Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Tribute – Green

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Tribute – Green

With the easy job of adding the base card of Andre Dawson from the new 2013 Topps Tribute set to my collection, it then began time to go after the colored parallel versions became the next phase for me.

In years past, the colored versions of the Tribute cards came out quickly and sold for quite a bit earlier on.  Lucky for me, I learned that they could be had a few weeks later for much less money but the supply may be a little limited.

But, I took that philosophy with me to this year’s release and I was able to snag the Green version if the card for under $2.00.  And I would say that is a good deal!!!

The card is serial numbered as 2/75.  And the Green is a nice contrast to the Cubs uniform that Dawson is wearing.

Enjoy.

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – mini

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen – mini

Last week I realized that I had not been putting in enough effort to reel in all of the Andre Dawson cards from this year’s Gypsy Queen release.

So, I quickly changed that and started making my way towards completing the set.

Here is Dawson’s mini base card from the set.

I still have the colored parallels to go – AND I WILL GET THEM!!!

Stay tuned.

TTM SUCCESS: Another Fantastic Andre Dawson Baseball For My Collection!!! Y-E-S!!!

TTM SUCCESS: Another Fantastic Andre Dawson Baseball For My Collection!!!  Y-E-S!!!

I have been craving a few more signed baseballs for my Andre Dawson ‘Ultimate Dawson’ collection so I put a plan in place a few weeks ago to work towards that goal.

Ultimately, I am trying to seek out and find new inscriptions to ask for – and I have some really great ideas to request for future signing options.

This time around, I went with the request of a ’4X Sillver Slugger’ option.

And Andre did not disappoint (he never does).

Have a look:

As always, the ball is signed perfectly – and is so neat and clean!!!

Dawson won four Silver Slugger awards during his major league career and I find this to definitely be an inscription-worthy feat.  At the peak of his career, he had some major competition for the award so walking away with four of these honors is a great, great accomplishment.

This is the 11th Andre Dawson signed baseball in my collection and I am so very proud of how it all looks together.

And the next few I hope to go after will only help take ’Ultimate Dawson’ to the next level.

Thanks for reading!!!

1977 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Connects For First Major League Home Run

1977 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Connects For First Major League Home Run

On this day in 1977, Andre Dawson of the Montreal Expos connected for the first home run of his major league career.

On the road and facing the Atlanta Braves in front of a crowd of less than 10,000 fans, Dawson and the Expos played in a high scoring affair ultimately won by the Braves by a score of 10-8.

In the top of the 8th inning, and trailing 9-5, Andre Dawson hit the first home run of his career off of Braves’ pitcher Buzz Capra to get the Expos a bit closer.

This home run would be the first of 19 that Dawson would hit in 1977 and the first of 438 that he would hit in his career.

Happy Anniversary ‘Hawk’!!!!

1989 Topps Rack Pack With Andre Dawson’s Card On Top!!!

1989 Topps Rack Pack With Andre Dawson’s Card On Top!!!

This new part of my Andre Dawson collection has been a slow going…  I have been trying to haul in both sealed rack pack and cello packs from the 1980′s that feature Andre Dawson on the top.

At first I was finding a good amount of them and my collection got off to a good start.

But lately, I have been running into sellers that are still trying to sell these for what they were going for twenty years ago.  And that does not work for me or my budget.

Still, I persist. 

Any my persistence landed me a 1989 Topps rack pack with Andre’s base card on top.

Have a look:.

Sorry about the horrible scan.

Dawson has three cards in the 1989 Topps set – it would be cool to be able to snag a rack pack with each of the three being featured on top.

So far, I am 1/3 of the way there!!!

1988 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Drives In RBI #1,000 Of His Career

1988 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Drives In RBI #1,000 Of His Career

On this day in 1988, Andre Dawson drove in the 1,000th RBI of his major league career.

On the road in Houston, Dawson and the Chicago Cubs were being hosted in the Astrodome by the Astros.  The game was played in front of more than 33,000 fans, and the Astros won the game by the score of 3-1.

The lone Cubs run came as the result of a first-inning sacrifice fly by Andre Dawson in which Shawon Dunston scored.  That run would be the only run that the Cubs would score during the game.

For the game, Dawson went 1-for-3 with a single, and an RBI.

Andre Dawson 2011 Topps Marquee ‘Titanic Threads’ Jumbo-Jersey Relic!!!

Andre Dawson 2011 Topps Marquee ‘Titanic Threads’ Jumbo-Jersey Relic!!!

Ever since I first laid eyes on this card back in 2011, I wanted one for my collection.

But, since it was part of a fairly expensive and somewhat low-distribution set, not too many of them were found at acceptable prices.  Couple that with the fact that the card is serial numbered to just 99 copies and I had a real hunt on my hands.

Since being released, I have probably seen 12-15 of these cards appear on Ebay.  They all sell – and they all sell for a lot more than a normal relic card that has just 99 copies.

Why?

Well, it is all because of the relic – IT IS HUGE!!!

Have a look:

I told you.  And I probably did not describe it properly either – the relic is TITANIC IN SIZE!!!

And I am so very proud to finally have one in my collection.  My patience paid off on this one too – Yes, I paid a decent amount for it but nothing close to what it was going for when it was released in 2011.

Mine is serial numbered as 18/99 and it features the largest piece of jersey relic on a single card in my collection thus far.

YES!!!

Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown – Blue Crystal Parallel

Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown – Blue Crystal Parallel

I keep chipping away at this set.  This is now the third card from the 2012 Panini Cooperstown set that I have picked up.

This version is the Blue Crystal parallel.  It is serial numbered as 89/499.

Have a look:

So far, I have the base and the crystal versions of the card.  This ‘Blue Crystal’ version is the best looking one of the bunch thus far.

For me, the Blue works very well with the design of the card, and since Andre is wearing a Cubs uniform in the image that was used, it also works well with the Cubs’ colors.  The Blue also makes the Red pieces of the card’s graphic design stands out.

And now that I have three cards from this set, I need just one more to knock out the full 4-card set.

Time to get ‘Red’!!!!

Andre Dawson 2012 Leaf Memories Buy Back Baseball Card – Serial Number 18/20

Andre Dawson 2012 Leaf Memories Buy Back Baseball Card – Serial Number 18/20

This one kind of snuck by and I was able to grab it for a very low price.  And it is serial numbered to just 20 copies!!!

 

My guess is that the image did not call out to the everyday collectors as they probably just saw another common early-90′s Leaf baseball card of Andre Dawson.

But this very thorough collector saw the Silver stamping in the upper-left and lower-right corners.  And they got me to dig in just a little deeper – and I liked what I found.

Issued in 2012 as a part of the Leaf Memories set, Leaf re-released some of their prior cards - adding the new Leaf Memories logo and then keeping the production run low.

Lucky for me that either not enough people knew about these or that they were not interested in going after them because I nabbed this one ‘On The Cheap’!!!!

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Tribute – Base

Andre Dawson 2013 Topps Tribute – Base

Since the launch of the 2013 Topps Tribute set a few weeks ago, I have really tried to stick to my guns of not having to buy the first version of each card and parallel that I see on Ebay.

This philosophy allows to me save some money (most likely for future cards) and still bring home what I want.  Sure, I may have to wait a little longer to secure the freshly minted cards of my favorite players, but it is not a sprint – it is certainly a marathon.

So, I was able to hold out as the new Tribute cards started to appear on the secondary market.

And after about a week, and 50 to 60 listings for the base card, I finally snagged the Andre Dawson card.

Have a look:

I have always liked the Tribute set, and I like this new 2013 issue as well.

As with the prior releases, there is a small stack of colored parallel versions to go after.  And I am hoping that in time, I can bring a few more of them into my collection.

Wish me luck!!