Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XV

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV

1992 Donruss Rookies - Phenoms #BC-14 Brian Jordan
1992 Upper Deck - Scouting Report #SR11 Brian Jordan
1994 Donruss Triple Play #63 Brian Jordan
1994 Leaf #272 Brian Jordan
1996 Leaf #142 Brian Jordan
1996 Topps Laser #9 Brian Jordan
1997 Leaf #116 Brian Jordan
1997 Score #55 Brian Jordan
1998 Score #184 Brian Jordan

Since I stick a little notecard in my card storage boxes to mark the start of each set or insert set, I take special notice each time I have cards from a set new to my collection. This time that includes 1996 Topps Laser and the Phenoms insert set from 1992 Donruss Rookies.

1996 Select #90 Brian Jordan
1996 Topps #126 Brian Jordan
1995 Collector's Choice #192 Brian Jordan

I believe that's Todd Zeile in the Collector's Choice card. Most likely warning Brian not to let the Cardinals move him out of his natural position for some young up and comer.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XIV

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII

You're wondering when I'll mess up these Roman numerals, aren't you?

1999 Fleer Tradition - Rookie Flashbacks #6 J.D. Drew
1999 Pacific #352a J.D. Drew (Headshot)
1999 Upper Deck #522 J.D. Drew

The great thing about collecting players from about 1997-2002 is that there are so many sets from each year, a random package is pretty likely to contain all new cards for me. The Pacific card is a Headshot variation. It's unclear to me if those were any rarer than base cards though.

2000 E-X #34 J.D. Drew
2000 Fleer Tradition #85 J.D. Drew
2000 Pacific Omega #115 J.D. Drew
2000 Topps Gold Label - Class 1 #78 J.D. Drew
2000 Upper Deck Ovation - Diamond Futures #DM1 J.D. Drew
2000 Upper Deck Victory #75 J.D. Drew
2002 Fleer Maximum #8 J.D. Drew
2002 Upper Deck Ovation #37 J.D. Drew

Lots of shiny and thick cardstock cards here. The Topps Gold Label stuck out to me, because as you can see, it's a bit narrower than the rest of the cards.

The Cardinals got a few good years out of Drew, but then traded him to the Braves in the trade that included Adam Wainwright. Drew still had success after the trade, but ultimately I think the Cardinals came out ahead in that deal.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XIII

College football will be here again before we know it IS HERE, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII


Games have started and I have a whole lot more cards left unposted. I'm about ready to say uncle. At least it's only been one FBS game so far, so I've got about another week before the season is really in gear.

1982 Topps #86 Dane Iorg
1985 Fleer #226 Tom Herr
1987 Boardwalk and Baseball #25 Jack Clark
1988 Donruss #208 Tom Herr
1988 Fleer #31 Doug DeCinces
1988 Fleer - All Stars #11 Jack Clark
1990 Fleer #249 Frank DiPino
1992 Topps - ToppsGold Winner #664 Ken Hill

I'm having a harder time matching players by era, so this post spans from 82-92. I had never heard of the Boardwalk and Baseball set, but apparently it was a theme park in Florida around that time.

1986 Fleer Mini #8 Tom Herr
1986 Fleer Mini #6 Jack Clark

You can't tell by my scan, but these are indeed mini cards. The height is just slightly more than the width of a normal card, and the ratio appears to be about the same, unlike Allen and Ginter minis. These are bigger than Cracker Jack cards, but smaller than the 19xx-style minis Topps has been inserting the last few years.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XII

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI


Today's going to be an Alan Benes kind of day. I don't even know what that means.

1995 Upper Deck Minors #161 Alan Benes
1995 Bowman's Best #55 Alan Benes
1995 Upper Deck Collector's Choice Special Edition #11 Alan Benes
1995 Fleer - Major League Prospects #3 Alan Benes (x2)
1996 Leaf #212 Alan Benes
1996 Topps #216 Alan Benes (x2)
1997 Topps #351 Alan Benes

Alan Benes was overshadowed a bit by his brother Andy, who joined him on the Cardinals in 1996. The Cardinals also drafted their other brother Adam, but he never made it to the majors.

1997 Topps Finest #208 Alan Benes
1998 Pinnacle Inside #66 Alan Benes
1998 Donruss #53 Alan Benes (x2)

I'm surprised this is the first 1998 Pinnacle Inside card I've posted. I bought a whole lot of those cans in the late 90s. At least I thought it was a lot. A quick search tells me I now have 33 of the 150 cards in the base set.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part XI

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X

Let's see some Jon Jay!

2010 Topps Update #US203 Jon Jay
2010 Topps Chrome #178 Jon Jay
2011 Topps - Platinum Diamond Anniversary #295 Jon Jay
2013 Bowman #54 Jon Jay
2013 Topps Archives #7 Jon Jay
2015 Bowman #94 Jhonny Peralta
2015 Topps
#11 Jon Jay
#311 Jhonny Peralta
#527 Carlos Martinez

Jon Jay was traded to San Diego for Jedd Gyorko before this season. So far it seems to have been a decent trade. Unfortunately that means we no longer have a player to lead the team in High Sock Sundays.

2014 Topps Update
#US134 Tony Cruz
#US212 Randy Choate
#US260 Jhonny Peralta

Randy Choate became a free agent at the end of 2015, was a member of the Blue Jays organization (though never played for the MLB team) for part of March, and baseball reference now claims he's signed with the dodgers, but he doesn't seem to be on even the 40-man roster. I really thought Tony Cruz was being groomed to replace Yadier Molina when he retires - or goes to the AL to DH, but the Cardinals sent him to Kansas City, and he has since been sent to AAA. These are the first 2014 Update cards I have. That was a year I just didn't buy much current stuff at all.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part X

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX

1986 Fleer Update
#U-29 Tim Conroy
#U-50 Mike Heath
#U-65 Mike LaValliere
#U-85 Rick Ownbey
#U-89 Pat Perry

I sorted out my cards by player, but lots of the stacks were only one card deep. That was the case for each of these cards from 1986 Fleer Update. This makes up 5/6 of the Cardinals from this set, so there's one more card on my want list now. These are also the only cards from the set I have so far.

1982 O-Pee-Chee #348 Darrell Porter
1984 Topps
#389 Ozzie Smith
#561 Whitey Herzog
Glossy All-Stars #12 Whitey Herzog
1987 Topps - Glossy All-Stars #1 Whitey Herzog
2013 Panini Cooperstown - Colgan's Chip Disks # Whitey Herzog

I figured that Whitey Herzog disk was from some obscure food issue from the 80s that I'd never track down, but it turned out to be a well-made insert from 2013 that mimics the 80s style well. The two All-Star cards made me realize there's a 2-year lag from a World Series appearance for a manager to appearing in an all-star set. For example, the Cardinals made the World Series in 1982 and 1985, thus Whitey Herzog managed the All-Star teams in 1983 and 1986, and so these cards are in the 1984 and 1987 sets. It's no huge insight, but I just like to keep those sorts of things in mind. I already have his 1989 card in my want list.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part IX

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII VIII

2010 Bowman - Prospects #BP4 Tyler Henley
2010 Bowman Chrome Draft - Prospects
#BDPP22 Nick Longmire
#BDPP28 Seth Blair
2010 Bowman Draft - Prospects
#BDPP26 Tyrell Jenkins
#BDPP44 Greg Garcia
#BDPP62 Zack Cox
2011 Topps Heritage Minor League
#117 John Gast
#141 Tyrell Jenkins
#164 Carlos Martinez

I've got more Bowman today, as well as some Heritage Minor League cards. The Chrome cards appear to have confused my scanner and thrown the other cards a bit off balance. Once again, I find that despite my confusion about which set is which, I really like the look of Bowman cards. I should probably start trying to put together the Cardinals set each year.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part VIII

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI VII

2011 Bowman - Prospects
#BP13 Alex Castellanos
#BP40 Deryk Hooker
#BP75 Brian Broderick
2011 Bowman Platinum
#22 Daniel Descalso
Prospects #BPP87 Adron Chambers
2011 Bowman Chrome #195 Daniel Descalso
2011 Bowman Chrome - Prospects
#BCP13 Alex Castellanos
#BCP40 Deryk Hooker
#BCP90 Adron Chambers

Bowman really just vexes me, with a lot of confusion around whether certain inserts are part of Bowman flagship, Bowman Chrome, or Bowman Draft. I really like the look of the cards, it's just the organization that bugs me, because I want to get it perfect. I'm pretty sure I found the right sets for all these, and since the sets are pretty small, the three cards each nearly completes the Cardinals in the Prospects insert set for both Bowman and Bowman Chrome.

2013 Topps - Blue Parallel
#190 Daniel Descalso
#261 Trevor Rosenthal
2011 Topps #87 Daniel Descalso

I'll finish off with a few more Daniel Descalso cards, and a Trevor Rosenthal just because it's from the same blue parallel set.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part VII

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V VI

1974 Topps - Team Checklists - Cardinals
1978 Topps #143 Keith Hernandez
1978 Topps #170 Lou Brock
1979 Topps #371 Keith Hernandez
1984 Donruss #475 George Hendrick
1985 Topps #60 George Hendrick
1985 Topps Traded #15T Bill Campbell
1985 Topps Traded #30T Ivan de Jesus

I decided to post some of the oldest cards in this prize package today. Above we see clear evidence Keith Hernandez should always keep the mustache. I'm still pondering a purchase of a powder blue Hernandez jersey, the style of which you can see much more clearly on the George Hendrick cards.

1974 Topps #204 Tommy Harper/Lou Brock
1976 Topps #205 Al Hrabosky/Rich Gossage

These are some nice league leader cards, with a bit of wear around the corners of course. They're 40+ years old after all. If you're like me, you might be wondering how Al Hrabosky and Goose Gossage scored 35 "points" in 1975. Never fear, I'll do your research for you. The Sporting News gave out a "Fireman of the Year" award to each league from 1960 to 2000. The scoring appears to have changed over time, but at least through 1975, relievers got 1 point for a save and 1 for a win in relief, and the top point earner in each league was the winner.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part VI

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV V

2016 Topps
#46 Jhonny Peralta
#106 Jordan Walden
#107 Kevin Siegrist
#134 Yadier Molina
#146 Stephen Piscotty
#217 Lance Lynn
#244 Matt Carpenter
#319 Adam Wainwright

I still haven't bought any 2016 Topps cards. The other was from winning the subcontest within this same contest, picking the Belk Bowl. The only Cardinal in that prize was Pat Neshek, now with the Astros, so these were still all new to my collection.

2016 Topps
Back to Back #B2B-9 Red Schoendienst/Stan Musial
Berger's Best #BB-16 Steve Carlton
Pressed Into Service #PIS-6 Stan Musial
Perspectives #P-25 Ozzie Smith

Here we have more 2016 Topps, all inserts and all Hall of Famers. I'm glad to see Ozzie Smith has been included more and more in sets with older players. And I'm always happy to get Musial and Schoendienst cards.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part V

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III IV

2014 Bowman Chrome - Prospects #BCP42 Tim Cooney
2014 Topps Archives #178 Carlos Martinez
2015 Topps Gypsy Queen #72 Carlos Martinez
2015 Topps Opening Day #147 Carlos Martinez
2015 Topps Update
#US44 Tim Cooney
#US104 Steve Cishek
#US105 Brandon Moss
#US311 Carlos Martinez
#US348 Jonathan Broxton

Tim Cooney is one of the most anticipated pitching prospects for the Cardinals in awhile, but he's been on the minor league DL all year. Luckily we've still got Carlos Martinez, and a fair shot at a wildcard spot this year.

2015 Topps Update #US13 Tommy Pham

Ah, another lone horizontal card. Tommy Pham's a huge fan favorite. I just need people to stop making "Phamtastic" puns.

August Card Show Autographs

The monthly card show returns, along with one of the signers that was supposed to be there in July. Here's my haul:

Ivan de Jesus                    David Green                    Bryn Smith
1982 World Champ

Ivan de Jesus was supposed to be at the July show, but apparently missed his flight. He played for the Cardinals for just one year, 1985, so came extremely close to being a World Series champ.


David Green played for the team in 1982, so he gets to write the inscription on his autographs. He was sent by the Cardinals (with more players) to San Francisco for Jack Clark before the 1985 season. His line wasn't terribly long by the time I got there, so he took some time to talk to a kid that was there getting an autograph, and seemed like a really nice guy.

Finally, Bryn Smith was here during some lean years, 1990-1992. He played most of his career in Montreal, and his final season was in Colorado. Interestingly, the person in front of me was getting autographs on a Colorado Rockies inaugural season book, and knew Bryn won the first game in Rockies history. Bryn one-upped him and said "That's right, we started 0-2 that year". I looked it up, and of course he was right.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part IV

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II III

1992 Fleer Ultra - All-Rookies #10 Donovan Osborne
1992 Studio #95 Donovan Osborne
1992 Upper Deck - Scouting Report #SR19 Donovan Osborne
1993 Fleer - Rookie Sensations #10 Donovan Osborne
1994 Fleer Ultra #269 Donovan Osborne
1994 Fleer Ultra #563 Brian Barber
1994 Fleer Ultra #265 Rich Batchelor
1996 Upper Deck Collector's Choice #24 Brian Barber
1996 Pinnacle #167 Brian Barber

Once again I'm always surprised how many Cardinals I'm missing from relatively common sets. These were all new to my collection, even the Donovan Osbornes that I was sure I've seen before.

1992 Upper Deck #702 Brian Jordan / Donovan Osborne / Mark Clark

Horizontal cards are always a pain when trying to put like cards together because there's no nice way to scan them together. So this one stands here alone, staring you down like these three menacing Cardinals rookies. The 1992 team wasn't really that good, though.

Another Contest, This Time at Play at the Plate

With the opening ceremonies tonight, who's got Olympic fever? Perhaps that's a bad choice of words given the fears of Zika in Rio. Anyway, there's an Olympics themed contest going on at Play at the Plate. There's a bit of luck, and a bit of skill to this one.

He's got 3 blasters of Olympic cards, and you just have to pick which one will have the highest medal count, then guess the count itself for part 2. And of course there's a benefit to promoting it like this: two more chances to guess the medal count. I really have no clue what a good guess will be off the top of my head, but here's a checklist if you want to research your possibilities.

2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team Hopefuls

Once the contents have been revealed, I'm sure I'll be pulling up the post with the list of athletes so I can decide who to root for in those events with multiple US competitors. You've got to get your guesses in by Monday, so go do it now.

Sport Card Collectors' Stadium Club Contest

Want to win an autograph from 2016 Stadium Club? Just go visit Sport Card Collectors and leave a comment about it. Here's what you could get for your trouble:

2016 Topps Stadium Club
Autographs #SCA-CH Chris Heston

You've got until August 11th to enter.

Bowl Pick 'Em Contest Winnings, Part III

College football will be here again before we know it, so I've got to get my prize from last season's Bowl Pick 'Em contest at Cards on Cards posted! My prize for a second place tie was a very generously sized box of cards, so I felt a bit overwhelmed even sorting through them. I finally sorted them out by player, and, as usual, I'll plan to post them all eventually, but I might quit halfway through, we'll see.

Part I II

1976 SSPC
#282 Luis Melendez
#285 Mario Guerrero
#289 Jerry Mumphrey
#294 Bob Forsch
#297 Lynn McGlothen
1977 Topps #47 Lynn McGlothen
1981 Donruss
#69 Bob Forsch
#429 Silvio Martinez
1982 Topps #316 Steve Braun

Those SSPC cards really stand out when sorting through a stack of cards. With no player name, team name, or even a card company logo, they're about as plain as can be on the front.

1982 Donruss
#91 Bob Forsch
#418 Steve Braun
1984 Donruss #168 Bob Forsch
1985 Fleer #223 Bob Forsch

All of the Bob Forsch cards were explictly on my wantlist, so this group knocked that down by a few cards. Really, all of these should have been on my list, since every one of them was new to me.