Trick or Treat

 My last post from yesterday I had mentioned that I did not get my mail yesterday and since I could not show my latest mail autographs I would do those today. The first one I opened I was very happy with as I needed her autograph on a Minnesota Gophers card and she came through.

This card is the 2002-03 Minnesota Gophers card of Kelly Stephens. I have Kelly's autograph but I wanted to get it on a Gophers card. This is a nice treat but I was tricked as to whom it was from as I try and guess the player by looking at the postmark but I got tricked and was wrong but I will say I am glad I was wrong because it turned out to be a Treat.

These 3 cards I got back today and this is a nice big treat as Aerin Frankel signed all three. These cards are the newest release from the 2025-26 Upper Deck PWHL and the 2025-26 Fleer Ultra. Aerin is probably one of the best for signing for her fans. She has a very nice lookin autograph as she is consistent with its appearance.

This is a signed index card of Nicole Schammel and another nice auto that I am glad to add to my collection. I guessed this one so no trick just a treat.

I picked this up last week and I grabbed it for $15 which I thought sounded fair for me and this is another treat. This card is the 2000-01 Upper Deck NHL Legends Epic Signatures card of Jean Beliveau. Is this a nice treat or a trick??

I got this yesterday and another steal at $5 as this is a Don Awrey candy dish. Another treat!!!

So that wraps up just a quick Trick or Treat post and I will be adding more autographs I get through the mail and other little trinkets. Happy Halloween and I hope you get lots of nice treats and be safe!!!

Things are starting to heat up

 When you send 60 autograph requests out in 2 days it is only common sense that they start to come back. I waited over 10 days before they started coming in. As a autograph collector who has sent thousands of autograph request out I get that feeling that there are players who simply will not sign. I said to myself will I start getting any back and yesterday I was rewarded with 4 that came back signed. Since a lot of players had cards issued by either the College or Team USA I do not know which players fall into that category. So I put in my letter to each player that if you had a card made would you please let me know because I do not have a checklist for that certain set of cards. I also put that in the past there have been players who have given me cards of themselves that I never knew of and they sign the card.

The ones that came back yesterday I got 2 different cards and they were signed.

This is of Emily Brown and in her note she said this card was made from a fan. I thought it was nice of her to sign it and she also signed the index card I sent. Emily is currently with the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL.

When I was opening the envelope I saw this and at first I thought it was a card in a top loader but I was wrong. I got it in my hand and I tried to get the card out then I saw it was sealed. My Wife is the one who told me it is what the players and press use when they are in a setting like the Olympics. This is for that reason and it is from Patti Marshall. She signed the card but on the outside of the lanynard. The other side looks identical just not signed. I thought this was kind of cool as I have never got one of these back signed, another cool addition!!

These are the index cards I made and sent to each player. I send 2 of these to each player and one of them I cut the auto out to make my own custom card. It is a nice looking set I am working on.

I was supposed to have got 3 autograph requests back in today's mail according to the USPS informed delivery but my mail was delivered and there was no other mail in my box, Go figure!!!! 

I decided to go to this antique shop that we pass quite a bit just to see what they have. I saw some hockey cards and they were the 1985-86 Topps. So I am thumbing through them and I grabbed 2 of the cards including another Stevie "Y" card.

This is Yzerman's second year card from the 1985-86 Topps and it is beautiful condition and nice centering. I grabbed it for $2 which is a good deal. To be honest I like this card better than his 1984-85 Topps Rookie card. The cards from this year are difficult to find centered but this one is close to being 50/50.

Another nice pick-up is this 1985-86 Pelle Lindbergh card and again nicely centered. I got this one for 50 cents and this card is a short print.

I also grabbed this 1984-85 Topps card of Raymond Bourque and got it for 50 cents. Another nicely centered card with sharp corners and clean surface.

This is a autograph of Florence Schelling of Team Switzerland. Her autograph is different as I can see the letters SCH and the uniform number 41. This is a 8X10 and it is a nice vivid photo. Schelling is a very highly decorated goalie. She is one of the greatest goaltenders of all time. Impressive stats and won a bronze medal at the 2013-14 winter Olympic games. She was inducted in the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2026. From all of her accomplishments she should hopefully someday get elected in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

I thought these were nice additions, the 1976 Papa Ginos cups I got both cups for $10. This one shows Bobby Orr and I also found a Dallas Smith. The cups still have nice bright coloring but if you keep the cups stacked inside one another you will damage the photo and print as it peels off by the cups rubbing when pulling apart.

I also added another Bobby Orr Ash tray/Candy dish. I got this for $7 which I thought was a steal. I now have 5 of the Orr and a Dallas Smith and Phil Esposito.

Does anyone remember these?? I believe they are from the 1999-00 Upper Deck Power Deck. This one of Bobby Orr is one that I grabbed and added to my collection of odd's and ends.

Can anyone see the error on this 1998-99 lady Gopher team card?? It is very easy but this is one extra card from the Fabulous package I got on the 16th of October.
 

In celebrating the Milwaukee Brewers first World Series Championship it was nice seeing Robin Yount there and this is his 1976 Topps card his second year. So this card is 50 years old and what is crazy is this card can be bought for under $5 but a card released this year is worth lots more which is why I buy the older cards because in the long run the older cards are not only much wiser purchases but they have more history and sentiment than these over printed new cards and I have seen serial numbered cards numbered with an identical numbering. 

I will be doing another post for trick or treat tomorrow(If I get my mail delivered that is) until then stay safe & Happy collecting!!!

This is what the hobby is all about

 Once you get into sending autograph requests through the mail there are times when getting them back signed can be few and far between. There have been several players who will send extra cards and will autograph them and there are players that will send surprise packages and this did happen to me a week and a half ago. I will discuss this towards the end of this post. This week I have got 2 more autographs through the mail and both are rookie players.

This is the 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Rookie card of Skylar Irving of the Montreal Victoire of the PWHL. This is another that I need in trying to complete the rookie cards from this set. I currently have 5 player autographs from the rookie cards.

This is the 2025-26 Fleer Ultra Rookie card od Casey O'Brien of the New York Sirens from the PWHL. Another one that I was pleased to get and now I am looking forward to the others to come in through the mail.

I did pick-up some cool Baseball cards at the local card show. The show is not very big as there are roughly 25 tables but I just got some nice bargains. Lets start with some baseball cards that I grabbed for $3 for the lot.

The first card of Jose Canseco is from the 1992 Confex Baseball Enquirer. Kind of a odd card but thought it was cool. Then the next card is the 1989 Fleer Canseco. The really coolest  card is the 1996 Guyana Babe Ruth 100th anniversary stamp # 4. I like the gold trim around the card. The cards of the Brewers I grabbed because of this years World series where as of this writing the Brew Crew is 1 win away from their first ever World Series championship. The last card is the World Series card of Brooks Robinson these are the 1992 sports card news.

The other pick-up at the show is this 1984-85 Topps Rookie card of Steve Yzerman and I needed this one for completing my 1984-85 Topps set and for only $3 I could not go wrong. Card is nicely centered with 4 nice sharp corners.

This I got for free and the question is this should I open it or keep it unopened. Speaking of unopened items if you follow and read my blog I received a package from a player and one of the many items I got was an unopened 1998-99 complete set still wrapped in cellophane. 

This is the set and I need just the card of Jenny Schmidgall for the complete set. It is tempting to open but for now it is staying wrapped and in time if I never come accross getting the Schmidgall card I can open the pack. That package was one of the best packages I have got in a long, long time and I am still on cloud 9.

And finally this card the 1997-98 Minnesota Gophers Rookie card of Nadine Muzerall is the one card and autograph that I treasure. This card was signed in 1998.

This is what the hobby is all about, about getting cards and other items from players that are just being kind. This is what we need not just in the hobby but the world as well. More love and less hate. It also makes getting these items from players that care and it makes me hold these cards closer to my heart. It means so much more than going out and spending $$ on cards. I thank all of the players who have signed cards for my collection and the extra cards and nicely written letters and notes. This is what this hobby is all about and I am loving this hobby once again. Happy Collecting!!!!

Amazing Mailday continued and The Impossible 8 found

 Yes I am still pretty stoked and who wouldn't be after getting a surprise package like that. I also completed the 1997-98 Minnesota Gophers Women's Hockey card set. Finally I got to find the Impossible 8. These are the autographs that I had no luck getting. Here they are all together.

The first card is the key card to the set, Nadine Muzerall and this is one of my favorite cards. I have now placed each card in a magnetic holder and I just can't stop looking at them especially the Muzerall card. The next card is Tracy Donaghue, Lacey Franzmeier, Dacia Lyons, Marisa Pettiford, Sarma Pone, Ambria Thomas, Tai Thorsheim. 

The Pettiford card was the only card that I was unable to never find so I do believe it was short printed. The Thomas card I found out that she got my cards I sent for her autograph but she was busy and I am ok with that. This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me. The beauty of these cards is so much better in person as the autographs are all crisp and clean. These autographs were signed during the 1998 season and the overall grade of the cards is Nr. MT. condition. I will be sending a nice little package to Ambria and let her know how much I appreciate what she did for me and I enjoy making people who have made my day and made me happy returning the favor and making them happy.

The next items from this amazing package are the periodicals. Here are some of the highlights.

This is the 2000-01 University of Minnesota Women's Hockey Yearbook. The front cover shows Nadine Muzerall scoring the third goal in the championship game versus Brown. She beat Brown goalie Ali Brewer as the Gophers went on to win the national championship 4-2.

This is the back cover showing the 2000 National champions.

This is the page showing Nadine Muzerall and her stats and that beautiful autograph.

This page shows Courtney Kennedy and her stats and write-up. Great action photos.

This page shows Co-Captain Kris Scholz and her auto.

This page shows the up and coming Gophers. I was quite glad to see the autographs from all of the Canadian players.

Another thing I found interesting with this yearbook is it has the entire game log like box score. I can go back and see who scored and made saves etc... Also a section on the Gopher records.

This is the 1997 inaugural season pub and it is interesting and has a very nice article on Ambria Thomas. I love the old photos on the front.

This is on the last page from the 1997 inaugural pub. What is interesting her is these photo's of the players are identical to the photo's on the back of the 1997-98 cards.

And finally these 2 schedules from the 1998-99 season. The two players on the front are Kelly Olson # 8 and Ambria Thomas # 17.

Finally I want to say THANK-YOU to Ambria for making this all possible. Completing the entire set by sending me the complete 1997-98 set completely signed in gold sharpie and the unopened 1998-99 complete set still wrapped in cellophane. The 2 game pucks that were the 2 pucks used in her 2 goals, she went on to score her third for her first hat trick. I am proud to own 2 of the three game pucks. I sent out 50 more autograph requests on Saturday so I hope to be posting those autographs when they come in and who knows maybe I will get another great surprise package but it will take a big, big one to be better than this one. Happy Collecting!!!

This was a very Gold kind of Mailday, WOW!!! Lucky # 8

 On Thursday evening I got a text from UPS about a incoming package. I looked at the history and the package was from Achorage, Alaska. I asked my Wife if she had any packages coming in. No, she replies and I have a few but not from Anchorage Alaska. So I only thought the obvious thought maybe it was a scam because it was suspicious. So yesterday morning I get another text saying the package is out for delivery and should be delivered between 12:15 to 4:15.

I tried to think of anyone I might know from Alaska and then I thought about an autograph request that I sent to a player who lived in Colorado but I got her auto back but the letter was postmarked Alaska. That made me think that anyone could have sent it maybe being in Alaska on vacation. The only player I remember is one player who I needed for my 1997-98 Minnesota Women's Hockey set and that player was Ambria Thomas. I said to my Wife maybe she sent me her game worn jersey. I was just about finished my 50 autograph requests when I saw that little brown truck(UPS) pull up and leave the package on our front steps. I could see the package was addressed to myself. 

I opened the door and I first looked to see who it was from and yes I was correct it was from Ambria. So like a little kid on Christmas day I started trying to open the surprise package and the knife I use is dull so I start cursing. I got so mad that I just ripped the box open and it was just like opening a treasure chest seeing all the goodies inside. The further I dug into the box the bigger my smile got. I was so stoked, the first items were a stack of Minnesota Gophers yearbooks and the 2000-01 yearbook was her senior year. I thought like any other kind of a senior yearbook is it signed. Sure enough as I was thumbing through that yearbook I saw that it was signed by all the players including some that were underclassmen.

The next item I found was a stack of cards inside a small envelope, these cards were from the 1997-98 Minnesota Women's Hockey set and I was working on trying to get the set completely signed but I was 8 autographs short. As I got these cards in my hands I saw the top card the first card was of Heather Alm and it was signed and signed in Gold which looks beautiful on these cards because of there dark background. Then I say to myself I wonder if they are all signed. I went to the next and the next and as I kept thumbing through them each card was signed. I got to card number 14 which is of Nadine Muzerall and yes it was signed.

This is that card and what a nice looking autograph. When you look at it in person you can see each letter, she has a very nice light touch and is a quick signer. You can tell this by the pens stroke marks. I am so pleased to have finally got this card signed. This card was signed not recently but back in 1998.

As I kept going through the stack of cards from this inaugural year card set I was now the proud owner of a completely signed set. WOW!!! I had to pinch myself and I did not mind the pain or saying the word "Ouch" because it was well worth it.

This card is another from the impossible 8 autographs I needed and as you can see it was signed. These cards were signed back in either 1998 or 2001. Another card that I could never find was Pettiford's but she was an easy one to obtain as she did sign for me earlier but the problem was finding her card. Now this is the second card of the seven that I needed.

This card is the third autograph that I needed of Dacia Lyons and this was another autograph that was impossible to get. I sent to her twice and both came back as return to sender but I was so excited to cross her name off of my want list. Notice how she dots the letter "I" in her first name. Looks like a star and this is how she signs each time. Pretty autograph and much nicer looking in person.

This card is of Tracy Donaghue and is the 4th autograph that I needed from the 8 that I thought I would never obtain. Very nice looking autograph and she uses a light touch with a quick stroke creating that flair looking autograph.

This card is of Lacey Franzmeier and is the 5th autograph from the 8 I need to complete the set. Her autograph is truly beautiful and so amazingly done. Another auto that uses a light stroke but notice when she finishes you see a small dot formation at the last name and jersey #. That is caused by holding the pen there a bit too long. Just a beautiful autograph!!

This card is Sarma Pone who is autograph number 6 from the impossible 8. Nice autograph and a quick signer as you can see by the pens strokes. Another impossible autograph to get through the mail.

This card is of Tai Thorsheim and autograph number 7 from the impossible 8. Another nice autograph and one that is impossible to get through the mail. Not sure about in person but I am so relieved that I no longer have to try and get her autograph. This is just like a dream come true.

This card is of Ambria Thomas and is autograph number 8 of the Impossible 8 and I saved the best for last. Truly remarkable looking autograph and this was signed back in her playing days as was this entire set. I do now have 4 of her autograph's and the other 3 are from being signed recently. I will show how it changed with the next auto.

This card is of Ambria Thomas and I am showing to compare her autograph and the change. Still a very beautiful autograph and I am so very thankful to her for sending me these beautiful autographs, yearbooks and game programs and even 2 game used pucks from the inaugural 1997-98 season.

This puck is not just game used but this is Ambria Thomas's second goal of the very first game versus Ausberg and the final score was Minnesota 8 Ausberg 0. Ambria went on to get a hat trick, look at the puck how it is marked up, the sides of the puck have some chips from game play.

This is the back to the above photo. As you can see she wrote this out and taped it to the puck. Great piece of Gopher history and one that I am very proud to own. I can only say WOW!! So very thankful to her for this wonderful surprise package.

This puck is from the very first game and her very first goal of her storied career and is game used. She had a Hall of Fame type of career. She had a total of 201 total points, 89 goals, 112 assists. She finished 10th all time tied with Dani Cameranesi with 201 points.

This is another item that I was shocked to see, this is a complete 1998-99 Minnesota Gophers set of the Women's hockey still wrapped in cellophane. I am not sure if I should open this or not, what should I do or what would you do??

This card I got back yesterday through the mail and it was damaged because of the handling of the envelope. I saw the envelope on the Informed Delivery and the right side of the envelope showed it got folded on the right side but the rest of the envelope was all crinkled with creases. When I took the mail out of the mailbox it was the same type of creases on the other letters which looks like it could of been done by holding the mail to tight but who knows. Anyways this card was signed by Brittny Ralph and this is the first card in this set and is now signed by all three of the players.

This post is one of my favorites to post as I am still so excited to get such a great surprise package and I am so thankful to Ambria for sending this. BIG THANK-YOU!!!

My next post I will show and discuss the other trinkets from this great package, what a mailday, thanks to that little brown truck and Ambria. Until next time I hope you find your own little treasures and that the hobby can bring you the same excitement as I got yesterday and forever. Happy Collecting!!!

 

THANK-YOU!!!

 I wanted to do a quick post today as I still am very grateful and happy when I get back autographs through the mail from the players. What I also like is getting a letter or a note from the players. I have had many tell me thanks for showing that card of myself from my college days. But the last letter I got back last week was from the player and her daughter. It was beautiful and I knew I just wanted to do something nice in return. I won't mention who the player was but I  will always remember that letter and I hope the items I sent back to you brighten you and your families day just like your letter did mine.

Once again a BIG THANK-YOU!!!

I did get this card back today of Heather Alm and another nice addition to my Gopher autograph collection.

This card is the 2004-05 Minnesota Gopher card of Noelle Sutton who signed this card for me and another autograph from this set.

Look for my next post late next week when I will show my latest autographs along with some interesting Baseball cards. Until then Happy Collecting and Stay Safe!!!