Collecting Autographs

Some might believe from reading many of the posts in this blog, that my collection is quite one dimensional. That is as far from the truth as possible, but I definitely have my favorites. I have been collecting Steve Garvey as a primary player collection since I started buying cards, but the collection has grown leaps and bounds since I discovered Ebay. However other than the handful of new cards that come out new these days, which all seem to have to be numbered to less than 10 copies (another story for another time), I have pretty much tracked it all down. If I only grabbed Garvey stuff, I'd pretty much be retired from the hobby game.

Cue autographed cards!

I always sought out autographs as a kid when I went to the ballpark. I never got the concept connected with cards for some odd reason though. I guess I would rather have a ticket stub, scuffed up practice ball, program cover or scrap of paper than a baseball card. What the hell was I thinking???? I only recently dove into the signed card arena, and by recently I mean after I started ebaying. I shudder to think of the collection I could have now had I recognized this collecting area a bit sooner. Heck, I have Eddie Murray on a scrap of paper when he visited Seattle back in the 80s. It's pretty ugly too, considering it shared space with Ellie Hendricks and later I though a single signature would look better and cut it free...only to tape it back later after I decided it didn't! Maybe I'll share this with you, as I still have it. Wouldn't his 1978 Topps card look great signed instead? YES IT DOES! I did eventually pick that up as well. Perhaps a future topic...

My clear favorite targets are Dodger cards and the more vintage the better. This obviously means I need to collect "through the mail" (TTM) or "in person" (IP) signed cards. I like certified cards where I can get them, but let's face it, they just don't cover enough players. A goal would be to get all of the LA Dodgers signed on cards and work on those that have certified cards as well, and then extend that back as far back into the Brooklyn history as possible. Sadly, most of those gents are passing at an alarming rate. Last I checked, we were under 50 Brooklyn players still alive. The other sad part is that until the 1990 Target set came out, there were a fair share of players from the Brooklyn days that didn't have cards. In order to add Dodgers, I often have to settle for photos, paper or whatever because their either are not cards or they are financially unfeasible.

However, just about anything else short of dirt commons interests me: Action cards from the 70s-80s, All Stars, award winners, special cards, multi-player cards, just about anything pre 1980, minor league cards, etc. I just loved signed cards. I'll take a card over a new OL baseball, a nice glossy 8x10 , jersey, bat or anything else. Cards rule!

So, to shake it up a bit and make it interesting for you readers who don't obsess over Steve Garvey items, I'll feature random signed cards here and there for fun. We'll start with a nice 1952 Topps Phil Haugstad.

Haugstad played in 37 games across parts of 4 seasons from 1947-1952. His big year was 1951 when he appeared in 21 games for the Dodgers. He appeared one season with the Cincinnati Reds, 1952, as well. His lifetime record was 1-1 and his fame was more so found in the Minors, however as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the recipient of a Topps card (seems to be his only card), his signature was a must. He died in 1998, but his signature appears to be a little tougher to find, given a player who died in the late 90s. I was glad to stumble upon this card when I did. A quick check of ebay tonight reveals 4 signatures from Mr. Haugstad, ranging from an ugly, taped cut at $10 up to a nice B&W photo for $90 (although another listing is this same photo that can be had for $35 OBO). A far cry from plentiful.