Free cards

For a while it seemed like every other blog was participating in the free card Friday movement, though the phenomenon has practically disappeared. However, I claimed some cards from 2 different bloggers before the end. The first person I claimed some cards from was Jon, of A Penny Sleeve for Your Thoughts. He was definitely putting up some quality cards for free. Here's the three I got from him:

I only claimed the Brooks Robinson and the DiMaggio from his blog, but he sent Pete Rose as an extra! Neither Brooks nor Pete are exactly in mint condition, but anybody who wants to send me vintage hall-of-famers for free is welcome. 1971 and 1973 Topps were both some of the best sets of the '70s, in my opinion.

I also claimed a couple from Nick, who writes Dime Boxes -- The Low-End Baseball Card Collector's Journey, one of the blogs which made me decide to give blogging a try myself. I only claimed two, but he also sent a couple extras:

These were the 2 that I claimed off the blog, and they packed a punch. I was very happy to get a vintage Phil Niekro, as it was just my 3rd vintage card of him.

These were the four "throw-ins", and mighty good "throw-ins" too. I don't remember if I told him that I liked minor league cards, or if it was just a coincidence, but I was very glad to get some. For one thing, minor league cards are generally a good deal rarer than major league cards. Also, they're more off the beaten path. It's also very interesting to see major leaguers before they made it to the big time (Kevin Seitzer, Rex Hudler) and after ( Fred Gladding.) My favorite of these is Rex Hudler A.K.A "Wonder Dog". It's got a good design and a good picture. I really liked the Seitzer too, as he went on to be a good major leaguer, and because it's a TCMA minor league card.

In retrospect, I wish that I claimed more cards from people, but I guess it's OK. If I claimed too many cards I would have felt obliged to host one or two free card Fridays myself, and I'd go broke from the shipping. Okay, maybe it wouldn't leave me penniless, but it wouldn't be too far off.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Jon and Nick for the cards!