Baseball Cards

Clarence C. Newcomer, 82, who as a federal judge in Philadelphia for more than three decades won a reputation for no-nonsense jurisprudence in hundreds of cases ranging from civil rights to organized crime to baseball cards, died of melanoma Monday at his home in Stone Harbor, N.J. Among his noteworthy cases were a 1993 ruling that a law firm violated the civil rights of a female associate who was denied promotion to partner, a 1997 ruling that states...

THERE should be a support group for fathers who didn't keep any of their baseball cards."The fiftyish dad who made this plaintive remark grew up on a different coast, but we had shared one defining experience of American childhood. We both had collected shoe boxes full of baseball cards, "commons" and stars alike, and both of us had sometime in our late teens sold, given away or thrown away every single one of them.Our sons have not neglected to remind us of this catastrophe.A rookie Mickey Mantle, of which I no doubt had dozens, sells for $30,000, and its value increases $1,000 per month.

Power Boat Grand PrixLooking for some fun near the water? The 1992 Ocean City U.S. Offshore Power Boat Grand Prix begins at noon next Sunday just off 28th Street in front of the Dunes Manor Hotel, where the race also ends.More than 70 of the nation's fastest offshore power boats will compete on a 60- to 120-mile course in laps along the shore for trophies and a share of the $60,000 purse.Visitors can see boats checking in Thursday at the Ocean CitConvention Center, 40th Street and the bay. Boat inspections are Friday and Saturday.

Attention, all cynics -- collectors and dealers alike -- wh thought that Topps was saving all those X-marked cards for the dog days of the baseball card season.Three of those cards -- coupons, actually, for vintage Topps cards valued at $50 or more -- have turned up in Maryland.According to Dee Bosley of The Old Ball Game in Reisterstown, a customer at the store received an X card last week. The card must be sent to Topps, and the collector then receives the prize card. The collector has not yet gotten the card from Topps.

Washington -- It's difficult to believe that a hard-hitting Baltimore Oriole has much in common with your two U.S. senators.But sure enough, all three appear on trading cards this spring.On the nation's playgrounds, a Cal Ripken or a Brady Anderson probably has a higher trading value than a Barbara Mikulski or a Paul Sarbanes. But not in political circles."Political cards are a sleeper in the industry," says Paul McGue, TC sales representative for Wild Card Inc., a Cincinnati trading card manufacturer.

The baseball strike is still with us, and collectibles dealers are well aware of it.Many dealers say business is better than early in the strike but not as strong as last Christmas. Often they blame the strike for dampening interest in baseball.New baseball cards aren't the sure sellers they have been. Only three dealers contacted reported strong sales of '95 cards."It's not just the strike," says Joe Bosley, longtime owner of The Old Ball Game in Reisterstown. "There's too much product out there.

Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken is leading the American League in hitting, and his power statistics have Triple Crown potential.His baseball cards are putting up some impressive numbers, too.Ripken made it to the major leagues in 1981 and onto major-league cards in 1982. He shares his Topps card with Bob Bonner and Tom Schneider, but is by himself on Donruss and Fleer. He got his own Topps card in the '82 Traded set.Price-guide authors usually give the Donruss and Fleer cards lower prices than Topps, because Donruss and Fleer sets flooded the market in 1982.

The world of baseball cards has changed a lot since Jay Finglass got his first cards in 1954.What used to be child's play has become big business. In the process, Finglass went from a passionate collector and expert card flipper to one of the first dealers in the country.Now he sees a shakeout. The specialty-card store, once the collector's mecca, could be on the way out, reversing the trend of the past 20 years."Since there are so many places to buy cards and supplies, the specialized store is becoming obsolete," he says.

If there was any doubt that sports collectibles are big, it should be laid to rest on March 22 and 23, when Sotheby's holds its first sale devoted to sports memorabilia.The auction house's New York office will be selling a collection, dominated by baseball cards, assembled over the past five years by California sporting goods dealer James C. Copeland. The collection, which comprises more than 800 lots, is expected to bring $5 million to $7 million.The size of the collection offered is boggling, as is the quality.

Pizza shop employee foils, holds armed robberA pizza shop employee thwarted an armed robber's attempt to rob him early Saturday and held onto the man until a passing police officer arrested the suspect, county police said yesterday.Police said Zulfiqar Ahmed Ali, 39, had just closed Pizza Boli's in the 300 block of N. Crain Highway in Glen Burnie about 2:30 a.m. when a man with a handgun approached and demanded money.The two struggled and the man hit Mr. Ali in the forehead with his gun. But a passing officer noticed the fracas and intervened.