This is what it is all about

 As any autograph collector knows when you start collecting autographs through the mail there are times when it can be very frustrating. Sending out hundreds to thousands of autograph requests is a lot of work but the success is very rewarding. This year being still very young I have sent out over 275 autograph requests and the yearly return percentage has declined each year. I keep asking myself why won't a player sign the cards, is this really worth it??

I am only collecting hockey autographs of Women in hockey. Players that are currently playing in the new PWHL, college players now and in years past and players that played in other leagues that are now defunct. There have been a few what I call strange happenings and this happened within 2 weeks time. There were 3 different players to whom I sent a autograph request too. I was using the correct address for each player but apparently I was using the incorrect first name. The name used was the one on the trading card. So the name I used for one was Beth but it was actually Elizabeth and the other I used was Sue instead of Suzanne. Now I do not know why the letter was not accepted but I did find it very strange but like I have said you learn a lot of strange things collecting autographs this way. 

The cost is starting to become an issue as one envelope sent to the player currently cost $1.56 per player. The outside envelope used is a business sized one and the one inside for the autograph's return is stamped. What I enjoy doing is getting up early in the morning and the first thing I do is I check the informed delivery to see what my mail is for that day. Yes it can be upsetting when you go several days without getting a single autograph back but it does have it's rewards. What I do is every autograph request I send out I journal the info with the players name and address. Then when I see an auto request envelope on the informed delivery I look at the postmark. I then go to my journal to see if I can figure out who the autograph is from by seeing the city name on the postmark. I have been very accurate in being correct than being wrong but the times I am wrong actually turn out to being very good because it is from a player with whom I never thought would have signed but when they do it really lifts one's spirits.

As I said earlier there are times when this is very frustrating and you just say should I stop because of the lack of autographs being received it is just not worth it. As a autograph collector I will add that I would rather have a players autograph on a manufactured card by a sports card company versus a index card but I then say that I at least have the players autograph and I thank them for taking the time and signing the card.

One of my bigger highlights happened on Thursday of this week when I got back a autograph request as a huge success. I will show the cards I got back signed and what makes this autograph requests such a big success is what this player did.

These were the two index cards I sent for Winny Brodt and I was very pleased with her nice legible autograph and her autograph is signed the same way each time and that is an indication that she cared about what her autograph looked like and that to me is a big plus. But there is more to this story as she went above and beyond.

She added this card of hers and signed it and this is what really keeps me going. These cards are from the 2005-06 United States Women's National Team and I now have four cards from this set all signed but what is still a mystery to me is who produced these cards and where can they be purchased, how many players are in the set?? Those are the questions I hope to get answers too as I would love to complete another set of cards in getting them all signed as that is my goal to put together the greatest Women's autograph collection. I love the silver paint pen for this card because it blends in well with the cards light gray background.

This is the back of the card and as you can see the players stats and a small picture of the player. I hope that I can get answers as to the information about where and who these cards came from, we know the year and I hope in time I get more autograph's from this mysterious set of cards and I want to send a very BIG THANK-YOU to Winny Brodt for taking the time to add a card for my autograph collection as she went above and beyond and this is what it is all about!!!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and checking out my other pages of this blog. I hope as a collector of whatever you collect, you find it fun and enjoyable. Look forward to reading and replying to your responses and as always Happy Collecting!!!

1953 Topps Baseball and an Olympic Hero

With the 2026 MLB season starting soon I was looking through some of my 1950's card albums and this set of cards remind me of miniature paintings. I will show my 8 favorite 1953 Topps Baseball Cards.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Jackie Robinson and is the first card in this set. Why I like like this card as one of my favorites is the old stadium in the background and a very nice portrait of Jackie.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Joe Garagiola. Joe's cards always have him with a nice smile and notice how his photo is black and white with a colored background. There are several cards with just the black and white photo's with a different color for the background. I also like the team logo for the Pittsburgh Pirates as it looks vintage.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Dizzy Trout and another favorite of mine the old team logo is great and just the name Dizzy and he is a Red Sox player a team I grew up rooting for, What more could one ask.

This is the 1953 Topps card of Gus Niarhos and again the solid color background but his portrait is in color as a painting but no background of anything just a plain color but a great looking card.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Johnny Pesky with the Detroit Tigers. This is a favorite of mine because of Johnny Pesky's days as a Red Sox player and coach. Johnny even has a foul pole named after him in Boston's Fenway park as the right field foul pole. The Pesky pole got it's name from team mate Mel Parnell for hitting a homerun off the short right field fence.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Mickey Mantle and this is a favorite of mine simply because it is the "Mick". Beautiful portrait with the background showing the fence and advertising and the light stanchions in the outfield. Just a beautiful card and highly collectible.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Willie Mays and again another favorite of mine because it is of The Say Hey Kid. When I see this card it looks as if he is on the mound getting ready to throw home. Love the trees in the background and you never see trees in the stadiums today unless it is spring training with the palm trees.

This card is the 1953 Topps card of Casey Stengel and this favorite of mine is because of it being Casey. Whenever I see the name Casey I think of the mighty Casey has struck out. Stengel went on to manage the New York Yankees to 7 world series championships in only 12 seasons.

These two cards are of Olympic Hero Megan Keller as it was her Overtime thrilling goal that gave team USA the gold medal at the 2026 Olympics over team Canada. Another great signer and her auto is always identical as she takes the time to sign for a legible signature.

Thanks for stopping by and as always Happy Collecting!!!

1952 Topps Baseball and it is official as the last piece of the puzzle is in place.

 Before I start discussing the 1952 Topps Baseball cards I want to say that yesterday's mail for autographs was only one it was a very important one for completing the set. That little tidbit will be saving the Best for last.

As many know the 1952 Topps is probably one of the most popular and the key card on many collector's want list is card #311, along with many other greats of that era. The beauty of these cards is the cards resemble lithograph coloring. The high numbers are somewhat difficult as well and some key cards are double printed. The Mantle card is probably as common as some of the other common cards from this set as it was printed in the final sixth series and was the first card of this series 311-407. The six series were printed like this.

Series 1 1-80

Series 2 81-130

Series 3 131-190

Series 4 191-250

Series 5 251-310

Series 6 311-407

The Mantle card being double printed was as plentiful as any of the other high numbered cards from series 6 but it's popularity among collectors makes it a must want. The rich coloring with the dark blue background along with the bat's yellow glow is key in making this card so popular but rare actually depends on what each of us believes.

This card is the 1952 Topps card of Andy Pafko and this card is number 1. The first and last card in a set usually is difficult to find in a high grade because kids would use rubber bands to keep the cards in place as they stacked them and usually the first card and last card in the set received more damages as the weight caused by the band pulled on the cards sides and sometimes the elastic band caused marks on the cards.

This card is the 1952 Topps cards number 407 and is the last card in the set and another high number making this card very popular with collectors as a key card and as indicated with the Pafko card number 1 it is not found in high grades as often which adds more of a premium. Still this card is one of my favorite 1952 Topps cards.

This card is the 1952 Topps card of Wille Mays and is from series 5 card number 261. Whenever I see this card of Willie I always see him as looking as if he is upset about something. Another card favorite with collectors as Willie went on to have a great Hall of Fame career.

This card is the 1952 Topps card of Joe Garagiola and this is my favorite card of the '52 Topps cards. The nice smile on his face with the lighter color of a red background. Joe played 9 seasons the the Majors as a catcher and he went on to win the 1946 World Series over the Boston Red Sox. Joe is inducted into The Baseball Hall of Fame as a Broadcaster. I always enjoyed his broadcasts as you could just hear his voice and you instantly knew it was Joe behind the mic.

As I said in the beginning of this post I had finally finished completing a set of cards by finally landing the Sue Merz autograph as it came in yesterday's mail. I now have completed another key set of cards having all 20 players cards autographed.

There she is and as I have said before as an autograph collector I have a routine I do daily except for Sundays. I am usually up early around 5 A.M. and I go and check my mail first seeing if I have any autographs cards coming through the mail. I always keep a journal of the players I send too and when I saw the postmark I thought could it finally be over, is this the final autograph I have been after for the last 5+ years of Sue Merz. As I was opening the envelope hands were shaking and the minute I saw first were the Stars on the American flag was the only indication that it was the final piece of the puzzle. Not only did she sign it but she did add the 2 little hockey sticks. I now could celebrate and it will look beautiful with the other players from this 2002 U.S. Women's Ice Hockey Team set of 21 cards, 20 player cards and a checklist card. Sue played in all 6 games in the XVIII Olympic Winter Games  in Nagano Japan contributing 6 points 1 goal and 5 assists as a defenseman. One little interesting note, she was nicknamed Murphy her senior year of high school by her Softball coach because the team was actually calling her "Mertzy" and the nickname stuck. Finally getting this last card really makes me very happy as I am sure other collectors have felt the same way when they finally complete a set.

If you are still reading this I say Thank-you and I wish you all success in finishing your sets as it is such a great, great feeling. Look forward to your responses and as always....... Happy Collecting!!!

What's in the Mail Today??

 It seems like forever since my last post but last week was not a very good week because of the way I felt but I did have a good week getting cards back through the mail signed and a few new pickups here and there. I am thinking of attending a few card shows this summer as there is a big one coming up. I also am looking forward to the upcoming 2025-26 release of Upper Deck's PWHL cards as they have added some new inserts. I would love to purchase a case of this product but I will have to wait and see what happens until then.

This card is the 2000-01 Pacific Private Stock Titanium Draft Day Jersey card of Don Sweeney. Whenever I see a two colored version of this card I grab it. I currently have over 15 of these cards. I collect Don Sweeney cards and I enjoy finding multi colored swatches. Don only had a handful of jersey cards all done by Pacific.

These 2 cards are from the 2000-01 Pacific Vanguard Jersey card of Don Sweeney and Kyle McLaren. The top card is the patch version serial numbered /300 and as you can see the 3 colored swatch with the seam makes this card jump. The bottom card is from the same set but is serial numbered to /1400. I have seen many of these cards of Sweeney and McLaren and a majority of them are one colored with white being the most common. Multi colored ones are difficult to locate. The year these came out I saw one of the patch versions of this card that showed the old Bruins shoulder patch of the Bruins Bear. You could see the bear's eye and mouth with the red tongue. I bid on that card thinking I was going to be the high bidder but I guess someone wanted that card more than me because my high bid of $76 did not win as I put the bid in with 5 seconds to go and lost. Talk about heartbreak and disappointment. I hope that someday the winner puts the card back up for sale as the search continues for more multi colored jersey swatches.

This card is from the 2023 Upper Deck Tim Hortons Legends card. Nice auto to get signed. She is not a very easy one to get through the mail. I have only seen 4 different auto's from her and she has a nice legible auto that looks identical each time, notice the little smiley face.

This card is from the 2023-24 Upper Deck PWHL card of Kelly Pannek. This one is a through the mail and she is a good signer for the autograph collectors. These cards are cool the way they change colors when turned side to side.

These 2 cards are from the 2023-24 Leaf Metal Purple and Pink Pulsar cards of Olympic Gold Medalists Hilary Knight and numbered 1/1. Usually I try not to buy these cards because the one of one cards demand a premium but after her last Olympic performance I decided I would grab them. These are sticker autos as I am not a big fan of the band-aid autos as I like the on card better.

I wanted to show this card off as it is from the 2022 Upper Deck Team Canada Juniors Medal Hopefuls Red version of Sarah Fillier. The red version is only numbered to/21. Last night when I took this card out when I dropped it on my desk it made that metallic sound that a coin would make. I did not realize these die-cut cards were made from medal but they are and are quite thick.

This last card I got through the mail on Monday is one that I have wanted for a while and notice she signed the card in a nice silver paint pen which makes sense since the card has the dark background. This card is from the 1997-98 Minnesota Golden Gophers inaugural team. There is just something that I like with her last name.

I am still working on my post about the tobacco cards and I hope to have it done soon. Until next time, HAPPY COLLECTING!!!!!

Surprise in the mail and some oddball items

 One of the reasons why I started this blog was to help keep track of my cards. My main collecting habits right now is collecting Hockey autographs but mostly collecting the Women of Hockey autographs. I will also be discussing Baseball as well, as I collected many tobacco cards through the years and I am working on a nice article for a future blog post so stay tuned for that. Will also show some oddball items for Football and a few sheets in this post.

Today I will discuss different cards that I have picked up recently. The first card I want to show is from a very gifted hockey player as she played 4 seasons for the Ohio State Buckeyes. She also went on playing in the 2010 Winter Olympics which were held in Vancouver, Canada.

The player I am referring to is Lisa Chesson who played 4 seasons for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Her 4 year totals are 145 games played, adding 27 goals and 62 assists for a total of 89 points for a defenseman. Her Olympic totals were very impressive, she played in the 5 games scoring 2 goals and adding 3 assists. She and Team USA brought home the Silver medal during the 2010 Olympics. I was very excited from today's mail as I got back three cards from her first 3 years all signed. Another tougher autograph to cross off my wantlist.

This is Lisa Chesson's second season and what I love about this card is the great design as you can see in the background of another photo of her that resembles a mirage type of look along with the BUCKEYES along the right side of the card. 

This is her senior year the 2007-08 season as she earned the Assistant Captain letter. I Did not send her junior season card for her autograph because sometimes if you over send it can lead to getting none of the cards back signed but I hopefully will get that junior card of Lisa signed one day in the future. All of these cards made for the Ohio State Buckeyes were all sponsored by Holiday Inn as I will post the cards backs. Another interesting little tidbit is the size of these cards. They measure 3 1/2 X 2 1/4 making them much smaller than a standard card.

   

These are the three card backs of Lisa Chesson. The card on the left is from her senior season, the middle card is from her Sophmore season and the card on the right is her rookie card showing her with Shelby Aldous. I like the small inset photos and the senior year card has questions that she gave her choice answer. I really Love these cards and am very happy I got these all signed.

This sheet contains 6 different players from the 1988 Chef Boyardee and the entire set consists of 24 players which is a total of 4 sheets. You had to send in 10 proof of purchase of Chef Boyardee items and $1.50 shipping to receive the set. These are a unique item and the backs are easy to see and read with a bright red.

I do like the cards backs I can see MSA so that is who manufactured them. The cards are perforated for easy cuts if anyone wants single cards versus a entire 6 card sheet.

This card is from the 1994 Topps Finest and these cards are quite popular with collectors especially the refractors. I love the ones the did for hockey as the colors are electric and really standout. This card of Scott Fletcher I like how it looks more like a lithograph than a basic photo. This was one of Topps best designs or should I say their best Finest Designs.

This is another odd set, the Coca-Cola Monster's of the Grid Iron. This card is of Emmitt Smith also called Lone Star Sheriff. The set has 30 cards and there are a lot of unique names.

This sheet if from the 1993 Game day cards. This sheet has 6 cards and the entire set has 18 cards and 3 different sheets. This is a McDonald's issue and the cards are perforated for making the cards as singles.

This card is the 2024 Leaf Metal autograph card of Jessica Campbell who became the first female assistant coach in the NHL. She is currently with the Seattle Kraken. I love the design of this card as you can see the different metals throughout the card.

Looking forward to your responses and if you are enjoying the posts then please start following. Until the next post, Be well!!!

HAPPY COLLECTING!!!

GOLD, GOLD, GOLD!!!

It appears that Gold is much popular with card collectors so much that some collectors seem to have put together complete sets. One of those sets was a 1996 Danbury Mint Gold set of 50 cards. These cards were purchased by paying payments and it reminded me of being in a club. I never did this but I acquired a complete set but to be honest I sure am glad I did not buy these cards. These cards came with their own binder and the sheets were included with the players name etched in gold lettering at each slot.

This card is of Tyrus Cobb of the Detroit Tigers and as you can see each card came housed in its own plastic case. These cards were very difficult to read on the cards back. You have to shift the card around in the light to see the players stats. I still say that Ty Cobb was the greatest hitter all-time but I know others feel differently. Cobb won a total of 12 batting titles. In 1909 Ty won the triple Crown and went on to win MVP honors in 1911 and finished that season with an amazing 419 batting average.

This card is the 1996 Danbury Mint Gold card of Babe Ruth who needs no introduction. Looking at these cards you can figure out where the cards images were from. There are other cards that are similar, the 1933 Goudey of Ruth is one of my favorites.

This card is from the same set of Lou Gehrig and when you look at these cards the holder is actually bendable with a inset groove around the entire card.

This last card from the 1996 Danbury Mint is of Fred Lynn as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Fred was one of my favorite ball players along with Jim Rice and in 1975 they were the Gold Duct twins. Lynn won the American League MVP and Rookie of the year with Jim Rice finishing third for the American League MVP award and second to the Rookie of the year.

Now jumping to hockey this card is the 1992-93 Topps Gold card of Don Sweeney. These cards were one of my favorite card designs and the card having the players name plate in Gold. In comparison to the 1996 Danbury Mint cards I would choose the 1992-93 Topps Gold over the 1996 Danbury Mint  cards. The backs of the cards backs much easier to read and the Danbury Mint cards have so much glare you need to shift the card in the light to see the player.

This card is the 2023 Upper Deck Team Canada Women's Go To The Top Gold card of Sarah Fillier. These cards are a glossy foil gold card and you can see more of the cards background with rainbow colors.

This card is the 2023 Tim Horton's Legends card of Nancy Drolet. This card I did get autographed and it is not an easy autograph to get. A tough signer for me but Try Try Try again until you succeed.

I just got this autograph card back from Tara Mounsey who was newly inducted in the United states Hockey Hall of Fame. She even added the inscription USHHOF '25. My next blog will be discussing some very old tobacco cards. Look forward to reading your responses and if you like the blog please give us a follow. 

Happy Collecting!!!

Which is Better???

I wanted to have this post up yesterday but had lots of things going on so I had to put it off but now let's dig in.

I want to discuss the thickness of cards and I will show some of the ones I have in my collection.

This card is from the 2007-08 In the Game O Canada dual jersey card of Vicky Sunohara and Danielle Goyette. The Goyette swatch is 2 colored black strip with white. This is not a patch card but just a jersey swatch. So this card does not need to be any thicker as the jersey swatches are softer but a patch swatch is thicker and if from the emblem or number or letter it is a harder material which may need a thicker card.

Now this card is from the 2020 Upper Deck Team Canada Patch autograph card of Melodie Daoust. This card has a part of an emblem and it is the left piece which is gold in color is hard as is the red stripe. I think the thickness on this card is not necessary as I will show the next example with the card have the similar kind of patch.

This card is the 2007-08 In the Game O Canada game used number patch card of Caroline Ouellette. This patch card is about the same in thickness as the Daoust card and the card is 2 times thinner. The patch has a raised seam which gives it some height but this card is thinner.

This card is the 2019 Upper Deck Team Canada Patch Autograph card of Ann-Sophie Bettez. Again the patch has a raised area giving the swatch height which is why the card is so thick.

This card is the 2004 SPx Rookie Stars Jersey card of Sergei Zinojev. This is just another jersey swatch which makes the swatch area flatter. So now that we have seen some examples is there really a reason to make the patch cards as thick as they are?? The Bap Game Used Number Patch is as thick as the Daoust and Bettez patch cards.

I myself do not like cards being so thick as it is hard housing them in a plastic sheet as they tend to slide around. Today I have purchased a sheet that may help from keeping them in a more stable place with less moving around. Before I used the 4 pocket sheet but there was too much room so I now am going to try using a 6 pocket sheet which is not as wide. This will keep the card tighter, I did notice that the cards do fit but I did have to apply pressure pushing them down and into the sheet.

This how they look in these sheets. I thought the sheets would bunch up some but they did not bunch up that bad. They fit tightly and now these cards will not move around as much when handling the binder. These sheets measure 2 3/4 inches wide by 5 9/16 inches long. They work great for the tall boy cards and I like them for these thicker cards. So this is what I prefer to house my thicker cards in. I did notice that if you do not slide them down evenly the corner of the card can indent the sheet  but I kept that from happening by keeping the cards even pushing them down. Has anyone else tried any other kinds of sheets for these thicker cards??

My overall pick would be the 2007-08 In the Game O Canada patch cards because the cards are the perfect thickness and they can be housed in a regular 9 pocket sheet. The 2004 SPx Jersey card of Zinojev I do like the design and the card is thinner with a very large jersey swatch. Upper Deck has come out with some amazing card designs but I just wish the cards were not as thick. I like the different Upper Deck Team Canada patch auto cards through the years and look forward to more future designs and products.

Look forward to your comments and what some of your favorite patch cards are and do you like thicker cards or thinner cards. 

Happy Collecting!!!