Free Signed 87s From Billy

I got a DM on Instagram not too long ago from a guy named Billy who I had traded with a few times.  He had gone on my needs list of signed 87 Topps and offered up two of the cards he had free of charge.  That knocked off two more cards, the above Rick Anderson, and the below Greg Gross.

I had both of these guys out on TTM, but the cards had not come back yet.  It was really nice of Billy to hook me up.

Thanks so much, Billy!

TTM Success - Aaron Small

I found that Aaron Small signed TTM just by chance.  I had found the above 1995 Score in a box and figured I would search him.  I saw he signed, then I happened to remember that I had seen his cards in the stack of 2005 Update that I had, so I got some pretty cool cards signed as a result.

He signed in blue Sharpie, and the cards look great.

Small (b. 1971) played in the majors from 1994 to 1998, 2002 and 2004 to 2006 for the Blue Jays, Marlins, A's, Diamondbacks, Braves and Yankees.  He had a career record of 25-13 with 170 strike outs and a 5.20 ERA.

I mailed to Small on October 31 and got the cards back on November 13, for a 13-day TAT.

RedsFest 50/50 From TTMGraphs

I love when other teams' fan fests come up.  Teams other than the Orioles have it where you can get a ton of stuff signed, and it helps me clear out some old stuff when folks send me their lists of cards that they need.  I helped out someone new this year, a kid with the handle TTMGraphs.  He went to RedsFest, and worked hard to knock two 1987 Topps off of my list.

He wasn't able to rack like some folks I know, but he did do well enough to where he was able to send a few other cards back my way.

Tom Hume was one of the players he was able to get for me, and this 1981 Topps is the result.  I have had a bunch of 81s for a while, so it was nice getting this one out of my box and into my album.

Even better was being able to get these two Chris Welsh out of my Donruss/Fleer box and getting them signed.  The Donruss/Fleer box is at the bottom of my tower of 5,000-count boxes, so it is hard to get into it on a regular basis.  Anytime I can ger cards out of it is good.

These are the two 1987s that he got signed for me.  I have Welsh out TTM, but if that one comes back, it'll be trade bait.

TTM Success - Joe Coleman

I got some nice vintage cards signed in this TTM success from Joe Coleman.  The above 1977 Topps father/son card turned out really well.  Topps has done this a couple times, and the cards are always nice.  I have gotten a few signed.  I think I have only finished two of them, though, the 1985 Schofield and Skinner.

I also got some of Coleman's base cards in, a 1969, 1973 and 1976.  The 1969 was beat up before I sent it in; it was a filler card in my set that got upgraded before I completed the set.

Coleman (b. 1947) played in the majors from 1965 to 1979 for the Senators, Tigers, Cubs, A's, Blue Jays, Gians and Pirates.  He had a career record of 142-135 with 1,728 strike outs and a 3.70 ERA.  He finished a career best 23rd in the 1973 AL MVP voting when he went 23-15 for the Tigers.  He was an All Star in 1972.  He won 20 or more games twice in his career, 1971 and 1973.

I mailed to Coleman on October 25 and got the cards back on November 10, for a 16-day TAT.

TTM Success - Don Money

This one took a while, but I finally got my cards in from Don Money.  The cards were signed in ballpoint pen, and turned out fairly well.

Money (b. 1947) played in the majors from 1968 to 1983 for the Phillies and Brewers.  He had 1,623 hits, 176 home runs and a .261 batting average.  He was a 4-time All Star (1974, 1976,1977 and 1978) and his best finish in the NL MVP voting was 29th, which he received 1974 and 1978.

I mailed to Money on November 19, 2016 and got the cards back on November 9, 2018, for a 720-day TAT.

Instagram Deal With Rocco

My good friend, Anthony received his Christmas gift recently, and made a nice post on Instagram about it.  Due to the post and his tagging me, a guy named Rocco began following me.  He saw some of the IP autos I had gotten this season, and sent me a DM asking if I would trade.  When it turned out that he had access to his Dad's incomplete signed 1987 Topps set, we went from discussing an actual trade to my buying some of his dad's autos.  I ended up with three tough deceased guys from the set, Chris Brown, Jose Uribe and Dwight Lowry.  I checked each auto with certified ones on Ebay and they all seem to check out, which is great.  Rocco has a ton more signed 87s, so I feel like we will be making a bunch more trades and sales.

Chris Brown (b. 1961 - d. 2006) played in the majors from 1984 to 1989 for the Giants, Padres and Tigers.  He had 410 hits, 38 home runs and a .269 batting average.  He was an All Star in 1986.

After his retirement from baseball, Brown worked in Iraq as an 18-wheel driver for Halliburton.  He took fire on several occasions, including a time when his convoy was attacked resulting in the deaths of six Halliburton drivers and one soldier.  Another driver had been kidnapped and released.  He was able to return home safely from Iraq, only to die as a result of burns suffered during a fire at a vacant house that he owned.  He was 45.

Jose Uribe (b. 1959 - d. 2006) played in the majors from 1984 to 1993 for the Cardinals, Giants and Astros.  He had 738 hits, 19 home runs and a .241 battting average.  He was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic at the age of 47.

Dwight Lowry (b. 1957 - d. 1997) played in the majors in 1984 and 1986 to 1988 for the Tigers and Twins.  He had 62 hits, 5 home runs and a .273 batting average.  Lowry was born in Lumberton, NC, and attended UNC.  Following his playing career, he managed in the Tigers minor league system.  He suffered a heart attack at his home in Jamestown, NY.  He had been managing the Jamestown Jammers and died within an hour after a victory.  He was 39.

Thanks so much for the deal, Rocco.  These are definitely some tough cards to cross off for my set, but you helped me out tremendously.

Christmas From Max

My good friend Max has been hooking me up for a long time now.  I can't remember what it was like before he came along, but I know it wasn't nearly as fun.  We don't get to talk like we used to because he is so busy with school and sports, but he still makes time to check in and we still do 50/50s for each other quite a bit.

He hooked me up by helping me get my 1987 Topps Bo Jackson signed at a show a couple months ago.  I had to pay Bo's ridiculous fee, but Max got to meet him, and got my card taken care of.  I'm really happy to cross this one off of my list.

Max has pledged to help me as much as he can with my signed 1987 set.  For Christmas he sent me this awesome Dennis Eckersley.  Eck was someone I would have probably paid for at an upcoming National, but I probably would have waited for quite a while.  I'm happy that I don't have to wait for it any longer!

I had looked up quite a few Dave Henderson 87s, but hadn't pulled the trigger on any.  He passed away a few years ago, and I wasn't able to get him while he was living.  I have learned very quickly that once a player passes, his signed 87 Topps cards disappear from the secondary market.  I'm really happy that Max found one and sent it to me.

Thanks so much for getting Bo done for me, and also for the amazing Christmas gifts, Max!  You're one of my closest collecting friends, and you have taught me so much about 50/50s and graphing.  Merry Christmas, my friend, to you and to your family!