Through the Mail-Tony Esposito

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 Towards the end of last week, I got the most somber return I'd received on any of my through the mail autograph requests.  Towards the end of last month, I had sent a card to NHL Hall of Fame goalie Tony Esposito.  On Tuesday of last week, I had heard that he had passed away.  I knew that he still had my card at the time, so expected not to see that card again after the news of him passing.  Two days later, on Thursday, I actually did get the card returned to me, and it was signed.  

One can't help but notice the timing of this return, between his passing on Tuesday and receiving the card on Thursday.  This card came from Wisconsin based on the USPS stamp, which is about three days of shipping.  That would mean that Mr. Esposito signed this very shortly before his death, which is very sad to think about.  It could very have been the last autograph he signed.  I checked Sportscollectors.net to see if anyone else has received anything in or around this time, and the last return before mine on that site was July 24th, and none since.  I'm honored to receive a return from Mr. Esposito, as he was one of the NHL's greatest 100 players ever, and among the upper tier of NHL goaltenders to ever play the game.  RIP Mr. Esposito. 

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