Andy's Blog of baseball cards and other junk

New posts, new sketches and a new record

2008-05-12T21:41:00.005-05:00

I haven't posted in a while. Ok I haven't posted since January. There are many reasons for this lag none of which I will go into detail here.

Since my last posting a new record was set in the vintage baseball card market.

The T206 Honus Wagner card graded by us sold for a record $317,000 including buyers premium. Now, that is a record for any example graded a 1.
That is also the record for any example graded a 2. It was an honor to authenticate a card of this importance.

I attended three card shows since my last posting. I carry my sketch book with me to shows as there is usually time to waste sitting in airports and the like. You can only drink so much before that gets boring.

The first sketch is of a photograph I purchased at the Pittsburgh show. The photo shows an aging Honus Wagner at the 1948 Pittsburgh Pirates spring training in Miami Beach.

Only in 1948 can a man wear a dress shirt and dress shoes on the beaches of Miami and not get strange looks. Maybe he did get strange looks. I doubt 'ole Hans gave a crap what anyone thought of him.

I did this sketch on the return flight from Pittsburgh. Had a row in the rear of the aircraft all to myself and plenty of room to spread out and work.

The second sketch is of a photo I already had. It is of a player with the minor league farm team of the Philadelphia Phillies. I did this sketch on the flight back from the Hofstra show in New York.

I try to get a row to myself so I can freely sketch. If not, I tend to get the flight attendants and other passengers interest. They usually hover around trying to see what it is I am doing. Oh well. Usually a polite nod and a smile and they will move on.

And on a happier note, besides being my wifes birthday, it was also the 9th week to the day since my cartoon submission to Readers Digest was mailed out. Ironically enough I received a rejection notice today in the mail.

Today at the Comic Con

2008-01-13T14:59:00.000-06:00

I took a trip to the Dallas Comic Con today to see what I could add to the collection. As usual, there was not much there that I just had to have. In fact, I didn't buy a thing from any of the dealers that were set up.
My main reason for going was to meet Mr. Harold LeDoux. Harold worked on the comic strip Judge Parker for over 50 years and retired in 2006. For you comic book fans, Mr. LeDoux started his career drawing for Famous Funnies.
I am a slut for comic strip art. The chance to meet one of the last old school realistic comic strip artists was too good to pass up. Mr. LeDoux was very kind and enjoyed talking shop. I purchased a daily original from him which he gladly signed.

I made a quick pass through the dealer area while a friend I was with got a few autographs and then it was back on the road.

Her Curves Were Too Much For Them is here

2008-01-07T21:54:00.000-06:00

My book Her Curves Were Too Much For Them is now available for purchase. Goto http://www.jackiemitchell.net/ for more details. Information about distribution will be posted soon.

I will be interviewed by Red Line Films this Wednesday January 9th for an up coming piece about Jackie. The interview will be at the Beckett HQ here in Dallas. I will update the blog with more information as it happens.

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T22:38:00.001-06:00

Well, Happy New Year to everyone. Although I do maintain the tradition of staying up to see the new year, I'm way too old to actually party while doing so.

After spending part of the day lining out a few new projects for '08, I did spend the afternoon in the old sketch book. I figure what better way to start the new year than drawing.

I have been thinking about two ball players in particular the last few weeks. One of the players is the Japanese Hall of Famer Victor Starffin. Starffin, the Russian born pitcher, became Japan's first 300-game winner. Victor met his untimely demise by hitting a train with his car.

The second player is Al Demaree. Al, a pitcher for the Giants and the '10 Lookouts. After his retirement from baseball, Demaree became a sports cartoonist.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-22T18:00:00.000-06:00

So I've been away for a while now. Hey, I've been busy. I don't have to tell you anything. Hey! I'm asking the questions here!
Oh, sorry. Anyway, I've been through the house buying process and have been away from the blog. I now have a new house and the nightmare is over. It's been downgraded to a bad dream for the next 30 years with the occasional thunderstorm.
Anyway, I'm now taking a break from cartoons, cards and the blog until after the first of the year. I gotta get through Christmas and then move but I'll be back soon!
In the mean time I will say the book Her curves were too much for them is being printed and proof copies will be arriving at my door in the next two weeks!

Baseball manga

2007-11-04T18:41:00.000-06:00

I don't speak Japanese.

I never pretended to be able to read Japanese. I've picked up the random Japanese baseball card over the years. I've had several early Sadaharu Oh cards and I've had Ichiro cards from Japan. Never learned to read the backs of the cards. I have a hard enough time with English. I really do not need to add anything else.

I know baseball is very popular in Japan. I know Manga, or Japanese comics are big here as well as Japan. I got the idea one day that, hey! I bet there are some Japanese comics about baseball! Sounds reasonable, right? Well not really.

First off, the total number of U.S. comics about baseball equal somewhere just above zero. The total number of Japanese comics about baseball that are translated into English and exported to the U.S. equal exactly zero.

Perfect.

Not all is lost. Apparently there are some great baseball comics in Japan. Problem for me is that A. they are in Japanese, B. they are in Japan and 3. they are hard to find even there. Well, now it's a challenge. I can't stop. I have to learn the Japanese word for comics about baseball. I gotta learn who drew this stuff and finally who the hell sells this stuff and can read my emails and take my money.

Well, I found a few. Again, I couldn't read Japanese if it meant saving the universe but I found the books to be an interesting "read". I was interested in seeing how baseball action is played out through the sequential art. I was a little surprised to find the stories weren't all about baseball. I was also somewhat surprised by the amount of apparent violence depicted in the comics. I'm sure it would all make much more sense if I could read Japanese.

Hanson Brothers

2007-11-04T18:19:00.000-06:00

I've been a little behind in posting to the blog. Get over it. I have stuff to do.
Friday night we went to the Texas Tornado hockey game to see the Hanson Brothers. No not those gay-looking kids that put out a record. The Hansons from the movie Slap Shot.
I've been a fan of Slap Shot since at least high school. I've been a collector of anything related to the Hansons for several years.
So I found out they were going to be appearing at the Tornadoes game on Friday. Perfect. That's only 13 miles from my house. So we loaded up and headed down to the game.
The Hanson's got on the ice just before the game and had some fun knocking over ref's and scoring a garbage goal. After the first period they set up a table and signed stuff for the fans.
Let me say that I've gotten a good deal of autographs over the years. I've jumped in the car at the drop of a hat upon hearing a player of celeb was somewhere on the radio and I've even flown cross country just to get some stinkin' autographs. I've met some great people. I've gotten autos from people who were glad to be there. I've also got autographs from people who were just pissed you knew who they were.
The Hansons? The all-time penalty minutes leaders of the Federal League? Three of the best signers I've ever met. They signed anything and everything. They shook your hand. They wanted to know about you and how you were doing. They wanted to make sure you got a picture with them. These guys were happy to be there. God bless them. They know the people in line are the reason they where asked to come and make an appearance. Maybe a few other sports figures and celebs should get a clue.

Birthday

2007-11-04T18:12:00.000-06:00

So I have a birthday coming up soon.
Some people really take birthdays seriously. Some people get depressed at the mere thought of tacking on another year. I think some people try to make a big deal about it not being a big deal because deep down they want it to be a big deal. Some people start planning their birthday a month out. They want everyone to know and everyone to participate. Blah...
Me? I just want a nice dinner. I can do without the phone calls or the gifts. I just want to consume a half-way decent meal in peace. That's all. Pretty simple really. Simple but it isn't what I always get. I even had one birthday on a riverboat. That was a pretty good birthday, at least the parts I remember.
Anyway, this year I'm getting a good dinner if I have to take myself, by God.

The Beckett blog

2007-11-04T18:09:00.000-06:00

We have a new behind the scenes blog at the office. The idea is to give a little insight to the human side of Beckett. Good idea.
Anyway, a shameless plug for the blog: go check it out - http://blogbeckett.wordpress.com

Sketch cards

2007-10-22T19:56:00.000-05:00

I like to create my own sketch cards of baseball players. I keep many of them, give a few away and even sell one from time to time. I realized that I didn’t have any of the Sultan of Swat so I created one based on a photo of him from his later days as a Yankee.
What I like about sketch cards is that you can create art of a player and it fits into a top loader! Easy to store and display.
While sketch cards are very popular in non-sports cards, the 2005 Topps Gallery sketch cards by Murray Olderman were really the first mainstream sports sketch cards to be packed out. It will be interesting to see if sketch cards carry over into the sports realm. Sketch cards that are signed by the player?

(Babe Ruth sketch card)

Card trivia and autographs

2007-10-20T17:18:00.000-05:00

I like to mix things up a bit from time to time. I try not to have a serious techical grading article every issue os this week's installment of the BGS Grading newsletter "The Report Card" features card trivia.

This is the second card trivia piece I have done for the Reort Card. The first trivia turned out to be very popular and I received some very positive repsonses. I really enjoy researching card trivia and I will continue to add trivia to the list so look for a part three in the near future!

I received two great former Lookouts interviews back this week. One from Tony Roig and one from Hillis Layne.

(Hillis Layne signed card)

(Tony Roig signed card)

I am adding portions of their interviews to the webpage on the page titled "Engel Memories".

Lookouts interviews

2007-10-14T20:41:00.001-05:00

I received back this week an interview with former Chattanooga Lookouts Gene Verble. One of the most interesting things that happened to Gene didn't happen as a Lookout in Engel Stadium.
When Gene was with the Senators in DC, he was assigned to sit next to President Truman as a guard. Gene's job? To make sure Mr. President didn't get hit by a ball!

(Above is a signed card of Gene Verble)

98th PHILADELPHIA SPORTS CARD & MEMORABILIA SHOW

2007-10-13T21:12:00.000-05:00

Well, anonther Philly show is in the books for us. The Philly show, once called the Ft. Washington show is now in Reading, PA. After two days of grading cards it's back to Dallas in the morning.
Reading is the home of Jesse Levan. Lookouts fans will remember Jesse as not only a "hometown" hero in Chattanooga but also the man who was banned for life from baseball. The "foul ball scandal" of 1959 resulted in Waldo Gonzalez being banned for a year from professional baseball and Jesse Levan recieving a lifetime ban.
Jesse died in 1998 and is buried here in Reading.
I met with the man who produced the 1978 Reading Remembers card set that features Jesse. The card uses the same image as the 1957 Chattanooga Lookouts team-issued photos. Joe showed me his copy of the photo which he says Jesse gave it too him.
I did not have a complete set of the Reading Remembers set. Joe happened to have one with him which I bought. Thanks Joe!

(Above is Jesse Levan in his 1957 Lookouts uniform)

Save Engel Stadium website update

2007-09-29T14:36:00.000-05:00

www.SaveEngelStadium.org has a new update. Please check it out!

Share your memories of Engel Stadium

2007-09-29T12:24:00.000-05:00

Sulphur Dell was the home of the Nashville Vols from 1901 until 1961. Called "The most historic park since 1870" sulphur Dell became a race track in 1965 and was torn down in 1969. The Dell, as some call it, was a quirky park with unusual dimentions.
I am glad to see such a site as sulphurdell.com. "I remember..." page about Sulphur Dell is great. Please check it out. Preserving the memories and history is important.
Back to Engel. Engel is still here and it is not too late. Please help us share the memories and record the history before it is too late. If you ever attended a game at Engel Stadium or have fond memories of Chattanooga baseball, please contact me. We are building a memory page all about Engel.
I will have the memory page up on the website Save Engel Stadium.org this week. Please spread the word.
Contact is info AT saveengelstadium.org

Jackie is 95 years old

2007-09-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

August 29th Jackie Mitchell would have been 95 years old. My blog wasn't up on the web until September so I did not get the chance to post on her birthday.
I never got the chance to meet Jackie but I feel like I know a little about her through the years I've spent researching her. I really would like to know her reaction to my graphic novel about her. I hope somewhere she is on a baseball diamond smiling wondering what could possibly be the big deal over her and what she did.

I know she isn't smiling about Engel Stadium. The shrine that Engel built is once again in danger. Engel Stadium is one of the most historical baseball stadiums in the country. It is a shame the city of Chattanooga overlooks the historical value of the stadium. Instead of developing the stadium into a park that would attract visitors from all over the country, they would rather turn it into a soccer field or level her. If people are willing to drive into the cornfields of Iowa (field of dreams website) just to get the chance to throw a baseball on a diamond created for a movie, what would they do to get the chance to throw a baseball where the mighty Babe Ruth once stood? Or Lou Gehrig? or where Willie Mays and Satchel Paige started their baseball careers?

The list of people who have stepped onto the grass of Engel is a who's who of not only baseball history but the American experience. If Engel is destroyed, the blood of history will be on the hands of those who have forgotten Engel and her role in the history of baseball and the history of America. Up from the darkness of the depression in the poor South rose a shrine of hope. Engel Stadium was a place where anyone could go and excape the outside world. At times the riches were shared with the masses. Joe Engel once gave a house away to a fan in attendance, during the depression.

More on Engel in the coming months. I will be updating my site Save Engel Stadium.org in the next few weeks.

The mysterious Mully

2007-09-09T16:02:00.000-05:00

Last year at the Philadelphia Sports Card &Memorabilia Show (Which is located in Reading, PA), In the last 10 minutes of the show, I franticly ran through several isles before leaving for the airport. I came across a dealer with some great stuff from the teens and 20's. A wire photo of Norman Tabasco Kid Elberfeld caught my eye first. I of course am a huge Chattanooga Lookouts collector and a collector of Southeastern baseball so the pic caught my eye. It was of Elberfeld in hs New York Highlander uniform. The pose was the Horner shot used for his T206 card. The wire photo was printed in '44 and used in newspaper stories about Kid's death. Kid was manager for the Lookouts a few times and spent his days in Chattanooga. His apple orchard was about 2 miles from our house on Signal Mountain.
Anyway, it was a no-brainer so I grabbed it up. Next to the Elberfeld photo was a stack of sepia snapshots of various baseball players from the 1920's. I thumbed through the stack and found players in Knoxville (TN) uniforms. I bought 2 (dang it, I should have bought the rest) and I bought one shot of a guy in a batting stance in an Indianapolis uniform. The back is why I bought it. The back was written in what appears to be the players hand. It reads:
"This is one of the three pitchers (sic) they took of me he give me this one and sent the other two in to the paper the Indianaplois (sic) Buffalo"
The pic is signed Mully and then he noted "Donie Bush calls me Mully"
I know who Donie Bush was but who was this Mully? Did he ever make it to the Majors? He didn't make the spelling bee. Of all the vintage baseball photos in my collection, Mully intrigues me the most. I've probably drawn Mully half a dozen times in sketch books.

Card grading tools

2007-09-09T14:42:00.000-05:00

I am asked at least once at every sports card show I attend what tools do graders use and what tools do I need as a collector?
There are only a few basic tools every card collector show have. While I have discussed this in several previous articles in the Beckett Grading Report Card
(http://www.beckett.com/news/reportcard/archive.asp)
and in Grade School in the Beckett Monthly Magazines, I'll run down a quick list of what I personally prefer.
I have used a 10x triplet loupe that is corrected for color and distortion. The loupe is a dimond graders loupe which is used to grade diamonds for color and clarity. While this is on the upper end of the price scale I have had mine for almost 9 years and it is still being used everyday. The lenses is I believe are 21mm wide which is larger than many of the cheaper loupes on the market but gives a large field of vision which I prefer.
I also have a 16x doublet, a 20x doublet and a stereo microscope that I use when needed.
My loupe is an extention of my eyes and is with me almost everyday. I always take my loupe to shows when I travel and even have a neckstrap to keep it from getting lost in the shuffle. I once returned home from a show on a Sunday and went into the office on Monday. Being tired, I left my loupe at home the night before and had to use a "backup" loupe. I still remember that as being a bad day.

Sunday's thoughts and the book

2007-09-09T13:53:00.000-05:00

Thought for today:
Is Summer really over when it's still 85 degrees?

New updates are being added to the Save Engel Stadium webpage (http://www.saveengelstadium.org/) this week and to the Jackie Mitchell website (http://www.jackiemitchell.net/). New updates have been delayed in the last few months and I am happy they are now taking place.
The book Her curves were too much for them is complete and the graphic novel version is progressing nicely. I am very excited to be inking out such a great story. The book should be out soon!
Today is cartoon day. I am preparing another batch of cartoons to be mailed off to various magazines and wait for various rejection notices. What a way to make a few extra bucks.

Book(s) I read today:
Inbetween breaks from writing and drawing, I pick a book or books to read or reread. The two books for today is Mouseguard #1 and DC's Segiro Aragones issue of Solo.

Redemption

2007-09-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

At the National Sports Collectors Convention of 2006 which was in Anaheim, CA, several of us bought wax to bust.
I bought a box of 2005-06 Upper Deck Rookie Update hockey. On the shuttle ride to LAX, I busted the box and found a dual auto redemption. Great I thought. I got home and that Tuesday I went on-line to redeem my card.
I waited.....

and I waited.......
At some point it became a joke. Whenever a bubble mailer arrived in my mailbox, the joke was thrown out there: "Is it the redemption?" We would laugh and open whatever the item was knowing it would not be the redemption that by now was all but a memory.
Well, I got the card in the mail. It arrived Sept. 5th, 2007. One year and 2 months after it was redeemed. I'm just glad it wasn't a Michael Vick redemption. A lot has happened in a year.

Groo's 25th anniversary....next week

2007-09-05T19:02:00.000-05:00

I was all excited to get a hold of a copy of the 25th avviversary of Groo today...
First off, this was a holiday week so comic book day is pushed to Thursday. Well, Groo is now set of a Spet. 12th release which is next Wed.
Oh well. One more week....
The book (Her curves were too much for them) is in the final stages and will be off to be proofed. Stay tuned here or www.jackiemitchell.net for updates...

Welcome to my blog

2007-09-04T18:36:00.000-05:00

Yep, I did it. I made a #$%&*@! blog. People have been telling me to do one for too long now. If you are one of the people who have been hounding me to waste more of my life, this is for you.

The blog is on our servers. The direct link is: blog.andybroome.com
Bookmark it now! No, I mean right now. Go on, I'll be here when you are finished......

Andy