Blog Bat Around: My Current Projects

Thanks to Night Owl for kicking off this latest Blog Bat Around.  After reading about his current projects as well reading posts from other bloggers who have posted, I thought I would join in.

 

Here is a look at my various card collecting interests, and what I am currently focused on for each:

Baseball Sets

Collecting baseball card sets is my primary focus.  As I have discussed before in a previous Blog Bat Around, I am a completist, so the main enjoyment I get from collecting is completing sets.

I have completed Topps flagship baseball sets from 1964 through 2017.  I must confess though that for about the last 30 years, I have just bought Topps factory sets as my primary focus has been building vintage sets rather than building current sets through opening packs.  While I miss the enjoyment of building each year's current set, I would rather focus my efforts on vintage cards.

Sets I am currently working on: 1960 & 1963 Topps

I've got about 1/2 of the 1960 set completed, and I'm down to only needing 6 cards for the 1963 set.  Unfortunately the cards I need for '63 are guys named Rose, Mantle, Aaron, Mays, Koufax, and Clemente, so I'm afraid I'm going to be stuck at needing 6 for a while. 

In addition to Topps, I also collect all other brands that were issued in the 1980's (Fleer, Donruss, Score, Upper Deck), and have complete sets for all of those brands up through 1991.

As for the sets that I have completed, I am still working on some of those sets in terms of:

Upgrades -  from the sets I built in the 70's, there are still some cards like checklists that are marked, and cards that are not in the greatest condition that I am working on replacing.  I'm also trying to improve cards that are terribly off center.

Errors / Variations - for the sets that I have completed, I'm trying to go back and build master sets that include all variations.


And finally, I am also purchasing 1990s sets - my goal is to have every major set issued from each year that I am collecting.   Right now I'm trying to fill in the gaps in sets that I don't have from the early 1990's.  That includes trying to put together all the insert sets as well.

Given the over production from the era, it is pretty easy to find some great prices on sets from this time period.  In many cases though, the shipping costs more than the set.  Once you add in the cost of a binder and pages, I end up spending more on the set than it is worth, but I enjoy being able to look at my cards in binders.  If the cards are all packed away in boxes, then I never look at them, so I am progressively working my way through the sets that I have and putting them in binders.

Realistically, I think I will stop this project of completing all sets for a given year towards the end of the 1990's as there are just too many different sets by late 90's that I'll never be able to complete (and will never have enough room!).

One project that I have taken on where I am actually building some sets from the 1990s are 2 parallel sets - 1994 Score Gold Rush and 1994 Pinnacle Museum.   I was able to pick up some lots for each of these sets, and have enjoyed trying to build them a few cards at a time.

Fleer Items

Now we get into the items that are the inspiration for this blog!

I've always loved all of the different Fleer items with team logos, as evidenced by all the different sets I've covered on the blog.

Sets I am currently working on:

1969 Baseball Pennants and Stamps - This is one of my favorite Fleer issues given the multiple logos on each sheet.  I'm down to only needing 2 sheets, but these things are almost impossible to find.

1967 Baseball Emblems and Fact Cards - These are much harder to find than the 1968 versions.   I still need quite a few 1967 patches and fact cards.

 

1960 - 1962 Fleer Baseball Decals with Red Backs - Another Fleer variation that is very hard to find.  Still trying to find a couple of teams.

 
1976 Iron Ons - I'm a few teams short of completing this set as well.

 Football Sets

In addition to collecting baseball sets, I also collect football cards.  I've got complete Topps sets from 1966 though 2015 when they lost their license.

My next goal would be to collect the 1965 Topps set, but given that set contains the Namath rookie, I've decided instead to work on the 1964 - 1967 Philadelphia Football sets.

Sets I am currently working on: 1964, 1965, and 1966 Philadelphia (1967 is complete)

Oddball

I love oddball sets!  Oversize cards, posters, coins, stamps, stickers - I want them all!

My most recent completions were the 1971 Topps Coin set, the 1989 Topps Talking Baseball set,  and the 1988 - 1990 Topps Big sets.

Sets I am currently working on:

1971 Topps Greatest Moments - I'll probably never finish this one as the SP cards are ridiculously expensive, but I love the look of this set.

Topps Sticker sets - 1985 & 1986 Topps Baseball, 1985 & 1986 Topps Football  - I'm trying to finish complete runs of the Topps Baseball and Football sticker sets from the 1980s.

1982 Kellogg's Raisin Bran NFL Posters - Need a few more teams to complete the set.

1970's Food Issues

As a kid growing up in the 1970s, the Kellogg's and Hostess sets were a great way to get additional cards since Topps was the only game in town.  I have fond memories of checking the backs of Hostess products looking for cards I needed and always wanting more Frosted Flakes to get another card for my set.

I've been able to finish a complete run of the Hostess panels from 1975 - 1979.

I've completed 1972 - 1983 Kellogg's.

I haven't started 1970 or 1971 yet, but they are on my list to start working on.


I also have the 1970 Kellog's Football set, but need to start the 1971 set.

Basketball

My interest in basketball is limited to the Topps sets from the 1970s and early 1980s.

I've completed 1973-74 through 1979-80.

I'm currently working on the 1980-81 set, except of course I need the Bird/Johnson rookie.

Non Sport

Wacky Packages - Wackys were the first thing I ever collected.  Before I'd ever seen a baseball card, I had been gotten caught up in the Wacky craze.  I blame the checklists that came in every pack for making me the set collector that I am today.

Seeing those checklists with all of the titles I didn't have made me want to keep buying packs until I could mark off every box on the checklist.  I've been hooked on collecting sets ever since!

I've been able to complete the original 1st through 15th Series, as well as reissues and most of the All New Series that were released since 2004.

Sets I am currently working on:

Wacky Packages 16th Series - The ultra rare 16th Series that most people at the time of its release were never aware of.  Most collectors never knew about the series until Topps did reissues in 1979-1980 that had stickers that people had never seen before.

I've only picked up a few of the stickers in this set so far.  They typically sell for at least $50 a piece, so this is another project that is probably going to take a very long time to finish.

Other Non-Sports:

Topps Evel Knievel - I was fortunate that this limited Topps issue was released where I was growing up.  I was at just the right age to get totally swept up in the  Evel Knievel mania.  I had the toys and my friends and I would set up ramps to see how many Tonka trucks we could jump over on our bikes.  I'm down to needing only 2 cards to complete the set, and have about half of the stickers.

Topps Beatles cards - I have always been a huge Beatles fan, so naturally I would be interested in collecting Beatles cards.  I'm down to just needing a few to finish a complete run of all the Topps Beatles sets.

Charlie's Angels - How could I not collect these growing up in the 70's?  I've got the card sets, but still need some of the sticker sets.

Star Wars - Same situation.  Have all the cards from the original 5 series, just need to finish off the sticker sets.

Card Related Items

In addition to cards, I also collect wrappers and the boxes the cards came in.  My goal is to have a wrapper and the box the cards came in from every set that I have collected from as far back as the 1960 Topps set I am working on through the end of the 1980s and the wax era.  I've got quite a ways to go with this project.

Once you start getting into the 1990s with foil packs and the explosion of sets, it just becomes too much to try to collect.


There is much more I would like to include in this review. but I think I'll stop here as this is getting pretty long, and covers my main focus areas of collecting.   If you've made it this far, thanks for reading!

How a box of Post Rice Krinkles answered my questions about the 1963 Post Cereal Baseball Pennants

When I first reviewed these early 1960's mini baseball pennants


I wasn't sure whether or not they had been issued by Post Cereal. Nowhere on the front or back


is there any indication that this was a Post Cereal promotion. I had not been able to find a Post cereal box that contained any information about the pennants to confirm that these were offered by Post until Greg sent me some pictures showing a Post Rice Krinkles box with the pennant offer on the front:


and a picture of the RedSox pennant and information about the pennants on the back:


The box indicates there are 19 team pennants, which confirms that there was no pennant made for the Houston Colt .45s. In fact the box even says "Except Houston" right under the information about the stickers and just above Tom Cheney's card. For some reason, it looks like the National League pennant was issued in its place (which brings the set to 20 pennants). That would explain why there appears to be no corresponding AL pennant.

The Post Cereal cards have stats from the 1962 season, so this confirms that this would have been a 1963 release.

I'd like to say thanks to Greg for this fantastic find! This box answers all of the questions I had not been able to previously answer.

NFL Football Pennant Sticker Mystery

I recently received an e-mail from Pete asking if I had any information about some NFL Football Pennant stickers that he was trying to research:


My first thought was that these were the Leaf Football Pennants that were released in the early 1980's, but comparing them to known Leaf stickers, I found that they are not the same:


As the picture above shows, the Leaf pennants were cut in the shape of a pennant instead of a rectangle, and if you look at the Bills pennant, you can see that there is a difference in the color of the face mask as well as a difference in the red stripe running down the left side of the pennant.

The stickers in question certainly look very similar to the Leaf set, but do not appear to be the same. I'd almost be inclined to say that the rectangular stickers might possibly be cut from a proof sheet of Leaf pennants stickers except for the fact that the backs have instructions for affixing the stickers to some sort of box:


Looking at the die cut on the picture above, if these were going to be cut into the pennant shapes that were used for the Leaf set, part of the instructions would have been cut off, so I'm almost positive these are not a Leaf release.

Besides, the Leaf pennant stickers were meant to be stuck in the Leaf Pennant Fever Pennant Collector Book, not on a box:


Pete sent a few other pictures showing a nearly complete collection of stickers for all the teams in the league at the time:




If anyone remembers these pennant stickers or happens to know anything about them, Pete and I would greatly appreciate knowing more about them. I'm particularly curious about the "box" that you were supposed to decorate with the pennants if anyone happens to remember what that might be.

1964 Topps Football Pennant Stickers

In 1964, Topps included a sticker insert in their packs of 1964 Football cards featuring team pennants:


Since Topps only had a license to produce AFL cards (Philadelphia Gum had the rights to the NFL from 1964 - 1967), the only professional teams in the set are AFL teams. In addition to the 8 AFL teams in existence at the time, the insert set also included 16 college team pennants for a total of 24 team pennant stickers.

Here is a look at the AFL teams:







There is a Raiders sticker as well, but I haven't yet been able to find a picture.

The AFL "logos" on these pennants are somewhat generic rather than being exact reproductions of their respective official logos.

The college pennants also relect this generic look




The stickers measure 2 1/8" x 4 1/2", which is why all of the stickers show a crease since they had to be folded in order to fit in the pack.

It is interesting to note that after Topps had promoted the team sticker inserts in previous years on the wrappers (1960 and 1961), there was no mention of these inserts on the wrapper


or the wax box in 1964

1963 Post Cereal Baseball Mini Pennant Stickers

Today's post covers a sticker set that may have been released by Post Cereal in the early 1960's, but I have not been able to confirm since I haven't found much information about the set other than one auction listing.

Here is a look at the pennants from the set that I have been able to find:


As you can see I've got the Orioles pennant in a top loader, so this should give an idea as to the size of these pennants.









Most of the pennants use the team's official logo, but in some cases the logos are a bit different, as is the case with the Dodgers pennant:





Here is an interesting variation of the Mets logo without the word Mets


and a similar situation with the Yankees logo:






The Giants also have a logo variation without the name Giants on the baseball logo:



In addition to the teams, there were pennants for the leagues as well:


I haven't been able to find an American League pennant yet.

Since we have the expansion teams from 1962 and the Braves pennant indicates they were in Milwaukee, that narrows the dates that these could have been issued to between 1962 to 1965, since the Braves moved to Atlanta for the 1966 season.

I have been able to locate (or at least find pictures of) 19 of the 20 teams that were in the league from 1962 - 1965 with one exception - Houston. I'm not sure if there is a pennant for the Houston team, and if so, whether it is the Colt 45s or the Astros since I'm not 100% sure of the year(s) these were issued. Perhaps this is yet another Astros oddity where they were left out of a set, or maybe I just haven't come across one yet (as I haven't found the AL pennant either).

The backs of the pennants have instructions on how to attach the stickers, and indicate that they can be reused.


Unfortunately, there is no information on the back regarding the year they were made or who issued them, which is why they remain somewhat of a mystery. If these had been a Post Cereal promotion, I would think that they would have included their name on the back, which is why I'm a bit uncertain whether or not these were truly issued by Post Cereal.

I mentioned that I have seen these listed as being from 1963 and issued by Post Cereal. Here is the only place I've seen these identified as such:

This was a listing in an Auctions Collect.com auction catalog from 2009:

Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a Post Cereal box or ad mentioning these pennants. This example of a Post Cereal box with the 1963 Post Cereal cards does not mention any promotion where pennants could be found in cereal boxes nor is there any type of mail in offer:

Perhaps the pennants were a different promotion and not tied into the card promotion and were included on different boxes, but at this point given there is nothing on the pennant mentioning Post, and the 1963 cereal box example doesn't mention them even though the box includes baseball cards, I'm going to say that they "may" have been issued by Post, but so far we don't have much in terms of confirmation.

UPDATE: 2/2012

Thanks to Greg, we now have confirmation that these were in fact available in boxes of Post Cereal in 1963:


The front of this box of Post Rice Krinkles indicates there is a miniature Major League pennant inside the box, and the back shows the Red Sox pennant along with 4 cards:


The box indicates there are 19 team pennants, which confirms that there was no pennant made for the Houston Colt .45s. In fact the box even says "Except Houston" right under the information about the stickers and just above Tom Cheney's card. For some reason, it looks like the National League pennant was issued in its place (which brings the set to 20 pennants). That would explain why there appears to be no corresponding AL pennant.

The Post Cereal cards have stats from the 1962 season, so this confirms that this would have been a 1963 release.

I'd like to say thanks to Greg for this fantastic find! This box answers all of the questions I had not been able to previously answer.