Trade with Brad's Blog

I have a confession. Several months ago, before life got crazy again, I had a couple of trades in the works. I believe I fulfilled my ends of all of them but I have a nagging feeling that somehow one got past me.

If anyone reading this is quietly fuming over the ne'er-do-well Potch leaving cards on the table (figuratively) then please, by all means, leave a nasty comment here. I do not want to be that guy!

Trading is the best part of my return to this hobby. I've been working on wrapping up some sets and trading has helped very much. I haven't even written much about my refined collection goals focusing on Reds, Cubs and select Tigers vintage - so thus far my progress with those goals has come via card shows exclusively.

There are other goals, of course, and then there are goals I didn't even know I had. I recently completed a trade with Brad of the fine blog, Brad's Blog. I gathered up a couple of relics in his wheelhouse, and a couple of autos I won some 18 months ago in a Wicked Ortega contest and sent them his way - along with assorted other cards and a grouping of Frank Thomas cards that he didn't have for his super Big Hurt collection.

In return, I received these two awesome autos:

I have no idea how this happened.

I neither had an Aroldis Chapman card auto nor a George Foster card auto, even though I by chance ran into Mr. Foster a year or so ago.

I also got this card that I didn't know existed. I'm not sure what that swatch is from. Hopefully not boxer shorts.

Bobby Knight's legend has dimmed considerably in Indiana and the circles in which I run, but he's still Bobby Knight and I'm an Indiana University graduate. I ran into Knight once while visiting Assembly Hall on a random day back in the early '90s.

Brad threw in some nice recent Reds I needed, including this lovely Gypsy Queen frame of the legendary catcher and popinjay Johnny Bench.

Incidentally, anyone out there who has a GQ frame of anyone, any year, should feel free to let me know.

And, of course, that goes for autographs of Reds. I will labor to make a nice trade with you.

Thanks again for the trade, Brad.