Stale Community Gum #stalegum #communitygum

Last season, I opened more than 200 packs (probably closer to 300 "packs") of baseball cards for the "Tribecards from Outer Space" pack-a-day giveaway. Many of those packs had gum. For some reason, only  known to my subconscious, I saved nearly every piece of gum that came from any packs that had gum (and that I could actually save).  To refresh your memory, some of the packs dated back to 1978 and 1979.

Those packs had gum. And, yes, I saved it. Talk about your "Stale Gum!" And, since the giveaway was shared among 30+ hobbyists, I also submit this could be considered "Community Gum" as well.

I am not so bold to start slipping these bits of nastiness into participant packages. That's just not right. But, I could not let these fall into the trash bin without posting SOMETHING about them, seeing as how I saved them for some reason or another.

Looking at the photo, you can probably guess which pieces come circa the late 70's. Those would be the skinny little grey-ish pieces (concentrated on the left side). The unwrapped darker pieces (like in the upper-left corner) come from the 80's. Notice that some of the gum is actually double-stacked (again, upper-left corner). I guess if we had opened those back in the day, we would have been happy to see a bonus piece of gum in our pack. 30 years later, however, it's pretty gross.  In fact, all of it is gross.  Of course, baseball card gum has always been a little gross, hasn't it?

Could we open the wrapped gum and eat it? Maybe. One thing is for sure: gum has gotten longer, wider and thinner over the years.

I may have shared this with you before, but I can't remember, so I will share it again... When I was a kid, I would take the gum and break into little pieces. Then, I would stick those pieces randomly into an apple. I would try to spread things out so that I could get a bite of gum with almost every bite of apple. The result was something almost like eating a candy apple. I loved it. My friends just thought I was weird. Some things never change, I suppose.

Missing the Obvious #Tribecards

Here's the thing: I read the notes included with every package of cards that comes my way, but sometimes I don't READ the notes.

Such is the case with a box I got from P-Town Tom quite some time ago. You see, he sent a box of cards that have packs ready for busting in the next giveaway and had some Tribecards for my personal collection. In the note, he says, "A thank you (at bottom of box) for all the work you did this year," referring to last season's "Outer Space" giveaway.  I don't know why, but that bit escaped my inner synapses.

While cleaning up a few things for this season's break (and while STILL working through last season's), I removed the packs from the box and found three items at the bottom of the box:

Those are Exhibit Cards issues between 1947-1966! Included are Bob Lemon, Larry Doby and Dale Mitchell! These are awesome! I am a huge fan of actual vintage cards. I love finding little surprises, and this was certainly much more than a "little surprise!"

THANK YOU so much, P-Town Tom for these VERY cool cards!

*Note: Yes, I am still working through last season's giveaway mailouts. Oh, I know I promised Jan 10 as the mailout date, but that ship has sailed. Last season's participants WILL get their cards/packages, I promise. I am just not promising a date. Just know that when they do arrive, it will be like getting a little hobby bonus - or something like that.  For what it is worth, the next giveaway will have a much better, and more frequent distribution system attached to it.  Many of you have probably forgotten what players/cards you snagged by now!

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Crackin' Wax: Secret Santa Sweet Surprises

If you've been paying attention to hobby-related blogs lately, you should be fully aware of Crackin' Wax's 2013 Secret Santa Soiree. There were at least 40 people that took part around the globe. How do I know it was around the globe? Well, the person I drew lived in another country. But, as it turns out, my secret Santa lived "down the road a piece" as they say here. My package came from North Little Rock, about 100 miles from my house!  My powers of deduction name my Santa as Patrick Smith, who took part in my pack-a-day giveaway and who, like all the other participants, has been patiently awaiting the arrival of their summer booty. That is coming. Right now, though, we're talking Tribecards Christmas!

Before I get started, I want to say a HUGE Thanks to Patrick for his gift!! I also want to thank Topher at Crackin' Wax for hosting this very cool idea!

The scans below are not in a particular order, though I think they did happen to fall in the order in which they appeared in the package. I can't vouch for that, though!

Let's talk Tribecards! How about an All-Sports USA Autographed Gaylord Perry to kick things off!?  Then, take a look at the different makes and models! This is a great selection of players and styles that kept me saying, "No way!" over and over!

Check out the super-cool "Pizzazz" cards! On top of that, we've got Fleer eX,  Aurora, Ultra, and many more!

There are Alomars, Carters, and Thomes galore!

How about Moments & Milestones, T205, Stadium Shots, die cuts, and freaking Perez sketches, too!

In fact, Patrick included a 1/1 Sizemore Perez sketch card! Holy smokes!  Now, I have to admit, the Chipper Jones threw me off.

Man, I am loving all these Indians cards!! Wahoo!!

Again, THANK YOU so much to Patrick for sending these Tribers my way for the Crackin' Wax Secret Santa Exchange!  I am looking forward to next year!

Giving by Proxy and Speaking to The Hobby #collecting

Despite the title, I'm starting with the second part of it: Speaking to The Hobby.

Earlier today, I had a message from "The Hobby" delivered through Mark Aubrey. Many of you in "The Hobby" will know him from his posts over at "Mark's Ephemera." "The Hobby" and I had grown a bit distant following the season's pack breaking, and I have no choice but to admit (and accept) fault there. I stepped away from the hobby, at least online anyway. I still have packs to put together from the summer's pack breaks. I know, I know. But, there is no getting around it. Frankly, I had grown of tired of seeing "The Hobby" every single day. I took a break. That break stretched into something that lasted longer than a Kardashian marriage and an A&E suspension added together. The road ahead is still pretty grueling: namely, I am still sorting through cards to be sent out to all your GREAT readers that played along this past baseball season. But, as I am off for the holiday break, I can assure you that the packages will be mailed before January 10, 2014. No more messing around and putting it off.

I received a plethora of packs for Christmas from various friends and family members. That simple act also helped me rekindle the love I have for collecting these bits of cardboard. My "Non-Indians" collection has been seriously lacking over the past few years, and several of the cards I got for Christmas will find their way into that collection. I also bought a couple packs of Panini's latest offerings. I bought 1 pack each of "Cooperstown" and "Hometown Heroes."

Here are some samples from "Cooperstown." I pulled a Triber! That's a sure sign "The Hobby" and I are well on our path to recovery. I also pulled a disc and a "Museum" card (among other cards in the pack):

The "Hometown Heroes" cards are an interesting lot. I pulled a lenticular disc, Joey Votto (posting that one for Joe C), and Josh Reddick (among others). I posted the Reddick to show off what can be done with a skilled Photoshopper. In fact, all the cards have a pretty well-done sleight of hand, considering Panini has no MLB licensing rights due to the Topps monopoly, er contract.

Now, getting to the "Giving by Proxy" portion of tonight's post: I received a couple packages that were temporarily, er, misplaced during the past month or so. One was from Backstop Cards with no note or anything! That one has a TON of cards in it! I will scan some of those and have them posted soon. The other envelope was from Brian Snider over at "Play at the Plate." Inside was a note that reads: "From Mark Aubrey via ME! (Enjoy!):

THANK YOU so much, Brian, Mark, and Marcus!!  It's good to be back.