Half Full or Half Empty?

Today I was able to purchase 63 more 1971 Topps cards which officially put me at the halfway mark of completing the 1971 set. Granted I still have a ways to go, especially since a lot of the cards I'm missing are either high number, hall of famers, or rookie cards. It doesn't help that I'm being very picky on what cards I add to this set since I'm trying to make sure the cards are in excellent condition (or better). I would like to hit the 500 mark by the end of this year, but since I've been neglecting my 1940s and 50s Bowman Reds sets I may have to shelve that until I complete some of my vintage Reds team sets. Regardless, I can celebrate today that I've reached the midpoint of this set. The question remains however, does this mean my glass is half full or half empty in regards to chasing this set?

1963 Cincinnati Reds Scorecard

This past week I purchased one final scorecard for my collection, a 1963 scorecard depicting a match up between the Reds and Cardinals. I'm not sure what specific game this is from, but I have it narrowed down to a series that occurred July 30th to August 1st of that year. The scorecard is in excellent shape for being more than 50 years old. My favorite is always the old advertisements that are in these scorecards. My primary purpose for picking up this particular scorecard was that it's from Pete Rose's rookie season with the Reds. It's icing on the cake that it included Hall of Famers Frank Robinson and Stan Musial! I'm definitely happy to have this in my collection!

TTM: Eddie Kasko

Did you know that Eddie Kasko led the Reds with seven hits (all singles), scored one run, and batted .319 during the 1961 World Series?

TTM: Pat Pacillo

Did you know that Pat Pacillo replaced Pete Rose on the Reds' 40-man roster after the 1986 season? Rose removed himself from the roster in order to make room for Pacillo.

Three More Rookies for the Book!

I don't think I've had to spend a single dime on any of the cards to comprise my Rookie Book project. I've been fortunate enough to sell my digital Star Wars cards on eBay that I've accumulated on the Star Wars card trader app. This past weekend I was able to sell another batch of cards and pickup the following three rookies: a 1987 Donruss Greg Maddux rookie, a 1989 Topps Traded Ken Griffey Jr rookie, and a 1990 Score Frank Thomas rookie. While I had originally wanted a 1989 Upper Deck Griffey and 1990 Leaf Thomas, I decided to chase the 1989 Topps Traded Griffey and 1990 Score Thomas cards because I had already acquired the Upper Deck Griffey and Leaf Thomas rookies a few years back to complete both of those sets. No sense having duplicates of those cards since I had always wanted the Topps Traded and Score cards when I was younger. So with that purchase, I've obtained 15 of the 40 cards for this project by selling imaginary cards and not spending a cent of my initial card budget. Not too shabby :)

TTM: Milt Pappas

Did you know that Milt Pappas is one of thirteen pitchers to hit 20 or more home runs?

TTM: Howie Judson

Did you know that Howie Judson served in the U.S. Navy during World War II? Howie never posted a winning record as a pitcher during his stint in the majors.

TTM: Champ Summers

Did you know that Champ Summers ended his career playing for the Padres in the 1984 World Series against his former skipper, Sparky Anderson, and his former Detroit Tigers teammates. He struck out in his only at bat of the series.

TTM: Kelly Paris

Did you know that Kelly Paris was traded from the Cardinals to the Reds for Jim Strichek?

TTM: Eddie Taubensee

Did you know that Eddie Taubensee made his first and last MLB appearances with the Cleveland Indians? He made his major league debut on May 18, 1991, and played his final game on October 7, 2001.

TTM: Don Pavletich

Did you know that Don Pavletich served in the U.S. Military from May 1957 to February 1959?

TTM: Kent Tekulve

Did you know that Kent Tekulve saved three games during the 1979 World Series? He was also a member of the Phillies broadcast team from 1991-1997.