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.