Monday, September 24, 2012

Qualters and Scheib

I received a couple more ttm returns the last few days.

On Friday, I received a 1955 and 1959 Topps signed by Tom Qualters.




On Saturday I recevied a 1953 Topps signed by Carl Scheib.  I had enclosed $5 with my request.


My weekends are very busy lately so I don't know when I'll get a chance to send out too many more requests.  Probably not in October.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Carl Pavano and Monte Irvin

A couple ttm returns today.

First, Hall of Famer Monte Irvin signed my 1956 Topps and 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game.  I included a $20 donation to Lincoln University which Mr. Irvin supports.




Next, I was surprised to receive a 2011 Topps Heritage back from Carl Pavano, which I sent to him just over one year ago.  Since I didn't receive this back by TwinsFest earlier this year, I had him sign this card there as well.


Pavano has been on the disabled list for quite a while this year.  I'm not sure why he would have gotten around to signing this right now, but I'm grateful he took the time.  The postmark on the envelope was from Florida.

Al Rainovic Original Art

Another eBay purchase:  I came across an original drawing of Charlie Dressen by Al Rainovic.

Al Rainovic was a sports cartoonist for the Milwaukee Journal in the 1950's and 1960's.  This drawing would be from 1960 or 1961, when Dressen was the manager for the Milwaukee Braves.




I thought this was a pretty unique item to add to my collection.

Phil Rizzuto Bat

I bid on a lot of things on eBay, but I don't get caught up in the competitive side of the bidding because that leads to overpaying for things.  I usually browse a bit and put in bids that I would be happy to pay if I were to win.  I don't win too many auctions this way, but occasionally I'll win something.

Recently, I won a Phil Rizzuto signed bat at a price I was very happy with.  I received it today.  It's JSA authenticated.



I have to many bats already and no way to display them.  I keep thinking I'll make some bat holders to hang on the wall, but I never seem to get around to it.  They're mostly stacked up against the wall in my basement.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Dick "Richie" Allen

 Today I received two cards back from an Atommic Sports signing.  Dick Allen signed my 1972 Topps and 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game.



I really like the Greats of the Game set.  I have 38 of these signed, but about 6-8 of them are certified versions, which have a gold border rather than the maroon border.  It's a tough set to complete, mainly because all the players are stars and hall of famers.

A few of my favorites include Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Hank Bauer and Duke Snider.





Sunday, September 16, 2012

Bobby Wine and Some Purchases

I'm a day behind posting my returns.

I had just one return yesterday, as well as some purchases.

First, Bobby Wine signed three cards for me that I sent him back in March.  He signed his 1970, 1972, and 1973 Topps.

 

I bought a 1972 Topps signed by Mike Jorgensen that I bought from Mickey's on eBay.


These two 1972 Topps being my total to 371 signed from that set.  Still 29 short of my goal for the year.  I need to spend some time going through my collection and buying some cards to send out if I"m going to reach my goal.

I also bought a 2008 Allen & Ginter signed by Brian Bass and a 208 Topps Heritage signed by Matt Macri that I bought from a fellow sportscollectors.net member.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Ned Garver Return

One return in the mail today.

Ned Garver signed a 1953 Topps, 1955 Bowman and 1960 Topps.




He also included a signed Diamond Signatures card and a signed index card.



Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Claremont Shows Purchase

Today I received the rest of my purchase from Claremont Shows.  I received the Dean Chance bat I ordered a few days ago.

Many of the items I bought were priced pretty close to what I would expect to pay for the unsigned item,  $5 for pictures, $12 for balls.

I ordered two balls: Larry Hisle and Jack Dittmer.




I also ordered a few cards, including Bill "Moose" Skowron on a 1994 Upper Deck and 1994 Topps Archives.



I bought the same cards signed by Herb Score.




I added Frank Howard and Tommy Davis signed 1964 Topps Giants.





I really like these two cards, and may consider sending out a few Topps Giants through the mail.


My order included seven photos:

My favorite, Earl Battey.


Johnny Blanchard.



Al Dark.


Al Dark and Larry Jansen.  This one is a little odd since Jansen's not in the picture.



Sam Jethroe.


Andy Pafko.


And finally, Johnny Sain.


Now off to Ebay to look for some 1964 Topps Giants....





Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Jim Bunning and Russ Heman

Tuesdays are usually really poor days for returns so I was surprised to get a couple of returns today.

I was happy to see that Jim Bunning signed and returned the 1961 Topps card of 1960 ERA Leaders, already signed by Frank Bauman.


Also, Russ Heman signed his 1959 Topps.


Monday, September 10, 2012

Dean Chance Signed Bat

I mentioned a few days ago that I bought several items from Claremont Shows over in Wisconsin.  Today I received the first item: a Dean Chance signed bat.

I don't normally have pitchers sign bats (kind of doesn't make sense to me), but this one was extremely reasonably priced and has several inscriptions including his Cy Young award, two no-hitter dates (one was a rain-shortened 5 inning game, and I think an inscription for that game is pretty rare) and 2x All Star.






I bought a lot of other signed photos and cards from Claremont Shows that I expect to receive this week.

Jack Harshman Return

Today I received 3 cards back from Jack Harshman that I sent to him about two weeks ago.

He was kind enough to sign his 1955, 1959 and 1960 Topps.




Saturday, September 08, 2012

Charles "Whammy" Douglas

I got one nice return in the mail today.

Charles "Whammy" Douglas signed his 1959 Topps for me.  I included $5 with my request.



For a long time, Mr. Douglas was a very tough autograph to get but started signing through the mail over the last couple of years for a small fee.  Sometimes you still see a few of his signed cards on Ebay for over $100, but he's a very reliable signer these days.

Willingham and Butera Signed Items

When we first arrived at the signing today (at Festival Foods in Brooklyn Park), I was surprised to see how long the line was.  However, once we walked by everyone, I was pretty certain we'd get through with no problem, as many of the people in the front of the line were very spread out.

However, after we were there for about 10 minutes, a woman from Klements (I think), who was sponsoring the event, came to the back of the line where we were and told us it was unlikely that we'd get an autograph.  She said they were guaranteeing 100 autographs, and that tickets had been handed out to the first 100 people in line.  She said she'd been doing this for 5 years, and they'd never got more than 125 people through a line.  I've been to enough of these signings to know that they get way more than that through the lines.  Unfortunately, several people left that probably would have gotten an autograph.

The line moved very quickly and when we got towards the front of the line, they had just handed out tickets up through number 200.  I'm not sure why the woman originally told us 100.W  e were #202 and #203 in line, but we were close to the front and there was still 15-20 minutes left in the signing.

The woman had also told us that the folks that were in the front of the line camped out from the previous evening at 8:00 pm.  If that's true, those people are not too bright.  We got there just under an hour before the signing started, or over 14 hours later than they did, and still got an autograph.

They gave out some kettle corn samples from Angie's, and malt cups from Kemps, so at least my son was well-fed.  They also had some hot dogs from Klements for a donation to a food shelf, but we headed to Taco Bell for lunch.

Anyway, my son had Butera sign a 2005 Bowman card, and Willingham sign a photo.






I had Butera sign a photo and decided to have Willingham sign his 2012 Topps Heritage.  Butera signed his picture in a dark area in blue sharpie.  This always seems to happen to me.  Oh well.  Beggars can't be choosers.



I have several more items I'd like to have Willingham sign, including his 2012 Allen & Ginter and a photo.  It would be cool if he could get to 40 homeruns this year, but he'll need quite a run here in the last few weeks to hit that.