Two vintage cards from eBay and local happenings

Just a small card-related post today, interrupting the overdue recognition of packages that I've received.


First, since I do want to show cards, I'll show two cards that I recently purchased from the same seller on eBay.

L-R: 1967 Philadelphia #46 and 1972 Topps #292

In a way I was surprised that I didn't have this Paul Warfield card. I should really look at my wantlists a little closer - I still need a couple more for the 1967 Philadelphia set. They shouldn't be too hard to get.


This 1972 Topps Walter Johnson card is a high-number card. Yes, baseball collectors, we have those too. Maybe not nearly as bad as the late series baseball sets, but enough to be irritating. Anyway, grabbing this mis-cut card leaves me only needing the high-numbered Milt Morin to complete the 1972 Topps Browns team set.


I'm very happy to add both to my collection


Now, on to the local happenings.


This weekend, for the first time, Ottawa is hosting a Crashed Ice event.


I'm still not sure whether I'll make my way downtown to watch it live, but walking by at lunch today I snapped a few photos.

This photo is approaching the course walking from Parliament Hill in Ottawa. The building in the background is the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, and the course extends down into the locks that connect the Rideau Canal to the Ottawa River.


The next two photos are just from slightly different angles as I get closer to the Chateau Laurier.

If I were twenty years younger, I would love to try racing down one of these courses. Now, though, knowing how long it takes my body to recover from injuries, it doesn't seem quite as enticing. I still think it would be fun!


I know I've been busy, and haven't been posting as much, and the next few photos were taken on Tuesday, January 31 when I went to a local bar to play Buzztime trivia. I was rather surprised at what was there.

The 2016 Grey Cup was won by the Ottawa Redblacks (don't look at me, I didn't choose the name!), and a manager from the stadium had his day with the cup and brought it to our local bar.

You might not be able to fully make it out, but the Grey Cup is "Presented by His Excellency Earl Grey for the Amateur Rugby Football Championship of Canada". The trophy was commissioned by the Governor General of Canada in 1909.


Now, me being old-fashioned, I didn't pick the trophy up and pose with it. It seemed like everyone else in the bar did except for the friend that I bought the Rizzuto/Martin card for. Like me, he felt that we didn't win it, so why should we be posing holding it.


Now, also, with me being an oddball, I found something else as fascinating as the Grey Cup.

I think that I was the only person to photograph its case, and the sticker on the side.

For those interested, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame is in Hamilton, Ontario. It has been close to thirty years since I visited it. The same goes for the baseball and hockey halls of fame. I should really go visit now that we're in the computer age - I'm sure things have somewhat changed.


Oh, it has only been a few years since I last went to Canton, Ohio for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I've been there three times in the last decade.


Finally, one last thing to post about. Canadians may have seen this story on the news.


http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/referee-couple-from-uk-ties-the-knot-on-the-rideau-canal-1.3276905


As the link says, there was a wedding on the Rideau Canal of two UK referees. I was there as I am friends with the bride's sister and brother-in-law here in Ottawa. If you watch the video found in the link above, if you look over the officiant's (in his Senators jersey) shoulder, I am in the back in a black jacket over his left shoulder. My boss let me head out there for my lunch break.


Oh, and if you watch the video, if you look past the bride and groom, you will see bridge. The Crashed Ice course has been built just beyond that bridge.


Now, what sort of wedding doesn't have some sort of stag night? Well, we did something a bit different. We went axe throwing!

We were there for just over two and half hours, and it was a lot of fun!


I am on the far left of this photo, and of course forgot to bring a change of clothes to work. Oops.

It is a fun activity that isn't as easy to stick those axes into the targets as it looks when you see people throw axes in the movies.

Trading with Cardboard History

Continuing the sequence of delayed packages that I've received is an envelope that I received from Billy at Cardboard History.


I'll tell you all stuff about his blog that you no doubt already know. You might find any types of cards on there. Billy will collect any card, no matter how overproduced you might think it is, he will want a copy of it.


I find his blog fascinating because it will often show me cards that I know very little about. I've bought the odd racing card to look at, and bought some basketball in the early 1990s, but really, I don't know sets from those sports that well. It is always interesting to see what he will show.


And he enjoys the "history" part of the blog name as well. It is fun to see and learn about old basketball uniforms, or about NASCAR paint scheme, as shown in a recent post about a Batman paint scheme.


Anyway, Billy sent me an envelope, and I apologize to him for the cost of shipping it to Canada. I have a US PO Box that would have been cheaper to send it to, but I tell you it is great when you actually find an envelope in the mail that you know will have cards in it!


And before showing the cards, I have to apologize again. I know that it was a small shipment, but I'm not sure if it was just the cards that will be shown below. His cards were accidentally mixed with some others that I had bought at the same time. (Billy, I'm sure you track these things, if there is something else that I should be mentioning, send me a message and let me know.)

2008 Upper Deck Icons #23

 Sadly, Kellen Winslow Jr. did not provide the Browns the career that his Hall of Fame father had. He was the sixth overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, and reporters always like pointing out that he was drafted five picks ahead of the Steelers future Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

2012 Panini Contenders #23

 I like the Panini Contenders cards over the years. I enjoy the ticket design concept. This 2012 card uses his uniform number and seasons to provide the ticket information. The Contender cards in 2016 use the players height and weight. I just saw that pointed out on another blog this year, which made me realize that sometimes I'm not very observant with card design.

2013 Topps Magic #92

Now getting this card from Billy surprised me. I know that he likes the name Barkevious. I hope that this was a double that he sent. I'd hate to have deprived his collection of a Barkevious.

2013 Topps Turkey Red #25

When going through the cards, this one jumped out at me. I knew that I didn't own it.


Miguel Maysonet was not drafted in 2013. He signed with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent, and was picked up by the Browns after the Eagles let him go. He didn't make the 2013 Browns, but then over the next few years was signed to the practice squads of the Colts, Chargers, Jets, Redskins, Steelers and Bills. He never played in a regular season game, but you have to admire that so many teams signed him at different points in time.


Since I needed the card, here's the back:

Billy, thanks for the cards, especially hitting one that I needed! Since you like receiving anything, eventually you will be getting a starter collection of Cleveland Browns. I figure it will be a good way of clearing out some of those cards that I have so many copies of. I'll be curious to see how many different ones I can come up with, and what that will do to vault you into the top Browns collectors on the Trading Card Database.


I'm sure that I can get him into the top 100, but can I get him into the top 50? It might take some doing...  (And, yes, for those interested while looking at the list, I'm armac on the Trading Card Database.)


And, hey, really, I'm not punishing him by sending him Browns cards! I'm sure he'll want them anyways...