Top 10 Additions in 2023

 Since it's the last day of 2023, I think I am safe to post my ten favorite autograph additions to my collection over the course of this last year. For the first time, you'll notice every item on this list is a card because I have slowly transitioned to a heavier autographed card focus than I have ever previously had. Mostly, it comes down to the ease in which I can store these items without them taking too much space on my walls. Without further ado, here is my list;

10. LaDainian Tomlinson

This one is pretty easy to explain. Tomlinson was a huge player during my peak Chargers fandom which has since waned a little since the move to LA. The card above is from arguably my favorite player of all time, from a coveted set (National Treasures), has a low number 14/49, is signed on card, and includes some game worn material. This makes the list.

9. Isaiah Thomas

I like this card for two main reasons. One, it came via a private signing so I sent this card into the signing myself. Two, it is signed on the iconic 1986 Fleer basketball set, and was the impetus for me using the same set to send a card in for the Alex English signing as well. Frankly, I just like the look of it autographed. 

8. Quinton Byfield

You already saw me extol the virtues of this card on a post I just put up today, so no need to rehash it in great detail. What you need to know? Favorite team? Check? Rookie auto? Check. Low numbered? Check. Player worn material? Check. Easy top ten in 2023 for me. 

7. "Killer B's" Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio

Yes I realize it's a bit of a cheat code to list two players in one spot but I cannot help it with these two as they played together for so long and were two of the best players in baseball while I was growing up. What makes these cards cooler is that both were sent into the same private signing and both autographs are on rookie cards. Also, if you have read my blog before and seen my top ten lists, you know I will always sneak more than ten in. Sue me. My blog. 

6. Steven Gerrard

This should actually be flopped with Quinton Byfield at number eight for the sheer fact that the Byfield ticks more of my boxes but I don't want to do the rework on my list, so here we are. What Gerrard does have going for it over the Byfield auto is that he is one of the all time greats not only for Liverpool, but during the Premier League era. I had to get a Gerrard auto in my collection, and I did so in 2023. Also, as mentioned, I am a Liverpool supporter so this soccer auto gets into my list while two other greats, Luka Modric and Harry Kane, did not. 

5. Chipper Jones

Another of the elite Major Leaguers during my years growing up, the reason Chipper Jones makes it so high on my list is because this is a rookie card I personally had of his for over thirty years before I sent it in to a private signing he was doing in 2023. It might be the oldest card from my personal collection that I ended up getting signed to date. For that and for the really clean autograph that came out, this card sneaks into my top five. 

4. Dan Marino

As the holidays started rolling around this year, I went on a bit of a run in terms of adding all time great NFL quarterbacks to my collection. Dan Marino was one of them, and he makes the list over a few of the others because the pure clean look this card has. It's a pretty close color match to the Dolphins colors, is numbered 1/75, and I have always really liked the cracked ice prizm look. The infamous David Beckham auto I pulled a couple years ago out of a pack is another great example of this look. It also helps that some of these names you can get on eBay (Marino, Kurt Warner, Joe Montana, John Elway) much cheaper than it would otherwise be to send into them for a signing. That is always something to watch for. Unless there is a specific card you want signed ( a rookie card perhaps), then often it's cheaper buying a card signed and put into products like Prizm. Also, I recommend going back through my recent blog posts and checking out all the huge name QBs on there.

3. Steve Young

Maybe it's recency bias as I just got this card back in the mail from a signing a few weeks ago, but I really like this card. The reason he makes the list over the other Hall of Fame QBs just mentioned is that this is a rookie card and is an on card autograph, not a sticker and came back from a sit down signing. Also, many people forget Young started his career in Tampa Bay before making a big name for himself as a 49er. 

2. Jaromir Jagr

Being a hockey fan since 1988, there have been very few players I have seen in my time that combined the amount of skill with the level of consistency that Jaromir Jagr had. For anyone that played EA Sports NHL video games growing up, we all know how much of a beast this guy was to play with also. He's probably among the top ten to fifteen all time NHL greats, and this card sits so high on my list because it's a rookie draft pick card, came back from a sit down signing, and came out nicely. This 1990 Score set had some huge rookie cards, one of which I also got signed by Martin Brodeur. 

1. Barry Sanders

There was no clear cut top add in 2023 like there had been in the past between Beckham, Messi, Mantle, Ted Williams, etc. That being said, I still think I made a strong choice in listing this Barry Sanders rookie card as my favorite add in 2023. This came back from a private signing as well, and there is just something about Sanders that I can't quite explain. He was so amazingly fun to watch. He was stupidly good in Tecmo Bowl and Tecmo Super Bowl. He retired so suddenly before breaking all the records that there is a mysterious aura about him that lingers to this day. There was a documentary down on him on Amazon just this year, which adds to the allure of the man. I had to jump at the opportunity to get a card signed, and of course it was always going to be a rookie card.

Thank you to all who read my blog in 2023. The past year has seen my collection grow by quite a bit, and this blog has seen a huge spike in site clicks this year as well. It's a lot of work to type this all out so I hope to have entertained you in some way this year, and look forward to posting more and doing the same in 2024. 

Thank you!