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.

2021 National Free Signer - Tim Stoddard

Tim Stoddard was the last free signer for this year's National, and is the last free signer I am posting, thus wrapping up the bulk of my 2021 National posts.  I had amassed a ton of Stoddard vouchers, as most folks weren't sticking around til 2pm on Sunday to get him.  I was short on cards, so Max came in and helped me out with what I needed to match up with each voucher, save for one.  I rushed to a table near the signing area and found this 1984 Donruss Stoddard, which I ended up having him inscribe with 1983 WS Champs.  I don't have many 84 Donruss at all in my albums, so adding this one is pretty cool.

I had also pulled my 1991 Crown Orioles Stoddard to send along, and got it done.

Max hooked it up with a ton of Stoddard Topps cards; his 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988 getting signed.

I also had gotten his 1984 and 1987 Fleer, as well as his 1987 Donruss taken care of.

This just about wraps up my 2021 National posts.  I'll be back with a Wood Ducks recap, an in-person signing going on tonight and lots more TTM posts.  Hopefully you enjoyed my look at the 2021 National Sports Collectors Convention; there may be one or two more posts sprinkled in there, but the bulk of what I saw and did have been summarized.  Thanks for reading.  Also, I do see your comments, but Blogger doesn't allow direct replies, so if you truly want an answer to something, shoot me an email.

2021 National Free Signer - Brian McRae

Brian McRae was one of the few free signers at the National this year who I hadn't gotten TTM, or at past Nationals.  He was pretty nice, and I had to ask him about his dad, Hal McRae.  I have needed Hal for my 87 set, but have struck out so far.  Brian said his dad doesn't sign much, and I left it at that.

The above 1993 Stadium Club turned out great.  When I had only one voucher, this was the card that I absolutely wanted to get signed.  It turned out really well, and I was able to find a few more vouchers, so I got some other cards signed as well.

I believe I am out of McRae cards in my boxes, now that I got all of these done.  I could be (and probably am) wrong, however.  He signed a 1991 Fleer, 1992 Pinnacle, 1991 Upper Deck and a 1992 Donruss.

Finally, I got this 1995 Leaf signed.  These cards were some of my favorites to open in the parking lot of the card shop back then with my mom.  They turn out really well when signed, and the set had some really great inserts.  The only drawback was that they, like most 90s cards, were over-glossed and tend to stick together and become bricked after a while.  Don't store your cards in an attic, boys and girls.

McRae (b. 1967) played in the majors from 1990 to 1999 for the Royals, Cubs, Mets, Rockies and Blue Jays.  He had 1,336 hits, 103 home runs and a .261 batting average.

2021 National Free Signer - Frank White

Frank White was another of the free signers at the National this year who I had added to my 1987 Topps set via a private signing.  I did have several of his cards, so I picked a few nice ones to match the number of vouchers that I had, and added them to my autograph album.  The above 1990 Topps is a nice card; I have always liked this design.

White also signed a 1986 Topps and a 1988 Donruss Baseballs Best.  Those cards really look nice, and I have a bunch, still, that I can use for future signings, if the need arises.

I am getting close to wrapping up my recaps of the 2021 National; just two more free signers to go.  Then, I'll be back on the TTM recap train, as this has put me even farther behind than I was before.  It's a happy problem to have, though.  I won't run out of stuff to talk about for quite a while.

2021 National Free Signer - Stan Bahnsen

A common theme among the free signers at this year's National was that most of them were guys I already had, either due to them signing TTM, or I got them through past paid signings.  I'm not complaining, but the past successes made it tough to find cards in my boxes, such was the case with Stan Bahnsen.  I cleaned up a bunch of cards I had for him once I got him TTM.  So, at a card show in Raleigh back in June, I picked this 1975 Topps up.  I figured it would be nice to add a 75 to the album, since it has been a while, and the card looks really nice.  Even with my bad crop job.

I also got these cards, a 1977 and 1978 Topps signed.  I also had him sign a 1980 Topps, but I realized I already had one signed by him, so that one will go in my trade bait pile.  One of these days, I'll make a list of the cards I have extras of and may be able to pull off some trades.

Bahnsen was nice, even though he was questioning whether or not my wife really did approve of all the cards I have in my collection.  If he knew about the signed movie memorabilia she had; or her signed hockey stuff, maybe he would have understood a little better about the dynamic of our relationship.  It was funny, though, and I definitely didn't take offense.  That being said, I tried to have conversations with every signer that I met at the National, and all of the conversations were great.  I didn't meet a single signer at the show who didn't seem to want to be there.

2021 National Free Signer - Cecil Cooper

Cecil Cooper was another of the free signers who was at the National this year that I had gotten before (several years ago) and also TTM.  So, when it came time to find cards of Cooper, I was pretty dry.

I did find this 1986 Donruss that I had him sign, and because I wasn't able to score any more vouchers for him, it was the only card I was able to get done for him,.

I do like the 1986 Donruss set.  It is known for the bad Jose Canseco mustache rookie card, but it is a nicely designed card.  I was able to get through Cooper's line fairly quickly and move on to the rest of the show.

2021 National Pickup - Marvin Miller Signed Baseball

When Marvin Miller was finally elected to the Hall of Fame, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get a baseball that had been signed by him because I had tried him TTM in the past and was rejected.  He passed away before he was enshrined, and I was able to find a nice baseball that had been signed by him at this year's show for a good price.

Miller (b. 1917 - d. 2012) was the executive director of the MLB Players Association from 1966 to 1982, and a key figure in baseball due to his ushering in free agency.  Like it or not, his influence on the MLBPA changed baseball forever, and abolished the reserve clause which bound players to teams for the entirety of their careers.

After 7 failed attempts at being elected to the Hall of Fame between 2003 and 2018, Miller was elected in 2020, after receiving the required 75% of the vote.  He becomes my 158th Hall of Famer on a baseball.