1909 Obak Howard (Los Angeles) without the frame on back.

It's the last card I need to finish my Obak Los Angeles team set for all three years.

Steve

That's always a great feeling when things work out! Happy for you!

Steve

For those looking for Old Judge Brooklyn minis I have listed three in the BST thread. They are not cheap, but if you are looking for a whale these are cheap on a per pound basis. I apologize for the horizontal scans.

Any Sam Crawford that I currently don't own....

I know it is kind of boring, but recently picked up 1952 Mathews PSA2.5, still need Jackie and Mickey. I intend to get a decent Jackie at some point, but I think the 52 Mick may be elusive, unless I hit the lottery, then I will feel complete. Unfortunately I dont play the lottery so the chances are not real good.

A CJ Bender. Not because the are particularly scarce but because I just can’t justify paying what it’s gonna take to land one


A 59 Bazooka Billy Pierce or Johnny Unitas would make a fine consolation whale

My white whale is a 1914 Pritchard Stamp of Christy Mathewson.
(Image from https://prewarcards.com/2016/10/05/1...and-checklist/ )

There've been several that I've owned and resold, but two I never got my paws on where Paul's avatar and the Honus Wagner from the same set.


.

Steve - here's a photo that may have been the inspiration for your avatar:

Attachment 531862

A little "birdie" told me a PSA 2 59 Bazooka of Pierce WITH COUPON will be in the Goldin Vintage auction coming up late September

Thanks guys!
 

For the good wishes. So what are your whales anyway?

A 1998 Bryan Braves Kerry Ligtenberg, the full-sized, non-perforated version. I'm probably the only person looking for the card, which means that there's not a lot of motivation for anyone to put it up on eBay, etc.

But Ligtenberg owner, if you're listening, please get it out there. I'll pay good money for a card no one else cares about. I have a self-defined set of about 10,000 cards, and that card is the only one I'm missing...

Any of the signed 1953 Topps I still need, but especially the three that I've never seen before: Howie Fox, Vern Bickford, and Bill Norman. According to PSA/DNA's population report, they're out there, I just haven't found them yet.

2002 / 2003 Topps 206 #456 Honus Wagner American Beauty
 

Attachment 531944

Attachment 531945

Good question!

D303 Mothers' Bread Bressler and Lajoie

As I detailed in this thread (namely, posts 4 and 7), I think Bressler probably exists and Lajoie may exist.

While I'd love to obtain them, I would just as much like to see my pose prediction on Bressler to be shown to be true.

https://net54baseball.com/showthread.php?p=1959830

1903 Breisch Williams Frank Chance. One of my favorite players, and just an impossible card to find in any grade.

https://i.psacard.com/cardfacts/1903...541.jpg?h=1000

1949 Schumacher Service Station Red Schoendienst. No images Exist unfortunately.

N172 Old Judge

<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/142640322@N08/49907007957/in/dateposted-public/" title="Hogan"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49907007957_c5e5fe3b7e_w.jpg" width="219" height="400" alt="Hogan"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

m118 Baseball Monthly supplement Roger Maris

I can name three:

Diamond Dust punch-board Greenberg.

1968 Atlantic Oil Banks

Signed Joe Louis Exhibit card.

As a kid in the late 80's / early 90's, my white whale was a '56 Mantle. I saw a picture of one in a Yankees Tide book, and just thought it was one of the coolest looking cards I had ever seen. I made that happen when I was about 13 - walked into a shop one afternoon and saw Mick in the showcase and my jaw dropped. I traded a majority of my vintage collection that day, but I walked out with it.

As an adult, my whale was probably the '67 Topps Seaver RC. Though not particularly rare if you have the money, it was a card I had wanted for a long time that was always just a little bit north in price of what I could afford or was willing to pay for a very long time. I finally got a PSA 5.5 copy early last year, which is currently the cornerstone of my fledgling '67 set efforts.

Beyond that, I don't know. Just personally right now, either of the cards I mentioned are kind of on the high end of the spectrum for what I think is reasonable to spend on a piece of cardboard. While I could afford pricier pieces for my collection at this point, there is kind of an internal struggle of whether or not I want to. I'm trying to keep my "hobby" just that, and not make it into something larger - which I feel like more financial input would do at this point.

Grail pricey card if I could have a genie in a bottle right now? A '68 Topps Test 3D Clemente would be nice...

My white whale is a T330 Bill Killifer/Killefer to for a T205 artwork set.

I'm not going to say any of the Mantle's that I need to complete my run, because I feel like those will all be obtainable at some point in my life.

Oscar Charleston's Billiken issue. I love the history of our game, especially the history of the Negro Leagues. Charleston being one of the greatest players to lace them up, along with the mystique around him, has made me want one of his cards, but I love this issue particularly.

Also, while not a traditional card, the 1931 Harrison Studio's Josh Gibson post card, would also fit the bill. There's only one known copy of it, it's also double signed by Gibson himself, on the front and back.

Probably highest on my whale list are a couple of the really tough N172 cards I’m looking for - Browning, Shafer, Tyng and a Tiernan sliding CF variation. Those and an E107 George Davis.

Found mine after 30 years searching!
 

1960 complete Bazooka box with Roberto Clemente. Posted a thread on it here for those interested:

https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=286980

To date the only known example!

It was bitter sweet as over the years the search kind of took on a life of its own which ended when I found it!

I have since identified another whale:

Back in the 80's Lew Lipsett ran an ad selling a nice collection of complete 1962 Jell-O boxes including one with Clemente. So I know at least 1 exists/existed. That is my new whale.

Then there are a few - "I don't know if they actually exist" items:

1961 Post cereal complete box with Clemente
1963 Post cereal complete box with Clemente
1962 Post Canadian uncut panel or complete box with Clemente


and the hunt continues!

Robbie,

Any information on that picture? That's just too cool, a swinging Friar.

Do you have the Wood and Blair? Here are the 3 stamps that are not in the T205 set.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...e8a412fac0.jpg

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

T205 Wolter DRUM back. Know there are a few out there but doubt I'll ever own one.

Thanks Fred...I'll put that on my calendar

For me, will always be a '51 Bowman Mantle in NM/MT condition....

Well played, sir. ;)

I'm not sure if I feel comfortable calling a card this common a white whale, but the '33 Goudey Ruth #53 is starting to feel that way. When building the set in early 2021, I found myself being picky about all of the yellow background cards in the set (so many look "dirty"), and this one was no exception. I was the bridesmaid on a few auctions, always having that feeling that it shouldn't be as expensive as it was. I own a copy of every card in the set except for this one, and it's been like that for over a year now. Waiting for prices to come down didn't work out. I fear that this one may have gotten away from me forever price-wise, and I can't bring myself to buy an ugly one at the prices even those demand.

I’ll intertwine 2 topics here. My white whale would have to be re-obtaining my 1st prewar purchase which was a t206 red portrait Cobb sweet cap 350 back. It’s a certain card because it has a surface scuff on the front mid-bottom left of it, my guess it would be in a 1 holder if graded. I know it sounds funny but it’s the one true card I regret getting rid over the years. I sold it in a lot of 150+ t206s right before I got married to try and pony up some extra coin. The last time I caught a glimpse of it, it was being advertised in 707 sports cards. This is going back over 12-13 years now.

Danny

Great stamps! I have a T202 Blair, and I'll likely do the same with Wood. They're a bit easier to get than the T330s.

Proud owner of that card. I'll probably die with it.

... and this one:

This one wasn't a whale, until it was. Happy to have snagged this.

that one was well bought imo Thomas, congrats.

+1 agree

Great catch their Mate. RRRR

Thanks guys, can't wait to have it in hand, just to GAWK.

My white whale isn't a card. Its something that I don't even know if it exists....or what exactly I am looking for.

I feel that the 1909 Colgan's Chips Square Proofs were not meant to be distributed with the gum, but rather the square proofs were meant for a retailer to add to a store advertising poster weekly, or a book....or something other than being inserted in the gum tins. I have no idea if I am right or wrong, and I'm hoping that one day someone finds something that proves their intended purpose.

You just made my day.

Similar to what Dave said in the above post, for me it's any Sam Rice card I currently don't own. More specifically, these two Rice cards: 1922 Keating Candy and 1922 Witmor Candy Type 2 (vertical back). The pop reports show that one example of each has been graded. I'm even willing to pay a finder's fee to learn where these two cards reside so that I could at least, hopefully, obtain photocopies of them.

Since I just learned of its existence, it’s hard to call it a white whale, but this just came in the mail today.

Shout out to Fred McKie who helped me to learn of its very existence, and then also helped me to land it.