Johnny Blanchard Dies at 76

I didn't really intend my blog to be an obituary for baseball players, but today I have more bad news. Johnny Blanchard died of a heart attack at his home this morning. He was 76.


My son and I met him just six weeks ago at a signing here in Minnesota. He was very friendly and very kind to my son. We got several items signed, but both of us will always remember his great stories, how much he seemed to appreciate his fans, and my son getting a chance to wear his World Series ring!



No returns in the mail today or yesterday. I sent out three more today, and was planning on sending more, but my printer ran out of ink.

I've only sent out 53 requests so far this year, so I'm well behind my goal of sending out 365 (average of one a day). I have started typing and printing my letters rather than hand-writing them all. this greatly speeds up the process, so I'm hopeful that I'll meet my goal. I also received about 40 cards that I bought on eBay to send out so I should get a bunch more in the mail next week.

Johnny Blanchard - In Person Appearance

Today, Johnny and I headed out to Mounds View to meet Johnny Blanchard and get a couple of autographs. Well, five autographs. He was appearing at Tom Frantzen's Sports Collectibles and they were charging a very reasonable $8 per autograph, regardless of the item being signed.

Johnny had picked up a plastic Yankees batting helmet a while ago at a flea market, so he had him sign that, his catcher's mitt, and an 8x10 we bought at the signing.


After sending a couple of cards to him in the mail last November, I decided to have him sign a ball and a bat.


Mr. Blanchard was full of stories. The line moved very slowly as he was very talkative, but nobody minded. We all enjoyed hearing his opinions on steroids, Commissioner Selig, and Yankee Stadium. We also really enjoyed his stories about Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Yogi Berra. One funny story about Yogi revolved around he, Yogi and Mickey trying to decide where to go out to eat. Mickey suggested some Italian restaurant, but Yogi warned them not to go there. "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded", he said. Funny stuff.

Johnny really enjoyed meeting a fellow catcher, especially one that had won two World Series. Mr. Blanchard was kind enough to let Johnny wear his World Series ring. I'm sure Johnny will remember today for a long time.

Big Papi and Eddie Murray

I received two great items in the mail today. First, a contact from sportscollectors.net sent me a 2007 Topps Heritage signed by David Ortiz. This individual travels to the Dominican Republic occasionally and has many contacts with current and former players. It took a while to get this one as his travels didn't always coincide with Big Papi's presence.






I also received a ball signed by Eddie Murray, a 2003 inductee in the Hall of Fame. I bought this from a signing at the dugoutzone (dugoutzone.com). This is number 53 in my Hall of Fame baseball collection.


I found out about a Johnny Blanchard signing in Mounds View this coming Saturday. I think Johnny and I will head over and meet him.

Local Boy - Johnny Blanchard

Johnny Blanchard was a third string catcher for the Yankees in the 1950's and 1960's. Despite being a backup catcher, he saw lots of action when Yogi Berra and Elston Howard were injured. He played in five World Series for a total of 15 games and batted .345 with two home runs.

As I looked up his address to send my request, I found he lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, and was born in Golden Valley.





He signed my 1961 and 1965 Topps and also included a signed and personalized picture. He even sent it back in his own envelope which required additional postage. I included $10 with my request as I noticed on SCN that many people were including $5 per card with their requests.

That was a nice return, but I'm still waiting on my Frank Viola bobblehead and 1965 Topps from Whitey Ford. My check to Whitey Ford was cashed, so I'm hopeful that will be returned soon. I haven't seen the check to Frank Viola clear yet, so hopefully it's just a Thanksgiving delay.