TTM Success - Bruce Howard

Here is another player that I picked up at the Greenville card show, this time a former Oriole.  I found one Bruce Howard card (below) at the show, then I went online and bought the above 1966 Topps off of Ebay so I could send something else.

The 1968 Topps is a pretty nice card, even though the Orioles logo is nowhere to be seen.

Howard (b. 1943) played in the majors from 1963 to 1968 for the White Sox, Orioles and Senators.  He had a career record of 26-31 with 349 strike outs and a 3.18 ERA.  His time in Baltimore was very brief, just 10 games during the 1968 season.  He was part of the package sent to the Orioles in exchange for Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio.  The deal was Howard, Roger Nelson and Don Buford to the Orioles for Aparicio, John Matias and Russ Snyder.  Howard would then be dealt to the Senators for Fred Valentine.

I mailed to Howard on November 3 and got the cards back on November 18, for a 15-day TAT.

TTM Success - Billy Bryan

The cards I sent out after the Greenville card show all came in around the same time.  It kind of skews the diversity on some of the pages in my album, but I'm pretty ok with that, anyway.  I really liked this 1963 Topps of Billy Bryan, especially because of the old Kansas City A's hat.

I also liked these cards from 1965 and 1966, mainly because the photos on the cards look to have been taken back to back.  I could be wrong, but I bet that they were successive pictures taken at the same session.

Bryan (b. 1938) played in the majors from 1961 to 1968 for the A's (Kansas City), Yankees and Senators.  He had 209 hits, 41 home runs and a .216 batting average.

I mailed to Bryan on November 3 and got the cards back on November 17, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Wes Stock

Here are some more vintage cards that I was able to get signed TTM following the Greenville card show.  I picked up these cards of Wes Stock while at the show.  I wanted to add another former Oriole, and also some more 60s cards.  I liked this 1963 Topps due to the colors on the card (and also since it showed him as an Oriole).

I also added a 1967 Topps to the album.  I actually sent him two of these, and he returned both of them signed, which was nice.

Stock (b. 1934) played in the majors from 1959 to 1967 for the Orioles and A's (Kansas City).  He had a record of 27-13 with 365 strike outs and a 3.60 ERA.  Stock was traded away from the Orioles to the A's in 1964 for Charlie Lau.

I mailed to Stock on October 28 and got the cards back on November 17, for a 20-day TAT.

TTM Success - Rick Cerone

Here is another 1987 Topps that I was able to get signed.  Rick Cerone is one-per when it comes to signing TTM, so I made sure that the 1987 that I had was the one I sent along.  The card turned out really nicely.

Cerone (b. 1954) played in the majors from 1975 to 1992 for the Indians, Blue Jays, Yankees, Braves, Brewers, Red Sox, Mets and Expos.  He had 998 hits, 59 home runs and a career batting average of .245.  He finished 7th in the 1980 AL MVP voting; the only season in which he received votes.

I mailed to Cerone on November 6 and got the card back on November 17, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Roger Zatkoff

Another of the football autos I requested came in recently.  This one was from Roger Zatkoff.  The card is a 1956 Topps  and turned out pretty nicely with his auto.

Zatkoff also included his own index card that he signed, which was nice of him.  You can click on the photo to blow it up to make it easier to read.

Zakoff (b. 1931) played professional football from 1953 and 1958 for the Packers and the Lions.  He was a linebacker and defensive end.  In his career, he had 4 interceptions returned for a total of 25 yards.  He was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1954, 1955 and 1956.  He won the NFL Championship in 1957 with the Lions.

In college, Zatkoff was a standout at the University of Michigan, helping the Wolverines to the 1950 Rose Bowl Championship.

I mailed to Zatkoff on November 7 and got the card back on November 17, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Duffy Dyer

I got this TTM success in from Duffy Dyer after waiting quite a while for it.  There were some nice 70s cards in the package, so it was good to finally get them back.

I liked this 1974 Topps for some reason.  I actually really like the set, as it was one of the first "vintage" sets that I put together.  It was pretty tough, the Mike Schmidt second year card was a tough one to get, as was the Winfield rookie, of course.

Finally, here are the other two cards that I sent out, a 1977 and a 1981.  Both of them are pretty cool, but I think I like the 81 best.  For some reason, that set really has grown on me.

Dyer (b. 1945) played in the majors from 1968 to 1981 for the Mets, Pirates, Expos and Tigers.  He had 441 hits, 30 home runs and a .221 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Mets in 1969.

I mailed to Dyer on April 3 and got the cards back on November 16, for a 227-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bob Blaylock

I added another 1959 Topps to my autograph album with this TTM success from Bob Blaylock.  He signed the card in ink pen, but it still turned out pretty nicely.

Blaylock (b. 1935) played in the majors in 1956 and 1959 for the Cardinals.  He had a career record of 1-7 with an ERA of 5.94 and 42 strike outs.

I mailed to Blaylock on November 6 and got the card back on November 16, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Al Carmichael

Here is another football success that I was able to get in recently.  1955 Bowman was the original reason I wanted to add some vintage football to my autograph album.  I had a Chuck Bednarik like the above Al Carmichael, but I missed out on getting that one done.  Regretting this, I finally got a 1955 Bowman football signed.  These are really nice cards, and I feel like I did well in choosing which players to send to.

I also got this 1954 Bowman to get signed, and it turned out really nice, as well.  I like the old blue Packers jersey on this card.

Carmichael also sent a couple of his own signed cards.  They are really nice; they were two of the same card.  I've got a buddy who is a Packers fan, so he may end up with the other one.

Carmichael (b. 1928) played professionally from 1953 to 1961 for the Packers and Broncos.  He was a halfback who rushed for a total of 947 yards and 4 touchdowns in his career.  He also had 1,633 receiving yards for 8 touchdowns.

I mailed to Carmichael on November 7 and got the cards back on November 16, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - George Altman

I look back on this TTM success from George Altman and regret the fact that I didn't include a photo taken of he and I together from when we met him a couple years ago in Goldsboro.  I saw that he signed TTM, and picked up some of his cards from the recent card show in Greenville.  One of the cards is one I had already.

I picked up the above 1962 Post Canadian from the show and didn't think much of it at the time, other than it would be a little something different in my album.  For a dollar, it wasn't a bad pickup, but when I got the card back signed from Altman, I realized that it was the Canadian version.  Now, it definitely was something different for the album.

The 1966 Topps (above right) was from my vintage box, and the 1963 was one from the card show.  I really like the colors on the 1963, and the card turned out well.

I also had picked up a 1960 Topps at the show and sent it along.  It is a nice card, as well.  Altman also included a signed business card for his book, which I plan on checking out soon.

Altman (b. 1933) is from Goldsboro, NC, but now resides in Missouri.  He played in the majors from 1959 to 1967 for the Cubs, Cardinals and Mets.  He had 832 hits, 101 home runs and a .269 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1961 and 1962 and finished 14th in the 1961 NL MVP Award voting.

I mailed to Altman on October 30 and got the cards back on November 13, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chuck Estrada

This TTM success from Chuck Estrada was another player that I was able to get using cards I picked up at the recent Greenvile card show.  I was really happy to get one of these 1960 Topps rookie stars cards signed.  It turned out pretty nicely.

I also got these cards signed by Estrada, a 1961 Topps and a 1964 Topps.  Both of them are nice cards.  I love the Topps rookie logo on the 1961.

Estrada (b. 1938) played in the majors from 1960 to 1964 and 1966 to 1967 for the Orioles, Cubs and Mets.  He had a career record of 50-44 with 535 strike outs and an ERA of 4.07.  He led the league in wins (18) in 1960, his rookie season.  He was second in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting to Ron Hansen.  All three players receiving votes that year were Orioles (Hansen, Estrada and Jim Gentile).  Estrada was an All Star that season and also finished 12th in the AL MVP voting.

I mailed to Estrada on November 3 and got the cards back on November 13, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Cuno Barragan

Here is another card that I picked up at the Greenville card show with the purpose of getting it signed TTM.  I liked the old Cubs uniform on this card of Cuno Barragan.  I also enjoy the 1962 Topps design, so, this was a good card to send out.  I also learned that his name is misspelled on his card, according to Baseball-Reference.

Barragon (b. 1932) played in the majors from 1961 to 1963 for the Cubs.  He had 33 hits, one home run and a .202 batting average.

I mailed to Barragan on October 28 and got the card back on November 13, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Al Kaline

Lately, I have been working to add some really big cards and names to my autograph album.  It has been a slow process, since a lot of them charge money, but I have been able to get a few.  This success from Hall of Famer, Al Kaline is one of the bigger TTM successes that I have been able to get.

The above 1960 Topps has been in my collection for a long time.  I can't remember how or when I got it, but it was in my vintage box of stars for several years.  Probably back when I first got back into collecting, really.  I don't think I will get to the 1960 set anytime soon, so I went ahead and worked on getting this one signed.

A long, long time ago, I bought a 1963 Topps Kaline as a gift for my friend, Max (not the one in Chicago, the other Max), and thought to myself that the 1963 may be Kaline's best card.  When I decided I wanted to send to him TTM, I went on Ebay and picked a 1963 up so I could send it as well.

Both cards came back looking great, and I am happy that I sent them off.

Kaline (b. 1934) played in the majors from 1953 to 1974 for the Tigers.  He had 3,007 hits, 399 home runs and a .297 batting average.  He was an 18-time All Star and 10-time Gold Glove Award winner.  He never won an MVP award, but his best finish was 2nd, which he accomplished twice (1955 and 1963).  He was the 1955 AL Batting  Champion and won the World Series in 1968.

Kaline was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980, his first time on the ballot.  He garnered 88.3% of the vote.

I mailed to Kaline on November 3 and got the cards back on November 13, for a 10-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $10/card.

TTM Success - Charley Trippi

I was bored one day and thought I would look up some older football players who sign TTM.  I wanted to add some old Topps and Bowman football cards to my album, since I thought those old cards looked really cool.

I bought 8 cards featuring 6 players and sent them all out a couple weeks ago.  The first one to come back was Pro Football Hall of Famer, Charley Trippi.  This is a 1950 Bowman, and shows him as a Chicago Cardinal.  That's right, at one point, there were two teams in Chicago.  I don't really follow football, so I had no idea that the Cardinals were in Chicago.  I did remember when they were in St. Louis and moved to Arizona.

Trippi (b. 1922) will be 95 on December 14.  He played professionally from 1947 to 1955, all for the Chicago Cardinals.  In his career, he had 3,506 rushing yards, 23 rushing touchdowns, 1,321 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns.  He won the NFL Championship with the Cardinals in 1947.  He played as a halfback, defensive back and also a quarterback.  His quarterback record over two seasons (1951 and 1952) was 5-12-0.  He was a 2-time Pro Bowler (1952 and 1953) and First Team All Pro in 1948.

He played all over the field, as well.  Not only as a halfback and quarterback,  but he also returned punts and kickoffs.  He returned punts and kicks in his career to a total of 864 yards, and had two return touchdowns (both in 1948).

Trippi attended the University of Georgia from 1942 to 1946, where he led the Bulldogs to a Rose Bowl Championship in 1943.  He was also that game's MVP.  He missed the 1944 season while serving in the military in World War II.  He was the first overall pick in the 1945 NFL draft.  When he retired from the NFL, he had compiled the most total yards of offense by any player in NFL history.

He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.  From what I could find, he is the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the 15th oldest living former player, according to the website oldestlivingprofootball.com.  I'm not sure how often they update their page.  It was weird, baseball has an ongoing list that is updated regularly on Wikipedia, but football doesn't have one.

I mailed to Trippi on November 7 and got my card back on November 13, for a 6-day TAT.

For my first of the vintage football cards to come back, I sure hit on a winner!

TTM Success - Gene Garber

I was able to add a bunch of cards to my autograph album with this TTM success from Gene Garber.  I had a ton of his cards to choose from, and ended up sending seven his way.  The above 1983 Topps Super Veterans card turned out really nice.  These are cool cards, and look good when signed.

I had a couple of Garber's 1970s cards, and they look pretty good.  I forgot that I had found his 1974 Topps, so when I saw it in his pile, I made sure to send it.

I also sent along several of his 1980s cards.  The beard on the 1981 Topps is nice, and the old Atlanta Braves hat/logo look really cool in that card, as well.

Garber (b. 1947) played in the majors from 1969 to 1970 and 1972 to 1988 for the Pirates, Royals, Phillies and Braves.  He had a career record of 96-113 with 940 strike outs, 218 saves and an ERA of 3.34.  He finished 7th in the 1982 NL Cy Young Award voting and also finished 19th in the 1982 NL MVP Award voting.

I mailed to Garber on September 1 and got the cards back on November 10, for a 70-day TAT.

Several Months Worth of Chris Davis Pickups

My "to be blogged" stack consists of a lot more than just TTM successes.  I figured it was a good time to try to knock it down a bit, so to speak.  If I really knocked the stack down, I'd be in trouble, since I would have a huge mess to straighten up.

I have toned down my PC pickups recently, and it is a direct correlation to how the Orioles, and also Chris Davis performed this season.  Davis is still my guy, but since he had a pretty crappy year, other things took precedent.

Of all of the Davis cards that I had picked up that hadn't been blogged, the above 2017 Topps Chrome red parallel may be my favorite.  It is numbered 3/5 and looks so awesome in person.

This reverse negative from 2017 Chrome looks really cool, too.  I like this concept and wonder if a photo editing program can reverse the reverse negative.  Has anyone tried it?

This 2017 Topps Museum Collection quad patch card is a very close second to the red chrome parallel.  I got this card pretty cheaply, which is one benefit to Davis having a down year.

Finally, I picked up my third Chris Davis Sketches Swatches card from 2017 Diamond Kings.  I really like these, which is why I now have three of them.

I'll probably start adding to the PC again soon, maybe after Christmas, so keep a look out!

TTM Success - Bob Lee

Recently I picked up these 1960s cards of Bob Lee at a card show here in town.  I wanted to add some more 1960s cards to the album, and his looked pretty nice.  Each year I picked out was one that I needed more of in the autograph album, like the above 1967 Topps.

I also needed more 1964 and I definitely needed more 1965 in there, so this TTM success worked out really well for me.

The best part of the TTM success, though, was this hand written note from Lee on the back of the note that I sent him.  I believe he had a stroke recently, and you can tell from his handwriting that signing his name, and writing the note was laborious for him.  It meant a lot to me that he took the time to write the note (and to sign my cards), when it was tough for him to do so.  There are major leaguers playing today who won't be bothered by signing stuff for fans, and here is this guy who probably has to struggle just to hold a pen signing whatever is sent to him.  I sincerely appreciated Mr. Lee doing this for me, and the note will be put away with all of the other player notes I have received.

Lee (b. 1937) played in the majors from 1964 to 1968 for the Angels, Dodgers and Reds.  He had a career record of 25-23 with 315 strike outs and an ERA of 2.71.  He also had 64 career saves.  He was an All Star in 1965.

I mailed to Lee on October 28 and got the cards back on November 10, for a 13-day TAT.

TTM Success - Tom Matchick

I picked up a few 1973 and 1974 Topps for TTMs the last time I was in Columbia.  The antique shop is now closed, so I had to meet Conrad at his storage building, but I was still able to come away with some nice stuff.

One of the cards I picked up was this 1973 Topps of Tom Matchick.  I saw that he was an Oriole, and that he signed TTM, so I figured I would give it a shot.  It took a while, but the card finally came in.

Matchick (b. 1943) played in the majors from 1967 to 1972 for the Tigers, Red Sox, Royals, Brewers and Orioles.  He had 178 hits, 4 home runs and a .215 batting average.  He won the World Series with the Tigers in 1968.

Matchick's time as an Oriole was brief.  He was acquired from the Brewers in a trade in October of 1971 for Mike Ferraro and a minor leaguer.  He played only 3 games with the Orioles in 1972, then was traded to the Yankees in April 1973 for Frank Baker.

I mailed to Matchick on May 8 and got the card back on November 10, for a 186-day TAT.

TTM Success - John Goryl

Man, check out that 1959 Topps.  That one really stands out.  I picked up the card last month at the card show here in town for the specific purpose of sending TTM to John Goryl.  I got the card back and it looks great!

I also had picked up this 1964 Topps, and it looks really nice, as well.  Those cards really do well when getting signed, I feel.

Goryl (b. 1933) played in the majors from 1957 to 1959 and 1962 to 1964 for the Cubs and Twins.  He had 134 hits, 16 home runs and a .225 batting average.  He also managed the Twins in 1980 and 1981 to a record of 34-38 (.466 win %).

I mailed to Goryl on October 28 and got the cards back on November 8, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Denny Lemaster

Here is another TTM success that I was able to get on some nice vintage cards from former pitcher, Denny Lemaster.  The above 1963 Topps turned out really nice.  I like the old Milwaukee Braves hat.  The clouds in the background really look like the way the weather was here today, cold, cloudy and rainy.  Ugh.  It does make for a cool backdrop, though.

I liked the 1971 Topps on the left due to the old Astros jersey.  The 1972 on the right is cool, as well.

Lemaster (b. 1939) played in the majors from 1962 to 1972 for the Braves (Milwaukee and Atlanta), Astros and Expos.  He had a career record of 90-105 with 1,305 strike outs and an ERA of 3.58.  He was an All Star in 1967 while with the Braves.

I mailed to Lemaster on October 16 and got the cards back on November 6, for a 21-day TAT.

TTM Success - Hal Naragon

I went to a card show here in Greenville a few weeks ago and picked up some nice vintage cards to send TTM.  The first one to come back was this success from Hal Naragon.  I grabbed a few cards of his really cheaply at the show; mostly cards I didn't have many of in my album.

I really like 1962 Topps, and would like to build that set sometime soon.  I have way too many other sets in the works at the moment, or I would already have started this one.

1955 Bowman is actually a set I could get started pretty quickly.  I already have Mickey Mantle and a few other Hall of Famers, so that one would be a good one to complete, as well.  I have picked up a good many from the 1955 Bowman set and have gotten them signed.  I haven't counted my Bowmans like I do my Topps, but I imagine I have at least 10 cards from 1955 Bowman signed.

I remember a time when I only had 2 signed cards out of 1961 Topps (above left).  Now, I have 11.  Naragon also sent one of his own cards, a custom in the 1968 design (above right).  I like when players include their own stuff, but it is sure not expected.

Finally, Naragon sent a nice note on an index card, and signed that as well.  He went above and beyond with this TTM request.  He seems like such a nice guy.

Naragon (b. 1928) played in the majors in 1951 and from 1954 to 1962 for the Indians, Senators and Twins.  He had 262 hits, 6 home runs and a .266 batting average.  He appeared in one game during the 1954 World Series, an Indians loss to the Giants, but he did not receive a plate appearance.

I mailed to Naragon on October 28 and got the cards back on November 6, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Joe Nossek

I have had a nice wave of vintage cards come in TTM lately.  One of which was this 1967 Topps from former player, Joe Nossek.  The card turned out really nice, even though Nossek's signature was really small.  Like many other players, he didn't want to sign across his face.

Nossek (b. 1940) played in the majors from 1964 to 1967 and 1969 to 1970 for the Twins, A's (KC and Oakland) and Cardinals.  He had 132 hits, 3 home runs and a .228 batting average.

I mailed to Nossek on October 18 and got the card back on November 2, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Vida Blue

One of the players who had been in my "To Be TTMed" box the longest might have been Vida Blue.  I found out early on that he charged for his signature, so I put the cards of his that I was considering sending into my "charges a fee" slot and kind of forgot about them.  When I started thinning out that part of my box, I made sure to get the Blue cards sent out once and for all.

The above 1975 Topps came out of one of my first deals with my good friend, Max.  I had to make sure that this one was one of the cards I sent.

Also, in between the time Blue's cards were put into the TTM box and when I mailed them out, I had decided to try to get as many signed 1987 Topps as I could.  So, that made the decision really easy as to what the second card I would send would be.

Blue (b. 1949) played in the majors from 1969 to 1983 and 1985 to 1986 for the A's, Giants and Royals.  He had a career record of 209-161 with 2,175 strike outs and a 3.27 ERA.  He was the Cy Young and AL MVP Award winner in 1971 when he went 24-8 with a 1.82 ERA for the Oakland A's.  He also had Cy Young Award votes in 1973, 1975, 1976 and 1978; and MVP Award votes in 1973, 1976 and 1978.  He was an All Star in 1971, 1975, 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1981.  He won the World Series with the A's in 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Blue appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot only four times between 1992 and 1995 and only received at most, 8.7% of the vote.  A stronger look at Blue's candidacy should be taken, as he has very good career stats.  One would think that he would have had some higher vote totals.

I mailed to Blue on October 4 and got the cards back on October 31, for a 27-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $10/card.

TTM Success - Tim Teufel

Here is a nice TTM success from a guy who I had in my box for quite a while.  Tim Teufel is in a lot of card sets from the late 80s and early 90s, so I had a lot of cards to choose from.  I liked this 1991 Score that I got out of a repack box and added it to my request.

I had a Topps run from 4 years that went along in the TTM request.  The cards range from 1987 to 1990, and all turned out nicely.

Teufel also included one of his own religious testimonial cards with the TTM request.  This card has a nice shot of him on it, and a nice passage on the back.

Teufel (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1983 to 1993 for the Twins, Mets and Padres.  He had 789 hits, 86 home runs and a .254 batting average.  He finished 4th in the 1984 AL Rookie of the Year voting and won the World Series with the Mets in 1986.

I mailed to Teufel on June 12 and got the cards back on October 30, for a 140-day TAT.