TTM Success - Dickie Noles

It took a bit, but I was finally able to cross Dickie Noles off of my needs list for my 1987 Topps set.  The card came back signed in black, and turned out well.

I also got Noles on a 1981 Topps card, as well, since I had a bunch of them signed already.  You never know when you'll decide to torture yourself by starting an autographed set, and I have been able to add a ton of 81s.

Noles (b. 1956) played in the majors from 1979 to 1988 and 1990 for the Phillies, Cubs, Rangers, Indians, Tigers and Orioles.  He had a record of 36-53 with 455 strike outs and a 4.56 ERA.  He won the World Series with the Phillies in 1980.

I mailed to Noles on April 23 and got the cards back on September 12, for a 142-day TAT.

2019 National Pickups - A Whole Bunch of Signed 87s

I ended up buying a whole bunch of signed 1987 Topps while I was at the National.  I had said previously that the first dealer I encountered had broken up his set.  I used that opportunity to buy signed cards of the deceased guys that I found, and also picked up some living guys that, for whatever reason, have proven to be a bit difficult for me to obtain.

I had thought Tom Paciorek signed TTM, but when I checked, it had been so long since a success, I put his card back in my box.  When I saw this one for $2-$3, I went ahead and picked it up.

I had paid for Dickie Noles through PastPros back in November, and the card still hasn't come back.  They allow for around a month TAT, so I have been asking about the status.  I have a feeling that I am going to be refunded for that one.  If not, and it does come back, I will have another as trade bait.

I had sent to Bill Russell TTM last year, but that one hasn't come back, either.  I doubt it will, but you never know.  At a price of $2-$3, I went ahead and crossed it off of the list.

The Greg Pryor actually was at another boot, not out for sale.  The dealer had picked up some stuff from someone else, and the card was on top of his stack behind him.  I spotted the wood border right away, and checked my Google Docs list.  I needed it, so I asked the guy if he would sell it.  I think he ended up taking $5 for it.

I sent TTM to Kevin Bass back in 2016, and the return has never come, so I went ahead and crossed this one off of the list.  I never want to write off a non-return, as I have had a TTM come back after 6 years (which I still need to post).

I had seen that Harold Reynolds didn't sign much TTM, so I bought the card.  Once he saw it, Max expressed his disappointment, as he sees Reynolds all of the time.  I might see if Max can help me upgrade anyway, as this card is a bit smudged.  I think I paid $4 for it.

Finally, I had sent to Dennis Rasmussen a while back, but haven't gotten any return, so I went ahead with picking this one up.

Since the dealer(s) wanted between $2 and $5 for most of these, I figured I would go ahead and cross them off of my list and if the pending TTMs did come in later, I had enough trade buddies who would be interested.  It seemed like a win-win for me.

All of this being said, (including a free signer who hasn't been posted yet) I picked up 16 signed 1987 Topps for my set while I was at the National.  This put me at 500 cards, plus another came in TTM since I have been back, and my amazing friend, Gerard, picked up another that I needed.  So, 502/792 is pretty great, since I unofficially started this set when I started sending cards TTM in 2016.