Archive for Chris Olds

TBT: My debut with Beckett and beyond …

Posted in Throwback Thursday with tags , , , , , , , on January 17, 2019 by Cardboard Icons

This morning I was flipping through my Facebook memories and found a picture published this day in 2012 that made me stop and think. The image was a copy of the Beckett Sports Card Monthly “Game Used Issue” published that year. The magazine has Tim Tebow on the cover, and on page 34 is a photo of a guy you might also know – me.

You see, this issue of Beckett Spots Card Monthly was my debut as a contributor to the magazine. Then-editor Chris Olds had reached out to me to write a first-person account about my discovery of an Earl Weaver Baltimore Orioles game-used jersey in a San Francisco Bay Area thrift store. The piece went with the theme of the month, and as it turned out, it really started a three-year relationship with the publication.

After the article was published, I was asked to write one or two others on other topics, and then ultimately was invited to be a member of the Beckett Media team at that year’s National Sports Collectors Convention held that year in Baltimore. Among the autograph signers was none other than Earl Weaver. I planned to purchase an autograph ticket and photo opportunity with Mr. Weaver to briefly re-unit him with his jersey from 1977, and have him sign it. I was tasked to document the piece for Beckett, an article that can be found here. it should be noted Mr. Weaver died some four months later.

After what seemed like a fun run as a contributor for the publication, I was given the opportunity to write a monthly column for Beckett Baseball Monthly, a publication that I and so many others grew up reading. I then penned my column for the magazine for about two years, and was able to assist with three special-edition magazines also published by Beckett Media.

My run as a columnist for Beckett ended in 2015 when there was shakeup among staff, and honestly it came at a good time for me as it turned out circumstances at home were also changing.

These memories are ones I’ll always remember, and I am forever grateful to those persons who made it possible.

 

Rediscovering the “Wallet Card” idea …

Posted in Misc. with tags , , , , , , , on January 7, 2015 by Cardboard Icons

IMG_8106Funny story.  When I was 10 I was on my way to Little League game and on the ground near the field was a 1990 Score Ricky Jordan card.  It was a third-year card for the Phillies first base prospect, but at the time I was playing for my Little League’s Phillies’ team, so I figured that I put it in my back pocket for good luck. Well, with Jordan in my back pocket I managed to hit two doubles and played catcher for the entire game.  From that point forward I decided that it was my “lucky charm” and when I started carrying a wallet later that year — it was a black 49ers Velcro wallet with exactly ZERO dollars — but it held this Jordan and a “driver’s license” for a local go-kart track. I had the card in that wallet until high school when I upgraded to a black leather wallet. Through high school and college the card stayed in whatever wallet I owned. The Jordan was flat. It was folded at times. At one point it was soaking wet from me spilling water on it. But I kept in in the wallet until a few years ago when I switched to a smaller wallet-type of device that’s much easier to use at work. I’ve since placed the seemingly worthless Ricky Jordan card in a massive screw case, not unlike one from the era in which this card was produced.

IMG_8091Well, I recently learned that what I had been doing was what people in the hobby refer to as their “Wallet card.” So, naturally, I decided chose one for the upcoming year.  I could have gone back to the Jordan card, but I opted for this 1987 Topps “Turn Back The Block” Reggie Jackson card. There’s no real story behind the Jackson card, but it does hail from the 1987 Topps set, which is one of the first products I ever opened.  Additionally, I do find it amusing that a card of this Hall of Famer, who had an infamous interaction with Beckett Baseball editor Chris Olds at the 2012 National Sports Collectors Convention, will be traveling with be in the back seat of my pants where ever I go..  I was standing next to Chris when this incident occurred. It was awesome.

On a side note, the wallet shown here is a Rawlings Red Label Trifold with stitched seams. You should own one.

My winning package from Beckett

Posted in Newspaperman with tags , , , , , , , on October 19, 2009 by Cardboard Icons

About a week ago, Chris Olds held a short contest via Twitter in which he showed a screenshot of the movie Top Gun, and wanted participants to name the actor in the image that has a certified autograph. Well, after making four guesses, I had the right answer: Adrian Pasdar, an actor from Heroes. (Altered image can be seen here.) The winner of said contest was to receive a baseball autograph.

Well, my package arrived Saturday and here is the baseball autograph: 2005 UD USA Baseball dual signature of Jonah Nickerson and Kevin Gunderson, both of whom played for Oregon State University, winners of the 2006 NCAA National Championship. Cool card.

BeckettWin1

But there was something else in the package that was equally as awesome: A Chris Olds custom card in the likes of 2008 Topps Allen & Ginter; his face emblazoned on an image of Nick Swisher. The card is “numbered” to 50 and like a business card as there is some basic information on the back: name, e-mail address and title with the company.  Laugh all you want — I some of you don’t like Chris — but you know somewhere on your computer you’ve got a custom A&G card too. ChrisOldsNow, which do you think is cooler: The above Olds card or this Jim Beckett, which Topps actually produced.