Category: HOF

Gammons!

Doug K (4192Hits on SCN) runs Cardboard Promotions in the New England area. You may recognize his name from my pile of Joe Mauer signed items I received from him a while back. Doug treats customers’ items as if they were his own. I never had an issue with anything I ever sent in to one of his signings. He recently had Peter Gammons as an autograph guest. He sold so many tickets that he had to have Gammons come back a week later to finish everything up. I had sent in a baseball to have Gammons sign it with “HOF 05” and, like everything else previously, was received in perfect condition!

WOW! WHAT A TICKET!!!

For just about every recent summer, the Hall of Fame has a Hall of Fame Game where a player representing each team shows up to play in this game. It seems like a fun weekend watching a bunch of recently retired players in their home team’s uniform play a game and have a little signing event and just celebrate baseball. Steve S (cosmo on SCN) reached out to me at different times in the past to see if he was seeing anyone I needed an autograph of and this year was no different. I kept watching the roster and saw that Jim Kaat was one of the coaches and Brian Dozier was the Twins representative. I had a couple 1st home run tickets for Brian Dozier so I sent one to Steve to see if he could get Doz to sign it with “1st Homerun” and Steve did not let me down! But, here is the really cool thing… I have a ticket from three of the four home 1965 World Series games signed by the Twins hero of the game. The Twins lost in Game 7 to Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers. I always wanted Sandy to sign it but he just does not sign and when he does, it is so expensive I do not partake. In chatting with Steve he told me to send it for Kaat and list a couple inscriptions that might be cool on it and he will see what he could do. I received the coolest note from Steve explaining how things went down. He waited until the end when there were not so many people around and asked Kaat to sign it with “Sandy Beat Us!” and not only did Kitty do that but he proceeded to talk about that game with the people around him for the next ten minutes. Steve said that the people surrounding them were in awe of not only the ticket but the experience they were having with Kaat spinning stories of Sandy and the Dodgers in 1965. Steve is a big baseball fan and said it was one of his top experiences chasing autographs. I am excited for him, those who shared in that, and myself who completed my run of 1965 World Series home games.

Tony O Times Three

I admit it. I have a ton of Tony Oliva signed items. Just when I think I have everything possible I want signed, something pops up that I have to add to the collection. Todd B (moselder71 on SCN) had a private signing with Tony at a very reasonable price so I sent in three items. Two of them were Hall of Fame postcards and one was the last signature I needed to complete the February 1968 Baseball Digest issue. I already had a Hall of Fame postcard signed by Tony but what makes these two special is that they are postmarked from Cooperstown’s “Induction Day Station” from Hall of Fame weekend. All three were signed perfectly and I could not be happier. What will I find next that needs to be signed? Who knows? Stay tuned though. I am sure I will find something!