Being it was about the second weekend of the month, this past weekend was the monthly Urbandale American Legion Card Show. I always enjoy hitting this one-day show. Not only do I find some really nice Padres cards, but I always track down a few good hockey cards and some pretty awesome trade bait.
Unfortunately, a few inches of snow fell across the state the night before (I know, snow in Iowa in November? Who'd have thought...), so several of the regular sellers were missing on this Sunday. Among those missing in action were a couple of my favorite sellers, including one who has some really nice hockey and baseball nickel boxes.
As I've stated before, I've been there often enough, that I've even gotten to know several of the dealers. Just last month, dealer Myron had a bunch of the 1974 San Diego Padres/Washington, Nat'l League cards. He said he'd gotten them in a box at an estate sale and was willing to let me have them for $1 each. To me this was a fantastic find. He also mentioned he'd start sticking Padres aside for me whenever he came across them.
Myron didn't disappoint, as he had the following Padres "oldies but goodies" for me.
1973 Topps Fred Norman, Clay Kirby, Mike Caldwell, Fred Kendall, and Leron Lee. 1974 Topps Leron Lee and Dave Roberts. 1972 ToppsTom Phoebus and Johnny Jeter. He also had some hard-to-find Tony Gwynn Tek cards, as well.
There were still a couple of dealers at the show with the inevitable 5 cent and 10 cent boxes. So, I took the opportunity to load up on these 2011 Topps Heritage Minors cards. Featured from the Lake Elsinore set are 3B Edinson Rincon, P Jerry Sullivan, P Matt Lollis, OF Reymond Fuentes, 3B Jedd Gyorko, SS Jeudy Valdez, and C Jason Hagerty.
There were still plenty of 2011 Topps Heritage Minors card for San Diego's affiliates, including Fort Wayne Tincaps cards of P Kevyvis Sampson and P Adys Portillo, San Antonio Missions cards of P Casey Kelly and OF Blake Tekotte, and a Tucson Padres card of P Simon Castro.
While there may be a love/hate relationship with minor league cards, I've always liked them. For many players, it may be the only cardboard of their professional baseball career. Just imagine your grandkids finding your minor league cards in the attic one day, realizing that you DID actually play professional baseball. It's especially cool when that player goes on to more than just a cup of coffee in MLB. It's fun to see their young, impressionable expressions, especially since they have their entire career ahead of them.
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