Another Return After a Long Wait

After receiving a return from Jack Fisher after over 1000 days earlier this month, today I received another surprise in the mailbox.

Gene Alley signed his 1968 and 1972 Topps after 875 days.  The 1972 Topps is a little smudged, but not too bad.

It's fun to get these back after such a long time and after assuming they're never coming back.

This weekend is TwinsFest but I've decided not to go.  It's a lot of work and pretty exhausting, not to mention it can be expensive depending on how many autographs you get. 

The only autograph I will probably regret not getting is Jim Kaat.  I have a 1964 Western Oil print I"d like to have signed by him.  But it was announced that he's joined the Twins' organization as a special assistant or something, so maybe I'll have more chances coming up.

If you went to TwinsFest, please comment and let me know how it went.  I have missed my annual opportunity to say hi to Steve, Randy and Zane.

Bobby Shantz Return

I actually sent out a request! I wanted to do something other than just cards so I sent a 1953 Sport Life Magazine and 1958 Topps to Bobby Shantz.

He signed them nicely and returned them in just 6 days!

A Return After 1061 Days

I received a huge surprise in the mail today.  I haven't sent out a request since June of last year, so I didn't expect to receive any returns.

I received three cards signed by Jack Fisher after 1061 days.  I sent the request on February 9th, 2015.

Mr. Fisher signed his 1960, 1961 and 1963 Topps.

Craigslist Purchase

This week I happened across an item on Craigslist I couldn't resist.

It's a autographed poster from a charity golf event in 2005.  It's signed mostly by Twins, and I haven't figured out all of the signatures yet, but it includes:

Harmon Killebrew
Bert Blyleven
Tony Oliva
John Sevcik
Hal Naragon
Juan Berenguer
Jerry Kindall
Jim Merritt
Terry Steinbach
Dick Stigman
Frank Quilici
Andy Kosco
Bernie Allen
Jerry Fosnow
Jim Perry
Howie Schultz
Rich Rollins
Jerry Koosman
Roy Sievers
Frank Kostro
Julio Becquer
Rich Reese (I think)
Jim Grant
Sandy Valdespino (smudged)

There are 4 or 5 I haven't yet identified.

There are a lot of 1965 Twins on the poster, and a few ex-players that live in the Twin Cities area.

Jack Morris Enters the Hall of Fame

I was very happy to see Jack Morris voted into the Hall of Fame.  Some argued his stats weren't worthy, with a relatively high ERA and not coming too close to the 300 win automatic criteria.

But being the winningest-pitcher of the 1980's sounds like a dominant player to me.  He also threw 175 complete games, which is unbelievable in today's game.  He played on three World Series championship teams, including his MVP performance with the Twins in 1991.

He joins fellow St. Paul natives Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield in the Hall.

I've been able to get his autograph at several events over the years.  Including once at "Woodbury Days" in 2009 where I joined about a dozen other autograph seekers, and could get whatever I wanted signed.  I was embarrassed to get too much signed, even though it was for me and my two sons.

At that event he signed a Metrodome commemorative ball.

I've gotten his autograph at several TwinsFests, including the one in 2012 where he signed his 1991 World Series set bobblehead.

I think my favorite autograph from Jack Morris was the one I got at the TCSCC show in September of 2014 where he signed a Metrodome seatback for me and added his World Series MVP inscription.

Alan Trammel was also elected to the Hall of Fame.  I've never met him, but he used to sign through the mail for free and I have received a few cards from him over the years including his 1985 Topps card and his 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game.

Max Kepler Ball from FanHQ

I recently ordered a Max Kepler signed ball from Fan HQ and received it this week.  The signature is nice but there's a blue smudge on the panel below the sweet spot.  Not too big a deal, but I expect a little more from Fan HQ.  It's not worth trying to return.

With Rawlings official balls selling for about $20 each these days, I think my days of getting balls signed are limited to the stock I have on hand which includes some older ROMLB, a few Metrodome commemorative balls and some Rawlings Gold Glove balls.

I have not done any autograph requests lately.  I'm just too busy with other things and not interested in spending too much money.

I originally started this hobby to get a lot of the players form the 40's, 50's and 60's.  Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of those players around these days, and I have many of their autographs already.  I think my collecting hobby will be largely limited to the Twins moving forward.

I'll still work on my 1958 and 1965 sets, buying authenticated cards a I can.

Bat Display Case Finally Up

I bought a bat display case several weeks ago and finally got around to hanging it yesterday.

It holds five bats, and I've put my Morneau, Molitor, Mauer, Killebrew and Carew bats in it for now.

I may buy another case just like this one but I'm not sure where I'll be able to hang it.  I had to take down my Mauer signed jersey to make room for this and still need to find another place for that as well.

A Couple 1972 Purchases

Still no ttm sent out or received, but I did receive a couple signed 1972 Topps that I bought on Ebay from Tom Orr at Atommic Sports.

After scanning it in, I realized I already had the Tony La Russa card.  I purchased it from Mickey's a while ago.  The signature is quite different, so I looked on Ebay for certified examples and found that there are several different versions that all appear to be legit.

Anyway, this one is signed nicely.

I also bought a card signed by Tom Haller, who passed away in 2004.

A Few Signed Volpe Prints from 1964

I've been working on the 1963 and 1964 Western Oil Nicholas Volpe Twins prints for several years.  I've done much better on the 1963 set.  I was able to find a bunch of unsigned prints and get them signed ttm.

I have a harder time finding the 1964 prints, either signed or unsigned.  When I saw fellow Twins fan Randy selling a few signed ones from the 1964 set I didn't hesitate to bid on them.

I prefer to have them signed within the picture as opposed to in the margin, but at this point I'm becoming less choosy.

The Mincher one is perfect.  Signed nicely in blue.  Mincher was a good signer ttm but passed away several years ago.

Rollins is a good signer ttm but I just haven't been able to come across any prints so I bought this one signed.

Roland is a spotty signer ttm, so again, I bought this since I can't find any unsigned copies to try to send ttm.

Check out Randy's other stuff at this link on Ebay.

Red Schoendienst - 1952 Topps

I haven't done any TTM requests but I did send in one card to an Atommic Sports signing with Red Schoendienst, who signed my 1952 Topps.

Who would have thought at the beginning of the year that the Twins would have a shot at the playoffs?  The wildcard spot is theirs to lose.  I suppose we'll win the wildcard spot and lose to the Yankees in the play-in game.

Just like old times...

Finally Something to Post

I have been very inactive in the hobby lately so I haven't had anything to post.

Last year, I sent in a couple of cards to a Rusty Staub signing via Atommic Sports.  Unfortunately, Mr. Staub was unable to make the signing and the rescheduled signing just occurred.

I had Mr. Staub sign his 1963 and 1965 Topps.  I"m still very short of my goals for the year, but this gets me a little closer to my 1965 set goal.

Les Straker Bobblehead

Here's a picture of the Les Straker bobblehead I got signed today.  He seemed surprised to see the bobblehead.  I'm guessing he hasn't signed a lot of these.

Well that happened quickly

Even though I was way back in line, I ended up getting to go to the front of the line since I was just getting one item signed.

There was a small card show.  I piked up a Sports Illustrated from 1976 with Reggie Jackson on the cover for $2, as well as a few 1954 Topps for $2 each.  I also picked up a 1987 Topps set for a friend for $5.

20 minutes in, still haven't moved

They claim everyone will get through in an hour, but one - third through the event and the line hasn't moved. 

Waiting in line for Straker

It seems a little chaotic, but it should start soon.  There are over 20 people signing so it will bee interesting to see how this goes.

A Couple 1963 Topps From Ebay

It's been very slow for TTM requests for me.  I haven't sent any and I haven't received any.

I did recently purchase a couple 1963 Topps from Ebay including Sam McDowell and Ken Berry on the White Sox team card.

I'm going to a 1987 Twins signing on Saturday to get Les Straker on his 1987 World Series Bobblehead.  After I get that one signed, I just have Don Baylor to get complete the set (Puckett and Niekro passed away before the set was released).

1965 Topps Lou Clinton

I looked at how I'm doing against my goals for the year and noticed I hadn't added a single 1965 Topps to my set yet this year.  My goal was to add five more.

I looked around on Ebay and found a nice Lou Clinton card signed and PSA authenticated.

I have quite a ways to go on my goals.  I'll post an update in a while.

Bill Virdon - 1960 World Series Game #1 Save

Today I received three cards signed by Bill Virdon, including a cool World Series card from the 1961 set commemorating his save in game one of the 1960 World Series.

He also signed his 1964 and 1972 Topps for me.  This is just the first 1972 Topps I've gotten signed this year although my goal is to get 10.  I better get going on this!

Byung-Ho Park Return

A few weeks ago I noticed some returns posted on SCN from Byung-Ho Park so I thought I'd send a couple cards.

I've work casually on the Twins team sets from the Heritage and Allen & Ginter sets.  He was kind enough to sign a couple from last year for me via the Red Wings address.

Unfortunately, Byung-Ho is no longer on the 40 man roster and isn't having a great season in AAA. He's hitting only .223 with just 3 home runs.  Hopefully he can turn things around.

Brooks Robinson - One Last Time

Okay, I just couldn't get over the fact that Mr. Robinson was signing through the mail for reasonable fees so I sent one more.

This time I sent a Gold Glove ball, which is signed on the side panel (as requested) and also included his GG and HOF inscriptions, which I didn't ask for.  What a great surprise!