8.31.11 - Graded Rookie Card Of The Day: George Brett

Now, today's Graded Rookie Card Of The Day is not just a George Brett rookie, it's a card that most collectors have not seen in person, and not all that seen online really.....it's his O-Pee-Chee Rookie Card.

This is a damn hard card to track down, even in "only" PSA 8 quality. As of this typing, there have been 24 that have graded an 8, with only 17 grading higher. Wrap your mind around that for a minute.....

Take Brett's 1975 Topps Rookie Card. There have been 1,767 graded an 8, with 198 grading higher.

So 24 & 17 and 1,767 & 198

quite mind blowing when you also take into account that O-Pee-Chee gets next to no love in this hobby of ours.

1975 O-Pee-Chee Baseball is a direct parallel to it's Topps counterpart. 660 cards in each set. Only difference being that O-Pee-Chee packs have 8 cards and i believe that Topps have 12 (maybe 15) ive never opened a '75 Topps pack, but have opened two O-Pee-Chees. Also, there are no Cello or Rack packs of '75 O-Pee-Chee

8.31.11

Weather: 71, clear skies. muggier then it has been the last two days
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.00+ miles plus target for animal food
Weather During Walk: warmish, sunny, no breeze
Overall Walk Performance: sluggish, and has been the last few days
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: tired
Fasting BG this morning?: 75

8.27.11

Weather: Overcast, Rainy. Hurricanes a-commin!
Did you walk today?: no, rain starting to fall. did go to SAMS and do some shopping
If So, how far?: 
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: eh
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 75

8.26.11

Weather: 78, humid, cloudy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.20 miles
Weather During Walk: humid, not much breeze, sunny
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: ok
How is your diabetes today?: ok
Fasting BG this morning?: 80

8.25.11

Weather: 78, Humid, overcast. Storms' a comin'!
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.20 miles
Weather During Walk: muggy and humid, some breeze though
Overall Walk Performance: average
Current Mood: average
How is your diabetes today?: cold limbs
Fasting BG this morning?: 76

8.23.11

Weather: 71, sunny, cool-ish, no humidity
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: just about a cloudless blue sky
Overall Walk Performance: better then ok
Current Mood: weird
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 82

8.22.11

Weather: 73, clear skies
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.00 miles
Weather During Walk: nice
Overall Walk Performance: sluggish
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?:
Fasting BG this morning?: 76

Have i mentioned that i love George Brett? :)

Won a biggie tonight, more to come....

8.21.11

Weather: 74, cloudy
Did you walk today?: no, did a few hours of yard work
If So, how far?: 
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?:
Fasting BG this morning?: 77

8.20.11

Weather: 74, sunny clear blue skies, low humidity
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.20 miles
Weather During Walk: warm but not bad
Overall Walk Performance: not bad, but not great, sluggish throughout
Current Mood: not in a good mood today
How is your diabetes today?: yea
Fasting BG this morning?: 73

8.19.11

Weather: 74, overcast/light rain. muggy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.20 miles
Weather During Walk: overcast, rain off and on, mostly off
Overall Walk Performance: slow, sluggish
Current Mood: tired, didnt sleep enough
How is your diabetes today?:
Fasting BG this morning?: 77

My 2011 National Experience - a real doozy! :)

My 2011 National Experience

Well, where to begin.  I want to thank everyone that I had the pleasure of meeting. Meeting other people that share the same passion for cardboard that I do is not all that easy to do.  At The National, it's simple!

This was my second National, but I really feel this was my first.  I attended last years in Baltimore, but that was just for one day.  Although that was a great experience, it was just one day, and not nearly enough time to see everything, meet a lot of people, and get the complete experience.

This year I turned 40 and I wanted to do something special for myself.
I wanted to experience The National in all it's glory.  I've read all about Nationals of the past, as I've been into this hobby of ours for a long long time.

So I decided that the 2011 National would be where I would let it all go and just do something that I've never done before, and in all likelihood would never be doing again.

I made a major dent in my Post War Baseball HOF Graded Rookie Card Collection:
(group pics will have to do for now, as ive yet to scan them individually)






Also added to my Hockey RC Collection as well as my Brett Slabs...



Here's the wax that I ripped from Steve...

Two packs of 75 OPC, struck out twice.
Five packs of 78 OPC, nada
Ten packs or so of 79 OPC, landed the Ozzie (mentioned below)
Three boxes of 86 OPC
Two boxes of 87 leaf
One box of 86 leaf

Fun stuff to rip!

I also signed up as a member of PSA. I handed in my 15 card submission on Sunday morning expecting them to mail them to me.  I was pleasantly surprised when they told me that they would most likely be ready later in the afternoon if I happened to still be around.  I told them I had to leave around three, and they said that that shouldn't be a problem.

The 15 cards comprised of eight hockey rookies that I pack pulled myself back in the 80s, one free vintage HOF rc, five cards that I pulled from boxes that I opened while hanging out with friends in the hotel room Friday night, and one HOF rc that I pulled from an OPC pack that Sunday morning.

Here are the results:



Sadly the Ozzie suffered the dreaded "min size requirement". i will be getting a free grading for it, but id rather have a slabbed Ozzie OPC RC

I then spent 13 hours getting home (gotta love that weather they have in Chicago!)

Well, there you have it, my 2011 National Experience.
While I'm sad that it's over, my memories remain...

8.18.11

Weather: 78, pcl, warm, not humid
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: light breeze, sunny
Overall Walk Performance: sluggish, couldnt turn it on
Current Mood: average
How is your diabetes today?: cold limbs
Fasting BG this morning?: 79

8.17.11

Weather: 73, clear blue skies, warm but not too humid, not much breeze
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: good
Overall Walk Performance: sluggish, just couldnt get it going
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: tired
Fasting BG this morning?: 79

8.16.11

Weather: Overcast, drizzle. 68
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: rain stopped and the sun came out but mostly cloudy
Overall Walk Performance: ok
Current Mood: better as its been three days since i last walked
How is your diabetes today?: eh
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

8.14.11

Weather: Rain, rain, and oh yea....RAIN!
Did you walk today?: no, did house cleaning though
If So, how far?: 
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: ok
How is your diabetes today?: ok
Fasting BG this morning?: 80

8.13.11

Weather: 79, overcast, slightly muggy
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: warm-ish
Overall Walk Performance: sluggish
Current Mood: blah
How is your diabetes today?: yes
Fasting BG this morning?: 78

8.12.11

Weather: 75, sunny, blue skies, not humid
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: pleasant
Overall Walk Performance: not bad
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: tired
Fasting BG this morning?: 76
Write something profound: im starting to wonder if i had a bad batch of test strips prior to this new batch

8.11.11

Weather: 74, clear skies, nice out, not too warm
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: clear blue skies
Overall Walk Performance: good
Current Mood: better today
How is your diabetes today?: yes
Fasting BG this morning?: 82

8.10.11

Weather: 80, warm/hot clear blue skies
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 3.25 miles
Weather During Walk: warm, not much breeze
Overall Walk Performance: ok. gotta get back into it now
Current Mood: getting back to the usual
How is your diabetes today?: shitty
Fasting BG this morning?: 95

8.9.11

Weather: 81, PCL/Sunny, some humidity
Did you walk today?: yes
If So, how far?: 2.0 miles
Weather During Walk: hot
Overall Walk Performance: ok. getting back into it after vacation
Current Mood: tired
How is your diabetes today?: better then yesterday
Fasting BG this morning?: 94

8.1.11

Weather: 81, sunny/PCL
Did you walk today?: No. Took the day off with my vacation starting up, going to be away all week. Not going to be walking for walkings sake, but i'll be walking around at the show and the like.
If So, how far?: 
Weather During Walk: 
Overall Walk Performance: 
Current Mood: excited for my trip
How is your diabetes today?: ok, decent number below
Fasting BG this morning?: 84
Write something profound: F July 2011