The Traveling Box: Pass Three

Every time this box passes through my mailbox, it grows into a larger monster.

There are many cool cards from multiple sports (even some non-sport has slipped in) and I am always tempted to stray from my collecting habits because I see something really cool. This pass was no exception, but I cannot tell you what remains in the box. All I can tell you is what I took. I can't even tell you what I put in, but it did get an enthusiastic reaction from Mike about what I did put in. If you're on the list, then you'll just have to wait and see.

I, of course, took White Sox related stuff that I did not have already.

The first card to catch my eye was a 1968 Laughlin World Series card. It depicts the 1919 World Series. I have always wanted to track this set down, but even I had a hard time paying seller prices for a card that is essentially just a headline, even if that card is forty-five years old. Now, I can pick it up and contribute something back to the card community. The hoopla surrounding the 1919 World Series makes this card probably the most difficult to find of the four White Sox related cards, so I'll gladly take it here.

I also took a 2002 Bowman Signs Of The Future - Kris Honel card. Taken sixteenth overall in the 2001 draft, there were high hopes for this kid. The fact that he came out of New Lenox, IL, makes him a local pick. Sadly, Kris hasn't played since 2011 and has had surgery on his right elbow. As of July 2011, he still hoped to reach the majors someday. I wish him luck.

I am satisfied with this round. May the traveling box be coming soon to a mailbox near you!

The Traveling Box: Pass Two

Here's what you've been waiting for. The Traveling Box of Sports Cards has made its way through my hometown with three cards swapped out. While I can't tell you what I put in the box, I can tell you what I took out.

A fistful of Frank.

I swiped the 1990 Leaf card of Frank Thomas. It has been a card that has eluded me for almost twenty-three years. I have coveted this card since Series Two started trickling out during the summer of 1990. I never pulled the trigger on the card because of the enormously inflated price tag. Always outbid on eBay and always astronomically priced in the Chicago area, I thought this card might be a white whale for me. Albeit an extremely easy white whale, marred only by a moral sense of value. The obtaining of this card concludes the 1990 Leaf White Sox team set, and for that, I am thrilled.

The other two cards I took because of a "why not" factor. Did I need them? Not really. Could I pass them up? Probably, but something told me to take a chance.

I normally do not collect graded cards. They have their place in the hobby, I guess, but there's something alien about them that makes me back away slowly before turning around and bolting through the nearest exit. Then I thought to myself, "Self, when are you going to get another chance to get a graded Frank Thomas rookie? And a rookie card that isn't one of the typically thought ones?". The opportunity presented itself and I took it. Do I feel shameful? No, not really. This graded 1990 Score Rookie/Traded card of Frank Thomas helps balance out the other graded card I own. A 1990 Upper Deck Sammy Sosa. It balances it out a lot!

The final card is a 2005 Bazooka Moments Game-Worn Uniform card of Frank Thomas. Did I need it? Nope. But I didn't have the card either. It's cute. It's different. It's mine.

The box has only been through a handful of participants and already I see things listed that aren't in the box and things in the box that aren't listed. There was at least one listed card that I had my eye on that I could not find anywhere inside the box. I think we need to be a little more diligent on marking what's entering and exiting the box. I hope that it doesn't become too much of a problem.

I did find it interesting and funny that a card that I had made ended up in the box without my knowledge. Future possessors of the traveling box, who have been reading the various blogs for quite awhile, should recognize it when they see it. That was probably the biggest surprise I came across, at least to me. I should also note that I am very happy to see that the box has grown in size since the first pass.

As always, I think I left the box a little better than I found it. The box should be arriving at its next destination as this posts.

The Traveling Box: Pass One

Like a brave soul, I decided to participate in the traveling box experiment. I fully believed that there would not be anything that I would want to take from the box. Oh sure, there would be lots of cool cards, but the realistic chances of finding something that would enter my specific parameters of collecting would be slim to none. I'm happy to report that I was wrong.

There were lots of cool cards, just like I had thought, but I immediately found a card that I wanted...

This 2001 SPx Winning Materials card of Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas and Carlos Delgado.

Frank Thomas is the most understated player on the card. It almost looks like he's a bit ashamed to make an appearance on the card. His head is sheepishly down and he's behind a devilishly grinning Carlos Delgado, while Jeff Bagwell hides up above, not quite believing what he is seeing. After I wrote that, I realize it seems like I just described a lost deleted scene from the movie Deliverance, but there it is.

I thought that the creepy cool card featuring "Game-Used Jerseys" might be all that I would consider, since this was the only card in the box that featured a player in a White Sox uniform or a player that I collect. Well, it turns out that I was wrong.

I heavily weighed the pros and cons about adding a football card to my collection. A football card! I don't even collect football cards! I won't give away any specific details. I would like future possessors of the traveling box to be as surprised as I was looking through the stacks of cards. The football player was someone that I greatly admired growing up, but I decided I did not want to put the time and energy into starting a collection of this player, so I left it for someone else to enjoy.

I did, however, wrestle with another card, with which I indirectly collect the player on the card. I collect cards of this player for a friend. Someday when the collection is either complete or nearly complete, I will present it to him.

Yes, in the end, I could not pass up a graded Ryne Sandberg rookie card. He is one of several Cubs that I never had an unkind word for. I collect Ryno's cards for a friend I've known for over twenty years. After the initial internal debate, the choice was easy.

I thoroughly enjoyed my initial rummage through the traveling box. I can't wait until it visits me again! And, yes, I left the box in better shape than I found it.