SoCal Autograph Odysses

 A couple of months ago I added a couple of  numbered Prizm autographs from two of the better players at their respective positions in NFL history. First, Antonio Gates should be a slam dunk Hall of Famer even though he somehow got skipped on the initial ballot he was eligible on. The Gates is numbered /75. Tim Brown, the Raider's Hall of Fame receiver is the other auto and is numbered /49. I like the look of Prizm parallel autographs. 

 It has been a few weeks since I last posted on this blog because my autograph collecting has slowed down a bit as there was a gap between signings that I sent in to. Breaking the drought is a return from a signing I sent in to for NHL and hockey Hall of Famer Denis Savard. I decided to send a Topps rookie card to have signed with his HOF 2000 inscription, and I am real pleased with the result.

 Fred McGriff is a player I remember watching as a kid when he played for the San Diego Padres, so he was a guy I was curious about as to whether or not he would get into the Hall of Fame. He fell just a few homeruns shy of the coveted 500 homerun hitter threshold which usually guarantees enshrinement, but after being on multiple ballots and not getting in, the "Crime Dog" was elected to Cooperstown. He was one of the few living Hall of Fame baseball players of the modern era that I did not yet have a signed item from, so a couple months ago I sent (another) 1987 Topps card in to a Tristar signing. 

 I made it a personal goal for 2024 to open way less sealed product this year. That includes both retail product as well as hobby products. I feel like the companies are mass producing cards at such a high rate that it lowers the odds for the hits you want to get. Also, I just don't think I'll ever pull a card as good as the David Beckham cracked ice auto I pulled a couple years ago. That being said, I hadn't purchased anything in just under two months when I came across some Premier League Prizm at a local Barnes and Noble. I bought two blasters, and was excited to hit this legend auto. Yaya Toure was a beast for Manchester City back in the day. I believe that autos only are two per case in Premier League blasters so it's only a 1 out of 10 chance of pulling an auto. When you consider how big a star Toure was when he played, this autograph is an even better pull. It is an early contender to make the 2024 best auto pulls I post at the end of the year. 

 With the amount of cards I've had coming in from private signings and through the mail requests recently, I've not had the time to post about another addition to my personal collection for my favorite team. My all time favorite Los Angeles Kings player is Anze Kopitar, and I am stoked that I was able to add this game used mem patch auto for so cheap that it's ridiculous. I know hockey autographs don't have the same value as other sports but adding a card that looks like this for under $40 for a future Hall of Famer to me was a no brainer. To me, this just a really beautiful card. It has an on card autograph, it's numbered 21/25 and the game used jersey piece is a 4 color patch. 

 I already had a Tim Raines autographed card that I acquired insanely cheaply a couple years ago, but when I saw he was having a signing with one of my go-to 3rd parties that I find on sportscollectors.net, I decided to send a rookie card to the event.  I think this came out really well, and the cost of this signing was so reasonable that I felt it was a slam dunk to send in for it. I know Raines is considered one of the borderline Hall of Famers, but he is in Cooperstown for a reason and if a player is in Cooperstown, I want to add them to my collection.