Ben Oglivie Mail-In Signing and Some Purchases

I have a big backlog of ttm requests that I hope start coming back any day now.  I've sent 25 requests this month, and not one has come back yet.  But more than half have been sent in the last 10 days, so it's not as bad as it sounds.  That's what I tell myself anyway.

I sent five cards to a Ben Oglivie signing.  He does sign ttm for free, but I wanted to send some 1972 Topps, which are high number, expensive cards.  This signing gave me more confidence that they'd be handled carefully and get signed in blue sharpie, etc.  I sent three of those cards, plus a 1972 Red Sox team card, and his 1976 Topps.

I live in a fantasy world, where players like Bernie Williams start signing after years of refusing.  Kind of like Pete Hamm.  When that happens, I'll be ready with four of these cards (I have one already signed by both Oglivie and Cey.  Maybe Steve Hovley will join Bernie at a signing some day.

I bought a couple 1972 Topps, including Leo Durocher and Jose Pagan.  I'm slowly chipping away at this set, with 189 left to acquire.

I also splurged on an Alex Rodriguez signed 2007 Topps Heritage.  I decided I should have at least one autograph of his, and this was not too bad of a deal, considering what he charges at signings.  It's also Beckett-authenticated, and has a very bold signature that I'm guessing will be graded a 10.  I wouldn't mind having him sign a 2003 Topps Heritage as well, but I've spent enough lately, and the two signings currently listed on SCN seem a bit steep to me.  I'll wait to see if there's a cheaper one.  If that never happens, it's not a big deal.

Yesterday, I sent 20 cards to a collecting buddy who submits card to Beckett for authentication.  And I'll be sending 26 cards in to a JSA/CGC authentication submission next month.  26 is an odd number, but the pricing gives a break at certain quantities, so all the cards are $2 less over a quantity of 25.

Rick Sofield Mail-In Signing Return and a Surprise Phone Call

Just one return today and that was Rick Sofield, who autographed four cards for me at a Tom Orr signing. 

After I sent these cards, Tom also announced a Gary Ward signing.  I tried to arrange to have this 1980 Topps included in that signing as well.  But then Sofield's got delayed, and it just wasn't possible to get it arranged.  So, I'll wait for the next Ward signing to get it done.

I had something happen last night that I haven't had happen in my 23 years of collecting.  My phone rang at about 9:00 pm last night.  It was my IP phone, kind of a landline, but it's from the cable company.  So, this number is considered a public number that gets published in phone books.  At least the ones that are left.

I don't normally answer this phone because it's always sales calls.  But, this one called a second time right after the first call, after which they didn't leave a message.  I decided to pick it up and just get rid of them so they wouldn't keep calling.  However, it turned out to be Rod Gaspar of the 1969 Miracle Mets!

I sent a request to him about four days prior.  I sent it in a bubble envelope, with a pen and some cash.  He appeared to be very grateful for the cash and asked what else I needed!  He said if I send him a large sase, he'll send me a couple signed photos or something.

What a nice man!  I didn't put my phone number on my request, so he had to track me down on the internet.  It's a little harder than usual, because my wife and I have just our first initials listed on our public phone record, but he was able to match my address to some online resources and gave me a call.  From his research, he even knew my profession!

I was shocked!  I didn't know what to say other than to repeatedly thank him.  I sent him a request about 15 months ago, which included the 1970 Topps Mets team card, which commemorates the 1969 team.

Along with that return, he wrote a note on my letter stating that he signed my Padres card (his 1971 Topps) back in March of 2022.  I didn't know what to make of that, as he was obviously tracking requests.  I saw some comments on his returns on SCN about him replying to other collectors that he'll only sign one or two before a donation is required.  So, I made sure to enclose some money with this request, but I always do when I send in bubble envelopes and include a pen anyway.  I sent him three cards and a Ron Lewis postcard in this request.

Today, I sent him a package that included photo-sized sase.  I'm excited to see what he has for me.  I also included a Fleer Laughlin card of the 1969 World Series and asked him to sign it as well.

What a very nice man!  This has to be the highlight of my ttm hobby over 23 years!

Dontrelle Willis Mail-In Signing Return

I added another Grand Slam print to my collection today with a mail-in signing return from Dontrelle Willis.

He also signed  seven cards for me, including a three Topps Heritage, a 2004 Topps with the Rookie Trophy, a 1972 Topps ROY award card and a couple 2005 Donruss Diamond Kings card.

I don't know exactly why I like the Diamond Kings cards.  They aren't great for autographs due to the dark colors, but the painted portraits are nice and I like the color combination of the background.  I haven't paid a lot to get these signed, and only have a few in my collection.  The relic cards tend to get creased unless they are packed very securely.

I might just like them because my older son really liked them when he was a kid and got several bigger names as well as a few Twins to sign them.

This Tony Oliva card of my son's is probably my favorite Diamond King, and maybe my favorite modern Oliva card.

After being teased with some spring-like weather lately, we're expecting 10-18 inches of snow over the next day and a half or so.  I visited the ATM today so I'm ready to hunker down and write a few requests to mail out Monday.  I don't write too many requests any more that don't require a fee, or I'm sending a requests along with a pen and 4+ cards so I enclose a fee even when none is required.

I keep telling myself I need to start working on the common cards in the 1982 set, and many of those won't require fees.  So, I do have a lot of requests I can write without fees, and maybe all sprinkle a few of those in.  I also have six rolls of 100 stamps, so I'm good for 300 requests before I need to restock my stamps.

Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson and Tim Raines

Nothing but Hall of Famers today. 

After seeing the results from the last Rod Carew signing I sent in for, I decided that any future autographs would have to be purchased so I could see the autograph before buying it.

I found a couple decent cards at Mill Creek, including a 1970 Topps and a 2016 Allen & Ginter.

Tim Raines signed a Grand Slam print via Tom Orr.  It's hard to know where to request the autograph be placed on these prints and this return is a good example of why.  He signed quite small, which looks okay, but I expected it would be larger.

Some players sign much larger than expected, like the Boog Powell I had signed a while ago.

Without knowing the size of the autograph, it's hard to decide where the placement would look best.

Finally, I sent three cards in for a Reggie Jackson signing, including a couple of his 1969 Topps rookie cards, one of which I had him inscribe with his Hall of Fame year, as well as a 2008 Goudey.

I actually sent in a fourth card, which was another 1969 Topps.  I don't know the status of that one.  I had sent it as a separate order to the same promoter because I didn't know the exact date of the signing and didn't want the cards I was waiting on from my eBay purchases to make me miss the signing entirely.  If it didn't get signed, that would be too bad, but I'd like to get the card back, of course.  It was really hard finding decent cards at a reasonable price, as centering was a big problem.

It appeared that these cards shipped back to me while the promoter was on the road, rather than from their home, so I'll give him a few days to get back home and settled before I reach out.  I actually have several cards from a few signings that I am waiting on, but this Jackson card is by far the most expensive.

Willie McCovey Inscription Confusion

I obviously wasn't paying close attention when I bid on this card on eBay.  It is J.S.A.-authenticated and matches my other McCovey signatures well, so I wasn't concerned about its authenticity.

I was really glad to see an old-time player sign this card as I've been working on these award cards from the 1972 Topps set for a while, including Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player, Cy Young and Babe Ruth Awards and even a few Minor League Player of the Year awards.

I didn't notice the confusion of the inscription until I received it, although I should have recognized the error right away.

The card commemorates the Rookie of the Year award, which Willie McCovey won in 1959.  So, the inscription is accurate for the card, except that he wrote "MVP" instead of "ROY", or just leaving it off entirely and leaving just the year, like many players do.

He won the MVP award too, but that wasn't until 1969.  Oh well, maybe I've got a one-of-a-kind card here.

Former Twins Steve Luebber and Camilo Pascual TTM Returns

Both of the returns I received today were sent via Pirate Ship since I included pens with them, and a small magazine for  Pascual.

Steve Luebber has a high number card in the 1972 set and the two previous attempts I've sent were signed in black.  I'd like a nice, blue signature from each Twins player in the sets which I collect: 1963, 1965, 1971, 1972 and a few others to a lesser degree.

Here are the previous attempts:

So, I sent along a blue medium Staedtler with this request, which he used on his 72 Topps as well as some twins team cards.  This included a 1972 team card, as well as a Buy Back version, and the 1977 Twins team card.  While he doesn't normally charge, I included $10 with my request to show my appreciation for his time and effort.

The ever-generous Camilo Pascual signed four out of the five cards I sent, as well as a 1958 Kansas City Athletics scorebook versus the Senators.  The scorebook was used at the August 2, 1958 game in which Mr. Pascual started.

The Senators won, 6-3, behind Pascual's 4.1 innings in which he gave up two runs, including Roger Maris' 30th career home run in the first inning.  Pascual also hit an RBI double in the 5th inning and was batting .206.

I'm running low on new things for Pascual to sign, which is why I added a couple less-common cards like the 1960 Leaf and 1961 Nu Cards Baseball Scoops card.  The 1965 Topps is a really nice upgrade over a couple previous attempts, which weren't bad, but not as nice as this.

Terry Fox and John O'Donoghue - Upgrading to Blue

I've been sending some requests out to players who are generous signers, but always seem to sign in black, or ballpoint.

Today I received a couple of those requests back.  

Terry Fox signed his 1962 through 1967 Topps for me using the blue Staedtler I had enclosed.  In 2009, he signed one card for me in blue sharpie, but since then, all of my requests to him have been signed in very fine black marker.  They look just fine, and he's been very kind to even respond to my requests, which had no fee or gift enclosed, but I've wanted to upgrade several of those cards to a nice blue marker for quite a while.  

I sent him these six cards, a medium blue Staedtler, and $20.  Despite not having a fee, I felt that six cards, and bubble envelopes to open and repack deserved a little gift for his hassle.

He signed them all very nicely, and even returned my $20, which makes me feel kind of guilty.  He didn't include a note or anything, just the cards and money back.  Thank you Mr. Fox!

I previously sent John O'Donoghue a blue sharpie with my request, but he signed my cards in fine black marker that was kind of clumpy, for lack of a better word.  Again, he signed my cards for free so I can't complain, but I've wanted a couple of his cards signed with a nice blue marker

This time, it was a mail-in signing rather than a request directly to the player.  Unfortunately, the date kind of snuck up on me, and having committed to sending in five cards, I only had 1965 and 1971 Topps cards to send to him.  I had intended on sending two 71 Topps because they are high number cards, but would have preferred to send in a couple different cards in addition to the 65 Topps.  These were the set cards I really wanted upgraded, so I guess it worked out okay.