Recent Success: Stan Musial (4)

Hey everyone. This is an update on a previous post on Stan Musial. It's the summer and i am home, so that means that i will be going into full autograph mode. There is just something about the summer that get's me going with autographs, must be baseball season!

So last semester, i went to a card show and met Carl Yastrezemski. I got him to sign a Donruss puzzle piece, and it was a great piece of memorabilia to get autographed. So this has inspired me to send a puzzle piece to Hall of Famer Stan Musial. Now for those loyal readers, you will remember that i bought Stan Musial's autograph over the summer, so i got the idea in my head that if i send him a letter tell him that i have already bought an autograph from him, he might say..."meh, sure I'll sign this for him."

So i sent him a letter and the puzzle piece, and i was amazed to have a response from him in under 2 weeks. But for the first time in my life, i was so disappointed to get a free autograph of a Hall of Famer. Musial sent me a signed Stat Card compliments of Stan the Man Inc.

So it was an amazing success, but i wanted the puzzle signed. So i sent it right back to him. I figured, worst comes to worst, i get the puzzle back not signed. Right? Well i got another response from him in under 2 weeks again! This time...was it different??

Nope....

So i got another Stat Card...signed....ho hum. hehe. So i tried him a third time. What was the result you ask?

You guessed it, another signed stat card. So i am getting annoyed (only because i really want this puzzle signed, believe me, i am wicked stoked aobut these .82 cent stat cards i am buying that will be worth $100.00 easily someday.) So i figured i would try him one last time.

Whoa look at that!! Another stat card! So i am excited again, because it is a signed stat card, but i'm also not excited cuz i really want this puzzle signed. So here is my plan. I am going to send this puzzle piece to him until i get his autograph on it, or i get enough money to send it in and just pay for it. So that is my plan, i and i will certainly keep you posted on how many of these cards i get.

My next post will be on my Top Ten Game Used Memorabilia Cards i have.

Keep on collecting!!

I am DisTROT...

Hi......

That sad day that has been looming over my head for months now has finally arrived. Today, my idol, and Red Sox hero, Trot Nixon signed a one-year contract with the Cleveland Indians. This day was set in motion a long time ago with many various and obvious stages along the way. There was the way Trot was talking, the non-existent negotiations between the Sox and Trot, the ceremonial removal of Trot from right field last year and of course, the "signing" of J.D. Drew.

This day is a sad day indeed for all Nixon fans, friends of Nixon fans, and all of Red Sox Nation, because they are well aware that the Sox have lost the original Dirt Dog and that some other team will benefit greatly from his loyalty and his leadership. The Cleveland Indians have lacked the leadership to get their young and talented team to the playoffs, and today, they have filled that void and Trot just might lead them to the promised land.

It is a true shame that the Red Sox failed to do the right thing and bring Trot back as a part time player/coach, because anyone who has watched Trot play, knows that someday he will make a great coach. He has the drive, the leadership, the knowledge, and of course, he knows how to get his point across in an argument. The saddest part in this whole ordeal is that Trot Nixon was the kind of player that deserved to be on the same time for his whole career. Too many times have we seen players who left their heart and soul in Boston, only to be neglected when their contracts were up. Trot joins the unfortunate list of greats that departed when they should have been locked up, the list obviously includes Orr, Lynn, Fisk, Clemens, Bourque (to some extent), Nomar, Vinatieri, McGinest....need i go on?

Hopefully someday the Red Sox fix this mess and do the right thing and get Trot to coach with Kapler and Varitek. Until that day, here is one fan who has three teams to root for now; The Red Sox, whoever beats the Yankees, and the Cleveland Indians.

In honor of Trot Nixon, i have decided to post a special entry just for the Original Dirt Dog, and my favorite athlete...ever.

It all started in 2001, i was very new to the idea that you could send cards to players through the mail, and receive autographs in return. I couldn't believe that it was that easy! So i started up a batch of letters and in my first mailing, i sent three letters. One to Tony Gwynn, one to Pedro Martinez, and one to my favorite player: Trot Nixon. I mailed the letters on March 18 and on April Fools Day, i got one back. My first success!! I could wait to open it up to see who it was. Much to my surprise and excitement, my first Sig by SASE (signature by self addressed stamped envelope) was none other then Trot Nixon. He autographed the card that i sent him and to this day, it is one of my favorites simply because it was my first success and my favorite player.

This first success left me wanting more, and i eventually sent out about 122 requests, getting about 50+ back with mixed results.

Besides sending autographs through the mail, i also never miss a chance to get out to the park and try and get a few sigs in person. My friend Geoff was a great partner in crime and one summer, we went into Fenway numerous times and got many autographs. We would head in to Boston at 8:30 in the morning on Sundays and hopefully catch the players in the parking lot before their 1:05 game that day. The problem was, you had to lay on the side walk and reach your little hands under the fence in hopes that any player would come over. Well, one infamous time, we got to meet Trot and Varitek. While Trot was signing my ball, he said to us, "Shouldn't you kids be in church?" Well this was to be expected from Trot who is highly religious. And i bit my tongue in order not to say "We are in church....cuz you are GOD!!" Instead i told him that we went the previous night so that we could make it here this morning. well the ball is still in my possession and will stay there for as long as i live.

As you can see, the signature is slightly faded, but that is due to the type of ball i used, type of sharpie, and exposure to sunlight. I have become more knowledgeable in autograph seeking over the years, and i am still trying to figure out all the perfect conditions to receive and maintain a great autograph.

Next, i have obtained many different Trot Nixon game used memorabilia cards over the years and although they are neat, they don't really tell a story, so here they are with no story about them whatsoever!!

On top of collecting game used cards, i have also acquired a Official Trot Nixon Autographed card too. Once again no real story, i bought it on eBay.

Two years ago, i received a great Christmas present from my brother and Chrissy. They bought me an autographed 8x10 framed picture of Trot and it is truly one of the best condition Trot Nixon autographs i have. It is nearly flawless and looks amazing.

Finally, the last Trot Nixon piece i have (for now) is the ball that i had autographed at Spring Training this past year. Its a great ball and once again the condition isn't as great as it should be, but the next time i meet him, i am sure that i will have a great ball and a great pen to capture his autograph with.

Well that does it for this post. In honor of Trot, i will leave you all with the greatest photo ever taken of Trot, taken by me.......

Keep On Collecting....

Autograph Flashback: Muhammad Ali

Hey everyone!

No new autographs since the Red Sox Rookie Program, so instead, i will debut the special part of Greg's Autograph Zone. For the first time ever, i introduce to you, Greg's Autograph Flashback!

In honor of this man's birthday, i believe that it is fitting to introduce an amazing sports hero and one man who dominated his sport for his entire career and still has an influence today. The man i speak of is none other then Muhammad Ali.

Although i have never met Muhammad Ali, the story about this autograph is interesting. As you can see by the photo, it says "To Zach, Muhammad Ali". Well like i said, i didn't get this autograph personally. My mom came home one day and hands me a pamphlet for an Islamic meeting. It says "You Should Know This Man" and it's all about the Islamic faith. On the top of the pamphlet is the beautifully inscribed autograph. I guess my mom talked to a co-worker and she and her son go to an Islamic convention or something and Ali is there all the time. So they have received his autograph so many times and knowing that i collect autographs, they gave my mom one of the pamphlets to give to me. There are many reasons why this autograph is valuable. One is that Ali is much a sports icon who is still talked about today as the greatest competitor in sports. Second, it is on a unique item that not many people would be able to get it signed on. Third, seeing as Ali is now 65 and is terribly stricken with Parkinson's Disease, he rarely signs autographs, so this signature is not only in good condition but also rare.

So thank you very much, and Happy 65th Birthday Ali!!


Keep on collecting!

2007 Boston Red Sox Rookie Program

Hey everyone. I just got back from Boston with Geoff, where we got to meet 12 Boston Red Sox rookies that are going through a program designed to break rookies into the league. The exciting aspect of this signing (besides the fact that it only cost $10) was that the Red Sox believe that all of these rookies will be in the majors within 18 months (2 seasons). So when we heard about this, we immediately made plans and went in to Boston around 2. We killed sometime and then waited inside the Red Sox Team Store across from Fenway and waited about an hour for the rookies to arrive. Needless to say, it was worth the wait and the effort and we got to briefly meet and get 12 great autographs.

The "headliners" in this autograph session were Craig Hansen, Clay Buchholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, and David Murphy. But honestly, each rookie was worth $10 each, so i feel like this was a steal.

I asked Hansen to sign on the sweet spot, and he placed a wonderful signature right in the middle of the ball.



Other then Hansen, i just let the other players sign where ever they felt like signing. The results were extremely rewarding and made me one happy autograph collector.

The first signer at the cafeteria style signing was David Pauley, so he chose to sign in the primo spot for regular players (The Sweet Spot is the best place to get an autograph but it is generally left available for the coach to sign) so Pauley signed as the first player on the other side panel. Following Pauley, was Brandon Moss and Nick Debarr.



Next, Clay Buchholz signed, then Kason Gabbard, George Kottaras, and Kyle Jackson rounded out one side panel of the baseball.



Further on down the line, Edgar Martinez put his sig right on the MLB logo panel and took advantage of the open space, following Martinez was Jacoby Ellsbury and David Murphy.



Last but not least, Chris Spann took full advantage of his placement (second to last, Murphy was the last player at the table) and took the Rawlings logo panel all to himself and left a great signature right under the logo.




Well there you have it, a great day at the park (store) and i walk away with 12 great future stars (hopefully)!!

Thank you to everyone who read this and just to let you know in the next month or two, this blog will be updated quite frequently with background information on my collection. This signing tonight got me motivated and i scanned in a nice chunk (more like a sliver) of my collection and i would love to share it with you all.

Thanks for reading, and keep on collecting!!