Leaping For This Autograph

Last seasons rookie class in the NFL was phenomenal. You had Mayfield, Darnold, my boy Saquon of course and then Lamar Jackson just to name a few.

Jackson somehow put the Ravens on his back and carried them to the playoffs where they were taken down. But still. They didn't look like they had a shot til he got the job. I wished they had actually won that playoff game as I think they matched up better vs the Patriots then the Chargers did. I think that showed once the Chargers played the Pats. That was an awful game.

Anyways, I spent a good part of last season chasing down autograph cards of future studs and Jackson was on my list. Only problem, I couldn't find one available FT.

That's what got me to think a bit deeper. Isn't Dion's Autograph collection a Ravens fan? Doesn't he get autographs from all of the players? Hmmm. Let's search his blog.

And boom.

Multiple Jackson sightings on there. They may not be autographs from a card company, which is my much bigger preference, but I know these are authentic at least and he is a good trader so I approached him about a trade.

And as always, he was more than happy to and gave me options of which ones to choose.

 

I chose this option as I am a geek for great photography as well. His signature could use some work but not his signature moves. Look at that leap!

This doesn't mean I am still not in search of an autograph card, but for now this will due.

Thanks goes out to Dion for another great trade and for sending this securely and even in a toploader. I look forward to our next one!

2015 Yard Sale Autograph Pickups Part 5:El Duque

My last pickup from the yard sale was an autograph I have always wanted since his days with the Yankees. Mr Orlando Hernandez or as the rest of us Yankee fans know his as, El Duque.

The dude was dominant and when he got that high leg kick going, you know hitters were in fear.

Even though he wasn't the top player in the group of autographs I picked up, this was my favorite piece.

First up, I like the photo. Great pose and even though not a Yankee uni, you gotta love the classic Expos look. Secondly, he has a great looking auto. Third, I got it for $5. A steal in my opinion.

 

Now that you have seen all five of my pickups, which one is your favorite and which one did you consider to be a steal?

Mail Day From Deltha O'Neal

 

One big difference between Twitter and Facebook is the interaction opportunities that Twitter offers you. Yes, Facebook offers you interaction with your friends and family from near and far but what about those beyond that? Not a usual thing. 

So on Twitter I follow athletes here and there. Most of the time ones that I am watching careers of, are on my team, or watched careers of at one time. But not once had they ever responded to my tweets and I figured that most of the accounts were fun by fans and not the actual athlete. That's until someone pointed out to me that the blue check-mark next to their name meant the account was legitimately them. So I began to follow a few more athletes and one that kept popping up was Deltha O'Neal. A player that I not only used to trade for in Madden, but a player I enjoyed watching. So I gave him a follow.

The first thing you learn right off about Deltha, is his love of the game. He also loves his fans and family. He tweets about those topics quite often. And will respond to fans who tweet back. And he also hosts contests for his former teams that he played on which is where I landed this beauty of a mail day from. In that particular contest you had to pick the winner and scores of each half of the Ravens/Bengals game. I was only a few points off so I turned out to be the winner. Was amazing to not only be followed by my first NFL player, but to get a package in the mail with their name on it. Was a cool experience. He not only gives away photos, I have seen others win footballs and game worn gloves. Incredible. If you have Twitter and have not followed him yet, do so. Especially if you are a big NFL fan.

A big thanks goes out to Deltha on this mail day and for the time he takes out for fans. For those of you who don't know who Deltha O'Neal is, he was a former NFL DB who played for the Broncos, Bengals, Patriots, and Texans (briefly). He had 386 tackles, 34 interceptions in his NFL career and was a two-time Pro Bowler with blaring speed and incredible ball skills.

As always, comments are welcomed!

A Sidsgraphs Phillip Wheeler 8x10 Auto Mail Day

Yesterday this arrived in the mail:

 

This auto photo I received was for a contest win from Sidsgraphs who hosted the entire month of October with daily autograph item giveaways. They held these contests both on Facebook and on Twitter.

 

The photo arrived in a Top Loader, something not all memorabilia companies ship with and also came with what I would call an extra bonus collectible. A picture of Wheeler signing the photos. That's pretty cool to me and is as authentic of a picture as it gets.

As for Wheeler, he is an up and coming pitcher for the Mets. He could be the number one starter there with Johan Santana on the way out. Wheeler put up decent numbers as a rookie in 2013:

ERA	W-L	SO	WHIP
3.42	7-5	84	1.36

With that being said expect the Mets and their fans to have even higher expectations for the 2014 season. And now I have them as well with this autograph photo now in the PC.

 

In closing, a pretty nice mail day from Sidsgraphs and a huge thank you goes out to them as well. If you are curious about who they are or want to check out their website to see what they offer, you can find that HERE.

As always, comments are encouraged!

Mail Day From Pastime Card Company

Being a Yankee fan this was nice to see at the post office upon opening it. I don't have an autograph of Hall Of Famer Gaylord Perry so this will make a nice addition to my collection.

Gaylord was a right-handed pitcher who pitched from 1962 to 1983 for eight different teams including the Giants and Yankees. In his career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average.

Thanks again Pastime Card Company for a great prize.

Let me know your thoughts on this mail day.

My $1 Card Show Finds: 1997 Leaf Signature 8x10 autos

These are some of the $1 per card pickups I got at the recent card show. These are 1997 Leaf Signature 8x10 autographs. Check out the gallery below and see at the bottom what awesome card I picked up for only $1.

The next two were my favorite! Rodney Hampton is one of my all-time favorite Giants!

And here it is...the motherload of $1 finds..a Darrell Green autograph! High Book value of $60-$90!! And its short printed as well!