Autographs For Sale At The National

My trip to the 2018 National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland was a little different this year, as I was on a mission to knock out as many cards as I could for my 1987 Topps set.  I had autograph vouchers for a few of the signers who were on-hand that were in the set, and also brought some cards for the VIP signers.  I was also on the lookout for anyone who had any of the signed cards  for sale.  I ended up finding the proverbial "needle in a haystack" when I happened upon a table that had the above gem beneath a piece of plexi-glass.

My good friend, Nate, and I were almost through the last row of tables when I saw the above 1987 Topps Astros team card.  Almost forgotten in time, Yogi Berra was a coach on that team.  Since he passed away recently, I pretty much reserved myself to getting Hal Lanier on the card and calling it a day.  I hadn't seen any signed by Berra, and assumed they would be at astronomical prices if I had seen one.

This seller had gotten the card at the Berra Museum for a cheap price, as typically, anyone who wants a Berra auto will want it on Yankee items.  He sold me the card for $20.  I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough.  This might have been one of my all-time favorite card show finds.

I had also found a few vendors who had albums and boxes of IP and TTM autos, organized by set.  One such vendor had a ton of 1987s that I needed at on average $2-$3 a piece, with a few being higher.  I knocked off a bunch of guys that I had gotten TTM, but failed to send a 1987 in the bunch.  Guys like Oddibe McDowell (actually, he sent my 1987 back unsigned), Kent Oberkfell, Dale Sveum, Greg Gagne, etc.  I also added tougher sigs like Davey Lopes, Bubby Bell and Mike Laga.

I also saw a couple deceased players in the album, and picked those up.  I was afraid I would have to search a long time for Jim Fregosi, but was able to knock it off of the list easily.

One of the cards that was high up on my list to look for was this Mike Flanagan.  I had searched for one on Ebay for a while, but had no luck in finding one.  The auto isn't the best, but it definitely is Flanny's, and I can say I own one.  It is still a shame that he took his own life; I really wish I had met him when he was living.

While going through the albums, I saw this 1985 Benny Ayala and had to pick it up.  That may be one of the most unique autos I have ever seen, and had to grab one of them.  I also found the above Matt Lipka in a dollar IP auto box that the guy had.

While Virgil Trucks and I corresponded back and forth before he passed, I had never sent him any cards to sign.  I always felt bad that I was keeping track of how many Topps autographs I had, but had no Trucks in any of those years.  I bought each version that the seller had, including the above 1954 Bowman.

In my opinion, the vendor wanted way too much for his Trucks autos, especially this 1956 Topps.  However, I wanted to think that I provided a good home for these signed cards, as I feel I had a decent enough connection to Trucks.

He really was a good man, and I'm sure he probably would have been a little miffed at the guy writing to him a bunch of times for autos, just to sell them.  So, they will be added to my albums and preserved as a true fan should.

I have come to realize that in building any signed set, you can't really turn your nose up anymoe to the "pro" graphers who sell what they get.  I mean, I would have had no shot at some of these guys, so I guess I have to buy the ones that would be tough otherwise.  It can be a bit of a moral dilemma, but in the end, they have the supply, and I have the demand.

Another TTM Success From Don Larsen

I found this 1954 Bowman rookie card of Don Larsen pretty cheaply on Ebay and figured I would send it off to have him sign it.  I didn't have any of his cards as an Oriole in my collection, so I thought it would be good to add this.

I mailed it to Larsen on March 9 and got the card back on March 20.  I paid his fee of $5.00/card.

TTM Success - Don Newcombe

I was watching the opening game of the NLCS and saw that Don Newcombe threw out the first pitch.  I got to thinking about it, and checked to see if he signed TTM.  I saw that he signed at $20.00/card, so I made sure to pick up this nice 1954 Bowman.

Newcombe is one of my favorite former players to listen to when he is being interviewed.  He is a huge part of baseball history, and adding his autograph to my album is great.  This is a really nice card, and looks great signed.

Newcombe (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1960 for the Dodgers (Brooklyn and LA), Reds and Indians.  He had a career record of 149-90 with 1,129 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.56.  He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1949 and the NL MVP in 1956.  Also, that season, he was the first ever Cy Young Award winner with a 27-7 record and 3.06 ERA.

He was a 4-time All Star (1949, 1950, 1951 and 1955) and won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1955.  Newcombe appeared on the NL MVP ballot 5 times.  He was a 20-game winner three times in his career.

I mailed to Newcombe on October 14 and got the card back on October 24, for a 10-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $20.00/card.  The $20.00 was actually a birthday gift from my grandma, so essentially, she got me this auto!  Thanks, Grandma!

Second TTM Success From Johnny Groth

I have tried to keep the second or multiple TTM requests from players to a minimum.  I don't want to feel like I am taking advantage of any system, but sometimes I think I need to send a few players multiple requests.  Some of which were guys that I got in the past on baseballs who I would like to see in my album.  Others are guys who I mailed to, then saw a card I liked and felt compelled to send again.

This Johnny Groth is one that I got from a friend and really wanted to get it signed.  I didn't have any signed 1954 Bowman and I wanted an Oriole from that set.

I got the card from my friend, Jeff, and he pointed out to me that all of the Orioles jerseys from 1954 Bowman were airbrushed by different artists.  This is why you see the faux pas of the misplaced apostrophe on the jersey.

Groth charges per auto, so I didn't feel bad sending a second request.  Actually, if a guy charges, I am totally cool with sending a few requests.  Not because I don;'t like that they charge, but because I understand an older player like Groth who is in his 90s, is on a fixed income.

I sent to Groth on January 4 and got the card back on January 17.  It cost me a five dollar fee and I got the card back in 13 days.

Christmas Gift and Care Package From Jeff

I received a care package of a few Orioles cards several weeks ago from my friend, Jeff, who goes by green68camaro on Instagram.  Right after I got the small envelope of Orioles cards, Jeff sent me another package, this time an assortment of over-sized Donruss cards from the mid-80s and also this awesome 1954 Bowman of Johnny Groth.

I already got Groth TTM a while back (April 28, 2016), but I am really tempted to send to him again, regardless of his $5.00 fee.  The card is really cool, and it would give me a 54 Bowman Oriole, a card which I do not have represented.  Funny thing is, Groth never played for the Orioles.  He went to the White Sox prior to the 1954 season.  Really interesting to see him in an O's jersey on this card.  Also look at the misplacement of the apostrophe on the jersey.

Here is one of the many over-sized Donruss cards that Jeff sent along.  These are really cool.  I believe he found a huge stack of them somewhere and wanted to share them.  He sent me a bunch of Orioles and several Hall of Famers.  I have helped Jeff quite a bit lately in getting some TTM addresses of players from South Carolina.  I'm hoping I can help him out a lot more in the coming year.

Thank you so much for the care packages, Jeff!

Trade With Joey - Vintage and More In An Easy Deal

I got a nice package of stuff in the mail the other day from my good friend, Joey.  I sent him a bunch of Red Sox cards and a Phil Niekro Sweet Spot bat auto.  In return, Joey sent me a stack of vintage stuff (mostly Bowman) that he had. This 1955 Billy Pierce might be the best card in the bunch.  I took it out of the top loader and was amazed at the shape that the card was in.  There was still a great deal of gloss on the card, and the edges and corners were really sharp.

This 1952 Bowman Gerry Staley is also in great shape.  I love the '52 design.  Once I finish my 1948 Bowman set, I may consider doing another one of their sets.  It will be really tough to decide which one, though.

This Joe Adcock card was a little rough, but still was really cool.  Adcock was a great player in his day, but is always overshadowed by his teammate, Eddie Mathews and later by Hank Aaron.  He had a really good career, clubbing 336 homers, but his other stats don't really stand out.  Doesn't matter, though, this is still a really awesome card.

Finally, I got this quad relic card from Joey pretty cheaply since there is a good bit of damage on the card.  It is a quad bat card of Thome, Thomas, Juan Gone and Delgado.  One of the guys on the card is already a Hall of Famer and another (Thome) will be.  The other two guys could make a case for themselves, but I highly doubt they ever get in.  Oh well.  It still is a really cool card.

Thanks for the deal, Joey!  I really appreciate it and I know we will do a bunch more in the future!

Christmas From Drew

My good friend, Drew, always sends great stuff for birthdays and Christmas.  This year was no exception.  He had already warned me that my Christmas package wasn't going to include a ball, but would still be pretty awesome.  I wasn't worried about the awesome part, because, really, it's the thought that counts.

That being said, when I opened my package, I was very happy with the cards that were inside.  Drew took the time to read my wishlist and knocked two Bob Feller cards off that I needed for my PC.

The top card is Feller's 1954 Bowman.  It's a really cool card, with a smiling Feller posing in the dugout.  A really good shot of him.  I like the old school uniform and patches on his sleeves.  the card is in great shape, too.  There are a couple of creases across the middle of the card, but you have to really look for them.  I like it, that's for sure.

The other card comes out of one of my favorite sets, 1955 Bowman.  This card is in really good shape.  Feller is shown here gripping the ball across the seams.

I really liked the cards that Drew sent.  It's a shame that he has been so busy lately preparing for college because regular posts on his blog have become a thing of the past.  Once a stalwart in the blogosphere, Drew has kind of taken a few steps back into the shadows.  I'm hoping when things calm down for him, he will find his blogging voice again and we will see more posts.

Ok, enough of my shameless plugging.  I spent yesterday's post talking about one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game and was able to follow it up today with who I have always believed was the greatest.  He is definitely my favorite pitcher of all-time (of which I have many).  One regret I do have, however, is that I was never able to meet Feller in person.  I do want to go to his museum in Iowa one day.  Maybe I'll be able to convince Drew to go on a road trip in the future.  Who knows.

So, thanks for the awesome Christmas present, Drew.  You've always been a class act and I am glad we have been able to collaborate on our blogs for the past 5 years together.  Thanks so much!

More Card Show Pickups - Virgil Trucks Edition

During some down time at the show, I looked around for some things that caught my eye. I didn't really want to spend money, but when boredom strikes, I can't help myself. I was able to find great deals on some Virgil Trucks cards that I didn't already have. Here they are:

My first 1953 Topps. I had always dreamed that my first '53 Topps card would be the Satchel Paige. Oh well, I'll own it one day. I really like the 1953 Topps set. The cards look SHARP. I don't have to many Browns Topps cards, I'm sure there was a Brown in '51 Red Back, but I haven't looked in a while. I have a couple '51 Bowman Browns cards that I got a few shows ago.

I think the back of the '53s are really cool, too. I like the signature over top of the bio. It accents the back pretty well, and as far as I can remember, it is the only Topps set in which they do that. I bet it is something that Topps will revisit in one of the upcoming flagship sets. I'm surprised they haven't done that already.

I was able to pick up a pretty sharp-looking '59 Topps for $5. I have always liked this set as well, and have enough cards to consider making the set. I know I had a poll a year ago and said that this would be the next set I started, but I found some '71s by chance and started that one instead. I need to take a look and see exactly how many '59 Topps I have and see where I can go from there...

I like the back of the '59 Topps as well. It is pretty simple, just bold colors and stats, nothing else. There are very easy to read card backs for sure.

I just happened to find this 1954 Bowman Trucks while walking by a vendor. I had just bought the 3 1948 Bowmans that I found Saturday and was walking my change back to my booth and I saw a guy with binders of vintage cards. I asked him if he had and Trucks cards and he flipped right to this one. The card is in great shape. He had a sticker on there for $20, but said he'd sell it for $5 (wow) and I said that I only had $4 in my hand, and he said SOLD. SWEET!!!!

The back of this card is sharp as well. I really think I got a steal when I bought this one. I'm sure it was because I asked for a 'random' player and the guy had it. I think it is a bit of a travesty that not many people know who Trucks is.

Finally, I bought this 1951 Bowman Virgil Trucks from the same vendor who I bought the '53 and '59 Topps from. I felt bad for the poor lady who helped me find it. She was sitting at her booth, bored, and offered to help me search for Trucks cards. She found this one after searching for a bit, so I had to buy it. I loved the booth I bought it from, they had a crap load of vintage stuff, it would be real easy for me to fill a vintage set with the stuff that they had. I'm definitely going to buy from them again when I need some vintage stuff. I sure wish they had a better selection of 1948 Bowman, though. I think I would be able to knock out a bit of that set for sure.

I feel like it has become a bit of a mission of mine to educate the masses about Virgil Trucks. It is a shame that more people aren't aware of who he is or what he has accomplished. I tell everyone I can about how awesome Trucks was with TTM and how good he was when he pitched. If you haven't already, please do a search on him and read up. You will be thoroughly impressed.