Abandoned Baseball Cards - Pal's Sports Cards - Andover, MN

My LCS closed for good on November 12, 2023.

This was the first of two major November 2023 tragedies to pop up out of nowhere.

8 days after Pal's Sports Cards closed their store, my closest friend of the last 30 years killed himself, on his 48th birfday. I had to put this planned story on hold, while I wrote about that unfortunate event.

I really didn't like this November...

November 19, 2023

A week after Pal's Sports Cards closed, I went back for another round of pictures and saw one of the walls of the now empty baseball card shop, was already being removed. A new tenant is getting ready to move into the entire south side of the strip mall. The dumpster on the right side of this photo is being filled with construction debris, as work on the new World Taekwondo Academy, had began a few weeks before Pal's closed. 

The space behind Pal's was already being converted from offices to an open area for Taekwondoing.

Front reverse back leg side kick!

I'm picturing in my mind that the new leasee, the World Taekwondo Academy, held a ceremonial strike to the wall needing removal. I'd been told that wall was going to be removed for the Taekwondo Academy, and the idea of it being removed via punch and kick, quick strike offense amused me. Then I parked at the store and saw this. 

Maybe the wall was going to be removed by sheer, brute force!

Sucks... But I get it...

I'd been photographing the store during its final month. After it closed, I was going through my images and notes, planning to write a really sad story about losing my LCS. One that I loved hanging out at, several times a month. Looking through new singles, talked baseball and the hobby, with the Barker family and other Pal's employees. 

Really going to miss this place... 

A gut punch right through the hanging packs of One-Touch cases... 

Abandoned stores are awesome.

Baseball card stores are awesome.

Abandoned baseball card stores are not awesome.

One week later, that wall is all gone. You can see all the way back through two other storefronts.

With a new wall going up, dividing the old Pal's by a little more than half, north vs south.

One week before...

The next week.

Sucks to see that cool tiled floor of Pal's has been removed.

I really liked the slightly off-level, multi-colored brick they had.

Back room of Pal's.

When I asked about the store closing, I was told the strip mall wasn't going to renew their lease. They wanted to chop up the store to expand for the incoming World Taekwondo Academy. Pal's was offered a lease for the new space, which would be less than half the size of the old one, but they decided to call it quits instead.

And that sucks. I remember reading a few years back when Topps (and only extended under Fanatics) changed their allocations to cater more for the higher volume stores. Drastically cutting the amount of product the smaller, family stores, would have access to buy. And Pal's was definitely feeling that pinch. The new rules simply wouldn't allow the shelves of unopened wax to stay as consistently stocked as they were 4 years earlier. The higher prices for product made it very difficult to keep the shelves stocked at all. 

I don't blame them at all for walking away.

It sucks, but is more reflective of the market changes, than anything the store did.

The Astroturf stayed behind, but Home Plate was removed.

As it should have been!

An early Pal's business card. 

This was back when they were still open on Sunday. They started closing on Sundays, after the pandemic slowdown. Which I wasn't a fan of. I work Monday-Friday, and I like to take Saturdays off without going anywhere. Sunday's were for running Aarons, so it was more convenient for me. They were always slow on Sunday's, so that was even better for me. Just not for them. 

Middle of October, 2023, Pal's announced they'd be closing my conveniently nearby baseball card store of the last 5 plus years, on November 12. 

Unhappiness...

2022 Topps Triple Threads - Edgar Martinez - Auto Jersey

I had my eyes on this card for a while. But after the first round of going out of business sales dropped the price on this down to $25, I pounced on it.

Any of my readers who have been around for the 6 plus year of Four Baggers knows I can't resist writing a countdown. To commemorate the closing of Pal's, I had to come up with an appropriate Whatever for the occasion. After much debate over multiple subjects (top single cards I bought here, top Twins cards from here, best cards pulled from packs from Pal's, etc...), But I’ve done stuff like that before. (Here's an example: Cards From My Pals at Pal's.) So I settled on the best idea to capture the spirit of Pal's.

Over the last few years, there had been between 20-25 three-ring binders on a shelf by the display cases, full of cards from 1957-1979. For the same amount of years, I'd always planned on going through them, but never did. Brian (the former owner) said a customer brought them in on consignment, and he'd been setting aside money as he sold cards out of the albums, but that guy wasn't around the last few times he'd tried to contact him.

With the store going out of business, these albums had been rapidly shrinking. When I finally decided that I needed to flip through them, they were all picked over. Some years and sets were down to less than 100 cards. Each of the albums had between 700-800 vintage cards in them, 5 years ago. What was left today was in FAR from good condition. But 25 cents to a buck a piece is a no-brainer buy for 60 year old cards I liked.

I walked away with over 200 cards, from 1959-1973, in less than perfect condition. For less than the price of several single packs of today's product. Had I been willing to double what I paid for these, I could have walked out with just 6 cards from brand new and un-discounted 2023 Bowman Sterling.

Nowhere near as fun.

Whatever...

The Top 52 Vintage Cards From Pal's Going Out Of Business Sale!

When I started writing this, I debated doing ALL 200+ vintage cards I bought that day. Then I talked myself off that ledge. After getting down to about 75, the cuts were more difficult. Including several Twins, Expos, Pilots and damaged Hall of Famers.

I'll buy a creased 1964 Topps Sandy Koufax League Leaders card for $1, all the time. I can't stand the Dodgers, but there's always respect!

#52 - 1965 Topps - Ken Harrelson

Now that he's retired, I miss some his feistier moments on White Sox broadcasts. But for years of watching the Sox play the Twins on WGN, he really got on my nerves. I'll give him his fair and rightfully earned props. He should be considered one of the greats in the booth, and a pretty good player in his time.

And he still looked like a weasel as a youngster...

#51 - 1969 Topps - Bob Veale

Bob has a really big yellow P on his chest.

#50 - 1972 Topps - Chuck Dobson

Poor trimming on this card alone was worth the quarter paid. I work in printing, and seeing the thick dotted line form of crop marks was really amusing. Bindery would start kicking our asses if we gave them trim marks like this. Which doesn't even mention the angle these are being cut. I'd love to see what else came from this sheet, both five cards forward and five cards backwards. 

September 25, 2012

Approaching Pal's Sports Cards, while in town from Denver. This was the first time I visited Pal's. I didn't know when they opened at the time, but I was so happy to find a card store close to my parents house. Needed somewhere to drop a few bucks on Twins cards, rarely seen in Denver. I've still never really warmed up to buying cards off the internet. Doubting that changes any time soon.

For the last few days of the Going out of Business Sale, there were several photos of the card store, taken the day it opened in August, 2010. These are my photos of their photos. Photoshoppitized to make them look like I time travelled and took them myself. 

The red walled area, with Fat Head Joe Mauer running away from it, eventually became the behind the cashier stand work zone. With a small storage and sorting area, plus a desk with an iMac. Bonus points for running the store on Macintosh. Though the P.O.S. (Point Of Service) tended to frustrate all who used it. Yes, that joke was made, several times.

13 years before the reckless Taekwondoers Kung Fooed a hole in the back wall, it looked like this. Funny to see how sparse the store looked when it opened. Before the merchandise was being pared down towards the end, the walls were full of shelves full of inventory.

One of the things I bought at Pal's on my first visit, was this square of Metrodome Turf. Which was replaced when the roof collapsed under the weight of snow, in December 2010. I'm pretty sure this was still the same turf the Twins played on in 2009. So it fits in with the Twins collection.

Pal's Sports Cards Coupon - Double Your Fun

For years they ran an in-store promotion where if you spent $100, you got a coupon for $5 off. Which you could enter into a drawing for store credit. I always took these coupons when offered, but I never redeemed them. They be sitting on my desk and I'd look at the before I went to Pal's. Just never put two and two together. I can see three of them on my desk right now...

I could have saved fives and tens of dollars!

Whatever...

#49 - 1968 Topps - Cal Ermer

Ermer only managed the Twins for part of the 1967 and 1968 season. Victim of bad timing with the Twins, and an impatient Calvin Griffith. Ermer's record as Twins manager was 145-129, but he never got another shot at running another team.

#48 - 1965 Topps - Washington Senators Rookie Stars

The oddly touched up photo of RFK Stadium on the Don Loun half, is the real star in my mind.

#47 - 1970 Topps - Gail Hopkins

"Gail? Are you here? Speak! God Damat Gail! Get your God Damn mouth in gear, Gail! She wrote: See you tonight, I'll be in a brown sweater and floral top, watching you ha ha... I just wanted to know where Gail was for security purposes..." 

That bit from Doug Benson's Promotional Tool album immediately came to mind when I saw this card. With that look on his face. So...Yeah, I paid 25 cents for a card this creased, chipped and dinged. But look at that pouty face! And those ugly 1969 Chicago White Sox road uniforms! And the pre-renovation Yankee Stadium backdrop!

Who wouldn't buy this?

#46 - 1972 Topps - Commissioners Award

The 1972 Topps Award card subset were always a big favorite of mine. Just a floating trophy in a sea of solid color. 

#45 - 1972 Topps - Minor League Player Of The Year Award

This features pictures of the classic Topps Rookie "Bowling Trophy" AND the All Star Rookie Team Cup.

Well worth 75 cents!

#44 - 1962 Topps - Ed Bailey

Not a collector of Giants cards, but I liked the early Candlestick Park photo, showing the third base dugout and seats behind home plate. In my opinion, of the two years where Topps used a fake woodgrain border for their flagship set, 1962 is FAR superior to 1987. 

My visit to Pal's in 2012 was the first time meeting Brian. Who was a fun guy to talk to about cards and the Twins, as I searched through boxes of singles. Once I moved back to Minnesota in 2018, I was a regular. At least once every 2 weeks. 

1987 Topps (custom) Pal's - Brian Barker

Brian passed away in December 2021. There was a large turnout of family, friends and Pal's customers gathered in tribute, about a month later. It was a really nice event, meeting his family, Pal's employees and customers in a personal setting. Brian's wife and son continued running the store in his absence. They did a great job in keeping the general feel and vibe of the store as it was before, but you really wished Brian was there too. 

I wrote a piece about it, at the end of this 2021 Bowman Draft story. I'm not going to recap it all here. 

After Brian passed, Pal's reopened with his son, Jason, working every day at the store, as Brian used to. His wife Starla, continued to run the business end of Pal's, behind the scene. 

Say hellos to Jason!

June 24, 2023

I snapped a few pictures inside Pal's, to illustrate my traditional shopping habits, during a (typically) bi-weekly visit to Pal's. I'd walk in the doors, take a quick glance into the large singles cases, then around to the left, at the singles shelves.

The shoe boxes on the lower shelves didn't change in content too often. The shelves above were lined with plastic bins of team (and sport) sorted, Top-Loadered singles. The $2-$20 stuff, with new inventory added as it came in. When more space was needed, some cards migrated south, to the shoe boxes. Replacing what had been sold from them. It was a good system.

The far shelf was for Baseball. With dedicated Basketball, Hockey, Football, and non-sports also getting the tiered shelves with sorted plastic bins. I really liked this method of storing singles for sale. You had easy access to the cheaper singles of stars and rookies, relics, autographs, and parallels, sorted by team. New product would come in, and singles would be bought back from disappointed customers who ripped wax in-store, then priced and placed in the team sorted bins. Giving collectors like me a chance to buy cards from packs I would never buy. 

The $150 pack of 4 cards is something I'm just not buying.

But I'll happily pick out 4 singles I like, that came from those packs, for less than $15.

Behind those team sorted bins was the register and office area. The storage back room was behind the wall, which was continued behind a temporary wall, made from a display case and some boards above it.

This became Pal's vintage card area. The case held some really nice stuff from the 1950's-1970's. The plastic bins above had lesser condition commons and minor stars, sorted by the years 1952-1973.

I never had a spare $1,200. But if I did, I would have been very tempted by a complete 1972 Topps set...

Whatever...

#43 - 1961 Topps - Tito Francona

Had to pick this up in honor of his son's recent retirement, as Cleveland Indians/Guardians manager. Unfortunately the register is pretty far off, with the photo negatives. Novel compared to today's technology.

#42 - 1967 Topps - Kansas City Athletics Rookie Stars

Another one that suffered from bad registration and dinged corners, but a Sal Bando rookie for less than a buck is a good deal to me.

#41 - 1968 Topps - Jack Aker

The Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, for the 1968 season. 1968 Topps dealt with hiding the KC on the hats, by painting the entire crown an unnatural shade of black. Not even a poorly matched green to kind of blend in with the old Kansas City caps. Topps even had to drive to Mr. Aker's little white house, made him put on his Kansas City Athletics uniform, just to paint his hat black in post...

#40 - 1961 Topps - Mike Roarke

Assuming this is from a Spring Training field, certainly not Tiger Stadium, but I liked the bleachers behind Mr. Roarke. Including off-centering the photo to allow for the star shaped 1961 Rookie logo. a lot more intrusive than the current rookie card logo that Topps uses. 

#39 - 1962 Topps - Woody Held

The 10 year old in me is endlessly amused by the name Woody Held.

If you look him up in the phone book, his name reads: "Held, Woody". 

What's a phone book?

The other thing about this card that bothers me is the strange optical illusion going on with Woody. The more I look at this photo, the more I think his head is way too large, and his arms are way too small. Makes it pretty hard to have Held, Woody, if you can't reach it...

Whatever...

1969 Minnesota Twins Program

As soon as I saw this for sale at Pal's, I had to own it. My purchase was rewarded with a glorious, 2 color printed magazine, focused on the 1969 Minnesota Twins, Metropolitan Stadium and smoking cigarettes. Every page seemingly was a full blown recommendation to smoke! The first time flipping through the pages, I knew that I had to start scanning pages and turn it into a story.

1978 Minnesota Twins Retired Stars - Bill Frisz Cards

I'd seen this set in the vintage case for a few years when I finally asked what it was. It hadn't piqued my interest before since I'd assumed it was a team set from the mid-1970's TCMA sets. Which I had, and loved. When I asked, Brian said it was team issued set, sold at Met Stadium and through the mail. It featured 50 or so retired Twins players. 

Well, that sounds like something I absolutely need to buy!

It was also turned into a story.

Back to back visits to Pal's led to back to back stories of unexpected old Twins memorabilia!

Looking out at the main retail floor of Pal's. The black shelf in the center/right of this picture, was purchased by my mom, during the going out of business sale. Packs and boxes line half of the (now removed) back wall. Card supplies, boxes and album pages are housed here. Display cases up from for the expensive single cards up front as you enter the store.

You always checked these cases first. Never knew what as going to pop up under the glass. I drooled over this card for 2 months last summer...

2022 Topps Dynasty - Royce Lewis

The price on this did drop to $400 before it sold.

I'm a huge fan of Mr. Grand Slam, but I couldn't justify almost 2 full shifts at work for this... 

Same goes for the SuperFractor next to it on the top shelf.

Or either of these recent beauties of the Twins newest top prospect: 

A 2023 Bowman Sapphire Brooks Lee autograph?

Maybe a 2022 Bowman Draft Picks Brooks Lee Purple Refractor, serial numbered out of 10?

Any of these would have made me pleased as punch. However, it would probably place some sort of hex on Brooks Lee, making him into a 2024 version of Steve Lombardozzi. There's a name from the past...

No worries, I'd never dream of returning them. 

The shelves of Pal's wax boxes and packs. Over the last couple of years, the shelves didn't stay as full as they did a few years earlier. Brian had often lamented how difficult and expensive it had gotten to keep product on the shelves. With Box Breakers now burning through unopened cases, for high rolling investors hunting SuperFractors. Brian always told me, if you want new releases, buy them right away. When he has to buy more on the secondary market, the prices will be higher. 

One of our typical conversations when I came in, was the general business trends of the hobby. We both agreed that the allocations changing to favor the higher volume stores, would make keeping his store going, increasingly difficult. Stuff I'd read online predicted this would result in many smaller card shops closing around the country. I don't want to get into the whole "system is rigged" argument, because it's pointless. Here's the evidence. Draw your own conclusion.

The summer/fall of 2020 was the peak of reasonably priced quantity wax on Pal's shelves. While I wasn't laid off during the pandemic, there was a major decrease in hours. Either way I bought a lot of cards that year. Many of which came in the form of wax boxes from Pal's, that hadn't yet bloated in price. (2020 Baseball Top Whatever.)

Sometimes I miss the newest good old days of card collecting of four years ago...

Whatever...

#38 - 1961 Topps - Walt Dropo

I'm not sure what stadium this photo was taken in, but I love the green seat backs and the steel framing above Dropo. Being a photo most likely taken in 1960, the Baltimore road grays (with that sweet Oriole cartoon patch) eliminating Memorial Stadium,  it doesn't look like too many of the other American League stadiums of that era. I'm leaning toward Griffith Stadium in Washington DC. But that is just a guess based on nothing.

Going through the Pal's vintage albums, I went very 1960's Washington Senators heavy. (So it's probably my fault that the Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series.) This was a plan going in. 

#37 - 1969 Topps - Jim Hannan

I wasn't looking for specific Senators players, but I was looking to specific Senators photos. Not necessarily this one. I had to buy this for the backdrop. No idea where Hannan is pretending to be pitching, but it doesn't look like where you could play a game.

Maybe do some farming?

#36 - 1963 Topps - Dave Stenhouse

This was the exact Washington Senators photo I was looking for. 

When Laura and I were in Washington DC, in 2019, one of my most wanted photos was one of RFK Stadium. I knew it was sitting vacant, waiting for demolition, before we went. But I didn't think to look into where it was located. Driving into DC from the east, I said to Laura: "I need to find where RFK Stadium is, so I can take a good picture of it." Not even a minute later, we see the freeway split in two, with the darkened silhouette of RFK Stadium, sitting directly between the east and west lanes. 

"Oh, nevermind... There it is..."

Knowing that we'd be taking the same freeway to leave DC, a couple of days later, we'd just stop on our way out of town. When it was daylight.

#35 - 1963 Topps - Mickey Vernon

Not the right photo, but you couldn't take my quarter fast enough for this one.

#34 - 1967 Topps - Barry Moore

As I looked for a place to park, for the best angle for a good RFK Stadium shot, Laura suggested the stadium parking lot, which had an open gate. We found out that gate was opened to allow the small crew that was working inside. The stadium had officially closed, and site redevelopment plans were taking shape. I couldn't find a specific date for the last public event held inside RFK. I saw dates as late as June 2019, and as early as August 2017, noted as RFK's last event.

I took a few pictures from the parking lot then told Laura that I was going to walk around to see what else I could see. 

Eventually I walked around the entire outside of RFK. Taking all sorts of pictures of the stadium from exterior sidewalk level, and anything I could see inside from that vantage point. Our 2019 east coast vacation was a lot of fun, but walking around the perimeter while taking pictures of a very large and significant stadium was my highlight of the trip. After I was done, I walked up to the security booth and asked the woman working if I could walk up the open ramp and take a picture of the field. 

She politely -but sternly- told me that I couldn't be on the property and needed to leave.

That's cool. I already got FAR more than I thought I'd get when I passed this place close to midnight, a few days ago!

To fill that story out, I needed a supply of baseball cards with photos taken inside RFK Stadium in Washington DC. It's distinct enough for that era to be pretty recognizable, even on photos from the mid-1960's. Now I think I have enough to add into my photos to write it, around the same time the city of Washington DC FINALLY gets the damn thing torn down...

The section of Pals back wall, dedicated to supplies. Something that's going to be missed is the ease of access to storage supplies. I know that in a couple of months, when I get back to card sorting, I'm going to wish that I'd bought a few more 5000 count Monster Boxes. 

But I've got a lot of stuff to do before I'm at that point.

I won the Pal's Double Your Fun Gift Card drawing, in December 2022. After making it a point to mention how I always forget to bring my coupons in and enter the drawings. I'd gone to the store specifically to buy a box of 2022 Stadium Club. But the bonus $100 in credit, plus a little extra, got me a second box of 2022 Stadium Club!

Good thing it did, since that box had an autographed Kris Bryant Chrome Refractor, numbered to 25! Which actually was cool since it was one of his first non-Photoshopped Colorado Rockies cards. Now if Bryant could get back to being a superstar. Or maybe the Rockies could get back to being a Major League team...

2020 Beckett Almanac

One day Brian was pricing a bunch of early 1960's hand-cut Post and Jello baseball cards, that had recently come in, He was using a well worn copy of the Beckett Almanac for looking up the prices, then adjusting for condition. I picked up a handful of Twins that day. Scanned them with every intent on using them for a story, just never did write it.

Close to 25 years had passed since I bought one of the yearly, perfect bound, large checklist books. And I always did find them useful for reference, even if the internet is always there. I considered the prices as being more of guideline than anything. Especially on the more obscure stuff that doesn't show up very often. It's also nice to have full checklists for anything I want to look up. Only now the book is massive, and clocks in at over 1300 pages, of microscopic type. 

I decided it was worthy of a book report!

South facing Pal's windows. Directly in front of the parking spot I always used when visiting the store.

Like on December 7, 2019!

Deserving of equal time, here's Pal's front windows. The set next to the entrance doors.

September 30, 2023

Pal's put on an in-store party, coinciding with Topps National Trading Card Day. Every $5 spent during the month leading up to the event gave you a ticket for the drawing. The more you spent in the store, meant more chances to win.

Pizza was supplied by Jet's Pizza, a couple of blocks to the south. They make an excellent deep dish square pizza. (I wont call it Detroit Style, as I don't want to piss off Kevin Nash. He can cut quite the promo when irritated. Just ask Phil...) 

Three wax boxes were given out as prizes in the drawing. All non-winning tickets were worth 10 cents off purchase a piece. Which was a nice bonus. A special drawing was held for kids under 14, but I don't think there was a kid that didn't get something from the store before they left.

After the drawings, there was a small in-store Box Break. Consisting of a blaster of 2022 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary, a Hobby Box of 2023 Topps Cosmic Chrome, a Hobby Box of 2023 Bowman Chrome, a Hobby Box of 2023 Topps Big League and 2 packs of 2023 Topps Archives Signature. Entry was only $25 per team.

(There's something cool about that 2020 Panini National Treasures box, used as a phone stand, to broadcast the break over facebook.)

I had slot 23 in the random team drawing, and drew the Atlanta Braves. Not a team I like at all, but when it comes to a random team, you could do a lot worse than the Braves. They're not the Pirates... There's a lot of star power in Atlanta. Even if I don't like them.

Damn...

An orange parallel of Michael Harris II Opening Act Autographed, numbered 14/25, out of 2023 Topps Big League!

Yeah, the Braves are a good team for hits... I'll give them that...

Here's a story about an earlier, lower key, 2018 National Hobby Shop Day. Filled with Vintage Twins and Expos.

Whatever...

#33 - 1967 Topps - Joe Nuxhall

Nuxhall retired in 1966, so this would be his last card. I'm not too likely to acquire his first card, since I don't know when it was. Nuxhall holds a record that will likely never get broken; the younger player to appear in a major League game. 15 years and 10 months. There's rules against that now...  

He remained property of the Reds after his first appearance in June, 1944. After finishing high school, and a few years of developing in the minor leagues, Nuxhall made it back to the Reds in May, 1952. At the ripe old age of 23. After a decent pitching career ended in 1966, he immediately became part of the Reds radio broadcast team. Where he worked until his death in 2007.

#32 - 1969 Topps - Dave Wickersham

Not only does Wickersham have a cool name, he is one of few players to start their career with the Kansas City Athletics, and end it with the Kansas City Royals. With his best work coming in the years between, pitching for the Detroit Tigers. His card gets the full Royals uniform, since it's part of the high number series. Unfortunately, Wickersham retired before his Royals card was available in packs.

#31 - 1963 Topps - Clay Dalrymple

If I'm buying vintage singles, and I don't come away with at least one Clay Dalrymple card, something went wrong.

#30 - 1965 Topps - Steve Boros

Boros was known for his intellectual approach to the game, one of the first managers to use computers to analyze pitches. As early as 1983, during his first managerial stint with the Oakland Athletics, and his second shot with the 1986 San Diego Padres. He was ahead of his time, and that rubbed people the wrong way. Boros didn't return to on field managing, but did work in baseball until the mid 2000's, for the Dodgers, Royals, Orioles and Tigers. 

#29 - 1972 Topps - Darold Knowles

Journeyman pitcher, who saw his best years with the early 1970's Oakland A's, World Series winning teams. Knowles pitched in 60 games with the 1978 Montreal Expos, and reportedly hated every minute of it. I remember him from his Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach cameo on a 1990 Upper Deck card. 

All that fun stuff aside, it was the original Oakland-Alameda County Colosseum outfield and those glow-in-the-light, green windbreaker sleeves, that sold this card to me. Crease and all.

Whatever...

Pal's Sports Cards celebrated their 10th Anniversary, in August 2020.

The commemorative magnet is still on our refrigerator.

"Tiny", the inflatable Minnesota Viking showed up, along with the Original Hockey Mom's Brownie Food Truck. 

Brian was passing out coupons for the Brownie Truck, in the weeks leading up to the event. The Outlaw Grill cancelled at the last minute, too late to print new coupons. Which sucked because they had a burrito I wanted to try. However, the Chocolate Mint Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, was incredible.

Shortly before Pal's Sports Cards announced the store would be closing, a card showed up in the case that made me feel very sad...

2020 Panini National Treasures Kirby Puckett Cut-Signature Booklet 1 of 1

A few months after Pal's turned 10, Brian opened a box of 2020 Panini National Treasures (which came out at $1200 for a single 8 card pack). Puckett being one of his favorite players, a certified autograph of a deceased Hall of Famer, sick jersey patch and a 1 of 1. He was so happy with pulling card from a very expensive box. He said that he didn't open much new product, but this was going in his personal collection. 

Nearly three years later it was in the case, for sale. 

At a very high price, but I don't think this was for a motivated sale. Had I a spare $2500 laying around, I'd love to have this in my personal collection. 

But I don't so I wont...

However, Jason did sell me the empty 2020 Panini National Treasures Box, that the awesome Puckett card was inside, for $2! This same box was used as a phone stand for broadcasting Pal's Box Breaks, to facebook. A nice piece of Pal's history, for a price you can't argue. And these boxes are just really cool!

2009 Topps - Paul Molitor Variation

I can afford $3 for a card I've wanted since 2009.

Another great item from the Pal's going out of business sale was this cool mini-replica of Metropolitan Stadium. There's even a red dot to represent the landing spot for Harmon Killebrew's 520 foot home run, in June 1967.

While I was at the store, Jason and (another employee) Paul were looking at this Met Stadium photo, autographed by Killebrew and Jim 'Mudcat" Grant. 

Attached to the back of the photo was this seating chart for Metropolitan Stadium. Jason flipped it over, so I could take a picture of it.

A few weeks later, my mom was going through old photos and found her ticket stub from a game she attended with her father and brothers. It was July 17, 1963. The Twins were playing the New York Yankees. Looking at the seating chart above, this would have been in left field, more toward the foul line than center.

Despite Mickey Mantle not playing that day, the Yankees beat the Twins 4-0. Because of course they did. Seattle Pilots legend Jim Bouton pitched the complete game shutout for New York. Over 42,000 were at the Met that night. Lee Stange started and took the loss for the Twins.

Zoilo Versalles hit 2 triples.

Harmon Killebrew hit a single.

The Minnesota Vikings shared Met Stadium with the Twins, from 1961-1981. One of the local stars of the late 1970's Vikings was Bob Lurtsema. "Benchwarmer" Bob also appeared in TV commercials for TCF Banks in the Minneapolis area. Which is where I remember him, since I've never paid much attention to football. 

I'd never actually seen him shop at Pal's, but I absolutely cannot say he didn't.

This picture just caught my eye on my way out on their final day. 

Whatever...

#28 - 1972 Topps - Jerry McNertney

Former Seattle Pilots catcher standing in San Francisco's Candlestick Park. Which was getting a second deck of seating built, when this photo was taken. This construction can be found of several 1972 Topps cards, but this was the only one I bought today. I guess it didn't matter so much for baseball, but those would be some decent seats for football.

#27 - 1968 Topps - Twins Rookie Stars: George Mitterwald, Rick Renick

I actually didn't have this card before today. Mitterwald played both starting and backup roles at catcher, for a few seasons in Minnesota. And a few more for the Cubs. Renick's Major League career wasn't as successful, but he did play parts of 5 seasons with the Twins (and two seasons in the Montreal Expos farm system). After retiring, Renick stayed active in baseball, with various Major and Minor League jobs with the Royals, Expos, Twins, Pirates, White Sox, Pirates and Marlins. 

#26 - 1967 Topps - Bob Allison

Through the 1960's, Allison provided consistent protection for Harmon Killebrew, in the Twins lineup. A less heralded star, Allison was still a key contributor to the success Minnesota had in the 1960's. This card made the Whatever, instead of the 1962 Topps card I bought, because I liked this picture better.

My personal Bob Allison story is kind of sad. 

In 1988, I attended a Twins game, where they were giving away books with photos of Topps Twins (and Senators) cards from 1952 through 1987, sponsored by Surf Laundry Detergent. "Surf" Books were given away at stadium promotions throughout Major League Baseball, in 1988. 

Over the next few years, I was getting former Twins players to autograph the book, at card shows across the Twin Cities. They always expressed interest in the book when they saw it, and some would flip through and comment on others who had signed it. In late 1990, I was at a card show at the Benilde/St. Margaret school in St. Louis Park. There was a decent amount of former Twins from the 1965 World Series team, signing autographs at the show. I remember a Camilo Pascual signed baseball from that day, is on a Twins shelf in New Baseballcardland today.

One of the players was flipping through the book and asked if he could show it to Bob Allison, who was hanging out behind the scenes, seeing his old teammates, but not participating in any of the event. When he came back with my Surf Book, he said Bob really loved seeing the signatures I had, of players who weren't at this show. At the time, he was already too sick to write, so he wasn't able to sign my book. Which is fine, I just thought it was cool that got to provide something.

Bob Allison died from complications related to Ataxia, in April 1995.

He was only 60 years old.

#25 - 1972 Topps - Dodgers Rookie Stars: Charlie Hough, Bob O'Brien, Mike Strahler

I needed a second Charlie Hough rookie. Something about a chain smoking knuckleball pitcher that I'll always appreciate. And Hough started the first game in Florida Marlins history, in 1993. That, watching games of him with Texas and the White Sox, pitch against the Twins. I don't remember the late 1980's and early 1990's Twins lineups doing very well against him.

#24 - 1970 Topps - Ralph Houk

Hey Topps, did you really need to leave off the double E's? 

That looks dumb.

#23 - 1971 Topps - Lefty Phillips

Great dugout shot.

#22 - 1973 Topps - Larry Bowa

Everyone seems to have a different opinion about what they consider "vintage", in terms of baseball cards. My preferred cut off has typically been 1973 Topps. That was the last Topps set issued in multiple series. Well, until they brought the series gimmick back for the flagship set, in 1993.

Others consider 1980 as their last set of the "vintage era". This was the last year of Topps monopoly, before Donruss and Fleer were granted licenses for 1981. Of course business and Selig reduced the licenses all the way back down to one, in 2010. And I've felt less enthusiastic about the hobby ever since. 

Another popular idea has been 1985. The Junk Wax Era is widely considered 1986-1994, so 1985 preceded that, so it should be called something. I started collecting in 1987, and I can't get on board with 1985 being vintage. I also can't look at something like 1975 Topps and NOT think it's vintage. Same with 1980 Topps...

So I've decided that I will amend my vintage definition. In terms of how I store my collection, the pre-1974 cards (commons only) will still be sorted by set, instead of by team, in albums. But I will now recognize the 1980 Topps set as the last vintage set. I guess I'll embrace the more umbrella term, "Modern Era" for post license expansion.

This really sucks.

November 4, 2023

Pals Sports Cards is looking a lot emptier this morning.

The singles haven't been too picked over, but these are 50% off today. (Singles were 30% off the week before. That's when I bought the 200 plus Vintage cards, plus some Twins singles and a buncha supplies. So I'll save anything I'm not too hot on, until next weekend. If it's still here, I'll snap it up at a bigger discount.

Twins bins first!

2021-2022 Bowman Heritage - Royce Lewises

Recent Bowman Heritage releases have really appealed to me. Too bad I rarely see it... Tributes to the early 1990's Bowman sets, that solidified the Junk Wax Prospector in me. Topps even used photos that feel like those old sets. The 1993 Bowman throwback is a very 1993 Bowman-esque photo. Same for the 1994 next to it.

Both of these are new additions to the Royce Lewis collection.

2005 Leaf Century Collection - Bert Blyleven - Autograph Stamp

Blyleven didn't come at much of a discount, because it was actually part of last week's 30% off buys. And that's fine by me. This is the first autographed stamp card I've picked up, and I really like it. That's a pretty cool design. 

Topps/Fanatics NEEDS competition.

Tiny made another appearance, behind what remained of the Vintage shelves. I was momentarily concerned the big clumsy Viking would start knocking everything off the shelves. But no one fed Tiny any Budweiser, so the merchandise and customers were kept safe. That kid up front looks fearful of being trampled!

Paul rings up my variously priced singles from several different sale points. If there's anyone behind me when I am ready to check out, I usually let them go first. My purchases of multiple singles at different dollar amounts, under different inventory codes. That tended to be a bit more complicated than the typical Wax Box and some Top Loaders sale.

He is backed by two of the Barkers. Another Barker was elsewhere in the store, and the matriarch wasn't on site at the moment.

The entire family would be there next weekend, for Pal's Grand Finale.

November 11, 2023

Yes, the chalkboard was for sale. It even included "free chalk"! 

Whatever...

#21 - 1972 Topps - Lowell Palmer

A 1972 high number common, with the unfortunate arching crease in the upper left corner, brought this card down to 25 cents. Worth a quarter to me... Those odd red variants of a White Sox uniform, 19 years in the future. A reverse throwback? A throwforward?

Definitely not a photo taken at Comiskey, I'm assuming Spring Training. But that large apartment building or hotel, behind the meager dugout and cheaply put together bleachers offers up a whole new round of questions. People are standing behind him, looking rather fannish, so it was open to the public.

This card fascinated me far more than it should have.

#20 - 1961 Topps - Leo Posada

Similar to Kansas City's Leo Posada. Shown here batting for the Athletics, at an elementary school age summer camp.

I love these old photos!

#19 - 1968 Topps - Philadelphia Phillies

A new subset has developed in my vintage collection since buying cards at Pal's. Cards that feature parts of Shibe Park as a backdrop. This one is really good, but nothing I've seen is better than the incredible team picture in 1970 Topps. 

1970 Topps - Philadelphia Phillies

Team sitting at an angle, with part of the scoreboard and left field grandstands, advertising on the outfield wall. Then there's the two bats and ball in front. Some thought and effort was put into this picture. Every time I see a copy, I buy another one. If it's a buck or two, it's worth it due to the greatness of this card.

Pal's didn't have another one for me to buy on my final day. 

They did sell me 3 copies in my visits, since 2012.

Whatever...

#18 - 1961 Topps - Ray Ripplemeyer

Love this painting...

Has got to be a Minor League stadium, given the heavy retouching. Even by 1961 standards. Reminds me of some of the paintings from the first few years of Topps cards.

The last weekend of Pal's meant big savings on anything left. Some merchandise had been set aside. Either singles in a "Full Price" case, or packaged together and sold as a lot. Jason said that stuff would be sold online, after the store closed. Offers were accepted on something you wanted, within reason. 

The 2020 Panini National Treasures Kirby Puckett was not included on the discount.

Pal's had cleared out a lot of merchandise in the week since I was last in.

Supplies were getting sparse.

The inventory was slowly creeping toward the register, with empty shelving switching places with it.

As of today, all singles were 75% off. The good stuff was mostly gone. But I was overjoyed to get some of these cards at a heavy discount. To save time and sanity, I didn't scan these. So a ganged up photo is the best you're going to get. With terrible lighting that I just couldn't be bothered to re-shoot or spend any time trying to fix in Photoshop.

Like a big buncha Bowman for 75% off! 

Some recent higher end Topps singles, from sets like Tier One, Tribute, Museum Collection and others. 

And some more Tier One, Tribute, Museum Collection. Previously I bought the singles I wanted. This round included ones I liked, or Hall of Famers that felt like they belonged in my collection. The most expensive being George Brett, at $2.50. 

The Alex Bregman was intentional. It was 25 cents too much, but I liked the color in the photo.

The last of the Colorado Rockies cards I wanted. The 2007 Rockies schedule was found by Jason, while going through stuff in the store. Wonder if Brian went out to Denver in 2007 for a game? I know he knew Mike at Mike's Sports Cards in Aurora. Not to be confused with Mike at Mike's Sports Cards in Englewood.

Random 75% off Topps stuff. 

And some random stuff that I'll call the stragglers. Cards I've seen in the plastic team sorted Top Loader bins for years, that no one ever bought. New Kansas City Royals Ace, Michael Wacha, is serial numbered out of 25, and I got it for $2.50. I'd debated the faded Omar Vizquel autograph for several years now, but $4.50 felt like the right price. Justin Bour was numbered out of 50, and will fit in with my slowly growing Marlins collection.

Whatever...

#17 - 1970 Topps - Seattle Pilots Rookie Stars - Miguel Fuentes, Dick Baney

A Pilots card I had, but this one is much better condition. 

Amongst the card projects I need to address is coming up with a definitive list of 1969 and 1970 Topps Seattle Pilots cards. I know neither team set is complete, but I'm close on both.

#16 - 1969 Topps - Montreal Expos Rookie Stars - Jose LaBoy - Floyd Wicker

Another duplicate, but another upgrade? Not sure. I already have 4 of this card. It's Coco LaBoy's rookie! (though his 1970 Topps card has a much better photo.) Which is the only Expos card to make the Whatever. Other than Junk Wax Era commons, Pal's didn't get to keep many Expos cards around without me buying them. Up until his death, Brian used to have a stack of Expos (and Rockies) cards waiting for me, as soon as I walked in the door.

#15 - 1967 Topps - Ed Charles

So much bright green and yellow going on here that it's almost compelling. 

Last year of Kansas City Athletics cards as well.

#14 - 1970 Topps - New York Mets - World Champions

I'm not a Mets fan, but this mis-registered card with chipping problems and soft corners was still acceptable for 50 cents. The 1969 Miracle Mets are a significant enough story in baseball history that this feels like a card I should own.

Whatever...

November 12, 2023

The last day of business, in the history of Pal's Sports Cards. 

Verified by the countdown on the wall.

The shelves of singles are down to just about nothing.

All of the Basketball, Hockey and Football singles left.

What remains of the kids' Pokemon card zone. 

Whenever I'd be standing at the singles, a herd of children would inevitably come in and swarm this area. I'd try to move over to give them as much room as possible. But excited kids are squirrelly, and they tend to bump into you while flailing and squealing about Charizu and Cockapoo and Honkichu cards. You'd want the kids to be excited about a sports card, but at least this gets them in the door of card collecting.

Maybe they'll evolve into Ohtani fans?

The TV had already been sold as well.

If I had a decent place to display it, I would have liked to buy the official Pal's Sports Cards Baseball Guy Statue. He was here on Opening Day 2010 (you can see him in the pictures from that day), and seemed to be in a different location in the store each time I came in. 

The flowers behind the statue were a gift from my mom, to the Barker family.

My last day singles purchases included:

Some random Twins stuff.

That 2005 Donruss Twins set was puzzling to me. It was a sealed pack, and had card 1-15 of the set. Which was all 1965 Minnesota Twins. There's more to this set, because I previous bought the Harmon Killebrew, which is number 23 in the set. I really want the others. This was a sharp looking set that I know nothing about.

Roy Smalley is uncracked! And $2.00!

That Rod Carew is an interesting one. It's dated 2015, part of a "series of players with retired numbers", from the Crutchfield Card Company. Sponsored by Crutchfield Dermatology. The back has a career bio and Carew's career stat line.

And a duplicate 1961 Topps Camilo Pascual. This one in better condition than my previous copy.

How about a 15 pack of Killebrew?

That Upper Deck Epic Material jersey was only 50% off. But I could have been talked into full price. That's a 1960's era jersey piece, with pinstripe. Most of these 2000's issues were new to my collection, and I was happy to add a few duplicates. 

I've always wanted to have a team autographed baseball. Years ago, I bid competitively for a 1994 Montreal Expos team signed baseball on ebay, before it got too rich for me. That would have been a holy grail piece for me. 

But I'd be pleased to have anything along those lines.

Well, for $20, I picked this one up at Pal's final day sale...

A ball signed by some of the lower level autograph stations at TwinsFest 2013! So glad it came with the bonus 2013 TwinsFest program, listing of who was at these autograph stations. Many of these signatures never played more than 1 season of Major League Baseball. If at all. So in a way, it's almost the perfect "team" signed baseball, for my collection.

Mike Pelfrey signed it, and we ALL remember his Twins run...

2009 Upper Deck Future Foundations - Joe Mauer

I have a (not too) surprising low amount of Mauer hits in my collection. I've never actively paid the hometown premium for his stuff. He's about the only Twins player I typically turn down for mid-range singles. 

2011 Topps Heritage Chrome Refractor - Joe Mauer

However, I really do like this card.

The year is Joe Mauer's first on the Hall of Fame ballot. His pre-Target Field numbers were absolutely on a Hall of Fame track. Post 2010... Not so much. He is getting a lot of buzz, which kid of surprises me. He has no shot of getting in on the first ballot, but I'm very curious to see what percentage he gets. If he is named on between 30-40% of the ballots, then he's got a decent shot down the road.

Sticking with theme of nice and shiny chromey stuff...

Another Nootbaar rookie for $1.25!

Needed Trevor Story parallel for a quarter!

Pretty picked over by this point, but these are nice additions to a team album.

As are these stragglers.

Picked up not so much because I wanted them, but these are all cards I've seen for years in the team bins at Pal's. 

None better than that Matt Harvey patch card, serial numbered 1/10. Debated it for years since it was cool looking card. Marked down to $3.75, that got it done. Same for that ridiculous Dalton Pompey Rated Rookie die-cut for 75 cents. That Jose Cruz Jr. bat chunk was a newer addition to the bins. I'd never seen it before. Gladly pay $1 for it, but had I seen it a month ago, I probably would have paid the listed $4, without batting an eye.

The Farm has been all harvested after closing last night. I got to pick my last crops (three Bowman Chrome Marlins prospects, which were pictured earlier) before leaving the day before. All remain crop were picked, and packaged in a bundle for $200. More likely, they were sold online for something comparable.

Whatever... 

(Yeah, I'm still doing this!)

#13 - 1961 Topps - Harry Bright

You didn't see too many full uniform cards for the 1961 expansion Washington Senators, in 1961 Topps. 

#12 - 1972 Topps - Chris Cannizzaro

Just a great Spring Training shot.

#11 - 1961 Topps - Gene Baker

I'm pretty sure this is Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, but I may be completely wrong.

Be cool if it was!

#10 - 1962 Topps - Dale Long

Slugging first baseman, taken 28th in the 1961 Expansion Draft, from the New York Yankees. Who apparently didn't like losing him, as they traded to get him back, early in the 1962 season. Great batting cage photo that makes me totally overlook the gnarly upper left and soft other three corners.

#9 - 1963 Topps - Washington Senators

No RFK Stadium here...

It's been absorbed by a giant sea green blob, with surface damage. Seen better days, but I love it!

Uh-oh.. Open Sign is being taken down after sale to a customer. 

I would have loved to have had that. No idea what I'd do with it, but it would still be cool to own. Thought I heard the guy who bought it say it was going into some business he was getting ready to open. That's cool, it's going to a good home.

It was replaced with a sheet of paper, with "Open" written on it! 

Non-discounted autographed Twins Baseballs. No one knew what year the Twins team ball was, but Tom Kelly is on the sweet spot. I think I see Cuddyer and Matt Lawton. So it's likely 2000. 

Now I regret not buying the Adrelton Simmons autographed bat. Just as an ironic piece, it should have been worth $15 to me. He was definitely not worth $10 million dollars to the Twins... Just to mope around Target Field, spread strange conspiracies and not hit his weight.

Oh, by the way, Johnny Bench is still alive.

The Barker Family (minus Starla)

And an extra special thank you to Brian Barker, for building Pal's into a great card store that fits how I collect.

Now, the final 8 in the Pal's Sports Cards Whatever!

#8 - 1961 Topps - 5th Series Checklist

I love how the only card he had to mark off on the checklist WAS the checklist!

#7 - 1969 Topps - Aurelio Rodriguez

YES! I finally reacquired the famous "Bat Boy" card.

I lost my previous copy at least 20 years ago, and finally replaced it. 

A few years back, Sports Collectors Daily ran a story that debunks some of the myths behind this uncorrected error card.

Whatever...

#6 - 1961 Topps - Johnny Callison

More great Shibe Park!

#5 - 1967 Topps - Don Schwall

Even more greater Shibe Park!

Clearing out the back storage area of Pal's.

Main retail floor.

Home Plate, mounted on the floor, cut out of the astroturf. Partially covered by the Becketts magazine rack. I know it was removed after the store closed. But I wonder what happened to it...

Whatever...

#4 - 1961 Topps - Dick Bertell

This has to be a minor league photo. That primitive batting cage with the ratty burlap looking stuff hanging off it, doesn't look very big league. Even for 1961. Bertell did play in the Majors from 1960-1967. Most of which was spent with the Cubs, and 22 games with the Giants.

#3 - 1970 Topps - Al Oliver

Second year card of a borderline Hall of Famer. Oliver played from 1968 to 1985, most of that was with Pittsburgh. Although two of his best seasons came in 1982 and 1983, with the Montreal Expos. Oliver batted .303 over his entire career, and should have been able to continue playing another 4-5 years, were it not for that shitty thing the MLB owners pulled on free agents in the mid-1980's. Colluding together to not offer contracts to star free agents, to keep salaries down. After it was over, Oliver received a lump sum settlement, but was robbed of finishing his career. (Twins Hall of Famer Rod Carew would be another victim of ownership collusion, that same year.)

And this has a Topps Bowling Trophy! 

And a photo from a brand new Three Rivers Stadium!

#2 - 1972 Topps - Billy Champion

Billy Champion sounds like a fake name for one of the All-American stereotype children in 1970's family movies. But the real Billy Champion pitched for the Phillies and Brewers, between 1969 and 1976. I get a kick of how he's pretending to field with all the Spring Training related stuff in the way behind him. 

My final purchases at Pal's Sports Cards, being rung up.

Thank you for the exact same thing!

I'm going to miss seeing Pal's Sports Cards on the Round Lake Andover Plaza sign.

Soon to read World Taekwondo Academy...

Whatever...

Oh that's right!

I have to reveal the #1 Vintage Card bought at Pal's Going Out Of Business Sale!

And that is...

#1 - 1970 Topps - Ted Williams

Okay, I'm cheating for #1. This awesome card didn't come from the rapidly disappearing vintage albums, on an often ignored Pal's shelf. This is the only one that I pulled out of the team bins. With discount, I paid $4 for it. So either you let it slide that my whole Whatever could be considered fraudulent, because I fudged the numbers, because it's Ted Williams, as a Washington Senators Manager.

And that should be number one, no matter what.

One final note about Pal's...

A sheet of paper taped to a counter by the register, listed some of the fixtures that were still available, accompanied by the price. One of the items listed was: "Monster Box Shelf", and now I'm intrigued...

Starla came out form the back and pushed it out so I could see it. She said she built it herself, and Brian used it to sort cards. It pre-dates the store by a year, and it was mine for $50. Actually, it's something I really need for cards right now!

The shelves come out for easier moving and loading into Laura's car. It was so easy to move, I got it out of her car and down into the basement, by myself. Although the top two shelves are missing, because Brain didn't use them. Keeping the top shelves out allowed for easier access to the top two boxes. I like that idea!  

Until this arrived, the monster boxes for my current sorting project were just stacked up behind the plastic shelf. (You can see them!) Which was anything but convenient for access. You need something from the bottom box, you have to move seven above it. 

That black plastic shelf would need to be moved for the Pal's shelf. Which would now cross the border and become official territory of The Home of Happy Playthings.

Immediately put to use, with Masters of the Universe and Transformers sharing the top two shelves. Video games with likely take the next two down. This is not set in stone. I'm nowhere near finished arranging, or even unpacking, The Home of Happy Playthings. Maybe in 2024...

The former Pal's Monster Box Shelf has taken it's rightful place in New Baseballcardland. And that current sorting project has a very handy storage unit. This project has been on hold since spring of this year, but will pick up again, once the mess in the rest of this room is straightened out.

And a piece of Pal's will live on in my collection. 

Something positive needs to happen soon. Been way too many down events lately. General everyday life is depressing enough without all this loss. I guess I'm saving money because I'll be buying less cards. Already way down in 2023 from where I was over last year, which was down from the year before that.

I don't know...

The baseball card market has me really cooling on new product. (I'm even sitting out Bowman Draft Day this year!) Losing Pal's has me less interested in buying cards in general.

(That stool was from Pal's too!) 2024 may be the time I focus all my card energy in sorting out this mess. I know what I want it to be, and I have a good start to getting there. I just need to focus on making it happen. Added bonus would be cutting down my spending on new product.

Maybe I'll take up smoking cigarettes again?