Two Completed PSA Cubs Sets

The two graded cards that are pictured in this post represent a momentous achievement for me. These two cards were the last cards that I needed to complete my 1975 and 1964 graded sets. One of my collecting goals is to complete as many Chicago Cubs graded sets as possible. I am keeping these graded sets listed in the PSA Set Registry.


The 1964 Topps #550 Ken Hubbs In Memoriam card is difficult to find in high quality condition. The card is from the rarer high number series (523 – 587) and is more highly sought because of the subject matter. Ken Hubbs had finished his second full year for the Cubs in 1963. His potential seemed high. However, as he was piloting his plane on a flight from Provo, Utah to Colton, California, his plane went down in a snow storm. Hubbs’ 1964 card was issued in memorium.








My 1964 Cubs set is the 8th best in the current listings. My set currently has an average grade of 7.634 out of 10. When one is looking for PSA 8 or better the price and bidding activity increases dramatically. I would like to slowly improve the average grade for this set to 8.00. But that will take some time and the inclination to spend additional cash.


The 1975 Topps #15 Jose Cardenal was also difficult to add to my collection. It was not because of being a high number but rather it seems that graded 1975 Jose Cardenal are hard to find in PSA 8 or higher condition. When they appear on EBay, there is always a lot of interest and bidding.







My 1975 Cubs set is also the 8th best in the current rankings. The 1975 set has an average grade of 8.32. I am actively looking for 1975 Topps Cubs with a PSA grade of 9.0. I buy most of the PSA graded Cubs from EBay but will from time to time send some in to PSA for grading.


I am now seeking graded 1978 Cubs in hopes of completing that set next. I currently have 13 of the 30 required cards with an average PSA grade of 8.94.

Another Card Show - Redford, Michigan VFW

I was able to make time to go to another card show this weekend. In southeast Michigan we have at least three quality card shows every month. Two of the shows are at the 2 Gibraltar Trade Center locations. The third show is smaller but still has several quality dealers in attendance each month. The third card show is held at the Redford, Michigan VFW Hall. This month, the show was held on February 3 from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. They always have some signers. This month it was Gates Brown and Skeeter Barnes. The show was crowded while I was there…partially because of the signers and also because it is held in a much smaller hall than the Gibraltar Trade Center. You can see in the photos that there was a lot of buying, selling and trading happening. There were several dealers with the low cost boxes of cards, but for someone like myself, there were several dealers with high quality 1950’s and 1960’s card available. Of course, since we were in southeast Michigan there was a lot of Tigers and Red Wings items.

I did find some nice cards. I found a 1955 - #7 Gene Baker. This one looks to be a bit better that the one I found last week. The same dealer also had a great looking #88 Steve Bilko. However, if you look closely at the scan of both cards, it is pretty obvious that the Bilko card has been trimmed off of the right side. The dealer agreed and threw the Bilko card in for free. I will use it as a place holder until I can find a better version.

I also picked up four 1951 Bowman Cubs. The dealer said that he had just gotten a bunch of 1951 Bowmans from an estate. The previous owner obviously took great care of his baseball card collection. I took the four Cubs that were included in the lot. The dealer also had a very nice bunch of 1959 Ted Williams cards.

It seems that every time I go to a card show like this one, I find other baseball related items to acquire. This show was not any different. I found two books the add to my collection and hopefully read some day. The first was “Hawk” by Andre Dawson with Tom Bird. Andre Dawson played six seasons for the Cubs. So I look forward to reading this book.

I also found “Campy” by Neil Lanctot. This is the story of Roy Campanella. The book talks about Campanella’s success with the Brooklyn Dodgers and then his courageous fight to recover from an automobile accident in 1958 that left him paralyzed below the neck.

I also found a program from the 2012 Hall of Fame Induction. That was the year that Ron Santo was finally given the honor of induction. It was too bad that his widow had to accept the honor. This program carries a stamp and cancelation from the day of the Induction ceremony (July 22, 2012).

The last thing I picked from a dollar stack of magazines was the 1990 Sporting News Baseball Yearbook. The magazine features a photo of Ryne Sandberg on the cover.

The February Redford Card Show was great entertainment. There will be another on March 10. So if you live in southeast Michigan, you might want to give it a try. The announcement for the next show is below.

Another Cubs Program for my Collection

I recently added another Cubs program to my collection.

This program is from the 1952 season. This program is another great example of the artwork of Otis Shepard, who is responsible for the Cubs program covers from the 1940’s through the late 1960’s. Each cover is unique and makes a great framed addition to my Cubs collection. As I get Cubs programs, I am framing them and using the framed programs as a border around the top of my room.

This is one of many Cubs programs to use the Shepard "Fatman" on the back. Shepard's name also appears in the upper left corner.

Gibraltar Trade Center Card Show - Part 2

I did buy one fun thing that was not related to my Cubs collection. One of the vendors had an unopened box of 1992 Conlon Collection available for $10.00. He was probably very happy for someone to take these cards off of his hands and I was equally excited to get a box of cards that had never been touched by human hands. There were several sets of these cards available between 1991 and 1994. The complete 300 card 1992 set lists for about $15.00. My purchase contained 36 cello packs of 15 cards each. So I got 540 cards for my $10.00. The box promised that 20,000 cards autographed by living greats and that one of my packs might contain an autographed card. I opened all 36 packs and there was not an autograph in the bunch.

There was one card of interest. My last name (High) is not as common as Smith or Jones. Now there have been roads that carried my name (Highway) and even many schools (High School). But one card from this box featured a MLB player with my last name. Card number 648 (shown above) in the 1992 Conlon set features Andrew Aird “Handy Andy” High. He played several years for the Dodgers, Braves and Cardinals. His best year was 1928 with the Cardinals when he played in 146 games and batted .295. He also led all NL 3rd basemen in fielding percentage. My brother is the genealogy “expert” in the family, so I will leave it to him to discover if we have a distant relative who played MLB.

This card show was so much fun that I may take the time to go the the show at the Redford VFW this Sunday. The Redford show is not as big as the Gibraltar Trade Center show, but there are several quality dealers that regularly attend this show. Gates Brown is going to be there to sign autographs.

A Day At The Card Show - Southeast Michigan Style

Yesterday was a “free” Saturday. My wife was in Saginaw presenting talks at a conference. The grandchildren that had been a big part of most Saturdays for many years, have recently moved to Texas. So, most of the day was not committed to anything or anyone. My choice of what to do was to go check out the card show at the Gibraltar Trade Center. Here in Southeast Michigan, we are very fortunate to have several, regular card show featuring a large number of high quality dealers. There are two Gibraltar Trade Centers. One is located on the north side of the Detroit area in Mount Clemens and the other is located on the south side in Taylor. There is generally a high quality card show at each location, every month.

I spent several hours looking at vintage cards from many different dealers. I generally find that the selection at these card shows is much larger (both in quality and variety) than on Ebay. You have the opportunity to examine the cards in person. I have often been disappointed in purchases from Ebay, when the quality is not nearly as good as the pictures show.

The big buzz around yesterday’s show was a 1952 #311 Mickey Mantle card that was being offered to the highest bidder. It was not in great condition. The upper left corner was in particular was very worn. But it was the 1952 Mantle card. I was hoping to pick up a few vintage cards for my Cubs collection. My long term goal is to build a collection of graded Cubs cards from 1948 (the year of my birth) through 1970. I like to pick up ungraded Cubs cards in excellent to NM condition at these shows and from Ebay. From time to time, I will send the cards to PSA for grading.

After looking at all of the dealer’s tables, I that I would focus on 1955 Bowman cards. There were 4 or 5 dealers that had a substantial supply of 1955 Bowman cards at this show. All together, I bought eleven, 1955 Bowman Cubs. Six were low quality and will merely serve a placeholders until a better card comes along. I was able to find five 1955 Bowman Cubs that may end up going to PSA for grading. These five included #7 Gene Baker (showing a large bandage over his right eye. Cost $4.00.

#8 Warren Hacker Cost $4.00

#52 Hal Rice Cost $4.00

#87 Randy Jackson Cost $4.00

#273 Bubba Church Cost $6.00

So, for about $35.00 including entrance fee ($2.00), I was able to a enjoyable time at the Gibraltar Trade Center Card Show yesterday.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom #126 Rene Reyes

Rene Reyes was signed as a free agent by the Rockies in 1996. He was viewed as a top hitting prospect with above average speed. However, he played two seasons with the Rockies and struggled at the major league level. In 2003 and 2004, Reyes played in 81 games for the Rockies. During his stay in the majors, he hit .220 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. He was granted free agency in October 2004. Later that month he signed with the Cubs but never played for them.

He dropped out of baseball during 2005. He returned to the Mexican League in 2006. Since 2008, Reyes has found his niche with Puebla of the Mexican League. During his stay in the Mexican League, he has batted .334 with 60 home runs and 298 RBIs.

2002 UD Piece of History Phenom - #95 Reed Johnson

Reed Johnson has been a solid outfielder for nine years at the major league level. After he was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 1999 MLB Draft, he debuted for Toronto in April 2003.

For Toronto, Johnson played all of the outfield positions and was often their lead-off hitter. He appeared in an average of 122 games each season through 2007. During his stay in Toronto, he batted .281 with 42 HRs and 234 RBIs. He was released near the end of 2008 spring training because other players made him expendable. He was immediately picked up as a Free Agent by the Cubs.

He platooned with Felix Pie and Jim Edmonds. Johnson played in 174 games as a Cubs during 2008 and 2009. He was a reliable and effective backup for the Cubs hitting .303 in 2008 and .255 in 2009. He became a Free Agent at the end of 2009 and was signed to replace Juan Pierre as the Dodgers fourth outfielder. Johnson played 102 games for the Dodgers and once again became a Free Agent at the end of 2010.

He signed with the Cubs for the 2011 season and again was a solid backup in the outfield. In 2011, Johnson hit .309 in 111 games. He will be a Free Agent again but has expressed a desire to return to the Cubs for 2012.