2021 Hobby Goals

Happy New Year!  As I have mentioned several times in the past, I love reading about how collectors did with their past year's collecting goals and their goals for the upcoming New Year.  I like to do them to help me focus my purchases and hobby time to help give me focus.  2020 was good hobby year for me, but just like everyone else I had to overcome all the challenges living under a pandemic.  I have a feeling most of 2021 is going to look like 2020 and am hopeful we can get back to normalcy by the end of the summer.  Thanks to all my readers and here are my 10 collecting goals this year:

Goal #1: Blog 60 posts this year!

I barely hit my blogging goal last year with posting on average once a week, but this year I want to challenge myself to get 60 posts.  Blogging is more therapy than anything and I hope I can provide a brief bit of information, knowledge, and entertainment as well to the larger collecting community.  I won't be short of things to blog about and am hoping the rest of my life can cooperate.  

 

  

Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist.

This is it!  This is the year to get the next edition of my book self-published.  The 4th Edition was completed way back in 2017 and there have been numerous updates and additions ready to be captured in the 5th Edition.  To help me get motivated, I created a draft of the cover already....let's hope this is the year.

Goal #3: Get to the halfway point with my 1973 Calbee set

The 1973 set is a monster in terms of cost to complete.  With cards ranging anywhere from $50-$200 or higher, this 36-card set is a monster to put together.  It takes time and definitely resources to whittle away to completion.  Crazy enough, this is the most expensive sumo set in existence....it even eclipses the sets made in the 1890s....yes 1890s not 1980s...as well as the ultra-rare pre-war sets.  Because of supply and demand, prices have been elevated for a while now, but I am feeling lucky this year to get to the 50% completion mark.  

  

Goal #4: Relabel my Binders/Sets and Pass Along Excess "Stuff"

The majority of my Japanese card collection is in binders, but needs a bit of TLC to properly relabel each of my sets and relabel my binders.  Since my collection has grown from when I first started, I am continually organizing the sets within the binders but wanted to wait until it had settled out a bit before I went back in there and put more permanent labels on everything.  I also need to get into my misc. cards and make sure everything is tidied up and pass along some of my excess in care packages.  Not to mention I need to get my desk stacks incorporated into my collection.  This is the year I'd like to get that done.  Speaking of organizing, look at this binder carousel!  I have my binders on shelves, but this carousel is no joke.

Goal #5: Expand my 1980s/1990s Japanese Telephone Card Collection

I have been totally enamored recently with holographic cards.  Doing some browsing on Yahoo Japan Auctions, there are some legitimate and awesome looking Japanese holographic telephone cards.  I plan on picking up some here and there to complement my sumo wrestling telephone card collection.  Speaking of which, my sumo wrestling telephone card collection was sadly put on the backburner for the past several years, but this is the year I am going to start expanding it.  I used the word "expand" since I don't know which direction I want to take both the hologram and sumo telephone cards yet, but defining them and growing them will be this year's goal.  The real question is, how do I take good quality photos of holographic cards since scanning does not do them any justice?  

Goal #6: Do Something with my Yukata Card/Bolt Collection

I spent a good amount of energy this past year collecting Japanese indigo yukata bolts with their attached cards....so much in fact that there are very few left out there that are coming up for auction.  It's weird...you used to be able to find them on every street corner, now they are almost non-existent.  Anyway, I need to take the 40 or so I have to the next level.  I'll probably try and establish some sort of catalogue system for them and publish them on my blog.

Goal #7: Continue Giving my Non-Sumo Collections Some Love

I'm collecting specific non-sumo sets and want to continue working towards completion of them.  Each one is in a different stage of completion so I have specific goals this year of inching ever closer to 100%.

Amada Nintendo (NES)/Famicon Mini Cards

This 360-card set was issued in 6 different series and is so much fun to chase down.  These cards depict game art as well as actually screen shots from different NES games that were popular in the mid-1980s.  Right now I have only 170 of the cards leaving me a little over 47% complete.  My goal is to see if I can bump the total up by 10% to around 57% which means I need to add about 35 cards to my collection this year.

1983 Myojo Noodle Mechanical (Meca) Cards

Back in 1983, Myojo issued 9 different series of cards depicting different types of mechanical machines: Series 1 - World Steam Locomotives, Series 2 - World Racing Cars, Series 3 - World Classic Cars, Series 4 - World Ships, Series 5 - World Jets, Series 6 - World Motorcycles, Series 7 - World Space Machines/Meca, Series 8 - World Dream Cars, Series 9 - Star Wars Machines/Meca.  Each of these series has 30 cards for a total of 270 cards.  I only have 55 of the cards at the moment (20%), but am looking to boost that total up to 33%, or another 35 cards.  I have confidence that I can do that this year, no doubt!

2014-2020 Airport Trading Cards

I first heard about this set while I was flying through Chicago back in 2015.  I was instantly hooked and have made it my goal to try and collect them all.  No one knows how many there actually are in the master set.  I have it pegged at 156 cards, but I am likely a few short.  Back in October I talked about the "Dirty 5"....these are the 5 toughest cards to get out of the set and my goal this year is to get at least 1 of the Dirty 5!

1974 Japanese Yamakatsu Bruce Lee "The Way of the Dragon"

In 1974, Japan was going crazy over Bruce Lee and to capitalize on his popularity and promote his movies, Yamakatsu issued a three-series set covering 144 cards (48 per series).  Series 1 was focused on the movie "Enter the Dragon", Series 2 on "The Way of the Dragon" and Series 3 on "The Green Hornet".  Each Series gets progressively harder to complete and I was finally able to finish Series 1 back in September.  Right now I am down to needing only 4 more card for Series 2.  My goal for 2021 is to finish Series 2 "The Way of the Dragon" and then turn my focus to Series 3 "The Green Hornet" and add 5 more cards there.  Even something more cool about Series 2 is that it also captures the very first trading cards of Chuck Norris on them!

Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards

Some of the very first miniaturized radio control cars that came to market were the Zip Zap cars marketed by Radio Shack.  These were a huge hit and millions were sold.  All sorts of accessories, upgrades, body kits, and motors were available to customize each of the cars.  Included along with the cars and some of the accessories were trading cards.  Right now, I have been able to track down 82 cards in the master set, but I think there are more than that out there....I have 51 of the 82 (62%) cards, but would like to get that number close to 70% by the end of the year.  I need to go in and update the checklist too and try to get it reflected on the Trading Card Database.

Brandon Laird and Yuta Tabuse Cards

My three PC guys are Nolan Ryan, Brandon Laird, and Yuta Tabuse and my only goal this year is to continue adding to each of the PCs.  I don't have a specific number goal, but at least for Brandon Laird my goal is to start building up his Japanese-issued cards.

Goal #8: Get out at least 1 Care Package a month

I love sending random care packages....I actually enjoy shopping for things to put in them because of the challenge of trying to help fellow collectors out.  I am hoping I can get out at least 12 care packages this year!

Goal #9: Get to The National!

Assuming it is still on this year, my goal is to get out to The National.  Two scenarios: 1) I can hop on a redeye from LAX, land in the morning in Chicago and then hit up the show all day and fly home late that evening, or 2) spend a couple of nights in a hotel and then I can spend a few days at the show.  It all depends on my work schedule and how much time I can take off. 

Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko

As a repeat from the past four years, my goal has been for this blog to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko.  In 2019, I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1 to #6 on Google.  Now I am in the top 3 all around!  Here is where I currently stand, let's hope I can maintain that this year!

Sumo Card: Bing #1, Google #2, Yahoo #1

Sumo Cards: Bing #1, Google #2, Yahoo #1

Sumo Menko: #1, Google #1, Yahoo #1

Sumo Wrestling Card: Bing #3, Google #3, Yahoo #3

Sumo Wrestling Cards: Bing #2, Google #2, Yahoo #2

I hope everyone has great luck, fortune, and health in 2021!  Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

2020 Collecting Goals

A lot of bloggers out there seem to hate writing their New Year Collecting Goals.  It is sometimes viewed as an obligation or mandatory....something they have to do.  Not me. I love setting hobby goals and this post isn't as much for my readers as it is for me...although I definitely enjoy the loyal readers who are sharing in this adventure with me.  Let's hope 2020 was as fruitful and enjoyable collecting sumo wrestling menko and cards as was last year.  Here are my 10 collecting goals this year:

Goal #1: Blog at least once a week - 52 posts this year!
I had a lot of stuff to blog about last year, but not enough time and bandwidth to do it all.  This year, I am going to set a goal of publishing a blog post at least once a week which should be easy to achieve.  Hopefully I'll be able to add a few extra blogs in the middle of the week here and there to knock this one out of the park.  Thanks to my loyal readers for making this blog fun!

 

 

 

Goal #2: Publish the 5th Edition of the Sumo Menko and Card Checklist.

Gah, I really need to get this book out the door.  There are a ton of new checklists that I have catalogued or that are in the queue.  Lots of new information and several corrections.  Not to mention that this I have revamped some of the sections to make it even more comprehensive and historically accurate.  This is the year to do this!

 

 

 

Goal #3: Add 5 more Sumo World magazines from 1973-1999 to my collection.

This will be a tough one for sure as these Sumo World magazines are harder and harder to find on the secondary market.  Now that I am down to basically filling in holes with my collection, finding affordable copies will be hard.  Luck will have to be a factor here.  For those that haven't read any Sumo World magazines, they were once the only English-language source of sumo wrestling information.  People from all over the English-speaking world had subscriptions and it was the go-to guide for sumo enthusiasts.  With the advent of the internet, the publication quickly became outdated, but the historical value captured inside these is second to none.  A true treasure trove of information that is contained nowhere else.

 

 

 

Goal #4: Attend three card shows this year.

It is no secret that card shows are a dying event across the U.S.  Even with a rich sports market out here in California, we can't muster up much in the way of some local shows.  But I still love going and even more excited for the nostalgic euphoria that I get from the thrill of the hunt and the browsing.  My goal is to make three shows this year...and hopefully one or two with Fuji with a celebratory Del Taco feast afterwards.

 

Goal #5: Add three more 1973 Calbee cards to my set.
If I can snag three reasonably priced cards for this set this year, it will definitely be a miracle.  Acheivable, but still difficult.  I need to save my dollars and yen for the really expensive cards later on....if they are around.  If I can knock out 10% of the set every year, I should be done by the time 2026 rolls around.  Here, just take my money now, it is not going to be cheap!

Goal #6: Keep rounding out my Japanese yukata fabric bolt & card collection.
Most of you are like, WTH?  Yeah, this is one of the quirks in my collection.  In the 1960s and early 1970s, Japanese cloth makers would add photo cards to bolts of indigo yukata material to help entice the buyer into buying the material to take home to make their own yukata.  Say what?  Yeah, hard to explain, but here are a few pictures to help give you a visual.  The problem with these is not so much the price, but they are heavy and expensive to import to the U.S.  Not sure what I am going to do with them all, but I'll figure it out at some point.  I am assuming it will just come to me on why I have them at some point.  Weird, huh?

 

 

 

Goal #7: Publish at least 6 BBM Card Set reviews.
I used to do a better job at this, but with limited time this one has fallen to the wayside.  However, I'd like to continue with blog reviews (ideally YouTube box break reviews).  I should be able to cover all the sumo wrestling releases as well as the B.League basketball sets leaving me with doing a few of the non-sport and other "fun" releases that BBM does every year.  Wish me luck!

Goal #8: Add 20 more cards to my Non-Sport Collection
I am very particular with my non-sumo wrestling sets and only have a few sets that I am actively collecting: 1980s Japanese Myojo Noodle Cards, 2002-2005 Radio Shack Zip Zap Cards, 1980s Famikon (NES) Amada Cards, Airport Trading Cards, & 1970s Yamakatsu Bruce Lee Cards. Since I am whittling my sets down to singles now, large lots are hard to come by so achieving 20 cards in this category will be quite challenging.

 

 

 

 

Goal #9: Send out 10 care packages.

For those that know me, I love to give random stuff.  Much like Kenny's Zaps, it feels good to give.  Enough said....

 

 

 

Goal #10: Maintain/Improve Google/Yahoo/Bing Search Engine results for Sumo Card(s) & Menko

For a third year in a row, I want to be the #1-at-the-very-top-of-your-browser result when you go search up Sumo Card(s) and Menko.  Last year I was the #1 on Yahoo, almost the #1 on Bing, and the #1-#6 on Google.  This is a fun one to chase and trying to beat the search engines algorithms is always a challenge.  Plus, I want to be at the top of the list so I am easy to find for all you future readers out there.

 

 

Well, there you have it again.  Thanks for stopping by and sticking with this post to the end and thanks for sticking with this blog all these years.  Happy New Year and best of luck collecting!

The $20 Card Show Challenge

Work has been extremely busy lately and what better way to blow off some steam and stress then to hang out with Fuji over at The Chronicles of Fuji.  I recently moved to SoCal and made it a point to meet Fuji since he has an amazing blog and a captivating writing style.  He managed to make it down last month and I decided I needed to take a trip up north to hang out again last weekend at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Sports Card Show in Sacramento.  After my flight was cancelled into San Jose, I managed to snag a flight into San Francisco and as soon as I landed we were off to the races.  For those that have never met Fuji, he is one of the easiest guys to talk to...it was like we were old friends talking about cards, work, life, cards....and before I knew it we were there.  I didn't have too many expectations before we arrived, but this show definitely was worth the trip.  There were about 20 or so venders that had a nice variety of things and boxes to hunt through.  Fuji reminded me about our $20 challenge where we challenged each other on who could stretch their $20 and come away with the best stuff.  Now I knew Fuji was the king of bargains, but watching him work his magic was amazing.  This guy lives for the hunt and I was in minor league ball compared to him, but let's see what my eyes were drawn to:

Purchase #1: Random Baseball and Astronauts $2.50

The first box is always the harshest as far as value for me, but these cards are headed out in care packages.  The Yaz is creased and miscut and will find a nice home in Fuji's Damaged Card PC.  The other baseball are headed to my brother...the astronauts are for me.

Purchase #2: Two super mint 1990-1991 Fleer Basketball Sets - $2

Heck yeah, these sets were in amazing shape and each was only a buck..I pulled out some of the stars to scan here.  This set is full of stars and HOFers so I couldn't pass them up in this condition.  It looks like they have not seen light of day in 29 years.  Although overproduced, a classic look in my book.

Purchase #3: Mid-1990s Inserts - $5

These Topps Finest Main Attractions scream 1990s...and I couldn't pass up this impossible-to-find-back-in-the-day Beam Team card.

Purchase #4: 1953 Topps Who-Z-At-Star? Cards - $4

I've been working on this set for a while and like to pick these up in lower condition if I can.  Couldn't pass them up, but they dented my budget a bit.

Purchase #5: 1966 Topps Batman Bat Laffs - $3

For those that have not seen the new Joker movie, I think Joaquin Phoenix is in for an Oscar.  Cesar Romero did a decent job as well back in the day!

Purchase #6: 1987 Donruss and Fleer Packs - $5

I am a sucker for 1987s unopened product.  This purchase put me over our $20 limit by $1.50, but it was worth it.  Growing up in a small town out West, we never got Donruss and Fleer at the local stores.  These were rare back in the day so a final nostalgia purchase for me.  Let's see who I came away with after opening 2 of the Donruss and 1 of the Fleer!

Back in the day, these Donruss packs would have been huge hits with Benny and Robin....we also had kids chasing David Cone.  The Fleer was less fruitful, but Todd Worrell was a favorite of my buddy so would have come away with a nice trade.

After the show Fuji and I grabbed our traditional Del Taco and then headed over to Teammates to search around for a few things.

Well there you go...how did I do? 

Looking over at Fuji's post, he is an A-lister...I'm a benchwarmer, but definitely appreciate you stopping by.  Looking forward to the next adventure with Fuji!


A day on the town with Fuji!

First off, if anyone ever has a chance to hang out with Fuji and Mike, take them up on the offer!  Fuji and Mike are super chill, great to hang out with, and have really good insights and conversations on sports cards!  Fuji pinged me a few weeks ago and asked if I was interested in going to the Frank and Son Collectible Show east of Los Angeles.  Heck yeah I was...a quick check with my better half and I was committed.  Regrettably, I was unable to attend the Dodgers game with Fuji and Mike the night before, but hopefully my rain check will be good for a while.  As soon as I arrived at the show's parking lot, Fuji was already bearing gifts and he handed me these sweet Yuta Tabuse cards.  The first being a sweet 2004 Skybox Limited Edition #34/35 in PSA 9 (my scanner doesn't do this card justice).  This die-cut card is only the second graded card I own and a real stunner!  Plus he hooked me up with this 2004 UD SPx Auto'd Rookie Jersey of Tabuse #1809/1999.  Both of these fill huge holes in my collection.  Thanks Fuji!

Fuji also brought a brick of the Round Tripper Licorice....yum!  For those of you who haven't tried it, check it out.

Fuji also loaded me up with a bunch of cards in shoe boxes for me to look through and pick through before they ended up at a thrift shop.  I grabbed a few cards for my brother and me as well as a few cards for some fellow collectors before they ended up getting donated.

We entered and the experience was pretty amazing and hard to believe they have this show twice a week.  The show wasn't quite what we were expecting in terms of the number of sports card booths as they were swamped by the toys and collectibles arena, but I was able to walk away with these two non-sports cards for a buck.  The first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, and one of the most influential figures in military aviation, Gen Curtis LeMay.  I realized that I should have brought my NES game cartridge want list as I could have probably knocked off a few games as there were a good handful of vintage game booths.

We weren't at the show for more than an hour before we headed off to La Verne, CA to hit up a local show.  Fuji found a few goodies there and hooked me up with this 2018 Panini Status Yuta Watanabe rookie. Thanks again Fuji.

Seeing as how this was National Baseball Card Day we had to hit up one of the local participating dealers in the area and headed over to La Verne to A&N Collectibles to pick up our free pack of cards.  I'm keeping mine sealed, but Fuji surprised me again with a jumbo pack of Topps Chrome where I landed an on-card base auto Rookie Card of Jeffrey Springs from the Rangers.  I haven't heard of him, nor does it matter, this card will stay in my collection as a great memory piece of the day.

We still had a good portion of the day ahead of us so we ended up in downtown La Verne hitting up antique shops.  I snagged this really cool postcard set of US. Presidents.  They are hand-made with serigraph technology...which is very similar to silk screening.  Made by M.A. Sheehan from Topanga, CA, these date from the late 1940s to early 1950s since it still shows President Truman as the sitting president.  These are absolutely gorgeous both front and back.  A quick 10-minute search of the internet doesn't yield any examples of this set making me believe it is somewhat rare.  They are supposedly limited to 2000 sets and my set seems to be a mix of different sets as it has cards from set #19, #26, #27, and #303.  Would love to know if anyone has seen these before.

We ended the day with a quick trip to LaVerne Brewery where I grabbed a 4-pack of their Hazy IPA and Fuji threw in another 4-pack.  I wasn't counting, but let's consider ourselves even....as I mentioned before, Fuji's generosity is second to none!

 

I had a lonely drive home as Fuji continued to shoot photos my way of some potential new spots to explore in the future.  Thanks again Fuji and Mike for a great day....I realized we don't have any photos of all of us together.  Hopefully we can repeat this soon somewhere and grab that photo.