TTM Success - Billy DeMars

I've done a lot of checking lately on older players who sign TTM and found some that have cards in some pretty old Bowman sets.  I also have been working on trying to get some Orioles on as many older years of Topps and Bowman as I can.  Since their (the Orioles) first cards showed up in 1954, I have to find St. Louis Browns in older sets.  It is getting tougher and tougher to find living St. Louis Browns, so it is critical that if I want to get this stuff signed, I need to get it done ASAP.  So, I picked up this 1951 Bowman Billy DeMars card and sent it off for signature.  The card came out great, I think.  I love the old Browns hat and jersey, and DeMars has a nice signature.

DeMars (b. 1925) played in the majors in 1948, 1950 and 1951 for the Philadelphia Athletics and St. Louis Browns.  He was a shortstop and third baseman who collected 50 hits, no home runs and a .237 batting average over his career.

I mailed to DeMars on February 10 and got the card back on February 17, for a 7-day TAT.

TTM Success - Bob Harrison

I was going through my Orioles box and found this one lonely 1979 TCMA among the cards of past Orioles.  A check to sportscollectors.net showed that the guy depicted on the card, Bob Harrison had a great return rate via TTM, so I figured I would put the card to use.  I mailed the card out on November 7 and the card came back on November 15, for an 8-day TAT.

Harrison (b. 1930) played in the majors in 1955 and 1956 for the Orioles.  He only appeared in two games total in his time in the Majors, pitching to an ERA of 12.27.  He didn't pick up a win or loss, leaving him with a 0-0 record.  Also, he only pitched in 3.2 innings.

Harrison was signed by the New York Giants prior to the 1949 season, then was picked up by the St. Louis Browns via the minor league draft in 1950.  He remained in the Browns/Orioles system until he received his call-up to the Majors.  His minor league stats are incomplete, as most older players like that are known to be.  His baseball-reference page shows that he also spent a season in Cleveland's system.  From the stats that hey have, Harrison had a mnor league record of 66-85.  His ERA stats are incomplete.

I'm glad I sent off this card for a TTM autograph.  Otherwise, I would have never known that this former Oriole ever made it to the big club.  Now, I have his autograph and can put it with the rest of my former Orioles.

TTM Success - Johnny Groth

Another batch of cards came back on April 28 that had some more cards that were picked up during my trip to Columbia.  A few of the guys I picked up charge for TTM, so I had to space out a few of them so I could afford to get all of the guys I picked up.  One of the first guys who charged that was in the first batch I sent out on April 18 was former Brown, Johnny Groth.  I wanted to make sure I had a few former Browns players in this Topps Autograph Project in case I decide later to do an Orioles card from every year of Topps.  This 1953 Topps of Groth turned out really nice, even though he is in a Tigers hat.  The Browns logo will suffice for now.

When I was buying the cards at the antique shop, I had a list of guys that signed TTM as close to 100% of the time as possible.  I pulled a few cards of each player on my list, and tried to make sure different years were represented.  I didn't pay attention, at the time, to who charged, and who was free.  So, I ended up with quite a few Groth cards, but couldn't decide which ones I wanted to send and which I wanted to hold back.

In the end, I decided to go ahead and spend the $5 per each card and send them all to him.  I'm glad I did, because each card turned out great.  It was well worth my "investment" in picking up all of these cards,

Groth (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1946 to 1960 for the Tigers, Browns, White Sox, Senators and A's.  He had 1,064 hits, 60 home runs and a .279 batting average.  Groth has a connection with a dear friend of the blog, as well.  Not only was he a teammate of one Virgil Trucks, he was also traded with Mr. Trucks from the Tigers (along with Hal White) in 1952 to the Browns for Owen Friend, Bob Nieman and Jay Porter.

I mailed to Groth on April 18 and got the cards back on April 28, for a 10-day TAT.  Groth charges $5 per autograph, and I believe it is well worth it!

TTM Success - Ned Garver

I got one of the best TTM successes in a while when all of this stuff came in from former pitcher, Ned Garver on April 2.  I sent a check for $25 and two cards in hopes of adding some nice pieces to my Topps Autograph project.

I was really excited about this 1952 Topps, since it showed Garver as a St. Louis Brown.  I think this card looks great, and turned out really nice when he signed it.  It looks better in person.

The card that prompted the TTM, though, was this 1951 Topps Blue Back.  I wanted to make sure I had the Browns represented on the Blue Backs, and Garver fit the bill.  I hope that after I complete my Topps Autograph Project, I can go back and do it again, but with Orioles/Browns cards.  I think it is possible to complete that, as well.

When I got my package in, I was pleasantly surprised that Garver included this card of his own that he signed for me.  Also in a Browns uniform, this card turned out really nice.

The $25.00 check was to order a copy of Garver's book, Catch 20, Too! Which came in a few days afterward.  If anyone is interested in buying a copy of his book, the contact information is above.

The best part of the TTM success, though, was that I was able to tie this success in with an old, dear friend of the blog, Mr. Virgil Trucks.  Garver was a teammate of Mr. Trucks, and he discusses their friendship in the letter that he wrote back to me.  I was really happy to get a letter back from him.  Here is what it says:

William,
Thanks for the book order - hope you enjoy it.

Virgil was one of my best friends.  He was a great guy.  We stayed in touch - by phone - to the end.

I liked being a Brownie - very much!  Veeck was super to play for - I loved it.  Satchel Paige was a very good friend.  Eddie Gaedel was the greatest promotion ever.  Still talking about him 65 years later.  Talked to Satchel's oldest daughter last week.  She is a teacher - very bright!

Sorry I can't write - used to be good - but I'm 90.

Ned

Garver (b. 1925) played in the majors from 1948 to 1961 for the Browns, Tigers, A's (Kansas City) and Angels.  He had a career record of 129 - 157 with an ERA of 3.73 and 881 strike outs.  He won 20 games for the Browns in 1951 and finished 2nd in the AL MVP voting.  He was also named an All Star that season, and was the starting pitcher that year.

His 2nd place finish in the 1951 AL MVP voting was the highest he would finish.  He amassed 157 voting points, but that was not enough to overcome the 184.0 points of MVP winner, Yogi Berra.

I mailed to Garver on March 23 and got the cards and note back on April 2, for a 10-day TAT.  The signed book came in on April 5.

TTM Success - Roy Sievers

I got a TTM success this past Thursday (March 24) from Roy Sievers that really helped out my Topps Autograph Project.  I got a 1951 and a 1952 Topps signed by Sievers, and those were my first from both of those years.  The 51 is a Red Back; I have two Blue Backs mailed out, that I hope to see come back soon.

I'm really happy about this 1952.  I have since received another signed 52, and have mailed out several more.  I didn't realize how much I really loved this set.  Unfortunately, barring a lottery win, I doubt I will be able to complete this set in my lifetime.  Mantle 52, you know.  Ouch.

I picked up both of these cards on Ebay and mailed the out on March 15.  I got them back with a 9-day TAT.

Sievers (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1949 to 1965 for the Browns, Senators, White Sox and Phillies.  He had 1,703 hits, 318 home runs and a lifetime average of .267.  He led the AL in home runs in 1957 with 42 and also led with 114 RBI.  Not your prototypical home run hitter (by today's mold, at least), he never struck out more than 88 times in a season.  He finished third in the 1957 AL MVP voting (behind Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams) and was the 1949 AL Rookie of the Year.

Sievers appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in 1971 and 1972, but only received a maximum of 1.8% of the vote (1971).  This is my second success from Sievers.  I received a signed ball from him on August 24, 2011.  You can see that post here.

Top 10 Wishlist Pickup - 1953 Topps Satchel Paige

Today, I knocked a card off of my want list that has resided there since I got back into collecting cards in 2005.  I finally own a 1953 Topps Satchel Paige card.  To me, this was an ultimate pickup; a dream blog post, if you will.  Now that I have the card in my possession, I am at a loss as to what to say.  The card is in really good shape considering what I paid for it vs its book value.  There is a crease in the bottom left corner, around the Brownie's ear.  Otherwise, the card is pretty sharp.  There is still some gloss on the face of the card.

The back looks pretty awesome as well.  If you take a look at the text on the back, you can see that Paige, at approximately 44 years of age had pitched a 12-inning 1-0 shutout against the Tigers in 1952.  I'd like to see another 44-year old accomplish that feat.  According to his baseball-reference page, which you can access here, it says he was actually born in 1906.

Paige (b. 1906 - d. 1982) played in the majors during the 1948-1949 (with the Indians), 1951-1953 (with the Browns) and 1965 (with the Kansas City A's) seasons.  During the 1965 season, he pitched in one game (3 innings), allowing one hit and no runs, all at the age of 58.

Paige's career MLB numbers aren't overly impressive with a record of 28-31, 288 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.29.  It's Paige's career as a whole that tells the true story.  Paige pitched professionally, either via the Negro Leagues, MLB or Barnstorming Teams from 1926 to 1966.  Many times pitching two or three complete games in a day, especially when he was barnstorming.  Many folks regard Paige as the greatest pitcher ever to have played the game.  I'm partial to Bob Feller, but I think they may be right about Paige.

Paige was a member of the 1948 World Series Champion Indians and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971 at the first player to be elected solely on his exploits in the Negro Leagues.

I truly love this card.  In my collection, this will rank very close to the top, alongside my 1957 Topps Brooks Robinson, 1948 Leaf Virgil Trucks, my 1995 Leaf Statistical Standouts Cal Ripken and others.  I really am excited I got this card.  I hope you all like seeing it as well.

Results From Andrew's Box Break

I took part in Andrew's box break recently when he broke a box of 2013 Topps Gypsy Queen.  I bought 2 slots in the break for $12 each and picked the Orioles and Tigers.  I was awarded the Rockies and Marlins as my random teams.  I liked the stuff I got, even though I didn't get any hits.  The above Dealing Aces Dylan Bundy is a really cool card.

The minis didn't scan all that well, sliding a little crooked on my scanner.  I got this really cool Rick Ferrell with the St. Louis Browns.  Since the Browns became the Orioles, I was awarded this card.  Awesome!

Finally, I got this Ty Cobb that came in the 10-card mini box.  I'm going to keep some of the Tigers and all of the Orioles.  The Rockies and Marlins I got are definitely up for trade.  I really enjoyed the box break with Andrew, so I hope he did as well and has some more in the future.

1951 Topps Red Back #49 - Al Zarilla

Al Zarilla (b. 1919 to 1996) played in the majors from 1943-44 and 1946 to 1953 for the Browns, Red Sox and White Sox.  He had 975 hits, 61 home runs and a .276 batting average.  He was an All Star once in his career (1948) and finished as high as 18th in the AL MVP voting that year.  He also batted above .320 twice in his career (.329 in 1948 and .325 in 1950).

Deceased: 41

COMC Pickup - 1961 Nu Card Scoops Eddie Gaedel

I love how PC this card is, a 'midget' pinch hitting for the Browns.  I guess 'Little Person' might have taken up more room.  If you know about the history of baseball, then you have to know about Eddie Gaedel.  Gaedel was the shortest person to ever play in a Major League game.  At 3' 7" tall, he was walked on four pitches in his only major league at bat.  Gaedel was used by the Browns' then-owner, Bill Veeck as a publicity stunt.  The Browns were one of the worst teams in the league and Veeck did everything he could to drum up attendance.

You can click on the image of the back of the card to read more about Gaedel's at bat.

Eddie Gaedel (b. 1925 - d. 1961) wore number 1/8 for the Browns in his only plate appearance.  His contract was voided shortly after the game.  He went on to work for Bill Veeck in promotional capacities.  He died in 1961 after he was beaten and possibly mugged in his home.

1951 Topps #19 - Dick Kokos

Dick Kokos (b. 1928 - d. 1986) played in the majors from 1948 to 1950, 1953 and 1954 for the Browns and Orioles.  He had 410 career hits, 59 home runs and a .263 batting average.  He was a member of the inaugural 1954 Baltimore Orioles.

Deceased: 14

1951 Topps #9 - Roy Sievers

Roy Sievers (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1949 to 1965 for the Browns, Senators, White Sox and Phillies.  He had 1,703 career hits, 318 home runs and a .267 batting average.  He was the 1949 AL Rookie of the Year, the first year the award was given out  in each league.

Sievers would finish as high as 3rd in the AL MVP Award voting (1957, when he hit a career high 42 home runs) and was a 4-time All Star.  He was a member of the St. Louis Browns during their final year of existence (1953), but was traded to the Washington Senators for Gil Coan before he could me a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Sievers signed a baseball for me TTM a while back, you can read about it here.

1951 Topps Red Back #4 - Verne Stephens

Vern Stephens (b. 1920 - d. 1968) played in the majors from 1941 to 1955 for the Browns, Red Sox, White Sox and Orioles.  He had 1,859 career hits, 247 home runs and a lifetime average of .286.  He won the AL Home Run Crown in 1945 with 24 homers.  He also won the RBI Crown in 1944, 1949 and 1950.  He finished as high as 4th in MVP voting twice (1942 and 1948) and was a 7-time All Star.  His numbers as a shortstop fall short of enshrinement in Cooperstown, but he definitely was one of the great hitters of his era.

Deceased: 3

TTM Success - Bob Savage

I got my 66th TTM success today from former big leaguer Bob Savage.  Savage (b. 1921) played in the majors from 1942, 1946 to 1949 for the Philadelphia A's and St. Louis Browns.

Savage, a pitcher, had a career record of 16-27 with a 4.32 ERA and 171 strikeouts.  He played alongside Eric McNair on the 1942 Philadelphia A's for a brief period of time.  As you may know, McNair is a constant subject on this blog and his family reads it from time to time.  One of my TTM goals lately has been to try to get some correspondence from some of McNair's former teammates.  Unfortunately, Savage did not reply to the letter I had written asking about his possible interactions with McNair, but it was worth a shot.

Savage did include this Diamond Signatures card along with my baseball.  It is a really sharp looking card that I will add to my PC.  I mailed to Mr. Savage on November 13 and got my baseball back signed today (November 19), so that makes him a 6-day TAT.

Day 2 of the National

Well, the National is over and I left with $30 left out of my budget.  I got a ton of stuff and saw a lot of things.  I only knocked off two cards from my want list, but found so many other things I had thought about for a while.  First, we met Joe Morgan this morning.  He was really nice and when I went to take Chris' picture, he motioned for him to come to his side of the table for the photo.

Chris and I got baseballs sighed by Mr. Morgan, which I will show in another post.  He was stationed between Mike Tyson and Fergie Jenkins.

Jenkins' line went really quick.  He looked pretty bored while we were waiting on the Tristar guys to call our number for Morgan.

We were able to get close to Pete Rose and Mike Tyson.  It was pretty cool to be able to be so close to living legends.

After the signing I got my ball authenticated by Tristar (thanks to Julie)/.  Then, I walked around and picked up some odds and ends.  I also took a look at a ton of cool stuff like the below jerseys.

So, my haul was significant.  I ended up with 4 Hall of Fame baseballs, one ball signed by an Oriole legend, one signed by a former member of the AAGPBL.  I got a complete set of 1992 Conlon Collection, a ton of Orioles cards/inserts and two bobbleheads.  I now have plenty of things to blog about for a long time.

In the end, I had an awesome time at my first National.  I would love to be able to go again.  Next year's show is in Chicago.  My wife wants to go, so we might head that way next year.    Stay tuned for a deeper look into the stuff I was ale to pick up.

Some Mail From Drew

I always like getting mail from my good friend Drew because I never know what will be inside his envelopes.  Drew does a good job of keeping an eye on cards that I want and always surprises me with some goodies whenever he gets the chance to send them my way.  The highlight of his latest package (which i got on Friday before I left town) was the above Virgil Trucks signed baseball card from Topps Archives.  Anytime I can add a new Trucks card to my PC is a bonus as there aren't too many of his cards left that I don't have.

I liked this Mark Reynolds Black Diamond from the 2011 Topps Wrapper Redemption program.  I really want the Virgil Trucks auto from this set, so I'm keeping a lookout for those.

Finally, here is a 1963 Post Russ Snyder.  It is a really cool card.  I think I sent Drew a Post Elston Howard, so this one is a nice return, haha.

I appreciate the cards, Drew!  I will definitely try to find you something cool from this weekend's card show!

TTM Success - Babe Martin

I was really worried about this one.  I sent to Babe Martin on January 17, 2012.  Other than the two I sent to Yogi Berra, this was the second oldest TTM I had outstanding (the other being the last one I need from the living 1945 Tigers - Ed Mierkowicz).

Martin didn't disappoint.  He signed my ball in blue sharpie and also sent two signed cards of his own.  They both looks really nice signed in blue.

I believe that Martin is the sole surviving member of the 1944 AL Champion St. Louis Browns.  I could be wrong, if I am, someone please correct me.

Martin played 1944-46 with the Browns, 1948-49 with the Red Sox and was back with the Browns for the 1953 season.

In his career, he had 44 hits, 2 home runs and a .214 batting average.  Martin, born on March 28, 1920 is 92 years old.  He is my 51st TTM success.  It took 2 and a half months for the ball to come back to me.

Results of the Topps Tier One Group Break at Nachos Grande

I took part in my first ever group break over at Nachos Grande not too long ago, and thought I'd show off what I ended up with:

I bought in with the Orioles for $35 for a six-box half case break of 2011 Topps Tier One.  With my entry, I was also awarded the Colorado Rockies.

I only got two Tier One cards, one of which is pictured below.

The Palmer looks nice.  I also got Carlos Gonzalez, which isn't too bad.  I was disappointed that I didn't get any of the hits, but oh well, that is the fun of a group break.  I won't discourage me from participating in another.

I did like that he threw in an Orioles 'team set' from Topps Lineage.  I have said before that I really like this set, so getting all of his Orioles was definitely a bonus for me.  This is a box of cards that I may purchase sometime soon, just to see what I can pull.

I also like that the Browns were included in the set (and the break as well).  It would have been nice to get the Sisler relic from Tier One, but I think Cobb was the big name pulled this go-round.

As I said, I wouldn't be discouraged from other group breaks in the future, even though I didn't get any huge hits out of this.  The price was fair and my disappointment of no huge hits was offset by the generosity of including other cards (a box of 2011 Allen and Ginter was also included in the break).

I, myself, would like to do a group break.  I failed a couple years ago to generate enough interest in a 2006 Upper Deck Epic group break (which I think ticked off a few bloggers who wanted to sign up).  I may attempt something of that sort sometime soon.  I do know that I need to have some kind of contest or something to keep getting this blog noticed....

Hall of Fame Spotlight - Dizzy Dean

Photo is from www.baseballhall.org

Dizzy Dean was born Jay Hanna Dean on January 16, 1910 in Lucas, Arkansas.  He pitched for the Cardinals, Cubs and Browns in a career that spanned from 1930, 1932-1941 and 1947.  He had a career record of 150-83 with 1,163 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.02.  Here are some more of Dean's accomplishments:

• Won 20 games or more in 4 straight seasons (1933, 34, 35 and 36)
• Won 30 games (and was the last NL pitcher to win 30 games) in 1934
• Led the NL in wins in 1934 (30) and 1935 (28)
• Led the league in strikeouts for 4 straight seasons (1932, 33, 34 and 35)
• Led the league in shutouts twice (1932 with 4 and 1934 with 7)
• 1934 NL MVP
• Won the World Series in 1934 with the St. Louis Cardinals as a member of the fabled 'Gashouse Gang'

Dean injured his toe during the 1937 All Star game.  When he changed his delivery to try to avoid some of the pain, his mechanics were altered, resulting in an arm injury from which he would never recover.  He was out of the game after he turned 31 (1941), only to return for one game for the Browns in 1947.

After his playing career was over, Dean would go on to become a successful commentator.  He was known for butchering the English language, but this quality is what endeared him to fans.

Dean died of a heart attack at the age of 64 in 1974.

Dean is one of those legendary players from the 1930s who definitely deserves his spot in the Hall.  He is probably most similar to Sandy Koufax in that he didn't pitch for very long, but during a 5-year stretch, he was unstoppable...

Dizzy Dean signed memorabilia can be very expensive.  Signed post cards are selling for around $300.00 while signed baseballs can go anywhere from around $800 to $5,000.

TTM Success - Roy Sievers

I was lucky enough to get another TTM success today when I got this response from the 1949 AL Rookie of the Year, Roy Sievers.Sievers is my 27th TTM success. He signs for free. I mailed to him on August 10 and got the ball back today (August 24) making it a 14-day TAT. Not too bad. I love that he included the ROY 1949 inscription.

Sievers played from 1949 to 1965 for the Browns, Senators, White Sox and Phillies. He was a teammate of Virgil Trucks in 1953. Pretty cool!

Sievers led the AL in home runs with 42 in 1957 and finished third in the MVP voting that year.

When he retired, he had 1,703 hits, 318 home runs, 1,147 RBI and a lifetime average of .267. A pretty solid career, that's for sure.

I'm really glad I got this ball back. Being that Sievers was a St. Louis Brown, that is pretty cool, since they went on to become the Orioles in 1954. Too bad he didn't get to play in Baltimore.

Playing Catch-Up - Vintage Card Show Pickups

So, I still had a few cards that I wanted to show from 2 card shows ago; a few beat up old vintage cards that I thought looked cool...

I saw this Marty Marion and picked it up because I wanted to have a card that went with the TTM success I got of him a few months before he passed away. I like the old Browns cards and I also really like the 1952 Bowman set. I have a friend who wants to sell me some, so I need to get some money together so I can relieve him of them and maybe start considering putting that set together.
I got another 1952 Bowman, this time it was of Eddie Joost. I wasn't as lucky trying him for TTM. I got a return to sender and he died maybe a week later. I like the navy blue A's colors here, a far cry from today's green and yellow.

Here is a 1951 Bowman Joost as well. I really like the A's colors on this one. I love the old bowman cards and how they are pretty much works of art. Anyone can look at the 1953 Pee Wee Reese and agree with me.


Finally, I got this 1964 Topps Tony Oliva RC for $2.00 from the same vendor. Oliva was a solid major leaguer. I doubt he ever gets into the HOF, but he was solid nonetheless. I love the 1964 set and will definitely try to put that one together sooner than later.