Through the Mail with more Baby "B's" Part III

 Well, I decided to do another post about the through the mail autographs because I have figured something out about these Providence Bruins player autographs or at least I believe I have. The 5 autographs I got yesterday are posted in the part II post and all of the postmarks were from Providence Rhode Island and were mailed on the 15th. When I checked my mail today it shows three more from Providence and all post marked the 15th as well.

This is what I believed happened; it appears that the players must have autographed these cards using the same writing instrument as they all have a wider looking line except the one of Tyler Lewington as it is a thinner line. So, I now am sure these were all signed in the same area and mailed at the same time, but I will say that I am quite pleased with these players coming through and autographing these cards for my collection. I am going to buy more cards today and resend and I may send them all in one bubble mailer and add a sharpie pen. So now as I have just got the three autographs from today's mail I am going to open and add some scans of these three. So, before I open the envelopes, I am hoping that one is of Jack Ahcan as I have liked his style of play seeing him play for the Boston bruins. Jack has played in 6 games 3 in 2020-21 and 3 this season. What I have liked about his play is he is a smooth skater with some nice stick moves to break through the opposing teams defense and get the puck in deep for some scoring attempts.

Another auto I would like to have in my collection is Jesper Froden as his stats with the Baby B's look very impressive. He has 23 points in 34 games 10 G and 13 A for Providence this season.

Here are the three autographs from today's mail.

This card is of Samuel Asselin of the Providence Bruins. This autograph was signed with the thinner pen I am thinking it is a sharpie. Not a bad looking auto and this is one that was high on my want list, so I am quite pleased adding this autograph to my collection.

This card is of Jakub Lauko of the Providence Bruins. This auto was signed with the thinner pen and another one that was high on my want list. His autograph is quite legible and pleased to add this one to the collection.

This is the card of Ian McKinnon of the Providence Bruins. This autograph was signed using a thicker tip as you can see in the photo. Was glad I added this auto as well. These Providence Bruins cards display the number 30 in the upper right corner as being in Providence 30 seasons. I like the design of these cards as it has the teams' colors surrounding the players action photo. Stay tuned for our next post as there is no telling what it will be. Whatever shows up in my mailbox will get a post and I look forward sharing it with my readers. Until next time, be safe and Happy Collecting!!!

Through the Mail Autographs Part II

 Well, I decided to post part II and show the 5 auto requests I got in today's mail. I will show each players autographed card. 

This is Cam Hughes Providence Bruins card that I got back from Cam signed. It is difficult to determine if the pen used was a sharpie. If you rub the auto, you can see the light black on your finger, but it does not completely erase the entire autograph. It is not a dry erase pen because if so, it would completely disappear. I believe it could be the cards surface but still quite happy to of got these five back signed. This autograph I thought I would not get back signed but I am quite pleased I did as Cam is one of the Providence Bruins leading scorer with 24 points in 34 games.

This card is the Providence Bruins card of Brady Lyle and yes, I am quite pleased to have got his autograph. It is great getting these players autographs and now it would be even greater seeing them all playing full time with the Boston Bruins.

This card is the Providence Bruins card of Josiah Didier and again I am pleased to have his autograph in my collection.

This card is the Providence Bruins card of Nick Wolff and this one is not as light in the autograph. Looking forward to seeing Nick with the Boston Bruins in the near future.

The final autograph is the Providence Bruins card of Tyler Lewington. Nice and dark auto and it appears from comparing this auto with the other four that it was a different pen as this auto was done using a thinner pen as the other four autographs have a pen showing thicker lines. Another autograph that I was pleased to have got back signed. Tyler has played in 12 NHL games 2 with the Boston Bruins this season. Looking forward to seeing him back wearing the Boston Bruins Black and Gold.

So overall I am quite happy to of got back 5 Providence Bruins autographs and I have other players that I sent to the same day these were sent. It is great getting back autographs from the players but there are some players that get you stoked to get and one from the Providence Bruins that I would love to add is Jack Ahcan. I sent 2 more Providence Bruins requests out today and they were to Steven Fogarty and Oskar Steen and those two I would really love to get signed. I do have a card of Jeremy Swayman to get autographed, but I am a bit nervous about getting it back signed but I may just send it anyways in hopes of getting it back signed.

Through the Mail Autographs Part I

 It does appear that this Covid 19 pandemic has taken its toll with the athletes as the decline in successes is at an all-time low. I enjoy this hobby and there were times where I would send 500 auto requests in one mailing and at that time three years ago, I got back about 75%. It sure is a great feeling knowing that you have some coming back through the mail and what is really fun is not knowing who the autograph is from until you actually open the envelope. I have had some athletes put their mailing label over mine but 98% of the time it is a guessing game. Sometimes just to make it interesting I put a mark on the return SASE and that indicates who it is coming back from. I only do that when I send to a player that is tough to get or from a player that is a superstar and not as easy to get through the mail.

Some of the surprise autographs are from players like Wayne Gretzky, Jean Ratelle and I was very lucky to of got back a success from Peter Sturgeon as it took five different times, and I finally got the three cards back signed as you can see the photo. Signed in blue ball point pen and from the few autographs I have seen of Peter they all are identical. What is interesting to note is this card of Peter is his 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee rookie card showing him playing as a Boston Bruin, but he never played a single game for the Bruins. Peter played six NHL games all for the Colorado Rockies registering one assist.

What Postage Stamps do I use??  I get this question a lot from beginners and 90% of my auto requests go to Canada or the United States. So, if you are mailing an auto request to Canada from the United States you can buy what is called a Global stamp and this stamp allows you to send to other countries and the cost is $1.30 per stamp. So, let's say you are sending to Canada you would put the Global stamp on the outside main letter (Larger Envelope) and on the smaller return envelope you would use a Canadian United States stamp and currently that stamp cost $1.30 per stamp. I order those stamps online with Canada post. So, it would cost $2.60 per auto request to Canada. If you are mailing a request to another country, you can use those countries stamps there are some auto collectors that put cash in envelope for the return postage, but I do not recommend doing this. I have had a few autograph successes from Germany, Italy, Finland and Sweden but like I said earlier over 90% are from Canada and the United States.

Do I write or type the letter??   This is a toss-up as I have asked quite a few other autograph collectors and I get about a 50/50 answer. I personally have tried each way and I believe you get a better success rate by handwriting your letter and you can keep it brief by politely asking for the players autograph and maybe asking the player a question, an example might be: Who was the toughest Goalie you ever faced?? I have got back quite a few answers, but I look at it this way if you put more effort into each request than I believe as with everything else in life that hard work pays off and that is why I write my letters versus typing them.

There have been players that send back the item in the envelope, and you are thinking that it is a success, but it turns out to be the card unsigned and that is what gets me upset that the player can take the time to put the card in the SASE but can't take 5 seconds to sign it and a majority of players today you need someone to figure out what the autograph says. I know some auto collectors who won't send to the players from today's game but send to the older players because they are very easy to read and some look so nice that it looks like how our teachers wrote back in the day.

I will be writing part II later today with some of my autographs that are coming in today's mail and show a scan of each autograph, Stay Tuned!!!

All-Star Auto's from Years Ago.

 So, as I mentioned in my first all-star auto post that I would be posting some older Bruins autographs from some of the first players to play in an all-star game. So, the first player I will show is Eddie Shore and as you know there was a benefit game for Ace Bailey and it was because Shore had made a hard hit on Bailey and it ended his career thus, they played a benefit game for Bailey, so it was the first all-star game played in 1934.

As you can see this is a beautiful autograph even with the chipping, I still would give this autograph a 6 on a scale of one to ten. Look at the formation of the letters and I mostly like the capital "E" as he signed identical, and this looks to be signed with a fountain pen. Eddie Shore was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. Eddie Shore passed away March 16, 1985, at the age of 82.

This autograph is of Bill Cowley, and I would give this auto a ten as it is dark and clear. If you look closely by his first name you can see his last name in type. This is because this auto along with Shores and Clapper and Bauer they all came from a team photo and the player signed his name by their last name in type. Cowley played in five all-star games all with the Boston Bruins. Bill was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1968 and Bill passed away December 31, 1993, at the age of 81.

This autograph is of Aubrey "Dit" Clapper. Dit played in six all-star games and this autograph came from the same team photo and his first name has some chipping as you can barely see the beginning of the letter "D" and the "T", and his last name is perfect. Clapper's autograph is semi tough and this one I would say is a four out of ten. Ditt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. Dit Clapper passed away January 21, 1978, at the age of 70.

This autograph is from Bobby Bauer, and this is one of my greatest autographs, I never dreamed that I would ever be the proud owner of this beautiful autograph and I would give this auto a definite eight out of ten. This is also from the team photo. I kind of wonder if all of these players used the same pen as it appears to be the rich black ink from a fountain pen. Bobby Bauer was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1996. Bobby Bauer passed away September 16, 1964, at the age of 49.

The final autograph for this post is from Herb Cain, Cain appeared in one all-star game during the1943-44 season. This is another very nice looking autograph that was signed using a blue fountain pen. From studying autographs from different decades there are a lot of players who signed the first letter of their names the same way. When I see Cain's letter "C" in Cain it is the same way that Bill Cook signs his last name. Cain won two cups one with the 1934-35 Montreal Maroons and his second with the 1940-41 Boston Bruins. Herb Cain passed away February 15, 1982, at the age of 69.

My next post will be from the 1970 Stanley Cup Boston Bruins team.

Bruins Trinkets with some facsimile Autos.

 This is the Papa Ginos Drink Cup of Bobby Orr from the 1970's and you can see the facsimile autograph under the photo. These cups tend to chip if you were to insert them into another cup by pulling them apart can scratch the photo and remove the dark area to white scratches. So, these cups are quite sensitive and looking closely you can see indents to the cups. 

If you look at this photo you can see two indents and they look to be bite marks right above the player info. This cup of Orr is from a different year as the other cup I have is of Dallas Smith and you can see the difference in the color of the Papa Ginos ad.

This is the Dallas Smith cup, and this cup appears to have a stronger photo than that of the Orr cup.

In this photo of the Smith cup, you can see the ad is in Green but the Orr cup the Papa Ginos ad is in red. The Smith ad is also showing more damage as it appears this cup must have been used for drinking and got washed several times. I find it odd that the Smith ad looks lighter but the front showing his photo looks darker than that of Orr's.

The next three photos will show a Boston Bruins Candy dish and there are some collectors that call these ash trays instead of a candy dish. This one is of Phil Esposito and this one appears to be in mint condition as I don't see any chipping or scratches. I like seeing the facsimile autograph and as you can see Phil's auto is always identical. 

This is the Bobby Orr version but a bit less condition than the Esposito one. I believe there are 23 of these dishes with the toughest one being the Bruins "B" Logo.

The final one is of Don Awrey and is in nice condition as these dishes are in demand for serious collectors and I purchased these back in 2000 for a song, I believe I paid $40 for the three and the Papa Ginos cups I got both for $5, and today these would be a lot more.

Time for some All-Star Autographs.

 With the All-Star game right around the corner, I thought I would show some Boston Bruins All Star autographs and I will sprinkle in some other players as well. So, sit back relax and enjoy the slate of autograph cards. Here we go as the puck is dropped!!!

We first start with Ray Bourque as this card is the 2008-09 Ultimate Signatures card. I have seen a lot of Bourques autographs and if you look closely you can see he included his jersey number as it is snuck in at the bottom as you can see #77. It is unique that he makes it all look like the last few letters in his last name.

The next All Star needs no introduction as this card is the 2006-07 SP Authentic Sign of the Times card of Bobby Orr. I like others have seen so many of Orr's autographs and I did notice there are two versions. This version of his signature is my favorite as he hooks the letter "Y", the other version he just comes straight down with the letter "Y". The older autographs have the nice hook while the newer autos are just a straight line and no hook. This is my favorite one of Orr as I have several in the collection.

 

This Bruins great and eight time All Star Phil Esposito signed this 2013-14 Panini Play Book card. Phil has one of the nicest looking autographs as they are all pretty much identical. I love how he forms the letter "E" and crosses the letter "T" off of the letter "O". One of the most gracious players as he does autograph easy. I have got a few in person and it was a treat as Phil is so good to the fans. One of my favorites all time Bruins player.

This is the 2002-03 Parkhurst Original Six card of Bernie Parent. I have seen quite a few of Parent's autographs and what I notice each time is how he forms the letter "P" as it is not complete, but he makes it look complete with the other letters in his first name as you can see in the scan. Bernie played in two all-star games. This is a very difficult card to locate as there are some in private collections and some still out in the market. Great autograph and I wish he would have played more than two seasons with the Bruins.

This card is the Ultimate Memorabilia Jersey and Autograph card of Dave Andreychuk. What I like about this card is the background where the autograph is signed as you can see a sepia photo of some hockey players, this gives the card a unique old appearance. This card came cased in one of those holders, but I never liked my cards in them as it is easier to store them in an album. I carefully freed the card from the holder. 

This card is the 2010 Panini limited Legend autograph of Rogie Vachon. This card is serial numbered 06/25 and I was very glad to of picked this card up when I did. I got this one from a pack and that is the best way, well maybe the best way would be in person. 

This card is from the 2007-08 Artifacts Auto-Facts card of Phil Kessel. Phil has an auto that I call a scribble as it is all connected first to last name with no separation. I have tried sending a autograph request through the mail only to get the card mailed back in the self-addressed envelope but not signed so he at least took the time to put it in the envelope but did not have the time to sign and that I never understand but that's ok as I got this certified autograph.

This card is the 2007-08 Fleer Ultra Fresh ink autograph card of Zdeno Chara. I have seen so many Chara autographs and I just don't see the letters in his first name as I see what looks like tee. I have got a few Chara autographs in person, and they all look identical. Big "Z" has always been very nice to the fans. He is a gentleman and as a Bruins fan it was hard seeing him play for another team, but we have the memories of him hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2011 and the fastest slap shot during the 2012 Skills competition as his shot registered 108.8 MPH and that still stands as the record. Maybe this year someone will break that record and we only have a few days to see if it happens.

This card is the 2013-14 Panini Titanium Reserve autograph card of Brian Leetch. The one thing about this Titanium cards that I do not like is it cuts off part of the players photo, but I will say that Brian has a very nice-looking autograph that is identical each time. I have got quite a few nice autographs of Brian through the mail; it took a while, but it was worth the wait and what a surprise opening the envelope and seeing his autograph.

This card is the 2o13-14 Panini Titanium card of Jarome Iginla. This card was one I got through the mail, and he has a nice autograph but, when you scan these cards, they turn into a black look versus the light silver color that they really are. I was quite happy to of got this back signed.

This card is 2001 ITG Parkhurst Pre-Parkie autograph card of Frank Brimsek. Now this autograph was one that I found not to be difficult to locate but his autograph like the other players from the same era all had beautiful look autographs. Frank known as Mr. Zero appeared in eight all-star games.

Now on to some non-Bruins All-Star players.

This card is the 2000-01 Upper Deck Legends Epic signatures card of Jean Beliveau. If you have seen Jean Beliveau autographs you will note that he always signed his name with perfect flow of the letters and he always underlined his name with the fancy like design. A true gentleman and one that we all miss but was happy I got to watch him play and he loved everything about the game and the fans.

 This card is the 1990-91 Topps card of Guy LaFleur while he was with the Quebec Nordiques. This is one that I got through the mail and I will say that Guy is very easy to get as he even sent me a 4 X 6 photo signed. Nice looking autograph and another gentleman that was great to the fans.

This card is the 2000-01 Upper Deck Heroes Signs of greatness card of Stan Mikita. The one thing I noticed about his autograph is how he made the Letter "M" in Mikita look like the letter "N" in his first name. Another great player who had a nice legible autograph.

This card is the 1998-99 Upper Deck MVP checklist card of Wayne Gretzky and this card was one that I got through the mail. Wayne appeared in 15 all star games and one thing about his autograph is how he forms the letter "Y" by using the letter "G" in his last name. 

So that is a look at some of the modern players that appeared in the NHL All-Star game. Next time I will show all star players of the Boston Bruins players that played during the 40's through the 60's.