Once again, Isiais at Cash4graphs came through with some amazing signings. He got me Jose Canseco and Bill Matlock and I couldn’t be happier with how they came out.
While I do have a Bill Madlock autograph in my PC, I don’t have a Canseco and I am stocked! How do you guys like?
It’s been a while, and while I wish I could tell you I’ve been too busy to post, that would be a lie. So instead I’ll just go with, I’ve been busy acquiring index cards to turn into cut autographs. Also been busy creating new designs of cut autographs. One of which I would like to share is my newest Bazooka Gum cut autograph.
While this is not my most elegant cut autograph, I really love the way it came out. The idea started when I tried to come up with an older product that could include baseball cards as a giveaway. Bazooka used to print baseball cards on the back of the box. I’ve always loved the iconic design of the wrapper so, what better way to present the card, but with the red white and blue wrapper as the front of the card.
Matching up the font was tough. originally I was going to go with the Bazooka font, but that proved to look hideous, so I went with the font that is used in the word “original” on the wrapper. As for the back I wanted that cheap comic feel, with Bazooka Joe’s face. From there, I wanted an easy way to show the career accomplishments and a short bio.
In retrospect, I should have not used this Jim Davenport autograph as my test dummy, however I realized too late that it was bigger than the window. I should have used my Sport Kings boarder less design. I did end up getting his entire name in the window with a little creative rotation.
As you know most of my cut autograph collection revolves around All Stars or Pro Bowlers only. Davenport was a one time all star from the late 50s and early 60s. I love getting these kinds of guys into my collection since, it’s a little before my time and not a well known player. Davenport had a solid career that hit it’s apex in 1962. A contemporary comparison would be Jerry Hairston. Not quite a superstar, but definitely a star player.
I’m curious to know what you think about this one. Both the player and the design. Don’t hold back and be as critical as possible.
This one came back about two weeks ago. As many of you know I am an University of Arizona alumni. I thought it would be great to post a pro – Wildcat TTM success. I was at U of A from 1989 – 1993, right in the thick of Desert Swarm. I met many members of this defense over the years while I was a part of KAMP student radio, serving as the Sports Director. Bruschi is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. He was great to do interviews with (of which I did quite a few) and was just so down to earth. I have a bunch of his autographs that I have gotten over the years, but I wanted one that was on my new design, so off it went on a three week journey.
His awards are as follows:
Where I sent it:
Tedy Bruschi
c/o ESPN
935 Middle St.
Bristol, CT 06010
Turnaround time: 25 days
Number of cards signed in the set: 4
Finally, I hope that U of A gets the number one seed in the west later today. They deserve it, they won their conference and the conference tournament, unlike both Virginia and Duke.
I had to do it. Actually to be honest most of my designs borrow from Topps’s designs. This one though is completely torn from this year’s set. I don’t like the way they did the cut autographs, but I do like the design. Of course I did do some alterations. Anywhere there was Topps, I replaced it with Bad Wax. Before you tattle on me to Topps, just realize that I don’t sell these cards. They are for my personal collection. I am first and foremost a cut autograph collector and with the scarcity in these sets, the cost per card is astronomical. So . . . I make my own damn cards.
As for the player, I won this card off eBay, it does come with JSA certification (for whatever that’s worth), and I purchased it for $9.59 including shipping. A bit steep but Nettles is a fan favorite and for a signed index card of him, it’s actually not a bad price. I’ve seen the average run about $14-17 shipped. As many of you know I am a Yankee fan. When growing up in the late 70s and early 80s, I had a few favorites. Thurman Munson, Ron Guidry and Graig Nettles. Those three were my childhood heroes. They also command a lot of $$$ for autographs. I have a Gator autograph already, Munson is beyond my means and the Nettles has eluded me for years.
Nettles is borderline Hall of Fame worthy. His resume includes six All Star games, two World Series rings, an ALCS MVP award, two time Gold Glove winner, one time AL homerun champ, and most importantly he was captain of the Yanks from 1982-1984. Things holding him back was his 0.248 batting average and 390 home runs. If either were higher, he would be in. Make no bones about it though, he was a 3-5 in the lineup hitter for the majority of his 22 year career.
EloRater Rank: #79, before Billy Williams, A-Rod, and Joe Cronin, but after Ken Boyer, Kenny Lofton and Gary Carter.
Baseball Reference Page: Graig Nettles
Wikipedia Page: Graig Nettles
Cards Number: BWHC-GN
Cards in set: 1
Certified autograph:
Rookie card:
I don’t understand Topps and their designers. You have the rights to the most iconic designs in sports card history. Licenses to use any MLB trademarked logos and an army of dedicated fans of the set and what do you do to the cut autographs? You butcher them! You fucking butcher the rarest cards in the set! Plus the subject list so far that I’ve seen is pathetic!
Let me give you a sample of that I’m talking about:
Richard freaking Petty. In a HERITAGE baseball card set. This does not scream baseball heritage to me, not at all. Worst of all they turned a $15 autograph into a $700 one. I believe these fall one per master case. That’s some pretty steep odds. Plus it’s a racing icon, why wouldn’t you put in something to do with the 1966 baseball season.
Let’s look at some of the other gems available and how much they have been marked up shall we?
Tug McGraw (and a shitty autograph of him). Right now his signature can be bought on eBay for about $30, now turn it into a cut auto and get $400 for it. At least he is a baseball player. So I was thinking maybe 1966 was his rookie season. Nope! His was 1965.
Next up Woodie Fryman, a career sub 0.500 pitcher. He was a two time All Star over an 18 year career. You could not put a more boring autograph in the set if you wanted to. At least his rookie season was 1966, so you have that. Want one for yourself on eBay? It’s just $8, or you can buy this one for $500? Just shaking my head in sadness here.
Finally, this gem:
What the actual fuck? What the hell was Topps thinking making this? First rule in cut card making, never ever cover the autograph. If you can’t fit it, DON’T FUCKING INSERT IT IN THE GOD DAMN CARD! Oh and thanks for the $3 autograph. Inserted into the card above, it pulled $400. If you want one as a cut autograph, how about this one for $7.25?
Overall, this is such a disappointment. The cut autograph cards have been spiralling down the toilet ever since the 2013 set. This is just poor, and very short sided by Topps brass. Why oh why couldn’t you come up with better autographs? So sad!
Raise your hand if you know who Tommy Holmes is. I feel like a teacher sometimes on this site. It’s more of a history lesson, sports history that is. The older I get the more in tune with history I want to become. Maybe it’s a way to connect better with my father who grew up as a child in the 1940s or maybe it’s because at this age, I have just become more interested in history even if it is done at a rate of one player at a time. Either way, I know that it’s keeping me busy and entertained so I will continue to do it even if no one reads my blog.
Class, today’s subject is Tommy Holmes. Holmes played in the major leagues from 1942 – 1952. Seriously love the story behind him. He grew up in Brooklyn, and went to Brooklyn Tech. For those of you who don’t know this school, it is one of the premiere math and science high schools in the country. Meaning, Tommy was very smart. Also he was very gifted in athletics as well. The guy did one thing amazingly well, he could hit. Signed by (who else) the New York Yankees, he raked in nearly 1000 hits in the minors before finally being traded to a team that could actually use him. The Yanks at the time had an outfield of DiMaggio, Henrich, and Keller. All were All Stars, none would be moved to bring up Holmes, so he stewed in the minors way longer than he should have.
He was traded to the Boston Braves in 1942 where he became an immediate fixture in the outfield. His best years were from 1942 – 1948 where he hit on average 186 hits a season for a total of 1301 hits and a batting average of 0.308, leading the league twice in hits. In 1945 he batted 0.352 with 224 hits and 28 home runs and 47 doubles (all league leading) and finished second in NL MVP voting. He only played in one All Star game, however looking back at his career he was going up against Hall of Famers at the position he played. He would go on to manage for a few years in the minors, before stepping away from the game for a few years. He was lured back by the New York Mets in the early 70s as Director of Amateur Baseball Relations and would remain with the Mets for three decades.
Card No: VC-TH
Number of cards in the set: 8
Baseball Reference Stats: Tommy Holmes
Wikipedia page: Tommy Holmes
1950 Bowman Card:
Card – SK-ER
Player – Edd Roush
Getting this signature was bad-ass! No way did I ever think I was getting a Roush autograph for south of 10 bucks. I got this for $9.95 including shipping. Probably because it was a magic marker autograph with some slight bleeding, but I’m good with that. We are talking about a player who actually started in the 1919 Black Sox World Series. Not only that but he was 26 years old at that point in his career.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 by the Vetren’s Committee. He was a two time NL Batting champ, and during an 18 year career, he had a career batting average of 0.323, good for 44th all time in baseball history. Here are the coolest facts about Roush:
That’s some crazy stuff. Finally, during the making of this card, I was watching Walking Dead. Got completely caught up in it and ended up making a sticker out of his autograph. With some creative quick thinking, I took a penny sleeve, split it in half, and applied it to the autograph, so the card now has a protective seal over the autograph. Lesson learned: Never make cards while watching Walking Dead!
Original signature card:
Certified autograph:
Baseball Card:
Bad Wax Customs 