My Bridal(?) Shower haul

My Fiancee had her Bridal shower last weekend and I was lucky enough to get some baseball loot along with all of the kitchen hand towels, mixing bowls, and silverware sets.  I wasn't in attendance but several of her friends were nice enough to think about me while shopping for gifts that are (mostly) for her.  To say the least, I was surprised to see that I actually got some gifts of my own.

First off I got this book  "Orioles Essential" by Thom Loverro.  Its got Cal Ripken on the cover so I'm pretty sure its a good book.  I'm still learning about the Orioles history so this book will come in handy when I get around to reading it.

Another one of her close friends bought me a pack of this year's Topps series 1.  While I got nothing of real interest in the pack, it was still nice of her to think of me.

And last but not least, one of her former co-workers and still close friend gave me a small gift bag filled with VINTAGE CARDS.  This is the same friend that had me look up some values last summer for a '66 Pete Rose and couple of vintage Yankees for her.  Apparently, she had been cleaning out her mother-in-law's house and came across these old cards.  I'm sure glad she did.  Look at some of the nice cards that I now have:

'58 Ernie Banks!

'66 Lou Brock!

'68 Ron Santo!

A couple '68 Topps Game cards

A few '65 Topps Embossed inserts

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  There was probably over 100 cards in the gift bag so I'm very grateful to have them.  My vintage collection is lacking good quality cards (condition wise) so I couldn't be happier with these.

If my haul was this good, I wonder what I might get as wedding gifts when the big day comes?

Trade with Larry from Emerald City Diamond Gems

I solicited Larry a couple weeks ago about trading. I knew I could knock come cards off of his "Super Set". He has already featured some of the cards that I sent him. All of the cards that Larry sent me were great in their own way and I wish I could feature every single one of them but I was able to narrow it down to 5 cards that really standout to me.

1959 Topps Jerry Walker. I know nothing about Jerry except what is on the back of this particular card. It looks like he put up a great season in the "Sally" League in 1958 but had a rough go of it when he got the call to the big club.

1967 Topps "Dave" Johnson. It's kinda funny how Topps will lengthen and shorten names on a whim. Everybody knows this guy as Davey Johnson. He had a good career with the Orioles as a player and as a manager. It's hard to believe that he was at the helm of the team when the Orioles last had a winning record or were in the playoffs. Seems so long ago

1984 Donruss Diamond King Eddie Murray. This is one of the few cards that I have seen Eddie smiling in. Since this is a painting, I am not surprised he was painted this way. For some odd reason 1984 Donruss had eluded me until now. Larry was able to almost finish off my team set. the only card I am missing is Rick Dempsey.

Larry also included some surprise cards in the package that I definitely will enjoy:

1989 Hagerstown Suns Brian Ebel. While he isn't a player, it does show that trainers work their way up the organizational ladder too! When this card was printed he had already been in the Oriole Organization for 4 years (3 years at Bluefield, and 1 year at Erie). Brian is currently the Assistant Trainer for the Orioles. He also has a lot less hair!

1997 Pacific something card: While I am not a fan of Pacific cards, this is an indicative card of the 90s: tons of gawdy foil stamping, a gimmick (his mugshot is printed on a clear plastic window) and a great shot Brady Anderson doing something (the card back shows him sliding into second).

Thanks Larry for the trade and the great cards!