Woody's World - Cats, guitars and sports cards

Sports Collectible Show - Newsletter History

November 10, 2019 (October 2019 Newsletter)

Hello again! Hope you got all 137 clocks in your world reset correctly for the "fall back" change. We've now passed Halloween, which means we can get on with Thanksgiving. This officially opens the season I call "Gain Twenty Pounds Without Even Trying". For those who haven't yet asked, we DO hope to carry on for another year at Tanglewood, but we don't get much respect from the new management. We typically don't get word of a new contract until December. We will let you know as soon as we hear something.

In sports news, our pal Ken A wanted me to say something good about soccer, in particular that Va Tech pulled an upset in the ACC tournament. OK, well done, Hokies! I'm sure it was a thrilling 2-0 ("two-nil") contest, with an average of, well, approximately one point every forty-five minutes! We will return to our regularly-scheduled program of soccer bashing shortly.

It was a good day for college football yesterday. Va Tech won, Alabama lost, Penn State lost and, sadly (hahahaha) West Virginia lost again. The only bad news was that UVa squeaked by hapless Ga Tech.

In NFL news, there are certainly players who are playing, but there are also players who are NOT playing. The Washington team has put tackle Trent Williams on the "reserve/non-football injury list" and will not pay him any remaining salary. Trent, of course, if playing on one leg and blindfolded would only be an improvement for them. Also, it is reported that Antonio Brown, a favorite of owners everywhere, will likely not play again this season. That's a shame because there are still 29 or so teams he could be released from.

Speaking of where are they now: I find that 80-year old Brent Musburger, who was once one of the giants of sports broadcasting, is now pimping for a company that reports on sports betting in all its forms. The company was founded by Brent's nephew. Brent once reported on Super Bowls, College Football Championships, Final Fours, NBA Finals, World Cups, the Belmont Stakes and the Masters, and now he's talking about gambling on those events.

I believe the MLB World Series ended recently, although the final results were so disastrous that I can't bring myself to talk about it. But I will talk about the umpires who were pretty generally panned for their ball-and-strike calls. It seems likely that automated strike calling is coming sooner or later to baseball. I agree that the automated umpire would be more consistent, but I, as a 35-year career computer programmer (retired) wonder who's going to program the thing and how. The batter's strike zone depends on his stance. Who's to say the automated ump won't be an inch or two off in his or her zone? What about security - after all, we can't even guarantee that our election voting machines are secure. Of course, if you remember Braves-Marlins in 1997, you have to believe that anything is better than the likes of Eric Gregg. Click here.

TRIVIA QUESTION.

This may be easy for you, but here goes. Who invented the "doughnut" that baseball players place on their bats when in the on-deck circle? The weighted ring is slid onto the bat while the player practices his warm-up swings. The theory is that swinging the heavy bat in practice speeds up the player's actual bat speed when he's in the batter's box. (Answer below)

COLLECTING NEWS.

As I reported last month I submitted my first-ever card for grading: A 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout. I'm happy to say it got a 9.5 from BGS. I guess if I choose to have other cards graded it's all downhill from here. By the way, I'm holding on to it for a while. Thanks for asking.

An 1869 Peck and Snyder Red Stockings card turned up in Cincinnati. It was graded a 1 by PSA and consigned for auction to REA. The card is historically very significant because, of course, the Red Stockings were the very first professional baseball team, and fewer than ten have ever been graded by PSA and SGC. For more info, click here.

An interesting story in a recent Sports Collectors Digest. A long-time card dealer, whom I'm sure many of you know, Dick "Uncle Dick" DeCourcy has sold his business and is getting out of the card show scene. I don't know him myself, but he mentions a number of people who have helped him at his shows, including a couple that we at our show do know: Wes Starkey, who visits us occasionally, and Taylor Crane, who sets up with us from time to time.

Beckett reports that on their "hot" list are Juan Soto (the little rhymes-with-twit), Russell Wilson, RJ Barrett and, of course, Zion. On the "cold" list are, not surprisingly, Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold.

UNSUNG SPORTS HEROES.

Michael Schmitt, an assistant coach for a Tennessee high school football team, spray painted obscenities and insults directed at his own school and players before a big rivalry game. He used the colors and logo of the rival team in an apparent effort to motivate his own players. It failed on two counts: One, he was found out and arrested, and, two, his team lost 35-17. Apparently other coaches were also involved. Schmitt, it seems, got off pretty easy with a reduced charge of misdemeanor vandalism, 48 hours of community service and court costs. I believe he was also fired. He was last seeing spraying graffiti on the sides of railroad cars.

OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM SPORTS.

Okay, we gave Great Britain a break last month, so let's return now to the land of Sports You Wouldn't Play. Let's talk about the "sport" of "Haxey Hood". This dates back perhaps to the 14th century, and is described as a "rugby-like" game. It involves an unspecified number of players, a leather tube known as the "Hood", and, of course, being in England, it involves visits to several pubs. It also features a lucky fellow called "The Fool", who is (not making this up) suspended over a smoky fire until he can't breathe, then cut down to fall into the fire. I'll leave it to those of you who are interested to try to figure it all out - click here.

CLASSIC SPORTS QUOTES.

Today we have impeccable logic from athletes.

Tug McGraw: "Always root for the winner. That way you won't be disappointed."

Jeff Stone, when asked why he didn't bring his TV home from Venezuela when winter ball ended: "What would I do that for? It only gets Spanish stations."

Andre Dawson: "I want all the kids to do what I do, to look up to me. I want all the kids to copulate me."

Sorry, but I think this is funny. Torrin Polk, discussing his coach: "He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings."

HOLIDAYS.

Hope you remembered that November 1st was "Fountain Pen Day" - for you youngsters who don't know what a fountain pen is, or was, it's a writing implement that you fill with ink which then generally leaks all over your shirt pocket; the 23rd is "National Espresso Day" when we drink "Venti" espressos all day long - it's followed by "National Stay Awake All Week Week"; November is "National Memoir Writing Month" for those who are old enough to have memories that may be interesting to others but are also still young enough to remember them; the 2nd was "Sausage and Kraut Day" which I believe is followed on the 3rd by "What's That Smell Day"; on November 8th we celebrate the discovery in 1895 by William Roentgen of x-rays - some of you may remember those devices in department store shoe departments that allowed you to use x-rays to view the bones in your feet (can't imagine why they are not still around and why I still have feet).

TRIVIA ANSWER.

Yankee player Elston Howard created this device and patented it in 1967. Elston, of course, was highly regarded for other reasons. He was the first African-American player to play for the Yankees, for whom he played until 1967. He played primarily catcher and outfield. He was a top-10 finisher in the MVP voting several times and won the award in 1963. He won two gold gloves and was selected for twelve all-star games. He finished with a career .274 BA, 167 home runs and a 27.0 WAR. I was never a fan of the Yankees as a team, but I did like many of their players, including Elston Howard.

December 13, 2019 (November 2019 newsletter)

Good news - at least WE think so. If you didn't see it already on our Facebook page (and if you're not following us on FB, then why not? It's free!), we have signed up to do this silly show for 2020. As it has been this year, every show will be on the third Saturday of each month. I'll list the schedule below. 2020 will be the ninth year we have done this show at Tanglewood.

If you can follow the math here, this month marks the end of our eighth year at Tanglewood. That would be 96 shows. We want to thank all our dealers who have been with us all these years, and, of course, special thanks to all our friends for faithfully stopping by each month to spend a little time (and money) with us. Also let's not forget those spouses who put up with this nonsense!

I must remind you that Christmas is coming up later this month, just in case you forgot. If you are looking for a present for that hard-to-buy-for name on your list, then if he, she or it is a sports fan of any kind, remember that our show is home to many wonderful presents for that lucky fan: cards, autographs, pictures, clothing and assorted knickknacks. We will be happy to give advice!

Okay, let's get the bad news out of the way right away. UVa finally managed to beat Virginia Tech in football. Congratulations UVa! I guess that makes, well, let's see - I guess, that makes one in a row. The "Hoos", led by their coach Bilbo Maidenhead, then wonderfully represented the "Coastal" division in the ACC championship game, losing a heartbreaking nail-biter by only 45 points. But UVa was in the game well up until early in the first quarter.

In baseball, there is a proposal that 42 minor league teams be eliminated. Of these teams, 28 are at the rookie or short-season class A ball. Of interest in this area they include all of the Appalachian League teams except the Pulaski Yankees. Goodbye to Bluefield, Bristol, Danville and Princeton, among others. Commissioner Rob "Mighty" Manfred has also said that minor leaguers "deserve to be paid fairly", which goes along with the fact that he and the owners lobbied Congress last year to allow minor leaguers to be paid less than minimum wage as "seasonal workers". The average minor league salary ranges from $1,100/month for the lowest levels to $10,000/month for AAA. But the owners can cough up nearly one billion (BILLION!) dollars for just three players in this week's free agent market. ONE BILLION DOLLARS! I don't know about you, but I never made close to $30,000,000 a year. As the late Senator Everett Dirksen famously said, "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money."

In the NFL, it seems the "New England" Patriots are at it again, videotaping an upcoming opponent before a game. Of course, we must give Wild Bill Belicheat the benefit of the doubt, innocent until proven guilty and all that. The "Pats", of course, have no prior history of cheating - hahahaha! Yes, they do! Yes, they do! Oh, well, what's a million-dollar fine if it ensures that you will beat the 1-12 Cincinnati Bungles?

Jimmy Johnson announced that the upcoming NASCAR season will be his last as a full-time driver. Although he hasn't won anything lately, as of today he has 83 wins and seven championships. Speaking of championships, the 2019 championship was won by Kyle Busch. My staff reports that Kyle is the most popular driver on the circuit, although my staff is frequently wrong.

Correction: due to auto-correct, the UVa coach's name was incorrectly printed above. His name, of course, is Bonzo Muddyhell.

Last month I reported on once-famous sportscaster Brent Musberger, the letters of whose name can be rearranged to spell "burnt rug embers", and who once called Super Bowls, Final Fours, and World Wife Carrying championships. He is now pimping for some sports betting reporting company. This leads me to our newest category:

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Quarterback Joe Namath is a Hall of Fame member and was the hero of Super Bowl III. Where is he now, you ask? Well, if you (like me) watch some of the not-so-first-run TV channels you've no doubt seen him doing some medicare insurance commercial. Joe looks good for his age (76) which means he looks, let's be charitable, like he's almost alive. Apparently the ad producers didn't dare to include any young women in the video, but the good news is Joe does NOT appear to be drunk. I don't know why you'd be more likely to buy insurance just because a septuagenarian football player pushes it. On the other hand, why would you be more likely to buy insurance because a lizard, duck, pig, camel, emu, or a clown-face named "Flo" pushes it?

TRIVIA QUESTION.

Okay, this is somewhat of a trick question. What year was the first NFL game or games played on Thanksgiving Day? (Answer below)

COLLECTING NEWS.

This is interesting, A company called Rally Rd, which specializes in selling shares of valuable memorabilia, is going to offer a T206 Wagner for $52 a share with 10,000 total shares. The card is in terrible shape - shellacked, creased, missing paper - and is graded "Authentic" by SGC. I haven't heard of anybody else doing this, but it's an interesting concept. Don't think I'm looking to get in on it, however. Click here. for more info.

A really cool piece of history was sold by Goldin Auctions. One of four gold medals won by Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics sold for $615,000.

For those of you with a few extra coins jangling in your pockets, 2019 Topps Transcendent was due to be released last month. Although I haven't been able to find boxes for sale, the price is reportedly $20,000 or so (per box, I guess). There are lots of group breaks you can get in on. Click here for more info. We don't have word yet on whether Paul will have these boxes at the show.

UNSUNG SPORTS HEROES.

We're going to split the award this month among several "athletes" (and I laughingly include a golfer in this category) who managed to lose in a head-scratching, so to speak, way.

Boxer Harvey Gartley was so excited to be in his 1977 Golden Gloves match that he entered the ring and began dancing "excitedly" around. Forty-seven seconds later he was lying unconscious on the canvas. He was NOT ko'd by his opponent, but he had tired himself out so much with the dancing that he collapsed and knocked himself out when he hit the floor.

Golfer Bobby Cruickshank was so excited by a shot that he made in the 1934 US Open that he tossed his club high in the air. You don't need Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to guess what happened - yep, the club came down, hit Bobby (or maybe that was Booby) in the head, and knocked him out. Although he recovered in a few seconds, his play was not so good afterwards, and he was eliminated.

We have previously celebrated Gus Frerotte, one of a decades-long line of failed Washington quarterbacks, who head-butted a wall. This did NOT knock him unconscious but did knock him out of the game. We've previously mentioned as well several MMA participants who managed to knock themselves out.

I must comment that we here at TSCS, being socially responsible, take concussions very seriously and would never make fun of them. Except, of course, for boxers and MMA "athletes" who risk minimal damage from concussions because they have minimal brains, or people who do stupid stuff like head-butt a wall or throw a golf club straight up in the air.

OUT OF THE MAINSTREAM SPORTS.

Here's a "sport" that strangely enough is not reportedly "played" in Great Britain, but instead is featured in the Germanic countries. The "sport" is called Kastenlauf (literally "case" or "crate" run). Each two-person team (women DO participate) must carry a crate of beer - which as best as I can tell holds twenty-four beers - around a course approximately 10K long. The trick, of course, is that the team must drink all of the beers during the race. The winners are the first to cross the finish line after drinking all their beers and who live to talk about it. The excitement is undeniable, rivaling Octopush (underwater hockey which we reported on in July) - click here for an example of Kastenlauf. The obvious question is WHY? Why would you do this, when you can sit comfortably in your living room, drink a case of beer, and watch a football game? Unless, of course, the only thing on TV is a soccer match.

CLASSIC SPORTS QUOTES.

Today we have more impeccable logic from the world of sports.

Baseball player Larry Anderson: "Why does everyone stand up and sing 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game' when they're already there?".

Baseball executive Chuck Lamar: "The only thing that keeps this organization from being recognized as one of the finest in baseball is wins and losses at the major league level".

Basketball player Winston Bennett: "I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body".

Basketball player Ron Atkinson: "He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn't like it - you can see it all over their faces". (YUCK!)

HOLIDAYS.

First off, I'll modestly mention that December 10th was "Nobel Prize Day". I was nominated for the Literature prize, but I haven't heard from the Academy yet. (I nominated myself.)

December 23 is "Metric Conversion Day": celebrate by converting 2.3 hectares into bushels then into millirems avoirdupois; the 21st is "National Flashlight Day: celebrate by finding all the flashlights in your house and see if any them actually works (if you can hold out, National Battery Day comes on February 18); December is "Safe Toys and Gifts Months": feel free to give your kids those toys we enjoyed way back in a prior century, such as (if you don't know what any of these is, ask your Grandpa) cap pistols (the funnest thing to do was to take a full roll of caps, put it onto a hard rock, then hit it as hard as you could with a hammer), sparklers, slingshots, BB guns, lawn darts, and all manner of toys that shoot, throw or otherwise propel objects, etc.; finally, December is "Take A New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking Month": if not for yourself, do it for the rest of us who have to breathe your polluted air and wade through your discarded butts everywhere ("the world is NOT your ashtray").

And if you can't make it to the show this month, let us as always wish you Season's Greetings, Joyous Chanuka, Happy Kwanzaa, Rocking Jane Addams Day (12/10), exciting Crossword Puzzle Day (12/21), Bacon Day (12/30), and, of course, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

TRIVIA ANSWER.

The first NFL Thanksgiving Day games were played on November 25, 1920. The participants were:

AKRON PROS 7, Canton Bulldogs 0

Decatur Staleys 6, CHICAGO TIGERS 0

ELYRIA (OH) ATHLETICS* 0, Columbus Panhandles 0

DAYTON TRIANGLES 28, Detroit Heralds 0

CHICAGO BOOSTERS* 27, Hammond Pros 0

All-Tonawanda (NY) 14, ROCHESTER JEFFERSONS 3

* Non-league team. Games between league teams and non-league teams counted in standings in 1920.

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