A Little Bit Offside

 Well today being Sunday I thought I would do a post about some Baseball and Non-Sport autos. I am talking about some of the better cartoonists. There are some that are quite well known and there are 2 auto's that I was so shocked to of got back signed.

This is the 1989 Topps card of Ed Romero. Ed has a nice looking auto and he is one who is a easy signer. I just wish others were like him being easy signers.

This card is the 1988 Topps card of Joe Sambito. I remember this one took quite a while to get back and Joe has a nice looking auto. The thing about the Topps cards is their designs were way different each year. One of their most popular design was the 1952 Topps cards and these were like ten years before my birthdate. The cards in 1962 were neat as they had the woodgrain design. One of my favorites was the 1975 Topps as the colors were two different border colors along with nice colored team names on the top of the cards. I have included a 1975 Topps card so collectors that have not seen the cards design can see the great design.

This is the 1975 Toops card of Diego Segui, and I did not get this one back in over a year, but I am glad I did as I remember his time with the Red Sox. As you can see the two different colors the light blue and yellow with pinkish colored lettering and the mini baseball showing the player's position.

This card is the 1993 Topps card of Danny Darwin. His best season was the 1993 season where he went 15-11 with Boston. 

The last Baseball auto is from one of my favorite players, Bernie Carbo. My favorite card of Bernie was the 1976 Topps card number 278. The one thing I always liked about Bernie was he had that large chunk of tobacco bulging out his cheek. I was quite happy I got this one back autographed.

This autograph is from a very well know cartoonist. Mort Drucker did a lot of Mad Magazine covers as well as other bits and pieces throughout the magazine. This card is titled Grounded, and the back of the card reads The Adventures of Captain Rochester. Very cool card and this is one of my most treasured Non-Sport autographs.

This is the blank index card I sent to Mort, and you can see what he wrote back, and he signed as well. His autograph is unique, and I love how he made the letter "M" in Mort with three lines. Sadly, Mort Drucker passed away April 9, 2020.

This one is a drawing of Superman in pen and signed by Dennis Janke. This is another very unique item because of the drawing, looks more vivid in person and if you look closely, he even drew the letter "S" for Superman on his back.

The final auto is of Al Jaffee, if anyone was a reader of Mad magazine's Fold In which was the last page of the magazine. When you folded the photo lining up the mark A to mark B it gave you a cool picture. Al Jaffee holds the Guinness book of world records for being the longest cartoonists. This is one I will treasure for many years it was done in blue marker and the back shows the bleed through.

So that is todays post I hope you all enjoy it and please if you enjoy my posts tell your friends to follow and I enjoy comments as well. Happy Collecting and Stay Safe!!!

A Little bit of This and That & Some Baseball

 So today we are having a Family & Friends Cookout so it is going to be a busy day and I said I will do a quick post. The weather here in N.H. has been decent. Earlier this summer it was becoming one of my better summers as it was beautiful with no humidity and temps around the 70's during the daytime to 50's & 40's during the night. Last week it was in the high 90's and very humid as the air was oppressive. Today it is supposed to be dry and in the upper 70's. Ok enough about the weather and back to the post.

I do have some Baseball cards autographed and I will find those for another post but today I found some inside my desk little cupboard.

This autograph is from Bruin's goalie Don Sylvestri, and it is considered quite difficult to acquire. Don is very tough to get through the mail. I was quite lucky to of got two signed cards. Don played 3 games with the Boston Bruins during the 1985 season. He had no wins or loses just 2 ties.

I finally broke down and bought this needed Bruins auto of Bill Quackenbush. It is one of the better-looking ones not because of penmanship as a majority of the players of that era were great signers as being legible but better looking because of the dark signature. Bill is in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

This player is to Hockey what Babe Ruth was to Baseball and Eddie Shore has a beautiful auto. A majority are found to be in fountain pen. Also, lots are found that way on team signature photos. I have two Shore autos in my collection.

This autograph is of Bobby Bauer and is another very Rare and extremely difficult auto as Bobby passed away very young in 1964 at the age of 49 so the auto's available are in private hands. I have only seen three total. This one of mine is taken from the team photo as was the Shore auto. If you look you can see the chipping (White specs) throughout these autos, but the Bauer is very nice and clean.

This is another auto from the same team autographed photo and of Hall of Famer Dit Clapper. In this auto you can see it does affect his first name as the beginning letter the "D" is barely visible and the letter "T" the same way. But overall, another difficult auto to acquire.

The final autograph from the autographed team photo is of Bill Cowley and this one is very beautiful with no white specs affecting the auto. If you look closely, you can see his last name Cowley right by his name Bill.

This is the team autographed photo, and you can see the autos were signed by each player's photo.

Ok so this is an autograph of Betty Jean McFadden from the AAGPBL(All American Girls Professional Baseball League). I actually at one time in my autograph collecting owned a near complete set of all the ladies autographs. Nice legible autograph of Betty McFaden. Betty passed away April 7, 2013.

Another AAGPBL player of Mary Weddle. I got a few cards of Mary signed and she even wrote me a nice long letter. It is very enjoyable staying in touch with these players as they will tell you all about their careers such as highlights and how they are doing today. Mary passed away October 21, 2021.

The final card of today's post is one that I had forgot about of Patrice Bergeron. The card is from 1999 Compuware, and it is the Peewee World Championship. I just noticed Patrice has the "C" on his jersey as the captain and that is pretty good as he captained the Bruins last season.

Thought this was interesting as I have a complete set of the Bruins candy dishes/ash trays. This one is of Don Awrey. Thought these were neat and to this day I have been told these are candy dishes by some and others ashtrays. How about just a dish but a cool collectible.

I have been thinking of finding some Baseball autographs that I have somewhere in my collection and once I find I will post. So now it is time to start getting things set up for today's cookout. I hope you all are enjoying the summer and whatever it is you collect. Please leave a comment and if you would like to follow just click the follow icon. Thanks for stopping by!!!

Hall Of Fame Autographs, One Game Wonders and More

 Each day I try and think what do I want to post about for today's blog post. I try and think of autographs that are popular, scarce and even some very tough and rare ones you know those obscure auto's more on those throughout today's entry. As an autograph collector I will say that I do enjoy the autograph hobby and yes there are times I get frustrated but overall, there are more positives than negatives.

The negatives would be that a majority of players from today's game just scribble there auto. The other would be the lack of signing by some. The latter does have an upswing to it and that would be the players who are tough signers the reward would be to actually one day get that autograph. Autographs like all collectibles that are lesser to find in quantity (Supply and Demand) do command a higher price. Again, there is good and bad with this as well and that is as a buyer to pay more is upsetting but if you are just a seller it is a good thing. At some point in the collecting world don't we all become sellers??? So, if this is true then it all evens out but with me it is always nice owning autographs that are scarce or obscure. Obscurity autographs are from players who played one to a few games. There are way more than one would think and my thoughts on their auto's being difficult is because of collectors not asking for their autographs but then there were autograph collectors back in the day who like myself would want any autograph from my favorite team or teams. So, let's move on to some of these types of autographs that I have discussed. 

Let's start will some obscure autographs and finish up with some Hall of Famers.

This is an autograph of Orval Tessier and I believe this auto was signed many years ago as this is not a cut auto. Tessier played a total of 59 NHL games and of the 59 games he played a total of 4 with the Montreal Canadiens and 55 with the Boston Bruins. As you can see his auto is very legible as a majority of the players from that era as they took pride in signing their autograph. 

This is another autograph signed on the blank index card of Wayne Brown. Wayne played for the Boston Bruins in the 1953-54 season but only in the playoffs a total of 4 games. As I mentioned earlier these autos are obscure. Wayne passed away September 20, 2019.

This autograph signed on the blank index card is of Chuck Scherza and I like that he added the 1943-44 Bruins as a nice added touch. Chuck played 2 NHL seasons and he played a total of 36 games 9 with Boston during the 1943-44 season then was traded to the New York Rangers the same season playing in 5 games for the Rangers a total of 14 games that season and the next and last season he played in 22 games with the Rangers during the 1944-45 season. Chuck passed away March 16, 2014.

The final autograph of the blank index cards and another one signed on the card of Dick Cherry. Dick played 3 seasons as his rookie season he was with the Bruins at the age of 19. That rookie season he played in 6 games registering no points during the 1956-57 season. His next team was the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1968-69 season tallying 15 points 9 goals and 6 assists in 71 games and his final season with the Flyers the 1969-70 season he had a total of 7 points in 68 games. Dick's older Brother Don Cherry appeared in one game with the Boston Bruins during the 1954-55 season.

This is by far an extremely difficult autograph of Hank Nowak. When I found a collector having two of these autographs I gave up a lot to own one of them and I am so very grateful to that collector. I usually send him autographs he needs as I believe helping each other is something everyone should enjoy. Now back to Hank, he did not like signing and I tried sending with no success. His autograph is another nice legible autograph.

This autograph of Doug Keans is another very tough one but nowhere as tough as Nowaks. I have seen doug's in person but I never have seen a Nowak. Of the Kean auto's I have seen they are pretty much identical in signing as they look pretty similar.

This card is the 2004-05 Ultimate Collection certified autograph of Hall of Famer Jari Kurri. Nice clean looking autograph and another auto I am glad to add to my Hall of Famer collection.

This card is the 2015-16 Upper Deck Premier Legendary Signatures certified autograph of Hall of Famer Mike Bossy. Another one I am glad I added to my Hall of Fame collection. Was saddened by his passing on April 15, 2022. I still believe if Mike had no back issues, he would have been the All-Time Goal scorer as he played in 752 games and scored 573 goals. Rest in Peace Mike.

This card is the 2013-14 Panini Playbook Storied Signature Certified autograph of Hall of Famer Phil Esposito. This card is serial numbered 43/50. Another great looking autograph and identical every time.

This card is the 2004 In the Game Parkhurst Original six autograph of Hall of Famer Jean Ratelle. I sent this one card to Jean, and I was so surprised to of got it back through the mail signed. Jean is a tough signer and again his autographs are identical each time. He has a unique way of making his letter "R" in Ratelle one way. Another nice addition to my Hall of Fame collection.

This card is the 1990-91Topps card of Hall of Famer Guy LaFleur and this is another through the mail autograph. I sent this card and one other and Guy was gracious to autograph both cards and included a larger photo of himself signed. Sadly Guy Lafleur passed away April 22, 2022. A gentleman of the game and great to his fans. Rest in Peace Guy.

This card is the 2000-01 Upper Deck Heroes Signs of greatness Certified autograph of Hall of Famer Stan Mikita. Another Hall of Fame auto that I am very happy to add to my Hall of Fame collection. Stan passed away August 7, 2018.

This card is the 1999 Upper Deck Century Legends Certified autograph of Hall of famer Bobby Hull. For years I saw his autograph and I will add that this autograph was signed over 20 years ago. His current autographs you can start to see the shaking in his signature. A legend indeed and one I am happy to cherish.

This card is the 2008-09 Be a Player Signatures autograph of Future Hall of Famer Patrick Marleau of the San Jose sharks. When I saw this card, I grabbed it so when he is inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame I will already own.

This last card for today's post is one that when I saw it, I just had to own it. The card is the 2012-13 Panini Social Signatures Certified autograph of Darren Pang. Nice clean legible autograph of the Chicago Blackhawks Goaltender.

So, if you enjoyed today's post let me know by commenting below in the comments. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Collecting!!!

Big Name Player Autographs and some bigger cards.

 I started sending through the mail auto requests back in 2015. I still remember the day I was preparing to send to Wayne Gretzky. I was told by a knowledgeable collector to only send one card per envelope. So, upon hearing this change I had to reopen the envelope already addressed to Wayne and remove a few extra cards. So, I sent this card to Wayne as I was working on the 1998-99 MVP set in trying to get them all autographed and I knew it was a huge task as Wayne himself had 4 cards in that set numbers 132, 218, 219 & 220.

The card that I sent to Wayne was this one checklist card # 220. I sent it and when I got it back around two weeks later I had my Wife send in another which was card # 132 pictured below. I still need the other two cards autographed but it appears that I sent the other two out at different times and still nothing back. I will try some other time when maybe I feel he may sign.

This is the 1998-99 Upper Deck MVP card # 132 of Wayne, one other interesting note when I sent the letter to Wayne I put NO AUTO PEN, PLEASE. As you can see it did work.

When I saw this card, I said who is this?? So, I thought at first it must be one of those Fans of the Game card, but it turns out to be a benchwarmer card. She sure does have a nice looking auto. My goal is to try and get every Bruins player who ever wore a Bruins jersey on a card, so I made an exception for adding this card.

I have some larger cards of Patrice Bergeron that I want to show. This one is the 2013-14 Upper Deck. These cards were inserted into the tins as toppers. This one shows Bergie giving the fans a high five.

This one is the 2008-09 Upper Deck large card of Bergie.

Today's last card of this post is the 2006-07 Be a Player portraits autographed card. These are 8 X 10. The only drawback is the autograph is a band-aid but hey there are not as many certified Bergeron autograph cards, so I was glad I got this one.

Be sure to leave a comment and I will be thinking of my what cards to show and discuss in my next post. Until then enjoy the rest of Summer and Happy Collecting!!!

MAY DAY, MAY DAY AND MORE

 I thought today's post I would mix it up with some Bruins and Sabres autos. As a huge Bruins fan I will never forget the four-game sweep during the 1993 playoffs but the one goal that sticks out and stings is the Brad May overtime winner. I can still hear Rick Jeanneret's call May Day, May Day!! Curious as to what other Sabre fans consider one of the best Sabre goals of all time. The amazing pass by a falling Pat LaFontaine set up the goal as May deked his way past Raymond Bourque and a fallen Andy Moog and the open net set up for May's wrist shot to give the Sabres a 6-5 overtime win and sweep of the Boston Bruins. So today's auto's will be of the Bruins and Sabres so sit back and enjoy.

This is the 1993-94 Parkhurst Brad May auto and I remember when I sent the auto request to Brad I did ask him what his biggest goal was. I got a reply of everyone knows this one. 

This is the 1993-94 Parkhurst auto of Craig Muni. The autograph in person is easier to read but I was glad when I got his auto back as he was a tougher one to get through the mail, but I got him.

Another 1993-94 Parkhurst auto this time of Donald Audette. When I got the auto, I looked at it and said oh no, I thought it was signed with a dry ease marker, but I rubbed it, and it did not come off. I believe it is from being in the envelope and going through the postal cancelling process. He has a nice looking auto as many players from that era and going forward a lot are just a quick scribble.

This Grant Fuhr 1993-94 Parkhurst is a classic card as it shows the Hall of Famer stopping a shot with his blocker. For many Sabre fans and collectors his autograph is always identical each time. Grant is such a nice person as he signs for his fans and that is a rarity today. Thank-You Grant for taking care of your fans.

This 1993-93 Parkhurst card is of Derek Plante and the 1993-94 season Derek I thought had a shot at winning the Calder trophy as the finished the season with 56 points, but that award went to Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur. Still 21 goals as a rookie are quite good.

This 1993-94 Parkhurst card is of Wayne Presley and you can tell by looking at his card that he put a lot of drive into playing. Nice looking auto as well and was glad to add him to the 1993-94 Parkhurst auto set.

This 1993-94 Parkhurst auto is from 2-time Stanley Cup winner Craig Simpson who won both cups with the Edmonton Oilers. Very nice looking auto and one I was pleased to get back signed and he goes into my Stanley Cup winning players auto set. Craig only played 2 seasons with the Sabres the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons ending his career that year.

This 1993-94 Parkhurst card of Scott Thomas was another tougher auto, but I guess he liked what I wrote in my letter when I asked for his autograph. Scott played only 2 seasons with the Sabres but one thing to note these players that only played a few games their autos as time passes by are what I call obscure and sometimes players that had short careers they don't like signing because of that. Just glad I was able to get Scotts. 

I thought I would finish the Sabres auto's off by showing Dale Hawerchuk's auto I got through the mail. Dale signed every card I sent, and I now am forever grateful getting his autographs as I was Quite sad by his passing. I got these cards back during the 2019 season. A great player and a great person, Thank-You very much Dale and may you rest in peace.

I thought I would add in some Bruins players and since I am basing today's post on the Bruins and Sabres why not show the first Bruins auto of Dave Andreychuk who played an amazing 23 seasons in the NHL. 12 seasons as a Buffalo Sabre and 1 with the Bruins and he had a total of 1,338 total points 640 goals and 698 helpers. Dave went on to win the Stanley Cup during the 1993-94 season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dave was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017.

This autograph is the 2004-05 In the Game NHL Bruins Franchise Series Autographs card. Gilbert has one of if not the nicest looking autographs as far as legible autographs go. The only other time I can remember seeing such beautiful penmanship was during my early school years and that by my English teacher but let me re-phrase that because way back then that teacher taught every subject. Easily the greatest looking autograph and I wonder do they still teach penmanship in School anymore???

This card is the 2016-17 Upper Deck Erik Haula and what I like about Erik is he is very animated on the ice, I love how he acts with his teammates as he makes the other players better. I was upset that the Bruins traded him to the New Jersey Devils, and I am still hoping that in a future Upper Deck release that is shows him wearing the spoked "B" as I would love to get it autographed.

This card is the 1994-95 Donruss card of John Gruden. If you take a look closely at the card lower right corner, you can barely see the name John Gruden. This is by far the worst looking set of cards (In my opinion). I added this auto because John Gruden was named an Assistant Coach of the Boston Bruins. John is another easy signer and nice looking auto.

This card is the 1942 Beehive card of Zellio Toppazzini and another tough to acquire auto. Zellio has a brother that played in the Bruins organization Jerry Toppazzini who was nicknamed "Topper". The autos from the players of the golden era are beautiful as you can see every letter. So happy to have this auto in my Bruins collection.

This card is the final series of Beehives, and it is the Type III and these photos are not like the first two series where the photo is lightly glued to the backing. This series is actually one card with the woodgrain appearance. Another nice addition of Parker MacDonald.

I figured I would end this post the way it started showing Linus Ullmark's 2015-16 Champs card. I sure was pleased I got this one autographed, but I will be getting his Bruins card auto'd as well. Just think my opening statement about the Sabres and Bruins ends with Linus playing for both teams, how ironic is that??

I want to say that I am so very glad I have three more followers and if anyone wants to see Any players autos or team just mention it in the comments. I look forward to sharing more stories and autos with you all. Thanks Again!!!