Pants Party deux deux deux

Where and When:
The Greater Reading Expo Center, 2525 N. 12th St., Reading, PA
Saturday, March 1
Admission: $7 (free parking!)

More info: phillyshow.org
RSVP: chris.harris@stalegum.com

White Plains: BE THERE!!!!!

FOLKSSSSSSS!!!! YOU'RE GONNA WANNA GET IN ON THISSSSS!!!!!

In fact, JUST START DIALING, NOWWWWWW!!!!!

ARE YOU READY FOR THISSS?????

ITEM NUMBER 72X-425: ITS A CHANCE TO ATTEND A MAJOR CARD SHOW WITH THAT IDIOT WHO WRITES STALE GUM!!!!!

KENNY, TELL THEM WHAT THEY'RE GONNA GET!!!!!

---

Where and When:

The Westchester County Center; Westchester, NY
Saturday Nov 29. from Noon until ??? (depends on traffic)
Admission: $7 PUT IT ON STRETCH PAY!!!!!

175 TABLES!!!!!

A ONE, HUNDRED, SEVENTY, FIVE, TABLE, SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

Auto guests: GEORGE FOSTER!!!! JIM RICE!!!!

KENNY, THISSSS ISSS CRAZY!!!!

(VERIFING ON ANOTHER!)

JSA will be on-site to authenticate (literally) anything!!!

Free packs to kids under 12!!!

---

FOLKSSSS. I KNOW THIS IS NUTSSSS!!! WE KNOW THE PHONES ARE BUSY, BUT JUST KEEP DIALING!!!!!!

For more information on the show, and autograph guests go to JP's Sports & Rock Solid Promotions' website.

RSVP: chris.harris@stalegum.com

GET.
IN.
ON.
THIS.
NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I Observed (and got) at the "New York Ass Slap*," a.k.a. The White Plains Show: 1/19/08

I was supposed to hook-up with Ben Henry, but he forgot my cell phone number, and I forgot to ask for his. The great clash of the cardblogosphere titans will have to wait until the next pay-per-view, errr..., White Plains show.

Just as well. My adopted EPL side Fulham was playing Arsenal that morning on Fox Soccer. Couple that with the fustercluck that is the Cross-Bronx Expressway, and I didn't get to WHP until 2:30.

(Memo to self: Next time take the Tappan Zee. I don't care if driving 60MPH on the Bronx River Parkway is the most fun you can have with your pants on, TAKE THE TZ INSTEAD!)

By the time I finally arrived, most of the scheduled autograph guests had left. The only one left signing was former Gnats Giants and Eagles punter Sean Landeta. (Damn, I knew I should have brought that football.) Unfortunately, this being the "New York Ass Slap*," the only photos of Landeta available for sale were of him in Gnats Giants gear. I gave my free Sean Landeta autograph coupon to some guy who looked like Carl from the Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

Seriously, this guy looked EXACTLY like Carl. The only thing missing was the Foreigner Belt and the green flip-flops.


Anyway, here's what I got.

$55 in assorted inserts (mostly 2004-present).

Aww yeah, it's that time.

You know it's that time.

It's time for... $55 worth of inserts.

Aww yeah.


I had the $55,

I had to have the inserts.

Aww yeah.


Now, I could have bought $20 worth of inserts.

And that would have been, a LOT of inserts.

But I had to go all the way, baby!

With $55 worth of inserts.

Aww yeah.


Now I know what you're thinking; Chris, how exactly did you get $55 worth of inserts?

SHHHH!!!!

Don't worry your pretty little head off.

It ain't none of your concern.

Aww yeah.

$55 for a box of 2007 Topps Heritage

Believe it on not, but this is the first box of 2007 Topps Heritage I've purchased. I guess I've just become bored (or is it jaded?) with the whole "Heritage" concept. But I wanted something to rip, and this was the only wax available that interested me. It was either this, or a jumbo box of '93 Upper Deck.

The first pack should be posted to APAD by the time you read this, and a full review will be posted here shortly.

$40 in 2007 Ultra retail singles

Right as I was about to leave, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a dealer selling singles of Ultra retail.

A Hobby dealer who busts mass-quantities of retail? Yes folks, there is a God.

After I picked through the short-set singles, I asked the dealer if she had any of the short-printed rookies and Lucky 13s? To which she said (with a wink-and-a-smile),

"You must be one of them."

To which I replied,

"You mean, an actual collector."

We both got a kick out of that.

I'm now three cards short of completing the Ultra retail base set -- all of them from the short-set.

Total Spent on Cards: $150
Admission and Parking: $11
Tolls: $9.90
Grand Total: $170.90

* Thanks to A Pack A Day contributor Scott for coining the term "New York Ass Slap."

What I Got (and Observed) at the Philly/Reading Show: 10/13/07

Site: Greater Reading Expo Center; Reading, PA

After taking a practice GRE exam in the morning, I arrived in Reading around Noon. Stale Gum reader Scott, a teacher at a Philadelphia-area Catholic school, was the sole person to RSVP, and he didn't arrive until around 1:30PM.

Some observations:

• Although I miss the old Ft. Washington Expo Center, I'm beginning to warm to the new place in Reading. Yeah, it is 55-miles from Center City, but the Greater Reading Expo Center has one trump card over the old Ft. Washington Expo Center AND the Westchester County Center: they've got a liquor license. This may be the only card show in America where you can buy a beer. Awesome.
• We may have witnessed the last three unopened packs of 2001 Bowman Chrome Baseball left on the planet. I was tempted to plunk down $75 for the packs, and post the results to A Pack A Day, but thought the wiser. Besides, knowing my luck I would have pulled the Albert Pujols redemption.
• I think I also found the last two unopened waxboxes of 1994 Sportflix Rookie/Traded left on the planet. They were both in a locked display case, and didn't have a price listed -- didn't ask either.
• Judging by the amount of used baseball books for sale, I've come to the conclusion that every member of the '77 Yankees had their "autobiography" ghostwritten by Peter Golenbock.
• I was unable to find my latest "white whale," a 1994 Upper Deck Next Generation Alex Rodriguez insert. I great card from an under appreciated set.
• I had no idea that Frank Howard, the show's autograph guest, once played in Japan. Yep. The "Capital Punisher" played one game for the Seibu Lions, struck out, blew out his back, and never played again.
• The Fleer Ultra SE experiment has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster. 5-pack boxes were selling in the $44-$50 range -- well below the $100/box MSRP. Allen & Ginter is still hanging in there at just under $100/box.
• Question: Which waxbox do you think costs more? 1987 Donruss, or 2007 Bowman? The correct answer is 1987 Donruss at $30. Would you believe that the current year's Bowman is now going for less than $30/box? I guess all the autographs and Chrome cards weren’t such a great idea?
• I'm a total sucker for junkwax, and the table that had the $29 Bowman waxboxes also had some other primo junk. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of anything I was interested in. Examples:
• '93 Stadium Club series two: $8
• '93 Fleer series one Jumbos: $10 (If only I could go back in time and NOT buy that '93 Fleer jumbo box.)
• '94 Leaf series two Jumbos: $12
• '94 Pinnacle series two Hobby: $15
• '97 Pinnacle Hobby: $19
• '97 Score series one Retail: $12

As for what I bought:

One retail waxbox of Upper Deck Goudey. (Paid $50)

If you're still in the market for Goudey, avoid Hobby wax like the plague! Retail is where it's at. The only difference between Hobby and Retail is 1) the Sport King chiptopper, 2) one autograph, and 3) about $35-$40.

(Since I've already posted a Blaster break, and my product review on APAD, I won't be posting the results of this box here.)

A stack of '90s inserts. (Paid $129)

1994 Leaf Gamers Barry Bonds ($5)
1995 Leaf Statistical Standouts Ken Griffey, Jr. ($8)
1995 Leaf Heading for the Hall Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
1995 Leaf Gold Leaf Stars Barry Bonds ($8)
1996 Donruss Hit Parade Ken Griffey, Jr. ($3)
1996 Donruss Long Ball Leaders Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
1996 Donruss Round Trippers Ken Griffey, Jr. ($5)
1996 Donruss Freeze Frame Ken Griffey, Jr. ($5)
1996 Leaf Limited Pennant Craze Ken Griffey, Jr. ($8)
1996 Leaf Preferred Steel Power Ken Griffey, Jr. ($5)
1996 Summit Positions Edmonds/Griffey, Jr./Damon ($8)
1997 Donruss Armed and Dangerous Barry Bonds ($5)
1997 Donruss Franchise Features Ken Griffey, Jr./Andruw Jones ($5)
1997 Donruss Power Alley Ken Griffey, Jr. ($8)
1997 Donruss Limited Fabric of the Game Ken Griffey, Jr. ($10)
1997 Leaf Preferred Staremaster Ken Griffey, Jr. ($4)
1997 SP SPx Force Jones/Guerrero/Walker/Rolen ($4)
1997 Ultra Fielder's Choice Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)
1998 Studio Masterstrokes Mark McGwire ($6)
2001 Donruss Longball Leaders Barry Bonds ($6)
2001 Donruss "1999" Diamond Kings Ken Griffey, Jr. ($6)

I've rediscovered the joys of collecting 1990s inserts. Most of the current wave of insert cards aren't really worth collecting, and you just don't find these cards everyday. Give me 1995 Leaf Statistical Standouts over Generation Now any day.

Speaking of the Leaf Stat Standouts, whatever happened to "Material" cards anyway? You know, those cards that had the look and feel of leather, wood, polyester, etc., but weren't actually made of game used material? They were all the rage about a dozen years ago, but by the turn of the Century, the concept fizzled out. I guess having actual pieces of wood and polyester mounted onto a trading card (the gamer) killed that idea off, but I wouldn't mind them being brought back.

As part of my quest to build a master set of the Worst Baseball Card Set of All Time, I also picked up another two 2001 Donruss inserts.

Another reason why I've rediscovered the 1990s insert is price. You can now have these cards for a fraction of what they were going for just a few years ago. This particular dealer had a boatload of Ken Griffey, Jr. and Barry Bonds inserts for 80%-off Beckett HI. I don't know why those particular players, but I could have easily bought another $100 worth of cards from this guy. Unfortunately, I just got my car insurance bill. (DAMN YOU GEICO! DAMN YOU AND YOUR CAVEMEN TO HELL!)

Total Spent on Cards: $179
Admission: $6
Tolls: $3
Hot Dog, French Fries, and a Beer: $10
Grand Total: $198

Baseball Card "Pants Party" II

With the first Pants Party being such a success (thank you to Paul Browning for being the only person to bother to show up), it's on again: The second ever Stale Gum Baseball Card Pants Party.

Where and When:
The Greater Reading Expo Center, 2525 N. 12th St., Reading, PA (Google maps for directions)
Saturday, October 13
Admission: $7 (free parking!)

More info: phillyshow.org
RSVP: chris.harris@stalegum.com

What can be more fun than Reading, Pennsylvania in October?

UPDATE: The White Plains Baseball Card "Pants Party"

LAST MINUTE CHANGE OF PLANS!

The White Plains Pants Party will be on Sunday (Aug. 19).

Come meet Stale Gum's Chris Harris, Ben Henry of the Baseball Card Blog, and a slew of other card bloggers and collectors at the first ever "Baseball Card Pants Party," this Saturday in White Plains, New York!

Where and When:

The Westchester County Center (google maps for directions)
Saturday Sunday from Noon until ??? (depends on traffic)
Admission: $7 (kids under 12 free!)

Over 350 tables, and a crapload of autograph guests! Oh, what fun we'll have!

For more information on the show, and autograph guests go to JP's Sports & Rock Solid Promotions' website.

RSVP: chris.harris@stalegum.com