SoCal Autograph Odysses

 I don't typically write two blog posts in a day, but I don't usually get autographs of this magnitude through the mail either.  Just last week I sent a request to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's foundation in Irvine, California.  This request did come with a significant donation to his charity, but I found it worth it.  Today, I was excited to see two returns come through the mail, one of which was postmarked from Orange County.  I'll post the other tomorrow, but I was enthusiastic and wanted to post this one as soon as possible. What an awesome return.  I did find it a little odd that he personalized this to me based on the donation, but honestly, it doesn't detract from this all that much.  I've said it numerous times but I'm not a seller, so having 'To Chris' on autographs doesn't change my outlook.  This is an awesome through the mail return from one of the greatest all time.

 I recently bought a couple of Bowman's Best 2019 signed rookie cards.  The better of the two cards is Blue Jays youngster Cavan Biggio.  Oddly enough, I don't have anything signed by his Hall of Fame dad, who is one of the few living baseball Hall of Famers I don't have.  That will have to change.  My other purchase was more about finding it listed for $1.  It's not that I think Mitch Keller will ever be worth more than that, but it can't go lower. This kid is getting another chance with the Pirates in 2021 nd he does have good stuff, so the potential is always there. Again, both of these are rookie cards.  

 Today I received a return on the second of the five recent requests I sent out.  This one went all the way out to Florida and got back to me in eight days.  This time, it was Dolphins offensive lineman and Hall of Famer Larry Little.  He definitely used a thicker sharpie to sign the card, so the autograph is a bit condensed.  I like the colors of the card and the artwork feel of it, plus the texture is kind of cool.  I will never complain about a through the mail return.  These guys don't have to sign anything for anyone and the fact that they do is pretty cool. I'm not quite sure what it is he wrote underneath his name.  If anyone reading this knows, please post a comment on here and let me know.   *Update Thanks to a comment on Instagram, I think I now know what the inscription says under Larry's name. It says 17-0, a reference to the 72 Dolphins team that went undefeated.  I did not realize he was on that roster and it turns out he was.  Thank you Mr. Little and thank y

  Today marks the third day in a row I've gotten an autograph request returned through the mail. Today's return comes courtesy of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven.  I used a 2020 Allen & Ginter silver portrait, and since the card had a bit of a shiny surface, I prepped it before sending it out.  'Prepping' is essentially making sure to take the slick coat off the top of the card so that when the athlete signs it, it doesn't smear prior to drying.  I again chose a card with a lighter background to make sure the autograph stood out, and I am happy with how this turned out.  I think the combination of card choice and signature equaled a great presentation here. Also, Bert was nice enough to include a little post in on the card which was a cool touch.   Thank you Mr. Blyleven and thanks to everyone for reading. 

 Two consecutive mail days were a it today, as NFL Hall of Famer James Lofton returned a signed card to me with HOF '03 inscription.  Mr. Lofton is local to San Diego, so this turn around came extremely fast.  It definitely rivaled my fastest success if it doesn't outright hold the title. The total time it took for me to send this out and get it returned was four days. Unlike many of my other cards, this is actually a rookie card.  I was able to find one that wasn't exorbitantly priced so, combined with the fact that it had a light background, I chose this card to send.  Thanks for reading! 

 I must be really lucky or really good at this through the mail system, because I just went one week without receiving anything back from anybody and it felt like a month. Okay, maybe I'm spoiled.  On the topic, today I did get a return, and it was Browns Hall of Fame tight end, and Ravens Hall of Fame general manager, Ozzie Newsome. This was one of the longer time frames between sending and receiving something back, as I think we approached about two months.  Check the tracker to be sure on this blog for exact dates. On a side note, since getting more into the TTM aspect of the hobby, I've become real gung ho about getting the mail. We used to grab it maybe once or twice a week but now, as soon as I see the mail truck go by, I'm like a puppy chasing a ball. 

 I'm going to preface this by saying the following post is about a sealed product that I just spent more money on than any other sealed sports cards I have ever bought.  Through the recommendation of my friend Ian, I went to a local sports card store (there aren't many around) in Escondido called The Honey Hole.  This is a newer store that opened late last year, and they filled a void in this area because we don't have a lot of local card stores in the north San Diego County area.  Pay their website a visit  here . After talking to the guy at the counter for around thirty minutes, I decided to splurge a bit and pay for a $275 box of 2020 Bowman Chrome.  This box guarantees two autographs, and having not seen this product with my own eyes in a retail store in a long time, I bought some.  Since this is an autograph blog first and foremost, I'll start with the two autographs, one of which ended up easily being my biggest hit at this point in time. Rangers outfield prospect

 I took a calculated 'risk' about twenty days ago in sending a card to Spring Training to try and procure an autograph from Major League Hall of Fame manager Tony LaRussa.  With the Covid protocols going on and hearing mixed messages about whether or not players/staff would sign, I sent a card anyway.  It's important to note that I have not sent an autograph request to a team facility since I was a child, and I've never sent anything to Spring Training.  I looked up the address to the White Sox training facility in Arizona and sent the card.  Today, I saw a return envelope with my name on it postmarked from Phoenix, so had an inkling who this return might be coming back from.  Lo and behold, it was an autographed card of the 2020 Allen & Ginter I'd sent.  This appears to confirm that some of the autograph requests are in fact making it to the players and staff and not being returned to sender as I heard some of the cards were being. I will not be sending any oth

 It has been close to two weeks since I have received a through the mail return, so I was pleasantly surprised to see my own writing on an envelope in my mailbox.  That meant a self addressed stamped envelope (filled out by me) had a card inside.  I looked at the stamped city of origin and saw it was in Pennsylvania, so kind of assumed it was going to be former Pirates legend Bill Mazeroski. It turned out, I was correct.  I had sent a canvas style Upper Deck card hoping it would give the card and autograph a dated feel, but I'm not super thrilled with how it came out.  It doesn't look bad, but the auto did bleed a bit into the card because of the texture on the card.  That mistake is entirely on me and I will likely start avoiding the canvas style cards for future through the mail requests.  This card is my second Bill Mazeroski item, as a few years ago I did send in to a signing he was doing and got a baseball signed with a Hall of Fame inscription.  To reminisce with me, clic

 The third and final card I got from the Facebook groups was an NHL Hall of Famer, Mike Modano. This is the second Modano autograph I've gotten, the first being a signed 8x10 photo from Tristar.  He was supposed to appear at the Marshall Faulk Celebrity golf tournament I went to a few years back but he wasn't there the first day that I saw.  Recap that whole experience  here .  This signed card will go into my display case along with the rest of the hall of famers I have.  Here is the signed 8x10 photo; I'd like to take a second to recommend the Itoya art portfolio.  I saw quite a few autograph collectors recommending these things about a year ago and made the purchase.  I've used them to display my 8x10 photos that aren't displayed on my wall ever since, and I won't be using anything else. They do an excellent job of keeping each photo from creasing or bending, and are easy to flip to and look at everything.  Unsolicited advertisement below;

 A couple days ago I posted the Frank Thomas card I purchased from an Ebay autograph group.  I also bought a Chris Mullin signed card for cheap.  None of the cards I buy are slabbed so they aren't nearly as expensive. This is the second Mullin auto I have, the first having come a public signing at a Tristar show in San Francisco in 2012. I'll eventually end up sending all of the autographed cards I have to Beckett or PSA to get slabbed and authenticated, but for now I like to just leave them displayed on my wall. 

 Thanks to  SportsCollectors.net , which again I can't recommend highly enough, I saw that Chargers rookie quarterback Justin Herbert was holding a private signing.  The prices were fair for a player who was probably going to be the NFL rookie of the year.  I had to pay for and sign up for this signing before February, and the NFL didn't announce who won Rookie of the Year until February 6th, so I was taking a gamble in paying for the 2020 NFL ROY inscription before we knew for a fact he was going to win the award.  When you also take into account that NFL quarterbacks re extremely expensive signers (Tom Brady costs $1500 ish for an 11x14, Aaron Rodgers is close to $600, etc) I thought the investment was sound.  I picked an 11x14 for him to sign, signed up for the signing, and then sent my stuff in asking for where I wanted it to be signed and where I wanted the potential inscription.  I also asked for the photo to be signed in light blue paint pen.  After a bit more than a mon