Fun at the 2nd Annual Legends Classic

It has been almost a month since my last post.  I do have a few trades to recap that have slowly came in, but today's post will not be showing any new cards to my collection.  Instead, I will recap my trip to the 2nd annual Legend's Classic in Huntingburg, IN this past Saturday night. My recap of last year's event came be found here. 

The setup was much the same as last year, with an autograph session before the game.  New this year was a home run derby before the game started.  Here is the flyer:

As you can see, the big draw for me was 6 former Cardinals.  My wife and son also came along, so I was able to grab quite a few autographs.  The players would sign 2 items at a time.  The autograph session lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes.  With a smaller crowd, we were able to go through some of the line twice and get everything I brought along signed.  

Vince Coleman had the largest line.  He was very talkative and took the time to thank everyone for coming.  He asked me if I wanted McGee to sign the dual cards, so he left plenty of space.  This is the second time I have gotten his autograph in person.  The first was back in 2009.  

The players would also take pictures.  I had to get a picture with Vince.  He was my very first favorite Cardinal.  It broke my heart to see him sign with the Mets.  

Brian Jordan had the second largest line.  I love the bottom left picture on his 1998 Topps card.  I hope to add Ray Lankford to the top right card someday.

Last year I added Lankford's signature to this 11x14 picture.  Jordan loved seeing it.  Only needing Mark Whiten to complete the foursome.  I thought it was ironic he was signing autographs the same night at a similar event in Springfield, IL.  

This was the first time I have ever gotten Isringhausen's autograph.  Nice to add a Cardinals' Hall of Famer to my collection.

Scott Spiezio still has the red facial hair.  My first time ever getting his autograph also.

I have gotten Eversgerd before at minor league games.  I was impressed he was playing left field during the game.  For a 57 year old, he made a nice running catch.

Last but not least is Jason Motte.  I have gotten his autograph several times at Cardinals Caravan or Winter Warm-Up.  He did not have a long line, so my son and I talked to him quite a bit about pitching.  He said the best thing for a high school pitcher to do to keep his arm healthy is play long toss.  He pitched an inning in the game and can still throw a good fast baseball.  I am guessing he was still in the mid to high 80s.

After we finished the autograph session, there was about an hour to kill before the game started.  We walked around the stadium and ended up in the team shop.  I was shocked to find this gem in there for $60.

This is Lankford's jersey from last year's game.  With any luck, I will get this autographed in the near future.  Lankford was also at the same event as Whiten, but tickets for that game were three times as much as what I paid for the Legends Classic.  I think I picked the right game to attend.

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #121

My 2 for Tuesday posts have slowed down this summer.  I am afraid there will be even fewer for a while.  The recent increase in postage does not help.  The main reason is that my wife's minivan blew a head gasket, which ruined the engine.  A new vehicle was not in my budget this year, so cuts will be made somewhere.  I plan to manage a few trades a month, but that will depend on the new vehicle.  For now, I still have a few packages coming in.  One of my recent ones came from member Tebert.

My Series 2 team set is complete.  Love the Victor Scott card.

Nice to see a little sunshine on a gloomy day.  This is a holiday parallel.

I am making good progress on my 2024 Stadium Club red parallel team set.  Gibson makes 8 out of the 13 Cardinals in the set.

The second trade package came from member JustinBobo77.

My 2025 Bowman team set is coming along slowly but surely.  I have not made it to Peoria yet to see Lin pitch.  Road trips may take a hit also.

Arenado may not be a Cardinal much longer.  It would not shock me to see him traded at the deadline.

Two colorful 2025 parallels.  The blue sparkle Heritage is better than the sandglitter in my opinion.

Altuve does not look too thrilled to have his picture taken.  You would think Topps could have used a different pose than this one.

     

Card Show Recap

I spent the last four days attending my son's travel baseball tournament.  It was held in three different locations.  I understand that with 22 teams, not all games can be played in one venue, but at least the directors should get them in the same town.  Saturday, we traveled over 45 minutes from the first game to the next one.  I can understand how parents spend a lot of money watching their kids play.  We have one more tournament in two weeks, then two weeks off before school starts.

I was lucky in one regard this weekend.  The location of my son's game was in a city where a card show was being held.  With plenty of time to waste, we ventured over to the Holiday Inn for a small 50-table show.  I was not expecting to find much, but I did not come away empty-handed.     

I found a lone Altuve in a large dollar box.  I spent about ten minutes talking to the dealer about travel sports, so I felt obligated to buy something from him. 

I was thrilled to find this 1960 Topps high number card for $10.  It may be my eyes, but it appears to be slightly trimmed at the top and bottom.  Not a big deal to me, as the rest of the card is in great shape.  

My final purchase was these two vintage Cardinals for $12.  Both are a little off center, but otherwise in great shape.  The Schoendist has a strange blue line by his hair that I did not notice, but I am still happy with the card.

I was in and out of the show in about an hour.  Would I drive two hours from my house to attend it again, no.  Too many tables full of Pokemon for me.  

Feeling Old Today

Usually, someone feels old when they have a birthday.  I'm feeling old today because it's my son's birthday.  He turns 17 today.  He will be starting his senior year of high school in a few short weeks.  Before you know it, he will be off to college, and my wife and I will be empty nesters.  I will be on the downside of 50 by then.

What better way for an old man to stay young than to enjoy pieces of cardboard with pictures of baseball players on them, although some of those can make a guy feel old, also.  I had a few pieces of cardboard arrive over the weekend from TCDB member Scott88lv.

This card was released when I was a junior in high school.  I doubt if I had heard of Classic Draft Picks at that time.

Showalter was born 10 years after I graduated from high school.  

Carlson was born the year I graduated from college.  

Finally, a couple of cards of guys who are older than me.  Gibson even retired before I was born, and Brock before I started grade school.

My son's favorite player was born the year I graduated from junior high.  2025 is his 15th season in the Majors.    

 

   

      

TCDB 2 for Tuesday #120

I have missed a few weeks with regards to my Tuesday recaps.  My trading tends to slow down during the summer months due to a busy schedule.  My lack of new trade bait also contributes to fewer trades.  I was lucky enough to complete a couple of small deals last week.  The first one was a one for one swap with member elcid_ 91.

I am not a huge fan of single card trades, but this one brought me one of those pesky Heritage short prints.

The second trade package came from member eclecticpie.

I have done well this year avoiding buying flagship Topps.  There is no shortage of traders who have 2025 Series 2 cards for trade.  Not sure what Topps was thinking, including Michael Helman in the set.  He played a few games for the Cardinals' Triple-A team before being released in May.    

I don't have many 2025 inserts.  I will wait until these start to show up in bargain boxes before going after them.  I will gladly trade for them though.

         

8th New Lankford of 2025

I am happy to show off another new Ray Lankford card.  I seem to be adding a new one almost weekly, although I am sure that will slow down.  I had hoped he would be included in the 2025 Donruss, but that did not happen.  I suppose I will have to save up for the older cards to appear like this one.

2024 Panini Treasures is not really an old release since it just came out a few months ago.  This card was initially listed for about twice the total I paid for the Holo Gold autograph numbered to 10.  I messaged the seller an offer for a little less than what I paid for the Holo Gold, and he accepted.  I was surprised he accepted so quickly.  Now I have to track down the Emerald numbered to 5 and the 1/1 to finish the rainbow.  

   

Bench Trade

Last week, I completed my third 2025 trade on The Bench website.  As I have mentioned before, the site has changed from a player/team collector group to more of a latest and greatest card site. There is nothing wrong with that; it is just not the way I collect or trade.  I was able to complete a deal with member RBlais.  He needed a handful of 2025 Bowman cards from my blaster box break.  In exchange, I received a very nice mix of Cardinals.

It is hard for me to pick out a favorite card from this group of Bowman cards, but if I had to choose, it would be the Scott.  It is a mini diamond refractor numbered to 150.

I did not have a Cho autograph before this trade.  There isn't much to his signature, but I'll give him a pass since he's Korean.

Hard not to love a card that shows past and present players together.  The blue sparkle 2025 Heritage Donovan is a great-looking card in person.

Two of my favorites together: Stadium Club and retired greats.  The Musial is a refractor.

Nothing fancy about these inserts, other than the fact that I did not have them.

Last but not least is a 2025 Topps Celebration Confetti parallel for my son's Altuve collection.  I am glad other collectors upload images to TCDB so I can figure out what parallel this was.