Another TTM Success From Goose Gossage

Goose Gossage is about as automatic as you can get when it comes to someone signing TTM. One card is free and multiples are $5 a piece. I hadn't sent to him in a while, so I sent off this 1983 Fleer, which turned out great.

I've got several Gossage cards I want to send out, so I'll probably send another soon. I've got a friend who sends Gossage rookie cards out maybe once a month and has amassed a large collection of the signed rookies.  It's got one, that's all I need.

I mailed to Gossage on September 28 and got the card back on October 18, for a 20-day TAT. 

TTM Success - Bob Bonner

A small project started when I found this 1982 Topps Baltimore Orioles Future Stars card at the Chantilly show for $25.  I had heard that the card can be completed, so I sent it TTM to Jeff Schneider first, then off to Bob Bonner.  Now I have to wait for another signing with Cal and I can have this completed.

I also pulled the other Bonner cards that I had in m boxes, starting with the above 1991 Crown Orioles card.

I also had a 1982 Donruss and a 1983 Fleer; both turned out nicely.  I had forgotten I had the Fleer, so it was a nice surprise when I came across it in the box.

Bonner (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1980 to 1983 for the Orioles.  He had 21 hits, 0 home runs and a .194 batting average.

I mailed to Bonner on November 8 and got the cards back on November 19, for an 11-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Welsh

This TTM request had been out to Chris Welsh for so long, I went ahead and had a friend of mine get me a signed 1987 Topps from Reds Fest a while after I sent these cards out.  I had forgotten about these, until they finally came in earlier this month.  I was glad to finally get these cards back, and it definitely was a pleasant surprise.  The above 1983 Fleer turned out great.  I don't have very many of this year of Fleer in my autograph album.

He also sent back a 1982, 1986 and a 1987 Topps.  Since I already had a signed 87 in my set, I'll just file this one in my autograph album.

Welsh (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1981 to 1983 and 1985 to 1986 for the Padres, Expos, Rangers and Reds.  He had a record of 22-31 with 192 strike outs and a 4.45 ERA.

I mailed to Welsh on May 4, 2017, and got the cards back on November 3, 2022, for a 2,009-day TAT.  Not my longest wait, but definitely a long one.

Benny Ayala Cards From Jackson

My friend, Jackson, recently went on a graphing trip to Puerto Rico recently, and came back with several signed Benny Ayala cards for me.  I cleaned out my boxes of Ayala stuff and took these 6 cards back.  The above 1981 Topps turned out great.

I got a couple old Fleer cards (1981top left; 1983 top right), an older Donruss (1984, bottom left) and a 1985 Topps buyback (bottom right).  I was really glad to get the buyback signed, since I had it in my box for a while since I pulled it out of the pack.

I also got this 1991 Crown Orioles card signed, and it turned out well, also.

Ayala (b. 1951) played in the majors in 1974, 1976 to 1977 and 1979 to 1985 for the Mets, Cardinals, Orioles and Indians.  He had 217 hits, 38 home runs and a .251 batting average.

Jackson really hooked me up with these.  I'm hoping I can send him back to Puerto Rico with some cards of other guys the next time he goes back.

TTM Success - Dave Rozema

I got some 80s cards signed recently when I got this return from Dave Rozema.  I had his cards in my box for a while, and finally got around to getting them in the mail.  This 1983 Fleer turned out really well.  The box of old Fleer and Donruss is at the bottom of my stack of boxes, so it is tough to get into it at times.  I try to keep a rotation of boxes, but since I prefer Topps cards, I often forget about the older Fleer and Donruss that I have.  I need to make a habit of getting into that box a bit more often, I think.

I also got a 1981 Topps and a 1985 Topps signed by Rozema.  He even inscribed the 85 with "1984 World Series Champs", which was pretty cool.

Rozema (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1977 to 1986 for the Tigers and Rangers.  He had a career record of 60-53 with 448 strike outs and a 3.47 ERA.  He finished 8th in the 1977 AL Cy Young race, and 4th in the 1977 AL Rookie of the Year race.  He (obviously) won the World Series with the Tigers in 1984.

I mailed to Rozema on September 1 and got the cards back on September 11, for a 10-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $5/card.

TTM Success - Dave Tobik

Here are some cool early 80s cards that I was able to get out of my boxes (especially this 1983 Fleer that had been hanging out in a box which is at the bottom of my stack of boxes) and signed by Dave Tobik.

Tobik signed the cards in blue Sharpie, and the signatures look really nice.

Tobik (b. 1953) played in the majors from 1978 to 1985 for the Tigers, Rangers and Mariners.  He had a career record of 14-23 with 256 strike outs and a 3.70 ERA.

I mailed to Tobik on January 20 and got the cards back on February 3, for a 14-day TAT.

TTM Success - Shane Rawley

I had Shane Rawley cards in my TTM box since 2016.  It just took me forever to decide to pay his PastPros fee and send the cards off.  I finally got around to it, and sent three cards.  The above 1988 Tops All Star looks great.  I like the design, and it scanned really well.

I also sent off a 1983 Fleer, and of course, I got the 1987 Topps that I needed for my set.

Rawley (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1978 to 1989 for the Mariners, Yankees, Phillies and Twins.  He had a career record of 111-118 with 991 strike outs and a 4.02 ERA.  He was an All Star in 1987.

I mailed to Rawley on September 28 and got the cards back on October 15, for a 17-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $9.00/card (including PastPros fees).

TTM Success - Dave Revering

I had a whole bunch of cards of Dave Revering.  So many, that I sent 7 to him for TTM.  Lucky for me, I got all 7 cards back signed.

I had a run of Topps cards of him from 1978 to 1983, and added a Fleer on top of that.  All of the cards turned out really well.

Normally, I probably would have left the 1983 Fleer (right) out, but I figured that I should go ahead and add it to my album, since I don't have many 1983 Fleer in there.  The design is very simplistic, and lends itself well to being signed.

Revering (b. 1953) played in the majors from 1978 to 1982 for the A's, Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners.  He had 486 hits, 62 home runs and a .265 batting average.

I mailed to Revering on March 10 and got the cards back on March 20, for a 10-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bob Horner

I thought I had sent to Bob Horner before, but after digging into my blog, and my albums, it appears that I was mistaken.  No worries, though, as I did send to him, and received this TTM success.  I had to get him on a 1987 Topps, of course, which looks really nice.

I also decided to add this 1983 Fleer.  I don't have many of these at all, so I figured I would go ahead and put this in the TTM request.  1983 Fleer is a pretty basic design, but a pretty decent card.  Sometimes the simplicity is good.

Horner (b. 1957) played in the majors from 1978 to 1986 and 1988 for the Braves and Cardinals.  He had 1,047 hits, 218 home runs and a .277 batting average.  He was the 1978 NL Rookie of the Year and an All Star in 1982.  He finished in the MVP voting 3 times; his best finish being 9th in 1980.

I mailed to Horner on February 24 and got the cards back on March 5, for a 9-day TAT.

TTM Success - Danny Darwin

I really enjoy it when a player who had a long career will sign TTM.  It is even better when they will sign multiple cards.  This is the case with Danny Darwin.  I had so many cards of his to choose from, I had to leave out a ton.  I was able to, however, make a nice mix of cards from his career and they all came back looking great.

I found the above 1994 Pinnacle Museum Collection at my LCS and since I knew I was going to send to Darwin, I picked it up.  It was the first card of his that I pulled when I started getting my request together.  The card came back looking great.  Even if it was the only card I got back, it would have been worth it.

Luckily, I got back everything that I sent (all 7 cards).  I found the 1983 Fleer (left) in a box of old Fleer cards that Mom picked up for me.  The 1991 Fleer (right) came out of a bunch of packs that Chris and I busted a couple weeks ago.  Those packs had been residing in my closet forever, so we finally decided to open them.  Now, at least one of the cards will be part of my TTM/IP auto album.

I had opened a ton of these 1994 Leaf way back when they had come out.  Unfortunately, most of what I had from back then melded together, as is the case for a lot of mid-90s junk wax.  The gloss on the cards melts if the cards are stored in a hot location (attic) and the cards get sealed together in some sort of a brick, suitable for kindling.  My mom found a box of cards that had a bunch of the 1994 Leaf, so I decided to send this one along so that the Leaf set was represented in the album.

Finally, I sent a few Topps cards along from my boxes so that I could add some tick marks to different Topps sets for my Topps Autograph Project (which is coming along nicely, I may add).  The above 1988 Topps looks great, and that set has really grown on me as one of the better ones to get signed.

Darwin's choice of a blue Sharpie really pops with these two specimens.  The 1982 (left) and 1985 (right) Topps really look nice.  Pair that with the cool, retro Rangers jerseys, and I ended up with an awesome TTM success!

Darwin (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1978 to 1998 for the Rangers, Brewers, Astros, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Pirates, White Sox and Giants.  He had a career record of 171-182 with 1,942 strike outs and an ERA of 3.84.  He played in the majors for 21 seasons and never appeared in a playoff game and also never appeared on any Cy Young or MVP ballots.  He did appear on the 2004 Hall of Fame ballot, but did not receive any votes.

I mailed to Darwin on November 7 and got the cards back on November 15, for an 8-day TAT.

Ryne Sandberg Rookie From Neil

I was enjoying the playoff games today so much, that I almost bypassed doing a post tonight.  Mail didn't run today, due to Columbus Day, but with all of the flooding in this area, I doubt it would have ran anyway.

So, I wanted to show a card that I got as a gift recently while I was having a lunch meeting with my client and friend, Neil, and his brother, Mike.  We met at a BBQ restaurant in Kinston and talked baseball for a little while.  Neil surprised me at the outset of the meeting with this really nice 1983 Fleer Ryne Sandberg rookie card.  I actually bought one of these from a bargain bin at the National, but it was a gift for my little buddy, Max/  Now, since Neil gave me this one, I can have one of my own!!

I really appreciated the gift, Neil!  It will go with my other Hall of Fame rookies!

National Free Signer - Greg Luzinski

One of the last free signers that I was able to get at the National was Greg Luzinski.  I don't really remember his signing, I just remember standing in line forever.  I thought this 1983 Fleer would look cool signed, and I was right.  I wasn't able to use a Wild Card on him, which was disappointing, since I had a ton of his cards that I could have gotten signed.  By the time I was done with his signing, I was over trying to get anyone else.  The VIP signer experience at the National was rough, and I don't think I will work as hard when I go next year.

Luzinski (b. 1950) played in the majors from 1970 to 1984 for the Phillies and White Sox.  He had 1795 hits, 307 home runs and a .276 batting average.  He was a 4-time All Star and finished twice in the NL MVP voting (1975 and 1977).  He won the World Series with the Phillies in 1980.  Luzinski appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1990 and received 0.2% of the vote.