Saturday Morning CardToons (a 1/1 Cutch sketch sort of)

Growing up in the 80s and 90s there was a lot of awesome action figures and cartoons produced.  Some of my favorites were Thundercats, Voltron, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tale Spin, Silverhawks, and soooooo many more.  Many of these shows were classics that I would watch every Saturday morning and after school.

I distinctly remember watching the Ninja Turtles on Christmas Eve 1991 (this is backed up by old family video cassettes) and it was an episode featuring Casey Jones being brainwashed.

One of my favorite characters from the original TMNT series is Casey Jones.

In a random search for sketch cards I came across an eBay commission card for the Shell Shocked Studio.  I messaged him and asked to do a combination of two of my favorites.

This was the result.

Casey Jones swinging an Andrew McCutchen bat.

Here are some scenes from the original cartoon featuring the sports crazed vigilante, Casey Jones.

And here is a scene from the original movie when Casey Jones meets Raphael.  Kudos to the Jose Canseco reference.

This week was the big reveal of Toy Fair 2020 where Neca Toys announced an action figure of Casey Jones based on the 1990 TMNT live action movie.  I haven't bought any display figures for a long time, but will definitely be picking that up. 

A 1/1 Challenge Or Something Else?

In case you don't follow me on Twitter (@CollectingCutch) I have been posting only 1 of 1 cards for the past 10 days.

I was wondering if I could post a 1/1 on here each day that I've never shown off here until Opening Day.

My question is would that be too much or should I spread them out over the course of the season.

With about 4 weeks until Opening Day, I think I could do it....

by showing off cards like this 2017 Gold Label Class 3 Gold Parallel 1/1

...OR...

Something that may be more challenging would be to count down the days until Opening Day by showing the card's actual card number in the set

Like this 2011 Topps Opening Day #27

...OR...



I could do something similar to my Serial History posts and just focus on the Serial Prefix number

Like this 2011 Topps Chrome #8 card serially numbered 27/50

 It is the Gold Parallel 27/50.

So in the comments below, please tell me how you think I should count down the days in March until Opening Day

Thorsday: No Sleep Til...

It has been a very long time since I announced a Noah Syndergaard side PC.  You can see that August 2019 post here.

I have grabbed a few new cards here and there without showing them off, but this recent addition was a great value for a rare card.

I've talked about the rarity of The Brooklyn Collection and how the only way to initially get them is to be a member of the 582 Montgomery Topps Club.

This on card autograph numbered to only 75 copies cost me $19.  I would happily buy a blaster box to snag one of these.

Falco Files: Ready for Baseball...

I can't wait for baseball to officially start.  I have been in a writer block lately.  I haven't been nearly as excited for Black History Month as I thought I would be.

I am anxiously awaiting to see what the young Pirates players can do this year.  They are one of the youngest teams this year.  I fully expect this team to lose close to 90 games this year, but I think the team will be fun to watch.

The player I am most excited to see is the key piece from the 2018 Andrew McCutchen trade.

Bryan Reynolds is a switch hitting outfielder that can play all 3 outfield positions.

He debuted early in the season last year (late April) and was a fourth place finisher for Rookie of Year.

He finished the season in 7th place in the NL Batting Title with a .314 average.

I have been picking up his rookies very cheap.

He will likely bat in the 2 or 3 spot in the lineup and help be a key piece of the Pirates young offense and a core to build around for years to come.

Surprise Mailings

Sorry I haven't been reading many blogs and commenting or posting daily this month.  Life has been busy.  I don't think my Black History Month agenda has gone as well as I planned.  Due to a busy life schedule and some writer's block I haven't been motivated to make daily posts.

Fortunately a trio of readers have sent me some packages over the past few days.

It felt like Christmas getting all these fun packages I wasn't expecting.

I promise October will bring daily posts cause everyone likes that kinda thing.

Brad from Brad's Blog sent me a text about having an extra 2019 Chrome Sapphire Cutch.  He sent it my way along with a few Topps coins.

Look at THE SHINE on that sapphire!!!

Mark aka Fuji from Chronicles of Fuji

Fuji hooked me up with a bunch of awesome cards.
The Charlie Morton on top left is a card I needed.  I haven't been supercollecting Charlie like I used to because he is appearing in A LOT more products than he used to when I literally only needed 1 non 1/1 card prior to 2017.
He also included pair of Willie Stargell relics, a Ralph Kiner bat relic, a Starling Marte Holiday Relic.  I needed them all.

I love the Bobby Bonilla 1989 All Star card. I might send it out as a TTM.  The Bill Virdon is a card I never seen before.

The Clemente In the bottom right corner is a true 1/1 sketch by Jayson Johnson.

This is a 1963 Post Cereal topper of Don Hoak.  Don Hoak was nicknamed "The Tiger".  He is best known for committing a fielding error IN THE 13TH INNING of a perfect game when Harvey "the kitten" Haddix was on the mound.  Despite a .282 average and only 16 homeruns while committing 26 errors at third base, he actually was the runner up to the National League MVP award in 1960.

I love the old Kellogg's cards. Love them!!!
Pie Traynor is the greatest third baseman in Pirates history.  He is a Hall of Famer and his number 20 has been retired by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
(Here's hoping the Pirates retire 22 one day to keep 20, 21, and 22 in legendary fashion for years to come).


Unknown mailing
I seem to remember someone mentioning having the Gallery card for me, but I don't know who sent this package.  It didn't have a return address.

If you sent me this package please leave a comment so I can thank you properly.

Thank you everyone for the surprise packages.  It is VERY MUCH appreciated.

#tbt: Gray Hair?

You may recall that I had a chance to meet Andrew McCutchen last September.  I showed off the custom dreadlock card that Tanner Jones made for me.  Brad from Brad's (Phillies) Blog met up with me at the show and filmed the entire meeting which I pinned to my Twitter.  The whole interaction can be revisited here on my blog.

Well as weird as it is to have a piece of cardboard with a piece of dreadlock in it, I wasn't done.  I asked Tanner to make another custom for me so that I could send it off to another McCutchen collector who has sold me A LOT of low number Cutch cards over the years.  In addition to that custom I asked Tanner if he could create a t206 style dna relic card.

As a Pirates fan there is no more desirable card than a t206 Honus Wagner card.  It is a holy grail of anyone who collects sports cards.  It makes it more special for a Pirates fan though.  I will never own an original, but did have a chance to hold one at a Chantilly show a few years ago which I wrote about on my old blog here.

Back in 2002 Topps released a bat relic card inside a framed Honus Wagner mini that resembled the legendary t206 card.  It is one of my favorite cards in my collection.  I showed it way back in 2013 on the old Pirates Treasure Room blog.

I asked Tanner to recreate something similar using a strand of the dreadlock I gave him for the custom and he created an awesome Cutch card in that t206 style sporting a Homestead Grays uniform.

Here is what he came up with.  This card is fricking awesome!!!

Cutch is one of the premier black baseball players in the game today.  It may not be a coincidence that his prime years were with the Pirates, a team housed in Pittsburgh. 

For the better part of a decade, the Homestead Grays of Pittsburgh, dominated the Negro Leagues.  I have talked before about Hall of Famers and Negro League legends like Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and Cool Papa Bell. 

A pitcher who played the twilight of his career with the Grays may have actually been the best pitcher in Negro League history though.  And in case you're wondering, his name isn't Satchel Paige.

" Smoky" Joe Williams was born in 1886 to an African American and Comoche Indian parents.  He began his baseball playing career in 1907 with the San Antonio Black Bronchos. 

Not much is known of his stats, but it has been said that he struck out 27 batters in a 12 inning game and that he threw a no hitter against the New York Giants in an exhibition match.  His barnstorming exhibition games had him defeating many Hall of Famers like Waite Hoyt andGrover Alexander.

In his only matchup versus Paige, Williams bested him 1-0 as a 43 year old while Paige was just breaking into his prime.

In 1952 the Pittsburgh Courier named Williams the greatest Negro Leagues pitcher.

Williams was finally elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.

Remembering John Kennedy

Today's black card for my Black History Month posts is this 2019 Gold Label black parallel frame autograph.

I have a few other of the parallels including base, red, and blue.

It's Presidents Weekend so I thought I would connect this card to a name similar to a former president.

John Kennedy, not the president, was the Phillies first black baseball player.

He appeared in only 5 games in his career and received only 2 At Bats.  He was primarily used as a pinch runner or shortstop defensive replacement in the 1957 season.  He didn't get a hit and scored only 1 run.

More of Kennedy's displacement in the Phillies organization can be found here.

The Phillies were one of the last three organizations to have a black baseball player on their team.  MLB put out an article in 2017 about the number of black players on each team.  That article can be,seen here.  It's sad that so few black athletes are playing baseball these days. 

In the 80s/90s they were plentiful with names like Gwynn, Henderson, Jackson, Griffey, Thomas, Sheffield, and Bonds. 

We are stronger together than we are alone...

As stated for my Black History month event I will highlight an impactful black athlete in professional football each Sunday for February.  

Today I have chosen a man who has an award named after him not only for contributions made on the football field, but for what is achieved in the community also.  

Today we will talk about Walter Payton

Payton played his entire 13 year NFL career with the Chicago Bears.  He was a member of the Super Bowl XX (20) Championship team.

He lead the league in rushing a few times and was a top 10 rusher every year making 9 Pro Bowl Selections.  

In 1999, the NFL Man of the Year Award was changed to the Walter Payton Man of Year Award.

Payton was diagnosed with a rare disease and in his final months leading to his death he began to publicly push for organ donations and made a few commercials avout the subject despite his cancer being too far for a transplant to actually take place.

In the final months leading to his death he published an autobiography called Never Die Easy.

His charity continues to work for Payton's vision by raising awareness of organ transplants and donations.  In addition to that his foundation works to provide toys to underprivileged children in the Chicago area. 

Many who receive the Walter Payton Award claim it is the greatest achievement a player can get.  (Arizona Cardinals Wide Receiver can be seen crying for receiving the Award in 2016)

Odd fact: When Cutch first started playimg for the Pirates he would be often miscast as Larry Fitzgerald who was a standout at University of Pittsburgh.  The two have become friends over the years.

Cutch received the Baseball Equivalent to it in 2015 when he got the Roberto Clemente Award.

The Andrew McCutchen black card I chose to showcase today is a 2014 Bowman Black Parallel.

The design of the card looks great, but the back is the reason I chose this card to discuss a football player today.

In the up close section you will see that Cutch is a fan of professional football.

Spring is (not) in the air

It's under 20 degrees today which can be expected for New Jersey in the middle of February. 

And yet teams are reporting for Spring Training.

 This 2015 Spring Fever LCS exclusive set is a fun set to collect.

I found this funny tweet that local radio nitwit Howard Eskin reported about Lawrence Mccutcheon being ready for Spring Training.

Cutch had a funny response which was a followup to the Phillies poking fun at Eskin

Of course there actually was a Lawrence Mccutcheon.

Mccutcheon was a 5 time Pro Bowl running back with the Los Angeles Rams.  He played with the,Rams from 1971 to 1979.  He also spent brief stints with the Broncos, Seahawks, and Bills.

Mccutcheon set a postseason record by rushing for 202 yards on 37 carries.

In Super Bowl 14 he threw a 24 yard pass.

So while Lawrence Mccutcheon is a real person, I doubt he will be playing Left Field for the Phillies this year.

#tbt: the BUCK stops here

Some of the more famous Negro League players command very expensive autographs.  Josh Gibson is in the high 4 figures/low five figures numbers due to how scarce his autograph is.  Satchel Paige easily commands $500+ for a certified autograph.  Jackie Robinson is typically in the $1K+ range.

Then there's Buck Leonard.

His on card autograph fetches barely $20 many times.

He played his entire Negro League career with the Homestead Grays, batting forth behind Josh Gibson. The Grays won 9 pennants in a row behind the duo of Gibson and Leonard.  Leonard batted .391 in 1948, winning the batting title.  Many years Gibson and Leonard were battling each other for the Home Run title.  Many have heard that Gibson was known as the Black Babe Ruth, but it is less familiar that Leonard was known as the Black Lou Gehrig. The pair became known as Thunder Twins.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972.

He was an honorary captain at the age of 88 for the 1994 All-Star which was held in Pittsburgh, home of the Grays.

He was number 47 in The Sporting News list of top 100 players in Baseball History. 

You can read the article MLB wrote about him here.  Former MVP Ryan Howard goes into details about the Negro League star.

Merchandise of Buck is far cheaper for such a legendary player compared to his contemporaries.

Today's Andrew McCutchen card features a pinstripe from a previous Negro League Homestead Grays throwback uniform.