Bobby Richardson has been a very generous signer for years. I've had him sign several cards for me as well as a Gold Glove ball. I usually include a small amount of cash, in this case, I sent $5 and he signed his 1980 Fleer card for me. This one has the Cincinnati Red sticker on the back.
He also enclosed a religious pamphlet which includes Mickey Mantle and wrote a short note on it which he signed simply as "Bobby".
Just one return today: Dick Calmus signed his 1968 Topps and answered a question in my letter.
It's a very snowy day in Minnesota today. I drove to my mailbox which is about four houses away.
I received one ttm return from Mike Andrews, who signed his 1971 and 1973 Topps for me. I included a $10 check to his charity.
I also received a handful of cards I bought on eBay to send out.
I received two vintage returns today.
Joe Azcue added another signed card to my 1963 Topps set. I included his $5 fee. I believe this is my 328th card in this set, with 248 more to go. I don't intent to ever complete it, but I'll add cards as I can.
And former-Twin John Goryl signed his 1958, 1962 and 1964 Topps. I previously had the 58 and 64 signed by him, but the 62 is new to my collection.
My mail finally caught up to my Informed Delivery emails from the past couple of days.
Larry Dierker signed his 1965 and 1971 Topps for a small donation to a charity he supports.
Elliott Maddox signed his 1971 Topps for his $5 per card fee.
Jim Palmer signed his 1983 Topps for his $10 fee.
Lou Skizas signed his 1957 and 1959 Topps for me. I sent these same cards to him a few years ago and for some reason he signed the back of the 57. This time he signed the front.
Finally, I received a 1971 Topps back from the Nolan Ryan Foundation. I sent this to them back at the end of November. Mr. Ryan signs every few months. I've had this card since I was kid. I bought it in a stack of cards at a garage sale near my home. I'm not sure how old I was. Probably 8-10. This purchase also included a couple 1973 Topps Pete Rose cards and a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente. For the longest time, these were the only cards I owned that were worth more than a nickel in the price guides.
My Informed Delivery email this morning showed five returns for today, but when we got to the mailbox, there was just one. That's very odd, especially for a mid-week day. I do see this happen frequently on the first day after a holiday, but this one is odd. Hopefully they show up tomorrow and weren't delivered to someone else.
The one return that did show up today was from Bob Reynolds, who signed his 1971 and 1972 Topps. The 1971 Topps was previously signed by Ken Reynolds.
I had sent the 1972 Topps to Mr. Reynolds back in 2011. I had also sent that card to Jerry Bell. When I go that back, Bell had signed it in Darrell Porter's spot. It turns out, Topps mixed up Porter and Bell's pictures, so he signed it over his picture rather than over his name.
Darrell Porter passed away in 2002 so neither of these two cards will be completed.
I came home from a short weekend away to find one return in my mailbox.
Former-Twin Steve Braun signed his 1972, 1973 and 1978 Topps for my collection. I had previously purchased his 1972 card, but I'm happy to get one signed ttm. It's also another Topps All-Star Rookie Trophy card for my set.
He wrote me a short note about enjoying his time here in Minnesota and how happy he is to see former teammates Kaat and Oliva make the HOF.
I was surprised to get this return in the mail today. It's not surprising that Mr. Amalfitano signed and returned these cards. He's got a 96% return rate on SCN and is a very generous signer.
I was surprised because my Informed Delivery email didn't include this envelope this morning.
He was kind enough to sign his 1961, 1962 and 1963 Topps as well as his 1963 Fleer.
Oddly, he signed the 61 in black, and the rest in blue. The black pen doesn't appear to be running out of ink so I'm not sure why he switched, or maybe he started with blue and switched to black at the end? Who knows? Another example of odd little things that happen with ttm requests.
I really like the 63 Fleer. I wish I had sent out more of these over the years.
The returns have been quite steady this year. and should be for at least a couple more weeks as I've sent out a bunch of requests.
Today I received a return from Ed (Eddie) Bressoud, who signed his 1961 Post, 1963 Topps and 1967 Topps.
Unfortunately, the 67 Topps got smeared quite badly, which is too bad because it's a nice card. Maybe I'll resend one someday.
I received a return today from Dick Schofield Sr., who signed his 1963, 1964, 1966 and 1970 Topps for me.
It appears that Hal Lanier has been catching up on his mail lately, sending back some returns from over a year ago. I will probably send this 1966 Topps on to him to try to catch him while he's signing.
I already had the 63 and 64 Topps signed by Dick Schofield from about 10 years ago, but they were signed in black, so these are nice upgrades.
Dick Schofield Jr. has been a good ttm signer, at least until about a year ago. Back in 2004, he and Sr. signed their 1985 Father/Son card for me.
I received three ttm returns today which included two 1962 Topps.
Tom Parsons signed his 1962 Topps. I wrote to Mr. Parsons back in 2006 at which time he signed his 1965 Topps rookie card for me.
Leo Posada signed and personalized his 1961 and 1962 Topps and his 1962 Post cards.
In 2007, I sent Mr. Posada his 1961 Topps, which he signed without personalizing. I'm never quite sure what players' motivations are for personalizing. I'm guessing some do it so the cards aren't easily sold, but I think some players think the recipient likes the personalization. I prefer just a signature. I don't have plans to sell these cards. I think they'll go to my sons eventually. Maybe they'll sell them.
Ken Reynolds signed his 1971 and 1972 Topps. Bob and Archie Reynolds are still with us, but Archie doesn't appear to be a good signer. I'll send the 1971 Topps off to Bob next and see if there's ever an opportunity to have it signed by Archie. This is a high number card in the 71 set.
I received a couple 1962 Topps today.
Charlie James signed his 1962 Topps along with his 1965 Topps.
And Moe Morhardt signed and personalized his 1962 Topps for me.
There were two returns waiting for me in the mailbox today. One didn't have a postmark on it so I couldn't try to guess who it was from the Informed Delivery email this morning.
I did guess the former-Twin Don Lee return, based on the AZ postmark. He was kind enough to sign his 1959 Topps, 1962 Topps and 1963 Fleer. I like the 63 Fleers. I'm not sure why I haven't sent out more.
Mr. Lee also included a signed black and white picture, which is about 1/3 larger than a standard baseball card. It appears to be hand-cut as the edges aren't straight. There is a facsimile signature on the front, and he signed the back of it adding, "Twins 1st Team! 1961".
I also received a return from Mike Nagy, who signed his 1970 Topps card with the Topp All Star Rookie trophy, as well as a 1971 Topps and 1972 Red Sox team card.
