Once a Cub...Now on Facebook!

Trying to boost some readership so for those who, for one reason or another, can't follow my blog, I have started a Facebook page to go along with it. I will add photos of the fronts of all my ATCRCS cards and update the status with a link to the daily post.

Would appreciate any "follows" on the blog and "Likes" on the FB page.

Monday's regularly scheduled Mailday Monday post is scheduled for noon, EST. Thanks, enjoy!

Sandberg Sunday - Unique Autographs

One of the things I love about this hobby is that while we all love the game, our collections are all so different. While I have a general disdain for things that are 1/1 like the card I featured last week on Sandberg Sunday, I do enjoy unique collectibles. The items below are not necessarily unique on their own merit, but I think you will not see very many of them autographed.

Last week, I shared some of the ice cream helmets I had gotten signed. Once I started those, I came up with the idea to get a Sandberg signed ice cream helmet for all the teams he has played for and managed. Not including his minor league playing days or injury rehab games in 1993, that means the Phillies, Cubs, Peoria Chiefs, Tennessee Smokies, Iowa Cubs and Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. I took somebody up on their offer to get two of them signed for me as they regularly 'graph in Lehigh Valley. I sent the Cubs helmet and he picked up the Iron Pigs one for me.

I do wish they had been signed across the bill of the helmet so you can see the team better like my other ones but I do appreciate the effort. I have an unsigned Iowa Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies ice cream helmet but am on the lookout for an unsigned Chiefs or Smokies helmet if anybody has/sees one.

Lastly, I have had this Starting Lineup Figure since it came out in the early 1990's. When I was looking through my stuff to get autographed I was looking for uniqueness and displayability. I really like the newer McFarlane figures but when you get the base signed, they have to be on a shelf lower than the eye to see the autograph. With this Headline Collection version of the Starting Lineup that celebrates Sandberg's errorless streak, I can display it on any shelf.

Signature Saturday - Dennis Lamp

A couple months ago a private signing with Dennis Lamp was announced on Sportscollectors.net. When I looked him up on the site, I saw he was not very reliable at all with autographs sent to his address, so I knew I would participate in the signing at least for the ATCRCS. I decided to see what else I had for him and after finding 7 mainstream cards of Lamp as a Cub, I worked out a small bulk discount. By now, you've seen the unsigned version of the ATCRCS in my header photo but here is the signed version:

Here are his 4 Topps cards (1978, 1979, 1980, 1981):

1981 Donruss & 1981 Fleer:

And aside from my own creation, this is my personal favorite that just screams 70's. This card was originally part of a full sheet of Cubs and somebody along the way miscut it but how could I pass on this card? Here is a 1978 SSPC card:

If you're a little tired of Dennis Lamp now, this is all I have of him. But hopefully you guys love Lamp as much as Brick Tamland:

ATCRCS: First Pitch Friday Edition - Mr. T

I pity the fool who doesn't comment on this post! Today's edition of First Pitch Friday bring us Mr. T who threw out the first pitch and made his way up to the broadcast booth to sing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the 7th inning stretch on Memorial Day in 2009. Sporting a patriotic bandana and zubaz, he bounced one in the dirt to Cubs pitcher David Patton.

For good measure, here's some video of the outfit, the pitch and his rendition of the song. Enjoy!

Trade List Thursday

Small update today in the trade list section. I'm still organizing after coming back to the hobby so bear with me. I added some relics from some recent blaster boxes I opened and a couple of Phillies inserts.

2010 Topps SP Steve Carlton and a 5 card bonus pack of Phillies from a team themed complete factory set (Halladay, Howard, Utley, Rollins & Werth).

Always interested in trading for Cubs stuff, and not limited to what's in my Want List. Like I said, I'm still sorting and organizing and I hope to update both lists often.

Today's ATCRCS card of the day: Benito Santiago

Jerome Walton

Since I just posted my Want List yesterday there isn't anything to update. So as promised, here is more Jerome Walton.

Thanks to two very helpful members over at sportscollectors.net (Macey225 & rifon), I knocked out over 30 autographs from a childhood favorite at very reasonable prices. Now, before you judge, I don't normally go so overboard on one player's signature like this. And both were paid signings not just some random public sighting.

Also, I do have a soft spot for the 1989 Cubs, AKA the Boys of Zimmer so what started out innocently enough as just a couple of Topps cards, an ice cream helmet and my ATCRCS card, quickly turned into, "Let's see how many Cubs cards this guy has!" Thanks also go to Paul from Wrigley Wax for providing such a comprehensive checklist. The post itself is old but links to an updated file at the very end. I'll start with the ATCRCS (seen unsigned at the end of yesterday's post) and another set card with the rest to be shown off in the future, maybe a Signature Saturday.

Today's ATCRCS card of the day:



Tab Tuesday

Since I scheduled Tuesdays to be Tab Tuesdays, I figured I should make some tabs! Now located under my header, these tabs will take you to different parts of my collection. I've rolled out a few now and will update the content in addition to more tabs as time goes by. Here's a breakdown of what is there now.

1991 Topps Cubs Team Set (Desert Shield) - Seems pretty self explanatory. Looking to complete this team set. Any help appreciated.

Tony Campana PC - Campana is in a close race for my favorite current Cubs player. Details of my PC. Since he has the smaller checklist, he gets the nod for this week's tab while the other player will be featured as soon as I get a decent checklist made up.

Trade List - Nothing there yet but hope to have something up in time for Trade List Thursday!

Want List - Just a few things listed to get started. As I organize my collection more, this list will unfortunately grow.

And if you don't want to browse those tabs, here's a new ATCRCS for your viewing pleasure:

Stay tuned for much more on Walton tomorrow!