Incredible Lou Brock Memorabilia Auction

As a Rickey Henderson fan, you can't help but be a fan of Lou Brock as well. I actually got to interact with him a little bit during the Hall of Fame Golf Tournament this past summer, and he was a lot of fun!

That being said, I was a little sad when I read last week that there was going to be an entire auction filled with his memorabilia. I hope that he's selling these off in the hopes that others will be able to get some enjoyment out of them, and not because he actually needs the money. Considering what athletes get paid these days, it's amazing to think that these guys used to work as car salesman and insurance agents in the off-season!

The Legendary Auctions catalog includes some really amazing stuff, and I've included some of my favorite items below. You can view the entire catalog here.


Lou Brock's 893rd stolen base, which he stole to pass Ty Cobb on the all-time list.




Brock wore this jersey in 1974 when he stole his 105th base, breaking the all-time single season record. He ended the season with 118 steals, which stood until Rickey broke the record in 1982.


Brock's 1967 St. Louis Cardinals World Series ring.


A neat little stool that Brock had made featuring his 74th stolen base in 1966, in which he lead the NL for the first time.


A game-used ball from the game in which Brock stole his 900th base, one of only 3 players to do so. There are actually quite a few game-used balls included in the auction.


A pair of Brock's game-used cleats from the 1960's. These definitely don't compare to the cleats they wear today, but I still wouldn't want to get in the way of that front spike!


Brock received this award in the 1950's in high school for "outstanding achievement."


As a member of the 1967 All-Star team, Brock received this decorative silver bowl.


I've always been a fan of Leroy Neiman's paintings, and this one of Brock is one of my new favorites.


Arguably Brock's best season was in 1974, where he came in 2nd in the MVP voting. But, he was awarded the National League Player of the Year Award at the Kansas City Baseball Awards Dinner. It's not the MVP award, but it still is a pretty cool trophy.

If you enjoyed these items, be sure to check out everything else that is listed at the link above. I won't be bidding on anything myself, but if anyone does actually bid and win an item, be sure to let me know!

2009 Topps Triple Threads Slideshow and Checklist

Now that Triple Threads has been live for a few weeks now, most of the different card variations have surfaced on eBay at one time or another. There is a total of 18 "different" Rickey cards included in the set, and other than 2 of the 3 #1/1's, the other 16 cards have all been accounted for, all of which are included in the slideshow below.

Here's the "official" checklist of the Rickey cards included in 2009 Topps TripleThreads. Due to seeing almost all of these on eBay, there are no surprises, but it's good too know that there isn't a super short-print hiding out there that just hasn't been uncovered yet.

2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics #115 Print Run/36
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics #116 Print Run/36
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics #117 Print Run/36

2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sepia #115 Print Run/27
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sepia #116 Print Run/27
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sepia #117 Print Run/27

2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Emerald #115 Print Run/18
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Emerald #116 Print Run/18
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Emerald #117 Print Run/18

2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Gold #115 Print Run/9
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Gold #116 Print Run/9
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Gold #117 Print Run/9

2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sapphire #115 Print Run/3
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sapphire #116 Print Run/3
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Sapphire #117 Print Run/3

2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Platinum #115 Print Run/1
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Platinum #116 Print Run/1
2009 Topps Triple Threads Relics Platinum #117 Print Run/1

Behind the Scenes at Arco Arena

I'm going to change pace a little bit, with a non-Rickey (but still sports) focused post. I'm currently enrolled in an MBA program, and am thinking about focusing on Marketing or Operations Management. I got an e-mail last week from the marketing department at the school, about an event at Arco Arena with the head of marketing for Maloof Entertainment (the Sacramento Kings and Monarchs).

Although I'm definitely more of a baseball fan, the Arena is only about 5 minutes from my house, plus the event included a tour of the arena, as well as access to the shoot-around before hand. It was also opening night, and although the Kings were already 0-3, I figured it would be fun.


We first met at the security entrance to the arena, where a mural had just been completed for the 2009 season, featuring Kevin Martin, Jason Thompson, and Tyreke Evans.


Our meeting was actually held underneath Arco, which is basically just a bunch of tunnels filled with wires, pipes, and a lot of other random stuff. I don't think they've updated their "wall of TV's" for quite some time now.


As you might have guessed, the above is a row of the players cars. They just pull directly into the Arena, and park only a few steps from the locker room.


Every little bit of space seemed to be used for storage in one way or another. Hidden in one corner was a couple of extra backboards, as it's always good to have a few of those on hand.


When it was time to enter the actual arena, we got to go through the same tunnel that the players use, which was pretty cool. Basketball players definitely make much more of a grand entrance than those in baseball, who basically just walk out of the dugout.


We were there almost two hours before game time, and we're only a few rows off the floor for the shoot-around.


When game-time approached, we had to move back to our actual seats, which were still pretty good. We were told that Bobby Jackson (who has recently retired, and is now working with the Kings) had upgraded the seats from those that we were originally supposed to be given. Thanks Bobby!

P.S. The Kings beat the Memphis Grizzlies in overtime, for their first win of the season!

My First 2009 Triple Threads Rickey!

In the mail this weekend I received my first 2009 Rickey Topps Triple Threads, one of the first new cards of Rickey that has been released in many years.

It seems that there are probably 6 different parallels to three different base cards, judging by the auctions that have surfaced, so I'll be chasing these for quite some time.

Rickey has card with the "SB KING" notation, as well as "MAN OF STEAL" and "1990 AL MVP," and I believe that's all their is, unless a rare short-print shows up later. So far, I have seen auctions for cards #/3, #/9, #/18, #/27, and #/36, and can only assume that a #1/1 of each card exists as well.


Despite how it may look in the scan, the patch is actually a dark green, and the card looks a lot brighter and shinier in person. I do enjoy the image that they chose to use of Rickey, but it would have been nice if a different one would have been used for each of the three card notations.


The back of the card lists the typical legal disclaimer, with the emphasis that this does not come from any particular year or event. I am glad that it actually came from an A's jersey, but they must want to be sure that it's clear that it was not the jersey that he wore when he broke the stolen base record back in 1991.

2009 Triple Threads, and a 2010 Topps Preview!

Based on the events of the past week, it's pretty clear that Rickey has once again signed an agreement with Topps to have his cards included in their myriad of sets. As of earlier this year, Rickey did not have an agreement with either Topps, Upper Deck, or Donruss, but that's obviously changed.

Although it's not scheduled to be released until tomorrow, 2009 Triple Threads started to hit eBay last night, which included the awesome cards below!



I have mixed feelings about Rickey's inclusion in Triple Threads, as although the cards are great, they are going to quickly rise out of my price range.



The last mainstream set in which Rickey was included was 2007 Triple Threads, which contained a total of 35 different Rickey cards. Of these, 10 were 1/1's, and 8 were serial numbered to less than 10 copies, which definitely makes them pretty hard to acquire! Of the remaining cards, 13 were numbered between 10 and 40, and only 4 (including the base card), had a print run of 99 copies or greater.

I can't complain, and I definitely love having new Rickey's to chase after, but will just have to focus on the ones that will be easy (financially) to acquire.

In other news, Beckett has released a preview of 2010 Topps, which will also contain new cards of Rickey!



The "big" news is the announcement of buybacks of over 1 million Topps base cards to be reinserted in packs next year. I'm not sure how I feel about this, as I don't know how many people will be happy about acquiring some random 1986 Topps, but I'm sure Topps will be promoting it widely.

I did appreciate that there was a Rickey card included in the promo poster above. His 1980 Topps rookie card is at the top of the poster, to the left of the Million Card Giveaway logo. Also included with the Beckett preview was a checklist of the set, which of course includes a few choice Rickey's!

The Cards Your Mother Threw Out
MTO29 Rickey Henderson

Relic
PPR-RHE Rickey Henderson

Hat Logo Relic
MHR-110 Rickey Henderson

MHR-111 Rickey Henderson

MHR-112 Rickey Henderson

MHR-113 Rickey Henderson

I'm definitely looking forward to the "Cards Your Mother Threw Out" set, as I always enjoy it when Rickey is included as part of an insert set, and not just as a parallel of a base card. The relic card should also be obtainable, while I'm pretty sure the hat logo relics will be 1/1's, or at least have a minuscule print run, which will make them hard to even see, let alone obtain.

Even More Topps U&H Releases

It seems that every day brings even more surprises from 2009 Topps Update & Highlights!

First, I found out that Rickey was included a an SP in the set, and then two different relics showed up on eBay. Now, Beckett has updated their official checklist with the cards that will be included in the now common Wal-Mart and Target blasters and "cereal" boxes. The complete list is included below. As always, if any of you guys pull any of these, please let me know!



2009 Topps Update #UH318b SP
2009 Topps Legends of the Game Relics #RH Jsy
2009 Topps Legends of the Game Relics #RH2 Bat

2009 Topps Target Legends #LLG21
2009 Topps Target Legends Gold #LLG21
2009 Topps Target Legends Platinum #LLG21
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Target Cereal #LLG21
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Target Cereal Gold Refractors #LLG21
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Target Cereal Refractors #LLG21

2009 Topps Wal Mart Legends #LLP22
2009 Topps Wal Mart Legends Gold #LLP22
2009 Topps Wal Mart Legends Platinum #LLP22
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Wal Mart Cereal #PR26
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Wal Mart Cereal Gold Refractors #PR26
2009 Topps Legends Chrome Wal Mart Cereal Refractors #PR26

Topps Updates & Highlights Relics!

As more boxes of Updates & Highlights are busted, more surprises continue to emerge! I was excited enough about the variation that surfaced yesterday, but there are now relic cards as well!



This jersey card is numbered to only 20 copies, which will make it a bit difficult to acquire, but it features an awesome picture of him on the A's.



The bat card is also limited to only 20 copies, with this one showing him on the Yankees. I can't wait to see what other surprises might pop up!

Once again, if anyone happens to pull these cards, please let me know!