Happy Landings!

I ended last week on a political note so today I am going in a different direction and taking aim at a White Whale.

In the 1970s every little boy knew the name Evel Knievel, a daredevil that influenced us greatly. He started in 1966 and made his final appearance in 1981 but in between broke every bone in his body while he made jumps over Caesar’s Palace famed fountains, Snake River Canyon, buses and even sharks.

One of the most popular toys of the day was the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle set and you were a real boss if you got the BMX bike for Christmas. Even grown up kids still have fond memories of their favorite Evel Knievel toy, even making it on to an episode of My Name Is Earl. Merchandising for his products took on an entity on themselves appearing in comic books, movies, television shows, commercials, advertisements, video games, trading cards and plenty of books. He is still popular enough to be included in recent checklists for both Topps and Panini. The Simpsons spoofed him with their character Lance Murdock

Which brings me to today’s post. One of my White Whales is the 2007 Sportkings Autograph Evel Knievel #A-EK card but I don’t have hundreds of dollars to spend on one of his autograph cards so I went in a bit of a different direction and instead picked up a 5x7 autograph picture he signed in red ink, now it isn’t same as having an on-card signature but I am calling it a fair exchange. To add to my EK collection I picked up a 2015 SportKings memorabilia card with a nice swatch of leather from one of his jackets.

 

I love when something as simple as an autograph and leather swatch can bring me back to those days in the 1970s when I was a kid living in New York and me and my brothers used to shoot our Evel Knievel bikes at each other down the hallway over the red shag carpet.

Evel Knievel... Oh Yea...And 2013 Golden Age Baseball

In June Panini will be releasing the second incarnation of Golden Age Baseball. In short, the set looks better than last year’s gold and sepia release. The designs are better and the gold coloring is gone, two of my biggest problems with last year’s release.

 

A box will run $65 and contain 24 6-card packs; you will pull one on-card autograph and one Museum Age Memorabilia card plus 14 inserts and a Headline News box topper. This year they are bringing 1933 Delong Gum cards in to the mix and the Three Stooges are back for a nine card insert set.

 

I have to admit, the reason I decided to look more in to this year’s set is this guy…

I grew up in the 70s, this guy was legendary and the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle was one of the coolest toys any kid could own at that time. I just pulled up a commercial for the cycle on YouTube, just hearing the sound of the wheel winding up as the handle turned brings me back to when I got a Stunt Cycle for Christmas.

 

Panini and Famous Fabrics have included Knievel in recent sets and he still draws some big numbers even though it has been 6 years since he passed away. I plan to chase after some singles after Golden Age Baseball is released, with Evel Knievel at the top of my list.

Mini

1933 Delong Gum

Headline Box Topper

Three Stooges Insert