I'm Shocked and Amazed at this eBay Sale of a Couple of Vintage Dodger Posters

Fancy that!

Just when I was hoping that other collectors would ignore these auctions, I get surprised.  I figured the tattered condition of these posters would deter collectors.  Clearly, I was wrong.

You see, I've seen this 23" x 34" posters before, but they always had astronomical prices attached to them - like in the thousands.  Frankly, I thought they were "wish" numbers.  Ya know, since they were fairly scarce memorabilia items dealers would put in a huge price in hopes of finding a desperate collector.

Well, I guess you can say that I totally misjudged the market for these items.

(auction link)

Featured here are a couple of 1958 Bell Brand Dodgers Advertising Posters that recently sold on eBay.

During the teams first year in LA, Bell Brand potato chips were the very first local retailer to jump on the advertising train.  They produced special cards that were inserted into bags of their chips in 1958, 1960, 1961 and 1962.  These cards are very popular with vintage Dodger collectors, and the 1958 versions are rather scarce.

I personally only have one 1958 Dodgers Bell Brand card, and it's a Roy Campanella card graded at a PSA6.  I had purchased it a decade ago at a value that would be considered a steal today.

Well, these posters recently closed on eBay this past weekend, and I dutifully watched the closing seconds in hopes of taking them home.  I was sorely disappointed.

These posters have large sized versions of their 1958 Dodger cards on both sides.  The poster with Don Drysdale (shown above) and Jim Gilliam (directly below) sold at $329.08.  As you can see, it is in extremely poor condition.  It looks like a rat got to it at one time.

(auction link)

The second poster featured Gil Hodges on one side and Pee Wee Reese on the other.  See it below.  It sold at a more affordable $166.50.  Still, it was well beyond what I was willing to pay.

(auction link)

(auction link)

I guess I'll just have to accept the reality that I'll never own one of these.  Unless, of course, a winning lotto tickets finds it's way into my hands.

For now, though, I'll have to enjoy them from afar.

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Don't Hate Me for Buying an Autographed Dodgers Card of Jason Schmidt

I know that for many, if not most, Dodger fans the name Jason Schmidt is one we'd rather forget.  He was a huge bust for us, and an expensive one at that. 

After the 2006 season, we signed Schmidt to a 3-year, $47 million free agent contract.  As you surely know, he ended up pitching only a total of 10 games over that 3-year span; going 3-6 with a 6.02 ERA.  Arm problems that cropped up early in the 2007 season was the poison that lead to his downfall.

As a Dodger fan, I have a mission to acquire an autographed card of every player to ever put on a Dodger uniform.  This is a long and arduous task that requires that I even get a card of this guy.  So, please don't be mad at me.

Featured here is a 2007 Topps Trading Places autographed card of Jason Schmidt.  Unfortunately, it also happens to show him in Giants Halloween orange; which would normally be a hanging offense around these parts.  But, what is a collector to do?  I don't run into signed cards of his very often, and it was cheap (like $6.00 delivered cheap).

At least I'll never have to get another one for my collection.

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2013 Panini America's Pastime Baseball - the Dodgers Game-Used Relic Cards

Following up on a couple of post from last week, I now share with you the Dodgers' game-used relic cards that can be found in Panini's 2013 America's Pastime Baseball card set. Photos of the autographed Dodgers cards will be up tomorrow.

Combo Swatches

#5 Yasiel Puig

 

Future Fabrics

#3 Yasiel Puig

Silhouettes Jumbo Patch

#28 Matt Kemp

Jumbo Swatches

#15 Leo Durocher                           #17 Fernando Valenzuela

#29 Mike Piazza

Past Present & Future

#PF-3 Spahn, Kershaw & Bumgarner       #PF-7  Robinson, Cano & Pedroia

#PF-8 Duke Snider, Kemp & Puig

Trading Swatches

#20 Mike Piazza

There are only 2 Yasiel Puig 'Bat Knobs' cards, and neither appear to have been found yet.  The Puig Knob card below was a preview image Panini provided several months ago.

Puig Bat Knobs

Yasiel Puig

Front Row Fabrics Booklet

#10 Gil Hodges & Roy Campanella

There are a couple of Pee Wee Reese Documented Fabric & Lumber Booklet cards, but neither appear to have been found yet.  So, I do not yet have photos available to share.  Furthermore, there is a Super Star Scripts Booklet card (I assume this is a dual autographed card) of Tommy Lasorda and Tony La Russa (#18).  Again, this card has yet to surface.

Dual Exhibits Booklet

#3-ROY Yasiel Puig & Bryce Harper

#16-LAD Fernando Valenzuela & Tommy Lasorda

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Blog Kiosk: 1/20/2014 - Dodgers Links - Joe Ferguson, MLK Day and You Should Expect Perfect Weather for Outdoor Hockey on Saturday

This past Saturday was the 11th annual “In the Spirit of the Game” fundraiser for the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation.  Check out a pic of Hank Aaron and Tommy Lasorda from that event, photo via Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers.  Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider has some details about it, here.

• A new Dodger blog called Dodgers Digest is now live.  Go here to check it out.
• Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider shares his, "Dodger tickets through the years".
• Via Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA, "Meet new Loons manager Bill Haselman".
• Via Matt Snyder at CBS Sports, "VIDEO: Joe Ferguson with perhaps the best World Series throw ever".  He had quite a rifle!
• Current Colorado Major Leaguer Michael Cuddyer has taken some incredible photos of Dodger Stadium.  He shares many of them on his Flickr account, here.  You gotta check them out.  Photography might be his second calling; after he decides to hang them up. (Hat Tip: Reddit: phuckduck)
• Lyle Spencer at MLB.com, "King's enduring messages delivered at Academy (in Compton)".

"I'm trying to teach these kids how to handle adversity and deal with any situation in life," said Landreaux, a World Series champion in 1981 with his hometown Dodgers. "Through baseball and the importance of learning the fundamentals, they can learn the discipline to become educated, to be good, productive citizens. That's what we're striving for here."

• Evan Bladh at Opinion of Kingman's Performance writes about, "Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King Jr." and how interconnected they really were.
• Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA writes about the Cape Code League in Alaska.
• Jon Rosen at Kings Insider updates us on the outdoor ice rink at Dodger Stadium.  Don't fret folks.  The temperature for game time is expected to be perfect for game play. Pic below via Jon Rosen.

 Though we can’t say the same about another arctic blast of air that is about to descend upon the northern United States, the temperatures for Saturday’s Stadium Series game should be ideal. Next Saturday’s high is currently targeted at 79 degrees Fahrenheit, with a low of 47. Those temperatures would nearly replicate today’s weather. The high at Dodger Stadium today was 80 degrees, with an expected low of 47.

Though the game is scheduled for 6:30, the pomp and circumstance surrounding the event will delay the puck drop to 7:15. By that time, the outside air should cool to roughly 61 or 62 degrees, as determined through today’s hourly weather forecast. It is 65 degrees inside Staples Center during Kings games, a temperature that drops closer to the ice.

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