hero and Gentleman Mickey Vernon. Just one of the many pickups I made while thumbing through cheap bins $2.

1976 OPC #500 Reggie Jackson

This is for an upcoming Phungo Pheature $2.

 2015 Topps JJ Hardy

I spent a record almost no time in dime bins for current cards, We will return to this card at a future post.

1974 Topps Washington Padres

2 Bucks for a team card of club that never existed.

2014 Heritage the Originals: 1965 Topps Index

This is an Index to our posting related to 2014 Heritage and the set it homages 1965 Topps

 

1965 Topps/2014 Heritage Index   

Base - #534 John Herrnstein 

Rookie Cup - #460 Dick Allen 

Rookie Stars - #282 Dick Estelle & Masanori Murakami 

League Leaders - #4 HRs Mays, B Williams, Callison, Cepeda, Jim Hart

World Series - #139 The Cards Celebrate

2010 Topps Vintage Collection - #VLC2 Johnny Mize

 

More info on 1965 Topps
The entire 1965 Topps Series was covered by Kevin B of Orioles Card "O" the day on The Great 1965 Topps Project
Cardboard Connection Sports Collectors Digest (TS O' Connell) Golden Age of Baseball Cards Dean's Cards
Beckett

PSA

Hall of Famers
Jim Bunning
Joe Torre
Billy Williams

Monte Irvin (2003 UD Vintage)
Johnny Mize (2010 Topps Vintage Legends)
Al Kaline (Embossed Insert)

Sources & Links
Phungo Al Kaline HoF Index
Cardboard Connection
Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards

1970 Topps #403 Jim Bunning says Vote

Tomorrow is election day. It isn't a Presidential election but there are various other local and statewide positions that are being contested. Back in 1979 Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning won one of those elections - for Kentucky State Senate.

1970 Topps #403 Jim Bunning

Eventually Bunning was elected to the US House of Representatives and in 1998 he arrived in the US Senate. A position he held until 2010.

I am not sure how other states work but in PA one advantage to voting in the mid-term election is that it registers you to vote for the next 2 years which guarantees you won't have to re-register for the 2016 Presidential elections.

Regardless all those political ads that you were annoyed by during the playoffs and World Series should come to an end tomorrow. 

HoF Golden Era Committee
I am sure as a good citizen Jim Bunning will cast his vote on Tuesday, In addition to the mid-term election Bunning is also in the process of filling out a ballot for the MLBs Golden Era Committee. Bunning is one of a dozen voters who will examine 10 candidates on the Golden Era Ballot including his 1964 Phillies teammate Dick Allen.  

For the Collector
Picked this card up at a show for $1 in 2011.

For more Jim Bunning check:
Phungo Jim Bunning HoF Index

Sources & Links
SABR Bio by Ralph Berger
Philadelphia Inquirer Philly.com

Happy Anniversary Jim Bunning 1965 Topps #20

This weekend will mark the 50th anniversary of Jim Bunning's Perfect Game.

1965 Topps #20 Jim Bunning

On Father's Day, Sunday June 21, 1964 the Philllies beat the Mets 6-0 at Shea Stadium. The Future Hall of Famer struck out 10 Mets in the contest finishing out with a pair of K's versus Pinch Hitters George Altman and John Stephenson. It was the first Perfect Game pitched since Don Larsen tossed one in the 1956 World Series and the first NL perfect game pitched since 1880.  

The perfect game was Bunning's second no-hitter. As a Tiger he had no-hit Ted Williams and the Boston Red Sox in 1958.

After his playing career Jim Bunning went on to represent the State of Kentucky in the US Senate. He likely got his taste for politics when as a player he was involved in the development of the players union.

Phun Phact
Jim Bunning appeared on the Ed Sullivan show following his perfect game. 
 
2014 Heritage
Earlier this year we ran off a bunch of postings related to 2014 Heritage and the related original 1965 Topps. As the second half of this feature I intended to take a closer look at Heritage, but still haven't gotten that started. I will mention here that Heritage likes to give a nod to the earlier set by sharing card numbers with similar players. Jim Bunning's modern day partner on card #20 is Cliff Lee. That is a solid match Cliff Lee is on the shelf right now, but either he or Cole Hamels would have to be considered the team's ace.

Jim Bunning HoF Index 
1964 Topps #265
1970 Topps #403
2010 Phungo BFI (with Robin Roberts)
   
1964 Philies Series 
1964 Topps #135 Johnny Callison  

Other Voices
The Great 1965 Topps Project

Sources
The Year of the Blue Snow
Baseball-ref
Baseball Hall of Fame

Gus Triandos 1930-2013 - 1965 Topps #248

Gus Triandos passed away last week at the age of 82.  Triandos only played two seasons for the Phillies but he played an important role in a game on Fathers Day 1964. He caught Jim Bunning's Perfect Game and until 2010 he was the only catcher in Philllies history to have done so. That year he was joined by Carlos Ruiz who caught Roy Halladay's perfect game.

Gus has a few other interesting accomplishments across his 13 year career.  Check is Wiki page for further reading but he was the first player to catch a no-hitter in both leagues - Prior to the Bunning perfecto Triandos caught a no-hitter by kncukleballer Hoyt Wilhelm.

1965 Topps #248 Gus Triandos

There are only 2 Topps Cards that feature Gus Triandos with the Phils. The first of which was in 1964, but he was wearing a Tigers cap and uni for that card. This makes the 1965 Topps card above the only one which features Triandos in a Phillies uniform.

There is a bit of an oddity that I noticed on the Gus Triandos card.  See if you can find it when you see Triansdos when with his 1965 Topps Phillies brethren. 

1965 Topps Phillies Callison, Roebuck, Traindos, Johnson, Wine, and Boozer. 

Ok one last hint check the logo on the pennant.  For whatever reason the cap on the flag for the Gus Triandos card is not colored in.  It is clear while the rest of the Phils cards are red.  I don't have the entire Phillies 1965 set, but I have a good bit of them and to my knowledge this is the only one of the cards that does not have the red cap.  I checked around on line and found that my clear cap Triandos is not unique - every 65 Triandos card is a clear cap.  I asked Bob Lemke about this and he said that the card would follow under the uncorrected error (UER). 

 For more on Gus Triandos(especially his Orioles career) and his 1965 Topps Card check out this posting at the Great 1965 Topps Project 

Philly Show in Valley Forge Friday Through Sunday

The PhillyShow returs to Valley Forge this weekend. Team Phungo is a bit under the weather so I am not sure I will be attending. Game time decision for Saturday. Tix for the show are $8. Some local papers have a $1 off coupon in the Friday Sports sections.

1992 Topps #754 Charlie Hayes
Among the autograph guests this weekend are HoF and Politician Jim Bunning, Steve Bedrosian, Charlie Hayes, Eagles RB Brian Westbrook, Ravens and Rutgers RB and recent SuperBowl Champ Ray Rice and Wrestler Ric Flair.

On Saturday Sixers Alum and ambassador Darryl "Chocolate Thunder" Dawkins is scheduled for complimentry autographs.

For a synopsis of the PhillyShow in December click here.

The Phungo Card Show info Post is here.

  

Robin Roberts Memorial Posts

2010 Phungo BFI Jim Bunning & Robin Roberts

As mentioned a few days ago the photo from the above Phungo Card was taken prior to 2009 World Series Game 5. The Phils won that game, which was the final game pitched by Cliff Lee as a Phillie.

If you click the link from that post you can see the original picture from which this Phungo Card was created. Due to be taken at a distance under night game conditions the photo is a bit blurry. Thanks to creative reducing and cropping, I can make a photo that is somewhat cardworthy.

I believe this is the first 2010 Phungo Black Frame Insert I have posted. As with 2009 the cards feature a Solid Black Frame and Grey Lettering. The Phungo signature on the bottom right of the card has been altered slightly from 2009. Other than that the cards are basically the same.

Robin Roberts Card Postings

Since Roberts passed away on Thursday several articles have been written by various bloggers. I have collected many of those links here.

Capewoods Collections has featured the largest collection of Roberts cards I have seen posted so far. The title card is a special card from the 1959 set which we here at Team Phungo are frequently writing about. The remainder of the cards are retro cards created after the Hall of Fame Pitchers playing days. There is a Fleer SI auto card featured here that I have had my eye on for a while.

The Phillies Room has featured Roberts cards in several recent posts. The intial Post featured a 1961 Topps Card. For a collection of Jim's Robin Roberts related posts click here. Jim's most recent post features Roberts 1960 Topps card, and he has added Roberts 1956 Card to the top of his sidebar.

Steve over at White Sox Cards even went as far as creating a custom card marking Robin Roberts short stint with the Chicago Cubs at the end of his career.

The Great Orioles Autograph Project posted a really nice TTM auto card.

While Orioles Card "O" the Day posted the 1963 Roberts Card which is the first card to feature him and Oriole.

While checking out the 1963 Card Posted by Kevin I realized the black and white inset photo matches the one from Roberts 1960 Phillies card.

1960 Topps #264 Robin Roberts (From the Phillies Room)
1963 Topps #125 Robin Roberts (From Orioles Card "O" the Day)

Mojo and Beardy have also posted a TTM auto of Roberts 1959 Topps base card.



Robin Roberts Related Pages and Articles

Baseball-Reference
Wikipedia
1952 Game Used Ball from Roberts Fanily Auction
Hall of Fame
SABR Bio Project

Group Break - Nachos Grande

2005 UD Classics
#125 Ryne Sandberg
#81 Richie Ashburn
#83 Robin Roberts
#48 Jim Bunning

These are just four of the cards that I recieved in a recent Nachos Grande group Break. The Break involved the 05 UD Classics and 1998 UD Collectors Choice as well as a handful of miscellaneous packs.

I really enjoy the 05 UD Classics such as the ones featured above. The 1998 portion of the package included a heavy dose of Curt Schilling and Scott Rolen as the star cards from a rather down era for the Phils.

If your interested in another break that is being run by Nachos Grande check out the current break featuring five different boxes from 1995-2005.

The Original 1961 Topps - The Inserts

There are many inserts in 1961 Topps. Today we will take a look at some of these "subsets".

1961 Topps #50 1960 AL Strikeout Leaders
1961 Topps #25 Reds Heavy Artillery (Vada Pinson, Gus Bell, Frank Robinson)

In 1961 Topps produced it's first League Leader Cards. Like this card featuring Jim Bunning and Early Wynn, several of the 1961 Leader cards feature Hall of Famers. If you would like to pick up vintage cards of Hall of Famers and your on a budget, you may want to look into league leader cards.

Multi-Player card returned again in 1961, This Reds Card with HOF Frank Robinson was among them. I don't believe the Phils have a multi-player card in the 61 set.


1961 Topps #310 World Series Game 5: Face Saves the Day
1961 Topps #361 5th Series Checklist

The World Series cards which debuted in 1960 return for 1961. One of these World Series Cards features Bill Mazeroski's historic Homer that defeated the Yankees in the 1960 Series.

1961 is the debut of checklist cards in the Topps Set. I like the cool pictures on the top of these checklists. I am pretty sure that these are photos rather than painting and may be the first time in action pictures were featured on a Topps card other than World Series games.

For a previous look back the Phungo 1961 Topps feature on Phillies Cards click here.

Links
Phungo HoF index Frank Robinson

Philly Card Show Report - 2010 03 13 - Vintage Hall of Famers

For a previous post on the March 2010 Philly Show featuring Vintage Phils Cards click here.

Today I am featuring HOF cards that I picked up.

1964 Topps #29 Lou Brock
1962 Topps #475 Whitey Ford All Star

Cool to find a Lou Brock card from before he was traded to the Cardinals. I think each of these rough cards went for a buck a piece but don't remember now. The early vintage All-Star cards 1958-1962 are all usually pretty reasonable except for 1961.


1957 Topps #215 Enos Slaughter
1973 Topps #341 Jim Palmer

The back of the Slaughter card was well "slaughtered" but it was in the 3 for $1 bin and I couldn't turn it down. The Palmer is from the first iteration of the Boyhood Photos in 1973. This card was also in the 3fer bin.


1967 Topps #241 1966 AL RBI Leaders
1969 Topps #175 Jim Bunning

I am not a big League Leaders card fan, but this one was to big to pass up. Both of these were in the $1 bin.




1971 Topps #380 Tony Perez
1974 Topps #61 Luis Aparicio

Two more HOFs I think from the 3fer bin but can't remember. Aparicio was known for playing the White Sox but finished his career playing for the Red Sox. I believe this is his final Topps Card from his playing days.

Who's Autograph would You Stand in Line For?

1956 Topps #261 Bobby Shantz

As I mentioned earlier this week the Philadelphia SportsCard and Memorabilia Show is this weekend. In years past I have justified part of my admission by getting a complimentary autograph. Usually a lower tier player like Todd Pratt. This Saturday there will be no Free Autograph and I am curious who among the many signers you would consider standing in line for and handing over your hard earned cash.

Would you go the Cheap route and pick up an auto of Bobby Shantz (above) for $15?

Or go all out and get Cal Ripken ($132)

1992 Topps #40 Cal Ripken

1964 Topps #265 Jim Bunning

A more controversial choice may be Jim Bunning ($45)

The remaining signers are priced as follows:

Mickey Morandini $15 (Friday)
Von Hayes $15
Dickie Thon $15
Bob Feller $25 (Friday)
Jim Palmer $29

This is great - The crack staff at hat put together the web page over at Hunt Auctions describes Jim Palmer as 4 time Gold Glove Winner.

Not Hall of Famer, or 3 Time Cy Young Winner or even Six Time All-Star. Or how about this one Four Time World Champion! Nope Just Four Time Gold Glove Winner. They would go nuts if Jim Kaat was there.

For my time and money Shantz would be the way to go. I would also consider Palmer and Feller at those numbers. To me Bunning at $45 is insane money.

Speaking of insane the football prices on Sunday are all out of kilter Leonard Weaver $30 and DeSean Jackson $70??

Who would you pick, anyone, noone?

If you are planning on hitting the show, let me know. I am shooting for late morning and early afternoon on Saturday.

Phungo Game Report - 2009 11 02 - World Series Game 5: Yankees 6 @ Phillies 8

As you probably suspect, Team Phungo really wanted to catch a World Series game this year. But, I knew that due to such annoying factors as ticket cost and ticket demand the chances of us catching a World Series game were pretty slim.

well....

Yesterday I made the somewhat impulsive decision to take my girlfriend to the final home game of the Phillies 2009 Season. Turned out it was the right decision.

Last year I got to go to a game, but couldn't get another ticket - it was great to get a second chance and be able to share the experience with her.

Several things fell together so that we could make it to the game.

1) Unfortunately the Phils fell to 1-3 in the Series - however, this resulted in the ticket prices for game 5 falling to a level which I only felt moderately guilty about spending.

2) The weather took a pretty nice turn.

3) I wasn't all worn out from my typical weekend of excessive decadence.

4) This is absolutely key - The Phils had a favorable pitching match-up and this definitely factored into the decision.

It took the confluence of all the events just to get us to make the decision to go.

I monitored prices on Stubhub till about 1p and made a purchase of one of the last pairs of tickets in a section which I considered both good enough and affordable.

We were in the upper level but got to sit behind the plate. That is good enough for me and fits my budget.

The game got off with a slight hiccup but Chase Utley straightened that out in the bottom of the first with a 3 run homer. Utley would add a 2nd dinger a few innings later to give him 5 in the series and tie Reggie Jackson for HRs in a single World Series. Cliff Lee had a good almost great outing. The Phils dicey bullpen gave us a scare, but in the end the Phils Won 8-6.

It was a great experience. The Phils faced eliminations and lived. One of their star players belted 2 homers and had 4 RBIs. And we got to see a reigning Cy Young award winner start in a World Series game against the New York Yankees. What more can you want.

Here are a few picks from a very fun evening (click to enlarge):


Yankees BP - you can see some of the hordes of media down by the visiting dugout on the left.

First Pitch - Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and the 83 year old Robin Roberts

Alanis Morissette - This is the pick of the Celebrity Anthem singers in the Series for my tastes.

I didn't get many good game shots. Just a couple pitcher v batter ones.


Cliff Lee v Johnny Damon

The ESPN Crew including Krukker and Bobby Valentine

And finally...

This Trophy is still property of the Philadelphia Phillies!!
for at least the next couple of days and hopefully longer


One final comment hey Major League Baseball - Get your stuff together, what the hell is the World Series Trophy doing sitting on an 6 inch high Amazon box covered by a piece of cloth. Yes it is sitting there like a foot off the ground - those khakis behind the trophy belong to a SEATED Al Leiter. Ridiculous - throw down a few bucks and build a stinkin Pedastal for the thing.

For all you Spot the Sig! fans, I am running behind this week, I may just fold the Profile into next weeks Auto. Congrats to Autograph Cards on picking Carl Crawford.

Sources and Links
Game Dated Cards Index
Johnny Damon Index 

2009 09 27 - Philly Show, Valley Forge PA

Both Sports Cards Info and Stale Gum have posted video on the Philly Show - both were entertaining and informative with some great cards. Here at Phungo we shall remain low tech and camera shy and bring you a show report with good old fashion scans.

I had a great time at the show and the roughly 3 1/2 hours I alloted myself clearly was not enough. I spent almost my entire trip in the cheapo vintage bins. Pardon the presentation, I am lazy tonight and have left the cards in their sleeves.


1959 Topps #338 George Anderson

Better known as Sparky Anderson, And yes Sparky wore a Phillies uniform during his playing days. I spent more on other cards and may have found deeper bargains then this one, but this one was likely my purchase of the day.

For the Colletor:
I believe there are only Two Topps Sparky Anderson cards the above 59 and his 1960 card #34. This card is in pretty good shape, though off-center and went for $2.50. Nice price for a rookie card of a Hall of Famer - albeit an HOF manager. The low completed auction on eBay for the 59 Sparky Anderson card ended at $6.64 (incl shipping) with many of the cards going for $10 and up topping out at just over $70.

1961 Topps #132 Frank Howard Rookie Star (RC)

Frank Howard played before my time, but I saw him on the field several times as a coach and he certainly is a big man. There was no doubt that he looked like the type of guy that could hit 30 homers and 100 RBIs in a season. Nice RC to pull out of the dollar bin.

I also came across several vintage Bowman cards in the dollar bin including this beat up Jackie Jensen card.

1954 Bowman #2 Jackie Jensen

If your not aware of who Jensen is, reach back into the baseball card blog annals to Ben Henry's post on 9 cards to Jump Start a collection and you will realize why you can't let this card go for a dollar. It should also be noted that Jensen made Jayson Stark of ESPN's all-underrated Red Sox top three strictly on the recommendation of Peter Gammons.


Another Red Sox great that I found in the buck bin was this 1975 Carlton Fisk

1975 Topps Mini #80 Carlton Fisk

A 75 Carlton Fisk might not be a steal for a buck, but look closer - this baby is a Mini. Can't turn down a 75 Topps Mini Hall of Famer.

2008 Topps Gold Campaign 08 #C08-MR Mitt Romney

Just taking a break from all the vintage. This is the last card I needed to complete the Campaign 08 series. For this small set, I didn't care whether the card was a gold card or base. 1 of each candidate was enough for me. It is likely the weakest of the 08 Topps Insert sets, but it is the first I completed - whoohoo. This likely came out of the 3 for a dollar bin and I still payed to much for it.

Back to the good Old Vintage


1958 Topps #115 Jim Bunning
1965 Topps #30 Jim Bouton
1960 Topps #555 Nellie Fox Sport Magazine 1960 All-Star

It was Sunday and check who we found in the half off bin - Two Vintage Hall of Famers and Jim Bouton. What the hell is a 2nd year card of Jim Bunning doing in the half off bin, and this is after already being knocked down to $6? 50+ Year old HOF card for three bucks - that's going in the Phungo collection baby.

I am basically a baseball collector, but football season is upon us and the Vikings are off to a quick start so.....

1974 Topps #129 Fran Tarkenton All-Pro

This is one of my favorite cards from my childhood and it was great to recover it and get the card back into a proper home witin my collection. The 1974 Topps Football is one of my favorites - The All-Pro cards don't have the goal posts but I really like the look of them.

1961 Topps #312 1960 World Series Game #7 Mazeroski's Homer Wins It!

The ultimate David slays Goliath World Series. The New York Yankees outscored the Pittsburgh Pirates 55-27 in the 1960 World Series. But none of that mattered as the Bucos won the 4 tight games while losing the three blowouts.

I look at this card and think of the Pirates winding down their umpteenth consecutive losing season, and the Bronx Bombers preparing to enter another Post-Season as the tournament top seed and favorite.....And then I think that if the Pirates could knock off the Yankees today, Now that would be David Taking Down Goliath.

For the Collector:
As you can tell I was mostly in the vintage bins. I can tell you that Chris over at Stale Gum was able to pick up a Hobby Box of Goodwin Champions for $68 (compare $82 Dave and Adam's Card World). I spoke with another colletor at the show that mentioned that the new Topps Ticket to Stardom was going for $75 ($85 DAC).

The one item I passed on was a 1936 Diamond Stars #27 Pie Traynor. The card was slabbed in 1-Poor condition and ran $20. I considered it just to have a Hall Of Fame player out of this 70 year old set.

Back in the 70s when Mike Schmidt and Brooks Robinson were still active Traynor was the Third Basemen on the Topps 1976 All-Time All-Star team. Now he is in danger of falling into the forgotten Hall of Famer category.

Hall of Fame Thursday - Jim Bunning

I have been hesitant to start a weekly feature as I don't want to put myself on a schedule, but I thought featuring a Hall of Famer each week would be a good way of anchoring Phungo during the void of the baseball off-season. Yes, I do follow other sports (Flyers Hockey, College Hoop, PSU and Minnesota Vikings Football) but Baseball is my primary love. The goal each Thursday or Friday will be to come up with a HOF player who is interesting and maybe even timely. The HOFs will not be restricted to baseball but will likely be baseball centric – although they in fact may not be in any Hall of Fame - well other than my own. Former Phil and current Phils broadcaster Larry Andersen is in my personal Hall of Fame, just because I think he is a helluva funny guy - my blog my rules – Autocracy rocks!!

But for week one the Hall of Famer, as mentioned above, is Jim Bunning. Yes a Baseball player and an actual member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1964 Topps #265 Jim Bunning

This is a good week to recognize Bunning, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch in game 5 of the 2008 World Series.

Bunning is also a US Senator and this is an election week, although I will note that I can't say that I agree with many of Jim Bunning's conservative views. The man does have one of the more varied Wikipedia pages you will find.

Bunning had two stints with the Phils, playing with them for 6 years between 1964 and 1971. He had 224 career wins including a perfect game on Father's Day of 1964 and was an all-star in 7 different seasons.

Bunning’s number 14 is retired, which is fortunate, because it helps the Phillies avoid the awkward question of retiring Pete Rose’s #14.