I Couldn't Resist This One - A Cub, A 1971 Kellogg's Card and a Proof Card - All in One

Getting a few Pete Rose promos was great.  I couldn't resist getting a Cub so I purchased Jim Hickman.  Sure I probably should have spent a few more bucks and bought a Bob Gibson, but I am a collector and Cubs are first on my list.

I ended up with a 1971 Jim Hickman proof card from the same collection as the Rose proof cards.

The picture appears to be the same, but the background definitely is a bit different.  Check out the clouds to get an idea of how it differed.  

I've got about 10 proof cards now.  This is the first one I've checked closely for differences.  I guess I'll be looking at the others ones soon.  

Pete Rose Again - This Kellogg's Baseball Card is Quite Unique

I don't need to compare this 1975 Pete Rose Proof card to the actual 1975 card to check for differences.  Do you know why?

The border is quite different from the border used in the 1975 set.  I'll have to look for a 1975 cereal box to see if it looks like this Rose card.  

Below is a 1975 card that was found in the set that year.  Notice the huge difference in the border.  The name and position boxes are designed slightly differently as well.  

A Different 1977 Pete Rose Kellogg's Baseball Card

I remember talking to Pete Rose once at the Rosemont Convention Center.  It was probably almost 20 years ago.  He was at the loading dock having a smoke.  No, that's not why I was there.  I've never smoked anything and I don't plan to start anytime soon.

He seemed like a good guy.  His status in the world today is a bit different than 20 years ago.  His cards are still certainly sought after.

The card show below was surprisingly not popular in a recent auction.  This card is a proof card from the 1977 Kellogg's set.  The blank-back card has a nice history that has been documented by the grading service.  This one and a few others that I own come from a photographer for Topps & Xograph.

There have been other blank-back cards listed in auctions, but it's nice to know where these ones originated and why.

I have yet to compare this card to an actual Rose card from the 1977 set to see if there are any differences.  I'll get to that someday like everything else.   

Tomorrow's card has a different story.

Hawk Harrelson's B-Day - I Wonder if He Ever Saw This Pack of Kellogg's Cards?

Happy birthday to Ken Harrelson who turns 74 today.  

By the time he was 29 he was done in the big leagues.  He had one season of 100+ RBIs and he was named to the all-star team once.  Of course he did play a few of those seasons when pitchers dominated the game.

Lots of people do not like him as an announcer.  There is even a website that is focused on getting him fired.  I'm not a White Sox fan, but I find him to be fine in the booth.  Maybe I'm biased because I caddied for him once as a teenager when we has trying to be a golfer.  He wore the ugliest Yellow Pages shirt and pants combination that day.  

When thinking back on announcers in Chicago, the reason that Hawk is on the list that I like is simple - he played the game and he talks about when he played the game.  Lots of people don't like that he rambles on about Ted Williams and others, but that's perfect for the slow pace of games.  

I'll take the former athlete over the polished journalism major anytime, as long as I can understand what they are saying.  

My Favorite Player Made News Today - Check Out His Kellogg's Pack

As a kid #26 on the Cubs was my favorite player.  The only thing we had in common was playing the outfield, but he remained my favorite.  When he was traded to the A's he disappeared in my mind since there was no inter league play.  

Billy Williams has some great Kellogg's cards.  The only thing better than a 1970 card of Williams is a 1970 card in the original pack.

On this day in 1970 Williams took a day off.  He held the NL record for consecutive games played with 1,117 until Steve Garvey (ugh!) broke it in the 1980s.  

It was nice to know that if you went to a Cub game that Williams would be in the lineup.   I've been to a few Bulls games in the last few years and I've yet to see Derrick Rose play.  When I finally got to a game against the Lakers, Kobe Bryant didn't play because he was tired.  My job doesn't work that way.  

I'm searching for unique items from Kellogg's and Hostess that feature Williams as a Cub.

Kellogg's Baseball Cards - Grading or Not? Which Service? What About Packs?

I've got a lot of Kellogg's cards.  If you've been reading along with my unorganized posts, you might guess that my cards are also unorganized.  One thing that is organized is my box of cards that seem to be worthy of grading.  I'm not really sure where that box is, but the cards have been separated from the others.

I'm not a collector of graded cards.  I've picked up a few dozen over the years from buying lots of mixed cards.  I will probably sell them to pay for the items that I've spent too much money on recently.

Which company is the best one to use to grade Kellogg's cards?

I've never submitted a card for grading.  What do I look for in a Kellogg's card before submitting it.

I know that 1970, 1971 and 1975 cards are worth grading if they are in top condition, but which cards are not worth sending for grading?

What about individual packs?

What about 1970 packs?

Does anyone grade/seal Kellogg's factory sets?

Unopened Kellogg's Pack Challenge Continues - 1972 All-Time Greats

Progress has been slow on my goal to get every Kellogg's card in an unopened pack.  My teacher budget is certainly a limiting factor here.  I'm not in a hurry either, so the chase is fun.  

The Hornsby below is from the 1972 All-Time Greats Set.   I think that I now have five of the 15 cards in the packaging.  It will probably be quite difficult and/or expensive to get the Gehrig and Ruth cards.   

This card certainly takes me back to 1972 when my mother never would buy Pop-Tarts or Danish Go Rounds.  I only saw these cards because my friend's mom bought these products.  I don't know how we managed to not get these items since we always had cookies, chips, Frosted Flakes, Kool-Aid and everything else that caused me to get fillings everywhere.  Don't get me started on the instructions for making Kool-Aid in the 1970s.  Ugh!