MrMopar's New Dodgers Autograph Thread (and other interesting items on a slow mailday)

[dano7]

A nice little vintage group for today.

Clem Labine on the greatest card design ever! 1956 Topps. View attachment 315463

Wally Moon 1960 Topps View attachment 315464

Ron Perranoski 1964 Topps. View attachment 315465

Don Newcombe on a team 5x7 photo pack item. View attachment 315466

The recently deceased Bill Sudakis on a cool card that I believe was his last. Tough to see the signature, but it's there. View attachment 315467

Willard Hunter dual signed 3x5, as he apparently always seemed to do on requests. View attachment 315468

Almost forgot about this Archives Charles Johnson. View attachment 315469

Then to top it off, a Garvey poster I have never seen before. It was not cheap, which makes my cheapskate self cringe a bit, but figured I am buying less these days, so it's OK to overpay for something really unique. View attachment 315470

Always love vintage!!!!

 

[mrmopar]

This interesting little booklet is the only item for today. From what I can see, Historic Autographs is essentially a repackaging company. They seem to take aftermarket items and make new collectibles out of them. Essentially a custom card maker if you want to look at it that way.

It took a relatively inexpensive 1949 Bowman Rex Barney and paired it with an even less expensive cut autograph from Barney. The booklet itself was not overly expensive, I won it for $18.50 before shipping, which was nearly my top end limit. i'm guessing I could probably snag the card and a 3x5 for around the same price, if not less. The cheapest 49B Barney I see on ebay now is $8, with another just $10 that looked a little cleaner. There are no cheap Barney cuts right now, but a photo selling for $6 OBO. I have landed cut/3x5 Barney autos for as cheap as $2-3 before though. So, there you go, aside from the fancy booklet, you could replicate the "meat" of this item for under $20 (including s/h) right now if you wanted to.



One ebay seller is trying to get $60 and claims it is one of 4 copies. The card I have is not marked or numbered in any way. Turns out, after doing some research on their website, HA has a checklist that indicates there are 10 copies of this card (there are 4 '48 Bowman Barney versions, so the seller misread the checklist or was confused). Although not numbered as such, 10 is still a small number of copies, so if that means anything to you, this is a pretty decent find for under $20!



The checklist is pretty loaded, but this is the first time I have stumbled across one of these. Guessing this was a pricy offering, given what you had the chance to pull.

 

[mrmopar]

3 from the boxed set that set folks back $100 from Topps. I like the design, but figured the set was worth maybe $35, so the autos were $65. Not worth it. I got each of these for much less than the price of 1 new from a set, but my chances of pulling a Koufax was 0% too. Would love to piece together a near set someday and will try if/when they pop up at a reasonable price.

Barnes, Beatty & *******.

This McKinstry was a buck! Shipping was almost 5X that!! One of the reasons I am approaching the end of online buying...

The last item is not an auto and barely checks a box for a regular card (Panini), but I wanted something to remember Albert with. I know there is about a fraction of 1% chance that I'll land a certified Dodger auto of him, unless the stars magically align. The first (and only) one I saw go up for sale was from Topps, using the 86T design and was numbered to 5! It sold in the $400s. I'be be willing to pay a bit for one that was decent looking, but not $400+. Anyway, snagged this bat card pretty cheap, thankfully, because it's a sad excuse for a Dodger cards anyway. If I recall, it is /25. I don't care actually.

 

[mrmopar]

Today brought a Crime Dog & another Lonestar card. I have been trying to win one of these for a while and was finally successful at my price range. Sometimes this backfires, but a fair amount of the time if I am patient enough, I finally get to pay my price. I'd like to see this man in the Hall of Fame someday.



Usually I start with true Dodgers, but frankly, I am not feeling this years Archive/Fan Favorites set. Usually, one of my favorites of the season. This year it is pretty lame. I don't know why they keep using 1982? Of the main designs used this year, 75 would be my favorite and nobody I care about \has that year. That is one of the worst set designs of the 80s! There are only 3 Dodgers in the basic auto set and none of them are overly exciting, although apparently now EVERYONE is a fan of Carl Erskine! I can't even win his basic auto card to save my life. i know the guy is ancient and one of the handful of remaining living Brooklyn players, but c'mon...WTF?! The weirdness continues.

Anyway, I am not going to show them all and I have not received the purple yet, but I have won and received the silver and base Paul LoDuca autos. I don't think I have seen but one Dodger gold auto 1/1 card from this series (Lasorda-Did not win it) in the 5 years I have been watching these. Maybe this is the year? Still need his blue /25 as well. I have won a few singles here and there (Willis blue, Griffey silver, Franco base, J. Carter base, Podsednik base & blue), but far from the first year I bought these where I was completing the 4 card run of everyone in the basic set.

 

[mrmopar]

The purple LoDuca showed up today as well as this great looking card. Not as cool as his 74T, but a nice runner up.

 

[mrmopar]

A boring, but /10 Panini Garvey.

My first 2021 Archives Dave Roberts and I somehow land the blue /25, but can't win the base after a dozen + tries! This F'ing market is unpredictable!

Normally I don't care a lot about GU, but after my thread about who still cares about them, it prompted me to do a Dodger GU search. Nothing too exciting, but I did land 2 cards. The Pujols was the first to arrive, and this Al Lopez was the last. if I can snag cheap Dodger GU cards (especially if they are this crappy panini garbage) of players I don't already have, I consider that a good find. This was /25, the Pujols was /99 (thought it was /25, but was wrong).

 

[mrmopar]

No Dodger sigs, but a Padre Garvey auto. I had won the /10 previously, this was the base version.

Then there is this odd item that took over 2 weeks to arrive. it's a small slide that was apparently meant to be projected, perhaps for a TV broadcast? I have a number of the photo slides that MLB used for their baseball games in TV, but had never seen a cartoon image. it was cheap too, so that is a plus. "Hometeamsportz was the seller and that is only on their image, not the slide. The rest is on the slide.

 

[mrmopar]

Scored a rare new Garvey auto in a low print run. This is the red /10. There are no bargain Garvey autos these days sadly. I hope this passes soon.

I am oddly excited for this photo as well. I have more Steve Garvey auto'd photos than any one person should have and this style is fairly common. I am not sure if they were team issued or what, but this B&W multi-image style of photo is fairly common with several different image combos out there, likely made and/or used in different years.

This one is a little different. I suspect it was possibly bootlegged, then again it could have been an inexpensive authorized reproduction. I say this because the photo combo was previously used on a fairly common "team issue" photo & this item is not on glossy photo paper like just about every other one I have found is. Instead, this is on a thin, semi glossy paper that you might see used for a promotional flyer or advertising cut sheet. The other unique feature of this photo is the name/logo in the lower left corner. Sometimes, companies or even special events would have photos made up for promotional purposes, that included a corporate sponsor, event name or similar specific marking. This one is for Horizon Outlet Center in Vero Beach. Guessing they got their hands on one of the team issued versions, added their logo and photocopied it for an event. Perhaps Garvey was at their mall doing a spring training signing. Whatever the case for this item to exist, I like little variations like this that most would overlook.

 

[mrmopar]

Larry White doesn't come up much, perhaps he is just not a willing signer? I have done double takes on autos from this seller, but I keep going back and winning more. I might be buying myself a heap of trouble later, however I always keep it cheap. If I do get burned, it's small time. Still, I don't like the idea of buying a fake, even if it only costs me a few bucks at most. it's the principle.

Here is to hoping I am just seeing things now with this guy. My gut is usually pretty solid and it's wavering on some of these. I also got a Tot Pressnell Ohio HOF card, but that one looks legit w/o doubt.

A few more Dodgers came in, but I've gotten lazy and stopped sharing the less exciting stuff. I got the base Topps Gold Label. Garvey Auto These are thick cards! A Jimmy Lewis Bowman chrome auto, a 2003 Victor Alvarez Donruss Team Heroes and a Scott Podsednik '21 Archives purple /150. Although his is pictured as a White Sox. He did have a brief stop in LA.

 

[mrmopar]

Stuff seems to bunch up and today was a big mail day. Some uninteresting stuff i won't mention, but 3 Dodger related hits.

The first is the 86T design Victor Gonzalez. I am really loving these and still a little peeved that I never got a Zach McKinstry in this design. I am confident i'll find one at a bargain price eventually. Lots of folks probably kicking themselves now for dropping stupid money on them during the covid hype!

The next one I already revealed, but it came after the bid price was a mere $1! S/H was a hard to swallow $5, but when I only paid a buck for the card, not as tough. I did see one end today for around $10 plus s/h, so clearly the combo of his off field antics and the Panini non-licensed crap has lead to a disappointing (for sellers) performance. Imagine what Urias, Kershaw, Bauer, Buehler and Scherzer could have done for the Dodgers! This card is actually cooler than it looks. The white area is actually a reflective silver foil type finish.



Speaking of the recently departed Scherzer, I saw this one while on the hunt for my first auto. It was too expensive, but someone finally listed one low and I got what I felt was a fair price for it. I'd very much love to have a licensed Dodger auto for him, but that may never even happen, so this makes a nice 2nd auto for me. It's from the Topps 582 Montgomery issue. I very much like their designs. I wish Topps would have been issuing stuff like this instead of their regular issue cards. I might still be buying packs!


For good measure, I'll mention this Topps Brooklyn Auto of Rod Carew /25. I have a few different and maybe even this exact one. I have a slight weakness for bargain Carew autos as well. I think I advised and don't want to sound morbid, but get your Carew auto now if you have not yet done so. I don't have a magic ball or anything, but he is getting up there (76 years old) and has had health issues. LaMarr Hoyt just died last week, if you had not heard! Don't be that guy buying one on the day his death is announced. LaMarr Hoyt autographs saw a 10,000% spike the 2 days after he was reported as dying.

 

[mrmopar]

Wasn't going to mention this one, but it took a while to get and I got nothing else today. It's a dupe, but I got it for about 1/3 of what I paid for my first one...AND I paid about 1/2 of what they were going for at that time for the first one! Sometimes (often, really), it pays to be patient. I was less patient than i should have been in this case, but I'll live. I really like the design and color, especially for a Dodger. Red, White & Blue, on Pearl Harbor Day no less.

 

[mrmopar]

Fun mail day today. The only Dodger auto was to finally win an Oisk! How long has archives been out and I win the purple. The base eludes me still and only seen a couple silvers. The blue is priced in moronville, so i'll wait and hope a reasonable person will list one at a reasonable price.



Another Pepsi club item, 84 Brewers Pepsi club membership card and tickets.

The final item is a blast from the past. A huge lot of Dodger line drives, schedules, stickers, etc. Love the line drives. Several in there I didn't already have.

 

[mrmopar]

Today was kind of a meh type mail day. I mean everything I buy, I want for some reason. However, sometimes I just do impulse buys. AsI have said several times, I am a bargain hunter at heart. I like my hobby money to go as far as possible.

Staring out today is a fun lot that I absolutely did not need and almost passed on. I won it for $2, but the shipping was an additional $8! I was overcharged and the sender did what I feel was a poor job of packaging. I could hear the cards moving a little before I even opened it. I gotta say, common sense is lost of some folks!

Anyway, this is a lot of 100 (I didn't count them, but maybe I should) Renata Galasso Gil Hodges cards. This purchase actually came right before he was announced as a new HOFer. I am going to have these all signed and make a fortune now! Wait, just kidding. It reminds me of a lot of about 100 Front Row Roy Campanella Holograms I bought years back. Why? Who knows, but it's fun to see that many cards together sometimes. I cherished this exact Hodges card as a young collector who was exposed to TCMA and RGI cards early on, via catalogs. I loved having old time player cards before I knew that older cards could be had at shops.



Next, I added a Carew /10. Non-Licensed, but I liked the look and it was a decent buy. Turns out, the border is gold and holofoil, so the neat green & blue you see in the photo is just light trickery! I still like the card, but green is always a nice addition to an otherwise boring card. I would have enjoyed a border as seen over a gold one, but oh well.



Last item I was not planning to share, but with a less than exciting mail day, I decided to anyway. Not because I think it is all that exciting. Actually, I only bought it because it was cheap and I like the archives set. In 2017-19, I was chasing them like crazy. Last year and this, I am a lot more focused on specific singles and parallels. The oddball, non-player cards can be very interesting or flat out dull. In this case, I don't even know who this guy is and I don't care. There are a number of non-players this year, which I had complained about the set last year lacking. Watch what you wish for is all I can say. The uniqueness of the 2017-19 sets lead to disappointment in 2020-21.

Greg Amsinger. It's about as exciting as a Bald Vinny or that bag shagging guy Zach Hemple or something like that. Not that I mean to disparage broadcasters and TV hosts, as I certainly cherish my Stuart "Booya!" Scott AG auto! I guess either i am way detached (most likely) or this guy doesn't have the celebrity that SS had.

 

[mrmopar]

Light mail day here, with just one item. I have said this before, but i'll say it once more. Archives/Fan Favorites/Heritage has been one of the best things for autograph collectors. I am not talking about monsterous hits, although they have their share of those too, I am talking about the everyday guys that never would have had an autographed card. Sometimes I question some of the selections, but then again, almost ANY Dodger is exciting to me. I will admit that Paul LoDuca in this years Archives was a let down. LoDuda had a run where he received a huge number of autographed cards. There is no shortage of LoDuca autographs in the hobby. Someone like Billy Bean, that was genius. He might have been the reason that I got sucked into Archives so heavily, along with some good timing. I probably would have collected the set and similar much sooner, had I taken notice.

So, who did I get today that prompted this thought? None other than Ron Washington. Clearly, he is better known for his managerial pursuits than for his playing career. He lead the Rangers to back to back World Series appearance in 2010-2011 with a bunch of guys nobody outside of Texas even remembers. They couldn't pull it off though, losing both times to the NL challengers. Washington's career as a skipper was literally a bell curve. In this 8 years with Texas, the team came in 4, 2, 2, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5! prior to that, his playing career lasted 10 MLB seasons and he had a total of 414 hits and batted .261 for 5 clubs from 1977 to 1989. However, his rookie campaign is why I even care. in 1977, Washington played 10 games for the Dodgers on their way to their own World Series appearance, which they lost as well, this time to their AL challengers. I doubt Washington was on the post season roster, but I didn't even bother to check. In 10 games, he hit .368 with 7 hits. The Twins dealt the Dodgers a career minor leaguer for Washington in 1980 (although it appears BB Ref is missing something, because he played in the minors in 1979 for the Mets? How does that work?). He would not crack a MLB roster again until 1981 with the Twins, and there he stayed until retirement in 1989.

Thank you Topps for including Washington in your Archives set. It would have been epic, had he been shown as a Dodger, but unrealistic to even imagine that happening.

 

[mrmopar]

It was a double type of day for me. First dupe was this FlawlessGarvey auto /10.

The next featured item is I think my 3rd copy, but this one is free of it's archives holder. I like the image and it was cheap enough, so why not. I don't think Kendrick got a certified Dodger auto otherwise. One major reason I like this buyback archive set so much.

The last item is a dupe signature, not a card, but the first item I have Jose Flores on that features him as a Dodger. 8x10. Always prefer a signed card above all, but the photo will do when the card doesn't exist or is painfully difficult to find.

 

[mrmopar]

Another Garvey 8x10. I don't even know how many different I have. Someday I will count ALL the Garvey autographs I have and be thoroughly embarrassed with how many it is.

Then this little nugget. It's a small handwritten note from Carl Furillo. Little larger than the size of one of those sticky notes that come in the tablet form. Apparently someone sent him a card for signature and it somehow got mis-sent or lost. Carl is apologizing for it and indicating he'd send a few cards. I got this for $3 plus shipping. I'd say that was a bargain. Sometimes ebay chaps my ass and other times it is the best.

 

[WizardofOz1982]

You have the Quaker Oats Garvey auto from this years Archives?

 

[mrmopar]

You have the Quaker Oats Garvey auto from this years Archives?

Pretty sure I do. I have not won many of them though, mostly because high serial numbered versions sell strongly, compared to lower serial numbers. This is the first year since Archives came out that I have not gone all in to win as many Garvey's as I could. I am feeling a long missing freedom to pass on cards these days. it was a long time coming and a bit of a relief honestly. Player collecting to an extreme is a lot of work.

 

[mrmopar]

Just one item worth a mention today. I overpaid for this and it will probably only drop in value knowing my luck, but I wanted a Dodger card. When they got him, I picked up a reasonably priced Heritage Reds card. Then I saw the 1/1 of this item I will show shortly and knew I needed one. My copy is /50. I guess I can hope he really takes off for the Red Sox. He never made it to the Majors with the Dodgers, so technically he doesn't belong in the collection, but he does have a certified Dodgers auto card, so that counts in another way.

Jeter Downs

 

[mrmopar]

This is a 2 day haul, as i was busy wrapping up work for vacation to begin today. Off for the rest of the year now.

I'll start it out with a Timeless Teams Sutton. I think I already have this one, but sometimes it isn't worth checking first. I know the Garvey cards were all signed in reported quantities, but not numbered on card. Not sure if that is the same for all of the cards, so grabbing one when the chance comes up is worth it. it's almost a 20 year old set now.

A pair of signed PCs. Once again, my rush or rather my laziness to not inspect things closely has bit me. The Reese (Dormand) looks like a possible partial trace over. It could have been himself, but that will always be a sign of possible tainting. The Snider is a team issue and looks decent.

Then I won a nice little lot of 42 non-certified Dodger cards. I don't see lots like this much anymore, which is too bad. Always a nice way to add some bulk, often at a discount rate. This lot was $30 + s/h. I feel like I win for any signed card less than a buck. Nothing super exciting that wasn't shown already, just the typical guys you see in a lot like this from the 90s-00s.

The last pair is neither Dodger, nor autographed and they both just happened to show up on the same day, which is cool because my plan was to share them together. I had no idea about this variation until recently, or maybe I knew before and just didn't care. I know when it was shared online either on one of these sites or facebook, I think the person was seeking the "Big Head" version. I looked on ebay and one was a little harder to find, but I don't recall. When I looked again recently, there were only a few examples in total and the split was close to equal. Found the cheapest, cleanest singles of each type. I wonder why Hostess even bothered to make the change?

1979 Hostess Rod Carew "Big" & "Small" head versions.