SoCal Autograph Odysses

 I'm going to compile all of the soccer autos that I've not yet posted about into one blog entry as there have been a lot over the past five to six weeks, some coming from direct buys of the single card and others coming from packs I've opened, etc.  The first card was a single bought off eBay of arguably the best defender of all time, Italian and AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini. The card itself was goofier looking in person than I originally anticipated so I'll know to avoid Merlin sorcerer's auto cards later. I liked the price though when I bought it to add someone of this stature.  Anyone that plays FIFA (now EAFC) or watched soccer during the 90's will undoubtedly know the next card. Bulgarian forward Hristo Stoichkov who was most known for his days playing with Barcelona and at one time was the Ballon d'Or winner as the best player in the world. Contrary to the Maldini card, I really like the way this card pops in person. Another eBay add comes in the for

 I've recently sent a few cards through the mail to private signings that are going on and the first one of those came back to me yesterday in the form of NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Bruce Smith, of the Buffalo Bills. I sent a rookie card in for this signing and I am happy with the way it turned out.

 Another autograph came from Canada recently as I got an autograph return from Norm Ullman, hockey Hall of Famer. He is an old time hockey player that played from 1955 through 1975 for some huge teams like the Maple Leafs and Red Wings. He was kind enough to include his HOF 1982 inscription. I love getting autograph returns from these guys that played back in the day and on vintage cards.

Posting this new addition to my collection has to be one of my personally most anticipated blogs I've ever written. A couple weeks ago I pulled the trigger on an absolute monster of a card, soccer legend and one of the all time greatest players in his sport, Pele. One word name. One word title to this post. That's all it needs because just about anyone with a pulse has heard of this guy. What makes this card even bigger in my mind is it is a jersey number match 10/10 and Brazil team color match. Yes, that means there are only 10 of these cards in existence and I've got number 10 of 10, which is his jersey number. The gold also looks good with his Brazil shirt. This comes from the Copa America prizm set that I pulled the Rivaldo green wave prizm auto out of. I have really enjoyed opening this set but no, I did not pull the above card from a box. I purchased this from some other lucky person. It went through the eBay authentication process which is where PSA validates that it

 I had a third TTM success come back to me not long ago. David Duval, former number one overall PGA tour player and winner of the Open Championship signed an Upper Deck card for me. It has been nice getting back into the mail game again as I've recently found a few athletes that I'd not yet sent to that I wanted to add to my collection.

 Last week I had two through the mail requests returned to me on the same day, both from NHL Hall of Famers. I already discussed the Mark Howe but the other card came back from Frank Mahovlich. Mahovlich played for the Canadiens, Maple Leafs, and Red Wings over his career and accumulated 1103 points, good for 66th all time on the leading scorers list. This request went out to Canada and came back with Mahovlich's HOF 81 inscription. Any time I can get an old timer's autograph on an older card I am happy with the success. Thanks Frank!