2025 National Paid Signer - Todd Helton

One of the paid signers I got at the National this year was Hall of Famer, Todd Helton.  I needed Helton for my signed baseball collection.  He was giving HOF '24 inscriptions for free.

Helton (b. 1973) played in the majors from 1997 to 2013 for the Rockies.   He jad 2,519 hits, 369 home runs and a .316 batting average.  He was a 5-time All Star (2000 to 2004) and his best MVP finish was 5th (2000).  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2024 with 79.7% of the vote (on his 6th ballot). 

By my math (which may be off), Helton is my 175th Hall of Famer on a baseball. 

2025 National Free Signer - Dave Corzine

This 1990 Skybox card that ai got signed by Dave Corzine looks awesome.  I had the handler give a gold paint pen to Corzine, and the signature turned out great.

Corzine (b. 1956) played in the NBA from 1978 to 1991 for the Bullets, Spurs, Bulls, Magic and Supersonics.  He had 7,615 points in his career.  He was our next free VIP signer at the National. 

2025 National Free Signer - Johnny Roland

This 1969 Topps football card of Johnny Roland was another card that I picked up from Sportlots.  He was the next free VIP signer at this year's National.  I was excited to.add this one to the autograph album.  I love some of these old football card designs.  I'd be happy if Topps rolled out some baseball products using these old designs.  Why not?

I found this Roland card in a bargain box and picked it up as well.  This is a 1971 Topps football card.  I wanted to get Roland's 1967 Philadelphia (brand, not the team) card but it wasn't going to get here in time.

Roland (b. 1943) played professionally from 1966 to 1973 for the Cardinals and Giants.  He was a Pro Bowler in 1966 and 1967.  He was the 1966 AP Rookie of the Year. 

2025 National Free Signer - Emery Moorehead

This 1983 Topps Football card that I got signed by Emery Moorehead at the National turned out great.  It was another Sportlots pickup that I got prior to heading to Chicago.

Moorehead (b. 1954) played professionally from 1977 to 1988 for the Giants, Broncos and Bears.  He won Super Bowl XX with the Bears.  He had 224 receptions for 2,980 yards and 15 touchdowns.

2025 National Free Signer - John Cangelosi

Max provided me with some extra cards for the next free signer from this year's National, John Cangelosi.  The above 1986 Donruss The Rookies is really cool.  I don't think I had many of these in the autograph album, so I was glad to get it signed.

I also upgraded the Cangelosi for my 1987 Topps set.  The one I had was signed in black, so it was good to add one in blue.

Cangelosi was really nice, as was everyone we met.  The VIP signers were all pretty cool selections.  I always wonder who will be selected for the next batch of VIP signers.  I always hope they choose some guys I jeed for the 87 set, but being down to around 25 or so makes the choices pretty low.

2025 National Paid Signer - Billy Williams

For my next paid signer (Billy Williams), I had a 2021 Topps Chrome Platinum Anniversary card put aside.  It was a nice card, but after discussing with Max, I opted to find a 1961 Topps of Williams to get signed instead.  With what I was paying for the signing, it made sense to find his rookie card and go ahead and get it signed. 

The card turned out nicely.  Williams was really nice, and shook my hand after he signed.  I had heard that he could be very difficult at Wrigley, but he was nice at the show.  I probably should have upgraded my signed baseball, but this 61 Topps will look awesome in the autograph album. 

2025 National Paid Signer - Tony Perez

Next up is one of the paid signers I signed up for at this year's National.  When I saw Tony Perez on the list, I knew I wanted to sign up for him.  I had this 2004 Topps Tribute that I wanted to get signed, so that's was the card I brought with me to the show.

Perez was really cool when we met him.  He smiled the whole time and reached his hand out when he was done signing.  I shook hands with Hall of Famer, Tony Perez.  What a nice guy.