Free Cards Question #10

Congrats to Paul for knowing that 1997 was the year that Albert Belle went to the All-Star Game as a member of the White Sox!

Let's stick with the All-Star theme here for the next question. Bobby Jenks has been to more than on All-Star Game in his short career. The 2005 World Series catapulted Bobby into stardom. He has pretty much kept close to that level since then. Bobby has been the most consistent reliever in the bullpen.

Question #10

What year saw Bobby Jenks as the lone All-Star representative for the White Sox?

Good luck!

Free Cards Question #9

Congrats to Andy, who knew that Steve "Psycho" Lyons mooned the crowd at Tiger Stadium in 1990!

I'm ashamed that I actually watched that game on television when it happened. If anyone has a photo of that, please send it to me. If anyone has video... please put it on YouTube!!

We go from moonings to moonshots. Albert Belle has a history with the White Sox. When he was with the Indians, he was involved in Batgate. When he was a player with the Sox, he set the single season club record for home runs with 49.

Albert even made an All-Star appearance with the White Sox. It would be the last All-Star Game of his career, even though he did not play.

Question #9

What year did Albert Belle go to the All-Star Game as a White Sox player?

Good luck!

Free Cards Question #8

Congrats to night owl, who knew that the White Sox came thisclose to moving to Florida in 1988!

Florida would have been a nice change of pace for the White Sox, but it wouldn't have been the same. Although I'm sure that in Florida, night games can be enjoyed all year long. In Chicago, April and September night games can be tricky. They can feel more like football weather.

I'd still rather see the White Sox play their home games in Chicago more than any other venue. In a pinch, the White Sox also have Wrigley Field as an option. Although the Sox have played home games in Milwaukee before. I'm sure that St. Louis and Detroit could be used in an emergency too.

Speaking of Detroit, there was a memorable event in Tiger Stadium featuring a moon and the White Sox.

Question #8

What year did Steve Lyons absentmindedly moon the crowd at first base in Detroit?

Good luck!

Free Cards Question #7

Congrats to Bailey, who knew that Robin Ventura led the White Sox in at-bats in 1996!

Robin Ventura and company may have been playing in Florida by then!

The White Sox have been rumored to move to Seattle, Milwaukee and even Denver in their long history. Most of it was just a show for more funding for a new stadium, but there were a few close calls. The closest invloved a possible move to Florida, which has come up a few times in the past.

Question #7

What year saw the White Sox closest to moving to Florida for real?

It got to the point that Floridians were purchasing "Florida White Sox" novelty shirts. Good luck!

Mailbox Joys: An Egbert Auto

2008 Donruss Threads #112 Jack Egbert (auto) 049/999

This was certainly a surprise when I saw it on eBay. Jack may get a chance to crack the rotation this year or the next. From what I've heard, his stock has gone down slightly within the organization. I also hear that the Sox are still high on Egbert to deliver soon to the parent club.

I hope that turns out to be true. Jack has been on my radar for a few years. I'm hoping that this Sox prospect turns out to be as good as the draft picks from the late eighties were for the team.

Jack has a natural sink/run to his pitches. He tends to get a lot of ground balls, which bodes well for the future of his White Sox career.

I picked up this card from eBay for under $2.00. I'm hoping that this will become the steal of a lifetime, but even if that scenario doesn't pan out, I'm very happy with my low cost purchase.

Free Cards Question #6

Congrats to motherscratcher for knowing that Frank Thomas won his first Major League MVP trophy in 1993!

Frank Thomas had many nicknames over his tenure with the White Sox. Some good, some not so good. One that was used for only a few years was Batman.

What is Batman without Robin? I think that would be Michael Keaton, but don't quote me on that.

Question six has to do with Robin Ventura.

Question #6

Which year did Robin Ventura lead the White Sox with 586 at-bats?

Good luck!

Free Cards Question #5

Congrats to J.C.F. for knowing and commenting that Don Wakamatsu's only season of playing Major League baseball was in 1991!

J.C.F. has graciously donated his winning to be randomly distributed to the other winners of the contest. He originally wanted them to be sent to a Braves fan north of the border, so this is Bobble Mike's and Paul's lucky day. It could be yours too! These cards get randomly distributed to EVERYONE that wins!!

See, even Frank likes it. And Frank doesn't smile unless he really likes something.

Hey, what do you know? Question five is about Frank Thomas. Not the player who was on the Cubs a few decades ago. The Big Hurt!

Question #5

What year did Frank Thomas win his first Major League MVP trophy?

Good luck! This one should be super easy! Let's get another year of White Sox cards won!

Free Cards Question #4

Congrats again to Bobble Mike for looking up the year 2006 on baseball-reference.com! It's just that easy!

For 18 games, one of my favorite backup catchers graced the only Major League uniform he would ever wear as a player with the White Sox. Now, he is the new manager of the Seattle Mariners. I wish him all the best, unless he faces the White Sox.

During his brief season in the majors, he was Charlie Hough's personal catcher.

Question #4

What year did Don Wakamatsu play Major League baseball?

Good luck everyone!

Free Cards Question #3

Congrats to Paul for the previous question's answer. You have successfully snagged 1999!

Can any other brainiacs answer the remaining questions, or should Bobble Mike and Paul (that sure sounds like an alternative band name to me) snag the other years between them? 16 more years are up for grabs by anyone who answers correctly!

That's a nice Jim Thome autographed card. Too bad I don't own it. Too bad I don't have it to give either. I went searching on Google Images and ran across it. Pretty snazzy, huh? Someday, one just like it will be mine. Just not now.

The third question has to do with Jim Thome.

Question #3

What year did Jim Thome have season totals reaching 107, 108 and 109?

Good luck!

Free Cards Question #2

Congrats to Bobble Mike for getting the previous question correct!

Ken "Hawk" Harrelson's horrible season as GM took place in 1986.

Question #2

What year did John Cangelosi attend his last Spring Training with the Chicago White Sox as a player?

Good luck!

Free White Sox Cards!!

I am having a contest for free White Sox cards with cards generously donated by Mark from Stats On The Back.

You don't need to keep ducking Johnny the paperboy for two dollars. It costs you absolutely nothing!! Just a little smarts. OK, you don't even have to be that smart. You just need to be able to look stuff up on Google, or whatever search engine you use.

I received a good size box full of White Sox goodies on Friday. I sorted the box, took out my handling charge (cards that I didn't already have) and the rest go to you. I am left with eighteen different years represented. So, I will ask eighteen different questions centered around something White Sox. Be the first to guess the correct year in the comments section and you are the winner.

Everyone is open to try for every question. One person may get all eighteen questions, eighteen different people might win, or any combination in between. I want these cards to go to people who will really appreciate them. You could be a fan of the White Sox or just a collector of that year. Maybe you know a White Sox fan who would appreciate these cards for Christmas. As long as they are going to a good home, feel free to guess!

One rule. I do not want any of these cards back in a trade. This means that anyone who wins cards, cannot send any of these back to me for cards that they need. Pretty much anything else goes. Have fun. Some questions might be challenging, some may be easy. Give these cards to a good, loving home.

How many cards will you get? It depends on the year. Some years have only one card. Some have much more than that. I may get creative and throw in some bonus cards too.

Questions will be thrown out sporadically. There may be one in a day. There may be more.

Question #1
What year did Ken Harrelson's ill-fated tenure as GM take place?

Good luck!

Card Spotlight: 11-28-08

2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers #598 - Brian Anderson

I finally got out and found a Heritage High Numbers blaster at Target. I really resent the two U+H cards that are stuck in the package. If they "had" to stick those in there to get around the limited number of sets, they could have at least limited it to one U+H card per pack.

I pulled a Brian Anderson in my first pack. Then I proceeded to go Soxless the other seven packs. I did manage to find a pack with only seven cards. That was also annoying. There was not a single chromed card to be found. That's fine with me. I wanted to jump start this set anyway and extra cards just gum up the works.

I did get three short prints, six black backs, one Then & Now, one Rookie Performers and one 2008 Flashbacks card. Not too bad. No chrome. No autos. No relics. I suppose I could have done worse. At least I didn't get any doubles, which is always a good thing. Topps didn't short me on the U+H cards. I got all sixteen of those. Ugh.

Is it my imagination or does Brian Anderson have elf ears on this card? The Heritage cards make some players look downright odd. In the regular edition, Jim Thome looked like a cross between Mr. Incredible (good) and Chunk from the Goonies (bad). At least I don't suffer from the brick wall curse that the Mariners seem to be ailing from.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

Well, I'm just back from the Dreams concert. They rocked! As usual.

While I'm in the musical mood, I thought I'd leave you with a Thanksgiving song for the holiday.

Enjoy!

Upkeep

Most of the blog updates will be behind the scenes this week. I'll be around, but probably not posting very much around the holiday. I am also sick again. I really hate this season for the way it messes with my sinuses.

I'm going to try to muster up enough energy to add to the want lists. I've already started by adding 2008 Upper Deck Timelines and 2008 Topps Heritage High Numbers to the list. As always, the cards I get in the mail are always deleted the first chance I get.

If cards come in the mail today, I will be posting something about them. Other than that, there might be a short posting break. Of course, if I start to feel better, you know I'll be blogging about something.

In the meantime, I will be pouring through my boxes and pulling cards for trades that are being discussed through e-mail. Quite a few have come through lately. Maybe it's residual from recently joining Have/Want.

If there isn't a post before Thursday, have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Rocking Trade With The Easy Life

It's funny. This trade with Stephen of The Easy Life started out as a trade of 2008 Topps Heritage and morphed into something I never would have imagined. A card trade involving a mix CD and one Topps Heritage card.

If that sounds confusing, it's not. I'll explain everything. In due time.

I had feelers out to trade 2008 Topps Heritage. I've been trying to complete this pesky set. My goal of having it completed before the high numbers series came out fell short by seventy-something cards. Not bad, but not great either. I know a lot of other bloggers are trying to complete this set as well. I figured I can unload a bunch of doubles and I could get a few cards in return.

It worked out that way in the end, but it had a funny detour. I only received one 2008 Topps Heritage card, but it was one that I needed, so I'm thrilled! I also received a bunch of White Sox cards. Most of them I had, but looks can be deceiving. There were tricky parallels waiting in the weeds.

Here's what came in the package.

2004 Pro Sigs
17 - Frank Thomas

2006 Bowman Heritage
64 - Bobby Jenks
76 - A.J. Pierzynski
121 - Joe Crede
181 - Jon Garland
BHP75 - Kyle McCulloch

2006 Fleer Tradition
193 - Brian Anderson

2006 Topps Opening Day
13 - Tadahito Iguchi
103 - Jose Contreras

2007 Artifacts
85 - Jerry Owens
97 - Ryan Sweeney

2007 Fleer
265 - A.J. Pierzynski
375 - Jermaine Dye CL

2007 Ultra SE
33 - A.J. Pierzynski
35 - Paul Konerko

2007 Ultra Gold
38 - Mark Buehrle 916/999

2007 Upper Deck
81 - Tadahito Iguchi

2007 UD Masterpieces
39 - Frank Thomas

2008 Baseball Heroes Black
43 - Jermaine Dye

2008 Topps Gold
420 - Nick Swisher 0804/2008

2008 Topps Heritage
265 - Aaron Rowand

2008 Upper Deck Gold
458 - Josh Fields 26/99

2008 Upper Deck Starquest Un-Common
SQ-54 - Paul Konerko

2008 Yankee Stadium Legacy
687, 2539, 2581, 3758, 3918

As you can see, there were some tricky gold parallels that snuck in. I also have five more YSL cards to add to the White Sox game collection. The Sox lost three, won one and tied one. There were some real gems in there!

I also found this in the package.
It was an index card that was on top of a CD.

I had a rocking soundtrack to sort cards to! There was a mystery to solve though. Only 19 of the 21 tracks had artists listed. The other two had question marks in place of the artist name. Plus, there wasn't anything identifying the song title. I love a challenge!

Here is the listing of songs and artists after I was able to identify everything.

1. Eat The Rich - Aerosmith
2. Dam That River - Alice In Chains
3. Armageddon - Alkaline Trio
4. Long Live The Party - Andrew WK
5. The Ghost Of St. Valentine - Bayside
6. Inspire - Cave In
7. Tubthumping - Chumbawamba
8. Epic - Faith No More
9. I'll Stick Around - Foo Fighters
10. What A Life - Juliana Hatfield
11. Pizza Cutter - Letters To Cleo
12. Be A Man - Randy "Macho Man" Savage
13. Sad Tomorrow - Muffs
14. Gave Up - Nine Inch Nails
15. Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm - Crash Test Dummies
16. Spin The Black Circle - Pearl Jam
17. Don't Stop Me Now - Queen
18. Nine More Gallons - Rick Moranis
19. Timorous Me - Ted Leo
20. Never Say Never - that dog.
21. Number One Blind - Veruca Salt

Some of those songs I have heard. Some I've been meaning to listen to. Some completely escaped me for some reason. Most were songs right out of my iPod. This certainly entertained me for the evening!

I've been meaning to check out Rick Moranis' album, but I never got around to it. Now, I can say that I've heard one song... and it's good! The Macho Man song is just plain bad in an awesome way! I'm a huge fan of celebrities insisting that they can sing (or rap in this case!!) and releasing it to the public. It results in one of the biggest smiles that can ever appear on my face.

Thank you, Stephen! Great cards and great tunes. I will be working on a CD to send you. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Trading With Project '62

When Chris from Project '62 called for Scott Radinsky cards, I heeded the call with 16 different cards. 15 of those cards, he still needed. I sent those Radinsky cards and was expecting a handful of cards back.
Since we both live in Illinois, the trade was completed very quickly. We actually got our packages on the same day, which is rare. Usually someone's post office is lagging behind a little.

With lightning quick service, we both get to enjoy the fruits of our labors somewhat faster. I believe the actual hashing out process took longer than the actual delivery. That's not that unusual, but this still takes the cake.

What did I get for 15 Scott Radinsky cards?

1985 Topps
1 - Carlton Fisk RB
221 - Ron Reed
338 - Britt Burns
351 - Juan Agosto
364 - Richard Dotson
413 - Vance Law
437 - Al Jones

1986 Sportflics
7 - Harold Baines

1991 Cracker Jack
36 - Alex Fernandez (plus three others in an uncut sheet the size of a standard card)

1992 Stadium Club
52 - Jack McDowell

2008 Baseball Heroes Black
32 - Carlton Fisk

2008 SP Authentic
61 - Nick (Yankee-bound) Swisher
73 - Jim Thome

2008 Topps Series 2 Relics
HR-JT - Jim ThomeChris was worried about this trade being lopsided. I think it just tipped in the other direction. The parts of these Sox cards seem to be greater than the Radinsky cards that were sent across Illinois.

Thank you, Chris! This was an awesome trade! I hope we can trade again in the near future.

An Extra "Card" From Billy

Today, I received three packages in the mail. This one is the quickest to post, so I'll start with this one. I have a tree to plant this afternoon, so I'm not sure how long that will take with temperatures dipping.

This package came in the form of a white envelope from Billy at West Virginia Cards. It contained a hand written note and a "card" placed inside the note. I was unsure of what to make of the folded piece of paper staring back at me. I decided to open it up.

Eureka! It was a 2002 Donruss Super Estrellas insert of Frank Thomas! I guess that the inserts were mini posters that year.

Thank you, Billy! I now have a very interesting Frank Thomas "card" to add to the collection. I am working on a package to send back consisting of players born in West Virginia. It is a long, gruelling process, but I'm sure that it will be worth it once the package arrives safely in your hands.

Birthdays And Such

Sorry that I didn't post anything on the weekend. Real life intruded. While some people were immersing themselves in the blog bat around and some people were waiting on pins and needles for the new Guns N' Roses album to drop and even one person was truly enjoying the package they received from me, I spent the weekend at Tracey's house.

When I do that, I can read other people's blogs and I can comment. I'm just not fully functional in the posting department. I don't have access to the vast resources that only my PC can provide. I'm stuck improvising on images and information. So, I usually don't end up posting too much when I'm over there. I can only set up so much before I go and most of those posts went to my music blog.

Saturday, I went to a child's one year birthday party. First at a Big Bounce facility, which is loads of fun. Somewhere in the vicinity of a dozen kids and possibly three dozen adults crammed into a tiny space. The kids get to play in these huge bouncy forts, filled with a constant rush of air. It's loud. Then there is sugar coated, studio created, bubblegum pop blasting over that. I couldn't hear the adults talking and I chose not to sign a waiver to enter the cesspool of children's drool that lives in the ballpit of the third bouncing structure. So, I made my fun by capturing the entire event with digital cameras. It seemed like everyone gave me their camera to shoot pictures with, while they mimed conversation.

I was expecting problems with the kids, but they were well behaved for hyped up children. It's the adults that were vicious! Put out three boxes of cheap pizza, that tasted like cardboard with a pound of oregano on it, and adults turn nasty trying to get slices! I almost had my pinkie finger bitten off. There was no place to sit, because the "well behaved" adults crammed in everywhere while I was taking the only pictures of the birthday boy attacking his cake. At least those shots exist.

After that, it didn't matter where I stood. I was in the way of some random adult. It never failed. At least I found a dime on the floor and I eventually snagged some cardboard with oregano piled on, so I came out ahead. This day is about the kids, so I was happy that they were having a good time. The guest of honor's parents are long time friends of Tracey's family, so we happily went. I would do it again if I had to do it. I'd just have Tracey snag some more oregano flavored cardboard for me.

Then, it was time to drive back to the house for the rest of the party. That's where the real fun began. Tracey and I ended up driving someone back to their house on the way to the party. Her husband was only attending the house party. It was on the way, so that was fine. We pull up to the house and the husband had already left for the party.

We finally get to the house and we were greeted by a wall of people. The extended family had shown up. Let me tell you, I heard stories I can't repeat on this blog. Maybe not even Thorzul's or Gellman's blog. Some of these people needed to jump back in the gene pool for awhile. While it didn't make for interesting one on one conversations, the people watching aspect was through the roof!

There were presents for the one year old there. Mountains of presents! But this party didn't seem to be about the child. It was about the extended family. Let's just say that I'm glad there were bottles of Smirnoff Ice available. I'm not a huge drinker and I hate the taste of beer, but I do appreciate flavored alcohol. I'm just glad that it was there and that Tracey was driving. She stuck to Coca-Cola. She's also used to the drama from the extended family.

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I hated every moment of it. On the contrary! I loved every moment of it! I found it to be a very interesting experience. I wouldn't want to do that every weekend though.

I am disappointed in one thing though. One of Tracey's sisters flew into town on Sunday morning. I waited until the evening time for her to get home, but her errands prevented that from happening while I was still there. She doesn't make her way up to Chicago from the Atlanta area very much for anything but business, so it's a treat when she can visit for awhile. At least I'll see her on Wednesday when we see the band Dreams play in Mokena, Illinois. Their cousin is the drummer.

I bet you're saying to yourself, "What does this have to do with cards?"

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

But here's where the card talk comes in, folks!

I arrived home on Sunday night and I'm sorting through my Saturday mail. It's mostly junk and bills. I got the Rolling Stone magazine on Friday, but the Entertainment Weekly is late. Such is life. I stop on an envelope that looks like an invitation. I know a few people that just announced their engagement, but none of them live in New Mexico. Then I see the return address. It looks familiar. There's a baseball stamp on the front and a White Sox sticker on the back. It's Kris from Aardvark Trading Company!

Kris always sends really cool stuff and I recently received a cryptic e-mail inquiring about my address. I open the envelope to see... another envelope with a wrong address, another baseball stamp and a postmark of October 17th. I open that to find...











An Isotopes greeting card of Robert Andino, who has spent parts of the last four seasons with the Marlins (as I'm sure Mario could tell you), that looks like it was signed by him. Very cool! I love the hat and sunglasses! I open the card to find this note...

That was nice! Kris didn't have to do that. I love it! But wait... there's more

I left out one important detail.

In order to see this hand written message inside the card, I had to remove something that was blocking the view

It was a baseball card. I recognize the back of that card. It was a 1991 Donruss Series 1 card. Maybe this would be my missing Barry Jones card from the set, which is no longer missing thanks to the generosity of Canadian bloggers.

No... it was something else.

I pried off the blue painter's tape to remove the card. I flipped it over and found this.

An autographed Bobby Thigpen 1991 Donruss Series 1 card!!!!

Awesome!

This brings my autographed Bobby Thigpen card collection to three different cards. That is so amazingly awesome. Words cannot describe the feeling of joy that came over me when I saw this card. The fact that the journey took over a month makes me cherish and appreciate this kind birthday gesture even more.

Thank you, Kris! You have made my birthday a little more special by extending it (unexpectedly) for over a month. Mere words cannot begin to thank you enough for this pick-me-up. Thank you.

Card Spotlight: 11-21-08

1964 Topps #31 - Dave Nicholson

The picture doesn't do the card justice. You can't fully appreciate the hangdog expression on Dave's face. Given the timing of the card, you might be inclined to think that Dave had just learned about President Kennedy's fateful afternoon on November 22, 1963.

Something is bothering Dave. He could be worried that his 1963 batting average of .229 would force him off the team. I don't know. But his expression was disturbing enough to make me stop dead in my tracks when I was going through my small mailday yesterday.

It could possibly have to do with the angle of his pose, but this seems to be one downtrodden individual. I am left to ponder why, since I wouldn't be born until 12 years after this card was produced. History is made by the people who win, but there are millions of stories that are left untold. What was Dave's story? It might make some interesting reading. At the very least, it may provide a clue as to what was happening when this photograph was taken.

Mailbox Joys: Cheap Vintage Cards

I found myself with a little extra in the PayPal account lately. Nothing spectacular, but enough to look around and try for some bargains. I found a seller that had a 1964 White Sox card with no bids and two minutes left. It was a card that I didn't have, so I jumped on it. I won that card for the unbelievable price of 84 cents. So, I checked out the seller's other auctions.

He had a few White Sox cards that I didn't have that were ending within a few hours of each other. I put my bids in and waited. Would you believe that I won the other four cards? You find that hard to believe? Well, not only that, but all five cards were had for under a dollar! They arrived in better condition than described in the listing.

1959 Topps #341 - Tom Qualters
1960 Topps #407 - Gary Peters
1961 Topps #79 - Joe Ginsberg
1961 Topps #509 - Camilo Carreon
1964 Topps #31 - Dave Nicholson

It seems that Tom Qualters is haunting my posts lately. That's the second time this month that he's appeared in a post, and on a card. Although to get Gary Peters 1960 card, I'll have to pick up J.C. Martin's card. The pictures were switched on those two cards and never corrected. I have a picture of Martin on Peters' card. Incidentally, the smaller photo is correct. Go figure.

I have been intrigued by the 1961 Topps set, ever since my dad found one hidden in our wall. I had childhood fantasies of finding Mickey Mantle cards hidden in the wall. It was a Cincinnati Reds player by the name of Danny Kravitz. The right hand corner was gone, but I thought it was the coolest card ever. That card is somewhere lying inside a box. The exact whereabouts are unknown. Every time that I get a new 1961 Topps card, I think of that card from the wall.

The 1964 Topps card is of Dave Nicholson. He looks like someone told him that his parents perished in a plane crash. Seriously, he looks like he's about to cry. The card itself has a cool little feature on the back. You are supposed to rub a nickel or a dime over the blank box to reveal who the A.L. batting champ was in 1963. Mine was not rubbed, but if you tilt the card just right, you can make out the answer. It was Carl Yastrzemski, for those of you who are too lazy to look it up. There also seems to be a happy little batter smacking the hell out of the ball. The things you find out when you get cards up close!

Coincidentally, I was also offered a beaten up 1959 Tom Qualters in a trade, mere hours after I opened it from Thursday's mail. Just my luck. That's OK. The important thing is that there is now one in this household. It gets me that much closer to completing the team set.

Packages Will Be Received

Three packages were mailed today. One way overdue package to Olagato House. One slightly late, but for a good reason, package to The Writer's Journey. Plus, one zippy package over to the Project '62.

The first package, to Nicole, has been brewing since March 2008. The bulk of the cards sent have been set aside waiting until she got back on her feet after an unlucky streak that rivals Nick Swisher's 2008 season. Now my desk is a little cleaner and her collection should be a little fatter. As luck would have it, I was able to knock off a few 2008 Allen & Ginter cards from her new list. Maybe her luck is changing already.

The second package goes to Jason. We did a blind trade of 575 cards. I received my gigantic box of cards from him about two weeks ago. I fell a little short of 575 Reds cards to return, so I had to wait a bit until I was able to call in some favors and snag a stash of 150 unique cards from the past two seasons. I'm hoping that there aren't any doubles in the box, but there may be one or two. There are some variations, so don't assume a card is a double at first glance. I threw in a few extra cards over the 575 mark, since the box took longer than expected to fill.

The third package goes to Chris. This is probably the fastest trade I have worked on in awhile. The turnaround was pretty quick. I am sending out 16 different Scott Radinsky cards and in return I'll be getting a few White Sox cards knocked off my trade list.

If you are on this list, then check your mailboxes in the next few days. Hopefully, there will be new treasures in there when you open the mail. If not, then probably at the beginning of next week. Regardless, all three of you should be seeing packages shortly, would be the gist of what I'm trying to say here.

2008 Topps Heritage Trade Days

There are many of us who are actively collecting the 2008 Topps Heritage baseball set. I am one of them. When completed, this will be my first hand collated set. I'm pretty excited about that!

Many of you have selfishly helped me to complete most of the set. I have 77 cards out of 502 of the base set left to go. Basically, 75 cards and the two variation cards. I also have 25 out of 110 left to collect on the black backs. I only have a handful of cards from each subset to complete.

What does that mean? It means that I have a ton of doubles from this set! The page with my 2008 Topps Heritage want list is here. If you can help and/or need any cards from the set, e-mail me and we will set up a dialogue. We may be able to help each other get closer to completing our sets.

We must combine our efforts. That line made me think of Mallrats, but I couldn't find a video for that. So, I'm treating you to the Easter Bunny scene. There is a little foul language and violence to a childhood icon, so be warned. This is not exactly work or young child friendly.



I warned you, but you clicked anyway. It is one of the best scenes from a subpar movie that manages to suck me in every time!

Poll Closed: Still The Same

The results are in! With a resounding lead, it seems that most readers are content in just letting me be me. I think the poll was an immediate success. 25 unique votes. 35 votes in total. Not too shabby. I see that a few of you took advantage of being able to vote for more than one thing. Good for you. Either that, or some people just can't decide.

I am surprised that 25 people took the time to vote. It could be a mixture of caring about this site and boredom, but you voted! That's what counts. You may see some of these features incorporated into the site at a later time. You may not. I guess it depends on what is appropriate for the time.

For posterity, here are the poll results.

Just keep on doing what I'm doing: 16 votes
Photographic proof that I've been a long time White Sox fan: 8 votes
Random Photoshopped White Sox images: 5 votes
A weekly poll question: 4 votes
A feature involving non-White Sox players: 2 votes

If you really want to see one of the non-winning features, please state your case in the comments section. You may sway me.

For all who participated, thank you. I appreciate the effort.

Memoirs Of A Team Collector

I have talked about being a team collector before (here and here), but Gellman has asked the blogosphere to write about their collecting habits. I’m game. I guess the logical place to start would be at the beginning.

My love for Major League baseball, particularly White Sox baseball, started in 1982. I would catch White Sox games on channel 44 in Chicago. I liked the way the White Sox played the game. Two players ultimately stood out from the crowd. Harold Baines and Carlton Fisk. This was before I was aware of Fisk’s World Series moment or the scouting of Harold Baines by Bill Veeck. I just knew that I liked what I saw.

In 1983, my dad bought me a pack of 1983 Topps. What hooked me into card collecting is a card that you wouldn’t expect. It was an Alfredo Griffin card. There was something about the moment that was captured that convinced me to collect. I collected everything I could get my hands on.

It was somewhere in 1987, where I bought my last pack. The combination of a seventh place team and an interest in other activities stopped my card collecting. I started hanging around kids with other interests, so the card collecting ultimately tapered off.
My resurgence back into card collecting, as I lovingly call my second wave, happened in 1990. I still followed the White Sox closely during my absence from collecting, I just didn’t pick up cards. I was looking to buy a Topps team set of the White Sox. It was May 1990. I saw a framed set with matting and an opening for each card on sale at K-Mart. I liked the colors of the 1990 Topps set and I liked the pictures of the White Sox players. I thought that the price was too steep, so I bought a few packs instead.

From there it grew. I liked what I saw and I wanted more. I kept feeding the addiction. Soon I began to buy other brands. I started to incorporate the 1990 Donruss logo into my high school art projects. I was hooked again. Ironically, my original goal of the 1990 White Sox team set wasn’t completed until 2008.

Through the next few years, I bought anything I could get my hands on. It peaked around 1991. I started to buy less and less, but there was a reason for that. In 1991, I discovered baseball card shops springing up all over the place. I could get exactly what I wanted without buying as many packs. So, while my pack buying diminished, my card buying increased.

By 1994, I had bought the last packs of my second wave. I found that the sets were becoming too plentiful, too large, too costly and had too many parallels. I had other interests that interfered with the hobby. By the time the strike happened, I had enough. Baseball had betrayed me by greed. It was written everywhere. I just couldn’t take it any longer. Something had to give.

Old habits die hard though. I didn’t stay away from baseball for very long. I was cautious as I slowly came back. I was ready to run at the first sign of trouble. Baseball had ruined the chance for a White Sox/Expos World Series in 1994. It could have been something that saved the Expos franchise and created a dynasty for the White Sox. Neither would come to pass.

I went to a few games, in which I was still wowed by the theatrics of the sport. It wasn’t until 1998 that I started to listen to radio broadcasts. I was intrigued by a young player named Magglio Ordonez. I was hooked on the White Sox full time again. It was only a matter of time before I would buy cards again.
Around 2004, I started to seek out team sets on eBay. I did that for a few years and was happy. Then, on a whim, in 2007, I bought my first pack in thirteen years. It was a pack of 2007 Topps. From there, I went into my buying frenzy again. I decided to be smart about it though. I would keep the White Sox cards and sell the rest on eBay. I could use the money from sold cards to fund my White Sox spending habit.

That was fine, until eBay changed the rules on me and left my best business out in the cold. Eventually, I stumbled upon baseball card blogs and that opened up a whole new world to me. I was able to unload my unwanted cards and get White Sox cards back in return. It was like 1985 all over again.

The preceding paragraphs outlined my trials and tribulations as a collector. But why did I become a particular type of collector? I sat myself down one day and asked myself what I really enjoyed collecting. The answer was cards of the White Sox.

Being a White Sox collector is both easy and frustrating. There aren’t many of us out there, so product is usually available. Since there aren’t as many out there as say the Yankees, there is actually less product produced. It’s a struggle sometimes to weed through a set and try to pick out the White Sox cards in it. In some sets, the White Sox aren’t even represented.

Mainly, I am a team collector. On occasion, I have added to that criteria. I am a player collector of Carlton Fisk and Harold Baines. I have also decided to chase the 2008 Topps Heritage set. When completed, this will be my first hand collated complete set. I am also currently thinking about expanding my player collections to include John Cangelosi and Don Wakamatsu.
I have gained more focus over the years. I have narrowed down my collection to something that will be ongoing enough to keep me busy the rest of my life and compact enough to where it’s not overwhelming. I have a lot of support from the blogosphere and that certainly helps in my goal.

I just collect what I really enjoy now. I’m a lot saner and a lot happier for it.

Random Card #39

I finally have my pile of cards to catalogue down to a more manageable size. I am almost done building the new computer. Boy how things have changed since the last time I built one back on the morning of September 11, 2001. Connections are very different than back then. Everything is in place. I just need to study the connections more before I plug it in and flip the switch. I don't want an expensive paperweight on my hands.

I thought I'd highlight a card that I received in a recent trade. A third year (card-wise) Earl Battey card. I always found that name to be hilarious. Especially when Earl has a bat in his hand. OK, it's not knee slapping, heart stopping, milk come out of your nose funny, but it's still funny. It's just more subtle. Alright... more juvenile.

Earl has a place of honor among my other 1959 Topps cards. I'm hoping that I will be able to complete this set pretty soon. I may actually complete this team set faster than the 2008 Topps Heritage set, which is coming more and more difficult lately. I'm not quite close enough to purchase the last few cards, but I'm to the point where I'm not pulling the cards I need anymore. What a predicament!

Still, I see hope in this card. I will finish the 1959 White Sox team set. I will eventually finish the 2008 Topps Heritage set. It's only a matter of time. If Earl has taught me one thing from his 1959 Topps card, it's that we can all overcome obstacles if we focus and believe we can. With my cataloging almost complete, I will retain focus. Now, I must believe.

Behind The Scenes Day(s)

Today is the day I finally did it. I started at my pile of cards on the desk. I only need to catalogue them in the database and then put them away! Why have they been sitting there? Partially because of illness and partially because of laziness, but mostly because I was too busy.

I'm forced to spend time doing that today. Tomorrow, I will be putting together my new computer. I will not be forced to wait at sites freeze my computer for five minutes. I can multi-task again. Life will be grand!

When I need a break from all of that, I pour through my boxes looking for Scott Radinsky cards for an upcoming possible trade. Plus, I will be getting boxes together for the couple of people who are expecting boxes from me. So, unless I'm really fed up, there will probably be no more posts for today. This is it folks. If all goes well tomorrow, I'll be up and running at full capacity by dinner time. If all doesn't go well... Wednesday... hopefully. Anyway, keep checking back. You never know when I'll need a break.

Bribery!

78 Topps Cards Blog! 78 Topps Cards Blog! 78 Topps Cards Blog!

On Saturday, I received a mysterious package in the mail. I opened the mysterious package and discovered another envelope with cryptic writing on it.

It was from Andy at 78 Topps Cards Blog.

"That's strange", I thought to myself. I wondered what Andy from 78 Topps Cards Blog's motives could possibly be for sending me this mysterious package with cryptic writing. It seems to be sending a message of some sort, but I can't for the life of me figure out exactly what.

I decided to open the second envelope from 78 Topps Cards Blog and see what Andy from 78 Topps Cards Blog was up to.
BRIBERY!!!!

I can't believe there were 2008 White Sox cards in this package from Andy at 78 Topps Cards Blog! I know I was born in Chicago, but who bribes with cards nowadays? It's gonna take cold hard Cash to get me to promote something on this blog.

OK, White Sox cards are a way to get my attention. Let's see what came in the bribe package on Saturday.

2008 Baseball Heroes
43 - Jermaine Dye
44 - Paul Konerko
45 - Nick Swisher

Almost a full team set! Thanks Andy from 78 Topps Cards Blog!

2008 Bowman Signs Of The Future
SOF-BO - Brian Omogrosso

This one slipped under my radar this year. Thanks Andy from 78 Topps Cards Blog!

2008 Goudey
39 - Luis Aparicio
40 - Mark Buehrle
41 - Orlando Cabrera
42 - Paul Konerko
43 - Jermaine Dye
44 - Jim Thome
45 - Nick Swisher

Yeah, it's official. Everyone pulls White Sox cards but me. Thanks Andy from 78 Topps Cards Blog!

2008 Yankee Stadium Legacy
647 - Bill Dickey (June 12, 1931 - Yankees 11 - White Sox 2)

Another White Sox YSL card to add to the collection. Thanks Andy from 78 Topps Cards Blog!

Those were great cards! I just hope I can think of a way to mention 78 Topps Cards Blog on this blog. Ah screw it! I've got White Sox cards from 78 Topps Cards blog!

Unexpected Gifting

Dave, over at Fielder's Choice, is a class act. Both of our teams made it into the playoffs. During the first round, our teams faced each other. So, we did what came naturally. We made a friendly wager.

Unfortunately, for me, the White Sox lost that epic matchup. Fortunately, for Dave, the Rays won. I swallowed my pride and sent along a care package to the victor.

Apparently, Dave was so impressed by my prize package that he thought it best to put together a consolidation prize. Maybe he felt sorry that the White Sox didn't advance or remorseful that the Rays didn't win it all or maybe he was in a generous mood since the Rays went all the way to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. Whatever the case, I found an e-mail in my inbox that told me that if I receive a strange package from Ohio, that it would be an eBay purchase that was being sent to my address.

2008 Allen & Ginter Relics
AGR-AJP - A.J. Pierzynski
AGR-JT - Jim Thome
AGR-JTD - Jermaine Dye

Wow! What a haul! Thanks, Dave!

These were completely unexpected. These cards are so awesome! I am in shock of the generosity of Dave. If this was the consolation prize, I couldn't even imagine what would come my way if the White Sox would have advanced to the next round.

Thanks again, Dave! You are truly a class act.

Vintage Trade From Dinged Corners

Dinged Corners is one of the blogs that I will just randomly send cards to. Patricia and Lucy have a unique history of trading with me. They always send interesting things and I try to send interesting things back.

I sent a package to them on Halloween, when I sent a bunch of packages out. It was filled with all of my spare 1983 Topps, a couple of 1971 Topps and a few spare Mets cards. David Wright was hanging out soaking up the atmosphere. A good time was had by all.

It was hinted in an e-mail that something special would be headed my way soon. I had no idea how special though. Inside a small yellow bubble mailer awaited treasures that even I could not dream of.

There were only nine cards in the package, but that's enough for a baseball team, right? Right. When I saw the first vintage card, I knew I was in for quality over quantity. My instincts were dead on. There is much quality to be had in this package.

I had to move a few players out of position, but I'll give the reasons why. Let's see the new vintage card/current card lineup of your Chicago White Sox presented in association with Patricia and Lucy.

Pitcher
1967 Topps #422 - Hoyt Wilhelm
Can there be any doubt that this would be the pitcher I go with? I'm a sucker for the knuckleball, especially when used effectively. He could be an innings eater! Kudos! I need this card!

Catcher
1959 Topps #114 - Earl Battey
A fine addition behind the plate! Earl went on to much greater success after he left the White Sox. A 1959 card that has been eluding me!

First Base
1996 Pacific Baerga Softball #4 - Frank Thomas
C'mon. Who didn't see the Big Hurt playing first base. Anyone? Anyone? This is the infamous card featured in this post by Dinged Corners. Frank Thomas playing softball in shorts!! I am left speechless. Another card I did not have.

Second Base
1976 Topps #533 - Lee Richard
He is listed as a shortstop on the card, but he played primarily second base in 1976 with the Cardinals. He did play a few games at second base for the White Sox before he took I55 south. Another card that is new to me!

Shortstop
2008 Topps Chrome #14 - Orlando Cabrera
Great player, even if he questions official scorers during games. I did have this card, but it's shiny. So shiny!

Third Base
2008 Baseball Heroes #45 - Nick Swisher
He's played the outfield. He's played first base. He's now a Yankee. If he can play first, he can play third. At least that's how the theory goes. I just picked this card up on Thursday when I took an unscheduled trip to Matt's Sports Cards. I heard the news on the radio as I was picking this out. How weird.

Left Field/Manager
1962 Topps #286 - Al Lopez
If Fisk can play left field, so can this former catcher. He took the Sox to the World Series in 1959, so he gets to manage too. If Kessinger can play and manage at the same time, so can Al! I also did not have this card.

Center Field
1959 Topps #368 - Don Mueller
The only true outfielder in the lot. Since he's a true outfielder, he can play center. It worked out OK for Griffey this year. Right? This was the first 1959 card I ever obtained. If the original should ever fail to perform his duties, this one will step right in.

Right Field
2008 Topps #486 - Javier Vazquez
Technically, he's a pitcher. I'll give you that. But he's a maddening pitcher who can't seem to perform in big games. So, I'm sticking him in the outfield to stretch his legs. Plus, he can act as an emergency pitcher, if Wilhelm should ever tire. Yes, I had this card.

Thank you for an enjoyable package! I was really blown away by the contents. Not only did I receive some vintage and some modern cards, it was wrapped in a handwritten note. How cool is that?

Blind Trading With The Writer's Journey

575 cards is nothing to take lightly. I received this huge box from Jason at The Writer’s Journey on Monday. I have been afraid of it and in awe of it all week. While there were older packages that I still needed to sort through first, this box has been calling me. Tuesday, I took a look in the box. Wednesday, I put the box in order. Thursday, I sorted through the cards. Today, I’m writing about it.

Each time I sorted through the box, I was captured by one card. A 1997 Stadium Club Matrix card of Frank Thomas. To fully appreciate this card, you have to see it in person. Frank Thomas stands alone, while everyone else in the background dies a horrible radiated death. If you tilt the card, you can see the people in the stands and the person on the field start to glow and eventually melt away in some sort of apocalyptic goo. Frank is unharmed and seems to be running away from the devastation like the smart hitter he is.

One card does represent the box, but does it represent it fairly? I have been debating on how to tackle the review of this box. This is a monumental task ahead. An adventure, if you will.

I decided to separate the doubles and focus on the cards that I do not have. I have walked through the sea of dead cards, and they are of little use to me now. I begin my journey by leaving them behind.
The first thing that I encountered on my journey through the box was disc shaped. Perhaps a miniature version of the Wheel Of Fish? STUPID!!! YOU’RE SO STUPID!! These were no cast offs from fish related game shows! These were Collector’s Coins from 7-11.

1984 7-11 Super Star Sports Coins
XVII – Ron Kittle
XXIII – LaMarr Hoyt These were better than fish wheels! These had moving pictures!

Next I encountered some gigantic cards and a few stickers. I always thought of these things as the adult who never quite got the memo to grow up. He’d sit there in his conductor hat, guiding an HO scale model train around in a circle. Sure there would be the pretty scenery, but it would turn out to be fake and the imaginary passengers would get suspicious after they saw the same picture of a mountain every 30 seconds.

1988 Topps Big
197 – Carlton Fisk
224 – Harold Baines

1988 Topps Yearbook Stickers
286 – Donnie Hill
287 – Ken Williams

1990 Topps Stickers
158 – Harold Baines AS Now, I had the task of navigating through actual standard sized cards. The oldest one was a 1966 Topps White Sox Rookies card, which I had two copies of already. That’s OK, I love the vintage cards! If only there was a low budget show to convey my journey through the wild kingdom of cards. 1973 Topps
604 – Dennis O’Toole

1982 Donruss
319 – Tony LaRussa
445 – Vada Pinson

1988 Toys R Us
16 – Fred Manrique

1989 Donruss
58 – Melido Perez

1989 Topps Rookies
16 – Melido Perez (miscut)

1990 CMC
16 – Marcus Lawton
24 – Dana Williams
25 – Tracy Woodson

1990 Panini
41 – Ozzie Guillen

1991 Line Drive
73 – Jose Ventura
630 – Jeff Carter
650 – Coaches

1991 U.S. Playing Card
2D – Carlton Fisk
9D – Harold Baines
2H – Ozzie Guillen

1992 Classic Best
150 – Rogelio Nunez
239 – James Bishop

1992 Panini
128 – Ozzie Guillen

1992 Pinnacle
300 – Scott Ruffcorn Scott Ruffcorn got number 300 in a set? Amazing.

1992 Score
532 – Ron Karkovice

1993 Donruss
725 – Harold Baines

1993 Score
609 – Wilson Alvarez

1993 Topps Gold
175 – Kirk McCaskill
612 – Byron Mathews

1994 Donruss
341 – Frank Thomas
447 – Joey Cora

1994 Donruss SE
79 – Ozzie Guillen

1994 Score
631 – Frank Thomas

1994 Ted Williams
152 – Pat Seerey

1994 Ultra
34 – Roberto Hernandez

1995 Bazooka
5 – Jason Bere
26 – Robin Ventura
35 – Wilson Alvarez

1995 Donruss
378 – Robin Ventura

1995 Donruss Top Of The Order
Alex Fernandez
Ron Karkovice

1995 Fleer
119 – Roberto Hernandez

1995 Leaf
69 – Alex Fernandez

1995 Pinnacle
41 – Lance Johnson

1996 Select
11 – Frank Thomas

1997 Collector’s Choice
293 – Dave Martinez
294 – Jaime Navarro
300 – Frank Thomas
328 – Frank Thomas
329 – Albert Belle
469 – Jeff Abbott

1997 Collector’s Choice Big Shots
10 – Frank Thomas

1997 Collector’s Choice You Crash The Game
CG9 – Albert Belle

1997 Fleer Million Dollar Moments
32 – Frank Thomas

1997 Pinnacle Inside
118 – Alex Fernandez

1997 Score
26 – Frank Thomas
131 – Roberto Hernandez
214 – Tony Phillips
218 – Lyle Mouton
232 – Alex Fernandez
233 – Ron Karkovice

1997 Stadium Club Matrix
213 – Frank Thomas Avert your eyes!!!!!

1998 Bowman Chrome International
42 – Albert Belle

1998 Collector’s Choice
39 – Harold Baines
102 – Magglio Ordonez

1998 Pacific Online
169 – Tom Fordham
180 – Mike Sirotka
182 – Frank Thomas

1998 Score
111 – Robin Ventura
134 – Dave Martinez

1998 Skybox Dugout Access
97 – Mike Caruso

1998 Stadium Club
295 – Matt Karchner

1998 Topps
141 – Jaime Navarro

1998 Topps Milestone
MS10 – Frank Thomas

1998 Upper Deck
81 – Doug Drabek
143 – Frank Thomas
264 – Jeff Abbott
556 – Carlos Lee

1999 Bowman’s Best
20 – Frank Thomas

1999 Fleer Tradition
298 – Jeff Abbott

1999 – Pacific Prism
32 – Albert Belle

1999 Topps
6 – Ray Durham
84 – Mike Caruso
173 – Mike Cameron
456 – Frank Thomas

1999 UD Victory
101 – Jaime Navarro

2000 Fleer Tradition
143 – Paul Konerko
160 – Mike Caruso
185 – Jim Parque

2000 Fleer Tradition Dividends
6 – Frank Thomas

2000 Impact
42 – Kip Wells
95 – Paul Konerko

2000 Topps
205 – Kip Wells
214 – Jason Strumm/Rob Purvis
251 – Harold Baines
318 – Mike Sirotka
443 – Joe Crede
470 – Frank Thomas

2000 Topps Gallery
47 – Frank Thomas

2000 Topps Opening Day
27 – Frank Thomas
158 – Paul Konerko

2000 Upper Deck
331 – Harold Baines
350 – Brian Simmons

2000 Upper Deck Victory
318 – Frank Thomas/Magglio Ordonez CL

2001 Bowman Heritage
88 – David Wells
325 – Kip Wells

2001 Fleer Tradition
397 – Frank Thomas

2001 MLB Showdown
108 – Jose Valentin

2001 Sunoco Dream Team
6 – Carlton Fisk

2001 Topps
78 – Harold Baines
122 – Paul Konerko
137 – Herb Perry
197 – Bobby Howry
223 – Jose Valentin
256 – Greg Norton
492 – Ray Durham
537 – Magglio Ordonez
727 – Jon Rauch
758 – White Sox Team

2001 Topps Archives
167 – Greg Luzinski

2001 Upper Deck
19 – Mark Buehrle
78 – Joe Borchard

2002 Donruss Fan Club
117 – Carlos Lee

2002 Fleer Tradition
108 – Chris Singleton
164 – David Wells
231 – Kip Wells

2002 Topps
278 – Jerry Manuel
He's back, And this time, he's mad. Gandhi II! No more mister passive resistance, he's out to kick some butt. This is one bad mother you don't wanna mess with.

2002 Topps Opening Day
18 – Magglio Ordonez

2002 Upper Deck Victory
201 – Magglio Ordonez
204 – Aaron Rowand
210 – Royce Clayton
212 – Frank Thomas

2002 Upper Deck Vintage
107 – Frank Thomas
112 – Jon Garland
114 – Joe Crede/Josh Fogg

2003 Bazooka
55 – Edwin Almonte

2003 Diamond Kings
20 – Paul Konerko

2003 Donruss
44 – Jon Adkins

2003 Fleer Tradition
156 – Matt Ginter
227 – Carlos Lee

2003 Topps
47 – Mark Buehrle
413 – Jon Garland
443 – Flash Gordon

2003 Upper Deck
122 – Jose Valentin

2005 Upper Deck Past Time Pennants
53 – Luis Aparicio
Frankly, I can’t believe all the good fortune to come out of this box! At first it seemed like I was getting nothing but cards that I already had, but actually sorting these out, I find a huge chunk of my want list now gone.

Unfortunately, I am now cleaned out of Reds to send back. Fortunately, I have called in a favor and I am waiting for a package of 150 Reds cards to arrive. This should put me over the 575 card restriction. When these cards arrive, they will be lovingly loaded into a box with the remaining 425+ cards that I have found already.
Thank you, Jason! Well, it appears that my work on this planet is finished, so I must now return to my home planet of Zarquon. Let’s all go bowling!

Card Spotlight: 11-14-08

2001 Royal Rookies - Boys Of Summer #3 - Joe Crede AUTO 320/2950

A fitting end to a career on the South Side would be to go back to the beginning. Joe Crede showed flashes of Brooks Robinson's glove playing third base for the White Sox. He showed a flair for the dramatic when the game was on the line, which is why he was called "Late Inning" Joe.

As the curtain falls on Crede's White Sox career and the uncertainty of his future looms large, I figured poetry would sum up the good and the bad of a popular player moving on.

Game Called by Grantland Rice (C)1956

Game Called. Across the field of play
the dusk has come, the hour is late.
The fight is done and lost or won,
the player files out through the gate.
The tumult dies, the cheer is hushed,
the stands are bare, the park is still.
But through the night there shines the light,
home beyond the silent hill.

Game Called. Where in the golden light
the bugle rolled the reveille.
The shadows creep where night falls deep,
and taps has called the end of play.
The game is done, the score is in,
the final cheer and jeer have passed.
But in the night, beyond the fight,
the player finds his rest at last.

Game Called. Upon the field of life
the darkness gathers far and wide,
the dream is done, the score is spun
that stands forever in the guide.
Nor victory, nor yet defeat
is chalked against the players name.
But down the roll, the final scroll,
shows only how he played the game.