Collecting As Ordered By The Evil Zurg

I think bloggers like to show off their collections. The internet has allowed this to an extent never seen before. We were influenced and thrilled without ever having to visit a store or another place outside our home.

So blogger Fuji asked the card collecting community to tell what other non-sports items we collect. Collectors are, by nature, gatherers. In being such, we gather all sorts of items that stimulate us.

After many years in the sports industry, I needed something on off days to pre-occupy me. so I began to garage sale. Rather than antiques and "chachkees", I gravitated toward toys. I have been hooked ever since. 

I have to say that DISNEY's Toy Story is the ultimate - both toys and Disney, two of my favorite things to collect. Recently, I picked up 3 action figures from TOYS STORY 3 movie:

The favorite - the EVIL EMPEROR ZURG - who is bent on killing BUZZ LIGHTYEAR. 

I love toy villains ! And every villain must have a henchman to do their dirty work. Zurg has a robot named SPARKS.

and a sidekick named  TWITCH.

The 3 are out to destroy all that is good in the galaxy. The Evil Zurg even has a massive ray gun !

Here are the menacing trio lined up to kill other toys.

I've amassed a few hundred toy figures and characters. Lately, it been a lot of robots and mechanized figures.  Here is a look into a small section of one cabinet. This is the Transformer section. 

This is a fraction of the Disney figures.

And embarassingly, this is a recent addition because of a fellow blogger (you all know him). I am not sure if this is the pony's rookie edition. We'll have to ask him.

I may just post pictures of toys I get on my weekend outings rather than starting a CHUCK'S USED TOYS blog.  Zurg may command it.

Here's to The Old Guys and A 20-Goal Season

Trivia Time: Who is the oldest player to score a goal in the FIFA World Cup ?

Thanks to this British card set (A QUESTION OF SPORT) for the answer -

Yes. ROGER MILLA. The 42 year old Cameroon International first appeared for the Lions in the 1982 World Cup.

He also appeared in the 1994 world Cup here in the USA where he set the record for the oldest players to score a goal in the world Cup.

He scored 4 goals in the 1990 Tournament in Italy leading Cameroon to its best finish ever.

His most memorable goal came after stealing the ball from Colombian goalkeeper Rene Higuita and shooting from 35 yards to put his country into the semi-finals.

His was one of the first trade-mark celebrations - running to the corner flag and dancing.

Immortalized here in a statue made by the Fanatico Football Figure Co. in the UK.

Not only do I own this Limited Edition statue, but I also picked up Milla's rookie in the 1982 Panini World Cup sticker set along with the above Question of Sport card.

Here's to the old guys !

Major League Soccer has not had a 20-goal scorer since 2008 when Landon Donovan got exactly 20. 

This season there is a guy on course to reach 20 and ... dare I say it, break the all-time season record ?

The San Jose Earthquakes forward CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI has record an 18-goal and 16-goal seasons in the last two years. This year he already has 17 in 18 games !

Upper Deck card with a crappy band-aid autograph

The record is held by ROY LASSITER who score 26 for Tampa Bay in 1996. 

Wondolowski only score 7 goals in his first 6 season in MLS. So now, at age 29, he is scoring like there is no tomorrow.

Here's to the older guys !

Do you have a favorite "old guy" ? If so, post me here on the blog. If you are inspired to blog about an old guy, send me a link.

When A Beater is Better Than Nothing ...

Our colleague over at Chronicles of Fuji has posted about cards with character (i.e - cards that would not be found at the overpriced grading companies). To the purist collectors, these misfit cardboard casualties are the diamonds that will never be carved into a jewel. 

And so, I selected a few from my collection that have perhaps no resale value - but great historical value.  Founded in 1903, the Newell's Old Boys club of Argentina is still playing in the top league. But where were they over 100 years ago, you ask ?

Right here on this old cigarette card. Damaged almost beyond its use and recognition. Yet, the picture is the simplicity of the game before the huge stadiums, the sponsorship jerseys, and FIFA goal line technology was ever an idea to spoil the purity. 

1910 Newell FC card from Argentina.

One of the toughest thoughts for me to digest is the cards that were collected, and sorted and owned by kids that lived during World War I and World War II. I think mostly of the children of France, England and Germany who survived the bombing, starvation and firestorms of war. Those are also the places that had some wonderful soccer cards before the wars began.

This guy, Walter Zwickhofer, was someone's favorite player for his club, Schalke 04. The card looks like it went through a few battles, but I like it as all the necessities are still visible and intact. 

Walter Zwickhofer on a rare German card.

Cuba and Cuban athletes are best known in America for their baseball and their boxing. Several collectors of baseball and boxing have Cuban issued cards as prize possession in their portfolios.

But prior to all the political crap in the 1950's that made Cuba an enemy of the state, they had organized soccer leagues. They even played in the 1938 FIFA World Cup.

This chap, hardly known to the international soccer world, played in Cuba and appeared in this tobacco set. He has two holes in his head. Perhaps from a CIA sniper, or maybe they're just punch holes form a  redemption program.

 Cuban player Bienbenido on this rare cigarette card.

Either way, it is a pretty rare card to find. So condition and character and condolences to these cards and their previous owners. Thank Fuji.

OH, CANADA - Happy Anniversary !

Celebrating 100 years of their National Federation, Canada is coming into their own. The nice neighbors to the North have had little to celebrate in international terms, but have always been supportive of the "other" sport. They did manage to qualify for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and appeared in several card and sticker sets (see below).

1986 Panini World Cup - MEXICO '86

But Canada is not new to the professional ranks. When hockey season is over, the summer months have seen Championships with both Toronto (1976) and Vancouver (1979) during the NASL years.

 In the last decade, new professional clubs have been established in Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, with the Vancouver Whitecaps and Montreal Impact moving up from lower league to the MLS.

The development of Canadian players in North America has also taken big strides with players like Dwayne De Rosario of DC United (see below) as last season's MLS MVP.

2010 Upper Deck World of Sports - De Rosario

The Canadian Soccer Association recently revealed its All-time XI:

Goalkeeper

Craig Forest —
Defender

Bob Lenarduzzi —
Randy Samuel —
Bruce Wilson —
Midfielders

Paul James —
Julian de Guzman — 
Dwayne De Rosario —
Mike Sweeney —

Forwards

Alex Bunbury — .
Dale Mitchell —
Branko Segota — 

Second Team 
(GK) Tino Lettieri; (D) Paul Stalteri; (D) Robert Iarusci; (D) Colin Miller;
(M) Wes McLeod; (M) Paul Peschisolido, (M) Lyndon Hooper, (M) Gerry Gray,
(M) Randy Ragan, (F) John Catliff; (F) Mike Stojanovic

Congratulation  Canada !

The Biggest Team in the COSMOS

From humble beginnings to the legendary team that became the biggest sporting event in New York - the New York Cosmos were part of a vision of a former British journalist, Clive Toye.

They played their first season in 1971 and were league champions by 1972. There were only 8 clubs then.

By the time they won their second championship in 1977, they played in a league of 18 teams and lined up exhibition games against the greatest clubs in the world.

1979 Diego Maradona sticker card from set produced in Argentina.

The Cosmos' Franz Beckenbauer greeted a teenage Diego Maradona (above) past legend / future legend met when the Cosmos toured South America. Before Argentine Lionel Messi, now arguably the best player on the planet, Maradona was the idol of Argentina and millions of Barcelona fans.

LELAND'S auctions recently sold some of the collection of the late Hall of Fame writer Ike Kuhns. In the early days, only a few hundred fans came out to watch the Cosmos. A few curious and a few well-knowing journalist did too. One of them was Ike.

Ike Kuhn's press pass from 1973.

All that changed after Cosmos founder Clive Toye finally signed a player he had pursued for 5 years. By 1975 the Cosmos were not PRESS, but rather MEDIA, and in the world news at every juncture.

It all came down to the signing of one Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better know as PELE'

A rare Swedish issue of Pele' for the 1970 World Cup set.

By the end of the year, the Cosmos had dropped the "New York" from their name. They toured all 5 continents and had a payroll that doubled the New York Yankees. 

COSMOS memorabilia has become exceeding collectable. So I was fortunate to acquire one of these media cards. This card, signed by two pioneer Hall of Famers - Clive Toye and Ike Kuhns, details the humble beginnings before the meteoric rise of the Cosmos.  

Quakes, Kookie cards and more Stan ...

One of the great things about surfing the web for your favorite cards is finding stuff that you've never seen. One of the worse things about surfing the web to find your favorite cards is finding stuff you've never seen ... but now want.

Case in point - this Greek card, of a French movie poster, of BRUCE LEE from Enter The Dragon, depicted as "Kato", from the Green Hornet TV show. Phew !

Just plain kookie, but pretty cool in another way, as it is quite colorful and may be a very rare card.

With all the art cards / sketch cards being produced (I should know, as I used to make them for Topps and Co.) it is interesting to find vintage memorabilia with some quality pencil work. Here are two samples from the 1978 Coca-Cola SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES set.

This is PARVIZ, the Iranian Soccer Captain at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic games. He joined San Jose after the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. Two other Iranian stars who also came to the NASL were Andranik ESKANDARIAN who joined the New York Cosmos and Iraj DANAEIFARD with the Tulsa Roughnecks.

This is LES CHAPMAN, who racked up an amazing over 700 games in English League. He spent one season with San Jose.

I really like these sketch cards, albeit they are just prints and not actual sketches. Upper Deck could learn a few things by making the MLS sets a step up from less boring. 

And the results of more searching is this fantastic 1 of 1 art card of SIR STAN MATTHEWS from the 2012 SPORT KINGS set. From what I understand it went for over $1000.00 to a private buyer. 

That's really too bad. Or should I say good - because I really, really wanted this. And I have a grand burning a hole in my wallet ... NOT.

So I have to settle for some other Stan Matthews cards to add to my collection. I will feature these in an upcoming blog. 

Add SPAIN to The Champions Roll

After a great month of watching EURO 2012 and collecting PANINI stickers - we have a new winner - Congratulation to SPAIN or ESPANA !

I have duplicates of the bottom half of the 2 foil stickers that make up the trophy. Oh well.

Up next: the 2012 Olympic Soccer Games.