Diamond King Challenge

One of the fun aspects about our hobby is finding out about cards you had no idea existed. A few weeks back I made such a discovery and really cashed in on some unique cardboard. 

A set that I hold near and dear to my heart is the mid 2000's versions of Diamond Kings.  I'm a fan of canvas cards so that got me interested right away, but what set DK apart was that the checklist was Pirate heavy.  As many of these cards I purchased over the years, one parallel set flew under the radar until my recent eBay discovery.

Have you heard of the DK Challenge Factory Set? Apparently the first 450 collectors to send in the complete base set of 450 cards received a special DK Challenge factory set. Each set would also come with 4 printing plates and two random one of one inserts.  That was news to me. 

When browsing eBay I often look for DK cards and came across a seller liquidating a huge collection of the 1/1's from the challenge set.  I'm not sure if he had them all, but it was close.  I put all the Pirates on my watch list. 

If I recall correctly 11 Pirate 1/1's were listed and I managed to secure 9 of them. The Jason Kendall and Aramis Ramirez were the only ones I lost. High end Kendall cards sell well for whatever reason.   While it may look like I broke the bank, only 2 sold for more than $5 (Jack Wilson and Dave Parker).  Obviously some of the big names went for some huge coin, but overall some good deals were for the taking. I'm guessing the obscurity of the set scared some people off. 

The cards themselves mirror the normal DK cards minus the word "challenge" embossed on the bottom right.  You can't really tell from the scan, but you can notice what looks like some squiggly lines.  That's the work challenge. 

Here they are!

I'm most excited for the two Jason Bay cards.  I'm to the point where it is hard for me to find new ones and I was able to add two from the same seller. For appearance purposes the Cobra would be my first pick.  The guy just has a ton of good cardboard.

Did you know this set existed?

PS: If you want to join Secret Santa 2017 click here.

Thanks for reading.

Flying Aspirations

For a three year stretch in the mid 2000's Jack Wilson was second to only Jason Bay in unique cards I added to my collection. Fast forward to today and it seems like I have to  hunt for Wilson cards that I don't have. Months will pass without even adding one. The rarer ones that do hit eBay sale surprisingly well.  A nice patch card just hit a few weeks back and sold for over $20. 

Thankfully COMC recently provided some fun cards. 

2006 Upper Deck Special F/X Purple Jack Wilson /150

UD Special F/X was sort of the Chrome version of regular UD. I've seen this card a few times on eBay but the shipping costs were always more than what the card costs.  COMC to the rescue. 

Jack Wilson 2004/2005 Donruss Elite Aspirations /98

Back when these sets first came out and I use to hoard as many of the diecut parallels as I could get my hands on.  I love them. Guess I'm a sucker for diecut. The 2004 version is my favorite, but the numbering is much easier to read on the 2005.  

It has been kind of funny as I had been bad mouthing COMC lately and sure enough I've found a handful of cards that were must buys.  I just need to be more thankful that places besides eBay exist to buy cards online. 

Thanks for reading. 

In the Studio

I was sorting through some cards this morning and discovered a huge pile that I had meant to post, but pushed aside.

Back in the early fall I discovered a Pirate collector looking to get rid of his collection. He was listing most of his auctions with the BIN function. After a little back in forth I was able to get a few hundred cards off of him. Most were parallels and mid 90's variants which made me extremely happy.

The most recent cards I received from him were some the mid 2000's Studio sets.  Here is some of the more notable 2005 versions.

I was happiest to secure the /10 proofs I showed first.  They don't pop up much so to get them from the same seller was a huge bonus. The Private Signings Jose Castillo is numbered to /50 while the bottom silver proofs are to /100. 

It is fun trying to chase obscure guys from the mid 2000's. While the likes of Kip Wells and Jose Castillo remind most Pirate fans how thin the organization was doing this time, I continue to try and fill loose ends from this time period.  Maybe to constant reminder of how bad these guys were help me appreciate how far the Pirate organization has come recently. 

Thanks for reading! 

Emeralds

I'm always excited to add new cards to my collection. The day I'm not excited probably should be the day I stop. With that being said I'm always a little more excited when I can add cards of Pirates from the mid 2000's. Players like Jason Bay, Freddie Sanchez and Jack Wilson hold a special place in my heart. The teams were terrible during this time period, but this was peak card collecting and game attending for me.

When I see cards like this I always get a little more excited then seeing any of the modern Pirates.

 2005 Leaf Certified Jack Wilson Emerald /5

While I wasn't a super collector of Jack Wilson like Mark from Battlin' Bucs I have a pretty complete collection. Pretty much most of my holes consist of high end parallels and odd ball releases. When cards like this pop up I get tunnel vision and want to win them no matter what. Fortunately this parallel didn't have much action and I was able to secure it for for around $8. Hopefully this wasn't one Mark needed. 

Thanks for reading! 

Super Donut

Before blogging, I had a limited knowledge on oddball baseball cards. Most of my memories were of Denny's hologram cards and Sports Illustrated for Kids. I just never really grasped how many cool oddballs existed.

Shortly after starting Bob Walk the Plank I quickly realized that the oddball card market was vast. You could be in for a life's adventure by just tackling weird releases of your chosen team. Soon enough I began receiving oddball after oddball in trades. This allowed me to get a nice base of what was out there.

While searching for some older Jack Wilson cards I came across this little gem.

2007 Jack Wilson Super Donut

Super Bakery is co-owned by Franco Harris and produces healthy pastries. In 2007 they came out with a Jack Wilson themed release. The above card was associate with that release.

I wasn't familiar with Super Donuts, but it seems they have kind of a cult following. For years they distributed just to schools and regional grocery stores, but have recently begun distributing all over the US. Part of me wants to order a case and see what a healthy donut tastes like.

I'm sure not as good as the real thing....

Thanks for reading.

Back in Time

2004 Fleer Connexions Dual Auto Craig Wilson/Jack Wilson /25

This was one of the first Pirate dual autos in my collection.  I may have had a Stadium Club Co-Signers before this as some of these cards start to blend in together.  One things for sure is that this was one of my first ever eBay purchases for a sportscard.  I had been on eBay for a long time (2001) as I was really into Magic the Gathering and didn't have a local shop that sold MTG singles.  One of my friends owned a card shop until 2004 so eBay didn't serve a purpose for me baseball card wise until he closed his doors.  I'm always envious of people who still have a nice LCS to visit.

I always liked this dual as you can barely see the stickers.  It was rare for the Pirates during this time period to have high end releases so when I heard about this card I had to have it.  One of these popped up not to long ago and surprisingly still fetched a decent price.  Hard to believe this has been in my collection for over ten years.  

Jack Wilson played shortstop for the Pirates from 2001-09 and Craig Wilson was a utility player from 2001-06.  While no relation, both Wilson's were good players.  I think Craig's skill set would be a little more appreciated today as he was a high obp guy who could play multiple positions.  The Pirates for some reason cut ties with him for next to nothing in return.  Typical move for a mid 2000's Pirates team.  

Have a great weekend!

Jumping Jack Flash 1/1

2005 Topps Finest Jack Wilson 1/1

Here is another card from the mid 2000's.  I've owned this Jack Wilson 1/1 for a long time.  He was never a high seller on eBay so if I recall correctly I grabbed it not long after the 2005 set released for a reasonable amount.  A glove first shortstop, Jack manned short for the Bucs from 2001-09.  The Pirates have had a hard time trying to fill Jack's shoes since he was traded to the Mariners.  I'm hoping Jordy Mercer continues to progress to stop the shortstop carousel.  

Two big series right before the All Star break for the Buccos against the Cardinals and the Reds.  The Pirates have made some headway in the standings and now are only 4 1/2 games out of first.  Lets hope the Cardinals continue to struggle so we can finally catch up to those pesky Brewers.

WTF JW2 1/1

I own a lot of unique cards but this one probably takes the prize.  This is a 2004 Donruss Elite Aspirations 1/1 auto of Jack Wilson.  Did his kid sign it?  Maybe he thought he would make the 1/1 extra special?  All I know is that this is one of the weirder cards I've ever seen.

Jack used the same walk up music his entire career.  Jumpin Jack Flash....Great Song!

Wilson was a mainstay in the Pirates lineup from 2001 to 2009.  A plus defender most of his career he would often make crazy defensive plays going to his right and making jump throws to first.   He earned his only All Star appearance in 2004 when he had a career offensive year accumulating over 200 hits.  The Pirates have had trouble filling Jack's shoes since his trade to the Mariners in 2009.  Lets hope Jordy Mercer can develop into a productive everyday shortstop.