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.

2021 National Free Signer - Tim Stoddard

Tim Stoddard was the last free signer for this year's National, and is the last free signer I am posting, thus wrapping up the bulk of my 2021 National posts.  I had amassed a ton of Stoddard vouchers, as most folks weren't sticking around til 2pm on Sunday to get him.  I was short on cards, so Max came in and helped me out with what I needed to match up with each voucher, save for one.  I rushed to a table near the signing area and found this 1984 Donruss Stoddard, which I ended up having him inscribe with 1983 WS Champs.  I don't have many 84 Donruss at all in my albums, so adding this one is pretty cool.

I had also pulled my 1991 Crown Orioles Stoddard to send along, and got it done.

Max hooked it up with a ton of Stoddard Topps cards; his 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988 getting signed.

I also had gotten his 1984 and 1987 Fleer, as well as his 1987 Donruss taken care of.

This just about wraps up my 2021 National posts.  I'll be back with a Wood Ducks recap, an in-person signing going on tonight and lots more TTM posts.  Hopefully you enjoyed my look at the 2021 National Sports Collectors Convention; there may be one or two more posts sprinkled in there, but the bulk of what I saw and did have been summarized.  Thanks for reading.  Also, I do see your comments, but Blogger doesn't allow direct replies, so if you truly want an answer to something, shoot me an email.

Another TTM Success From Alejandro Pena

I sent off a few more Alejandro Pena cards TTM because they had been sitting in a pile on my desk after I had gotten him to sign my 1987 Topps card and I realized he signed for a fee.  I would have sent more initially, but he only signed the 87, which was good.  I decided later on to go ahead and pay his (very minimal) fee and get a few more in my album.  The above 1985 Topps Glossy All Star set card was one that I knew would look awesome when signed.  It definitely does.

I hardly have any 1984 Donruss, so I wanted to get the one I had of Pena signed (above, left), and I threw in a 1990 Topps to round out the submission.  All of the cards I sent turned out great.  I took the rest of the cards I had of Pena and sent them out to some friends so they, too, could send to him.

I mailed to Pena on August 18 and got the cards back on August 24, for a 6-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $3.00/card.

TTM Success - Mike Proly

This TTM success from Mike Proly was a nice one to add some early 80s cards to the album.  Starting with the above 1984 Donruss; I believe this is the first one I have added to the album.  I don't own very many 1984 Donruss, save from an Orioles team set and my Cal Ripken PC.

I didn't have very many 1980 Topps added to the album yet, so this one helps.  It came out of a vintage box at the LCS.  I have knocked that box down quite a bit, but I still think I can add a few more to the album at some point.

Here are the other cards that I got back.  I got a 1981 Topps and 1981 Topps Traded, along with cards from 1982 Topps and 1983 Topps.

Proly (b. 1950) played in the majors in 1976 and 1978 to 1983 for the Cardinals, White Sox, Phillies and Cubs.  He had a career record of 22-29 with 185 strike outs and an ERA of 3.23.

I mailed to Proly on February 24 and got the cards back on March 13, for a 17-day TAT.

Rest in Peace, Mike Flanagan

According to various reports, former Orioles pitcher, broadcaster and executive, Mike Flanagan was found dead on his property in Maryland.

Flanny was the 1979 AL Cy Young award winner when he went 23-9 for the Birds.

I was completely shocked when a friend of mine told me, just a few minutes ago. Flanny has been doing commentary on O's games for MASN.

This is a huge loss to the Orioles, for sure.