SoCal Autograph Odysses

 I went to my local LCS recently and picked up a card I think has the potential to go up in value over the next year or two. Cardinals top prospect JJ Wetherholt has been on a binge lately and moved up the prospect rankings, so I was happy to take a shot on this 1st Bowman auto /150.

 Today I received a card returned to me by NHL and hockey Hall of Famer Cam Neely. This guy was the ultimate power forward in his day, which happened to coincide with the years I grew up watching hockey. I always wanted the Kings to have a player like Neely. Unfortunately, injuries really derailed his career because his numbers would have been a lot better. As it is, he was still an elite player who ended up in the hall anyway. I am happy with the result of this request.

 To be honest, I don't know much about a few of these players I send autograph requests too. I just filter to Hall of Famers, see who has recently signed, and then look them up online to see what they were known for. It only applies to probably 2% of my requests, but one of those was in fact basketball Hall of Famer Bobby Jones.when I looked him up, I discovered he was an elite defender during his day. He was cool and sent me a card back. I'm not on board with what he inscribed but I'll never begrudge someone for their beliefs. He also included a little religious packet. Thank you Mr. Jones.

 I'm always watching signings that are going on. I go onto  Sportscollectors.net  at least twice a week to peruse two things. One, I check to see if any Hall of Famers are signing through the mail that I do not already have in my collection. Two, I go to the private signings page and look through the list of all the upcoming signings that people are running with athletes. At all times there are least 200 names on the list, even more when there is a big convention coming up like last week's National. I cannot recommend using that site enough and have probably harped on it on this very blog a dozen times or more. I wanted to bring it up again because it had been a while since I last mentioned it. It's $15 for the year. It gives you access to all of this information plus more.  One of the signings I decided to partake in recently was that of one being hosted with Larry Bird. Odds are if you're reading this blog you know very well who that is. He's one of the best NBA p...

 I'm trying to catch up daily with autographs coming in and wanted to post about this one before I forget to do so. It continues to amaze me that a card like this, of a great NBA Hall of Famer and numbered to /35, can go for a lot less than a rookie autograph of a player who gets almost no run in his first season. I understand that people are trying to buy into the next big thing and hope to hit big on a massive rookie since the value will skyrocket, but at the same time I think the pendulum has swung too far toward flippers trying to make profits. Personally, I'd much rather collect Hall of Famer autographs and will continue to takle advantage of the mostly low prices. 

 Earlier in July, the soccer world lost one of their own when Liverpool and Portugal player Diogo Jota died in a car accident in Spain. As a Liverpool supporter, it was brutal news to wake up to as Diogo was one of the more popular players on the team and by all accounts, a great person as well. I'd always contemplated getting an auto of his and hadn't yet pulled the trigger. After his death, I waited on eBay a bit for the prices to come down (they are often inflated after an athlete dies) and was able to get this auto numbered 130/150.  RIP Diogo. If you want to see what he meant to the city and the club, watch this. The away supporters serenaded the players with Diogo's song for seven minutes after the final whistle. "Oh, he wears the number 20, He will take us to victory, and when he's running down the left wing He'll cut inside and score for LFC. He's a lad from Portugal, Better than Figo don't you know? Ohhh, his name is Diogo!"