Bleedin' Brown and Gold

Ok, I know I've been teasing everyone about last weekends card show, so now's the time to put up or shut up, right?

The pickings were generally ripe, as I found the majority of this month's cards at a table with six, 5-cent card boxes (which also included some hockey). When I was finally able to pull myself away from his table, I found yet another nickel box. However, this one featured 25-cards for $1. Three hours after first arriving at the card show, I finally pushed myself away from the tables and made my way home.

While I found a plethora of Padres cards, the other great news is I also found a whole mess of traders, so some of my blogging brethren shouldn't be too surprised to see a package in their mailbox in the next few weeks.

Today, I'll begin with some 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition cards. Most collectors have a love/hate relationship with Panini, due to its A) Lack of a MLB license; B) Air-brushing of uniforms; or C) Lack of logos (you check in the box). As for me, other than Panini Prizm, I'm not a huge Panini fan. I feel, this "Donruss" set is about as far removed from the original Donruss cards as you can go.

But yet, What can I say? They are after all Padres, so they have a warm place within my collection. Other than the Donruss Packs I opened last week out of curiousity, I sincerely doubt I'll be buying any Panini packs - I'll just be buying the occasional Padre as I come across them.

I also found some 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition cards of Connor Powers, Zach Cates, Edinson Rincon and Jonathan Galvez. While picturing them in their college uniforms is one way to get around MLB logos, would you be able to tell they were Padres without "San Diego" at the bottom? Of these four, Connors played at Lake Elsinore last season; Cates, a third round 2010 pick, was traded to the Cubs along with Anthony Rizzo; Rincon is now with the Royals and Galvez pitched at Tucson last season.

From the 2008 Donruss Elite Extra Edition set, I found James Darnell, Beamer Weems, Sawyer Carroll, Jeudy Valdez and Blake Tekotte. Of this group, only Weems and Carroll played with the AAA Pads - Darnell is with the Rays, Valez is a Cub and Tekotte is a White Stocking.

And the final scans for this particular post, include 2013 Hometown Heroes cards of San Diego studs -- Tony Gwynn, Huston Street (probably the lone exception here), Jake Peavy and Garry Templeton.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of my latest card show foray.

Yesterday was Panini Day, as I posted up some of the San Diego Padres cards I found during the March Urbandale American Legion Card Show. In this post, I'm going to feature a look at what I consider are some of the better cards of the past few years (or in some cases, decades).

I'll begin with these 2003 Donruss Diamond Kings, in order, Phil Nevin, Ryan Klesko and Sean Burroughs. As you know, Panini has resurrected the Donruss card sets, but as I noted yesterday, I feel their rather lackluster attempt lacks all the warmth and personality the former Donruss line possessed. These Diamond King cards were cool, featuring painted renderings of MLB players, with a pseudo-canvas weave on the cards. Panini's 2014 Donruss also features Donruss Diamond Kings, but they are only player photos, with an inset action photo. Again, all the warmth and personality of this line is gone.

What is there not to like about Stadium Club? Large, action photos? Check. Bordlerless pictures? Check. Bright, glossy fronts? Check. Foil Name plates? Roger (blue, in this case). Baseball stitching embossed onto the card? You betcha! Here's the 1998 Stadium Club cards for Trevor Hoffman, Steve Finley and Wally Joyner. I also included a 1999 Stadium Club Wally Joyner I found. Really, really nice cards!

When it comes to bright and shiny cards, I'm like a dog distracted by a squirrel. My scanner doesn't do these 1995 Leaf cards justice, with Steve Finley, Andy Benes and Bip Roberts, but the Padres foil label just pops off the card, as does the diamond-shaped head shot of each player. On the bottom row are 1994 Leaf Limited Bip Roberts and Phil Nevin. These cards also pop with their own silver foil highlights. Other than Panini Prizm, no one does really nice foil products anymore.

These 1995 Select Andy Benes, Joey Hamilton, Andujar Cedeno and Roberto Petagine are also very clean cards that are nicely done. Borders are nice on cards, but if they're done right like these cards, borderless cardboard can really highlight the card's photo and name plate. I really like the inset player pictures on these cards. As noted on the card, Petagine and Cedeno were traded to San Diego from Houston on Dec. 18, 1994. That trade also sent Ken Camniti, Steve Finley and Brian Williams to San Diego with Derek Bell, Doug Brocail, Ricky Gutierrez, Pedro Martinez, Phil Plantier and Craig Shipley shipping to Houston. The Padres also received minor-leaguer Sean Fresh in may 1995 to complete the trade.

And finally, here's a 2001 Fleer Premium Ruben Rivera, and 2002 Fleer Premium Ray Lankford, Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko. While the Rivera card sports a foil picture and name plate, the 2002 cards only have foil on the name and team plates, the black and white borders and the pegged, border-within-a-border, work nicely together to further accentuate the photo.

Stay tuned next time for the final installment of the March Urbandale American Legion card show.

Here's the final installment of my foray into the nickel (and 25/$1) boxes at the March Urbandale American Legion Card Show.

I found a nice batch of Padres rookies cards, including this 2007 TRISTAR Prospects Plus Mitch Canham, 1998 Bowman 1999 ROY Favorites Matt Clement, 1995 Gold Leaf Rookies Ray McDavid and 1997 Bowman 1998 ROY Favorites Juan Melo. Of this group, only Clement played at the MLB level for San Diego. McDavid and Melo spent six years in the Padres minor leagues, while Canham spent four.

Canham was a tragic player for the Padres. After his mother died of a drug overdose in 2003, his younger brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Dustin Canham, died while serving in the African nation of Djibouti. Multiple investigations determined Dustin, 21, died of natural causes while exercising in his tent.

My Trevor Hoffman collection got a nice boost with these cards - 1996 Finest, 1996 Topps Gallery, 2008 UD A Piece of History and 2002 Topps Gold Label Class 1. How can you go wrong with Trevor cards? It'll be interesting to see what impact he'll have on the pitchers in the Padres minor league system.

Ever find cards you were sure you already had in your collection, but turned out you didn't? That was the case with the following cards, a 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Future Stars FS14 Mat Latos,1995 Select Certified Roberto Petagine, 2002 Bowman Sean Burroughs and a 2002 Bowman Gold Xavier Nady.

And finally, a 1996 Emotion-XL Fernando Valenzuela, 2004 Ultra Khalil Greene and 1997 Pinnacle X-Press Andy Ashby. It's hard imagining Valenzuela as a Padres pitcher. However, during his three-year stint in San Diego, "El Toro" compiled a 23-19 record in 328.1 innings.

There's no show in April, so I'll now have to wait until May 18 for the next Urbandale show. I guess I'll just have to haunt my local brick-and-mortar stores until then.

So, you thought I had shown all the Padres cards I had found at the March Urbandale American Legion Card Show. I'm not quite sure why, but between the nickel box and the 25-cards/$1 box, there's one more group of cards I'd like to feature.

Can you say Sportsflics?

Since Sportsflics are always hard to scan, I've also included a scan of the card backs below. These 1994 Sportsflics Rookie/Traded cards include (top row) 1B Tim Hyers, SS Ray Holbert and P Donnie Elliott. (Second row) 1B Dave Staton, 3B Keith Lockhart and 2B Luis Lopez.

It was Topps who first introduced lenticular printing, where a small, ribbed, plastic lens is used to produce images with the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. It wasn't long before it found its way onto their 12-card, 1968 Topps 3-D set. Kellogg's also used this process, unleashing its own 3-D sets in your boxes of Corn Flakes during the 70's and 80s.

In 1986, the baseball card distribution world got just a little bit more crowded, as Sportflics became the fourth fully licensed card producer. Their intitial 200-card set was developed by Optigraphics, the Texas-based printing company who had earlier produced Kellogg's 3D cards.

1994 Sportsflics LF Phil Plantier, 2B Luis Lopez and a 1995 Sportsflix P Andy Benes.

Of course, Upper Deck had to get into the act as well, partnering with Denny's Restaurant to produce a 26-card Denny's Grand Slam set. The set, which included one player from each of the MLB teams, was given out with each purchase of a Denny's grand slam meal. Pinnacle took over the Denny's set in 1996, releasing its final Denny's set in 1997.

At the time they came out, these 3-D sports cards were pretty cool. I thought it introduced a rather unique innovation during a period when baseball cards had that "mass-produced" feel to them. The main drawback that I can remember about the cards at that time, were the price - about 75 cents for a three-card pack. Actually, that's quite laughable in this day and age of "Premium Products.

You can see this technology continuing to be used in today's cardboard offerings.

In fact, you only need to look as far as the 2014 Opening Day set. This card, the 2014 Topps Opening Day Stars Giancarlo Stanton, uses that same 3-D technology, as part of its 26-card subset.

It's very seldom I actually get surprised. Once you spend enough time in the military (and public affairs) realm, you develop a strong sense of "situational awareness" about what's going on around you. You're prepared for anything, reacting instinctively, rather than having to stop and figure out what you're going to do.

But I have to admit, I was totally blown away when I got home this past Tuesday and found a box on my front doorstep, too big to fit into the mailbox.

It was from Portland, Ore., and another Padres blogger, Rod, from Padrographs: From Abner to Zimmer.

In the intro to his site, Rod state's hes "a Navy brat who went to 10 schools in 12 years in 4 different states. I have lived in 7 different states. I read two or 3 books a week. I manage a used bookstore for the county library system."

What Rod doesn't mention, is the fact his generosity is boundless. Rod is often spoken of with reverence among Padres bloggers, for his legendary gifts of Padres goodies. There's a running bet that he owns every Padres card that's ever been printed.

So, on Tuesday, it was my turn to be stunned by Rod's benevolence. By the time I was done going through everything in the box, I was totally overwhelmed by its awesomeness. If I can paraphrase Roy Scheider's line from the movie "Jaws,""I think I need a bigger blog."

There's no better place to start, than with this group of game-used and certified auto cards. They include a 2007 UD Masterpieces on Canvas Marcus Giles, 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Memorabilia, 2007 Ultra Dual Materials David Wells S/N 94/160, 2007 Bowman's Best Autograph Kevin Kouzmanoff, 2006 Bowman Draft Futures Game Prospects Relics George Kottaras, and a 2007 Sweet Spot Signatures Red Stitch Blue Ink Adrian Gonzalez S/N 28/350. While I have at least one, 1/1 printing plate in my Gonzalez collection, I haven't owned a single autograph card of this native San Diegan. But now, thanks to Rod, I finally have one. (And a rather sweet one at that - pun intended).

There were also a whole mess of minis, to include these: A 2009 Upper Deck Goodwin Champions Mini Adrain Gonzalez, 2012 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Straight Cut Jesus Guzman, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Future Stars Mini Mat Latos, 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Dave Winfield #67A, and a 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Orlando Hudson.

Being how Rod collects Padres signatures, "From Abner to Zimmer," what were the chances he'd include a nice group of hand-jammed, in-person, Padres autographs like these? This is a very fine collection of Padres players, both past and present, using a variety of pen colors. There's a Mark Parent signature, as well as Garry Templeton, Craig Lefferts, relative newbie Tyson Ross, Andy Benes and relative newbie Robbie Erlin. Very nice!

Here's another group of cards smaller than your standard 2-1/2 x 3- 1/2 pieces of cardboard. Kevin Kouzmanoff leads the way with his 2007 Upper Deck Goudey and 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Red Backs, followed by a 2007 Upper Deck Goudey Red Backs Khalil Greene, 1990 Topps Mini Leaders Bruce Hurst, Eddie Whitson and Mark Davis, and 1979 Kellog's Billy Almon #53B.

I was just mentioning these Kellogs cards and the lenticular printing process used to create them in my last post. The cool thing about this Almon card, is there were two versions - #53A, which incorrectly listed his career doubles through 1978 as "31," and this #53B card, which has his doubles correctly listed as "41."

And then there was this nice stack of stickers, which I don't have very many of in my Padres collection. Now, thanks to Rod, I can boast of having a 2004 Topps Cracker Jack Mini Stickers SP Tim Stauffer, 1989 Topps/OPC Sticker Backs Tony Gwynn, 1990 Panini Stickers Benito Santiago, 1991 Panini Stickers Roberto Alomar, and a 2011 Topps Stickers of Will Venable and Jason Bartlett.

What can I say? I am truly humbled by Rod's generosity and I haven't the foggiest idea of what I have that can even compare to this awesome gift. All I can say is, "Thank you very, very, much Rod!"

However, there's still more to come. Like I said, "I'm going to need a bigger blog," just to show all the San Diego goodies Rod sent me.

Yesterday, I had posted about the uber-box I received from Rod, over at Padrographs: From Abner to Zimmer. It's been one of the sweetest packages I've received from a fellow blogger to date.

How sweet was it, you ask?

Sweet enough to carry it over a couple of posts. I want to show you a few of the other goodies included in this primo package from the Northwest.

Since I collect everything and anything Padres, Rod also included a Padres Blueprint, dated June 10 - 16, 2013. Love me some good Padres reading! He also included a pretty blue 27" x 37" Padres Petco Park flag (the logo is pictured below).

He also included a pretty, blue 27" x 37" Padres Petco Park flag (the logo is pictured above). If you ever get a chance to check out Petco Park, the downtown home of the San Diego Padres, I highly y recommend it, as it's one of the nicest parks you'll ever see.

Rod also included a packaged trio of 1993 Upper Deck Then and Now cards, which included (from top to bottom) Dave Winfield, Ozzie Smith and Tony Gwynn. The holographs on these cards look really sweet, once you have the light coming in at the right angle.

I'm also going to display a few of the odds and ends he sent. Here's a 2006 Ovation Ben Johnson RC, a 2012 Sega Card-Gen Chris Denorfia and a 2011 Topps Wal Mart Black Border Yorvit Torrealba. The Sega card is pretty cool -- a large part of it's actually written in Japanese.

And the final pièce de résistance, complete (or near-complete) San Diego Padres Topps team sets for 1976 - 1982 (Padres Traded team sets are included from this year, forward), team sets from 1984 - 1994, for 1995, and from 1997-2011.

Again, I don't know how to begin to thank Rod for this wonderful package. It was such a totally awesome unexpected gift. All I can say, is "Thank you, Rod."

As I’ve stated once before, my co-workers know better than to mention “SD” around our office. I’m always more than happy to talk to anyone who expresses an interest in “America’s Finest City.” In fact, anyone considering a trip to San Diego ends up at our office, asking me about things to see and do there.

While I'm considered the San Diego subject matter expert, I’m usually asked to do so out of earshot of my coworkers.

I change my screen saver at work at least once every-other-week to another image of San Diego, or Petco, of a harbor scene, or Ocean Beach, or...well, you get the idea.

Now that baseball season is here, not for the first time I wish I was back living in San Diego.

Besides having the best of all worlds – ocean, beach and mountains – San Diego has a lot to offer.

And speaking of a lot to offer (nice segue, eh?), the San Diego Padres also have a lot to offer this season. I’ve had a file sitting in my computer with the Padres 2014 promotional schedule, detailing most of this year’s giveaways.

What's on tap?

I'm glad you asked.

To begin with, the Padres are actually bringing back a ballpark tradition from the late 90's, designating Saturdays "Baseball Night in San Diego." Every Saturday home game will feature some sort of a giveaway for every fan in attendance.

Since this year marks the 30th anniversary of the Padres’ 1984 National League Championship, the Friars will wear replicas of their 1984 brown/orange jerseys during their May 22-25 series against – you guessed it – the Chicago Cubs. That Saturday, fans will receive a replica 1984 brown and orange jersey, the second of the Padres’ three throwback jersey giveaways.

The team will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Petco Park, May 9-11. Besides a special post-game fireworks show on May 9, fans will receive a 10th anniversary commemorative canvas art collectible the following night.

Here's the current list of San Diego fan giveaway goodies:

April 1 - Padres Padres Opening Day Hat (presented by Sycuan)

April 12 - Padres long-sleeve T-shirt (courtesy of State Farm and supported by The Mighty 1090).

April 19 - The first first of three Padres replica jersey giveaways – a Padres Replica Alternate Gyorko Jersey and pet bandanna (presented by Petco)

May 3 - Padres beach blanket (presented by Jerome’s Furniture)

May 10 - 10th Anniversary commemorative canvas art collectible (presented by Petco)

May 24 - The Padres second Replica Retro Jersey May 24 (presented by Fox Sports San Diego)

May 25 - San Diego Padres sunglasses presented by Knockaround

June 7 - Padres Navy blue beach towel (presented by Toyota)

June 21 - Padres “Beat LA” T-shirt

June 25 - Padres fedora (presented by Cox)

July 5 - Padres sports bag (presented by National University)

Aug. 2 - Padres floppy hat

Aug. 30 - Padres mesh hat

Sept. 20 - Padres Bobblehead

Oh, what a great time to be a San Diego Padres fan. I only wish I was there!

Recently, I discovered the joys of COMC for the first time. As they were preparing to transition to their new catalog, they were looking for assistance in inventorying the cards they had in their system. Over a four-day period, for every 1,000 points earned through their challenges, they offered $1 in COMC cash.

By the time the smoke had cleared (and my keyboard had stopped smoldering), I had earned $26 in COMC cash for 26,000+ points. Never having spent much time on COMC, I decided to do some searching and found some interesting cards.

I ended up getting a couple of San Diego Padres cards and a couple of Chicago Blackhawks hockey cards, including a 1952-53 Gus Mortson card and still had change left over.

The two Padres cards I picked up were a 2013 Topps Triple Threads Unity Relics Emerald Alonso S/N 8/18 ($4.99) and a 1988 Kenner Starting Lineup Unissued Goose Gossage (55 cents). The Alonso card has a nice piece of bat embedded, it's emerald, and it's always cool to have a piece numbered to only 18.

The Gossage was listed as a 1988 Starting Lineup Talking Baseball San Diego Padres #28. However, there is no Beckett's listing by that name. In fact, Gossage wasn't included in the standard 1988 Starting Lineup set. The only 1988 Kenner Goose Gossage card I could find referenced was the 1988 Kenner Starting Lineup Unissued. It's a very nice card, regardless.

My other pick-up for the week is this Tony Gwynn card I found on E-Bay.

It's an Edward Vela sketch card of Tony Gwynn. Edward Vela is an artist primarily known for creating unique, hand painted, pieces of art. It's supposed to be a Giclée print, which is supposed to be fine art digital prints made on inkjet printers. There's been about three or four of these listed on E-Bay recently from the artist's website, so I was happy to get one.

All in all, a rather nice week of cards.

Recently, Chris over at Crackin Wax held a 2014 Gypsy Queen Charity Case Break. Initial buy-in for the break was $20 per team, with $5 of the purchase going to charity. Since it took Topps forever to release its checklist, Chris wasn't able to figure out what the final buy-in price was until the final week. At least for my San Diego Padres cards, the buy-in remained at the initial $20.

Each case of 2014 Gypsy Queen contains 10 hobby boxes. Each hobby box has 24 packs with approximately 10 cards per pack, one 10-card mini box, two autograph cards, and two relic cards. That’s an approximate total of 2,500 cards—100 of which are minis and 40 of which are hits!

Over the course of three hours (all documented on video), Chris pulled 46 hits, plus two reverse photo short prints. The big winners were the Blue Jays and Tampa Bay, with five "hits" each. The A's, Astros, Cubs, Indians, Nationals, Pirates, Rangers and Twins all went "hitless."

From the proceeds, $150 went to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

I received multiple copies of all the regular base cards of the San Diego Padres, including Yasmandi Grandal (6), Ian Kennedy (6), Chase Headley (5), Jedd Gyorko (5), Tony Gwynn (6) and Andrew Cashner (7). The Tony Gwynn card is also supposed to have one of those SP, reverse negative photos.

I also received three minis - Yasmani Grandal (2) and Jedd Gyorko. I was very happy to see the Padres ink Gyorko to a long-term contract. I would efinitely love to see him in Padres colors for a long, long time.

I did receive one hit in the break - a Chase Headley Certified Relic card, complete with a white jersey piece.

He also threw in these three 2014 Topps Heritage Padres cards as well - Kyle Blanks, Will Venable and Chase Headley.

All in all, I don't feel I did too bad in the case break. The money went to a very good charity, I got a load of new, fresh-smelling Padres cards (including a nice Headley jersey card) and enough to share with my other Friar friends (yes, look for a PWE to come in the mail - I'll draw lots to see who gets the extra Grandal mini).

One of the many things I find interesting in my life, is serving as a track and field official. When the last full week of April comes, that usually mean's it's the holy grail of the Iowa track season - the Drake Relays.

While I usually concentrate on throwing events (the shot put, discus, hammer throw, and javelin), I crossed over to other events this year, to help out as needed. That included everything from the Pole Vault at the Mall (an actual event at one of our local malls), to serving as a marshall. It's definitely a hoot, but by the time the four-day event is over, I'm more than ready to go home.

That's me in the second row, third from the left.

On the way home from the Relays, I felt I deserved a treat, so I picked up a few cards at one of my local card stores. After adding a few slabs of cardboard for my Padres collection, I also picked up the following packs for 25 cents each, just for the fun of it.

After spending $1.50 more, I went home with two packs of 1990 Upper Deck, a pack of 1989 Topps, a pack of 1991 Bowman and two packs of 1988 Topps Minis.

I always thought these cards were kind of cool, and was just a little disappointed I didn't receive any Padres cards. Included in the 1988 Topps Mini Leaders - 1st Row - Dale Murphy, Jimmy key, Kevin Seitzer and Willie McGee. 2nd Row - Todd Worrell, Teddy Higuera, Jack Clark and Darrell Evans. 3rd Row - Mike Scott, Ozzie Smith, Lou Whitaker and Bob Welch. I also had a "Blackjack" Morris card.

Among the two packs of 1990 Upper Deck, I received Padres cards of Joey Cora and Darrin Jackson. As you can see from the back of the Jackson card, they include a great photo with the stats as well.
Other 1990 Upper Deck cards included David West (#15), Mickey Tettleton CL (60B), Andre Dawson CL (73), Julio Franco CL (82), Kevin Mitchell (117), Devon White (129), Pat Tabler (142)Billy Ripken (184), Bob Ojeda (204), Stan Javier (209), Keith Hernandez (222), Jose DeJesus (255), Roy Smith (284), Alfredo Griffin (338), German Gonzalez (352), Tom Gordon (365), Otis Nixon (379), Shane Rawley (438), Rob Ducey (464), Pascal Perez (487), Steve Lake (491), Mark Portugal (502), Kirk McCaskill (506), Dale Murphy (533), Steve Searcy (575), Steve Bedrosian (618), Eric King (651) and Lance Parish (674).

I also found a Padres card within the Bowman pack, 1B Dave Staton, as well as a gold-stamped MVP card of Juan Gonzalez. The stamping is okay, I guess, if you like marketing ploys that try to help prop up a set that didn't have much promise to begin with. The other Bowman cards were Eric King (#63), Carlos Baerga (69), Joe Orsulak (84), Danny Darwin (111), Mark Davis (306). Todd Ritchie (332), Bobby Thigpen (342), Felix Jose (401), Wally Whitehurst (470), Xavier Hernandez (545), Charlie Leibrandt (573), and Terry Kennedy (631).

As for the 1989 Topps, there's not much to speak of, or to scan for that matter. Cards included Jim Snyder (44), Mark Cler (63), Geno Petralli (137), Dave Stewart (145), Sil Campusano (191), Rob Ducey (203), Jim Leyland (284) complete with wax-stain, Orioles (381), Joe Carter (420), Bo Diz, (422), Buddy Bell (461), Luis Salazar (553), Jimy Williams (594), Robin Yount (615), Bob Brower (754).

Now that was good therapy, after a hard work of Relays. Of course, all the cards, except for the Padres, are up for whoever wants/needs them.

Way back in January, I wrote about the 1977 San Diego Padres Schedule cards and the 47-cards I picked up from E-Bay. The cards, I believe, were either a stadium give-away, or were included by ones or twos, in the envelope when you purchased your tickets. To me, this is one of the Padres' truly oddball sets.

Recently, I was able to find another 25 cards from this set, with only four copies in the group.

Now, I'm within 20 cards of completing the set, but some of the ones I need, such as Marine Lieutenant Jim "Tuba Man" Eakle, may be quite a bit harder to find. At least, I have all the blank back cards already in my possession.

The majority of the cards have a listing of San Diego's Special Events for 1977 on the back, as well as a nice sepia-tone colored picture on the front, in this case, Jerry Turner.

Listing the cards somewhat alphabetically (except for the fact, I scanned them all in reverse order), I'll begin with San Diego's very first draft pick, Ollie Brown, followed by the duo of Steve Arlin cards (one featuring his glove close to his chest and the other showing his follow-through) and Matty Alou.

Here's Glenn Beckert, Clay Kirby, Nate Colbert (and friend) and Jerry Coleman. Due to his untimely death this past winter, the Coleman card was one I particularly wanted in this set. The Colbert card was the second I needed of his four-card series, which also shows him from the waist up and full-figured with a blank back and with Enzo Hernandez).

The next group highlights George Hendrick, Johnny Grubb, Clarence "Cito" Gaston, and Dave Campbell. What's funny, is Dave Campbell is also the club manager for our local VFW. Trust me, the two aren't even closely related.

This series shows Dave Marshall, Clay Kirby, Fred Kendall and Mike Ivie.

The final group includes Bobby Tolan, Ed Spezio, Fred Norman, and coach Bob Miller

The only cards I have left to track down are Bill Almon/Kneeling; Bill Barton; Dave Campbell/Kneeling, Capless; Nate Colbert/Shown waist up; Willie Davis; Tuba Man; Rollie Fingers/Shown waist-up/both hands in glove, in front of body; Cito Gaston/Bat on shoulder/Padres on jersey; Enzo Hernandez and Enzo Hernandez and Nate Colbert; Fred Kendall/Batting Pose; Willie McCovey/With mustache/Bat on shoulder; John McNamara MG/Looking to his right; John Mcnamara MG/Looking straight ahead/Smiling; Fred Norman/Short hair/kneeling; Gene Richards/Shown from thighs up; Ballard Smith GM; Derrell Thomas/Head shot.wearing glasses; Derrell Thomas/Kneeling/Not wearing glasses; Bobby Tolan/Kneeling/Holding cleats in hand; and Dave Winfield/Batting pose/Waist up/Field in background.

Earlier this month I wrote about how I made my first purchase from COMC. As they began their transition into their new catalog, they offered $1 in COMC cash for every 1,000 points earned helping inventory their stock.

They recently reinstated their challenges and needless to say, I took full advantage of it. I was able to raise enough cash to fund my second purchase from COMC.

Does anyone want to take a guess as to what cards I got?

I'll start out with these three autographs. The first is a 1994 Signature Rookies Signatures Joey Hamilton SN 4635/8650, 2010 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Franchise Futures Signatures Jonathan Galvez SN 808/810 and an Upper Deck A Piece of History Rookie Autographs Violet.

I also ended up with a couple memorabilia cards, a 2005 Donruss Greats Souvenirs Materials Bat Steve Garvey and 2010 Topps Commemorative Patch Adrian Gonzalez. I'm not a huge fan of manufactured patch cards, since they can make a patch for anything, but who doesn't love the fat friar?

I jumped at the opportunity to boost my Tony Gwynn collection with the following cards, a 1987 Stuart Panels, 2000 Topps Tek Pattern1-27, 1994 Oscar Mayer Round-Ups, 1989 King-B Discs.

I was able to find a trio of 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones Black Trevor Hoffman 32's'. Numbered to 25, each of these cards represent a save in Trevor Hoffman's 601-save career. With these three cards, I'm now up to 11. Will I try and collect them all? I kind of doubt it, since that's a rather daunting task. However, being they're Padres cards, I'll probably pick them up as I go along.

These six cards closed out my Padres purchases - First Row - 1986 True Value Steve Garvey, 1981 Fleer Rollie Fingers and a 1987 Classic Update Yellow Benito Santiago. Second Row - 1993 U.S. Playing Cards Rookies Frank Seminara, 2013 Bowman Chrome Rising Through the Ranks Mini Max Fried, 2009 Topps Wal Mart Black Border Will Venable.

I also added to my hockey collection. With the Minnesota Wild basing their AHL team in Des Moines this year, and as a season ticket holder, I had the opportunity to see these youngsters play. Kris Foucault is represented through his 2013-14 Panini Prizm Autographs and his 2012-13 Panini Rookie Anthology RC S/N 578/699. Jason Zucker spent most of this season in Minnesota and it'll be interesting to see if he returns to Iowa next year. Here's his 2012-13 Fleer Retro Rookie Sensations Autograph.

In my last COMC report, I mentioned a pair of Blackhawk hockey cards I picked up in my initial purchase. Joe, who writes the blog The Shlabotnik Report, mentioned he was a COMC seller.

"As a seller on COMC, I would like to offer you my heartfelt gratitude at your tireless efforts to update the catalog," Joe wrote. "You got some nice stuff for your efforts... I wouldn't mind seeing the Blackhawk cards, would that violate the Brown & Gold theme too much?"

This one's for you Joe. Pictured is my 1952-53 Parkhurst Gus Mortson and 2001-02 Topps Heritage Salute Pierre Pilote.

I'd really love to stay and chat a little more, but there's only a couple more categories left to catalog on COMC and there's a few more Padres cards I have my eyes on...

While thre are times that baseball's ceremonial first pitch is rather boring, you have to admit the San Diego Padres know how to do it up right, as they fielded a special guest during yesterday's traditional toss.

During Wednesday's rubber match of the Kansas City-San Diego Padres series at Petco Field, a life-sized baby T-Rex from the arena show "Walking with Dinosaurs" threw out the first pitch at Petco Park.

T-Rex's First Pitch

After bobbling the one-hopper from the baby T-Rex, San Diego's Swinging Friar mascot attempted to return the ball to the pitcher and, shades of "Jurrasic Park," almost had his head bitten off. I'm not sure if the T-Rex was embarrased over bouncing the pitch, or gave in to his baser instincts, but to say the least, the Fat Friar was surprisingly nimble on his feet.

You gotta' love it!

Since we were at our local Wally World shopping for a couple of birthday cards, I naturally meandered into the card aisle. There wasn't much to look at, other than closeout sales of 2013 Topps baseball.

I did, however, happen to catch a glimpse of the 2014 MLB Chipz display. Surely you remember them from last year - four MLB chips, a team sticker and a game board. There is one noted variation in this year's version of the clay poker chips - new color chipz. At $1.98 each, I ended up picking up a couple of packs just to pique my curiosity.

Once again, the chips are white, painted with red seams to resemble a baseball. On the front, is a player picture, with his position and an over-sized team logo. The background is color-based on the team's colors, i.e., a red background for the Reds, blue for the Rangers or Blue Jays, etc. The backs have the players' name, team name and the Topps, MLB and MLBPA logos, as well as the manufacturing info.

What's new, is this year's offering includes those colored parallels - red (1:2), blue (1:3) and black (1:4). The silver (1:10) chipz return, as do the gold (1:36), magnetic (1:4) glow-in-the-dark (1:2), relic chipz (with lower odds, formerly 1:1,047, now 1:845), and instant winner (with slightly better odds, formerly 1:5,236, now 1:4244). They've replaced the autographed chipz this year with mascot chipz (1:4).
You can also continue to play their flipping game (you can actually flip the chipz) with the enclosed game sheet.

In the first pack, I found a red Dustin Pedroia, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Robinson Cano and Carlos Gonzalez.

In the second, was a red Madison Bumgarner, Hanley Ramirez, Yadier Molina and Jason Castro.

As I stated before, I won't collect these, but I can see picking up a pack here and then just to scratch that pack-breaking itch on occasion.

I don't know if anyone's getting tired of my COMC blogs yet, but I made one last purchase with my "free" money. Bear with me now, as I lay a little bit of background one more time.

Earlier this month I wrote about how I made my first purchase from COMC. As they began their transition into their new catalog, they offered $1 in COMC cash for every 1,000 points earned helping inventory their stock.

They recently reinstated their challenges and needless to say, I took full advantage of it. I was able to raise enough cash to fund my third purchase from COMC.

Once again, I was able to use rest of the COMC cash that was burning a hole in my pocket to fulfill my San Diego Padres urges.

While looking among the many Padres cards within the COMC catalog, I was able to find some rather colorful cardboard, to include this 2008 Topps Replica Jerseys Jake Peavy S/N 134/499, 2014 Topps Red Foil Nick Hundley and a pair of 2013 Bowman Draft Draft Picks Hunter Renfroes, one Blue S/N 104/500, the other a Silver Ice card.

I've never heard of this series, but the artwork on this 2009 Topps Update Propaganda Adrian Gonzalez was pretty interesting. I also took the opportunity to go old school with this 1977 Kellogg's Randy Jones and 1974 Topps Bob Tolan. The San Diego Tribune recently had an interesting article on Randy Jones in its "52" section.

I've always been a fan of the Topps Museum Collection, but it always seems the packs were a tad too expensive for my tastes. I was able to pick up this 2013 Topps Museum Collection Copper Chase Headley S/N 110/424 and a 2011 Topps Heritage Minors Red Tint Jason Hagerty S/N 330/620 and a pair of 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones Black 32 Trevor Hoffman, Career Save 1, S/N 5/25 and Career Save 14, S/N 4/25. Each card represents a save in Hoffman's 601-save career. In my last purchase, I found saves 133, 360, and 411 and now I have the card representing his very first save

I added a couple of more minis to my Padres collection well, with a 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen Mini Black Yasmani Grandal S/N 24/199 and a 2011Topps Kimball Champions.

I know these aren't Brown and Gold, but I figured Green and Gold were close enough. I became a Green Bay Packer fan during the Vince Lombardi era and have been a fan ever since.1959 Topps Jerry Kramer, Babe Parilli and Max McGee, and a 1967 Philadelphia Henry Jordan .

I am now down to my final 21 cents.

Eventually, I'll add some Paypal money to my COMC account, but until then, boy, what a fun ride it's been.

Since last weekend was the second of the month, you know what that means...It's time for Urbandale's monthly American Legion Card Show.

It's been a couple of months since the last card show, due to the fact it was absent in April. I've been anxiously counting down the days and putting my spare change aside, so let's check out what I got in the way of San Diego Padres cards this month, shall we?

By the way, all these cards, except for one, came out of nickel boxes. Can you guess which one?

I was at an American Post Exchange in Germany in 1996 when I bought my first pack of 1995 Emotion cards. While it was the hockey set, I thought these cards from Fleer/Skybox were pretty amazing. With, a big bold player picture on the front and two more smaller player pics on the back, these cards could actually be summed up in one word. Literally, in one word. If you check out the Ken Caminiti card, his word was "secure" and and Scott Sanders' was "slider" his "out" pitch.

I've also resisted the impulse to come up with a bad Sanders pun. He and Derek Bell were arrested in April 1994 for allegedly propositioning undercover policewomen on a Manhattan street corner often frequented by prostitutes.

I'm also a sucker for hologram cards and while Rod, from Padrographs: Abner to Zimmer included a packaged trio of 1993 Upper Deck Then and Now Padres cards in a fantastic package, these individual Dave Winfield and Ozzie Smith cards from the 1993 Upper Deck Then and Now set just had to be added to my collection.

Amongst my search for the finest cards I could find, were these from the 2003 Finest set, with Phil Nevin and Ryan Klesko, as well as Finest's 1994 version, featuring Dave Staton and Trevor Hoffman. I don't think you can ever have enough Trevor Hoffman cards.

Even though he was a Friar for only two-and-a-half years, Fernando Valenzuela looked good in Padres pinstripes in his 1996 Pacific card. I've also included Eddie Williams and Ken Caminiti's cards from the set, and the final card is a 1995 Upper Deck Minors Dustin Hermanson.

As these cards prove, I have a flair for finding cardboard such as these 1994 Flair Andy Benes, Donnie Elliott, Tim Hyers and Scott Sanders cards.

Here's Scott Livingston's 1995 Score Gold Rush, a 2002 Topps Heritage Ryan Klesko, a 1992 Pinnacle Benito Santiago and 1996 Upper Deck Rickey Henderson. My wife gets bored at the card shows and card shops, but she doesn't mind seeing some of the cards when I come home. She said feels the Pinnacle card is kind of freaky and shows Santiago's sinister side.

Finally, I'll display my new 2014 Bowman Jed Gyorko, 1994 Studio Andy Ashby, 1985 Fleer Goose Gossage and 2012 Panini Signature Series Cameron Maybin. I'm not very familiar with this particular line of Panini cards, but the photography is sharp and you have to like that look of intensity on Maybin's face.

As usual, I picked up a bunch of traders for my blogging brethren, so whenever I get around to it, I'll have a a few more cards to send throughout the continental U.S.

Forgive me all, for I have been off the net and away from Bleedin' Brown and Gold for more than a month.

Between National Guard annual training and my most recent military school at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, Duff's been a rather busy boy.

And a rather sad one. I've been in rather a bit of a funk these past few weeks.

It's been very hard for me to fathom that Tony Gwynn, the epitome of all that is right and good with San Diego, San Diego baseball and baseball as a whole, has passed away at the age of 54.

Our heroes and idols aren't supposed to pass away at such a young age. They're supposed to inspire us and keep us believing in all that's good and right with sports and our world. Tony Gwynn was a person who transcended both.

When we lived in San Diego, it was the time of Randy Jones and Mike Ivie, Rollie Fingers and Ozzie Smith. Gwynn had just entered San Diego State University as a basketball player.

I regret the fact that I've never personally met the man. I had hoped my wife and I could catch a San Diego State baseball game the next time we visited San Diego and catch Coach Gwynn in action. I hoped we could hear his booming, infectious laugh and perhaps get an autograph.

The closest we came to Gwynn was during our 2007 visit, when we had our picture taken in front of his Petco statue during a Padres-Giants game we attended, as well as a picture of his three-story jersey hung from the County Administration building in honor of his Hall of Fame induction that year.

I think what bothers me the most, is the fact Gwynn died at such a young age, just a few years younger than me. Back in 2008, I came back from National Guard annual training in South Korea and a buddy of mine who was my age and on the trip with us, passed away at his home a week later.

His death hit me pretty hard, since he was in decent shape, we had just spent a great two weeks in a foreign country together, and he was the same age as me.

I have packages in hand from Marcus, Fuji, Nick, Johnny R., the Junior Junkie, and P-Town Tom. I thank you and I'll post something about them in the upcoming weeks. It's nothing personal, I just have to get rid of this funk that surrounds me right now.

As I'm still wading through June's huge influx of card packages, I'll take this opportunity to display a few highlights of my purchases from the June Urbandale American Legion Card Show. While this monthly show generally has a substantial amount of dealers, there were considerably less sellers present at this show than usual.

While it was disappointing the dealer I usually stop at first, he with the huge stack of nickel boxes, wasn't at this month's show, I was able to find a few dime and quarter boxes to sate my fix for Padres cardboard. To say the least, it certainly proved to be a colorful visit.

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "T" and the colors purple, green, blue and red.

If purple is the color of royalty, then I certainly found regalness in the Padres court, as evidenced by these 2011 Bowman Chrome Draft Purple Refractor Blake Tekotte, 2013 Bowman Chrome Purple Refractor Casey Kelly and Jedd Gyorko, 2012 Bowman Prospects Purple Joe Ross, 2012 Topps Chrome Purple Refractor James Darnell and 2012 Topps Chrome Purple Refractor Yonder Alonso.

If green is your color, then you won't be disappointed with these 2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects Green Refractors Adys Portillo, Yasmani Grandal and Yonder Alonso, and 2013 Topps Emerald Andrew Cashner and Alexi Amarista

I think I'm pretty well cured of my previous funk which kept me away for a period of time, but these blue Bowman and Topps cards certainly lent themselves to my mood during this time. Here's a 2008 Bowman Blue Adrian Gonzalez S/N 288/500, 2011 Topps Update Wal Mart Blue Border Dustin Moseley and Chris Denorfia, 2013 Bowman Blue Yasmani Grandal S/N 277/500, and 2010 Bowman Blue Alex Gonzalez S/N 179/520

What better color to end, then red? Here's some 2013 Topps Update Target Red Border Chris Denorfia, 2013 Topps Target Red Border Edinson Volquez, 2014 Topps Red Foil Eric Stults, and a 2011 Topps Chrome Orange Refractor Orlando Hudson.

I recently had the opportunity to raid the COMC website once more, thanks to the COMC Challenge. I did have to add a little of my own money this time, however, to help cover shipping and handling. I also have another bunch of cards I've purchased through the site, but I'm going to wait until there's another challenge to build up my COMC war chest again.

I'm not sure why working on cards makes me hungry at times. But then again, perhaps it has something to do with cards such as these food issues - a 1994 Church's Hometown Stars Phil Plantier, 1982 Drake's Terry Kennedy, 1992 Topps McDonald's Benito Santiago. Also pictured is a 2011 Topps Update Gold Aaron Harang S/N 865/2011, 2013 Bowman Chrome Prospects Blue Wave Refractors Jeremy Baltz, and a 2003 Donruss Elite Extra Edition Cory Stewart S/N 163/900.

I believe I've state earlier how I enjoy the Gaylord Perry era, as well as watching Randy Jones pitch for my beloved Friars. With that in mind, it's a no-brainer I'd pick up these 2004 Leaf Certified Cuts K-Force Gaylord Perry S/N 390/500, 1999 Sports Illustrated Greats of the Game Cover Collection and 1976 Kellogg's Randy Jones, as well as a pair of Peavys - a 2007 Exquisite Collection Rookie Signatures S/N 93/99 and a 2008 Upper Deck Piece of History Franchise History S/N 62/699.

Next up is a 2011 Topps Heritage Minors Jedd Gyorko, a pair of 1996 Crash the Game Ken Caminitis - one Gold and the other an Exchange, a pair of Dave Winfields - a 2002 Topps 206 and 2011 Topps Gypsy Queen Framed Paper S/N 691/999, and a 2013 Bowman Chrome Cream of the Crop Mini Jedd Gyorko. I can never have enough Caminiti or Winfield cards in my collection, so these definitely helped. And of course, being older Padres players, it was definitely a bonus to pick up those cards.

What's a COMC purchase without a few cards of varying colors? 2012 Bowman Prospects Purple Jonathan Galvez, 2010 Bowman Chrome Prospects Purple Refractor S/N 416/999, 2011 Bowman Chrome Prospects Purple Refractor Zach Cates S/N 589/799, 2013 Bowman Draft Picks Orange Hunter Renfroe S/N 31.250, 2014 Topps Yellow Yonder Alonso, and a 2013 Bowman Chrome Green Refractor Casey Kelly.

I'm just waiting for COMC to open up its challenges again so I can build up my COMC bucks and get my hands on a few more Padres cards. After all, how can you beat free money?

During my recent AWOL period from the internet and my many military trips, I found a huge pile of envelopes sitting on my desk in the basement. I'm only now finding the time to wade through all them all. The thing that truly amazes me, however, is the warmth and generosity of my blogging brethern.

And with that, I'll begin with the package I received from Fuji, the delightful author of Chronicles of Fuji.

2010 Bowman Draft USA Jerseys Chris Okey, 2002 Bowman's Best Gold Greg Sain Bat, 2013 Hometown Heroes SP Steve Garvey, 1974 Topps Randy Jones. Okey was a high school catcher selected in the 31st-round by the Padres in the 2013 draft. Okey instead opted to play for the Clemson Tigers. He has also made four appearances with Team USA baseball, his latest, with the Collegiate National Team. Sain, a 1B, 3B and C, played six years in the Padres minor league system, rising to the AAA level, before trundling off to the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers. He last played with the Florida State Tampa League Yankees in 2006.

And then there's the three different flavors of the 2013 Bowman Platinum Chase Headley - a Ruby, Saphire and Gold, sandwiched around a 1988 Topps UK Tony Gwynn card.

And of course, Fuji included a wonderful note, "Hey Duff, Thanks for those Padres cards. Here are a few of your PC. Take care. Fuji"

Thank you Fuji, for a wonderful addition to my collection.

March Urbandale American Legion Card Show Part 1

March Urbandale American Legion Card Show Part 2

March Urbandale American Legion Card Show Part 3

Sportsflics, anyone?

Total awesomeness, the Padrographs way!

Total awesomeness, the Padrographs way, Redux!

2014 - The Year of Great Padres Game Giveaways

My first COMC purchase

2014 Gypsy Queen Charity Case Break

Relays week and 1988 - 1991 pack busting

More 1977 Padres Schedule Cards

Hitting the COMC jackpot again

Baby T-Rex throws out Petco Park first pitch

2014 MLB Chipz

Hitting up COMC once more on thier dime

May Cardboard goodies from Urbandale Card Show

A belated return to Bleedin' Brown and Gold

June Urbandale Card Show

Raiding the COMC site again

Fuji cards