TTM Success - Jim Clancy

Here are some more signed cards from the 1980s that I was able to add to my album with this TTM success from Jim Clancy.  I especially liked this 1986 Fleer that I got signed.  There is a whole lot of blue on this card, now that I am paying some more attention to it.  Still, it looks nice.

I added some nice Topps cards, including another 1987 Topps for the album.  As of today, I am sitting on 99 signed cards from that set.  Not too bad.  The 1989 Topps Traded (bottom right) turned out really nice, as well.

Clancy (b. 1955) played in the majors from 1977 to 1991 for the Blue Jays, Astros and Braves.  He had a career record of 140-167 with 1,422 strike outs and an ERA of 4.23.  He was an All Star for the Blue Jays in 1982.  He was a member of the inaugural Blue Jays team of 1977.  He pitched 3 games for the Braves in the 1991 World Series, picking up a win, but the Braves ultimately lost to the Twins.

I mailed to Clancy on September 20 and got the cards back on October 17, for a 27-day TAT.

TM Success - Andre Thornton

This was a nice TTM return from Andre Thornton on some cool 1980s cards.  The above 1986 Topps Indians leaders card really turned out well.  I like these cards, and they look really nice when signed.  Thornton has a really interesting signature, and it really pops on this card.

I also added a 1981 Topps, 1987 Topps, 1984 Fleer and 1986 Fleer.  They all look good, but none of them matches the 1986 Indians leaders card.

Thornton (b. 1949) played in the majors from 1973 to 1979 and 1981 to 1987 for the Cubs, Expos and Indians.  He had 1,342 hits, 253 home runs and a .254 batting average.  He was an All Star twice (1982 and 1984) and won the Silver Slugger Award in 1984.  He received MVP votes three times in his career.  His best finish was 19th following the 1984 season for the Indians.

I mailed to Thornton on September 16 and got the cards back on October 16, for a 30-day TAT.

TTM Success - Chris Hammond

Here is another player who's cards I sat on for a long time before I finally mailed to him.  The reason why I waited so long to send these cards to Chris Hammond was because he charged for his autograph, and I didn't want to spend the money.  In an effort to clean up my box, I went ahead and mailed to some of those guys who charged.  I was really happy with the cards that I chose.  The 1996 Fleer Metal shown above turned out really nicely.  Hammond charges $1.00/card to a scholarship fund, so I had no problem sending him some money, once I got around to it.

I was able to get another card signed out of the attic box that Mom sent me.  These cards aren't anything glorious, but they do help when you need cards of someone who was in the minors at that time.

Finally, here are the other cards that I got back from Hammond.  The highlight, of course, is the 1996 Topps at top right.  I have very few cards from this set, let alone of any guys who sign, so I definitely needed to make sure that one was in my TTM request to Hammond.

Hammond (b. 1966) played in the majors from 1990 to 1998 and 2002 to 2006 for the Reds, Marlins, Red Sox, Braves, Yankees, A's and Padres.  He had a career record of 66-62 with an ERA of 4.14 and 712 strike outs.

I mailed to Hammond on October 4 and got the cards back on October 16, for a 12-day TAT.

TTM Success - Glendon Rusch

This was a TTM success that added a few late 90s cards to the album that I mostly came across in some old boxes at my LCS.  I like these 1998 Fleer Ultras.  They lend themselves to great autos since they have no borders and are fairly glossy.  This shot of Rusch was a good one, and it looks great signed.

I picked up a box of 1996 Bowman while handing with Andrew, so I wanted to add a few of these to my album.  I like the coloring on the border, almost a beige to pink color like 1968 Topps (without the burlap).  The 1997 Stadium Club TSC 2000 is really cool, a type of card that I hadn't seen before.

Rusch (b. 1974) played in the majors from 1997 to 2006 and 2008 to 2009 for the Royals, Mets, Brewers, Cubs, Padres and Rockies.  He had a career record of 67-99 with 1,088 strike outs and an ERA of 5.04.

I mailed to Rusch on September 2 and got the cards back on October 16, for a 44-day TAT.

Birthday Gift From Michael

I got a package in the mail a few days ago from my buddy, Michael.  He had just sent me a package that had a bunch of IP autos that he picked up for me, but this time around, he sent me my birthday package.

In it was a signed locker nameplate of David Lough, a signed 8x10 of Mychal Givens, a signed post card of Joe Orsulak, a coupld IP autos, and a Jeremy Hazelbaker auto from 2017 Stadium Club.  The IP signed cards were Buck Showalter on a 2011 Heritage and a 2017 Topps Mariners team card signed by Andrew Albers.

Thank you so much for the birthday package, Michael!  I really appreciate it!

TTM Success - Cecil Cooper

I had gotten Cecil Cooper's autograph while at the National in Chicago two years ago.  I got a ball signed by him, and Max took care of a 1987 Topps.  Still, I had a ton of Cooper's cards, so I figured I would drop a few in the mail, as well.

This 1976 Topps turned out really nice.  He personalized everything, which is fine by me.

I also added a 1984 and 1988 Topps.  Both of those are nice cards.  If you want to read my bio that I wrote on him two years ago, the link is here.

TTM Success - Phil Bradley

I added another former Oriole to my autograph collection with this TTM success from Phil Bradley.  He had a bunch of cards to choose from, so I wanted to make sure that I had several Orioles cards represented.  This 1990 Donruss turned out really nice, even though Bradley used a ballpoint pen.  The signature really shows up in the scan.  I was worried that it wouldn't show up.

He had quite a few Topps cards to choose from, so I selected a 1987, of course, and also 1989 and 1990.  The 1990 Bowman (bottom left) also was a nice choice.

One card manufacturer that seems to always be passed over for me is Upper Deck.  Their early 90s stuff especially just doesn't pop for me.  That being said, I wanted to send off this 1990 Upper Deck mainly because it came out of a team set of Orioles cards that I picked up way back in 1990.  The clamshell hanger case that the set originally came in has long since deteriorated, so the cards just reside in my Orioles box.  I wanted to make sure that one of them found it's way into my autograph album, and now one has!

Bradley (b. 1959) played in the majors from 1983 to 1990 for the Mariners, Phillies, Orioles and White Sox.  He had 1,058 hits, 78 home runs and a .286 batting average.  He appeared in the AL MVP voting in 1985, when he finished 16th and made his only All Star appearance.  He batted .300 or better in 3 seasons.

I mailed to Bradley on September 26 and got the cards back on October 13, for a 17-day TAT.