TTM Success - Rogie Vachon

I believe this is the last of the vintage hockey card TTMs that I sent out back in August.  I was able to get Rogie Vachon on two cards that Max gave me back at the National.

I haven't tried to look up the other two guys on this card, but I might when I get some time.

Vachon (b. 1945) played professionally from 1966 to 1982 for the Montreal Canadiens, LA Kings, some hockey team from Detroit that I have never heard of, ever... and the Boston Bruins.  As a goalie, he had a record of 353 wins and 293 losses.  He won the Stanley Cup in 67-68 and 68-69 with the Canadiens.  He was a two-time All Star and was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2016.

I mailed to Vachon on August 22 and got the cards back on November 8, for a 78-day TAT.

TTM Success - Larry Jeffrey

Here is another of the vintage hockey cards that I was able to get signed TTM.  This is a 1970-1971 Topps card of former Red Wing, Larry Jeffrey.

The card turned out pretty sharp.  I especially liked it because it was a Red Wing.  I may or may not have heard of the hockey team from Detroit once or twice.

Jeffrey (b. 1940) played from 1961 to 1969 for the Red Wings, Maple Leafs and Rangers.  He had 39 goals, 62 assists and 101 points.  He won the Stanley Cup in 1967 with the Rangers.

I mailed to Jeffrey on September 17 and got the card back on October 3, 2019, for a 16-day TAT.

I had ordered a book of Canada-to-US stamps online, and bought some US-to-Canada stamps at my local post office.  Those have helped me expand my TTM requests a bit.  I hope the 5 people who read this blog have enjoyed the small change of pace.

2019 National Free Signer - Marcel Dionne

I gave away my VIP vouchers for Marcel Dionne pretty quickly.  I was going to focus only on baseball players, and had searched for cards for all of those guys.  Since I had no hockey, football or basketball cards, I sold or traded away all of those players with vouchers.  Then, on the day Dionne was signing, Max came to the show with a box of vintage baseball and hockey that he picked up, and sold to me for $10.00.  He (and I) figured that I could use the vintage cards for TTMs.  As I looked through them, I found these two Dionne cards.  I told Max "Ah crap, he's out there signing right now!".

I happened to have two wild cards on me, and luckily, they were taking them for Dionne because he signed so fast.  So, I got both of the cards done, and I was able to get rid of some wild cards.

Dionne (b. 1951) played in the NHL 1971 to 1989 for the Detroit Red Wings (never heard of them), LA Kings and New York Rangers.  In his career, he had 731 goals, 1,040 assists, and amassed 1,771 points.  He was a 4-time All Star.  His awards include the "Lady Byng Memorial Trophy" which is awarded to the player who "exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability" in the 74/75 and 76/77 seasons.

He was the winner of the Lester B. Pearson Award (now known as the Ted Lindsay Award) which goes to the most outstanding player, as selected by the NHLPA in the 78/79 and 79/80 seasons.  He also won the Art Ross Trophy, which is awarded to the top poinl-scorer for the season, in 1979/80.

His 731 goals rank 5th all-time; his 1,040 assists rank 11th all-time; and his 1,771 points rank 6th all-time.  He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.

Are the Red Wings any good?

Trip to the Card Shop From 2 Weeks Ago

I told you I was behind.  Anyway, I bought several packs of cards when I went to the LCS a couple weeks ago.  Two of the packs I picked up were 2012 UD Goodwin Champions and 2012 Panini Golden Age.  I also got some other stuff, but what I pulled out of those was unremarkable.  So, one of the cooler cards I got was the above Deacon White out of the pack of Goodwin.  White was one of three people elected posthumously into the Hall of Fame this year by the Veterans Committee.  White was one of the original stars of the game and played in the first game of the first professional baseball league.  He was also a 'barehanded' catcher.  I think that alone should have earned him a ticket to Cooperstown.  Go ahead and try catching barehand.  I'll wait.  Ouch, right?  Can you imagine having to catch Bob Feller or Randy Johnson barehanded?  That makes my hands swell up just thinking about it.

Something else that I pulled, even thought it is non-baseball, was this Gordie Howe signed card out of 2012 Panini Golden Age.  Golden Age has a mixture of subjects and sports, just like Goodwin, and normally, I don't gave a crap about hockey, but...  A RED WINGS PLAYER!  I was able to hand this over to my wife to justify my spending some money on cards.  Woo Hoo, things work out!

Seriously, though, this is a really cool card.  Even I can recognize that Howe is one of the all-time greats in Hockey.  Add in the fact that the auto is on card, makes it that much better.  Plus the wife is happy.  For once.

First Ever 'Blog on Location' - NHL All Star Fan Fair

Hello to everyone. I'm in wonderful Raleigh, NC, site of the 2011 NHL All Star game. Today, the pre All Star festivities include the NHL Fan Fair.

There are a bunch of vendor booths, photo-ops, souvenirs, etc. We made the rounds, taking in all of the sites and sounds of the event. I am not a hockey fan, however, my wife, being from Detroit, is a HUGE Red Wings fan, so this is her Birthday/Christmas present. I took a picture of my wife with what appeared to me to be a giant Muppet. I was informed that this is the Montreal Canadiens' mascot... Interesting looking fellow.

Here is our good friend Babe-O-Licious with Blades, the Boston Bruins mascot. Babe is the person who arranged the whole trip. She is the queen of sports themed trips and is always the one who I call when I need to get somewhere.

I liked the 'Guardian Project' poster they had up, so I took a picture of the Red Wing guy for my wife because I knew she'd love it.

Here is the poster itself. Pretty cool. I may try to find one for Chris' bedroom.

You can't erase the smile from my wife's face. I'm glad I was able to get her tickets to the Skills competition (we couldn't get cheap enough All Star game tickets, but we went in 2008 when they were in Atlanta). To me, the skills competition is more fun anyway.

Here is my feeble attempt at a slap-shot. Notice my handling of the hockey stick. You can tell I had never swung a stick in my life. I think they clocked my puck (one I connected with it) at a whopping 28 miles per hour. Oh well, it was fun anyway. Look mom, I'm wearing the custom jersey you got us for Christmas!!

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Check back tomorrow evening when we get back from the Skills Competition. I'm hoping for a good time, and I'm sure it will be. Have a good night, I'm going to hang with the crew and have a couple beverages!

Finally my Upper Deck Redemption Replacement came...

When i got home tonight from the card shop, I had a nice little package awaiting me... it was my replacement card for the Daniel Alfredsson Hockey redemption I sent off for however long ago I sent it off.. I didnt even care too much about it, but when i opened the package, I was pleasantly surprised... I got a sweet Red Wing card for my wife. Check it out... and she was annoyed when I turned the bedroom light on and showed her 'the cool card Upper Deck sent me.' She was very happy when she realized the card was for her...