2022 National Pickup - Roy Campanella Signed Baseball

While cleaning out my backpack from the National, I realized that I forgot to post a few of the baseballs I picked up, most importantly, this one signed by Hall of Famer, Roy Campanella.  I don't know how I missed it; I really thought I had already posted it.  Anyway, I got a great deal on it and was glad it was a pre-accident signature.

Campanella (b. 1921 - d. 1993) played in the majors from 1948 until 1957 for the Dodgers.  A car accident in January 1958 left him paralyzed.  He had 1,161 hits, 242 home runs and a .276 batting average.

He was an All Star from 1949 to 1956 and a three-time NL MVP (1951, 1953 and 1955).  He won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1955.

Campanella was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969 (his 7th ballot, includong two run-offs) with 79.4% of the vote.

Campanella is my 166th Hall of Famer on a baseball.

2022 National Signer - Thomas Ian Nicholas

One thing that was different about this year's National was that my older brother, Philip, came to the show on Saturday.  He came with a friend of his, as well as my nephew.  Philip and I walked around the autograph pavilion for a bit and spent some time with the non-baseball signers.  Thomas Ian Nicholas of Rookie of the Year and American Pie fame was hanging out at his table.  We stopped and chatted with him for a while.  Since he was so nice, I decided to pay his fee and get him on a card.  I also liked that it was the 1987 Topps design.

I'm glad he was really nice and was willing to just hang out and chat.  That made the interaction that much more fun.

2022 National Free Signer - Milt Thompson

While I hadn't gotten him TTM before, I did have Milt Thompson posted on my blog before. My friend, Stefan, had gotten an 87 Topps signed for me back in 2020. So, when I saw Thompson on the schedule of free signers for this year's National, I didn't have to get the 87 signed. 

Instead, I got the one card of his I found in my collection (the 1990 Topps) and then I found the other three in a dime box at the show.

All of the cards turned out great.  I was really glad to add the 1990 Donruss to the album.  Those are some nice cards, even though a lot of folks don't like that set.

2022 National Free Signer - Stephen Baker

Former Giant, Stephen Baker was one of the free signers at this year's National, and one of the last ones I need to get posted.  I really liked this 1989 Score Football card.  There's always been something I've liked about a red bordered card.  Baker seemed like he was genuinely happy about being at the show, and I was glad that I went through his line.

Baker (b. 1964) played in the NFL from 1987 to 1992 for the Giants.  He was a wide receiver and caught for 2,587 yards and 21 touchdowns.  He won Super Bowl XXV with the Giants against the Bills.

I have one more of the free signers, then a couple oddball autographs I got while I was at the show.  I will probably start to mix some TTMs back in so I can stay on top of that stack this week before some more come in (unlikely).

2022 National Signer - Don Money

Yes another signer that I had previously gotten TTM, but was at the National, was Don Money.  I really thought I wouldn't have any of Money's cards left, but I ended up having a lot.  Starting off with this 1982 Fleer that turned out pretty nicely.  Not the best card design in the work, and some pretty bad photography, even for the time, this set still has some charm.  I was glad to get this card signed.

I had several of Money's Topps issues, and these from 1972, 1978, 1979 and 1980 turned out great.  I already had his 1980 in my album, but I am adding this one since the other is signed in ballpoint pen.

Finally, this awesomely airbrushed 1973 Topps turned out pretty great.  His hat is clearly airbrushed, but that adds to the card, in my opinion.

Money was nice, and I was able to get all of my cards signed, even with the 4-card limit.  A guy in front of me in line was nice enough to take two from me to get done and all was well.

2022 National Pickup - Barry Bonds Signed Ball

A signed ball, albeit controversial, has been added to my collection.  Barry Bonds is a very polarizing entity in the world of baseball, but if I had the chance to add him to my signed baseball collection at a great price, I sure was going to take it.

I bundled this ball with the purchase of a Hank Aaron (isn't it ironic, don't ya think? Yeah I probably didn't use that right, either) for a friend. 

Still, I didn't have Bonds in my collection, but now I do.  The ball is a 1994 All Star baseball from when the game was in Pittsburgh.  I love the yellow and black stitching.  I had a chance to get a steal on a Ken Griffey, Jr. signed All Star ball just like this one years ago at a National, but I let it pass.  I regretted not picking up that ball.  When I saw this one and was able to get the guy to quote me a great price, I had to take it.  The autograph is also PSA authenticated.

2022 National Free Signer - Art Shamsky

Finally!  A free signer at the National that I hadn't seen before.  Art Shamsky was really nice and apologized for smearing my 1967 Topps after he signed it.  He offered to (and did) replace the card after I got home from the show.

Both of these cards were sent to me by my friend, Gerard.  Since he provided the cards, I sent him the replacement 1967 Topps and I kept the smeared one. 

Shamsky (b. 1941) played in the majors from 1965 to 1972 for the Reds, Mets, Cubs and As.  He had 426 hits, 68 home runs and a .253 batting average.  He won the 1969 World Series with the Mets.

2022 National Free Signer - Mike Rozier

Another of the free signers at this year's National was former football player, Mike Rozier.  Of the non-baseball guys, this card of Rozier was actually in one of my boxes.  I didn't have to buy it from the show itself.

Rozier (b. 1961) played in the NFL from 1985 to 1991 for the Oilers and Falcons.  He was a two-time pro bowler (1987 and 1988).

I know Rozier has been at the National before but I hadn't gotten him before.

2022 National Free Signer - Ron Hansen

Another former Oriole, and another player that I had gotten TTM, but was at this year's National as a free VIP signer was Ron Hansen.  I was out of his cards, or I didn't find any in time.  So, I bought enough to cover the vouchers that I ended up with.  I got this cool 1961 Post Cereals card that will look cool in the album.

I also picked up a few vintage Topps cards, a 1961, 1962 and a 1963.  All of them turned out great.  Hansen was really nice, and I was glad I got to meet him.

Update: I forgot to scan this awesome 1959 Topps that I got signed by Hansen.  It was with another of the signers cards for whatever reason.  Oh well.  Here it is, and it is a beauty.

2022 National Free Signer - Bill Bergey

Bill Bergey was another of the former football players that was a VIP signer at this year's National.  I didn't know who he was, but I had a voucher for him, and I had found one of his cards, so I went ahead and got the card signed.  Usually, I just trade away the football vouchers for baseball guys, but the handlers limited folks this year to 4 vouchers per person, now.  So, I went with some of the non-baseball guys, and will have a little more variety in my album.

This is a 1980 Topps football card that I had found at the vendor who had the board of cards of signers.  I liked the design, and went with it.

Bergey (b. 1945) played professional football from 1969 to 1980 for the Bengals and Eagles.  He was the 1969 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and finished second in the 1974.  He was an All Pro twice (1974 and 1975) and a Pro Bowler 5 times 1969, 1974, 197, 1977 and 1978.

2022 National Free Signer - Al Bumbry

He has signed at Camden Yards as part of the Orioles Alumni; he has signed at Orioles Fan Fest (back before the Orioles killed that); he signs through the mail, but I still had some Al Bumbry cards that I hadn't yet gotten signed.  I started with this 1991 Crown Orioles, which was a good one to carry with me.

I also had a 1983 Donruss, 1985 Fleer and a 1985 Topps.  All of the cards turned out great.  I don't think I have anything else of him that is unsigned.

Bumbry was nice, as always, and I was glad he was one of the signers.  It is always nice to see him, and I feel like it has been a bunch of times, now.

2022 National Paid Signer - Dale Murphy

Another of the paid signers at this year's National was Braves legend, Dale Murphy.  I had gotten Murphy on the 87 Topps from a private signing.  I wanted to meet him again, since I met him at a past National (on the edge of the signing pavilion as he was chatting with someone).  I had this 2019 Topps short print that I wanted signed, so it was an easy choice.

Murphy was super nice, which is what I always hear.  I mentioned to him that he was my aunt's favorite player, so he told me to tell her hello for him.  I texted her and she said it made her day.  He also posed for a great selfie with me:

2022 National Free Signer - John Montefusco

John Montefusco is another player that I had gotten TTM previously who was one of the free signers at this year's National. The problem is, I never posted the TTM success from him. It was a ball that I had mailed in 2012 and got back signed in 2018, 6 years later.

Anyway, I added a bunch of his cards to my album and they turned out great.

Montefusco (b. 1950) played in the majors from 1974 to 1986 for the Giants, Braves, Padres and Yankees.  He had a record of 90-83 with 1,081 strike outs and a 3.54 ERA.  He was the 1975 NL Rookie of the Year and finished 4th in the Cy Young race that season. He was an All Star in 1976.

2022 National Free Signer - Rico Petrocelli

Rico Petrocelli was another of the free signers who was at this year's National that I had seen before.  So, I had no loose cards left of his.  I raided my 1970 Topps set to find this one so I would have at least one cars with me.

The 1966 and 1971 Topps cards were found at the show, since I ended up with two extra vouchers.

Petrocelli was nice, as usual.  His line took a while but that was because he would tell stories to everyone.  It was fine with me, because his stories were interesting.  I'm glad I got to see him again.

2022 National Free Signer - Greg Luzinski

Greg Luzinski has been a free signer at (I think) three Nationals that I have been to.  He has been at enough of them that I had to dig deep into an old Donruss box to be able to supply cards for my friends and I for this show.  I got one card signed, though, and didn't have to put his stuff back in the box.

I hope Tristar diversifies next year's group, because I'm getting low on cards for some of these guys.

2022 National Free Signer - Mike Nelms

Now that I am breaking down all of the free signers at this year's National, I've realized that there were a lot of signers.  Usually, I skip the non-baseball guys, but I think this year, I got at least one card signed by all of them except for the football guy at the VIP party (I forgot his name already).

There was a vendor right near the bathrooms at the show who had a display board with cards of most of the free signers for $5.00/card.  Some (most) of those were a gross overpay, but in the end, my time was valuable, and it saved me from spending hours at dime boxes looking for random folks.  So, I purchased a few of the guy's cards, like these of Mike Nelms.  The card above is a 1983 Topps.

I also found his 1981 Topps and a 1990 ProSet.  All of the cards turned out great and are a little something different in my album.

Nelms (b. 1955) played in the NFL from 1980 to 1984 for the Redskins.  He was a 3-time Pro Bowler (1980, 1981 and 1982) and an All Pro in 1983.  He won the Super Bowl with the Redskins in 1983 (1982 season) when the Redskins defeated the Dolphins.

2022 National Free Signer - Roy White

Roy White was another signer that I had seen before at a past National.  A few years ago, he was a last minute replacement for Steve Garvey at the VIP party.  This year, he was a free signer during the Wednesday portion of the show.  I had gotten him in the past on a baseball.  This year, I had 2 cards and 2 vouchers that I could use.  The above 1984 Topps came from a card shop I had stopped at in New Jersey back in June.  I was glad to add this to the album.

I also had this 1980 Topps, which turned out nicely.  I liked how White signed along the bat shown on the card, and not the faux autograph printed on the card.

White was pretty nice, but I didn't try for a selfie with him.  We weren't sure at the time who would be cool with one or not, so we just went through the line and moved along.

2022 National Free Signer - Pat Listach

The common theme among the free signers at this year's National was that I had gotten most of them before, either TTM or at past Nationals.  Pat Listach was someone I got early on TTM.  I didn't have very many of his cards left, but was lucky enough to find a couple prior to the National, like the above 1994 Stadium Club.  I have been complimented on the card already.  This is kind of a forgotten set, in my opinion, but it still a pretty cool design.  I was glad I found this one and can get it in my album.

The 1993 Ultra was another card that I found on my own, and it turned out great.  This is also a great design and will look good in the album.  The 1992 Stadium Club was found at the show itself, since I had extra vouchers for Listach but not enough cards.

Finally, Michael had found this 1993 Upper Deck but didn't want to start a new project by trying for the two Hall of Famers on the card (Molitor and Yount).  I may take it on, or I may just leave this in the album.  We'll have to see.

Listach was pretty nice.  We blew in and out of his line, which was good, since I had so many people I was seeing.

2022 National Free Signer - Bill Madlock

Bill Madlock was another of the free VIP signers who I was able to get at the National, but had already gotten in the past.  Thankfully, I had a bunch of Madlock's cards, still, so I added some nice early 80s to my autograph album.  The above 1981 Topps turned out really well.  I always enjoy this set, and was glad that I had it among the few loose 81s I still have left.

I also added a 1982 Topps and a 1983 Topps to the album, since I ended up with three vouchers for Madlock.

He was pretty nice, and I should have posed for a selfie, but I was in a rush to get everything signed that I had with me, so I didn't pose with Madlock.

2022 National Paid Signer - Mariano Rivera

The big name that I signed up to meet at the National this year was former Yankees closer, Mariano Rivera.  I already had him on a ball (thanks to Mom), but I still wanted to meet him.  I remembered that I had this 2018 Topps Stadium Club, so I opted to get it signed and into my album.

The price point is crazy for a card, but I felt like this card was worth it.  This is an amazing shot of Rivera.  The only problem, now, is that he switched pens on me when he was signing and signed it in black Sharpie, even though I told the handler that I wanted blue.  It wasn't worth making a fuss over; the card still looks amazing.