i wasn't prepared for sandy

no, i'm not on the east coast where hurricane sandy is bearing down (i hope everybody is doing ok).  the title of this post refers to what i saw at last weekend's card show.  so, to kill the suspense, i might as well lead off with my big pick up from the show - a 1955 topps sandy koufax card

i don't think i ever really considered owning this card before saturday.  i mentioned last week that i had completed the topps dodger team sets for the 1960's, but what i didn't say is that i had a fairly loose thought that my topps dodger team set collecting would eventually be complete only back to 1956, due in large part to this card.  now i have to reconsider things.  i had set my budget before heading out, but seeing sandy in the bargain bin (although it was the higher end dealer's bargain bin) made me throw my financial planning out the window.  at $85, sandy was $5 over what i had given myself to spend at the whole show.  still, i wound up only about $45 over my budget for the show, which isn't too bad when you consider the fact that i was able to get quite a few other vintage cards, too.

i picked up a few 1956 topps cards that i needed - don bessent

and carl erskine among them.

i also grabbed a billy loes

which was a slight upgrade for me, as well as an ed roebuck

that i thought i owned but actually didn't.  the '56's were $4 each, or 3 for $10.  i bought five, with the other two being double play cards.  that is, the secondary photo features the turn at second base.  heeeeeeeere's johnny

logan, that is.  looks like johnny is having a hard time getting the ball out of his glove to complete the double play.  credit the guy sliding in.

then there is this frank thomas

featuring thomas sliding in, trying to break up two.  i would bet dollars to donuts (what does that even mean?) that the fielder avoiding the slide is the dodgers' own jim gilliam.

quick - who was the last dodger to lead the league in batting average?  that's right, it was tommy davis, seen here on his 1964 topps stand ups card

complete with vintage scotch tape on the edges.  two bucks for tommy.  eddie murray should have won the batting title in 1990, but willie mcgee was traded to the american league just in time.

here's a 1994 upper deck fun packs mike piazza card

that i pulled from the 6/$1 bin.  it's heat activated, apparently, with a cartoon play at the plate scene that becomes visible when you apply heat.  yes, 18 cents is about right for that kind of nonsense.

here's another card i pulled from the 6/$1 bin, a 1994 ted williams rusty staub card

i probably won't wind up keeping the card, but it is really nice.  the expos' wool baby blues really pop on this card.  if only it were a manny mota or maury wills card from their time with the expansion expos.

the last card i'll show goes toward my 1974 topps set.  it's willie mccovey's washington nat'l league variation

it cost me $4, i believe.  not too shabby, considering mccovey's regular san diego card will probably cost me more when i am able to track one down.

i was a bit surprised that there weren't more dealers at this show.  this one is held quarterly as opposed to the monthly show in bloomington.  i was hoping it would pull in more of the dealers who work the big annual show in march/april, but there was only one guy there who i didn't recognize from the monthly shows.  he had some pretty good cheap common boxes (i picked up a few other '74 topps cards for my set at twenty cents a pop), but was going by the book for his star cards.  i think i will pick up a winfield rookie for under $20 online, rather than pay him the $35 he wanted.

or maybe i'll find one at a reasonable price at the monthly show this coming weekend, if i decide to go.  if i do go, i'll have a reduced budget thanks to sandy.  unless duke or jackie happen to show up.  then, all bets are off.