5 Successes - 1 Failure

Today I got back 6 returns. 5 of them successes, and 1 failure. I'm not sure why, but I sent Matt Batts a 1954 Topps and it was returned in my sase unsigned. No note or explanation. Hopefully he is healthy and doing well. I'll watch the returns on SCN and if I see more successes, I'll resend. Maybe it was a mistake.

I received 11 signed cards in the 5 successes.

Billy Gardner signed a '55 and '59 Topps. Mr. Gardner is a former manager of the Twins.

Ned Garver signed a '58 and '59 Topps.



















Bill Renna signed a '56 and '59 Topps.














Eddie Yost signed a '56 and '59 Topps.


















And finally, Jerry Lumpe signed a '61 Topps, '61 Topps "A's Big Armor" and '64 Topps.














I also received my new laptop today. It's pretty big, which is fine because I don't carry it around much. The 17" screen is great, as is the full size keyboard with number pad. I haven't used it much but booted it up, registered it and got the wireless connection working. I'll play with it more tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have a few more successes tomorrow as well.

I'm especially looking forward to getting back the bobblehead from Frank Viola and I have a couple of longshots I sent recently. I sent a card to Grady Sizemore last Friday. I have seen many successes on SCN lately, so hopefully I wasn't too late and he's still signing. I also saw that Mike Mussina is signing. He just announced his retirement and is in the news a lot. Hopefully he isn't so flooded with requests that he stops signing.

Some Returns - 1961 Topps

Well, I didn't get the big flood of returns that I expected today, but I did get back two: I received a 1961 and 1962 Topps from Gary Bell, and 1959 and 1961 Topps from Curt Simmons.

While I don't really concentrate on the 1961 Topps set, I do have about 150 of them signed. Since I collect the 1958 and 1965 Topps sets, many of those players are also in the the 1961 set, so I include those in my requests as well. It's a pretty inexpensive set, but some of the pictures are pretty dark and aren't ideal for autographs.


I also finally got my old laptop working again, but only after uninstalling XP SP3. It took quite a while too, probably since that old laptop is so old. My new one arrives tomorrow. I received a recorded call from UPS this evening letting me know it would arrive, and that it requires a signature. They were kind enough to let me know that it would be delivered sometime between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Bob Gibson In The Mail Today

While it's not exactly a ttm success, I received a ball signed by Bob Gibson today. A fellow SCN member, who was volunteering at an event for the Special Olympics in Kansas where Bob Gibson was signing, took other members' items to the event to be signed.

I had Mr. Gibson add his "HOF" inscription. This is my 49th baseball signed by a Hall of Famer.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any of my ttm requests back today as I expected. I'm sure tomorrow will be a big day. Thursdays are usually the biggest day of the week for returns. I wouldn't be surprised if I get back 4 or 5 tomorrow.

Another Terrible Tuesday

I'm not sure why, but I almost never get any ttm requests back on Tuesdays. It's almost a given that, regardless of how many requests I have out, the mailbox will be almost empty on Tuesdays.

I did get a couple of bills, and the regular assortment of advertisements, but no autographs. Maybe it has something to do with the days I mail my requests out. I think I'll have to analyze this further when I have time.

I record each request in a spreadsheet, noting who I sent to, what general address ("home", "c/o Detroit Tigers", etc), what I sent them specifically, the date sent, date received, and the result.

I track what I sent because sometimes I get back different cards, extra cards, or sometimes fewer cards.

I also track all of my requests on sportscollectors.net, to share the information with other collectors.

My first successful request was sent to Jacque Jones on June 23rd, 2003 and received back on June 27th, 2003. Probably my fastest response too. On Saturday, I mailed my 1620th request. Let's see, suppose each letter had an average stamp price of 40 cents, and since I include a self-addressed stamp envelope in return, that's 80 cents per letter, for a total of about $1300 in postage. And that doesn't include the balls and photos which are more. We'll say $1500 in postage. Yikes. That's a lot of money for "free" autographs.

Each letter I write is handwritten. As are each envelope and return envelope. It's a wonder I haven't suffered some carpal-related malady.

When I used to write dozens of letters a week, (before my kids were in baseball, hockey, Cub Scouts and music lessons) each day when we pulled up to the mailbox my kids and I would guess how many autographs would be waiting for me. I think my record was 9 returns in one day. 2 to 4 was usually in the ballpark. Except Terrible Tuesdays. 0 or 1 would be a good guess.

I didn't get my notebook fixed last night. I still can't get the wireless card and XP SP3 to play nice together. I got the blue screen of death in the process. My wife twisted my arm just enough. Today, I ordered a new HP Pavilion from Best Buy. It seemed like quite a bargain. I also was able to buy a new wireless router for half price with this purchase, so this should get me back into "recent" technology. I think my existing Toshiba laptop is about 7 years old. It has served me very well and I've gotten my money's worth, but it's time to upgrade.

Hopefully I'll have some returns to share tomorrow (after I get back from my kids' hockey practice).

Finally, Some Returns In The Mail

Today I finally got back some ttm (through the mail) requests.

Glen Hobbie signed a 1959 and two 1961 Topps cards in a very quick 5 days.











Sam Esposito signed a 59 and 61 Topps that I mailed out on 11/6.

Bill Henry signed a 61 and 65 Topps for me which I also sent out on 11/6.

I expect to start getting quite a few more later this week and I also bought a few more cards on eBay to send out, although I' not sure when I'll have time to write those letters.


I planned on writing a few last night, but after installing Service Pack 3 for XP on my laptop, my wireless card quit working. I spent 2 and a half hours trying to get it operational with no luck. I'll spend some more time on it tonight.

Will Casey Blake Become a Twin (again)?

About the only interesting chatter I'm hearing from the Twins is the fact that they're showing some interest in Casey Blake. The Twins are one of 8 teams that are showing an interest in him, so if it becomes a bidding war, the Twins will surely lose. Casey signed this 2004 Topps Heritage for me through the mail during the 2005 season.

Blake is from Iowa, and I've read that he is interested in returning to the Twins organization. Blake was with the Twins before being released twice, once in 2001 and again in 2002. I actually don't remember him being with the Twins. According to his stats on mlb.com, he played in 29 games split between the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons.

Blake is 35 years old, so this seems like another attempt by the Twins to find an aging player to resurrect his career with the Twins, such as Brett Boone, Craig Monroe, Livan Hernandez, Eddie Guardado, etc, etc, etc.

I'd prefer to stick with Brian Buscher at third, even though he's a left-handed batter and I think the Twins want some more righties in the lineup. This picture is of Brian Buscher and my younger son, at a signing at the Twins Pro Shop in Apple Valley in July of 2008.

We'll see if this interest turns into any action. If Blake doesn't work out, maybe the Twins will call Mike Schmidt or Brooks Robinson.

A Couple More '65s

Through a contact on Sportscollectors.net, I was able to get a couple more 1965 Topps signed for a reasonable price. This person has a contact that works at one of the big shows, and is able to get cards signed at a discount.

I got Willie McCovey and Red Schoendienst. I was trying to get Juan Marichal as well, but he had to reschedule so I'm hopingI'll get that one signed in February. I also sent in a 1979 Topps card for Ozzie Smith, but he couldn't get that one signed.



I still have a 1965 Topps out to Whitey Ford and I'm a little surprised I haven't gotten it back yet, it's making me a little nervous. I included a check which has not yet been cashed.

I sent out over 20 letters this week so I should start seeing quite a few returns towards the end of next week.

Twins Hot Stove League

Well, I finally got around to packaging up the bobblehead for Frank Viola from the 1987 Twins set. I'm a little nervous about mailing it because if it's lost or broken, I don't know how I'll replace it. It's a little more complicated to mail than cards or even a ball. I use two priority mail boxes, a smaller one inside with my address as the "to:" address, and a larger one that will contain the other box to be shipped off to Florida. My older son also wanted to get a ball signed so I am sending that along with another donation. It will probably cost about $16 shipping there and back.


This year's off-season (a.k.a "Hot Stove League") is a little boring for the Twins. No potential blockbuster trades like last year when Johann Santana was on the trade block. But there are some moves that need to be made. Nick Punto and Adam Everett have filed for free agency, leaving a few holes in the infield. Neither offer a tremendous amount of offense, but both are solid defensively and Punto is Mr. Web Gem. There is talk of needing a bigger bat to add to the infield, most likely at third base. With Tolbert, Buscher, Harris and Casilla, there seem to be enough infielders already. Punto seems like the logical choice as a utility infielder, if he's willing to take that role.

There's been some talk of trading Cuddyer to get a big-hitting third baseman. I really like Cuddyer and would hate to see him go. I'd rather trade Delmon Young who really doesn't appear to be playing up to his potential. With Gomez, Span, Cuddyer and Kubel, the Twins seem to have plenty of other outfielders.


We'll just have to wait and see what happens. The "Home Plate" channel on XM Radio is definitely less exciting than last year.

The cards shown in this post are all from the 2007 Topps Heritage set. I really like them because they are styled after the 1958 Topps set which I also collect. I received the Cuddyer card through the mail last season. I got Young and Everett to sign these cards at TwinsFest last year.

Fan Favorite - Al Kaline

Like Duke Snider, Al Kaline is another Hall of Famer who is an excellent signer through the mail. I have several items signed through the mail by Mr. Kaline.

I always send the items in care of the Detroit Tigers, as he is almost automatic from that address. I include $5 for cards, and $10 for larger items, such as baseballs or magazines.




There are a lot of great old magazines with Kaline on the cover. I have a Sports illustrated from 1964 with a great picture of him swinging on the cover. There's another with him and Denny McClain as Denny got his 30th win in 1968, which I have been meaning to buy and get signed by both of them.


Like Snider, Al Kaline is an autograph that every collector should have in their collection.

Bad News for the Twins - Neshek Out for 2009

Really bad news today for the Minnesota Twins. Pat Neshek is out for the whole season next year, and will be having Tommy John surgery.

Pat is probably the best autograph signer around. He'll sign anything you send him and is great in person. He's an autograph collector himself, and you can find him hanging around the Xcel Energy Center trying to get autographs of hockey players.

He has a nice web site, where he posts interesting information about what it's like being a major league ballplayer.

The Twins will surely miss Pat next year, as will his fans.

Sad News

In the last couple of days we lost two players.

Herb Score, a pitcher and broadcaster for the Indians passed away. He was a dominant lefty until, in 1957, Gil McDougald hit a line drive into Score's eye, ending his season. He was never the same pitcher after that.

Another dominant pitcher, Elwin "Preacher" Roe, TSN's Pitcher of the Year in 1951, passed away on Sunday.

Both players were generous signers through the mail and I have several cards in my collection signed by them. It's a depressing part of the hobby when these great old players pass away. On several occasions, I have sent autograph requests only to receive a kind note from their widow thanking me for remembering them, along with a copy of their obituary.

I didn't get to packaging up the bobblehead for Frank Viola, because I need to buy some bubble wrap first, and probably some postage for the return box. I did, however, get 10 new requests ready to mail out. I put them in the mailbox today, but since it's Veteran's Day, the mail didn't go out. I'll probably get another 10 ready to go tonight.

Today's Return - Camilo Pascual

Today I got back a couple of cards I sent to Camilo Pascual. I included $10 cash, and he signed both a 1956 Topps and 1965 Topps nicely. In fact, he used a different pen on each card, a thicker one on the '56, and a thinner one on the'65.

Both cards look great and I'm wondering if he took the time to decide which pen would look best on each card. If so, I think he made the right choices and it's impressive that he would take the time. If not, I guess I just got lucky.

I'm going to try to package up the bobblehead to send to Frank Violoa tonight, so I'm not sure if I'll get to sending out any other requests.

Flea Market Finds

I spent about an hour at an indoor flea market at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota today. I picked up a 1973 Sports Illustrated with Bill Melton on the cover for $1. I also bought my older son a 1963 Sport Magazine with Whitey Ford on the cover. It wasn't in great shape but didn't have a mailing label. It has a line/crease down the middle, but it was just $7, so it's worth it even just for reading and making fun of the people in the ads.

I was away from home over the weekend and came home to a package I received from Steiner. I bought a black & white 16x20 of Bill Mazeroski's homer in the 1960 World Series, signed by Johnny Blanchard, who was the catcher at the time. Maybe I'll see if I can get Mazeroski to sign it too.

I also bought a signed, black & white 8x10 of Bobby Thomson's homer in 1951 to clinch the pennant for the Giants. I guess I didn't realize the common theme of these pictures until I starting writing this entry. Both were excellent players. In fact, Mazeroski's in the Hall of Fame. But both are remembered mostly for a single swing of the bat.

I will probably start sending out a couple dozen requests through the mail this week. I'll have to lay off the purchases for a while and start saving up for TwinsFest next January. I'll need to buy some bats, photos, and cards as well as save up for the signing fees. With four of us attending (my wife goes through the lines for me), it adds up pretty quickly.

Autographed Magazines

In my last post, I included an image of an old Sport Magazine signed by Duke Snider. I have about 20 signed magazines, mostly old Sport and Sports Illustrated. They aren't too expensive, if you shop around. I buy most of mine on eBay, but have found some reasonable deals at antique stores.

A lot of the old magazines still have the mailing label on them, and you'll pay extra for a clean copy without a label. I have had mixed success removing labels so don't count on being able to remove the label cleanly. You can see the remnants of the shipping label on the Sports Illustrated with Hank Bauer on the cover.

There are also some other publications that are great for signing, such as the old Baseball Digests and Baseball Magazine. Magazines are obviously tougher to get signed through the mail due to the size. I use padded envelopes and put a piece of cardboard in that is slightly larger than the magazine to try to avoid having the magazine get bent during shipping.

I also buy and save the current Twins publications when I go to a game because they often have great covers, such as the Mike Redmond cover shown here. I have publications with Bert Blyleven and Ron Gardenhire waiting to get signed at TwinsFest.

The tough part about collecting signed magazines is how to display or store them. I have been buying metal frames from AmericanFrames.com, which are really nice. It's tricky to measure and order them, especially if you order multiple franes at once that are similar in size.

I will probably have the framing shop at my place of work frame a couple to see how they turn out.

The Duke of Flatbush

I have many items in my collection signed by Duke Snider, a longtime outfielder for the Dodgers and member of the Hall of Fame. He is an excellent signer and I usually throw in a little cash in hopes that he continues to sign.

I bought the bat, but everything else in my collection was obtained through the mail from Mr. Snider. There are lots of great vintage cards available for Duke, including the 1954 Topps shown in an earlier post of mine. There area also a lot of great newer cards available which can be found easily and are of course cheaper.

Anyone starting out collecting autographs definitely needs to make a Duke Snider request a high priority.

1953 Topps

In contrast to the tiny 1949 Bowmans and the slightly larger 1951 Bowmans, the 1953 Topps seem huge. The players' pictures are more obviously painted, almost as if it is a formal portait.

I think they are great for autographs, although the cards can be tough to come by and are of course, expensive.

I have a nice example of one signed by Billy Pierce, who is a great signer through the mail.

The only disadvantage is that they are so large that they don't fit in standard card holders very well.

More Vintage Cards

I've got 70 cards lined up and ready to send out to be signed. I'll get to a few tonight, but the rest will probably have to wait until next week.

Today I thought I'd highlight another vintage set I'm working on. I have about 75 cards signed from the 1951 Bowman set. I really like the look of these cards. They're smaller than today's cards, yet bigger than the tiny '49 Bowmans. There are some great players in the set like Duke Snider, Don Newcombe, Marty Marion and Monte Irvin, just to name a few.

The cards are tough to get in decent condition for a reasonable price, so be prepared to spend a few bucks to get a few of these signed. There is a reprint set available if you're interested in saving the cost of the cards, but I prefer the real deal.

Old School Cards

I collect mostly vintage autographed cards. The cards I collect are from the 1960's and older for the most part. I do collect some newer sets that are styled after vintage cards however. The oldest signed card in my collection is a 1935 Diamond Stars signed by Bill Werber. Mr. Werber turned 100 last June and still signs through the mail. I sent this card to him about 3 years ago and got it back in about a week.

I also have collected a few cards from the 1949 Bowman set. One of my favorites is Bobby Doerr, shown here. I also have Mr. Doerr on a few more recent cards that are styled after vintage sets, such as the 2006 Allen & Ginter set. Mr. Doerr is a generous signer through the mail.

Stan The Man

Today I received a ball signed by Stan Musial that I bought on eBay. I already have one, but it was a really good deal and for some reason I couldn't resist buying this one as well. I'm not sure why I do that. I have two Ernie Banks balls, two Duke Snider balls, etc. I guess in addition to being a collector, I'm a bit of a hoarder. Anyway, this one is a little nicer than the one I already had, so I'll call this an "upgrade".

For part II of Future Hall of Famers, I thought I'd share a very short video clip of my younger son, David. He was also selected to play in the August Classic and this clip is from that tournament. He was playing third base, and made a nice running catch to prevent a bloop single. Yes, that's an umbrella in the shot. It was sunny and hot, and I didn't want to get sun burned. It's not easy videotaping and holding an umbrella at the same time.

Future Hall of Famers

I got one return in the mail yesterday - Danny Murphy signed his 1961 Topps rookie card. This was a tough one to get, as I had two previous RTS (Return To Sender) based, I think, on a wrong apartment number. You'd think if I got it that close, that the PO could get it there.

I also received 33 cards that I bought on eBay so as soon as I have some time, I can start sending those out. One of those cards is a 1965 Topps Camilo Pascual. I've seen some recent successes from him on sportscollectors.net, so I"m going to send this card and a 1956 Topps along with a little cash to see if I can get them signed.

Today, I thought I'd start showing a little video of some future Hall of Famers (my kids). Today is a video of my older son John playing in the "August Classic" tournament, which is like an All-Star tournament at the end of the season. The coaches pick 2-3 kids from their team to play, and they are combined with kids from other teams. John is a catcher, 10 years old during this tournament, and this play shows a base hit going to shallow right-center field, with a great throw coming home to the plate and Johnny making the tag.

The video is shot through a fence, which makes it look like the game is being played in a prison yard, and I couldn't zoom in because then the camera would focus on the fence. But, I think you will be able to see it well enough to get the idea.

Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing this video. It's my first attempt adding video to this blog. It works fine for me, but if you are having trouble viewing it, please leave a comment or email me at droidtrader@gmail.com.

Sweet Music - Part II

Just a quick update today to show the cards I got back from Frank Viola. I'll save the 1987 Topps Twin's Leaders card for TwinsFest to get Tim Laudner to sign.

I'll be packaging up my 1987 Twins bobblehead for him to sign and get that shipped off this week as well. I should be good on Frank Viola autographs then!