Another TTM Success From Tony Perez

Finally some of the cards from private signings that I signed up for from September to November are coming in.  For one reason or another four or five of the signings have all been delayed.  One of them, the above card from Tony Perez, finally came in the other day.  

I wanted to complete this 2010 Topps Reds Franchise History card after I got it signed by Johnny Bench last August. The signing with Perez came up soon after, and now that the card is complete, it was well worth the wait.

I sent the card off on November 17 and got the card back on March 2, for a 106-day TAT. I paid a fee of $40 to complete the card.

Another TTM Success From Tony Perez

A nice completion happened recently when I got this 1976 Topps NL RBI leaders card back from a private signing with Tony Perez.  I had gotten Greg Luzinski at a National and Johnny Bench at one of the Hope For The Warriors signings a couple years ago.

I am really happy the card got completed. It looks really cool. 

I sent to the Perez signing on March 9 and got the card back on April 10, for a 32-day TAT. 

August 26, 2023, Hope For The Warriors Johnny Bench Signing

The annual Hope For The Warriors celebrity meet and greet came around again this weekend, and Johnny Bench was back.  He missed last year, so it was nice being able to go and get some more of his cards signed.

The above 1968 Topps rookie card was given to me by an old friend, Joey, who had upgraded the one in his collection.  Because I had helped him long ago when he was first getting started, he gave me this card for free.  It was in rough shape, but I was happy to get it signed nonetheless. 

I got a bunch of Bench cards signed this time around.  The price was really good, and I enjoy helping this charity.  So, I got 20 Bench cards done.

I held back a select few from my album so I could give some to a couple friends.  I'm really happy with the ones I kept, though.

I had a friend send me some photos of some Bench cards that he would like to have signed, and I am already excited about going again next year.  I hope Bench keeps coming out this way.

Doug Flynn was also along for the signing. He signed a couple of my cards with a donation to the cause, and then signed a few more for my friend, Jesse, who finished off what I had brought with me.  Flynn is always super nice when we have been able to meet him. 

In all, we got the following autographs: Johnny Bench x 20 and Doug Flynn x 8 (28 total autographs).

Another Meeting With Johnny Bench and Doug Flynn

The annual Hope for the Warriors golf tournament is this weekend, and tonight was the Mad Boar Block Party in Wallace, NC, where Johnny Bench and Doug Flynn come out every year to support soldiers in need.  This was my third time attending the event, and I came away with a good many signed cards, and a few more Bench baseballs.

I found the above 2021 Topps Stadium Club card at the National, having seen it on Twitter the day the set came out.  I saw it and knew that would be one of the cards I brought with me to the event.  If I got no other cards signed, I wanted this one.  It was the only Bench card in the entire box I searched through at the show, but I only needed one.  It turned out great, and I was glad I was able to get it signed.

I also got this 2020 Topps Decades' Best chrome card signed.  The signature didn't show up too well on the scan, but it definitely looks sharp.

I also got an assortment of Bench cards signed that I had been collecting as the year went on.  I pulled a ton from the boxes I got from the former LCS, and also took some from my good friend, Max.  I also got a few signed for him.  I took a consignment for my friend, Cal, and got him hooked up, as well.

Either Max, or my friend Gerard, had sent me a bunch of Doug Flynn cards a while back, and I went ahead and got all 11 of my cards signed for a donation to the cause.  Flynn is super nice, and I always am glad to chat with him at this event.

I had a lot of duplicates left over of Flynn, so I will pass them out to a few friends who have helped along the way.

The Hope for the Warriors golf tournament is every August in Wallace, so you should make plans to come out and show them some support.  They're a class group, and I have enjoyed the Mad Boar Block Party each time I have gone.

I Bought Johnny Bench A Margarita

That has to be one of my best blog titles that I have come up with.  Yes, tonight, I did buy Johnny Bench a margarita.  I also bought one for Doug Flynn.  After weeks of on again and off again updates, the Mad Boar Block Party for the Hope For The Warriors charity was held tonight.  With COVID going on, it looked like the event was going to be canceled this year.  Up until this afternoon, I thought it had.

I had been talking directly with folks from the charity on Facebook, and they weren't even sure that Johnny Bench was going to be there tonight.  I had heard from a couple friends that he was going to show, but this was after I had already told my friends Dugan, Jackson and Billy that I had confirmed he wouldn't be here.  Those three ended up making plans today, so I was disappointed that they weren't able to come tonight when I did confirm through the Mad Boar restaurant that Bench would be coming.

Luckily, I already had my cards ready to go; I especially wanted this 1973 Topps card that I had already had signed by Blue Moon Odom signed by Bench.  His signature pretty much drowns out Odom's, but it still is a really cool card to get both signatures on.

Of course I had to go with a couple 1987 Topps themed cards.  I really wanted to get one of my National Card Show VIP cards (above right) signed by someone, and the 2017 Topps Silver Pack 87 chrome really looks awesome in person.

I also got this 2017 Topps 87 mini signed because the rate they charged me for my Bench autos was too good to pass up.

The two 1982 cards (above middle and right) were leftovers from when I went last year, but didn't get them signed.  Again, the rate was so good, I couldn't pass them up, so I ended up getting everything I had with me signed.

Speaking of everything I had with me; I did bring one Doug Flynn card with me.  I had found a 1986 Topps card of Flynn.  Apparently, for the longest time, Flynn would never sign that card.  Recently, Bench held an auction for a children's hospital and Flynn signed around 20 of those cards for a $400 donation.  He held my card and debated with Bench for a while (Bench told him to charge me $20), until Flynn finally asked me for my address and told me he would mail me "something nice" instead.  I'm interested to see what that would be.

Oh yeah, I bought Flynn a margarita as well.  The story behind the drinks is that last year, after our first go round with Bench (which, truthfully didn't come off all that well), I went back through the line after Bench had partaken of some beverages.  I told Bench that I'd buy him a drink, but then someone else brought some.  He said "Oh, I've already got one, but thank you..."  So, this year, I told him that I still owed him a drink, and he said he would always be up for one.  He and Flynn both wanted margaritas, so I went to the bar and bought them some.  When I got back with the drinks, both Flynn and Bench were really surprised (as were the Hope For The Warriors personnel); and both Bench and Flynn now know my name.

Also, when I was getting my cards signed, I asked Bench who he had been the most star struck in meeting.  He responded with "Well, I met Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford.  Had candlelight dinner with both Bushes.  I used to call Bob Hope every week."  I thought that was pretty cool.  My experience with Bench this year was far better than last year (and last year really wasn't all that bad, don't get me wrong).  I definitely will mark the Hope For The Warriors benefit on my calendar and try to go again next year.

Another TTM Success From Blue Moon Odom

Going through my boxes, I typically come across a bunch of cards that I just want to get signed.  Some of the players have signed for me before, so I hold those cards back, and every now and then, I'll send the cards out.  I had gotten John "Blue Moon" Odom TTM several years ago, but I kept seeing these cards in my 1973 Topps box, and kept thinking that I would love to get a few of them signed.

I finally mailed to Odom again, and the cards turned out great.  I think, if he comes back anytime soon, I will get Johnny Bench on the above card.  I think it would be cool with both players autographs on the card.

Yeah, I'm not finishing this one.  It is a cool card, though, and I was glad to be able to get Odom to sign it.

Finally, I added Odom's base card.  It also looks great.

I mailed to Odom on May 4 and got the cards back on May 14, for a 10-day TAT.  I paid Odom's fee of $5/card.

Also, a note on blog comments - I can't reply directly to comments, so if you have specific questions, like how to do TTM or where I get addresses, please just email me.  My email address is listed on the side of the blog.  If you have commented a specific question, I'm not being rude, I just haven't been able to reply directly.

Meeting Johnny Bench and Doug Flynn

My friend Billy, who Chris and I met at the Wood Ducks games a while back, told me recently about a signing that was to take place in Wallace, NC with Hall of Famer, Johnny Bench.  The signing was going to happen at the Mad Boar restaurant in Wallace a few days before the Hope For The Heroes golf tournament.  Apparently, Bench has been coming out this way for years, and the benefit has grown.  I went ahead and searched for a ton of cards, as the lady I spoke to on the phone told me that autographs would be between $5-$10.  I knew there was no way, but from what Billy told me, the prices were very reasonable with a donation going toward the cause.  He donated a sum last year and got his items signed, so I figured I had a good chance to get a ton of stuff taken care of.

In all, I got 11 items signed by Bench, and 14 items signed by Doug Flynn for a donation of $330 to the cause.  Bench was a little surly at the start, but during the second time through the line, he had a couple more drinks in him, and he had settled down.

I made the trip with my son, Chris, and met up with my good friend, Jackson, and also Billy.  Jackson made the trip through the line with me initially and got a couple baseballs signed.  He and I went back through with his Doug Flynn cards, and a couple more baseballs, and that was when Bench had warmed up a lot more.  He offered for us to come behind the table with him and take some pictures, which made the initial surliness a distant memory.

 I had to raid some of my sets to have some good Topps cards for Bench to sign.  Also, I had sent most of my Flynns to someone else for graphing, so I was pretty short on his stuff.  I did get rid of a couple 1976 Topps Reds team cards, which is always a plus.  I put Flynn on those and gave one to Chris.

My amazingly awesome friend, Max, sent me an assortment of Flynn cards to go along with the few that I raided from my completed sets.  All of the cards turned out great, and I was glad to get everything signed.  I don't mind replacing what I robbed from the sets at a later date.

I did find a ton of 1983 Donruss Doug Flynn cards, but that was because that box is at the very bottom of my stack of 5,000-count boxes, and apparently, I was too lazy to look through it for the 50/50 I had sent off for earlier on.

This was Surly Bench, early on.  He made a comment about how I wasn't really donating, but paying to get cards signed.  I got the point, but because I believed in the cause was why I spent so much.  If it was a donation to fund an underwater basket weaving class, I wouldn't have spent as much.

Bench was a lot happier when this photo of Jackson and I was taken with Bench and Flynn.  He really ended up being cool, and I imagine he was just trying to bust my chops early on.  I get it, and I definitely am not bothered by it anymore.

The main piece that was signed was this photo from 2013 of Chris and Bench.  Photo cred goes to old friend of the blog, the great Drew!  (Drew, time for you to come back to the blogs)

Finally, I upgraded the Bench ball in my collection with one of these, and I got an extra one done, just because.

I was happy to contribute to the Hope For The Heroes cause, and also spend some time with my son and a couple good friends.  Thanks to Billy for telling me about the event, and thanks to Jackson for making the trip.I definitely will go next year!

September 2014 Card Show Haul

Chris and I went the the Inside Pitch Toy and Hobby show in Raleigh, NC today and I sure came home with a haul.  I was able to grab a bunch of cards for a few various sets, a few rookie cards and I even was able to grab a bit of trade bait for a few friends.  I was bargain hunting and found some nice Hall of Famers, albeit rough ones, but I'm still happy with them.

The above 1956 Topps Yogi Berra was something I saw early at the show and I waited to jump on it until later.  It is in really rough shape, but I think it looks cool.  It had a price tag of $10.00 on it, but I got it for $7.00 which I think was a deal, regardless of the condition.

For $15, I got this really nice Ernie Banks 1961 Topps.  I looked at a couple of these over the course of the show and figured that since I had seen so many, maybe it was a sign that I should pick one up.

I made the mistake of giving a Billy Williams RC away to a Cubs fan that I used to know, so when I saw this one for $10.00, I jumped on it.  It has a crease that runs across the card, near his elbow, but it still is a sweet RC and I'm glad I have it.

I liked how this 1973 Pro Super Stars Willie Stargell looked, so I grabbed it.  I had never seen any of these before, so I made sure to pick it up.  I got this card from a vendor who was really nice to Chris.  The guy sold Chris a 1962 Topps Hank Aaron All Star card for $10.  Chris brought his own money and came away with a few cards as well.  Maybe he will get around to posting them sometime soon.

Another vendor had a great deal on vintage Bowman at $3.00 a piece, and when I saw this and another 1950 Bowman Virgil Trucks, I went ahead and grabbed them.  I already had one, but it's ok.  It's Mr. Trucks, so you know I can't have too many of his cards.  I'm not sure what I'll do with these, but I was happy to pick them up.

Getting into my set needs, I picked up 23 1959 Topps for my set.  Along with the above Sparky Anderson RC, I got Hall of Famers Don Drysdale, Jim Bunning and Orlando Cepeda.

I looked at a few of these Baseball Thrills cards and picked up one of them, this Stan Musial.  I still need a couple of them, but didn't want to pay the premium that a lot of the sellers had going on these.

I was glad I waited to get this Cepeda.  One guy had this at $20, and another had it at $15.  I got this one for $5 from a guy who didn't necessarily deal with a lot of vintage.  Overall, I was fine with the pricing on the 1959s that I saw, with the exception of the high numbered All Star cards.  I saw a few of them that I wanted to grab, but they were all $15 - $25 or so.  I saw a Mays for $90, and I know I can do better than that.  I didn't see a single Mantle, but I was ok with that.  I know had it been there, someone would have been asking $200 or more for it.

My mail goal for this card show was to pick up cards for my 1959 set, but I did add two cards to my 1969 set.  For some reason, I thought I already had this Ted Williams, but I guess I didn't, since it was still listed in my notebook.  This is a great card of the Splendid Splinter and it also is a high number.  I got it for $9.00.

I saw this Johnny Bench at one table for $50, and passed on it.  Good thing I did, because I found this one in a bin for $15.  I definitely was happy that I used patience in walking around this show.  I did what I always do, I did one walk around the whole venue, picking up only a couple relics and autos out of $3.00 bins and recent cards out of 4/$1/00 boxes.  After I looked around and got a feel for what all was available, I made the rounds again with my notebook in hand, knocking off cards while remaining budget conscious.  I actually came home with money in my pocket, which was a bonus, since I usually leave once my wallet is empty.

I saw only two 1948 Bowman cards at this show, and of the two, I needed one of them for my set. This is card number 48, Dave Koslo.  It is in really good shape, but cost me a premium, at $30.00.

Vintage wasn't the only thing on my mind.  When I walked by a table that had this Christian Walker relic from this year's Pro Debut Heritage, I had to get it.  I was even more willing to pick the card up when the vendor told me he would take only $5.00 for it.  Awesome!

Finally, I noticed that one seller had busted two boxes of Bowman Chrome and left his commons out for sale at 4/$1.00.  I was able to pick up a few bucks worth of cards, a few for some friends, and a few Orioles for me.  I got Adam Jones, Chris Davis and this really cool Sebastian Vader.  I don't have to tell you all how excited I will be when Vader makes the majors and his jerseys become available for sale.  I'm a nerd.

Anyway, that is my look at my haul from the card show.  Not shown is the cheap stack of 13 cards from 1954 Topps for my buddy Jet's set.  I also picked up a good many Cubs cards for my buddy, Max S.

This will probably be my last major buying venture until after Christmas.  I need to save some money just in case the Orioles decide to start playing better once the playoffs start and they advance to the World Series.  I also need to start working on a couple birthdays that are coming up, as well as Christmas.

Hall of Fame Induction Weekend - Meeting Johnny Bench

If you haven't been reading Drew's posts about our trip to the Hall of Fame, then you really are missing out.  You should head over there after you are done reading my blog to see what he has to say.  Check out his blog, here.

So, after we met Rickey Henderson, they were setting up Johnny Bench's table and he came in right when we were about to leave Rickey.  We got right in the very front of the line and got Bench with very little waiting.  He was pretty nice, I think.  He seemed as if he was a little late, but we hadn't really noticed.  Bench signed for Drew, which you can read about here. 

This time, we made sure Chris didn't have any baseballs in his hands so I wouldn't have to dip into any emergency funds to finance it.  He did walk up to Bench and ask if he could have his picture taken with him, to which Bench replied 'sure.'  Someone behind us was in line for his autograph, but was having a time getting whatever it was he wanted signed ready, so Bench let Chris pose for the photo while that person got his stuff together.

The photo turned out great.  The first one of Chris and Bench was from my camera and the bottom one was fro Drew's.  They both looked really good and I'm glad Chris smiled.  Funny thing is, all of the pictures Chris took with me show him less than amused.  I guess it's because he's seen me before.

Stay tuned for the next autograph signing, which could have taken a lot longer than it really did...  To be posted soon!

Card Shop Pickup - 1971 Topps Johnny Bench

I went to the card shop last weekend with my family and picked up several packs of cards.  I also finally bought this 1971 Topps Johnny Bench that the owner has had in his case for some time.  I know I overpaid for the card (30 bucks), but I know how hard it is to sell singles out of the showcase, so I made sure to throw him a bone.

Bench was probably the biggest star I had left to tackle from this set, so I am definitely beginning the home stretch on this.  I hope to finish it by the summer, so look to see more of these cards being knocked off sooner rather than later.

2012 Topps - The Inserts

2012 Topps is loaded with inserts and busting 3 jumbo boxes left me with a ton of trade bait.  I got a couple Orioles, too, so that is always a bonus.

 Ok, the mini 87 Topps are a pleasant surprise.  1987 was one of my favorite sets and was one of the first ones I completed.  I still have a 5,000ct box of 1987 Topps (in order) if anyone is interested in it.  I was happy to get this Adam Jones.

 I was able to add some Ripkens to my PC.  They look similar, but that's ok.  The card design is reminiscent to the stuff that Topps has issued over the last few years, so I guess these fit right inline.

 I was slightly disappointed that Topps didn't use the shot of 'Complacent Reynolds' from last season.  Oh well.  The Golden Parallels look really nice.  Ryan, if you want this Reynolds, let me know.

Here is another new Ripken added to the collection.  I'm pretty much over the dual cards that Topps has put out for the last several years.  Oh well.  They look sharp at least.

 The classic walk-offs look nice.  A lot of empty space.  Probably for sticker autos.

The Golden Moments inserts look nice.  More room for sticker autos.  I like this Kaline who is a very underrated player.

For my Yankee fan friends, here are a couple featuring some classic Yankees.

This Don Mattingly is already spoken for, I'll be sending it to Pete.

All in all, I like the inserts.  I don't feel like the inserts dominate the set like in years past.  I could do without the dual cards.  I also think there is a good bit of wasted space on some of the cards.  Gone are the Topps Town and Topps Attax.  Probably a good thing.  I like the Golden parallels and they would look pretty awesome in some other colors.  What do you all think?

Stay tuned for a post on the base cards!