A Blue Chicken and Some Sparkly Suits

Back in late July I made a purchase from "Erik's Fire Sales" on Twitter (@EriksFire)...well it was really a large quantity of very small purchases.  He was posting tons of cards for sale, and you could claim whatever you wanted.  Here are the highlights for my keepers...in addition to these, I grabbed some cards for the PCs of my frequent-traders.

Obviously, my stack would always start with Royals.  I love the red Guthrie, the green Holland, the Black Gold Montgomery, and an assortment of unusual Salvys.

Here are some Basketball Coaches.  This is a VERY minor, back-burner PC of mine, but I grab them when I can.  However, I've got to say something about the Panini photo selection here...is this the best you can do??  Coaches just standing there - arms crossed or hands on hips?  Do these guys actually DO anything?  Can I get a pointing and a screaming coach, please?

On the plus side, it's not every day you get an X-Fractor of a guy in a suit.

 I grabbed a few football cards:

1. Kurt Warner - my favorite player ever.
2. David Johnson - another UNI alum and prime contributor to my Fantasy Football success in 2016, so I have a small PC of him.
3. Alan Page - Just in case anyone doesn't know his story, the guy had a Hall of Fame football career, got his law degree while he was still in the NFL from the University of Minnesota, and THEN became a member of the Minnesota Supreme Court.  What a life!  

Brush with Greatness:  When I offered to pay my dime for the Alan Page card....his wife liked my Tweet.  :-)
https://twitter.com/DenHartogJ/status/1016475151372836864

This blog is called "Royals and Randoms" for a reason...I do like my oddballs. The chicken is a blue parallel and my sons are trying to get me to trade it to them.  I like that I am developing two oddball collectors.

His prices were quite reasonable...I don't think anything you will see here was more than 50 cents --  the Luminescent die-cut was the most expensive.  He hasn't run a sale in the last month or so, but he's definitely worth following on Twitter for some good cheap pickups next time he runs a sale.

Which of these cards was your favorite?

I Got a Cookie in the Mail

 Not this:

But this!

1971 Topps Cookie Rojas - #118

That flying Mr. Rojas (and all the cards in this post) came to me from Joe at The Sandlot.  We'd been working on a trade for awhile...he sent me the cards last fall(!!!) and I am just now posting them.

Cookie was the main thing I wanted from him, but I ended up with a bunch of other stuff I wanted, too.

The scan doesn't show it well, but this is an acetate card.

2007 Upper Deck Elements - #103 - Mark Teahen

This is a metal card

1999 Skybox Molten Metal Explosion - #126 - Jeremy Giambi

This is Jeff Montgomery shooting his arm as a gun.

1997 Metal Universe - #95 - Jeff Montgomery

And this is Keith Lockhart getting attacked by a ginormous spider and some vines.  Oh Metal Universe....how I love thee.

1997 Metal Universe - #94 - Keith Lockhart

Here's Greinke with a nice blue border.

2009 UD A Piece of History - #43 - Zack Greinke - Blue Parallel - #/299

And a couple of old guys:

2007 SP Legendary Americana - #62 - Jefferson Davis

2007 SP Legendary Americana - #68 - Samuel F.B. Morse

That Samuel F.B. Morse was quite a looker (and so many medals!)  Anybody know morse code?  I've got a hankering to go buy a telegraph machine now.  My first message will be:

"SOS - I AM A ROYALS FAN - PLEASE HELP"

Does anyone else have any "Legendary Americana"?  These are actually pretty neat.

Thanks again, Joe! 

Look Out, Ruben Sierra!

Look out, Ruben!  Things are getting bad -- Giant eagles are attacking from the sky!  They are dropping huge class rings on people to capture their prey!  (I think these eagles are working for Jostens). 

Eric Hosmer has the good sense to run for cover.  Though he is encased in a bronze paper frame, he has eluded the rings and eagles so far. 

Billy Butler and David DeJesus have an alternate plan.   They are going to bash the ringed-eagles out of the sky with large sticks of wood.

They can't  hold them off with the bats for long.  Little to no assistance is coming to them from the outside.  Only one person can save them now -- the fireman!  USE YOUR HOSE OF POWER!!!

Oh no!  Something has gone horribly wrong!  The eagles have warped Montgomery's mind!  He has turned into some sort of fireball-throwing maniac. Mankind is DOOOOOOOOMED!

As he watches the apocalypse, Alex Gordon wishes he was back in Nebraska.

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If any of you have survived to read this, you will be happy to know that all these cards came from Colbey at Cardboard Collections.  Some were part of his Stadium Club Monster Group Break (Ruben got randomed to me), and others were some extras that he threw my way.  Thanks so much, Colbey!

Also, if anyone else has any of those other Ginter State Cards (particularly John Buck (WY), Brian Bannister (AZ), or Casey Blake (IA)) to trade, I'd love to have them. 

Not a DH to be found anywhere...

I just have a soft-spot for certain players.  I can't really explain it, but I like them.  One of those guys is Jeff Montgomery.  Recently I was considering going after some minor-league cards and saw one of his on COMC.

This card is great and I would love to add it to my collection.  I am making it "Most Wanted #6."  Jeff looks so young there.  I think what makes him look that way is.....WAIT A DOGGONE SECOND!  Why is he batting?  He's one of the greatest Royals relievers of all time!  He only had two MLB at-bats, both with Cincinnati in 1987 (and no hits).  Couldn't they find ANY pictures of him PITCHING?

It looks like fellow pitchers Bob Buchanan and Jerry Don Gleaton (Jerry Don!) suffered the same fate.

 

It must have been a new photographer.  His boss said "Go take pictures of these baseball guys.  And take this bat with you.  Make sure they all hold it!"

Al Hargesheimer thinks they are all idiots for holding the bat.  He brought his own glove so he would have a prop.

Manager Glenn Ezell is NOT AMUSED at these shenanigans.