Do you collect any oddities?
 

Players with your last name? Players with beards? Players with funny nicknames?

I collect players with glasses (not sunglasses) and Wally Moon cards (because of the amazing unibrow). I think my next undertaking will be players with massive sideburns. Looks like I'll be buying a lot of 70's Topps!

Here are a couple of my favorites I have (not my scans though):

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_W2Ncx2XIww..._konstanty.JPG

http://www.vintagecardtraders.com/vi...6topps-254.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UOk3nQn2Pn...002a28c801.jpg

No one?

Oddities
 

Hey interesting thread. I don't "collect" per se - cards with odd names or unusual nick names. However, I do make note of interesting names or cards and keep a digital copy. Players of note include Specs Toporcer, Whammy Douglas as well as some funny bbcard pictures. Like the '72 Topps of Billy Martin flipping the bird...or the '89 Billy Ripken calmly holding a bat with a cuss word written on the knob......or the '56 Mantle where they obviously modified the crowd to include some fans twice and then moved the ball to make the scene more dramatic.

Makes you wonder - not meaning to derail your original post - what other things were missed in the photos...



Zach Wheat

Oddities
 

From 1948 through 1994 I have tried to collect one of every item Bob Lemke listed for Topps baseball in the big book. Every once in awhile he would list something weird that started me looking again.

Two examples---I think he has two listings in the book for "fake" Topps items. One, I think, pictured a "small" card that looked like a 62 Mantle. It was apparently prepared by cutting out Topps Surf book pictures and pasting them to cardboard stamped with "sample" on the back. The listing says it has no collectible value. Well, it was in the book so I had to have one. I bought one on ebay.

There is also a listing for "fake" Gallery of Champion ingots. Gallery of Champions were put out from 84 to 91 or thereabouts...little boxed sets of metal cards ( 12) of star players in aluminum, bronze and silver...and one pewter for some years. For some reason someone forged a bunch of them in a pewter type metal. I think Bob mentioned it in an article and one is pictured in the Catalog with a note that it has no collectible value. Well, it was in the book so I had to have one....so I found one on ebay.

Then for 3 or 4 years in the 70s he lists some panels of regular Topps cards that appeared in the Dynamite Magazines. Not sure why he lists the particular panels that are in the book, because numerous magazines had such panels during the 70s and 80s. They show up on e bay regularly. Well, I had to have the listed ones. I think I have them for 3 of the 4 years he lists. Still looking for the other.

Not sure these items are what you mean by odd....and maybe it is just me anyway.

I collect cards of the one player with my last name. Not many cards, and I've run out of inexpensive ones years ago.

I also collect unlicensed cards, ad posters for some sets, like the MSA discs, and any strange cards. Like a bazooka box with 1978 baseball backs printed inside. Neat way for them to use up some leftover or misprinted backs.

I've got a few dynamite magazines with the card panels.

I don't recall any other magazines having card panels like that. Which ones were they?

Steve Birmingham

What Lemke/Topps big book are you referring to?

The Sports Collector's Digest Of Baseball Cards.The 2010 edition is the 20th edition and is, I think, 1834 pages. Great checklist resource for old and modern sets, with picture examples of most mainstream card sets. You can find it on Amazon

Correct title
 

The actual title is Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards.

Juan Berenguer
 

Mine has been Juan Berenguer. We collect all of his cards at work and have a mini tribute to him there because he protects us from "re-runs". Whenever we have a job that goes bad we throw a Juan Berenguer Baseball card in with the job and it always goes threw. I recommend trying this at your work aswell.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1987-Donruss-616...item3eef01bc56

Isn't there a card from 1990s with a player in the background adjusting his cup that was later airbrushed out? I think it was by Score.

1989 Score Paul Gibson :D

I am not sure if this is a real oddity but ever since I was a kid I loved the Topps cards with the All Star Rookie Trophy on them, especially the bigger sized trophy's from the 1960's issues.

I am in the early stages of doing a two year run of all the All-Star rookies from 1963 and 1964 Topps and will eventually expand to a couple other years from the 1960's.

The only year I don't care to collect is 1968. I hate that burlap set!

Topp Rookie Cards
 

Neat idea. Something related, in an oddball way are the 64 Topps Rookie Banquet set and the Topps Rookie Banquet Programs from 59 to 65, or maybe 66.

Al-66;)

I collect printing freaks also. Lately I've been getting into Topps miscuts.

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...e%20miscut.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...r%20Miscut.jpg

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...0misprints.jpg

Wow, that '75 Seaver is crazy!

Wayne Nordhagen--White Sox
 

In 1981 I was fed up with the entire error craze so I decided to hoard all the 1979 Topps Wayne Nordhagen cards. I'd buy every card of him available from everyone I saw!
People were convinced that I knew something they did not and that any day this card would be the next hot error!
Even when I started hoarding his 1978 Topps and all his other cards it was hard to convince anyone it was not an error in some way!
I eventually filled a vending case and a half and have over 20,000 of his cards somewhere in my storage! It was fun, but the best part is that on opening day one year I gave Wayne Nordhagen a huge box of his cards for his fans fans and friends!
I still buy all of his cards when I see them. This hobby is fun and this story is one of the examples of the fun times I've had over the decades!
Bill Hedin

Nordhagen
 

Interesting hobby pursuit and story. Did Wayne have enough family and fans to use all the cards you gave him ? :)

My namesake........

Threads from the net 54 board Dec 2110.

1979 Topps Nordhagen- was it withdrawn?
1979T Nordhagen - Anyone have an uncut sheet? Was it a singleprint?
1978 T Nordhagen Also rare?


Steve "time traveler" Birmingham

Actually, there is a variation of the 1979 Topps #351 Wayne Nordhagen card, albeit a printing flaw variation. Like many of the 1981 Topps double prints, there are a handful of the 1979 Topps double prints missing a large section of the black border line at the top of the card. Why Topps had a problem with missing black ink on double prints in 1967 on the backs of the cards and in 1979 and 1981 on the fronts of the cards I have no idea. I only know of four 1979 Topps double prints with this problem, but there are undoubtedly more.

Do these count?
 

R308, R423, 1970 Ovenca Venezuela, 1972 and 1977 Topps Venezuelan stickers, Morrell Meats, Topps Candy Lids, 1952 and 1953 Bowman NBC TV & Radio Stars, C46, Burger Chef, Partirdge Meats, Sportscaster, Connie Mack All-Stars
Even when it comes to mainstream sets, I'm doing 1936 Goudey and 1954 Bowman.

I used to save weird cards I got as a kid like blank backed cards or miscuts. Somewhere in the house is a 1980 Nolan Ryan with a thumbprint on the front. It came from the factory like that and is part of the card. If I ever find it I'll post a photo.

Curious as to whether anyone collects the small photos that teams used to send back in response to fan inquiries. I've picked up quite a few at the last few Nationals to replace the ones I had as a kid that were lost when I moved.

Someone was talking earlier about profanity or somewhat perverse type stuff on cards. Yeah, that '89 score Gibson is kinda funny, you gotta have both to get a real good laugh about how silly the whole airbrushing was though.

Anyways, along the same lines, there was a 1990 Pacific Senior League card of Jim Nettles that said A**hole on it. Pretty much, I think someone was showing some homage to the Ripken variations.

My favorite has to be the Claude Raymond cards from the 60's. I'm attaching a photo of his '66 Topps card with his zipper open. And if that's not bad enough, he managed to pop up in '67, once again, with his fly down.

Man's gotta have room to maneuver...