Another TTM Success From Wade Boggs

When I opened the silver packs from my 2025 Topps jumbo box, I pulled this awesome chrome 1990 Topps Wade Boggs.  I never considered how a 1990 Topps would look when chromed-out and I have to say, they look awesome.  I pulled the card and knew I had to get it signed by Boggs.  I sent it TTM along with the 1994 Topps below, and am really happy with the results. 

The 1994 Topps was in a box of stuff that I'd like to see get into the autograph album, so I included it in the request.  Most of my bulk 1994 Topps were ruined by the over-gloss, so there aren't as many in the album as other years.  There is some great photography in that set, so i want to add more to the album. 

I mailed to Boggs on February 15 and got the cards back on March 6 for a 19-day TAT. I paid his fee of $10/card.

Another TTM Success From Wade Boggs

I've been plotting for quite a while to send a TTM request to Wade Boggs again.  I finally did it recetly, and am very happy with the cards I sent and had returned.

The above 2017 Donruss was a card I really wanted to add to my album.  I loved the 1990 design, and I liked that it was resurrected for the 2017 design.  The autograph turned out really nicely, as well.

These two cards were ones I really wanted done.  I already had a Masterpieces in my album, from Hall of Famer, Brooks Robinson.  The card on the left is a 1990 Score Dream Team card.  It also looks great.

Finally, here are the rest of the cards that I sent Boggs.  I thought the "Pressed Into Service" card from 2016 was really cool.  I needed the 1987 Topps All Star for my set, and I couldn't leave the 2013 Gypsy Queen White Border out.

I mailed to Boggs on January 9 and got the cards back on January 23, for a 14-day TAT.  I sent him $10 cash and got all 6 cards back.

The Topps Autograph Project Page Is Now Live

A project that I started last year finally is complete now that I have gotten the final piece blogged.  I was able to get at least one card signed from each year of Topps cards.  This included both 1951 Red and Blue Back.  I had to buy up some cards to send TTM to be able to get some of the autos, but none of the autographs were purchased from a secondary market or collector.

I have created a page on this blog showcasing each year of Topps with the corresponding card that I chose for each year.  Some choices were easier than others.  Some cards were chosen because it showed a big name player, or a team that was no longer around.  The above 1953 Mike Sandlock was chosen because he was 100 years old and the oldest living former MLB player at the time he signed it.

Lots of the cards have stories, like the one I chose for 1970.  I took one look at this John Donaldson card and knew right away that it would represent 1970 in my project.  The card itself is sharp and in great shape.  The card also features the now-defunct Seattle Pilots.  It is only right that the Pilots would be the team I showed on whichever 1970 I picked.  Most of all, though, I chose this one because it was given to me by Donaldson himself when I lamented in my TTM request that I wished I had my own copy of the 1970 card to send to him.  He must have had one, and sent it back signed with the other cards I sent him.  This was an awesome gesture that makes me happy to be able to immortalize this card in my project.

Many of the older cards I have sent TTM have had some pretty outlandish jerseys.  I had to make sure I had the crazy Astros jersey show up somewhere in this timeline.  Luckily, I just got this Ken Forsch signed.

Some of the cards I have gotten signed are pretty awesome.  Some are even more than that.  This Wade Boggs might be my favorite and was the very first card I pulled for the project this morning when I was lining things up.  I was really excited when I got this Boggs signed and it definitely is one of the best looking cards in the bunch.

This 2008 Jamie Moyer is the final year that I needed in order to complete my project.  I use the term "complete" loosely, because I will always have a preference toward Topps issues before any other brand when I am sending cards TTM.  I don't know why 2008 was the more difficult series to get signed, but for some reason it was.

Finally, I had several 2016 Topps to choose from, but chose the more recent of the bunch in this Pat Neshek.  The other 2016s I got signed were 50/50s from my friend, Dilan.  Many of the cards I had to chose from for other years came from the help of my great friend, Max.  Ryan from the blog "O No Another Orioles Blog" was also a huge help.

I hope you all enjoy checking out the page for this project.  The tabs are at the top of the blog, just below the banner.  If you are on a mobile device, you can access the page by clicking on the little white down arrow to the right of the little ribbon that says "home".  I hope you all can access it and give me your feedback on this.  I'm really excited about it!

Also, what do you all think of the choices I made for each year?  Thanks for reading, everyone!

TTM Success - Wade Boggs

This was one of the more exciting TTMs that I have received so far in my endeavor to send out cards instead of baseballs.  I learned that Hall of Famer Wade Boggs would sign pretty much whatever you sent, if you paid a small fee, I had to give it a shot.  He was actually in the first big batch of cards I sent out on February 18, and on Thursday (March 10), I got the cards that I sent him back, all signed.

The above 1991 Topps was the one that I really wanted to see again.  I love the clouds in the background.  I think this may be one of the most beautiful cards that Topps has produced.  I believe that the 1991 set was one of Topps's best efforts as far as photography is concerned.  They have continued to improve, but I really feel like 1991 was a very eye-appealing set, that might be a bit underrated as far as collectors are concerned.

Initially, I was only going to send the 1991 Topps in for a signature, but I figured that since I was paying a fee, I should try to maximize my efforts.  Then, I remembered that my good friend, Max, gave me this 1984 Topps '83 Batting Leaders card that he got signed IP by Bill Madlock.  I knew I had a pretty good chance of getting Boggs on the other half, so I figured I should go ahead and send it in.  The gamble paid off and I now have this card signed by both guys featured on it.

To round out what I was sending in to Boggs, I searched the huge boxes of cards that my mom had given me recently and pulled out a bunch of Boggs's cards.  I whittled down the selections to three additional cards.  One of the boxes she got me had a bunch of 1986 Topps inside.  I had recently thought of picking up a wax box of them so I could start looking for cards out of it to send to Max for autos, and even consider doing some TTMs.  Fast forward a few weeks, and I am on a serious roll with the TTM submissions; I love the boxes she gave me.  They have really come in handy for this little project.  I think it is funny that had she called me about the boxes a year ago, I probably would have told her that I wasn't all that interested in a bunch of Topps cards from the 80s and 90s.  Now, I can't wait to see what else she is able to find.

I've enjoyed this aspect of collecting so much lately, that I have been formulating a project that will tie into the TTMs that I have sent and am planning to send.  I love how all of these different cards look when they come back signed.  I think I have added more signed 1987 Topps than any other set so far.  I haven't really counted, though.  I probably will soon.

Another set that seems to always look good signed is the 1989 Topps set.  This Boggs turned out really nice, even though I guess him signing across his face does look kind of strange.  I still believe the 1989 set might be one of the best overall designs that Topps has offered.  Yeah, ok, the set itself might be worthless, but I think I am gaining a whole new perspective on an actual value of a set that extends far beyond money.

I hope you all are enjoying the recent flood of TTMs.  I am seriously loving it and my friend, Drew was right when he said it was addictive.  I have a ton of cards pending, and a few more queued up to be sent.  I also have a few successes still sitting here, waiting to be blogged.

Boggs (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1999 for the Red Sox, Yankees and Devil Rays.  He had 3,010 career hits, 118 home runs and a .328 career batting average.  He was a 12-time All Star, a 5-time batting champ and batted .300 or better in 15 of the 18 seasons in which he played.  He also never struck out more than 68 times in a season.

Boggs never won an MVP award, having finished as high as 4th in the AL MVP voting (1985) and had to leave the Red Sox as a free agent to win his only World Series Championship, which he won with the Yankees in 1996.

Boggs was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (2005) with 91.9% of the vote.  I paid a $10 fee, sent to him on February 18 and got the cards back on March 10, making him a 21-day TAT.

Instagram Trade With Jacob - Lots of Autos

I completed a deal on Instagram recently with my buddy, Jacob, after he had been offering me the above Willie Mays auto for some time now.  I think I passed on this card quite a few times before I finally gave in and bought it from him with some cash and also sent him a bunch of cards for his various PCs.

The Mays is a really nice card and is in good shape.  This auto is actually a lot better than the one I have on my Mays ball.

Jacob also included a bunch of extras that I wasn't expecting.  I imagine these cards were TTM autos that he had received, but I really liked them all, nonetheless.  This Wade Boggs relic/auto is pretty cool, even though it is creased quite a bit.  Two Hall of Fame autos in this deal, not too bad.

Here is an auto of the 1948 Rookie of the Year, Al Dark.  Dark passed away in 2014 at the age of 92.  He had a pretty decent career, having hit 2,089 hits, 126 home runs and carrying a .289 batting average over 14 years in the majors.  He won the World Series in 1954 with the Giants.

 Here is an auto the Jacob sent me of former 20-game winner, John Tudor.  Tudor played in the majors from 1979 to 1990 and had a career record of 117-72 with a 3.12 ERA and 988 strikeouts.  He won the World Series in 1988 with the Dodgers.

This 1986 Donruss of Chris Chambliss looks really nice signed in blue sharpie.  Chambliss was the 1971 AL Rookie of the Year.  Over 17 seasons, he had 2,109 hits, 185 home runs and a .279 batting average.  Chambliss won the World Series with the Yankees in 1977 and 1978.

Here is an auto of former pitcher, Bryn Smith.  This is a 1983 Fleer.  Smith played from 1981 to 1993 and had a career record of 108-94 with a 3.53 ERA and 1,028 strikeouts.

Finally, here is a 1983 Topps Traded Steve Kemp auto.  Kemp played from 1977 to 1986 and 1988.  He had 1,128 hits, 130 home runs and a .278 career batting average.

Thanks for the deal, Jacob.  I definitely wasn't expecting the extra autos and they all turned out to be really cool!

Results of the Ball of Fame Box Break

So, I hope everyone enjoyed last night's box break of Historic Autographs' Ball of Fame.  I really enjoyed shooting the video, even though I need to work on my supermodel looks... 

 Here are some shots of the box.  I ordered the Ball of Fame off of Blowoutcards.  I had been looking at them since they were released in August and when the price dropped to $79, I figured now was a good time to pick one up.  I had some expense checks saved up from work, so it was easy to part with the cash.

 I'm going to keep the box, as I think it looks pretty cool.  Here is the side panel which describes the product.

Finally, here is the ball that I pulled.  I got the full name variation of Wade Boggs.  The ball is sealed in a PSA/DNA cube and the rear of the cube has the authentication card and grading results of the ball.  The overall grade is 9.5 with the auto itself being graded at 9 and the ball is graded at 10.

Boggs is my 51st different Hall of Famer.  He was my brother John's favorite player growing up, so naturally when I called him, he was excited.  He says he is going to save up and try one of these boxes as well.  We'll see about that.

I had never heard of Historic Autograph Company until I saw the ad for the Ball of Fame appear on the side of my facebook page.  Usually, most of that stuff is a scam, but this one ad appeared to be legit.  I read the sell sheet for the product and I was intrigued.  Now, having opened one of their products, I am very impressed and will definitely buy at least one more box.  I was so impressed with the product, I emailed the company this morning.  I have yet to hear back, but i figure that since it is Saturday, I probably won't hear anything today.

If you want to check them out yourself, you can go to their website and give them a look.  Also be sure to check out the checklist for Ball of Fame and see how extensive it is.  I can't wait to get my hands on another one of these, hopefully sooner than later.  Also, if anyone is looking for Christmas ideas for me, here you go, haha.

Wade Boggs (b. 1958) played in the majors from 1982 to 1999 for the Red Sox, Yankees and Devil Rays.  He had 3,010 career hits, 118 home runs and a career .328 batting average.  He won 5 batting titles in his career.  He won the World Series with the Yankees in 1996.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005 with 91.9% of the vote on his first ballot.