September 16, 2025, Graphing of the High Point Rockers

My last opportunity to graph this season came and went on Tuesday when I saw High Point for the last time.  I didn't even bother with trying to get the opposing team (Charleston) this time around.

The biggest reason I wanted to see High Point one more time was to see David Hess.  Hess, a former Oriole, is a two-time cancer survivor and all-around great guy.  I bought the above 2019 Topps Chrome orange refractor for the potential trip.  The card is numbered to 25.  He signed the card, along g with a 2019 Topps base card for my friend, Ryan.

Frank Viola was great, as usual.  I'm running out of different Viola cards to get signed.  I do still have a ton overall, though.

I was looking through boxes for some cards to send to Max, and found a bunch of Alex Dickerson 2011 Bowmans.  I got those done, along with a few others.

I got several High Point team set cards signed.  George Greer was surprised that I wanted his autograph, so he signed my team set card, told me to hold on and brought me the Cardinals card from the clubhouse.  I thought that was really cool.

The 2017 Bowman sky blue refractor of Luis Gonzales was found in a bargain bin at the National.  I got most of the cards I found there signed.  I enjoyed finding the various parallels at the show and getting them into the album. 

I went to the fame with my brother, Andy.  I miss how we went to Wood Ducks games back when he was here for college.  It was good to get together and spend some time with each other.

In all, I got the following autographs: Alex Dickerson x 9, Ryan Dull x 1, Luis Gonzalez x 2, George Greer x 2, David Hess x 2, Jamie Keefe x 1, Drew Mendoza x 2 and Frank Viola x 9 (28 autographs).

TTM Success - Terry Clark

Some late 80s cards came back signed TTM when I got this TTM success in from Terry Clark.  I don't have many 1989 Fleer in the autograph album, so adding this one was nice.

I do have a bunch of 1989 Topps in the album, but another one didn't hurt. This is a sharp looking 89, and I'm glad it is signed.

Clark (b. 1960) played in the majors from 1988 to 1990 and 1995 to 1997 for the Angels, Astros, Braves, Orioles, Royals, Indians and Rangers.  He had a record of 10-23 with 109 strike outs and a 5.54 ERA.

I mailed to Clark on December 2 and got the cards back on February 18 for a 78-day TAT.

October 22, 2023, Chantilly Show Graphing Recap

What a weekend.  My good friend, Jesse, and I met up with another close friend, Ryan this weekend.  The three of us, along with Ryan's nephew Blayke, checked out the Chantilly show on Sunday.  I wanted to finish of the 1982 Topps Baltimore Orioles Future Stars card that I had already gotten signed TTM by Jeff Schneider and Bob Bonner.  That left Cal to get taken care of, which I finally aas able to do. 

Cal commented on the card in that I got Schneider and Bonner, which was cool.  He shook my and Jesse's hands.  He's always friendly, and I was happy to pay the fee to see Cal again.

I paid Bill's premium fee to get the "Rick Face" card signed, finally.  It took some digging in some Orioles boxes to find the card, but I located it and got it added to the autograph album. 

Bill was super friendly and happily posed for the picture.  He commented on my Oklahoma Cielo Azul hat.  I just checked, ND I wore the same hat last year and I recall that Bill commented on it then, too. 

The Sunday autograph lineup wasn't terribly impressive for me, but I saw that Steve Carlton was going to be there.  I decided that I'd pay his fee and get him on a card to add to my album.  He signs TTM for a fee, but I wanted to meet him.

Carlton was nice.  He was pretty soft-spoken and it was hard to hear him at points. Jesse and I were nervous when we were lining up for this picture.  Carlton told us to calm down, line the shot up properly and thanked us for coming.  It was really nice of him to not push us along and ensure that we got a good photo.

Jair Jurrjens was signing in the Forward Area, so I got two cards of his signed for his fee.  I got a 2010 Topps Chrome and a 2011 Topps signed.  Jurrjens has an awesome signature.

Jurrjens was really nice.  I'm glad that I read the lineup thoroughly and saw that he would be there.

I was on a pretty tight budget, but i was still able to find some cool stuff.  I worked on my 1955 Bowman set just a bit and also found some cool vintage cards to send TTM.  We'll see if I can get them in.

Thanks Ryan, Blayke and Jesse for the great time and thanks Jesse for keeping our ride ti and from Ryan's house interesting and the photo ops.

TTM Success - Rick Schu

Here is a TTM success from a former Oriole that helped me get a 1989 Topps Big out of my boxes, which was nice.  I had this card of Rick Schu and was really happy to get one of them out, because they're kind of bulky and take up a lot of space.

I also got a 1991 Crown Orioles card signed, which was good.  I have slowly been adding these to my album, and have gotten quite a few taken care of.

I also got a few other cards signed, a 1987 Fleer, 1989 Fleer and a 1990 Topps.

Schu (b. 1962) played in the majors from 1984 to 1991 and 1996 for the Phillies, Orioles, Tigers, Angels and Expos.  He had 386 hits, 41 home runs and a .246 batting average.

I mailed to Schu on April 27 and got the cards back on May 8, for an 11-day TAT.

2019 National Free Signer - Jack McDowell

I have gotten Jack McDowell TTM a few time, so when I saw he was signing at the National as one of the VIP signers, I scrambled to find some cards.  Luckily, I was able to find some, including the above 2013 Panini USA card that has been floating around in my box for what seems like forever (6 years actually).

I found these three cards in the same box that I found my Cory Snyders in, so I was able to move some old stuff out of some of the closet boxes.  That is always a plus for me.

I had help in getting these cards signed.  Michael went through the line while I was waiting for Jim Perry, and my friend, Vince, went back through with some of my Wild Cards.

2019 National Free VIP Signer - Cory Snyder

I had already gotten Cory Snyder TTM in the past, so when I saw that he was signing at the National, I struggled to find some cards.  Luckily, I found these two late-80s Fleer offerings.  The above 1988 Fleer turned out really well, I think.

His 1989 Fleer also looks really nice.  I think I prefer the 88, though.

I didn't have to wait very long in Snyder's line, and was able to cash in a wild card voucher to get him on the 89 Fleer.

TTM Success - Tom Niedenfuer

I added a former Oriole's autograph with this success from Tom Niedenfuer.  This 1987 Score turned out really nice, as is usually the case with this set of cards.  Niedenfuer actually has a pretty great signature.  I don't know it to be fact, but I feel like some of the guys with long last names have pretty nice signatures.  Maybe we should take a look at some of the best signatures at some point.  Maybe when I have some time.

I added three different Topps cards, including a requisite 1987 for the collection (as of today, I am up to 80 signed cards from the 1987 Topps set).

Niedenfuer (b. 1959) played in the majors from 1981 to 1990 for the Dodgers, Orioles, Mariners and Cardinals.  He had a record of 36-46 with 474 strike outs and an ERA of 3.29.  He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1981.

I mailed to Niedenfuer on August 29 and got the cards back on September 9 for an 11-day TAT.