Sending my 1980 Charlotte O's WBTV set for grading

ripkenintheminors

Last fall, I picked up a 1980 Charlotte O's minor league team set from the Huggins and Scott auction. The set was given out to kids 14 & under in the summer of 1980 and included the 2nd rarest minor league issue of Cal Ripken, Jr. The Ripken card was graded as an SGC 84 and the rest of the set was raw. The team photo card was graded a PSA 8 (only one graded to date) when I sent it earlier this year. The cards are a very thin stock and condition sensitive to say the least. Of the 18 cards from the set that have been graded (17 Ripken cards, 1 team photo), none have received as high as a 9.

The cards in the set are in pretty solid shape considering their origin. Add this to the fact that March had a $5 special and I decided it's time to send the remainder of the set to get graded. At a production of 1,400 sets, I'm looking forward to seeing how the set averages out. I would thoroughly enjoy seeing some 9's in there!

Let's hope it goes well!

CDsNuts

Good luck with the grading, although you've already gotten a great grade on the key card. Is anybody else in the set that made the majors?

Lee

ripkenintheminors

Another notable in the set would be John "T-Bone" Shelby.

CDsNuts

Oh, where have you gone T-bone? Can I ask how much you paid for the set?

Lee

ripkenintheminors

<< <i>Oh, where have you gone T-bone? Can I ask how much you paid for the set?

Lee >>



It was $1,400 before commission. I was willing to go more for it because I had been looking for one for a few months before finding it in their auction catalog. The fact that the other cards in the set besides the Ripken were in good condition was key with me. Again, it's a condition sensitive set. In addition, I planned all along to have the entire set graded. My thought process in this is that a majority of the cards that were not Ripken had probably not been taken care of that well. With that being said, a complete set in a high grade would be pretty sweet.

As I mentioned earlier, there were 1,400 sets prodiced. However, a pair of brothers with the organization that year told me in a pair of interviews that a lot of sets were cleaned out from the stands after the game. One can only speculate how many sets are still around, but there can't be that many. Hopefully other collectors that have a high grade set will get theirs graded as well so I can see how my set stacks up. Either way, I look forward to getting them then taking them back to the bank to be locked away.

If I can see at least one 9 I'd be pretty thrilled.

ripkenintheminors

Your item was delivered at 6:14 PM on April 2, 2007 in NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658.

Time to wait patiently.

julen23

gl, very exciting dealing you are having w/ cardboard!

i think you'll get multiple 9's. as long as you didn't submit '81 topps, i think you're ok.

julen

jeffcbay

GOOD LUCK!!

ravenman

<< <i>Oh, where have you gone T-bone? Can I ask how much you paid for the set?

Lee >>



last time i remember seeing t-bone, he was the first base coach for the dodgers, and that was some years back. i remember him being very fast and making some great catches down on 33rd.

good luck with the grades!!!!

ripkenintheminors

Thanks for the well wishes folks.

Only 4 days to get the 30 cards logged in.

ripkenintheminors

Wow, that was fast turnaround:

Date Received: 04/06/2007
Date of Grades Posted: 04/20/2007
Date Shipped: 04/20/2007

Here are the grades on the WBTV cards:

1 04623233 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' MARSHALL HESTER N/A 7
2 04623234 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 18 LARRY ANDERSON N/A 8
3 04623235 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' LOGO CARD N/A 6
4 04623236 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' THE PEPPER GIRLS N/A 7
5 04623237 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' DOC COLE N/A 5
6 04623238 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 17 JOHN DENMAN N/A 7
7 04623239 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 4 TOMMY EATON N/A 7
8 04623240 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 11 KURT FABRIZIO N/A 8
9 04623241 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 31 WILL GEORGE N/A 7
10 04623242 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 25 JOSE GONZALEZ N/A 7
11 04623243 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 14 DRUNGO HAZEWOOD N/A 7
12 04623244 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 19 DAVE HUPPERT N/A 8
13 04623245 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' MINNE MENDOZA N/A 7
14 04623246 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 21 BROOKS CAREY N/A 8
15 04623247 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 3 JOHN BUFFAMOYER N/A 8
16 04623248 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 32 EDWIN NEAL N/A 7
17 04623249 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 22 RUSS PENSIERO N/A 6
18 04623250 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 20 BILLY PRESLEY N/A 7
19 04623251 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 27 LUIS QUINTANA N/A 8
20 04623252 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 24 DAN RAMIREZ N/A 8
21 04623253 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 13 WILLIE ROYSTER N/A 8
22 04623254 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 1 JOHN SHELBY N/A 7
23 04623255 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 9 TOMMY SMITH N/A 7
24 04623256 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 30 DON WELCHEL N/A 7
25 04623257 1980 WBTV CHARLOTTE O' 6 CAT WHITFIELD N/A 8
26 04623258 1980 CHARLOTTE O'S JIMMY WILLIAMS TEAM ISSUE 6

Gotta say I'm disappointed about not getting a 9. It would've been the first 9 grade of the set and I would've been thrilled. There were only a couple of solid candidates and they both received 8's. When you add the Ripken and the team photo card, the set averages out to a 7.2, which isn't bad at all IMHO. Not sure what happened to the Doc Cole card. The logo card was a mess and was the worst card in the set and it got a 6. I know the card isn't in front of me yet but I'm baffled at how the worst card got a higher grade than Doc.

Final composite of the set goes as follows:
PSA 5: 1
PSA 6: 3
PSA 7: 13
PSA 8: 11

Where it really gets interesting is with the 1981 WTF Rochester cards. I decided to get enough graded to get a registry up and running. After the grades, I wouldn't expect that to happen. Among the set, the 2 worst cards were the Ripken and the team photo card. The Ripken card had what looked like a fingernail indention and received an 8. The team card had a dinged corner and got a 7. The remaining cards had smooth borders and sharp corners. I picked the cards that I considered the best of the bunch and have to say I'm stunned at the results:

27 04623259 1981 WTF CO. 22 BROOKS CAREY ROCHESTER RED WINGS 6
28 04623260 1981 WTF CO. 25 SILVER STADIUM ROCHESTER RED WINGS Not Holdered, Did not meet Minimum Size Requirements
29 04623261 1981 WTF CO. 12 STEVE LUEBBER ROCHESTER RED WINGS 6
30 04623262 1981 WTF CO. 16 DRUNGO HAZEWOOD ROCHESTER RED WINGS 9

I don't even know where to start on that one.

Thanks for listening!