An Expedition to MARS

Whew doggie - this was one heckuva busy weekend, filled with familial engagements, communions, graduations, and day-drinking.  As far as what concerns Wrigley Roster Jenga and it's "brand", there were two major events that took place during the two-day span:  the Cubs suffered a humiliating three-game sweep at the hands of the hated St. Louis Cardinals and my community held it's long-running, annual resale day.  The former was an offensively and defensively challenged embarrassment that more closely resembled the "Lovable Losers" era of the North Side franchise, while the latter was the day that my hometown waives the usual fee associated with setting up a garage sale and everyone is welcome to hawk their wares in their yards or garage.  One of these two events was much more exciting to me than the other - can you guess which?

In the past, I've portrayed Midlothian Annual Re-Sale Day (MARS Day, for short) as my own personal Christmas.  Ever since I was a 90's kid, prowling for deals on lightly used Beanie Babies, Hot Wheels, and Pokemon collectibles, this "holiday" has been circled in red on my calendar.  These days, what I target has changed, but the level of anticipation remains the same.   That's because, over the last few years, I've stumbled across some nifty things - including a Keith Magnuson autograph, a complete Bowman reprint set, and a full-size Red Bull cooler, among other treasures.  You really never know what you're going to find on MARS!

As part of my most recent exploration - Saturday morning - I salvaged a few intriguing items.  Don't be alarmed, but the following item somehow made it into my purchase pile:

Bought this (on purpose) at the community wide garage sale event. I don't even know who I am anymore. pic.twitter.com/sKWFTbUucm

— Tony Burbs (@RosterJenga) May 5, 2018

While the Cubs' five-game losing streak has been absolutely pitiful, I'm not about to switch allegiances.  However, I do attend a fair amount of White Sox games on an annual basis, seeing as I love our nation's pastime, my wife cheers for the Palehose, Sox Park is a short train ride away, and tickets are much more affordable.  Since I'm not a jerk and support my city, I always cheer on the home team (except when it's a Crosstown tilt), usually wearing a borrowed cap from my brother.  For two bucks, now I can keep things in house with a "Winning Ugly" era hat of my own; you're not going to be able to beat that a Lids location, that's for sure!

Unfortunately, that was the only baseball-related purchase made during my hours of garage sale hunting and baseball cards were nearly completely absent from the bins and boxes.  That's okay though - because, with the Cubs' play as of late, I'm not in much of a baseball mood right now anyway.  On the other hand, while some cheap DVDs, video games, and a pinata (of all things) helped fill the void, there was still one cardboard-related discovery to be made that made the trek worth it:

Of course, the Blackhawks were extremely disappointing this season, as well; but, as we approach the Stanley Cup finals,  I've since gotten over that let-down.  Therefore, a new Blackhawks oddball for my burgeoning hockey collection was just the ticket.

This Chico Maki stamp hails from the 1974-75 NHL Action Stamps checklist, a 324-ct set which was issued in promotional strips at participating grocery stores throughout North America.  While kids across the country originally obtained these 2.1" x 1.6" hockey "cards" from Loblaw’s, IGA, A&P, Acme, etc., I found mine in a driveway in the "Jolly Homes" neighborhood.

There was still one other way to acquire a sampling of these non-postage stamps and it came in the form of a book:

Issued by the league itself, these books contained a write-up on the previous year's Stanley Cup Champions (the Philadelphia Flyers), profiles for each team competing in the '74-75 season, and - perhaps, most importantly - a full sheet of Action Stamps:

These stamps were intended to be separated, wet, and pasted into corresponding pages for each club's roster.  For example, my Chico was intended to be affixed to this page:

As you can see, the whole set-up is quite similar to the popular Topps and Panini sticker albums we see for the various professional sporting leagues today.  Also, while I'd rather have had Stan Mikita than Maki, I'm not going to complain about such an interesting, vintage discovery at the bargain-basement price of two dollars.  After all, I'd never even heard of these oddities before this weekend.

Chico may have been the only Blackhawk included as part of the one-page sampler; that said, he wasn't the only Chicago-connected player on the sheet:

The trade of Phil Esposito to Boston in 1967 ranks near Brock for Broglio in terms of the worst transactions in Chicago sports history.  The center went on to cement a Hall of Fame legacy in Bean Town - but, never forget, the first two seasons of his star-studded career were spent in the Windy City.
Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Joey Johnston spent the last year of his professional hockey career in Chicago.  After several years with the Golden Seals, the winger played in 32 games with the Hawks in '75-76, with only five points and zero goals on his ledger. 

Unfortunately for me, all three of these men were previously represented (in Indian-head sweaters, no less) in my Blackhawks All-Time Roster Collection.   Nevertheless, this was still an intriguing find and a welcome diversion from the baseball atrocities occurring concurrently.

All in all, not a terrible outing for MARS day - nothing out of this world, but I didn't get totally skunked.  The Blazing Saddles DVD that I purchased will provide hours worth of entertainment and   the stamp book was definitely worth the price of admission.  Does anyone else have any 1974-75 NHL Action Stamps of their own, or perhaps further information on this oddball set?  Maybe you see a stamp that you need in the sheet above?  Does your community have their own version of MARS Day?  Feel free to let me know in the comments section below!

You never know what you'll find on a MARS expedition.

Trading Cards in Disguise

All Hallows' Eve, a night during which the world dons masks, face paint, and costumes for a night of candy, mischief, debauchery, and ghoulish fun, all in the name of Samhain.  It's a night filled with costume parties, trick or treating, pumpkin carving, pranks, haunted houses, and scary movie marathons.  All in all, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday - Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, and my birthday are all well and good; however, only one holiday taps into my creative side and allows me to craft and show off my own costumes.  Ever since I can remember, the art of creating a proper Halloween disguise has been my favorite holiday tradition, thus making October 31st my most favored annual celebration.  Well... unless MLB Opening Day counts as a holiday... but, I digress.

Over the years, I've put together some top-notch costumes - Speed Racer, the Green Power Ranger, and the Headless Horseman rank among my proudest.  Along with my wife, our craft has even won awards at local costume contests - Ash Ketchum and Pikachu, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, and, my personal favorite, Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe.  After all, these years, I still get a thrill out of spending a night in disguise.

However, I am certainly not alone in my love for Halloween dress-up; after all, those pop-up costume shops indicate that it is a million dollar industry.  But, it's not just people that like to get in on the act of costuming.  Trading cards, that's right, trading cards can often be found in disguise... and all year-round at that!

They come disguised as...

 ...stickers...

...decals....

...magnets...

 ...phone cards...

...stamps....

 ...tattoos...

...coupons...

...advertisements...

...game pieces...

...posters...

...postcards...

...greeting cards....

...Valentine cards....

...digital photographs....

 

...traditional photographs...

...mini books...

...and even business cards, credit cards, coins, rub downs, ticket stubs, tags, schedules, blankets, and paper fans.  Trading cards are like paper/plastic versions of Lon Chaney, "The Man of a Thousand Faces."

But, despite their clever disguises, these collectibles can't confuse use obsessive collectors - they're trading cards, at heart.  There ain't no "tricking" us on these "treats!"  We obsessive folks will collect them in whatever form they chose to hide out in.

Or maybe I'm the only one that "out of my gourd..." 

At any rate, Happy Halloween to everyone reading this overextended,  metaphorical excuse for a blog post.  I hope your night's festivities are "bewitching!"  In the meantime, if you happen to run into a Han Solo and Chewbacca combination in your neighborhood this evening, you might just be running into this fanatical trading card collector and his lovely wife.  Keep your eyes peeled!

.......

**EDIT** - Due to popular demand, here's a selection of costumes for which I have easily accessible pictures (by that, I mean they were on Facebook):

Eureka!

I seriously doubt that I'm the only baseball card blogger who has a litany of saved searches attached to their Ebay account.  Names of obscure and long-since-irrelevant former Cubs max out my "following" section, in hopes of tracking down a new name for my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  Oftentimes, I scroll through longingly, hoping to find a diamond in the rough, or even just something within my price range.  I mean, many of the men I have left to search for played in the time of tobacco and gum cards and those aren't exactly junk wax material.

Just the other day, something finally clicked and a name that I'd had on the "following" list for longer than I can remember showed a new listing, one that featured a card older than Topps baseball and yet was still cheaper than most modern retail packs.  Let me tell you, I couldn't click "Buy It Now" fast enough on this beauty, lest someone sweep in and snipe me.

$2.65 for this ultra-vintage oddball?  Yes, yes, and more yes!

Eureka Sportstamps were originally released in five, 40-stamp, uncut sheets way back in 1949.  In total, the checklist contained 198 active players, including the biggest stars in the game, but only from the National League.  The final two cards... erm... stamps in the set were dedicated to Commissioner Happy Chandler and NL President Ford Frick.  Furthermore, there was an album available for the compilation of these 1.5" x 2" stamps.  Although, calling this issue "Sportstamps" is almost misleading, seeing as the only sport included in the set was baseball - I guess "Baseball Stamps" lacked the appropriate alliteration?

At any rate, this set is notable for a couple of reasons.  To begin with, the set makes use of full-color, Kodachrome photography, something no other contemporary baseball cards were yet doing.  Furthermore, they were actually printed up and designed by by a company known as National Poster Stamp Society, which marketed the sets through the "Poster Stamp Bulletin," making it just the second set marketed directly to the collector.  Yet, all of these things considered, you rarely ever hear of these oddballs - I guess in trying to appeal to both philatelists or baseball card-ists, they ended up appealing to none.

The "Official Sportsamp 1949 Baseball Album," for housing Herman and all his little friends

By the way, at the time, the entire set of stamps and the corresponding binder cost a whopping total of $1 - nearly 3x what I paid for the single stamp above.  Boy was I born in the wrong era.

Furthermore, if you couldn't get your grubby hands on the "Poster Stamp Bulletin" back then, you could also visit one of the approximately two dozen Calso (a division of the ubiquitous Standard Oil Co.) gas stations operated by Kirschner Brothers in Philadelphia.  Nowadays, I can find them on Ebay without having to even get in my automobile, let alone visit a gas station, or locate some off-beat trade periodical.  So, maybe I was born in the right era, after all.

Of course, while they featured the traditional "lick and stick" adhesive on their blank backs, these would not actually get your mail anywhere; they were for collecting and admiring only.  Similarly, the only other baseball stamp I have in my Cubs collection is also another decoration piece, a George Burke stamp - featuring Roy Henshaw - from 14 years previous.  They may not exactly be baseball cards, per se, but when your trying to collect obscure guys who only got to sip a cuppacoffee in the Bigs, you have to take what you can get.  After all, this little stamp is the only "card" known to Beckett which features forgotten Cubs first baseman, Herman Reich.

The envelope the stamps came w/ at Calso stations, courtesy of Bob Lemke's Blog (RIP)

Herman Reich's name may not be remembered today, but his brief career is notable for one, strange quirk - during his single year in the Majors, he was swapped to three, different teams.  Then, the one-year wonder was sent back to the bushes, never to be seen on an MLB diamond again.  It was like everybody wanted him and then, suddenly, nobody wanted him.

Reich's one year in the spotlight was, of course, 1949.  The first baseman/corner outfielder began the season with the Cleveland Indians, after having been selected from the PCL Portland Beavers in the Rule 5 Draft - the longtime bush leaguer had been toiling in the minors since 1936.  After making the team out of camp, Herm got into one game for Chief Wahoo's tribe, cranking out a hit and drawing a walk in 3 trips to the plate before being selected off of waivers by the Washington Senators.  With the Sens, Reich made two pinch-hitting appearances (0-for-2) before being returned to the Indians, just ten days later.  Then, the Cubbies came-a-calling in need of a first-sacker, as their longtime star, Phil Cavaretta, was nearing the end of his road.  And so, he was again claimed off waivers and with his third team already in the young season, which had yet to reach mid-May.

Someone caught Reich in an Indians uni - they were on the ball!

In Chicago, Herman Reich managed to stick around for the rest of the campaign, getting into 108 games, mostly at first base but also spending time in right field.  Of course, the Cubs of the late-40's (and throughout much of the next two decades) were the laughing stock of the National League and it was largely in this time period that their image as "lovable losers" was formed.  As such, under the stewardship of disinterested owner PK Wrigley, many unassuming players who probably didn't belong in the Big Leagues nevertheless suited up for the once powerhouse franchise.

Characterizing Herman as one of those dismal baseballers might be a bit harsh; however, he was definitely no star.  During his time in the Second City, he posted a decent batting average of .280, but he didn't walk (.305 OBP) and possessed no power (3 HR and an anemic .360 SLG), despite manning a premium power position.  That said, he must have played well enough to impress the crosstown rivals, as he was sold to the White Sox during the next off-season, though he'd never actually suit up for the Pale Hose.

The opportunity to catch Reich in a Cubs uni was slightly longer

Though he was done with the Majors, Herman was far from done with baseball and returned to the PCL, where he would play for the better part of the next decade before hanging up his spikes for good after the 1957 season.  Additionally, he also spent one year at the manager of the 1961 Idaho Falls Russets of the Pioneer League.  I've seen sources which also state that Herman spent some time as a scout after his playing career concluded; however, I cannot verify with whom he might've have been employed.  At any rate, that did it for time in pro ball.

As you can see, it's rather fortunate for my CATRC binder that Herman had even the Eureka printed up in his name, as his Cubs career was both short and in-distinctive.  Although, with his expansive minor league career, it does seem quite possible that he appears in some uncatalogued, regional issue somewhere; but, I'll take this stamp and will do so enthusiastically.

Post-baseball, Herman spent the rest of his adult life as, get this, an avocado rancher - how interesting is that?  Fellow millennials - think of all the avocado toast he could have made!  Besides growing "cheese pears" (as the Taiwanese call them), Reich also passed on his skills by coaching youth sports and his love of of our nation's pastime carried him to many Padres games (he was a California native, after all), old-timer reunions and storytelling sessions with old teammates and friends.  Reich passed away, at the age of 91, in 2009.

 I think my wife and Herman would have gotten along just fine.

Now, even with this find, I'm still not quite done with the Eureka set of stamps.  You see, there's another Cub in this oddball set that has the Wrigley Roster Jenga cross-hairs set firmly upon it's sights - Rube Novotney.  In this particular case, the "cuppacoffee" backup catcher, who (like Reich) only saw the Bigs in '49, does have a couple of other cards; however, those cards are a pair of rare, team-issued, minor league cards from his time with the L.A. Angels.  These aren't exactly common releases and, for that matter, do not show Rube in his spiffy Cubs jersey.  Therefore, the Eureka is the preferred ticket to my binder.

I'm coming for you, Rube!

As of now, the only listing found on "the Bay" is a graded copy which costs more than six times what his set-mate ran me (plus shipping).  While this isn't an irrational price for a well-graded, off-kilter vintage piece, it's still more than my modest budget (or inherent cheapness) will allow for.  Plus, I just don't care for graded cards and I don't want to go through the trouble of breaking that flimsy, easily tear-able stamp out of it's casing.  I suppose I'll just have to cross my fingers and wait.

With that, I now welcome Herman Reich to my Cubs All-Time Roster collection; an inclusion made possible only by Eureka Sportstamps and a bargain-basement set break on Ebay.  I'm supremely charmed that I wandered across that auction listing, as I do not think I should expect to run across sixty year old, regional oddballs (of an obscure player, no less) that cost less than the average McDonald's bill AND include free shipping.  These are the the kind of deals that I dream about.

You might even say that this transaction earned my "stamp" of approval.

Going Postal at Hobby Lobby

It's the day before Easter and I'm just now putting together a small basket of goodies for my wife. Since I'm a bonafide guy, of course I waited until the day before to assemble this gift - isn't that the grown man tradition?  Although, I must admit, I did do some early preparation for the good deed.  A couple of days ago, I strolled into the local Hobby Lobby in search of some crafting supplies, as I'd decided to get crafty with parts of said Easter basket.

However, I didn't take into consideration what I was wearing while wandering around the notably conservative craft store.  I could feel eyes on me as I meandered up and down each aisle.  I know what you're wondering, what could I have possibly worn that upset the crowd of old retirees and rich soccer moms that populate such an establishment?

Just walked into a Hobby Lobby with a Sex Pistols t-shirt on. Definitely got more than a few side-eyes.

— Tony Burbs (@RosterJenga) April 13, 2017

The answer is a t-shirt for a band that's been around for 40 years now and whose frontman apparently has spoken fondly of Donald Trump in recent weeks.  But, they have the word "Sex" in their name; so apparently, they are still lewd, scary and threatening to the patrons of Hobby Lobby.  Also, the sheer oddity of a bearded man in a punk rock t-shirt buying beads and colored jewelry wire could have also been the reason for the stares.  My demographic was certainly not well-represented in the establishment.

At any rate, I definitely felt uncomfortable and, as soon as I found my needed materials, I was happy to get the heck out of Dodge,  That said, I couldn't help but make a quick trip to their "collector's aisle" in the back of the store before I made my retreat.  Filled with models cars, HO scale railroad set paraphernalia, stamp stuff, and card-collecting supplies.  While I was there to make a gift for someone else, I decided to grab a little treat for myself too.  Spoiler alert:  it wasn't from the card-collecting supply portion of the aisle, either:

Yea, I grabbed a starter kit for stamp collecting; I ventured a little bit off of the beaten path.

In my life, I've collected A LOT of thing - baseball cards, records, watches, rubber wristbands, band t-shirts (like the one I was wearing!), action figures, 1:64 scale die-cast, coins and so on and so forth.  Since I was a kid, I've basically collected everything, so it's bit strange that one of the few things that I've never really dabbled in is stamp collecting, one of the world's oldest collecting interests.  My mother has a book full of them and tried to pass them on to me, at one point, but they just never drew me in.

That's truly not about to change any time soon either.  I did't grab this "Famous American Men" starter pack in order to kick off a new collecting habit.  I grabbed this cellophane wrapped cardboard envelope in hopes of finding some baseball-related stamps for my baseball card collection.  After all, both feature pictures of famous people and hold collectible value - they're basically cousins.

For a couple of bucks, I shrugged my shoulders and figured, "why not?"  It's something different.

Lo and behold, I was not skunked.  Baseball immortals Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth were featured front and center on the packaging, but the disclaimer of "stamps included may vary" had me doubting whether or not they'd be included.  Success!

As you can see, these stamps have already been mailed or cancelled, as evidenced by the markings inked over their pictures, so that's a bit of a drag. The "luckiest man in the world" appears on a 25 cent stamp, issued on June 10, 1989 from Cooperstown, as part of a set which honors athletes from the era of 1903-41. Meanwhile, the "Sultan of Swat" shows up on a 20 cent piece issued on July 6, 1983, released in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of baseball's All-Star Game.

These two Yankees were the only baseball or sports-related personalities to fall out of the envelope (no Cubs - womp, womp), but there were still several other "famous men" who caught my attention.

Oh look, a controversial in his time musician - how appropriate for a purchase made during my Sex Pistols snafu.  Elvis the Pelvis shows his mug (but not his hips, heaven forbid!), in beautiful, bold colors, on this 29 cent stamp from 1993.

Presley was the only musician of the bunch, but this next fella sure knew how to drop some mad lyrics:

Edgar Allen Poe - god to every emo and goth kid from my age bracket.  This acclaimed poet shows up on a considerably older stamp, a 3 cent piece that dates from way back in 1949.  Ooooh, antiquey!

To make up the rest of the "stamp repack," we have a few presidents...

...and some other, miscellaneous and notable Americans.  All except the Bobby Kennedy example appear to date from the 1930's or 1940's.

With that, we've reached the end of this random pack of stamps.

Overall, nothing here was super rare, of high value (even in mint condition), or even particularly notable; however, like a baseball card repack, those aren't the goals for this starter kit.  What they are is fascinating little bits of American ephemera that make a great jumping off point for a blossoming collector.  I shan't be one of them, but I did get my baseball-tinged stamps; so, overall, I'm calling this a win.

Meanwhile, I should probably get off Blogger and wrap up this whole Easter Basket thing - I do have less than a day's worth of time left, after all. "Ironman Lou" and the "Colossus of Clout" will make for great additions to my random baseball oddballs accumulation.  In fact, while I've stated that I never collected stamps outright, they won't even be the first such pieces to enter into any of my collections.  Like I said, trading cards and postage stamps are basically cousins.

Also, the Sex Pistols are still scary to old people.