Rick Aguilera

Today I received my HHH Metrodome Commemorative ball signed by Rick Aguilera from a Jack Berke signing. It turned out really nice.


Aguilera was a great closer for the Twins in the early '90s, helping the '91 team win the World Series. He doesn't sign through the mail or do many shows, so I took advantage of this opportunity.

Jonathan Papelbon 2008 Goudey

Today I received a 2008 Goudey signed by Jonathan Papelbon that I bought on eBay. This is a certified "Goudey Graphs" card, meaning the Upper Deck company had it signed by Papelbon, rather than some collector getting Papelbon to sign the card or getting it signed at a show.

I only paid about $12 including shipping, which I thought was pretty reasonable.

Authenticated 1954 Topps Lot

Today I received six signed, authenticated 1954 Topps that I bought on eBay. For some reason this shipment was delayed. It was shipped from Colorado, when through a distribution center in New Jersey, then ended up here in Minnesota. Quite a trip.

I got a nice deal on these. Most for a dollar or two over the price of authenticating a card. Four of these players are deceased (Frank Smith, Mike Fornieles, Johnny Klippstein and Ray Boone).

Although I'm not actively collecting this set, I do have about 100 of these signed. It's one of my favorite card designs of all time, but since they already have a facsimile signature, they aren't ideal for getting autographed.

Brooks Robinson - 1965 Topps

Today I received a 1965 Topps signed by Brooks Robinson. I sent it to an SCN contact who took the items to a signing at The Dugout Zone, where Robinson signs a couple of times a year.

I have several outstanding items sent to private signings, but not much out to regular ttm requests. Things might be slow for a while.

Twins Beat The A's 5-4, Kaat Picks Up The Win (5/12/62)

Yesterday I mentioned the program/scorecard I picked up at The Ballpark. I have some pictures of it here today. This was for a game on Saturday, May 12, 1962 (the day before Mother's Day) against the Kansas City Athletics. As always, the ads are good for a laugh and there are nice articles about some of the players.

This particular scorecard is scored. I compared this scorecard to the box score I found on retrosheet here, and it seems pretty accurate. Killebrew struck out once, and was intentionally walked three times! Versalles had a two run homer in the 7th to put the Twins in front.

Lee Stange ran into trouble as the starting pitcher in just the second inning, and Jim Kaat came in to replace him, picking up the win. Kaat also doubled as well has hit a sacrifice fly to score a run.

The retrosheet site is great and has batter-by-batter listings of results. It's fun to look and see what happened during the game in front of 9129 fans (they also list the attendance).

Speaking of Jim Kaat, my son just got a request back from him yesterday by coincidence. John had sent him a card and small donation back in June.

Tommy John Return and John Wheeldon Portraits

I FINALLY got back my 1965 Topps from the Major League Alumni Marketing (MLAM) signing that I originally sent my card in for last March. Due to this delay, and the mix up with my Jim Kaat bobblehead that came back unsigned, I got the Robin Yount baseball signed for free that I posted a while ago. I'm satisfied with the whole deal I guess.

My younger son and I went to The Ballpark in Apple Valley today. I won a Twins scorecard from 1962 on eBay and stopped in to pick it up rather than pay for shipping. (I'll post some pictures of that tomorrow.) While I was there, I ran across some John Wheeldon portraits of the Twins that were given away at Super Valu in 1970. There are 12 in the set and I picked up 10 of them including:

• Harmon Killebrew
• Brant Alyea
• Leo Cardenas
• Rod Carew
• Jim Kaat
• George Mitterwald
• Tony Oliva
• Jim Perry
• Rich Reese
• Luis Tiant

The two I still have left to get are Cesar Tovar and Ron Perranoski. I plan to try to get most of these signed. Tovar is deceased but I believe the rest of these guys are still around and are decent signers.



A few of them sign well through the mail and I'll try to get Killebrew and Carew at TwinsFest.

1951 Topps Wax Wrapper

On an impulse, I bought a 1951 Topps wax wrapper on eBay. It wasn't too expensive (<$10). For some reason, I find stuff like this cool. I also have an empty wax box (box that held several packs of cards for display at the store) from the 1956 Topps set.
I'll have to buy a few cheap '51 Topps to display with it. That year was the first for Topps. The cards came two to a pack along with a piece of caramel. The cards were intended to be used as as game, although I haven't found any specific information on how that was played.


It's been an expensive week, even though I don't have anything to show for it yet. I decided to add a 16x20 to my Willie Mays purchase so I mailed a check for that. I also sent a ball and 2008 Goudey to a Cal Ripken Jr. signing.

Finally, today I ordered a signed Joe Mauer jersey from Ironclad Authentics. They are having a 30% off sale. Mauer was one of the cheapest jerseys on their site to begin with, so it was reasonably cheap after the discount. If he wins the MVP award this year, it will be a long time before I get another chance to buy a jersey this cheap.

Another Magazine Return - Bob Feller

The number of requests I have outstanding is shrinking so my returns will be slowing down quite a bit. Today I was happy to see a return from Bob Feller, who signed a 1949 Sport Magazine for me. I enclosed $10 cash with my request.


I have a few outstanding requests to mail-in signings that will be trickling in over the next couple of months, but I don't have a good supply of cards to send out. I'll have to make a list and buy some cards.

I also need to start thinking about TwinsFest (January 29-31). Unfortunately, the 29th is my wife's birthday, so we'll have to be clever in how we position this event ;-) Referring to her as the "Pack Mule" at last year's event (because she carried a backpack full of things to be signed) has left a bad taste in her mouth. I'll need to make sure we have enough cards and pictures to be signed. I have plenty of bats, balls and mini helmets already.

Card Show Finds

I had to drive up north of the Twin Cities today to meet my in-laws who had watched my sons for the weekend. On the way back, my sons and I stopped at a card show at Har Mar Mall. This is one of our favorite shows since there are usually a lot of dealers with a nice mix of vintage stuff, Twins and autographs.

Today there were only a few dealers so at first we were disappointed. However, one dealer had a nice selection of Harmon Killebrew photos, with several of them signed. My older son John is a huge Killebrew fan so he was very interested. This particular dealer's father is a photographer who has photographed Killebrew since the 60's so he has a lot of unique photos, rather than the typical ones you see from photofile, etc.


John picked a signed 16x20 (only $40!) and he and I each bought a black & white, 11x14 unsigned photo. John's picture shows Killebrew with Hank Aaron, and mine is a picture of Killebrew sitting in the dugout alone.

Although the show was pertty small, we were happy with what we found.

Jack Dittmer - 1954 Topps

Today I received a 1954 Topps signed by Jack Dittmer. He also replied to a question in my letter regarding his career after baseball.

I had received this card back unsigned a short while ago with no explanation. I could see on SCN that he is an excellent signer, so I re-sent it in case it had been returned unsigned by accident.

Robin Yount (For Free!)

I have sent several items in to MLAM (Major League Alumni Marketing) including the Lombardozzi bobblehead I posted on last time. I sent a few items last Spring that turned out to be a bit of a fiasco.

The Jim Kaat bobblehead I sent came back unsigned, so I had to send it back and wait for another signing to take place (which it did). I also didn't received a 1965 Topps of Tommy John I sent in (I still haven't received it). To make up for the inconvenience, I was offered some free autographs at one of their shows, so I sent in a ball to be signed by Robin Yount. They were charging $75 for Yount to sign a ball, which is less than at most shows, so it was a generous offer.


Today I also received a couple of signed 1953 Topps that I bought on eBay that are PSA/DNA authenticated. Bob Hofman died in 1994 and Rip Repulski died in 1993, both well before I started collecting.

Big Day For Returns - Magazines, Bobbleheads and Cards (Oh My!)

The day after holidays seem to be great days for ttm returns. Yesterday was Columbus Day so there was no mail. Today, my mailbox was packed full of autographs!

First, I received my Steve Lombardozzi bobblehead back from an MLAM (Major League Alumni Marketing) signing. Since the head had fallen of the bobblehead, I just mailed them the head. It came back today signed nicely on the brim and I glued it back on to the body. This is my eleventh signed bobblehead from the 1987 Twins set.


I also received two magazines back. Al Kaline signed a 1957 Sport Magazine. I had enclosed $20 with my request.


Don Newcombe signed a 1954 Sport Magazine for his $25 fee.


I also got several cards back. Roy Smalley signed a 1949 Leaf and 1952 Topps.



Paul Brown signed his 1962 and 1964 Topps.



Billy DeMars signed his 1951 Bowman.


Finally, Solly Hemus signed and personalized his 1952 Topps for me.


Several of these returns also inclued additional signed cards, postcards and short notes. I have so much of this "extra" material, that it's overflowing the binder I created for it. I'll have to reorganize it to keep it from getting ruined.

Gene Hermanski Return Today

One return in the mail today. Gene Hermanski signed a 1948 Leaf. This one was out for about a month so I was starting to get worried.

I'm going to be spending off a couple of baseballs to a Cal Ripken Jr. signing. I'm going to get a regular ball signed as well as a HHH Metrodome Commemorative ball signed, since he got his 3000th hit at the Dome.

I'm also sending off a Metrodome ball to get signed by Rick Aguilera, who is signing at a Jack Berke signing later this month. Aguilera doesn't sign much, so I'll get this while I can.

Jake Wood and Hank Fischer

I received two successes in the mail today.

Jake Wood signed his 1961 and 1964 Topps.


Hank Fischer signed his 1964 and 1966 Topps for me.


The Twins couldn't pull it off last night and got beat pretty badly. Hopefullytoday's rest will help them play better tomorrow.

Eddie Mathews - 1958 All-Star Card

I didn't receive any requests in the mail today, but I did receive a card I bought on eBay.

I purchased a 1958 Topps All-Star card signed by Eddie Mathews and authenticated by PSA.


The Twins edged their way into the playoffs last night by beating the Tigers in an exciting 12 inning game at the Dome. However, they aren't having very good luck against the Yankees tonight, losing 2-6 in the 7th inning as I write this.

Bobby Thomson and Allie Clark

A couple of returns today including another magazine.

Bobby Thomson signed a 1955 Sport Magazine for me. He returned the $10 I had included and even returned the blue sharpie I sent.


Also, Allie Clark signed his 1949 Bowman.

Hank Aaron Photos and a 76 Year Old Card

The SCN contact that took care of the Hank Aaron signing sent some photos of my cards being signed. Pretty cool.


While I didn't get any more ttm returns today, I did get a 1934 Goudey that I bought on eBay. I'm not sure why I bought it, other than this is probably my favorite card design of all time, and it's a 76 year old card I could buy for under $8, including shipping. It's in rough shape, but it should be if it's that old.

The card depicts Dick Porter of the Cleveland Indians. In 1930, Porter hit .350 and 43 doubles. I might try to pick up a few more of these cards as I find affordable ones.

Another Magazine Return

Nothing in the mail today, but yesterday I got back another one of the five magazines I sent out last Saturday.

Ned Garver signed a 1955 Sport Magazine for me. I enclosed $5 with my request.

There may be a snag with the Willie Mays signing I was planning on. Something about him not wanting to sign cards. Well, I already bought four cards, and three of them were graded and I already broke them open. Hopefully it works out okay.

A Few More Returns Including Hank Aaron

Today I got back two Hank Aaron cards I need for my sets. An SCN contact took these cards to a Steiner signing last Saturday.

I had him sign his 1958 Topps All Star card:


As well as his 1965 Topps:

I also got back two cards from Clay Dalrymple. I included $10 cash with my request, and he signed his 1961 and 1965 Topps for me.


Surprisingly, I already got back one of the magazines I sent out on Saturday. Ernie Broglio signed a 1961 Sports Illustrated for me, and returned the small cash gift I had included.