I added some recants cards out of my prospects box with this TTM success from Jacoby Jones. The aboce 2015 Topps Pro Debut turned out really well. I only have a handful of these cards, so it was nice to be able to get one of them signed.
I had sent a card to him TTM, but Bob Sebra never got a chance to sign it. It turned out that he was in the hospital, and passed away in July. I saw this card on Ebay, so I went ahead and picked it up and crossed it off of my list.
Sebra (b. 1961 - d. 2020) played in the majors from 1985 to 1990 for the Rangers, Expos, Phillies, Reds and Brewers. He had a career record of 15-29 with 281 strike outs and a 4.71 ERA.
I have come to enjoy getting recent draft picks cards signed. I usually just hoard the Bowman cards for in-person graphing, but this year has killed that.
This 2019 Bowman Draft card of A's prospect, Tyler Baum, turned out nicely. He also included a signed index card thanking me for writing to him.
Baum (b. 1998) was a second round pick in the 2019 June Amateur Draft by the A's out of UNC-Chapel Hill. He pitched in 11 games in Low A ball last summer where he went 0-3 with 34 strike outs and a 4.70 ERA.
I mailed to Baum on May 30 and got the card back signed on June 5, for a 6-day TAT.
I got a random Bowman card out of my box when I was able to send this 2008 Bowman off to Sean Danielson. He returned it signed to me, and it now is in my album. I have 5 more pages to fill before I can start a new album, by the way.
Danielson (b. 1982) played from 2005 to 2010 in the minors for the Cardinals, Red Sox and Reds systems. He reached AAA, but never broke into the majors. Across those 6 seasons in the minors, he had 435 hits, 7 home runs and a .272 batting average.
I mailed to Danielson on May 13 and got the card back signed on June 5, for a 23-day TAT.
That has to be one of my best blog titles that I have come up with. Yes, tonight, I did buy Johnny Bench a margarita. I also bought one for Doug Flynn. After weeks of on again and off again updates, the Mad Boar Block Party for the Hope For The Warriors charity was held tonight. With COVID going on, it looked like the event was going to be canceled this year. Up until this afternoon, I thought it had.
I had been talking directly with folks from the charity on Facebook, and they weren't even sure that Johnny Bench was going to be there tonight. I had heard from a couple friends that he was going to show, but this was after I had already told my friends Dugan, Jackson and Billy that I had confirmed he wouldn't be here. Those three ended up making plans today, so I was disappointed that they weren't able to come tonight when I did confirm through the Mad Boar restaurant that Bench would be coming.
Luckily, I already had my cards ready to go; I especially wanted this 1973 Topps card that I had already had signed by Blue Moon Odom signed by Bench. His signature pretty much drowns out Odom's, but it still is a really cool card to get both signatures on.
Of course I had to go with a couple 1987 Topps themed cards. I really wanted to get one of my National Card Show VIP cards (above right) signed by someone, and the 2017 Topps Silver Pack 87 chrome really looks awesome in person.
I also got this 2017 Topps 87 mini signed because the rate they charged me for my Bench autos was too good to pass up.
The two 1982 cards (above middle and right) were leftovers from when I went last year, but didn't get them signed. Again, the rate was so good, I couldn't pass them up, so I ended up getting everything I had with me signed.
Speaking of everything I had with me; I did bring one Doug Flynn card with me. I had found a 1986 Topps card of Flynn. Apparently, for the longest time, Flynn would never sign that card. Recently, Bench held an auction for a children's hospital and Flynn signed around 20 of those cards for a $400 donation. He held my card and debated with Bench for a while (Bench told him to charge me $20), until Flynn finally asked me for my address and told me he would mail me "something nice" instead. I'm interested to see what that would be.
Oh yeah, I bought Flynn a margarita as well. The story behind the drinks is that last year, after our first go round with Bench (which, truthfully didn't come off all that well), I went back through the line after Bench had partaken of some beverages. I told Bench that I'd buy him a drink, but then someone else brought some. He said "Oh, I've already got one, but thank you..." So, this year, I told him that I still owed him a drink, and he said he would always be up for one. He and Flynn both wanted margaritas, so I went to the bar and bought them some. When I got back with the drinks, both Flynn and Bench were really surprised (as were the Hope For The Warriors personnel); and both Bench and Flynn now know my name.
Also, when I was getting my cards signed, I asked Bench who he had been the most star struck in meeting. He responded with "Well, I met Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford. Had candlelight dinner with both Bushes. I used to call Bob Hope every week." I thought that was pretty cool. My experience with Bench this year was far better than last year (and last year really wasn't all that bad, don't get me wrong). I definitely will mark the Hope For The Warriors benefit on my calendar and try to go again next year.
While I despise talking about politics, I was so super excited to get this TTM success back from former senator and presidential candidate, Bob Dole. I was trying to figure out a way to get rid of some of the many cards in my boxes like the above 2007 Topps Allen & Ginter Washington Monument card. I thought that the 10 or so of those cards might work well if I tried to get some former politicians on them. Dole was the first one that I tried, and it was a success! The card looks really cool, and unlike a lot of other politicians, it definitely isn't signed in autopen. He definitely used a Sharpie to sign it, as can be seen in the above scan.
I also used this as an opportunity to add another signed checklist to my 1987 Topps set. Those get tough to get signed, as a lot of the people I've sent to haven't understood why I was asking them to sign. I explain it in my letters, but still have gotten many back unsigned. Still, when I do get one back, I get excited and happy to add another prominent figure to my set.
Dole (b. 1923) represented the State of Kansas in the US House of Representatives from 1961 to 1969 and in the US Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican nominee for President in the 1996 election. He was also his party's Vice Presidential nominee in the 1976 election.
Dole attended the University of Kansas before serving in World War II. While at Kansas, he played for the basketball, track and football teams.
I mailed to Dole on May 18 and got the cards back signed on June 5, for an 18-day TAT.
You can just barely see White's signature on the above 2011 Bowman Chrome. Still, both cards are signed, and they are now in my album. I'll take what I can get and be happy about it. I was able to use my 2020 Harvey Address book to find White's address, and it worked.
White (b. 1988) played in the majors from 2011 to 2012 for the Indians and Rockies. He had a career record of 5-13 with 101 strike outs and a 6.03 ERA. He was a 1st Round (15th overall) pick by the Indians in the 2009 June Amateur Draft out of UNC-Chapel Hill.
I mailed to White on April 25 and got the cards back on June 3, for a 39-day TAT.
