A Boost from the Dime Boxes

Last month I looked back on my 2022 collecting year and came up with some pluses and minuses. A plus was that I succeeded in posting content here every Sunday throughout the year again. Another was that I designed more custom cards than ever, which was a lot of fun.

 

A minus was that I only added a couple dozen cards to my personal collection all year. And because of that, one of my collecting goals for 2023 is to get back into the hobby a little bit more, picking up a few cards along the way. 

 

Recently, Mr. Nick from the Dime Boxes blog gave me my first boost toward reaching that goal. The eclectic collector and all-around entertaining blogger celebrated his 11-year blogiversary with a very generous giveaway, allowing readers to claim a healthy amount of trading cards from an even healthier 20-page list.

 

I didn't waste any time, and scrolled through the pages to claim some cards before other more zealous collectors had the chance to snatch them up.

 

 

2010 A&G World's Wordsmiths
#WGWS10, Edgar Allan Poe

First up was writer extraordinaire Edgar Allan Poe. This mini is from a 15-card insert set that features other literary greats like Homer, Shakespeare, Washington Irving, and Marcus Aurelius. I might have to seek out some of those names, as well.

 

 

1979 Hostess #149, Jerry Koosman

Next up is pitcher Jerry Koosman. He's trying to force an optimistic glance past the camera despite having been airbrushed into a Minnesota Twins uniform after spending some great years (and winning a World Championship) with the Mets.

 

 

1978 Kellogg's #23, Willie McCovey

Then I had to claim this sharp-looking Willie McCovey 3-D Kellogg's card—not only because Stretch was a superstar who was winding down his playing career at the time, but also because it seems like he made a concerted effort to place his signature over a portion of the card that would help its visibility. I always appreciate when a player does that.

 

 

1982 Kellogg's #17, Bruce Sutter

While we're on the subject of breakfast cereals, here's another Kellogg's card that I claimed. I like the "relief pitcher" designation instead of just plain-old "pitcher". Relievers were big deals by the time the 1980s rolled around, and Bruce Sutter was a perennial league leader of the era.

 

 

1989 Cereal Superstars #9,
George Brett

This George Brett card intrigued me. From the information I've gathered, it's part of a 12-card set featuring 6 National League and 6 American League stars of the day. Two cards from the set were inserted in select boxes of Ralston Purina–brand cereals back in 1989, and that's how you'd acquire them. Most of the photos are headshots, and because only an MLBPA license was obtained, all uniforms and caps are airbrushed. So even though I've only got 11 cards to go to complete the set, I'm not sure I'll be going for it.

 

1986 True Value Superstars #27,
Dwayne Murphy

Finally, I couldn't resist this True Value card featuring Dwayne Murphy with his baseball cap riding way up high, but tilted way down. Dwayne and his 29 other MLB buddies in this set were issued in fold-out sheets that contained three perforated cards, plus an advertisement for a product you could find at True Value stores, such as Weber barbecue grills, GE light bulbs, and Wagner power painters. Cool.

I'm sure you've noticed a pattern here. If I do regain some zeal for the hobby this year and start picking up card singles, a decent portion of them would be food-issue and oddball cards from the '70s and '80s. They're just the most fun and nostalgic to me, and those are the criteria that drive my hobby tastes the most these days.

 

Big thank-you to Nick for holding such a generous giveaway, and for sending these six cards that are motivating me to search out more cool stuff in 2023.

 

Congratulations again on 11 years of blogging, Nick. Keep up the great writing, and here's to an excellent year 12!