It's About The Firsts

When I read Night Owl Cards blog post When the firsts were mostly fun, I thought what a fun Blog Bat Around subject that the article would make.

I am not sure if that was his intention, but I have seen a couple bloggers now use it, so I said why not join in as well and have a cup of coffee while I am at it.

*takes a sip*

The point of the post was mentioning some firsts both in hobby and in life. We will avoid some "firsts" topics on this blog however ;) 

Nobody wants to read about that. I promise you.

*takes another sip*

For my post on this, I copied Greg's layout but will have to tweak a few parts as my version of some of his topics didn't quite match. You will see this as you read on.

And that begins with the First Blaster. 

 

I don't remember what my first blaster was, but I do remember my first hobby box which was a box of 1997 Pinnacle Inscriptions football back in 1997. A brand-new box of it came in and my father reserved it at the gas station for us. If you are questioning why I said gas station, it's probably because you haven't read any of my stories in the past, our gas station was like a hobby shop with tons of boxes/packs in the 90's.

This product was a lot of fun with trying to chase down the acetate Inscriptions Autographs. It was also an expensive one, so even though we reserved the full hobby box, we could only grab a couple "packs", like the one pictured, at a time.

First what I considered old card in my collection 

 

was the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr rookie. This iconic card was my first older card and that's not even close to being the type of older cards I expect to see others post about.

I would call myself the "young" blogger, but I certainly don't feel it.

First parallel I knew was one of the first packs I opened. This one cover two topics.

1994 Topps Football Special Effects. These were very eye pleasing.

First baseball cards I purchased through mail-order . 

 

I never ordered any cards through any mail in offer. I did order these 1992 Kellogg's PVC Darkwing Duck figures though.

First sitcom I saw was....probably..

Home Improvement. I watched soooooooo many sitcoms in the 90's it's really hard to narrow them down to which one I watched first, I do know Home Improvement was definitely up there and was the most watched one.

First "big kid" book I read

Was this. Absolute classic. It was followed up with a couple "sequels", but they weren't as good as the original.

First cartoon that freaked me out, none did I grew up watching horror movies. Instead, my first favorite voice actor that followed my entire childhood.

Everyone should know this legend, Jim Cummings.

First article I wrote as a professional writer.....

Do I consider myself a professional writer, no. But I got to write for a professional magazine and had my first article published in it. Something I will never forget.

First championship I experienced for a favorite team

 

I saw plenty of NY Yankee championships, none of those really hit home as much as the NY Giants beating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42. I wasn't a football fan when the Giants won their first two Super Bowls so instead, I got to watch a lot of misery and a blowout Super Bowl loss to the Ravens. Winning this one against one my most despised teams that was undefeated at the time gave me a thrill like no other.

And I guess we can't finish this up without discussing my first cup of coffee. I don't have a date on that, I just know it was with my mother playing the game of war with playing cards sometime in the 90's.

There you have it, a lot of firsts.

Thanks to Night Owl Cards for the idea.

I could have gone on with more posts and more firsts, but I just wanted to keep it related to his theme to fit the Blog Bat Around. Maybe I will do a spinoff or sequel to this someday. For now, I will need a sequel to this cup of coffee.

*Coffee Card Blogger Out*

Second Look

Hey guys! I have my coffee and I am getting ready to read a new article and series posted on Beckett.com called Second Look.

The Article is HERE

*takes a sip*

After clicking the link I had to do a second look! At the top of the article was my name! Wait… that must mean…Guess what??!! I wrote it!

*takes a sip*

I am happy to announce I am writing on Beckett’s website a series called Second Look.

Second Look is a series that will take you back to the nostalgic days of the 90s. I know the first article in the series features 1989 Upper Deck baseball, but the rest of the series will feature other sets in the 90s across all sports and non sports that really needed a second look. Whether they were underrated sets, iconic in some way or simply important to me. 

They will get a second look. 

It’s almost like the look you gave out of the corner of your eye to the girl you saw across the room while your wife watched you. Except you won’t have to sleep on the couch to read my series.

But, if you wanted to read my series on the couch that’s fine with me.

So I hope all of you enjoy my new adventure. I am not sure how long it will be for, but it will be a few months at least. With some reading or comments from you guys on my articles, my dream to continue writing for Beckett could go longer.

As for this blog, don’t fret, there is still more coffee and cards to come! There may be some gaps in posting, but the blog will brew on!!

*takes a sip before finishing up todays post*

Before I close, I just wanted to thank you guys again for reading this blog. I never would have stepped outside my comfort zone as much as I have this year and even approached Beckett without your guys reading, comments and encouragement. 

Thank you.

In comments today, I would welcome any suggestions from any sport or non-sport on a set you think needs a second look. I have a list started and who knows…maybe one you choose will make it or has already!

(Side note, writing blog posts are not ideal on a cell phone, just saying)

*Coffee Card Blogger  Out*

What's In The Bag?!

*takes a sip of hot piping joe and gets ready for another new post in the New Year on Cards Over Coffee*

 

Jeff Parrett best described the mood when my mother-in-law this fall said she had a neighbor who dropped off some baseball cards to her. It was pretty obvious where she would be dropping them off to next.

When I saw her car pull in the driveway, I looked out the window like a dog waiting on it's owner to return from a quick shopping trip. The only difference was I didn't pounce on her when she came into my house. I can't say that I didn't try to rip the bag from her hands though.

The excitement of new cardboard soon diminished when I looked in the bag,

Jim Snyder best sums up my reaction.

*takes a sip with the same reaction behind the mug*

My eyes are not as great as they used to be, but even they could see cards tossed in a bag and apparently from the "junk wax" era as well.

Yup, I have that same feeling Sparky.

 

The "Junk Wax" era has its nostalgia and hits home for a lot of collectors, for me though, it doesn't. I started collecting in late 1993 into 1994 which is past that era so those cards for me are more annoying than anything as I have already more than filled up my collection with needs from that timeframe.

So my only hope was that something magical was hiding in this bag. Maybe even a unicorn.

*takes another sip, revisits the bag again in my mind*

 

Larry Walker rookie cards. Not a bad start.

A couple of big names, maybe this bag will surprise me after all.

My anticipation to keep digging expression

Then came the endless pit of 1990 Donruss, 1989 Topps, 1989 Donruss and 1988 Topps I expected. Not a single solid player in that mix either and the condition was questionable as you could already tell from the ravaged cards.

How I was feeling at this point

Then I caught a bit of a break and found a few decent cards in the mix.

(I consider this one decent because I am a fan of oddball food releases)

 

(once again, oddball)

(I always like finding earlier SI for Kids cards)

In the bag picture above, if you spied it correctly, there was a baggie in there. That baggie I set aside and saved for last just "in case" it was the "bigger cards" in the bag.

It appears to be a baggie full of basketball cards. Larry Nance kicks it off.

*takes a sip, begins to.....unseal? Rip? Open?*

And I was right about it being all basketball,

Sam Vincent, Mark Price, James Worthy, Karl Malone and John Stockton were great names to find.

 

Then followed up with another James Worthy, Byron Scott and Magic Johnson.

Not a bad way to end the bag of mystery.

Mike Young best describes my overall feeling of the bag

 *brews another cup of coffee to finish up the post. Sits at the table to type and takes a sip*

That moment hot coffee hits your tongue scalding it and you don't want others to know

I pulled out some of the cards to add to my collection while others will find a new home in my box of dupes. That box gets picked through for extras in trades and sometimes given to kids who come to my yard sales as my help in expanding the hobby initiative.