primetimepawich
Verified Trader ,
Hi again from Joe Pawich, everyone. Been a while. So what happened since I left you at the halfway mark of 2024? Well, I see we recently underwent an ownership change here. I for one welcome our new overlord, thank Jeremy for his years of leadership and look forward to his continued contributions, limited as they may be. But while the HI community rolled on as rock-solid as ever...I did not. In short, the back half of 2024 was a disaster. In late July, a leak in my bathroom wall flooded my condo, leaving me living out of a suitcase on the good graces of friends until renovations were FINALLY just completed. Then, while living in these less than ideal conditions, a bout with pneumonia left me hospitalized for 4 days in late September. A few weeks later, I was starting to turn the corner, had returned to work for half days, and left to stay with friends an hour outside of Calgary for Thanksgiving. That long weekend led to a relapse, an 8-day hospital stay and an unplanned sabbatical during my work's busiest time of the year. Physically, mentally, I was a mess. Truth be told, I'm still not at 100%, but for now, I think this is as good as it gets and the only cure is time. I have my home back, I'm getting my life back, and soon I'll get my work back.
During the dark times though, one thing I tried to focus on to lift me out of the doldrums was the hobby. And while the back half of 2024 wasn't as productive for me as the first half in that regard, there was still enough worth posting. So on a more positive note, why don't I focus on showing those while I close the door on this crappy year?
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Autographs Diagonal Shimmer Light Blue #BALM1 Larry Murphy 3/8 12.85 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
I still keep an eye on COMC but for the most part find the prices there aren't quite in my ballpark. This was a rare exception.
20/21 Pro Set 1989 Autographs Red #A89LM1 Larry Murphy 2/25 8.80 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
20/21 Pro Set 1989 Autographs Red Variation #A89LM1 Larry Murphy 5/5 9.51 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
These Pro Sets are surprisingly tough cookies, even the more accessible /25s. I landed these 2 with the help of my US mailbox liaison, HI's own Kevin Mitchell.
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Exotic Autographs Giraffe #ELM1 Larry Murphy 1/3 9.99 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Exotic Autographs Clown Fish #ELM1 Larry Murphy 2/2 13.50 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Same for these 2 Leaf Metals. With the latter, the seller worked with me on a bit and I was happy to meet in the middle.
21/22 Art Of Hockey Iconography Purple #I15 Larry Murphy/Rod Langway 1/4 9.99 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
21/22 Art Of Hockey Iconography Navy #I15 Larry Murphy/Rod Langway 6/6 10.00 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
2023 Ultimate Signatures 2 Red Spectrum #US210 Mike Gartner/Larry Murphy 2/5 12.13 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
I've mentioned before how for my own sanity, I've tried to eliminate multiplayer cards from my wantlist where possible because those other players tend to drive the prices out of my comfort zone. Now, if I can get them for solo Murphy prices, I make exceptions. These were 3 such exceptions, autos with 2 other HOFers, Rod Langway and Mike Gartner.
22/23 In The Game Used Auto Platinum Green Spectrum #GUALM1 Larry Murphy 2/3 10.66 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Here's a rarity - an Ebay auction I was able to win without Kevin's help (because it was based in Canada). I've done fairly well with these parallels but am still missing a couple.
00/01 BAP Memorabilia Emerald #194 1/10 18.00 CDN by primetimepawich, on Flickr
This one was a nice Ebay find I didn't think I'd ever see. In my many years of collecting Larry Murphy, I'd never seen one. It's possible one or more had made their way through Ebay during that time, especially in the early years when I wasn't interested in base, but since I'd been actively looking, I'd never seen one. Wasn't gonna let this one pass me by and was happy to cross off one of the oldest cards on my wantlist.
23/24 Artifacts Arena Artifacts #AALM Larry Murphy 45/67 6.05 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Coming into 2024, there were 3 specific limited but attainable cards on my wantlist that I felt would be the bare minimum to consider 2024 a minor success. 2 of those - a Cup Championship Etchings and an Ultimate Inscriptions Silver Spectrum - I acquired and showed in my previous S+T. This was the third. Was curious to see them and excited when they started popping up, but the sales history of other Arena Artifacts cards concerned me. They were cool, but not "that" cool, and /67 for God's sake. I was outgunned on a number of them but stuck to my budgeted price. Eventually, I lucked out with a Canadian auction that had a lot of watchers who largely left me alone. I won it for a song and was happy to complete the trifecta.
Hockey Matches by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Many of you know of HI's own Barracuda Glenn and his famous Hockey Matches. Glenn had posted some of these creations for sale on social media and I'd noted the post but hadn't dug much deeper into it. A hobby friend pointed out that Larry Murphy was featured in one of those booklets and I was surprised Glenn hadn't brought that to my attention himself - he'd made Murphy customs for me in the past. I'm always about "different" cards and this was exactly that, so I reached out to him and told him I'd take it to support the cause of his great custom building. But Glenn being Glenn, he wouldn't take anything for it and sent it free of charge as a thank you for being a sounding board for some of his custom designs in recent years. It's not a big deal and I enjoy doing it. I appreciate Glenn's friendship and generosity. His gesture came at a time when my life had just started going to hell and was a bright light before the darkness to come.
On that note of hobby generosity comes these 4 plates from HI's resident Chelios collector, Jim Kinney. Sent before the Canada Post strike but received in 2025, I'm counting them as 2024s for purposes of this S+T. I made Jim's acquaintance through Ebay some years ago and have carried that over to social media. Jim followed along as I documented my medical odyssey on Facebook, and when I had no intention of grabbing these for myself, Jim went out and grabbed them for me, sending them along with a nice note to brighten my day.
2 people I've never met and may never meet in the real world, yet both went out of their way to show kindness to me. I must be doing something right.
And for the grand finale...
In 2005, Upper Deck featured a handful of GU Larry Murphy cards with pieces of one of his vintage LA Kings jerseys. At least one of those cards is a low-key cornerstone for me. But after that year, the Kings memorabilia went dry with his issues. I always wondered, what happened to it? They couldn't have burned through it all in that handful of releases. Over the years, I saw UD come out with mega patches of other vintage Kings and thought "why not Larry?" Then finally, FINALLY, could it be?
The checklist for 23-24 Black Diamond came out and mentioned the inclusion of Exquisite jumbo patch and jersey cards listing Larry with LA. I was excited, but skeptical. Could this be the case of a classic UD mismatch of memorabilia and photo? I rushed to Ebay for examples of what these patches might look like, saw a vintage Bernie Nicholls LA jumbo patch and finally believed I might be in for a treat if they surfaced. I was.
Both the gold and silver 1/1s have surfaced (thanks MLS Darren for bringing the latter to my attention) but were a bit too rich for my blood. Maybe someday, but that day's not today. I lowered my gaze to the /3s and wondered, could I get a Quincy? Well after some patience and waiting out unreasonable prices (and with a little help from Kevin) I'm 2/3s of the way there. Feast your eyes on my cornerstone pickups of 2024 and the current best and biggest Kings patches in my collection:
23/24 Exquisite Collection Extra Exquisite Gold #ECELM Larry Murphy 2/3 100.00 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
23/24 Exquisite Collection Extra Exquisite Gold #ECELM Larry Murphy 1/3 125.00 by primetimepawich, on Flickr
Will I complete the Quincy? Will I land the 1/1s? I sure hope so, but for now, these satisfied my appetite to land something I could hang my hat on in 2024. Thanks for the look, thanks for the friendship and thanks for the support. I hope for all the best for all of us in 2025.
-Joe Pawich
During the dark times though, one thing I tried to focus on to lift me out of the doldrums was the hobby. And while the back half of 2024 wasn't as productive for me as the first half in that regard, there was still enough worth posting. So on a more positive note, why don't I focus on showing those while I close the door on this crappy year?
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Autographs Diagonal Shimmer Light Blue #BALM1 Larry Murphy 3/8 12.85 by primetimepawich, on FlickrI still keep an eye on COMC but for the most part find the prices there aren't quite in my ballpark. This was a rare exception.
20/21 Pro Set 1989 Autographs Red #A89LM1 Larry Murphy 2/25 8.80 by primetimepawich, on Flickr20/21 Pro Set 1989 Autographs Red Variation #A89LM1 Larry Murphy 5/5 9.51 by primetimepawich, on FlickrThese Pro Sets are surprisingly tough cookies, even the more accessible /25s. I landed these 2 with the help of my US mailbox liaison, HI's own Kevin Mitchell.
2024 Leaf Metal Legends Exotic Autographs Giraffe #ELM1 Larry Murphy 1/3 9.99 by primetimepawich, on Flickr2024 Leaf Metal Legends Exotic Autographs Clown Fish #ELM1 Larry Murphy 2/2 13.50 by primetimepawich, on FlickrSame for these 2 Leaf Metals. With the latter, the seller worked with me on a bit and I was happy to meet in the middle.
21/22 Art Of Hockey Iconography Purple #I15 Larry Murphy/Rod Langway 1/4 9.99 by primetimepawich, on Flickr21/22 Art Of Hockey Iconography Navy #I15 Larry Murphy/Rod Langway 6/6 10.00 by primetimepawich, on Flickr2023 Ultimate Signatures 2 Red Spectrum #US210 Mike Gartner/Larry Murphy 2/5 12.13 by primetimepawich, on FlickrI've mentioned before how for my own sanity, I've tried to eliminate multiplayer cards from my wantlist where possible because those other players tend to drive the prices out of my comfort zone. Now, if I can get them for solo Murphy prices, I make exceptions. These were 3 such exceptions, autos with 2 other HOFers, Rod Langway and Mike Gartner.
22/23 In The Game Used Auto Platinum Green Spectrum #GUALM1 Larry Murphy 2/3 10.66 by primetimepawich, on FlickrHere's a rarity - an Ebay auction I was able to win without Kevin's help (because it was based in Canada). I've done fairly well with these parallels but am still missing a couple.
00/01 BAP Memorabilia Emerald #194 1/10 18.00 CDN by primetimepawich, on FlickrThis one was a nice Ebay find I didn't think I'd ever see. In my many years of collecting Larry Murphy, I'd never seen one. It's possible one or more had made their way through Ebay during that time, especially in the early years when I wasn't interested in base, but since I'd been actively looking, I'd never seen one. Wasn't gonna let this one pass me by and was happy to cross off one of the oldest cards on my wantlist.
23/24 Artifacts Arena Artifacts #AALM Larry Murphy 45/67 6.05 by primetimepawich, on FlickrComing into 2024, there were 3 specific limited but attainable cards on my wantlist that I felt would be the bare minimum to consider 2024 a minor success. 2 of those - a Cup Championship Etchings and an Ultimate Inscriptions Silver Spectrum - I acquired and showed in my previous S+T. This was the third. Was curious to see them and excited when they started popping up, but the sales history of other Arena Artifacts cards concerned me. They were cool, but not "that" cool, and /67 for God's sake. I was outgunned on a number of them but stuck to my budgeted price. Eventually, I lucked out with a Canadian auction that had a lot of watchers who largely left me alone. I won it for a song and was happy to complete the trifecta.
Hockey Matches by primetimepawich, on Flickr Many of you know of HI's own Barracuda Glenn and his famous Hockey Matches. Glenn had posted some of these creations for sale on social media and I'd noted the post but hadn't dug much deeper into it. A hobby friend pointed out that Larry Murphy was featured in one of those booklets and I was surprised Glenn hadn't brought that to my attention himself - he'd made Murphy customs for me in the past. I'm always about "different" cards and this was exactly that, so I reached out to him and told him I'd take it to support the cause of his great custom building. But Glenn being Glenn, he wouldn't take anything for it and sent it free of charge as a thank you for being a sounding board for some of his custom designs in recent years. It's not a big deal and I enjoy doing it. I appreciate Glenn's friendship and generosity. His gesture came at a time when my life had just started going to hell and was a bright light before the darkness to come.
On that note of hobby generosity comes these 4 plates from HI's resident Chelios collector, Jim Kinney. Sent before the Canada Post strike but received in 2025, I'm counting them as 2024s for purposes of this S+T. I made Jim's acquaintance through Ebay some years ago and have carried that over to social media. Jim followed along as I documented my medical odyssey on Facebook, and when I had no intention of grabbing these for myself, Jim went out and grabbed them for me, sending them along with a nice note to brighten my day.
2 people I've never met and may never meet in the real world, yet both went out of their way to show kindness to me. I must be doing something right.
And for the grand finale...
In 2005, Upper Deck featured a handful of GU Larry Murphy cards with pieces of one of his vintage LA Kings jerseys. At least one of those cards is a low-key cornerstone for me. But after that year, the Kings memorabilia went dry with his issues. I always wondered, what happened to it? They couldn't have burned through it all in that handful of releases. Over the years, I saw UD come out with mega patches of other vintage Kings and thought "why not Larry?" Then finally, FINALLY, could it be?
The checklist for 23-24 Black Diamond came out and mentioned the inclusion of Exquisite jumbo patch and jersey cards listing Larry with LA. I was excited, but skeptical. Could this be the case of a classic UD mismatch of memorabilia and photo? I rushed to Ebay for examples of what these patches might look like, saw a vintage Bernie Nicholls LA jumbo patch and finally believed I might be in for a treat if they surfaced. I was.
Both the gold and silver 1/1s have surfaced (thanks MLS Darren for bringing the latter to my attention) but were a bit too rich for my blood. Maybe someday, but that day's not today. I lowered my gaze to the /3s and wondered, could I get a Quincy? Well after some patience and waiting out unreasonable prices (and with a little help from Kevin) I'm 2/3s of the way there. Feast your eyes on my cornerstone pickups of 2024 and the current best and biggest Kings patches in my collection:
23/24 Exquisite Collection Extra Exquisite Gold #ECELM Larry Murphy 2/3 100.00 by primetimepawich, on Flickr23/24 Exquisite Collection Extra Exquisite Gold #ECELM Larry Murphy 1/3 125.00 by primetimepawich, on FlickrWill I complete the Quincy? Will I land the 1/1s? I sure hope so, but for now, these satisfied my appetite to land something I could hang my hat on in 2024. Thanks for the look, thanks for the friendship and thanks for the support. I hope for all the best for all of us in 2025.
-Joe Pawich
