primetimepawich
Verified Trader ,
Hey all, Joe P the Larry Murphy Guy here. Been 2 months since my first S+T of 2025 and just wanted to check in with the next installment. Had a few lulls and certainly didn't end up with the same quality as January-February, but thought outside the box a bit and did ok for numbers. Judge for yourself - here they are for your viewing pleasure, and on with the show:
91/92 Parkhurst #456 Pittsburgh Wins Patrick Division 2.50 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
I know some members here include "cameo cards" in their player PCs and I've somewhat done the same, at least where team photos are concerned. This card was never on my radar because I wasn't aware of it, but it came up in Murphy Completed Listings on Ebay - he was referenced in the listing because he appears front and center on the card. I scoured a few of the usual resources to see if I could find a cheap copy of my own, and Sportlots was the only one that had it.
00/01 BAP Memorabilia Emerald Prototype #194 3.02 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
00/01 BAP Memorabilia Ruby Prototype #194 3.02 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
I bundled these 2 unnumbered "prototypes" with the Parkhurst card from the same seller on Sportlots.
This wasn't a "new to me" card, but it's one of a very small number of copies in total that I've ever seen of this team issue. More on that later...
20/21 President's Choice Game-Used Stick Rack Tape Job TJ-55 Larry Murphy 3/5 16.19 CDN by primetimepawich, on Flickr
My third of the 5 copies of this card. Was intrigued to see it in a Google image search but surprised to see it on an Australian hobby site that didn't allow anyone outside of Australia to purchase it. Managed to contact one of the site owners through the website and engage them on Facebook Messenger to purchase and have it shipped to me. Was costly to ship it to Canada (slightly more than the card itself) but the already moderate price on the card made it easier to justify with some mental gymnastics
Love those cards and kinda hope I can complete the Quincy someday.
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Autographs Crystal Dark Blue #BALM1 Larry Murphy 4/4 11.19 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Autographs Diagonal Shimmer Silver #BALM1 Larry Murphy 4/10 10.64 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Still chipping away at the 2024 Leaf Metal Legends autos and these 2 put me surprisingly close to all variations outside of the 1/1s. The first one came with help from Kevin Mitchell, the second I landed myself from a Canadian Ebay seller.
23/24 Exquisite Collection Extra Exquisite #ECELM Larry Murphy 12/25 8.30 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
This was another pickup from that same Canadian Ebay seller. Not big, not special, but not insignificant either. If you recall my cornerstone Exquisite patch pickups from last year's Black Diamond, well, this is the jersey parallel of those that I wanted as a clear upgrade to the LA jersey portion of my ongoing "How to build a hockey player" collection. And being /25, I really didn't foresee an issue getting one. Yet this was only the third copy I'd ever seen, and the first at standard auction. The other 2 copies were wildly overpriced and this one finally justified my moderate budgeting for it. After all, it's a /25 jersey card, amiright? Really happy to lock it down though.
Back in 2022, my Facebook appeal for Murphy cards directed me towards Ontario-based Mark Orphan, who facilitates signings with past hockey names. At the time, Mark had arranged a signing with Murphy. I was too late to send anything of my own but Mark had some singles on hand I was able to get signed, and I also purchased some signed extras he had following the signing.
Recently, Mark had a "spring cleaning" sale to decrease the inventory on his website. I didn't "need" anything but wanted to support the cause and made an offer for these:
84/85 O-Pee-Chee #204 Pat Riggin/Larry Murphy Autograph 10.00 CDN by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Thought the dual auto with Pat Riggin was kinda neat, and the other 3 were simply autograph "upgrades" over the previous copies I had - sit-down signings usually trump IP ones, not always but usually, and that was the case here.
I had never participated in a private signing before Mark's, and the experience was nothing but positive. I continue to follow him on Facebook and had often thought, if I'd had enough lead time to cherry-pick some of my own stuff to send for the signing, would I have? And if so, what would that have been?
In March, Mark posted that he was to attend a charity game that Murphy among others was participating in, and he was accepting mail-in items to get signed for interested parties. This was my opportunity, the prices were right and I wouldn't pass it up. Niche older team issues are always my jam so there was one obvious choice that jumped out at me. Upon further reflection, I expanded the number to 4 and shipped them off to Mark, Xpresspost because it was somewhat time-sensitive and I wanted some security if anything happened to them in transit.
In terms of team issues, these are tough ones. Two of them I've never seen any other copies of, and the other two I can count on one hand the additional copies I've seen. Extremely risky, but if I wanted signed copies, I had to take the risk.
I was counting on Larry to use the proper care and diligence when signing, but apparently he's a lefty with the occasional habit of dragging his hand and smudging signatures. This happened with 2 of the issues I sent:
Mark felt bad about them even though they were no fault of his own, and honestly, Larry didn't know the history behind them either. In a perfect world, I would've had multiple copies to send in the event of a mistake, but it ain't a perfect world and that wasn't possible. Finding that earlier-shown additional copy of the black and white Pens issue at least gives me a clean unsigned companion piece for the signed copy, and fortunately, the other 2 went much better:
That Caps Pizza Hut issue especially was the crown jewel of the batch and my first choice for this signing opportunity, so seeing it come out so clean was definitely heartening. It was risky, but I don't regret the gamble. If I wanted them signed, this was my chance, and no matter the signing circumstances, smudging was always possible. I would never hesitate to use Mark's services again and would give Larry another chance. Now I just know the risks better and would have to account for them.
I also included a cardstock strip for Mark to give to Larry with my Flick site address, name and contact info in case Larry ever wanted a trip down memory lane. Did he use the strip as toilet paper immediately after receiving? I have no idea. But part of me will always want to believe he'd appreciate my collection if nothing else.
Well that was me for March-April, how 'bout y'all? Thanks in advance for the looks, and keep the pickups coming.
Joe
91/92 Parkhurst #456 Pittsburgh Wins Patrick Division 2.50 by primetimepawich, on FlickrI know some members here include "cameo cards" in their player PCs and I've somewhat done the same, at least where team photos are concerned. This card was never on my radar because I wasn't aware of it, but it came up in Murphy Completed Listings on Ebay - he was referenced in the listing because he appears front and center on the card. I scoured a few of the usual resources to see if I could find a cheap copy of my own, and Sportlots was the only one that had it.
00/01 BAP Memorabilia Emerald Prototype #194 3.02 by primetimepawich, on Flickr00/01 BAP Memorabilia Ruby Prototype #194 3.02 by primetimepawich, on FlickrI bundled these 2 unnumbered "prototypes" with the Parkhurst card from the same seller on Sportlots.
This wasn't a "new to me" card, but it's one of a very small number of copies in total that I've ever seen of this team issue. More on that later...
20/21 President's Choice Game-Used Stick Rack Tape Job TJ-55 Larry Murphy 3/5 16.19 CDN by primetimepawich, on FlickrMy third of the 5 copies of this card. Was intrigued to see it in a Google image search but surprised to see it on an Australian hobby site that didn't allow anyone outside of Australia to purchase it. Managed to contact one of the site owners through the website and engage them on Facebook Messenger to purchase and have it shipped to me. Was costly to ship it to Canada (slightly more than the card itself) but the already moderate price on the card made it easier to justify with some mental gymnastics
Love those cards and kinda hope I can complete the Quincy someday.2024 Leaf Metal Legends Autographs Crystal Dark Blue #BALM1 Larry Murphy 4/4 11.19 by primetimepawich, on Flickr2024 Leaf Metal Legends Autographs Diagonal Shimmer Silver #BALM1 Larry Murphy 4/10 10.64 by primetimepawich, on FlickrStill chipping away at the 2024 Leaf Metal Legends autos and these 2 put me surprisingly close to all variations outside of the 1/1s. The first one came with help from Kevin Mitchell, the second I landed myself from a Canadian Ebay seller.
23/24 Exquisite Collection Extra Exquisite #ECELM Larry Murphy 12/25 8.30 by primetimepawich, on FlickrThis was another pickup from that same Canadian Ebay seller. Not big, not special, but not insignificant either. If you recall my cornerstone Exquisite patch pickups from last year's Black Diamond, well, this is the jersey parallel of those that I wanted as a clear upgrade to the LA jersey portion of my ongoing "How to build a hockey player" collection. And being /25, I really didn't foresee an issue getting one. Yet this was only the third copy I'd ever seen, and the first at standard auction. The other 2 copies were wildly overpriced and this one finally justified my moderate budgeting for it. After all, it's a /25 jersey card, amiright? Really happy to lock it down though.
Back in 2022, my Facebook appeal for Murphy cards directed me towards Ontario-based Mark Orphan, who facilitates signings with past hockey names. At the time, Mark had arranged a signing with Murphy. I was too late to send anything of my own but Mark had some singles on hand I was able to get signed, and I also purchased some signed extras he had following the signing.
Recently, Mark had a "spring cleaning" sale to decrease the inventory on his website. I didn't "need" anything but wanted to support the cause and made an offer for these:
84/85 O-Pee-Chee #204 Pat Riggin/Larry Murphy Autograph 10.00 CDN by primetimepawich, on FlickrThought the dual auto with Pat Riggin was kinda neat, and the other 3 were simply autograph "upgrades" over the previous copies I had - sit-down signings usually trump IP ones, not always but usually, and that was the case here.
I had never participated in a private signing before Mark's, and the experience was nothing but positive. I continue to follow him on Facebook and had often thought, if I'd had enough lead time to cherry-pick some of my own stuff to send for the signing, would I have? And if so, what would that have been?
In March, Mark posted that he was to attend a charity game that Murphy among others was participating in, and he was accepting mail-in items to get signed for interested parties. This was my opportunity, the prices were right and I wouldn't pass it up. Niche older team issues are always my jam so there was one obvious choice that jumped out at me. Upon further reflection, I expanded the number to 4 and shipped them off to Mark, Xpresspost because it was somewhat time-sensitive and I wanted some security if anything happened to them in transit.
In terms of team issues, these are tough ones. Two of them I've never seen any other copies of, and the other two I can count on one hand the additional copies I've seen. Extremely risky, but if I wanted signed copies, I had to take the risk.
I was counting on Larry to use the proper care and diligence when signing, but apparently he's a lefty with the occasional habit of dragging his hand and smudging signatures. This happened with 2 of the issues I sent:
Mark felt bad about them even though they were no fault of his own, and honestly, Larry didn't know the history behind them either. In a perfect world, I would've had multiple copies to send in the event of a mistake, but it ain't a perfect world and that wasn't possible. Finding that earlier-shown additional copy of the black and white Pens issue at least gives me a clean unsigned companion piece for the signed copy, and fortunately, the other 2 went much better:
That Caps Pizza Hut issue especially was the crown jewel of the batch and my first choice for this signing opportunity, so seeing it come out so clean was definitely heartening. It was risky, but I don't regret the gamble. If I wanted them signed, this was my chance, and no matter the signing circumstances, smudging was always possible. I would never hesitate to use Mark's services again and would give Larry another chance. Now I just know the risks better and would have to account for them.
I also included a cardstock strip for Mark to give to Larry with my Flick site address, name and contact info in case Larry ever wanted a trip down memory lane. Did he use the strip as toilet paper immediately after receiving? I have no idea. But part of me will always want to believe he'd appreciate my collection if nothing else.
Well that was me for March-April, how 'bout y'all? Thanks in advance for the looks, and keep the pickups coming.
Joe
