The Polar Vortex Mail Stoppage Has Ended

Temperatures in Wisconsin dropped to thirty below zero, and wind chills dipped as low as -60. For two days, the Polar Vortex ravaged the midwest.

It was so cold here in Madison, Wisconsin that not only were schools called off, but many businesses closed including McDonalds, Starbucks, Panera Bread, Pizza Hut, among many others. Rain, sleet, and snow doesn’t hinder the United States Postal Service, but record cold temperatures will. The USPS held mail carriers back on Wednesday and Thursday, so the mail backed up.

Two packages were on my doorstep Friday. Chad from Milwaukee, Wisconsin sent another box of Cubs with a note.

I survived the cold...but the most time I spent outside was the 50-yard walk from my parking spot to my office. He had some 1970’s Cubs and an Anthony Rizzo Insert inside.

With the 70’s Cubs was a 1979 Topps Mike Cubbage. Check out the note. While Cubbage won’t be a part of the Cubs collection, even with that name, I’ll be putting this in Jenny’s Twins stack.

By far my favorite 1980’s Topps Cubs card. From the classic 1985 set it’s the #1 draft pick Shawon Dunston card.

Carmelo Martinez has had an interesting career. The cousin of new Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez, Carmelo made his MLB debut on August 22, 1983 and hit a home run in his first at bat.

Martinez was also involved in a big baseball brawl while serving as interim manager for the Peoria Chiefs in 2008.

When I came across this 1980 Topps Doug Capilla, I realized Capilla is one of those under the radar Cubs. Capilla pitched in 94 games for the Cubs over parts of three seasons.

My favorite Cubs color commentator, Steve Stone. I love listening to Stone, and his pairing with Harry Caray was classic must see TV. It’s a shame he was pushed out of the Cubs broadcast booth in 2004. He actually refused to sign a contract extension, but there was a lot of heat coming from the team based on Stone’s critical analysis.

The second box came from Jason in Tennessee. Nearly 1,000 Cubs arrived and this is by far the most organized. Not only did Jason sort all Cubs by player name (which is how I am sorting my collection), he also made a count and printed out exactly how many cards of each player - alphabetically.

Thanks, Jason, this was certainly not necessary, but absolutely appreciated.

One Million Cubs Project Stats Friday's (2/1/2019) Cards: 1,168 Friday's (2/1/2019) Packages: 2 January's Cubs Count: 9,343 February's Cubs Count: 1,168 Total Trades/Donations: 31 Trade States of Origin: Arkansas, California (3), Connecticut (3), Illinois (3), Massachusetts (2), New Jersey (3), New York (4), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (2), Tennessee (2), Texas (2), Wisconsin (4).