My Love For The Oshawa Generals - And A New Collecting Initiative

If anyone reading this grew up or has lived in southern Ontario they know the pains of being a Leafs fan. Not  the pain caused by the fact that the team hasn't won the Cup since 1967 or the fact that they haven't been in the playoffs in what feels like forever, it is the pain that is the price of Leafs tickets.

Leafs tickets command a pretty steep price tag and that is if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a pair. Very rarely can you find a pair at face value. Growing up I quickly realized that Leafs games were not in my family's price range and that I would be lucky to go once every couple of years. As a huge hockey fan I found the next best thing, the Oshawa Generals.

Growing up being a generals fan made geographical sense but as any collector from the early 90's remembers the Generals were the buzz team with an up and coming star in Eric Lindros. Cards with Lindros wearing his Generals red/blue/white were everywhere and if you had no idea what the OHL was you knew that the Generals were a minor team with a major star.

The generals have a very rich tradition as a team with an impressive list of 160 players who have gone on to play in the NHL. Luckily  I was able to see some of those players before they moved on to the "big leagues." Players like Tavares, Lindros, Clutterbuck, Horton, Eager and Del Zotto. Although some of these players play on teams I don't like I still root for these guys because of their ties to the Generals. If they score against the Leafs it stings a little but is bittersweet because you feel you have a connection with these guys. 

Now that I have gushed about my love for an OHL team and it's player it is time to announce my new collecting goal/challenge. And that is to collect an  auto of each of the Generals alumni that has made it to the bigs and any card featuring a player in a Generals uniform.(most likely from the Heroes & Prospects set.) This challenge sounds easy enough as most OHL cards go for pennies but what some people may not know is that the generals have one of the games most elite players name hanging from the rafters and that player is  Bobby Orr.

I look forward to this challenge and will post a list of all the Generals Alumni I am looking for on a tab on the side.

Also if you haven't been to a minor hockey game be it the OHL, AHL, QMJHL or any other equivalent league, do yourself a favour and check it out. The atmosphere is electric and you get to see some of tomorrows stars today.

-CBC

From A Pack To A Top Loader: Rookie Redemption #2

I am really starting to believe in beginners luck. Last week I bought three packs of 2012-2013 Upper Deck Series 1 and three packs of 2012-2013 Upper Deck Black Diamond. I cracked all of them on my lunch break and was not disappointed with what I saw. The hit out of the six packs was the following -

After doing a little research I found the following on the Upper Deck blog. As you can see these are pretty limited and very exciting.


 I can't wait to redeem this and see who I get. Does anyone have any predictions or thoughts as to who it will be?

-CBC

From A Pack To A Top Loader: A Day With The Cup Chris Kelly

Today on my lunch break I decided to see if the card shop near my work was able to get in a box of 2011-2012 Upper Deck Series One for me. Unfortunately they were unable to get a box for me but they were able to get four Blasters which I was more than happy to crack.

I was excited because I have only cracked 3 packs of this product and I intend on completing the set. Out of the blasters I got a bunch of base, a few canvas cards, a Byfuglien and Kopitar jersey card and a few forgettable young guns. The real hit of the blasters was the "Day with the Cup" insert of Chris Kelly.

I was amazed at the book value of this card and instantly had the friendly neighborhood shop owner put it in a top loader for me. Apparently the "Day with the Cup"cards are really short printed and are found in 1:1000 hobby packs, 1:2500 retail packs and 1:5000 blaster packs.

This card is for trade so if you are interested or know someone who is please feel free to contact me. I am looking for many things and am open to hearing all offers.

-CBC

That Time in 1991 When I Got Paul Coffey's RC for FREE

WHO:      A 7 year-old Card Bored Collector

WHAT:    1981-1982 O-PEE-CHEE Paul Coffey's RC

WHERE:   A card show in an empty store front in a strip mall in Scarborough, Ontario.

WHEN:    The summer of 1991

WHY:       Because who didn't collect Hockey cards in 1991?

HOW:       The roll of a dice

In 1991 my family took me to a local card show hosted by small stores and private collectors in the area. There were maybe 20 vendors crammed in an empty store front, in a strip mall next to a grocery store. The doors opened at 9am but I dragged my parents there for 7am because the flyer for the show stated that the first 10 people in line would get a "prize" and there was no chance I was missing out on the chance at a "prize". We were the first one's there, if my memory serves me well we were there before most of the vendors. When they finally open the doors my parents and I were presented with our "prize" a raffle ticket to play a dice rolling game. 

The game was simple you rolled 6 dice and the sum of your roll got you a prize that corresponded with the total you just rolled.  Obviously the bigger prizes were located in the harder to roll numbers and the junk prizes were located right in the middle. I was the first on through the door so I went to the game with my ticket and asked if I could take my roll. The guy took my ticket, handed me a cup with 6 dice in it and wished me luck.

I shook the dice it the cup and rolled them across the table, six 6's. I rolled the highest number you could possibly roll. I was ecstatic. I was no more than 12 steps into the show and I just won a huge card at the time. The guy reluctantly handed me my prize in one of those massively thick screw down cases that looked like the card was embedded in diamond. I remember taking the card and feeling like a king. I remember the guy running the booth offering me 5 roles in exchange for the Coffey RC card and I declined. I was just the owner of a card with a book value in the three digit range and I couldn’t wait to show all my card collecting friends at school and my cousins.

What my parents would tell me later in my life was that the guy running the booth was no more than 18 and he that he was on the verge of tears when I won the Coffey. That card was his main draw and he was hoping the game would offset his costs of hosting the show and help him turn a profit. They also told me that they turned in their door prize tickets because “They felt bad for the kid.”

The Coffey rookie card will always hold a special place in my collection and my heart. Every time I win something be it a free coffee in Tim Horton’s roll-up the rim or a few dollars on a slot machine my family always tells me that I am lucky and use this story as a bench mark. 

New Blog Resolutions

I noticed a bunch of blogs doing a New Years Resolution and really liked the idea. Seeing as how this blog in only a few hours old I figured I would have my own take on the post and do "New Blog Resolutions".

1 - MAKE THIS BLOG LOOK GOOD - As I mentioned above this blog is only hours old but my goal is to make this blog look good. The first step is a new banner. If anyone is good at making banners or has any good ideas for me please let me know.

2- COMPLETE ONE SET OF CARDS - I know this sounds very simple and obtainable but seeing as how I have been away from the hobby I need to remain focused. When I am at the local card shop I find myself buying a different pack every time because I am eager to see what each set that I have missed  looks like.  

3 - HELP A FELLOW BLOGGER COMPLETE A SET - This one is self explanatory. I would love to help someone out by giving them the one card they are missing. 

4 - DEVELOP  REGULAR BLOG POSTS & POST THEM ON TIME - I have a few really good ideas for regular weekly posts so keep your eyes peeled!

5 - OBTAIN CERTAIN CARDS FROM PLAYERS I AM COLLECTING.  Later I will post who I collect and why but here are the cards I want to knock off my list this year. (Note cards pictured aren't the exact ones I'm looking for)

- Brent Burns auto card (#'d to 100 or less)

- 30 Roenick Cards I don't have (one must be signed)

- Mike Brown Young Guns (ideally #'d)

Hopefully by December 31st I can say I successfully completed my first batch of resolutions.

-CBC

Who Is The Card Bored Collector?

Hello, I am the Card Bored Collector.

 I am man who started a blog about the thing I love to do, COLLECT! I was an avid collector of all sports cards from the age of 5 to 16 but took a 13 year hiatus from collecting sport cards to collect and play various types of card games. Those games started to bore me (hence the blog name, hockey cards don't bore me but the other types of cards I was collecting did!) and now I find myself back at my roots collecting hockey cards.

I have been a silent observer of many other sports-card blogs and figured it was time I started my own to participate in the community. I look forward to posting pack/box breaks, trading online to help others  complete sets and having the occasional random contest.

That is a little about me. I look forward to posting more content in the near future. Please bare with me while I learn how to operate this blog and if you see me subscribe to your blog roll please note that you were one of the motivating factors in my decision to start this blog and thank-you.

-CBC