Last month I missed out on getting my Johnny Bench rookie card signed when the Post Office decided to take 13 days to get my cards from Minnesota to Illinois, when it normally takes 4. I didn't procrastinate sending either, I sent it the day after I received it from eBay.
Anyway, about the same time, I sent this 1973 Topps rookie card for Mike Schmidt to sign. I plan on leaving just Schmidt's signature on the card. The card was graded 3 by Beckett, the grade level I look for on expensive, vintage cards, depending on the flaws. This one is pretty nicely centered, which can be tough to find. I passed on higher grade cards that were not centered as well. This was the most I've paid for a signed card when adding both the price of the card and the signing fee.
I've mentioned this before, a lot, but I'm spending a lot of money on signatures that I know I'll regret not having if I don't get them done before the players pass away. Mike Schmidt is 76 years old, which isn't that old these days and could be with us for a couple decades. But, we've seen players that receive bad health news and are no longer with us after just a few months after that. You never know. Also, the prices aren't getting any cheaper, and the signed card will only go up in value once the player passes away, so trying to buy them later will cost more.
I bought a Hall of Fame plaque postcard signed by Joe Mauer from Fan HQ's Cyber Monday sale. It's also Beckett Witness authenticated.
I decided to make sure I have all the Twins Hall of Fame players on their postcards and realized I don't even have Harmon Killebrew's! How embarrassing. I'll need to right that wrong soon. I'm also missing Kirby Puckett and Tony Oliva.
But I do have Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew, Jim Kaat, Paul Molitor, Jack Morris and Dave Winfield. I suppose Winfield and Molitor don't technically count because they aren't wearing Twins gear on their plaque, but they were also born in Minnesota so that helps I guess.
Steve Carlton, Jim Thome and David Ortiz don't count since they didn't play with the team long enough according to my own rules for such things that I'm making up on the fly as I write this.
I bought three more signed Twins cards from Main Line Autographs via eBay, but also have an order on the way that I purchased directly on their web site.
I didn't yet have a Dave Boswell card, despite him having played for the Twins for the second half of the '60's, so I bought this poorly-centered 1969 Topps with a nice blue sharpie signature.
Jimmie Hall's 71% success rate on SCN seems more optimistic than the reality of getting a return from him. His returns are spotty, especially in the last few years, and he often takes a very long time to respond. There are at least a couple returns that took over six years posted, and many over three years.
I am just one for three sending to him. The one success I had with him back in 2009 took just 31 days and he signed and returned the extra 1965 Topps I had enclosed for him as well as a 1969 Topps.
In 2021, I sent him a 1964 Western Oil Nicholas Volpe print and a $20 check. I never heard back. I usually send cash, but I didn't want to risk losing $20 on an unlikely request. About two years ago, I sent two cards and $10 cash to sign a 1964 and 1966 Topps. I appear to have lost that $10 and have since purchased the 1964 Topps and now this 66 Topps.
Finally, a bought a 1966 Topps of former-Twin player and manager, Frank Quilici. He was a good signer before he passed away and I wish I had sent to him more often.
I met him once at the 2007 Twins Autograph Party when it was held at the Metrodome, and he signed his bobblehead from the 40th Anniversary of the 1965 World Series team set.
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