Over The Hillier

I've had a good run of trading over the past 3 weeks at the TCDB website, and a trade that I received today from far away North Dakota helped me finish my fourth set this year.

Interesting that this card of Randy Hillier finishes the 198 card 1991-92 OPC Premier set for me because it features Randy in his final stop of his 10 year career, as a member of the Buffalo Sabres.  Interesting because I thought that this might be the only "mainstream" card that would feature him in a Sabres jersey, as he was acquired during the 91-92 season from the Islanders.   Turns out, the trade was in October, early enough in the season for Pro Set to get 2 cards of him in the blue and gold, and Pinnacle to have 1.

Randy was a part of the big trade between the Islanders and Sabres that saw superstars Pat LaFontaine and Pierre Turgeon change teams. 

I'm glad to see this set finished as it sat in the closet as part of a bigger box of hockey cards for a very long time.  Just one more set to hit the soft goal of 5 completed sets during 2019!!

Thanks for reading!

Robert

4 in the door and 2 feet on the go

Well, there have been a couple of benefits of all these trades I've been completing over the past couple of months.  A big part of 2019 for me on a personal note is trying to lose all this excess weight I've been carrying for years.  My house is roughly a 10-15 minute walk to the Post Office, so weekend mornings have been spent gaining steps and some exercise while sending packages in the mail to trade partners all over N. America.

Here's the latest 4 trade packages to come in the door for your consideration.

I put this set up on the TCDB website a few weeks back on a lark, wondering if I would get any hits on it.  Boy, have I been surprised so far.   These 7 2008 UD X die-cuts came to me via TCDB user ID jrayes7of9.   I sent a few Heritage SPs his way and these 7 cards get me to just shy of the 1/2way mark for this 100 card set.

This trade was a hot one, as Steven (TCDB ID: parsley24) offered up these 4 cards for 4 '18 A&G Minis featuring the hottest peppers in the world.  The 2 A&G cards leave me with just 11 to go to finish the set, and the Cutch and Ichiro cards help those PCs out.   I've added quite a few base cards to the want lists for most of my player collections, and I've received quite a few hits in the past couple of months.

I was also very happy with this trade with TCBD user ID suedehead6 (I gotta start remembering to write people's names down, once they close the trade I can't see their names anymore!!).  I found it interesting that he collects both the New York Rangers and Kansas City Royals, but there's never any telling what people collect anymore just by geography.  I sent him some cards from those teams, and got back some much needed hockey from a couple of OPC sets (12-13 & 13-14) along with another Joe Sakic base card that I didn't have. 

Last but not least, this trade with Kevin, who has one of the best ID's on the site (kdinthejaw), sent me a nice chunk of 91-92 OPC Premier cards.  I'm sure that he's probably had them sitting in a box for quite a long time and was happy to get them off of his hands.   91-92 OPC Premier was another want list that I put on the TCDB site on a lark, and sure enough I have received quite a few cards for the set, with 5 more on the way from Hawaii!   Kevin also sent a Keith Tkachuk card and a couple of Joe Sakic cards for those player collections. 

I started the effort to drop some weight at the end of January, about a month before I saw my doctor for my annual physical.  A lot of this stemmed from being tired all the time (especially on weekends), and not wanting to be round anymore (lol).  Well, at the end of February I was weighed at the docs office at 284, and that same day I received a FitBit and vowed to start improving my health.

I'm down to 267 right now, and the best part for me is that it is noticeable.  My goal by the end of 2019 is to weigh 210 lbs.   I've also cut down on big meals, I don't eat as many sugary snacks (especially in the evenings), and my goal is 35 active minutes a day.   I'm not starving myself or going on one of those fad diets, just eating less and walking more is helping me tremendously. 

So keep those trades coming, the walks to the post office do nothing but help me out!!

Thanks for reading!

Robert

Tally ho, pt. 2

Well, I rather liked posting my trade progress for 2019 at the beginning of March, so I decided to do it again here on April Fools Day.

For me, it was a really good month as I received 10 trade packages, bringing the 2019 total up to 26 trades, slightly ahead of the pace I'd like to keep to get to the 100 trade goal for the year.

Adding up the totals so far this year, I've been able to trade 311 cards out of my collection that weren't needed, an average of just under 12 cards per trade.   495 cards have come into my collection in 2019, averaging just over 19 cards per trade. 

I also completed a couple of trades during the month of March with our friends to the north, including this one from Dan (TCDB ID:  PapaG321) which netted me 18 cards.

First off, I added this set to the want list during the month of March, and have had a couple of hits so far.   1991-92 OPC Premier isn't a big set, just 198 cards, but it's been sitting loose in one of my hockey boxes for a long time, so I decided to add it to the site.

Lots of big names in this group of 15, and some players in uniforms that I don't remember all that well.   Tim Kerr in a Rangers jersey surprises me, as does Rob Ramage in a Dallas Stars sweater. 

I still need about a third of the set as the want list after this trade is down to 62 cards.  No hurry though, it's already been 25 years since the set was released, what's a few more weeks?

Dan also included single cards from a couple of vintage baseball sets.

Nothing major in terms of star power, but hey, one card off of each of these lists is nothing to gripe about.  I also consider myself lucky as a lot of the cards I've received from trades that involve both of these sets have been in pretty good condition.   As I've mentioned you never know what to expect when trading for older cards so anytime you get them in good shape it's certainly a win.

This next card was the topper for me, something I've been hunting for quite a while:

I'd have to look, but I'm pretty sure that this is the first food issue card I own of Joe Sakic.  Yes, the bottom edge is pretty rough, but try finding one that kids cut off the box in the early 90's in mint shape and see how much you pay for it!

I love this card, and as I mentioned I've been searching for one for quite a while.  What I like even more is that the card features a photo of Joe from his rookie season, easily identifiable by the sweater that he's wearing, which features the #88 which he only wore during the 88-89 season.

Dan, thank you for the trade, the cards are great and really appreciated!!  Look forward to more in the future!

Thanks for reading!!

Robert

Deep Pockets

Received a couple more trades in this week, including one today from new trade partner Greg (TCDB ID:  Thick McRunfast) who also writes the blog Nine Pockets .  Greg is a relatively new blogger with just 10 posts so far, but is much like me in that he will write about hockey and baseball cards. 

This was kind of a lopsided trade in terms of numbers, as I sent Greg just a trio of cards while receiving quite the bounty of hockey cards in return.

I recently added a couple of early 90's OPC sets to my TCDB want list.  Both of them have been on the shelf for a very long time but recently during the ongoing process of adding cards to the site and trying to clean up everything in general.  91-92 OPC Premier is 7 cards closer to completion, along with a couple more Keith Tkachuk cards to add to his PC (which is growing nicely).

Another want list that was added was the 90-91 OPC set, which is now 7 cards lighter.  I had this on the blog want list up until about a year ago and removed it as it really wasn't moving anywhere.  Along with those 7 is a pair of 86-87 OPC cards, including a 2nd year Kevin Dineen and current Sabres coach Phil Housley.  86-87 OPC is almost 1/4 complete now.

I've mentioned the 84-85 OPC set on the blog quite a bit lately, maybe to the point that guys are sending me cards to help me right the wrong I committed by selling my completed set many years ago.   9 more cards off the want list have me approaching 150 of the 396 card set in hand. 

I've seen a couple of Steve Yzerman RC's at about 50% of the normal book price on ebay lately and it makes me wonder if I pick one of those up for cheap that this set might have a chance to be completed this year.   We shall see...

I seem to be getting one card from the 85-86 OPC set in the house every month.  I have 12 now that Mike Ramsey is in hand.  I figure with 252 cards to go, one card a month will have the set complete by the time I turn 72 years of age.  Hopefully I'll still be able to see and also be sane enough to enjoy it by then....

As a bonus card, Greg threw in this Netminders insert from the 93-94 Fleer Powerplay set.   I may have one or 2 of the Powerplay cards around the house somewhere, but for the most part have shied away from it due to its size.  No matter, I love the addition to the Felix Potvin PC, which is lower down the totem pole, but new cards are always welcome.

Thank you for the cards Greg, they are appreciated.  Look forward to more trades!!

Thanks for reading!

Robert

A new franken set: Showing my love for the goalie mask

Anyone who reads this blog knows my love for hockey.   It's hard when you're Canadian by birth not to love hockey.  A bit part of hockey for me has always been the goalie masks.  The art on them is especially fascinating for me, and has been ever since I saw this mask back in the late 70's.

Leaf fans will remember one of the most exciting goalies to don the Blue and White during my lifetime, Mike Palmateer.  I even tried to paint my goalie mask with the same design, with very poor results.

Nearly 40 years later, my fascination for goalie mask art is still great, and thus I've decided to put together a set of cards devoted to goalie mask art.  500 cards, all based on the card number on the back.  No serial #'s needed. 

I love photos such as this one of Ron Hextall, card #41 from the 90-91 OPC Premier set:

Love the arrow on his forehead pointing down between his eyes, as if daring players to shoot the puck between his eyes.   That one is a keeper. 

I'm sure that anyone who is a hockey fan remembers the Hartford Whalers.  Here's Kay Whitmore's mask from the 91-92 OPC Premier set, card #182.

Would love to see the Whalers logo comeback.  How bout it Hurricanes, maybe a throwback night?

I'm primarily looking for cards with the mask/cage combo.   Most of the cards with the helmet and cage combo for goalies don't feature artwork.  There are exceptions, such as this Dominik Hasek card from 2008-09 OPC.

Card #290 from the 08-09 OPC Set

I'm sure by now you get the idea.  I'd like to build a set of 500 cards, #'d 1-500 (of course).  No rules, cards can be from any set, any team.  The better the photo, the more I'll enjoy it.  Hopefully you will as well when I show off the cards on the blog.  I've found about 5 dozen cards so far, and some of them have the same card number.  

For example, I have two cards with the #285 on the back.  Roberto Luongo of the Canucks, and Bob Essensa of the Winnipeg Jets.

Both cards have great shots of their mask, so which do I keep?  I figured to have some fun I'd post the cards on twitter along with a poll and let the universe (as small as my universe may be) decide the fate of these two cards.  The poll will be live by the time you read this, so go and find it and vote!!  (Here's the link, just in case)

I'm also going to post a list of cards I have on a separate page on the blog, so if someone out there finds something that might be of some use to me, they can send it my way.

I hope you'll have as much fun with this as I'm going to.

thanks for reading, Robert