If You Were a Hot Dog, Would You Eat Yourself? A New HOF Baseball - Harry Caray

I added my 114th Hall of Fame signed baseball on Friday at the National Card Show when I made a bundle deal for this Harry Caray signed baseball.  I got another Hall of Famer thrown in with the deal, but Caray was the one I was really after. I figured that getting a Caray ball would be a good addition, since I was in Chicago.

Caray (b. 1914 - d. 1998) was a broadcaster for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1945 to 1969, the Oakland A's in 1970, the Chicago White Sox from 1971 to 1981 and the Chicago Cubs from 1982 to 1997.

Caray won the Ford Frick Award in 1989, making him a Hall of Fame broadcaster.  He is my 5th broadcaster.  I still don't have a single winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink award, so I probably should be looking for some of those at some point.

I'll close this blog entry with a clip from an SNL sketch that most people may associate Caray with these days.  Thanks, Will Ferrell:

Hall of Fame TTM Success - Jerry Coleman

My last TTM success was June 1, 2013 and there has been quite a gap in between my sending off anything to get signed.  Mainly because I just haven't had time to get anything together to send.  Or, my own laziness.  Take your pick.  Nevetheless, I did, in fact, get a TTM success today.  This is my 75th TTM success and just so happens to be my 95th Hall of Famer.  The ball is signed by 2005 Ford Frick Award winner Jerry Coleman.

Jerry Coleman (b. 1924) played in the majors from 1949 to 1957, all for the Yankees.  He had 558 hits, 16 home runs and a career .263 batting average over 9 seasons.  He was a member of 4 World Series championship teams (1949, 1950, 1951, 1956).

After his playing days were over, Coleman switched to broadcasting.  Coleman became the voice of the San Diego Padres and 1972, a position he held every year since, except for the 1980 season (He managed the Padres that season).

I mailed to Coleman on November 12 and got him back today, making him a 10-day TAT.  He signed my ball with no fee.

Hall of Fame TTM Success - Joe Garagiola

I have reached 75 baseballs signed by Hall of Famers.  When I began collecting Hall of Fame signed baseballs in January 2010, I never thought I would get this far.  Today, I added a ball signed by Hall of Fame broadcaster (Ford Frick Award winner) Joe Garagiola.

Mr. Garagiola signed my ball for a fee of $25.00 toward his charity.  I mailed the ball to him on July 25, 2012 without the donation and got a note back from him explaining why he was asking for a $25 donation, and I was happy to oblige.

I also got this signed chrome card from him, which was really nice.  He has really good handwriting, and the blue marker really pops off of the card.

Garagiola (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1946 to 1954 for the Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs and Giants.  He had 481 career hits, 42 home runs and a lifetime average of .257.  He won the World Series in 1946 with the Cardinals. 

Garagiola worked for NBC for nearly 30 years, calling games with legends such as Curt Gowdy and Vin Scully.  As a result of his years broadcasting, he was a recipient of the Ford Frick Award in 1991, thus becoming a member of the Hall of Fame.

Garagiola is my 75th Hall of Famer and 3rd Ford Frick Award Winner (the others being Ernie Harwell and Bob Uecker).