Big Day For Returns

I received six returns today. Thursday is keeping up its reputation as a great day for returns.

The highlight of the day is the 1956 Sports Illustrated signed by Whitey Ford, in an amazing five days! I included $25 with my request.

I got a total of eight signed cards back today.

Roy Sievers signed a 1960 and 1962 Topps.

Tom Satriano signed his 1965 Topps.

Ray Crone signed his 1955 and 1958 Topps. I already have a signed 1958 Topps from him, but this one is definitely an upgrade.

Grady Hatton signed his 1955 Topps.

Johnny Kucks signed his 1960 and 1962 Topps.


The Twins pulled out a win last night, but then lost the series finale this afternoon. Glen Perkins started out by giving up a run in the first, but then held the Mariners scoreless for another 7 innings. Unfortunately, the Twins couldn't score and got shut out, 2-0.

I'd say Perkins' performance was the bright spot, since the other starters' ERAs are greater than 5, and Slowey's is 7.5!

The Twins go to Chicago tomorrow. R.A. Dickey is starting for the Twins. Who?

Whitey Ford Return

Today I received a surprise in the mail: I got back a signed Whitey Ford 2008 Goudey just 6 days after I mailed it. This is quite a bit quicker than the 50+ days it took when I sent to his address on his web site to have him sign a 1965 Topps.

This time I didn't put the card in any type of sleeve or protector, so I didn't run into the problem of him signing the outer sleeve like I did last time.

This is my 14th signed Goudey. I've got quite a few out to paid signings, including Lou Brock, Bob Gibson, Jim Palmer, Juan Marichal, Ralph Kiner and Orlando Cepeda. I'm also sending one out for Ozzie Smith in April.

Denny McLain Return

Today in the mail I received a Sports Illustrated from 1968 signed by Denny McLain. As you'll recall, Mr. McLain won 31 games in 1968 for the Detroit Tigers. I had him sign a Sports Illustrated poster at Bud's Sports Cards back in October.


This event was a a fund raiser for Lee High School in Wyoming, Michigan. A fellow member over at sportsgraphing.com arranged to take items to the event and send them back to everyone. The fee was only $5.

The magazine has pretty nasty label marks, but for only $5 to have it signed, I'm happy with it.

On Monday I mailed off nine requests, and 2 more yesterday, including another Whitey Ford card. This time, a 2008 Goudey. Hopefully, I'll have better luck this time. I didn't include a penny sleeve or any other type of case with the card. I also sent it to his Florida address instead of the New York address listed on his web site. I think this will result in a much quicker return.

Tomorrow I am mailing a 1949 Bowman to Eddie Bockman.

Whitey Ford Return

After previously receiving my Whitey Ford card back only to find that he signed the penny sleeve, I sent it to him again explaining the situation and hoping he'd sign the card. I mailed that on December 6th. Today I received it back. I nearly had a heart attack when I opened it, as it looked like it had been signed several times. I then realized that this time he did sign the card, and he also signed the rigid holder the card was in! Maybe it was another close call? Anyway, now I know not to use any type of card holder when sending to Mr. Ford. I still have a 2008 Goudey I'd like to send. I haven't made any progress cataloging the TwinsFest autographs. Yesterday my wife bought me another wardrobe from Ikea for the basement. I spent last evening assembling it and got it all done except for the doors. The rest of the week is busy so I don't know when I'll get back to either the wardrobe assembly or the TwinsFest items.

Leo "Chico" Cardenas

Today I received a 1965 Topps signed by Leo "Chico" Cardenas. I included $5 with my request and he signed it in a very quick 6 days. His brings my 1965 Topps collection up to about 307. I need to take the time to go over the 1965 Topps checklist and mark off which ones I have and make an effort to send out to those remaining.






I've decided to really go after the retired players in the 2008 Goudey set. I purchased a few more for some upcoming signings including Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson and Whitey Ford. Speaking of Whitey, I'm still waiting for my 1965 Topps back from him.

Three Returns Today

This morning I re-sent my 1965 Topps to Whitey Ford, with a letter explaining what happened and a copy of the check I used to pay. Hopefully I'll get that one back signed. I also upgraded my 1965 Topps of Yogi Berra with a purchase on eBay. As soon as I get that, I'll send that in before he raises his fee again.

Today I received three successes:

Al Spangler signed 2 cards for me: a 1961 and a 1963 Topps.

Joe Pignatano signed 3 cards for me: 1958, 1959 and 1961 Topps.

Finally, Jim King signed 3 cards for me: 1958, 1961 and 1964 Topps. I really like the looks of the 1964 Topps and it makes me want to send out some more. I'm already concentrating on the 1961 and 1965 sets, so this would have been a better idea several years ago so I could have sent them with my previous requests. I'm not sure if I'l follow through on it, but if I find a good deal on some 1964 Topps, I'll probably send them out.

Oh No.

Well, at first I was excited to see the small padded envelope waiting for me in the mail today. Whitey Ford! So, I opened it up and there was a nice blue signature across my 1965 Topps. It was in a penny sleeve, inside a top loader. As I removed the card from the top loader, my heart sank. The signature moved across the card.

I've read about this happening to other people, but it couldn't happen to me, could it? Especially with Whitey Ford, who must sign hundreds and hundreds of autograph requests just like mine. But yes, Mr. Ford signed the penny sleeve, not the card itself. Ugh. I paid $40.

I'll send it back tomorrow with a note explaining what happened and hopefully he'll sign the card for me.

On a brighter note, Johnny received Al Kaline on a 2000 Fleer Greats of the Game. They are great cards and Johnny is trying to get 20 of them signed to fill a baseball card display for his wall.