Monday, August 30, 2021

Four TTM, and a Couple Mail-In Signing Returns

I received four ttm successes and two mail-in signing returns. 

Mike Barlow signed his 1978 and 1980 Topps as well as the 1980 Topps Angels team card.



Former-Twin Glenn Borgmann signed his 1974, 1975 1977 and 1980 Topps/





Dave Giusti signed his 1965, 1972, 1974 and 1976 Topps.





And the last ttm success was from Dave Nicholson, who signed his 1964, 1967 and 1969 Topps, a couple of which were smeared.




I also received a Bill Mazeroski-signed Gold Glove ball from a Tom Orr signing.


And a Chili Davis signed bobblehead from the 1991 Twins World Series set from Chris Rifon who handled the mail-in portion of a 30th anniversary signing at Fan HQ.


I'm down to needing five living players from this bobblehead set, and will be sending one off in a day or two.


Saturday, August 28, 2021

Ray Fosse and Bill Mazeroski

A few days ago I posted about a Ray Fosse 1978 Topps I purchased, not knowing if I'd get back some cards I had sent in to a signing back in June.  I received those cards today, all three were signed, but the 1972 was signed in black.  Given the circumstances, I'm happy to have gotten them back at all and I wish Mr. Fosse the best.




I also got back another 1964 Topps Stand Up for my set.  This time, Bill Mazeroski signed his card for his $10 fee.

I sent out  a lot of requests this week so I should stay busy for  while.  I will also be getting back more private signing returns next week.

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Bruce Miller Return

Just one return today.

Bruce Miller signed his 1975 and 1976 Topps cards, as well as the 1976 Topps Giants team card.



There are a few private signings coming up that are threatening to drain my bank account.  I am deciding how many cards to send in to a Rod Carew signing, and I think I'll be sending in another bobblehead from the 1991 Twins World Series set for a signing next month.

 

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Gabrielson, Hillman and Johnson

I've been sending out quite a few requests so it's more of a surprise when I don't get any returns than when I do.  This year I will probably send out the 2nd-most requests since I started doing this in 2003.  Somehow, in 2003 I was able to send out 491 requests, even though I didn't start until June!  My second highest total was 250 back in 2011.  I'm already at 274 this year, but won't come close to 491.

Today I received three returns:

Len Gabrielson signed and personalized his 1966, 1968 and 1970 Topps.  He also signed his 1963 Topps without personalization, probably because it's a multi-player card and there isn't much room.





Dave Hillman signed his 1960 Topps and two copies of his 1962 Topps card.  I had offered one of the 1962 Topps for him to keep.




Finally, Davey Johnson signed his 1971 Topps and 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game for his $5 per card fee.  I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to sending the GOTG card to him.  I've been working on the set casually for years and he's a reliable signer with a reasonable fee.  I need to go through that set and see if there are any other players that are reliable and inexpensive.


It turns out I was pretty lucky to get my last return from Brooks Robinson.  Very shortly after I received my return, he started sending requests back unsigned with a note that he had broken his arm and is unable to sign.  At 84 years old, it may take a while for him to heal.  I hope is is doing well and makes a quick recovery.

Monday, August 23, 2021

A Few Returns, a Failure and a Purchase

A mixed bag of results again today. 

I received a note back from Jack Fisher that he is now charging for autographs for a charity along with the details on where to send.  He requests $15 per card now.  He signed for me for free once and it took nearly three years to get back.  I sent in February of 2015 and received three cards bac nicely signed in January of 2018.  He did include a signed index card though.  Also, on the back of my SASE, in the bottom right corner, someone used a pencil to write  the year and card number of each card I had sent, which I thought was kind of odd.

I received a nice return from Joe Azcue who signed his 1971 Topps for his $5 fee.  I also need him for my 1963 set and I'm not sure why I didn't send that along.  I had sent a 1963 Topps to him back in 2017 but I never heard back.  Since then, he started charging $5.

Former-Twin Leo Cardenas signed his 1971 and 1973 Topps for me for his $5 per card fee.  I had sent him a 1971 Topps last fall, but wasn't happy with the result.  I also re-sent a 1963 Topps to him after getting a result I wasn't happy with at a paid signing.  My guess is his signature gets pretty bad if he is signing a lot, so you'll have to hope you catch him on a day that he doesn't have much to sign.  The cards I got back today were signed very nicely.


Here's the 1971 Topps I sent him last fall that prompted me to try again.


Here's the 1963 Topps I had signed at a private signing in 2015.


And here's a nicer signature on a 1963 Topps I sent him in 2018 to try to upgrade the first one.


He signed a 1961 Topps in red for me back in 2011. I don't get too many signed in red.


Okay, enough of my adventures with Leo Cardenas.  He's been a very reliable and generous signer over the years.

Jerry Walker generously signed five cards for me including his 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961 and 1964 Topps.






Finally, I received a Fred Hatfield-signed 1958 Topps that I bought on Ebay.  I had an Ebay gift card and Paypal credit and decided to use it to add another card to this set.  I need about 120 cards to complete the set now,  There are only two living players I don't have yet: Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays.




Sunday, August 22, 2021

Catching Up From the Weekend

I was out of town for the weekend and came home to a mixed bag in the mailbox.

First, the bad news: I received a return from Tony LaRussa who returned my two cards unsigned.  I've noticed on SCN that his returns are a bit spotty lately, but I haven't seen any get returned unsigned.  Just a few that haven't been returned at all.  It's amazing he takes the time to sign at all.  He signed for my already this year, so I can't be too disappointed.  I'll keep an eye on his returns to see what's going on and maybe try again later.

Second, I received a return from Ron Swoboda, who returned my 1971 Topps unsigned with a note that he charges $5.  I knew that, and am almost positive I had enclosed the money with my request.  Maybe not.  Also, the card got pretty beat up in the mail, so I might take this opportunity to upgrade the card before trying again.

Now the good news:  Don Kessinger signed and returned his 1970 Topps All Star card, along with his 1976 and 1979 Topps cards.  This one was sent back in May so I was wondering if it was going to come back at all.  I really like these All Star cards so I'm happy get this one back.





Fred Kendall signed his 1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980 Topps nicely in just 10 days.





And Andy Merchant signed his 1976 Topps already signed by Ott and Stillman.


Finally, I received a 1978 Topps signed by Ray Fosse that I purchased.  I had some cards out to Mr. Fosse for a mail-away signing, meaning the promoter gathers the items, mails them to the player, the player signs them and sends them back to the promoter, who then sends them back to the customer.  This signing had dragged on for several months, and then the news broke that Mr. Fosse is unfortunately battling cancer.  I didn't think I'd get my cards signed due to his poor health, so I purchased this one, and some others a few weeks ago, just in case.  Now I see that my SASE tracking number is on its way back to me, so I'll have quite the stock of Ray Fosse signed items.  I hope his health improves.