Friday, September 30, 2022

What a feeling!!!!!

Today the last day of the month and I have finally hooked one of my White Whales. I have been searching for a certified autograph card of Michael Ryder showing him in a Bruins uniform for over 10 years now. I am excited to say that the 10 plus year streak has ended. I made a deal and landed this card: 2011-12 Upper Deck Signature Sensations certified auto card of Michael Ryder wearing a Bruins jersey. 

As a collector when I finally get a card I have been after it makes me feel good but as I have been told by others it does not end there. Collecting cards or autographs it just keeps happening with the additions of new players with new cards so yes collecting is an addiction like a disease, but I prefer it over drinking and smoking neither that I do or have ever done.

As a collector it seems that I get cards or auto's in multiple fashion, I just made a deal for these two Boston Bruins cut autos of two players from the 1920's. 


This cut auto is of Hal Winkler, Winkler set the Bruins single season record of 15 shutouts in a season with 15 during the 1927-28 season.


This cut autograph is of Myles Lane a defenseman who won a Stanley Cup with the Bruins their first ever Cup in 1929.

I know there are a lot of people that have told me that collecting is crazy and that it can be costly, I mostly hear that from my Wife but I will say that she understands that once you have been bitten by that collecting bug there really is no cure unless you decide to just call it quits and the day I do that is the day I retire so until then I will keep collecting because until you land that tough card you will know what I am talking about: WHAT A FEELING!!!!!

If you enjoy my blog please follow me and tell your friends and as always Happy Collecting and Stay Safe!!!!!


Thursday, September 22, 2022

1986 Topps Baseball: Pete Rose Tribute

With the fall weather kicking in (Not complaining) and it is rainy I decided to go through the over 30 Topps baseball albums and I started with the 1986 Topps. The first 7 cards are all of Pete Rose and I thought it was very interesting that Topps showed all of his card's numbers 2-6 as 4 cards per front like a collage and the first card Pete's 1986 Topps card # 1.

The older cards of Pete bring back memories as I enjoyed the older issues because the action photos were interesting and some from spring training because of the palm trees in the background. Let's look at those 6 cards and card number 7, I have a question to ask but let's start with them numerically


This is card # 2 and as you can see the first four years of Pete's Topps cards starting with his 1963 rookie card showing three other rookies: Pedro Gonzalez, Ken McMullen, Pete Rose and Al Weis. Of these four cards I like the 1965 Topps card best, the small pennant icon showing the Reds older logo is cool.


This one is card number 3 showing four more years of Pete's Topps cards. The Topps 1970 I dislike the most from these four and I like best the 1967 Topps card because of the size of the photo and with borders.


This card is number 4 and these four my favorites would be the 1971 Topps and 1972 Topps. The 1971 I like mostly because of the black border as it made trying to get a mint set difficult and that is what I enjoy the most is the challenge. I dislike the 1973 Topps card; the 1974 Topps is ok but again not that great.

This card is number 5 and my favorite is the 1975 Topps because that is one of my favorite Topps designs, the 1976 Topps I like because the photos were bigger, and these were difficult to find centered because of the photo size.

This is card number 6 and I like the 1981 Topps best followed by the 1982 Topps. I will say that I do not care to see facsimile autos on cards because if you like the cards design and you want to get it autographed it is in the way and if the player signs over it it looks terrible and messes up the original auto.  


This is card number 7 and the final Rose tribute but if you look at the first photo you see Rose thinking of a player. Can anyone name who that player is?? I have my answer but won't reveal until I read what others reply. My favorites here are the 1983 & 1984 Topps cards I love the small inset but I am leaning towards the round inset versus the square inset, your thoughts on the inset???

The number one card is Petes 1986 Topps card and these cards I liked because of the black area on the top of the card. I will be posting more Baseball cards and if anyone would like to see a certain set please comment and I will do my best to post that set. Until next time I hope everyone is enjoying these posts and remember Happy Collecting and Stay Safe!!!!!


Monday, September 19, 2022

What is your favorite Baseball set??

 Instead of just doing a new post about what I have I thought I would do something different and discuss some of my favorite sets and cards and autographs. Probably my favorite modern baseball set would be the 1975 Topps set. I love the colors used as the design was different from there earlier sets.


 My favorite Baseball card there are several but if I had to choose one, I would say the 1956 Topps Ted Williams # 5. I love how the card has an action photo plus the portrait, Ted's famous swing as it looks so sweet in the photo.

My favorite autograph would be a hockey one and there are many to choose from so I will show my top 5 starting with number 5.


How could I not choose this beauty the one reason I chose this one is because of what he added, "The Sheriff". Of course, I asked him to add that and as you can see, he did.


This is a favorite because of how the autograph is so perfect, look at how the letter "G" looks. His autograph is always identical, and he signs through the mail every time I have sent.




I chose this one not because of his popularity but because of his autograph looking so good. I have seen many of his current autographs and I can start to see some shakiness in the hand. One thing I have noticed in studying Bobby Orr's autograph. He signs it two ways, the way in this card is my favorite as he has the loop in the letter "Y". The other way is he just go's straight down on the letter "Y" with no loop and I prefer the loop.


This is favorite number 2 and yes, I know it is not a Bruins player which is ok, but I always loved seeing Mr. Beliveau's autograph. Look at how he underlines it with that fancy design. I have a friend who went to a game and got Jean to sign for him and Jean told other players to take pride in signing their name for the fans. I wish the players today would feel the same way. These autograph's of today's players I call them SCRIBBLES, it is just awful!!!


This autograph of Bobby Bauer is my number one favorite autograph. This is a very difficult oine to find because Bobby Passed away in 1964 and this autograph came from a team signed photo with many others that I got from the photo. Beautifully signed in black fountain pen and this is probably one of the boldest and clearest looking Bauer autographs and one that I proudly own.







These last three are my Honorable mentions, Eddie Shore, Bill Cowley and Don Sylvestri. The Shore and Cowley are from the same team photo as the Bauer and the Sylvestri is one that I was very lucky to have got through the mail. He is a extremely hard one to get TTM.

Well, this ends todays post and I hope I hear from others as to their favorite sets or individual cards and autographs. Happy collecting and Stay Safe!!!!












Sunday, September 18, 2022

I Finally Landed his autograph

 When it comes to autographs especially ones of my favorite players or team my ears perk up. This last week has been very eventful in that I was very upset that I missed out on two certified autograph cards that I have been chasing since their inception. Those two cards that are still on my want list are these two: 2009-10 Upper Deck Signature Sensations Michael Ryder #SS-RY, 2013-14 Upper Deck Trilogy Jaromir Jagr #32 and I could have had both for less than $50 but it was not to be. I did get over it as time went on, but it is a collecting memory that will stick with me, and I will now have it for a new conversation with other collectors that I chat with or talk to directly in person. I can also add better with this bad part as it seems this time it evened out.

As an autograph collector and I am a team collector trying to get every player who has worn the Bruins spoked "B" autograph. Now that I am down to needing around 275 autographs and most are of players who have passed so it is a challenge getting their auto's. What I pick up now are the autograph of Bruins rookies and if these players do not get a certified autograph, I will send them an autograph request through the mail.

Yesterday's mail was a mail day that I will remember for some time. I keep a written journal of all the players I send to along with the date sent date received and their address. So yesterday morning like I do every day I check the informed delivery to see what I have for those days incoming mail. I saw the cancellation state and first three of the zip. It was Eastern Maine 044. So, I check my journal and I did not see it on the ones I sent out withing the month. Then it hit me there was a Bruins player that I have wrote to a few times for his auto, so I said that has to be the one.  I was excited to get that auto so I could finally cross it off my want list.

When our mail arrived yesterday, I rushed outside to get it and I just had to open that envelope up and after I carefully opened it my smile grew much bigger as it was not from the player whom I had thought it was. It was from Bruins Goalie Jeremy Swayman. I did send to Jeremy but I sent it to his address, but it came back from a Maine postmark. Jeremy did play for the University of Maine Black Bears so maybe he was up there before he reports to the Bruins training camp but whatever the reason I don't care as I am just pumped up to get his autograph through the mail as a lot of players from today's game do not like to sign through the mail.


This is the card 2021-22 Parkhurst Rookie and his autograph on his certified looks identical just the letters J and S and #1 for his jersey number. I also picked up other certified cards yesterday in the mail and this next one is from a player whom I enjoyed watching as a player, but he was traded earlier this year, so I had to grab this card for now. I did get his base card with him as a Bruin, and I did send it to his new teams address for his auto request but chances are I will not get it back but those are the chances you take doing TTM autos.


That certified auto card is the 2018-19 Upper Deck Signature sensation card of Eric Haula. I am hopeful that I get his Bruins base card back signed and you just never know when. I have had cards show up at my mailbox three plus years and I have read where some players have taken over 9 plus years can you imagine?? I could never imagine finding a letter of 9 years' worth of mail, but it does happen.

Well, I look forward to reading your comments and I also enjoy replying to your comments and I do enjoy seeing others follow my blog so if you like please follow me.

Goodbye until next time and as always enjoy what you collect and Stay Safe!!!

Friday, September 9, 2022

Is it even worth it anymore????

Today I want to discuss sending autographs through the mail. I started doing this 5 years ago and my success rate for getting positive returns was around 77%. I spoke to others who have been doing this for 20+ years and they said back then you got almost everything back that you sent out. I have also noticed that the players from today's games mostly scribble their autograph so why would any collector want their autograph in the first place. My answer is because as a collector of my teams autograph and trying to get every player that ever wore my team's jersey, that is why I do it.

When I send out to the older players, I get beautiful looking autographs that are easily read and if I send to an older player, you can see the shakiness in the autograph, but it is still better than these players today. I sent out 27 autograph requests on August 25th and to date I have only got 2 back. Yesterday I sent another 10 out and some I did not have the players address so I try sending to the team the player plays for.

The only problem is if I send to the players home address, he may be leaving for the training camps, so it is a risk either way. There have been some players that are great and sign but as a collector I think many will agree that I hate the waiting. I use the postal systems informed delivery every day to see if I have any coming in for that day and it is quite depressing when day after day, I get none back.

I see this happening with all sports, and I wonder if the pandemic has hurt in that players don't want to open mail during this time. It is not only depressing but it is getting more costly with the rise in postage, the cards I buy are common cards and I usually only pay about 18 to 25 cents a card and I only send 2-3 cards because I think the players get upset when one sends in over 5 or 6. So is this even worth it anymore?? I would rather get a certified autograph card but not all players have one so the through the mail route is the only way to get that autograph. There are some players that do shows but again there is a fee and depending on the players overall performance as a superstar the price can be several hundred dollars.



I sent this baseball card to Bernie Carbo a couple of years ago and as you can see Bernie kindly signed it and it was back to me withing a week or two.



Before I end this post, I thought I would throw in a little trivia. See if you can name this Baseball player and the team he played for on this card and the set designation. I bought this card back in 1982 and I bought a second one in 1983. Sure, wish I still had them. Thanks for the visit and if you like this blog please FOLLOW and leave a comment below about today's content or what you would like to see.

Happy Collecting and Stay Safe.

Wednesday, September 7, 2022

What is your insert????

 Well today I thought I would discuss insert cards. I thought about this topic when I was going through my cards and saw the different inserts. There are so many inserts that I could never have my all-time favorite, but I thought I would show some of mine. What makes an insert card popular for me is the overall appearance and card effects. The numbering is not that important for me as I look for that special kind of effect like a card showing the cracked ice effect. There are lots of collectors that just call them shiny cards because of the metallic appearance which has either gold, silver or even bronze but wait there is more. My favorite is the Ice Blue, and my second favorite is the Emerald Green and we can thank Pacific cards for these colors and what a great bunch of cards they produced. Let's take a look at some examples.


This first insert is the 1997-98 Pacific Paramount card of Joe Thornton. This color is the Copper version of the card.


This card is the 1997-98 Paramount card of Paul Kariya and I am showing it for comparison as this one is the Ice Blue version and neither the Thornton Copper or Kariya Blue Ice is numbered. The scan does not show the blue as it does if holding the card in person but if you look at the top left corner you can see it better than you can looking at his name.


This card is another Pacific card and this one is the 2000-01 pacific base card of Joe Hulbig. The base cards all have the silver color and the next card we will compare to another color from the same set.


This card is the 2000-01 Pacific card of Eric Nickulas and is the Ice Blue version as you can see this scan shows a clearer view of that color. Notice this one is numbered as the number is located in the bottom left corner. This is numbered 06/45 which indicates that only 45 cards in the ice blue were produced. I like the Ice Blue color the best as it is a perfect fit for hockey.


This card is the 2000-01 Pacific Revolution card of Teemu Selanne. This version is the base card, so the color is silver and not numbered. These cards are beautiful because of the way you move the card it glitters, and it shows these like diamonds of purples and blues.


These cards are the 2021-22 Upper Deck Dazzlers Green and Blue of Patrice Bergeron. These cards are cool when you move them, they glow and seem to throw the color right at you. They are nice but I still favor what Pacific did years ago as they seemed to be ahead of their time.


This insert card is the 1999-00 SP Authentic Supreme Skills card of Martin Brodeur. Another card that you appreciate more when you hold it and move it as it changes the cards background, this scanned shows us a blue background and if you tilt the card you can see the rainbow of colors, green purple and a hint of pink.


This card is the 2017-18 Ultimate Collection card of Anders Bjork and is serial numbered 026/149. This card is very nice because of the three colored swatch and the stitching marks plus the autograph.



This last insert is the 2003-04 Topps Pristine card of Stanislav Chistov autograph card. These cards are unique because they have the Chrome look and what I love about the Topps autographs where they put a sticker on the back of the card with a number which is proof the auto is authentic. You can see on the Topps cards that they use the silver stamp Certified issued autograph.

Well as I showed only a few different inserts how many of you like the colored lettering or the colored background or just the autograph itself or how about the jersey and autograph card, what is your favorite? So, before you go, please leave a comment. Happy Collecting and Stay Safe!!!

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Are larger cards better??

 Before I went to bed last night, I knew I had lots to do for this blog. I knew I needed to bring everything up to date. I finished adding cards that I hope to get autographed on my Will these cards ever get autographed page, and I added 12 new autographs to the Boston Bruins autograph collection on my Monthly Autograph Additions page. Please check these pages out and I am allowing comments on those pages in case a reader can help locate my autograph wants.

So, today's post is about the larger cards or photos. If I had to choose, I would choose the large Beehive cards. If anyone has never seen a beehive card, I will be posting two here today along with a couple of photos. The Beehive cards were produced by the St. Lawrence Starch Company. There big item was the Corn syrup, and you could get these beehive photos. When you ordered these cards, you had to name the player you wanted, and you had to send in a token or a collar. So, if you sent in a one token from a 2 lb. Beehive syrup collar you got oine photo. For two photos you had to send in one 5 lb. Beehive Syrup token and to get three photos you had to send in one 10 lb. Beehive syrup token.

There was a list of players to choose from listed by teams. These cards were done in three different series. The first series Type Ones were done 1934-1945, Type two's were done 1947-1964 and the final type threes were done 1964-1968. During the wartime years 1945-47 they suspended the promotion. The type threes are my favorite, those cards offer a woodgrain border and the photo itself is part of the same as it does not have the mat like the other two types.


I have posted a scan of Pat Egan and Dave Creighton. These came with the different colored Mats as you can see the colored border. The photograph of the player is merely a black and white magazine type photo glued at the top of the backing. The backs are blank and a lot of them can be found with writing on the back by the original owner as a checklist of the players he or she needed.


This Beehive of Parker MacDonald is the type 3's and now you can see the border is woodgrain and is all one photo. The type 3's are my favorite ones because the photos are not separate like the other two types are glued to the backing.


This photo is of Ed Chadwick and I am showing it to allow the readers to see these goalies played with no mask as in this photo. Also look at his nice autograph as the players from that era all had beautiful penmanship and they took pride in signing their names for their fans.


This last photo is of Marty Howe of the Boston Bruins. How many of you knew that Gordie Howe's son Marty was a Bruins player? Marty Howe played 78 games for the Bruins during the 1982-83 season.

Well, that is today's blog as I have been working on my blog since 5 A.M. this morning until now. I updated all of my pages and added many new cards I hope to someday get autographed and added 12 new Boston Bruins autographs. I mailed out 26 autograph requests last Thursday the 25th of August and I hope those start to roll in as autographed and not any RTS (Return to sender). Please be sure to leave a comment on any of my pages and if you like my blog and know of anyone else who would like it please let them know and become a follower. Happy Collecting and Stay Safe!!!