More card show finds...

I picked up a few odds and sods at the card show. This post and one other post is all I have left to show. Promise. The first three cards shown came to me for $5.

A P.K. Subban OPC rookie that I haven't been able to pull from a pack yet...... the best part of this card is the young lady in the background with her sign stating her rather amorous love of Maxim Lapierre. If you read french, cover your eyes before reading it...

 and two more 10/11 OPC Rainbow Retro parallels for my set.
Travis Moen...

 and Hall of Famer Butch Bouchard. The seller and I had a great conversation about Mr Bouchard's facial expression. We both settled on him being ecstatic over just killing someone in the corner and was now rushing back up ice...

 I finally managed to finish my 10/11 Victory set. I've been two cards short, forever.... two sellers and $2 later and these two cards were mine.

 Set finished. Figures it would a bloody Bruin for the last card.

 I picked up a Carey Price base card from a baseball set (2009 Goodwin Champions) for $1. Of course when I got home, I found out I already had it.

 These last two cards came from the same seller. I just remembered I bought something else from this seller that I haven't scanned. So you'll see that later. The three cards, including the two seen here cost me $5.
An 08/09 OPC rainbow retro of Hall of Famer Frank "The Big M" Mahovlich #/100

 and a Carey Price insert. It scanned horribly but looks really sharp in person. It's from the 2007/08 SP Authentic set. An SP Holo FX.
As I found out later, this is from Carey Price's rookie year. Is it a true rookie card? Probably not. But it's shiny!!! And as my inner 7 year old collector comes out, it's a goalie card, and he's In Action!!!! Woot!

so that's it for this post. Someone remind me to scan that other card in and post it. I need opinions on it. And if there's one thing collectors and bloggers have, it's opinions.

In the Game Ultimate Bonanza...

So I was walking by a seller at t he card show when I see him writing on what looks like graded cards. Why is he writing on graded cards? Turns out he was marking down prices, but they weren't graded cards. They were slabbed cards from various In the Game Ultimate Memorabilia releases... This is a product that I have never busted myself. No idea how much a pack of these went for, but I'm pretty sure it was over $100 for three cards... and that ain't me.

So on with the cards rescued from the markdown box.

The greatest defenceman to ever play the game. Doug Harvey. Yeah, you heard me. This seems to be the "base card" series four version of what comes in the pack. This particular base card is numbered 13/30. So even the base cards are "scarce".

 The series three base cards from that same set are numbered /40. This one shows off Hall of Fame goalie Bill Durnan.

 The next year brought colour to the base cards.... one series, numbered to /90. Again, we see goalie Bill Durnan. I really like these sketch cards....

 Enough base! Everyone wants to see autos and game used equipment! So on we go.... this is actually the card that got me looking at the box in the first place. He marked this one down to $5.
An auto of Hall of Fame Leaf Darryl Sittler /50.

 Now, one of my favourite purchases from the show. Long time readers know I grew up next to Joe and Jimmy Watson's house. I was thrilled to acquire this game used emblem card of Joe Watson. Numbered 7/10.

 here's where it gets whacked. If you thought an auto of Darryl Sittler for $5 was awesome, how about trying a game used jersey / auto of Hall of Fame defenceman Denis Potvin for $5?!?! Are you kidding me? Numbered /40.

 oh, there was one card left in the box.... I couldn't leave it there alone, so I brought it home with me.

No idea why.... but I'll find some Bruin fan somewhere eventually that has some Montreal card I want and will want this....

So what do you think??? A Sittler and Potvin slabbed low numbered auto for $5??? Yes please. I love the end of the year shows....

the rest of the quarter box....

to finish off my quarter box post, I'll tease you with these scans. I say that because they're the only cards from the quarter box that I haven't already put into binders. It's rare when I'm organized and efficient, but when I am, it's also inconvenient. Go figure.

Anyways. A few of the retro inserts from this year's version of OPC. I love these. Have I said that before? LOVE THEM!

The best player in the game that's currently able to stand up without getting seasick, Alexander Ovechkin

 The best pure goal scorer in the game that's currently able to stand up without getting seasick, Steven Stamkos.

 This year's Rookie of the Year. Logan Couture.

 and a Rainbow shiny retro insert of the Captain, Jarome Iginla. If you live in Calgary, and you find a non base card of Iggy for .25, you buy it.

 Case in point.

 I grabbed 4 of the Crown Royale base cards with the die-cut crown...
Sniper Mike Cammalleri. I love this guy. The bigger the game, the better he gets. The leading scorer in last year's playoffs, and was leading after the first round this year when Montreal got eliminated.

 Pekka Rinne SHOULD be the Vezina trophy winner this year. But Luongo will win it instead.

 Jaroslav Halak, reminding me that we traded the right guy.

 and finally Jimmy Howard. I went on a little run of Mr Howard....

 this insert numbered /299

 and his freakin' rookie....

 plus a Double Diamond... all for .25 each.

 Staying with Black Diamond, a Double of Mike Cammalleri again...

 a Triple Diamond of Mr "O" Tony Esposito

 and finally, a QUAD Diamond of Don Cherry. Nice suit.

That's all I remembered to scan out of the quarter box....

Next up tomorrow, either some retro Anniversary inserts or some game used.... let me know if you have a preference.

Big year end card show loot. The quarter box, part one.

So the big year end card show here in Calgary was last weekend. We only have card shows here October through May. Coincidently, the hockey season is October through May. Okay. Not coincidently.

But for Calgary, it's a big show. Around 30 dealers, in a conference room at a casino. It is what it is. This year's autograph guests were spectacular. On saturday, Hall Of Fame defenceman Larry Robinson was in attendance. On sunday, perhaps the greatest of all time, Mr Jean Beliveau.

It was great to see these guys again in person.

But onto what you came here for, the loot. Now you have to understand some things first. Card shows here do not have the wonderful quarterboxes that you read about on Cardboard Junkie. Everything here is priced, well, not cheaply. So to even find a quarterbox was a thrill. Although it was marked as a dollar box. The guy told me if I took a bunch, he'd drop the price to .25 cents. Deal.

Here's the first handful. I saw these online on a couple of blogs, and at the show they were priced at $2-$3 bucks apiece. But there was a slew of them in this quarterbox.

Mr Dave "Tiger" Williams 14 seasons 3966 minutes in penalties

 Joseph James (Terry) O'Reilly 14 seasons 2095 penalty minutes

 Nick Fotiu 13 seasons 1362 penalty minutes plus another season and 238 penalty minutes in the WHA

 John Wensink 8 seasons 840 penalty minutes

 Gerald (Jerry) 'King Kong' Korab 15 seasons 1629 penalty minutes

 Dave 'The Hammer' Schultz  8 seasons 2295 penalty minutes.

 Bryan 'Bugsy' Watson 16 seasons 2212 penalty minutes

 Bobby Schmautz 15 seasons 988 penalty minutes. Not sure why he is in this set, he was always a stick guy, not a fighter.

 Bob 'Mad Dog' Kelly, 12 seasons 1454 penalty minutes. Not to be confused with Bob 'Battleship' Kelly.

 Andre 'Moose' Dupont 13 seasons 1986 penalty minutes.

somehow I ended up with two of Moose Dupont, so if anyone needs him, let me know. I would like to finish this set, so I'll be on the lookout for others.

These cards are begging to be autographed on the bottom. I know, there is an autographed parallel of these. I just wish Panini would give a crap and do the non-auto version a little better with not as much blank space.
Still, it's cool to see these guys get cards again.

I'll have another card show post up tomorrow.

Derek Boogaard 1982-2011

Derek Boogaard, winger for the New York Rangers, was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment by family members earlier today. He was 28 years old.

 Derek, a 6'8" 260lb forward was known for his toughness on the ice, and his endless charity work off of it.

More can be found here. LINK A cause of death has not been determined.

R.I.P. Derek.

TTM Success! Michel Dion! Gardien de But!

Ahhh... I love the smell of success in the morning. I've been waiting for this one for awhile now. 190 days to be exact. But it was worth the wait. I knew going in he was a reliable, but very slow signer.

Who are we talking about? Why Michel Dion of course!

 Michel is quite the character. In 1972 he was the number 2 ranked catcher in the Montreal Expos organization. The number 1? Yeah, Gary Carter. So knowing the writing was on the wall, Michel turned to hockey.

 Michel finished his NHL career with Pittsburgh, and still plays for them occasionally in reunion games.

 After 5 years in the WHA, Michel joined the NHL as an original member of the Quebec Nordiques. Mr Dion does not have a lot of nice things to say about the Nordiques organization.

Upon leaving Quebec after two years and signing with the Penguins, Michel was examined by team doctors and asked why he didn't bring his contacts or glasses to the exam. Glasses? he asked.
For a direct quote from Michel... "The doctor said I had no depth perception. The Quebec management knew but they didn't do anything about it. Last year, I noticed more screen shots and blue line shots were going in. I just didn't realize that it was because I needed contacts. I can't even drive a car in Pennsylvania with my eyes. How can I stop pucks going 100 miles per hour?"

Good times in La Belle Province!!!

Michel is now a Master Golf Teacher and instructs PGA players from his home in South Carolina.
Thanks Michel!!!!

1974-75 Topps Card #9 - Emile Francis

Card features - Emile Francis

 One of the unique aspects of this set is the inclusion of Coach's cards. Emile is the first one to be featured here. Emile 'The Cat' Francis was a former player, a goalie, in the NHL. And I have to admit, up until now, I thought he was a lot better than he was. He lasted 6 seasons going 31-52-11 with a 3.76 GAA. That's horrible. But he was the first goalie to ever not use a regular hockey glove, but modify a first baseman's mitt with a cuff to catch pucks. So that's something.
Where Emile found his niche was in coaching. In 13 years as head coach, he guided his team's to the playoffs 11 consecutive times, missing only his first and last years.
He never won the Stanley Cup.

No cartoon on the manager's cards...

This concludes the first page in my '74/75 Topps binder. I kinda forgot about this one for awhile... whoops. Not sure if anyone but me cares for this old set anyways...

Hall of Fame - 1982 Builder catagory.