TTM Success - Lou Brock

Here and there, I will take part in a private signing, even if the subject isn't in the 1987 Topps set.  I pulled this Lou Brock short print last year when I was busting some 2019 Topps boxes, and knew I wanted to get it signed.  I had seen the listing for the signing, and sent my card off, then COVID hit.  I was forced to wait several months for the signing to take place, especially since Brock is a high risk candidate, as well.  The signing did finally take place, and the card looks awesome.

I like when the short prints look especially awesome.  Topps has been using great photos for their short prints, and this one is one of the better ones I have seen.  This will look amazing in my album, and I am glad I put the money down to do it.

I mailed to the signing on February 20 and got the card back on May 26, for a 96-day TAT.  I paid a fee of $39.00.  Not bad for a legendary Hall of Famer.

Third National Autograph Session - Lou Brock

My third and final paid autograph session at the National was with Hall of Famer, Lou Brock.  He was the one voucher that I needed and could afford for my collection.  All of the other guys were a bit too expensive, so Brock was the one.

He was really nice, and I got a video of him signing for my friend, Andrew.  I'm sure it will be posted on Andrew's blog sometime soon.

Brock (b. 1939) played in the majors from 1961 to 1979 for the Cubs and Cardinals.  He had 3,023 hits, 149 home runs, and a .293 career batting average.  His 938 career stolen bases at his retirement were a record until it was broken by Rickey Henderson.  Brock was a 6-time All Star and finished as high as 2nd in the NL MVP voting (1974).  He finished second to Steve Garvey that year.  Brock won the World Series with the Cardinals in 1964 and 1967.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985 (his first ballot) when he received 79.7% of the vote.

Brock is my 118th Hall of Famer and was the 8th and final Hall of Famer that I picked up at the National.

I Got My Autograph Voucher Tickets Today

The National is creeping ever so closely now.  Today, I got my autograph voucher tickets for the first two sessions that I purchased.  Last time when I went (2012) I had voucher numbers 4 and 5 for Ralph Kiner and 9 and 10 for Frank Robinson.  Funny thing is, both of those guys canceled and I ended up with Jim Rice and Joe Morgan.

I just think it is really cool that I got numbers 1-2 for Brock and 1-3 for Brooks.  I imagine my numbering for Hulk Hogan will be a bit higher, since I bought these during the pre-sale and waited a bit to get Hogan.

How it works is, they call the tickets by number, so, like 1-50 will be called, then 51-100, and so on.  So, since I am so low, I can camp out and get in line quickly, get my stuff signed, tell Brooks he is amazing, then head on over to Lou Brock.  I think this will work out in my favor, since both of them are signing on Sunday.  I won't be stuck in a line forever and can make sure I have enough time for both guys.

I need Brock on a baseball for my HOF collection, and I am getting Brooks on an 8x10 photo of he and I together.  Chris is getting Brooks on a ball.  Andrew is also going with me to Brooks and he has some plans of his own for Brooks that I'm sure he will share on his blog.

Andrew is accompanying me to Brock, and both of us are getting him on baseballs.

Yes, we are going!

In just a couple weeks, we will be boarding a plane to Chicago in order to attend the National Sports Collectors Convention.  I bought myself a VIP pass, but I probably will miss the sneak peek on Wednesday, since we land a bit late.  Oh well.

Going to the National was my very good friend, Andrew's idea.  After we met up and hung out last year, he and his family were looking for a reason for all of us to get together again, since we all hit it off so well.  So, the plan is for me to hang with Andrew most of, if not the whole, time while we are there.  I went to the National when it was in Baltimore in 2012 and had a blast.

I purchased several autograph vouchers for this year, the one I may be most excited about is someone I already met before, Brooks Robinson.  Brooks was ill when the National was in Baltimore, so I didn't get a chance to have him sign this photo of us together.  This was shot back in 2009 when my brother, Andy, and I attended the "Evening With Brooks" event in Baltimore.  I had an 8x10 printed of this photo, and want to have Brooks sign it.

I plan on adding at least one new Hall of Fame signed baseball to my collection when we meet Lou Brock.  I have been meaning to get his auto for a while, now, but haven't jumped on one.  Brock was one of the few on the docket that I could afford, that I didn't yet have.  Andrew and I will both be meeting Brooks and Brock.  I also have a ticket for my son to meet Brooks.

I thought I was done buying autograph vouchers until a couple days ago when I saw that Hulk Hogan was a late addition to the lineup.  Actually, he and Ric Flair will both be there, but I have already met Flair twice.  I was really excited to tell Chris, my son, that he would have a chance to meet Hogan.  Hogan was an icon of my childhood, and it will be so cool to meet him and get his autograph.  I also paid for a photo op for Chris, so he can get his picture taken with Hogan.  It cost quite a bit of money, but I think the memory I'm making for him will be worth far more than anything else I could buy with it.

Finally, I have built up a nice budget for the show, and I fully intend to use it on some good stuff.  Hopefully a few signed baseballs, maybe a few vintage cards, but my main goals as far as cards go are really only two: complete the 1959 Topps set, and don't leave the show without the 1992 Donruss Elite Cal Ripken autograph.  Those two goals are easily attainable, and I believe I can accomplish them.

Most of all, I plan on meeting up with a few friends from the blogs and Instagram.  I know I will be able to finally meet my good friend, Max, in person.  We also plan on hanging out with a few others like Caleb, Frankie and many more.

I'm really excited.  I'm counting the days, and have already started gathering up some stuff that I will be bringing along.

June 2015 Raleigh Card Show - Day 2 Recap

I'm more tired tonight than I was last night, but I managed to get through today's card show without incident.  My wife wasn't able to come and help today, so, I was a one man show, but managed to work out just fine.  I ended up selling a decent amount of stuff today, even though the show itsle fwas pretty slow.

I had plenty of time to get up and move around, so I found a fellow dealer who had some low priced vintage, which I browsed a few times.  In his bargain bin, I found a good bit of well loved vintage that I needed for my collection.  The above Lou Brock is badly creased, but still a nice card.  I got it for a steal (can't remember the price).

You can see that this Yogi is pretty beat up, but one that I needed in my collection.  I like it, and got it for less than $10.

This is now only the second vintage football card that I have.  I never once saw Wahoo McDaniel play a game of football, but I did see him a lot in another venue.  I used to watch Chief Wahoo McDaniel on Mid Atlantic Championship wrestling take on the likes of Nikita Koloff, Tully Blanchard, Magnum T.A., and of course, the one and only Ric Flair.  I watched a lot of wrestling as a kid, and McDaniel was one of my favorites.  To be honest, I was really excited to get this card for $9.00.

I got this 1959 Topps card from the guy.  This is actually the same guy that I got yesterday's 1959 Topps set needs from, so I ended up with 6 from him.  The back of this Yankees team card is unmarked, so that's a plus.  Also, it is a high number.

An oddball Brooks Robinson card that I didn't have in my PC was this 1969 Nabisco Team Flakes card.  The guy (Kurt) told me that this was a tough find, and I believe him to be right.  I got this one for $10, and others in fat better shape, are commanding a much higher premium on Ebay.

Kurt was a really nice (and patient) guy, and I would find out later after he delivered my cards to my table (since I had to run to attend to a customer, then pay Kurt via PayPal).  I didn't even look through my stuff until a little while later, only to discover that Kurt had added free extras to my stack.  I said yesterday that I had no cards of Hall of Famer, Arky Vaughan; well, I now have TWO.  I have his 1933 and now 1934 Goudey cards.  Pretty cool!

This 1953 Bowman Color Duke Snider was a nice find in the stack as well, then I discovered why it was free...

This appears to have come from the same vendor who I got my Feller from.  I bet the Snider and Feller were part of the same collection, and Kurt must have picked it up yesterday, only to decide to hand it off to me.  I actually think it is really cool that this and the Feller resided a couple pages from each other for countless years, only to find themselves reunited in my collection.  Kind of cool, I think.

So, I had $15 left to spend from the budget that I had allotted for myself.  I saw this 2008 Bowman Chrome Chris Davis at the table across from me, so for $5, I picked it up.  Only thing was, the vendor didn't have $5 in change, so I asked him if he would sell me the below Andrew McCutchen for an additional $5, so I could just give him the $10 I had in my pocket.

He made the deal, and I got this McCutchen RC that I needed.  I probably had one before, but that was way back in 2005, and I probably let it go in an Ebay lot back then.  Who knows.  I'm just glad to have another.

Finally, as the show was winding down, and I was about to leave, I figured I would go ahead and burn the last $5 I had in my pocket.  I milled about until I saw this framed photo of Bob Feller.  As luck would have it, it belonged to Chandy, a guy that I have known since I was a kid, back when I first began collecting.  Chandy operated one of the two former shops that were in Winston-Salem when I was a kid.  He closed up back in 2005 and strictly does shows now.  I talk to Chandy every time I can when I am at shows, and he is always handy with advice and knowledge.  I asked him if he would take $5 for the Feller photo, and he said he would since it was a larger piece and he didn't was to lug it around.  Score for the Man Cave!!

So, I had a really successful card show, and I am seriously considering signing up for the three day show in July, right before the National.  That would continue to help me clear out room, and maybe raise just that much more money to take with me to Chicago.  We shall see, but I bet I do the July show.  I had so much fun this time, why pass it up?

Another Instagram Trade With Max S.

A few weeks ago, I completed another deal with a guy, Max, that I met on Instagram.  I sent him some more Cubs cards and in return, he sent me this 2013 Bowman Chrome Clint Frazier and a few vintage cards.

I was happy to get a chrome Frazier, since I didn't have much of him.  He's a pretty good prospect and it's nice to grab a few here and there before they reach the majors.  I don't do much prospecting at all, but in this case, I was happy to get the card.

The highlight of the vintage cards was this 1969 Topps world series highlight card.  I already had it in my set, but I will be adding it to my HOF box.  It is a nice looking card.  Max also included a 1976 Topps Brock, and a few other non-stars.

Thanks for the trade, Max, I really appreciate it!