TTM Success - Bill Virdon

I got a really cool TTM success from former Rookie of the Year, Bill Virdon.  I saw this 1979 Topps Astros team card at my LCS and immediately wanted to try to get it signed.  I love that the Astrodome is in the background of the team photo.  The auto on the card turned out great, and Virdon included his NL ROY 55 inscription for me.

This 1976 Astros team card looks nice, but it pales in comparison to the other one.  I don't believe you can beat that background.

Finally, here is a really nice 1965 Topps that Virdon signed for me.  I only have two 1965 Topps cards signed, so I would like to find a few more subjects from that set to send out.  This is one of my favorite Topps sets; one of which I would love to complete at some point.

Virdon (b. 1931) played in the majors from 1955 to 1965 and 1968 for the Cardinals and Pirates.  He had 1,596 hits, 91 home runs and a .267 batting average.  He was the 1955 NL Rookie of the Year and a Gold Glove Award winner in 1962.  He won the World Series with the Pirates in 1960.  He appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1974 and 1975, but received only a slight percentage of votes (0.8% in '74 and 0.3% in '75).

As a manager, Virdon had a record of 995 and 921 for the Pirates (1972 and 1973), Yankees (1974 and 1975), Astros (1975 to 1982) and Expos (1983 and 1984).  He led the Pirates to the post season in 1972, and he led the Astros to the post season twice (1980 and 1981).

I mailed to Virdon on March 12 and got the cards back on May 7 for a 56-day TAT.