We Have a Winner!

Six people entered the giveaway for the following book:

With six people in the running, I decided a die toss would be a good random way to pick a winner. I listed the six on a paper in order of when their comments arrived, and went to Random.org and told it to throw a virtual die.

The result:

Congratulations to Spiegel83. Drop me an email (my contact page is at the bottom of the left side of this page) with your info and I'll get the book out this week.

Thanks to those who entered

Reminder

On Friday, I offered up this book as a giveaway to anybody who wanted it:

Due to a defect, I ended up with an extra copy. If you're interested in getting that copy (and don't mind the fact that the cover is separated), go to my original post and make a comment. Right now, only one person is in the running...so if you'd like to be considered, don't waste time. I'll keep the comments there open until midnight Eastern time (9 PM Pacific) tonight.

Book Review -- "Sayonara Home Run"

Thanks to some credits I had on Amazon, I went and picked up this book recently for my own collection:

Sayonara Home Run! by John Gall and Gary Engel

I have written a few articles about Japanese baseball cards in the past (most notably this one), where I mentioned the book above. I also showed off what is still the only Japanese card in my personal collection:

While that card isn't shown in the book, I did learn a little more about it. While I knew it was a Menko card and had several game elements on the back, the book explained that these particular cards are also called "Tobacco" Menkos, because they're similar to what American collectors know as T-series cards. They were not, however, issued along with any tobacco products. They're called that to differentiate themselves from Menkos from the late 1940s through the early 1950s, which used cartoon-style artwork rather than photographs.

This book isn't an in-depth reference book, nor is it intended to be one. Instead, it's an introduction to a new "world" of cards from another country, where baseball is considered as much of a National Pastime as it is here. Hundreds of cards are pictured, going back to postcards from 1913 that featured collegiate players. It goes from there through the World War II era and then the two main eras of Menko cards in the postwar years. It also delves into the cards issued with gum and candy products, as well as those that were part of games. They also cover Bromide cards of the era, which show photos on them and were sometimes available as bookmarks.

Along the way, players are spotlighted, from Russian-born Victor Starffin to Sadaharu Oh. Sections talk about the early influx of baseball into Japan, the exhibition tours of American teams into the country and the proliferation of gaijin (foreign-born players) later on. While the "meat" of the book featured images of baseball cards, the extra information fills in the details about the subject.

Here's a link to pick up a copy if you're interested:

Here's where I get to the rest of the story...

When I ordered this book, it arrived in defective condition. The cover had come off from the body. The seller (Diane Publishing of Darby, Pennsylvania) immediately sent me a new copy that was intact. I couldn't finish this review without pointing out their act of customer service. I've ordered stuff through Amazon for years and have never had this problem before; their quick fix was something I never expected.

But...now I have an extra copy of this book (they wouldn't take it back since it was defective). If you're interested in the subject, I'll offer my defective copy as a giveaway this weekend. If interested -- and unconcerned about the removable cover -- leave a comment below and I'll do a drawing on Sunday night.

We Have Winners...

Last weekend's 1952 Topps card giveaway contest is over.

The entries were made, the results tabulated, the randomization done...without further ado:

Monte Kennedy was won by Ryan G. of the This Card is Cool blog (and so is the blog...check it out).

As for Bobby Adams, A2 Warthog (I believe his name is Dustin from his email address) from the No Relics Pulled blog is now the owner.


Congratulations to both winners.

Contest Update

On Friday, I announced that I'd be running a giveaway this weekend. At the time, I said I'd close the entries on Sunday and announce a winner on Monday.

I ended up getting called to work. I can make a quick post to the blog...but doing a randomization and sending emails may lead to a discussion about what I amd being paid to do there. So, I'll keep the contest open for one more day and will announce the winners on Tuesday. If you want to get in the drawing, check out my original post and leave a comment. If you announce the contest in your own blog, let me know and I'll give you another entry.

Good luck to all who enter!

Before We Leave the National...How About a Giveaway?

Since I've been talking up The National Sports Collectors' Convention so much over the past month, here's one last post about it before I move on to other vintage-related posts. And let's make it a giveaway contest.

During the show, I managed to pick up some upgrades for my 1952 Topps set. Here is what I placed in my dupes box:

1952 Topps #124 -- Monte Kennedy, New York Giants

This card was trimmed to keep the "marquee" design, and the rest was rounded as an artistic statement.

1952 Topps #249 -- Bobby Adams, Cincinnati Reds

On the other hand, this Bobby Adams card has been trimmed to match the standard-size cards used since 1957. I suppose we should be thankful that the previous owner didn't prefer the size of 1952 Bowman cards. As you can see, the year is also recorded on the card in blue ink.

Both cards are being offered as part of a giveaway. There will be two winners drawn at random, one for each card. To win, simply leave a message at the end of this entry. If you aren't able to post a message (or simply don't want to), I will also accept email sent to the address on my profile. Look at the left side of this blog for my profile, my email address is there.

Any bloggers who advertise this contest will get an additional entry. Please tell me in your comment or send me an email to ensure I don't miss it. I'll close the contest on Sunday Monday evening and announce the winners soon after that.

Good luck to all who enter.

And the Winners Are...

Last week, I ran a giveaway contest in commemoration of my 50th follower. It was a success beyond my expectations. Not only did it become the single most-viewed post on this blog in a matter of two days, I got an additional 11 followers to join up as well.

I may consider a similar giveaway once I reach 100 followers, so those eleven new readers make a significant step towards that milestone. In any case, thanks to all who entered.

In my original post, I mentioned that the winner would be chosen from random using a low-tech method involving paper, scissors and a hat...but the participation in the contest made me resort to more sophisticated means. After the 47 comments to my blog, the extra entries for those who announced the giveaway on their own blogs and a couple of email entries that came in from readers who have issues with giving personal information to Google (no penalty for that), there were more than 60 entries to choose from.

I went over to Random.org to help with this one. Writing all the entries into a program, it generated a random numbered list. Then, I had it pick three numbers for me, and we had our winners. So, without further pause:

The first name drawn was Mariner1. On his Emerald City Diamond Gems blog, he had already mentioned he was hoping to get this Clemente card.

The second name drawn was Cynical Buddha. He had also given a heads-up post about the giveaway on his Collectors Crack blog. This 1955 Bowman Kell card is now his.

The third name drawn belonged to Matt Hickes, who is now the owner of this Burger King card from 1978. Unfortunately, Matt hasn't linked an email address to his profile so he's the only winner who hasn't gotten an email notification. So, congratulations to him!

If Matt could kindly send an email over to me (Chris Stufflestreet at yahoo dot com, just make sure there's no space in my name), I'll begin the process of sending your card to you.

And thanks again to all who entered.

My 50th Follower...Means a Giveaway!

Last week, this blog reached a milestone. In only nine months, it has picked up 50 followers.

While I am of the impression that this blog should be required reading for everybody, I do realize that many collectors don't always spend a lot of time looking at "old" stuff. There is also the possibility that some just don't have a lot of older material in their collections and therefore don't spend a lot of time looking around at stuff they would be tempted to pick up.

Well, let me see if I can help you out with a giveaway.

In celebration of Follower #50, it's only appropriate that the first prize have something to do with the number 50, and we'll go to the set I blog about three times each week:

This is card #50 from the '73 Topps set.

For those who read my 1973 Topps photography blog, this card was featured there last year. It was the last card Topps made for Roberto Clemente and was included in the first series of the '73 set before the news of his plane crash could get it pulled. As a result, the back of the card shows his final career statistics.

This is one of three cards I'll be giving away. The second one comes from the 1955 Bowman set, which was the subject of this article I wrote in SMR in 2007 (the link brings up a PDF file):

Sadly, George Kell passed away in 2009. However, he lives on in the memories of those who watched him play, listened to his broadcasts and collected his baseball cards.

Finally, this one is not quite what it might seem:

It looks like a 1978 Topps card, but it's actually a 1978 Burger King card of Jim "Catfish" Hunter from the final years of his Hall of Fame career.

That gives three vintage Hall of fame cards to give away. They're not "investor-grade" quality, but they're cards that would do better in a collection than in my dupes box. Just to clarify: there will be three separate giveaways (and three separate winners), not just one.

Unlike last time, there are no restrictions to who can enter. All you need to do is enter a comment below. There will be three separate drawings, all involving a time-honored method involving scissors, paper and a hat. Any bloggers who post about this contest will get an extra entry into the drawing. I'll keep this up until Sunday evening and announce the winners on Monday. Good luck!

Winners Have Been Chosen

Last Wednesday, I offered up these cards as part of a free giveaway:

One entry was given to anybody who commented, and an extra entry was given to the bloggers who mentioned the contest. After using a low-tech decision-making method involving paper, scissors and a hat, the results are in.

Clyde Kluttz goes to Cam.
Bob Kuzava goes to Baseball Nut.
Hank Thompson goes to Collective Troll.

Congratulations to the winners! Drop me an email with your addresses and I'll get them sent out.

And thanks to all who participated. I'll probably get another vintage card giveaway up in the future.

Reminder: 1952/'53 Topps Cards Giveaway

On Wednesday, I ran an entry in my blog about a giveaway for these three cards:

The cards aren't for the faint of heart,but if you're a collector who doesn't have them in your collection, they're great. I've extended to deadline to 10 PM Eastern time tonight (7 on the West Coast), in case anybody still wants in. Just go to the original post and make a comment.

In addition, I have offered to give an entry to anybody who makes a post on their own blog about this offer, and that is still open as well (cutoff will be 30 minutes before the final deadline). If you haven't let me know you made a post, drop me a line to make sure I toss your name into the giveaway as well.

Good luck to all who entered, I'll post the winners later.