Thursday, January 30, 2020

Basebal Misfit Scans

Feels like forever since I posted. I have been really busy getting everything needed in order before my wife, son and I finally move into our forever home. Before I probably go on a few more week hiatus, I figured I would post something that I have seen a few other bloggers post about. People were blogging about the cards they have scanned, but didn't post about for whatever reason. I have a ton of these types of scans, so I figured I would join in on the fun (although I am a little late to the party).

Also, if anyone sees something that they like, it's most likely available for trade.

While going through all my scans, I noticed one thing with my baseball scans....I have a ton of Bowman Chrome. I'd say about 40% of my baseball card scans were of that product, so sorry for the saturation in this post of Bowman Chrome. 

On to the misfits!

1991 Stadium Club Jeff Bagwell RC



1984 Donruss Rated Rookie Tom Dunbar RC In-Person Auto (in blue pen - hard to see)*sadly Mr. Dunbar passed away in 2011..RIP*




1974 Topps Gorman Thomas RC




1976 Topps John Candelaria RC



1979 Topps Pedro Guerrero/Rudy Law/Joe Simpson RC



1997 Bowman Chrome Geoff Goetz RC




1997 Bowman Chrome Luke Wilcox Refractor RC



1998 Bowman Chrome Matt Anderson Refractor RC




2004 Bowman Chrome Matt Moses Blue Refractor RC /290



and finally something I can't believe I never posted since it was a card I wanted so badly and finally received..

1994 SP Derrek Lee Die Cut RC



Thanks for looking at my misfits scans!



Thursday, January 16, 2020

Rewards well spent

Finally I cashed in my eBay Bucks or eBay Rewards or whatever you call them. My accrual was actually quite impressive because I had purchased so much stuff for my son and wife for Christmas and their birthdays, so I decided to buy a nice card that I had been watching, but would probably never buy unless it was, well...free. I tried to pull this from a pack a few years back as seen in my previous post here but ended up with a consolation prize of Kris Benson. Anyways.....

Here is my "reward" for spending a lot of money this past quarter on eBay:

1997 Bowman Chrome Kerry Wood Refractor RC 


I know this doesn't look like the refractor version, but it is. My scanner just can't pick up all the shine...I had the same problem scanning my Kris Benson Refractor from the same set. Oh well.

Oh yeah, and I also got this card too:

2017/18 Upper Deck Ice Premieres Eric Comrie RC /499



Comrie is the younger half brother of Paul and Mike. He has bounced around this season with 5 different clubs (Arizona in the NHL, Tucson in the AHL, Detroit in the NHL, Winnipeg in the NHL) only to settle back in with  his old squad, the Manitoba Moose of the AHL (Winnipeg Jets affiliate). Comrie was once a prized prospect, but his numbers have taken a dip within the past few years. He may be nothing but a backup here on out, who knows though!

Thanks for reading.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Big Purchases

It will be about 30-45 days from now and my wife, son and I will be moved into our freshly built house. The excitement is growing with each day. I am starting to realize that my higher-end taste in all things sports card related will more than likely have to take a back seat. It's all fine with me. The past few weeks I had been spending a decent amount of money on cardboard, and I was able to cross of a few cards that had been on my wantlist.

These two cards below were two of the higher-end cards that I had been looking for. The first card is of Kailer Yamamoto. He's a 5'8" 160lb. winger for the Edmonton Oilers. I just love this kids game. He plays like he's 6'3" 240lbs. Yamamoto does not shy away from the dirty areas of the ice and will not back down from positioning himself right in front of the net. This kid has the heart of a lion and he's finally up with the big club and starting to produce like the first round draft pick he was. 

The second card was sold to me by a friend in Canada named Grant. Grant is a good dude and he and I have similar interests in hockey cards. He actually gave me a decent deal on this once I showed interest and for that I applaud him. If you haven't heard of Josh Ho-Sang, you can google him and I bet a lot of articles will come up with trade destinations for the young winger. He's a guy you either love or hate. He's been pretty controversial throughout his pro career thus far as he is pretty outspoken and has also done some immature things. So, why do I like him? Well, the kid has silky mitts and a cannon of a shot and is electric when the puck is on his stick. I cannot wait until the Islanders eventually trade him and he earns a consistent spot in the NHL. He's spent most of his career with the New York Islanders AHL affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. As of today, he's spent a total of 53 games with the Islanders in 5 years. Just trade him already Lou!

With all of this said, I picked up both of these players' best cards...you guessed it, their Cup Black 1/1 Rookies. 

I'm proud to present:

2017/18 UD The Cup Kailer Yamamoto & Josh Ho-Sang Cup Black Auto 1/1 Rookies!


Saturday, January 4, 2020

Hockey Card Finds: Like Father, Like Son

49. 1975/76 OPC WHA Jacques Locas Jr. Rookie Card #129



Jacques Locas Jr was born January 7th 1954 in St.-Jerome, Quebec. He is the son of Jacques Locas who played 1.5 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL from 1947-49. Just like my previous HCF post about Dennis Sobchuk, Locas too was a big deal during his junior hockey days. Locas started off his junior career at age 15 in the QMJHL for the St.-Jerome Alouettes. After one and a half seasons, he was then traded to the Quebec Ramparts. This is when his career really took off. The 1971 season went so well, Locas helped the Ramparts capture the Memorial Cup! In the 1972/73 season, Locas scored at will. He even averaged over a goal per game (62 games played, 68 goals) and topped it off with 16 goals in 15 games in the playoffs. That may be impressive, but not as impressive as his final season with the Ramparts in 1973/74, as Locas scored 99 goals! It's pretty insane to think someone found the back of the net that much, even in junior hockey. He ended that season with 99 goals, 107 assists, and 206 points! While the 99 goals were not a record in the QMJHL, Locas actually has a few records that stand to this day. Total points? You guessed it, Mr. Locas owns that record with 711 points. How about playoff assists? Yep, Locas with 92. Locas even owns the record for most playoff points with 153! It's hard to believe any of these records will ever be broken.

After his final season in the QMJHL, he played briefly in the Southern Hockey League for the Hampton Gulls before being taken in the 11th Round (184th overall) in the 1974 NHL Draft by the Los Angeles Kings. Instead of playing in the NHL, Locas opted for the WHA as he was selected as the 2nd selection in an expansion draft by the Cincinnati Stingers. In his first professional season in 74/75, he suited up for the Michigan Stags after being loaned from Cincinnati. However, the Stags would fold midseason due to low attendance and the team was relocated in January to Baltimore and would become the Baltimore Blades. That same season, Locas was loaned once again with Brian MacDonald to the Indianapolis Racers where he would finally finish his rookie season. The 1975/76 season saw Locas wear his 4th uniform of his professional career in just his second season as he was finally a member of the Cincinnati Stingers squad that drafted him. This team had some decent players and Locas found himself on a line with Dennis Sobchuk (see my previous HCF post) and also Rick Dudley. Locas would find mild success playing with the Stingers as he would suit up for 125 games in one and a half seasons and score 104 points. Then the Stingers traded Locas for future considerations to the Calgary Cowboys. He would finish the season in Calgary that year with 7 points in 22 games.

In 1977/78, the Calgary Cowboys folded before the season even started, which left Locas without a team. Without a contract and the Kings owning his rights, he tried to make the Los Angeles Kings club in training camp. After an unimpressive camp, he wound up being waived before the start of the season and being sent down to the Springfield Indians of the AHL. After 21 games and an abysmal 6 points (3 goals, 3 assists), Locas wound up back with the Cincinnati Stingers where he would play his final professional hockey season due to chronic knee issues.

It blows my mind why a guy with the success in junior like Locas had, he could never carve out a consistent career or even a single game played in the NHL. The only reason I could think of is that he was undersized at 5'8" and 166lbs. However, Dennis Maruk was the exact same size as Locas and that guy put up 60 goals in the NHL in a season. Who knows? It was surprising to me to find out that my Locas card was only worth $4 in Nrmt condition (mine is more like EX+). I'm happy to report that during my research, I found out that Jacques Locas Jr was actually named as #12 on the list of the QMJHL's all time greatest players in March of 2019. Sadly, Locas would never see himself named to this list as he passed away due to a heart attack on August 20, 2006 at age 52. RIP Jacques.

Thanks for reading!


Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Happy New Year Everyone!

Just wanted to post to say Happy New Year to everyone. I don't have any cards to really post today as I haven't picked up anything new. Since this is a sports card blog, maybe enjoy a random Dallas Stars card and Nashville Predators card that I have a scan of to commemorate today's Winter Classic? I hope everyone has a fantastic year!