Hi - My name is Mike and I've been collecting sports autographs since the 1970's. This will be a website that concentrates on Sports Autographs through the mail. I received some through the mail autographs of some of my favorite athletes by writing to them in care of their respective teams. I did not know what an sase (self-addressed stamped envelope) was, and I did not send in any pictures or cards for them to sign. I was lucky enough to receive autograph photos from some of the biggest stars, coaches, and managers of the '70's like Nolan Ryan, Pete Rose, Roger Staubach, Bart Starr, Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, Yogi Berra, Bobby Murcer, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray, Earl Weaver, Steve Largent, etc. I stopped collecting after starting college, but I still kept all of my old autographs.
About 20 years ago, I was given a copy of Jack Smalling's Baseball Address book and I was once again hooked. I started writing mostly to retired Yankees from the 1950's and was thrilled to see that many of these former players quickly returned my cards signed. Some of the autographs I received in those days were from Hank Bauer, Moose Skowron, Dr. Bobby Brown, Gil McDougald, Bob Kuzava, and Jerry Coleman. When Topps released its 1953 Archives set, I started getting signatures from players on other teams (I also liked getting signatures on TCMA's Stars of the 50s and 60s).
I now have thousands of autographed cards, photos and other items. My collection has been greatly aided by Mark from Mark's Signing Bonus (the first person to offer non-baseball addresses to me over the web), Harvey Meiselman's Sports Addresses Books, and the SportsCollectors.net website. I have included links for all of these.
Thanks!
Mike
Carl Brettschneider - 2 of 2
Russ Nagelson - 2 of 2 - another multi-signed rookie card for my collection
Steve Korcheck - 2 of 2 - he also included a short note
Steve Tensi - 2 of 2
Earl Gros - 2 of 2
Merritt Kersey - 1 of 2 - while he did not sign my index card, he did send a typed letter responding to my questions. He asked that fans write NFL Players Association to encourage them to take better care of former players in need.
Garry Roggenburk - 3 of 3
Rip Hawkins - 2 of 2
Garry Lyle - 2 of 2 - Note: His first name is misspelled on this card
Ron Pritchard - 2 of 2
Walt Suggs - 2 of 2
Maxie Baughan - 1 of 2 - he did not return the index card
Wayne Twitchell - 2 of 3 - He did not sign his 1972 Topps rookie card (which he apparently refuses to sign for some reason)
Joe Federspiel - 2 of 2
Gene Prebola - 3 of 2 - Mr. Prebola signed my 8x10 and wrote and signed a letter about his brief time with the Jets
Bill McCool - 1 of 1 - You've got to love that name!
Gary Boyd - 2 of 2 - I will send this card out to Russ Nagelson tomorrow.
Steve Fanning - 1 of 1
Bill Fahey - 2 of 2 - His signature completes my 1972 rookie card.
Dan Dickel - 2 of 2
Larry McCarren - 2 of 3 - he did not sign my index card
Bob Hyland - 2 of 2 - he apparently used a dry erase matker. Although it looks fine on the index card, the signature on the football card has nearly totally wiped off.
Jim Bailey - 1 of 2 - he did not sign my index card.
Warren Koegel - 1 of 2 - he also did not sign my index card. I'm a little disappointed since I was going to try to get his brother Pete (who played baseball) to sign it as well.
Wayne Rasmussen - 1 of 2 - He did not sign the index card. I used Meiselman's 2007 list and my first attempt came back "RTS - attempted not known". I checked the white pages and they confirmed the address. I tried again and received this card in three weeks.
Dick Egan - 2 of 2
Bud Blattner - 2 of 2 - I forgot that I had written to him last year. I have an extra signed index card if anyone wants to trade for it.
Richard Dotson - 3 of 3
Tommy Carroll - 1 of 1
Jim Golden - 3 of 3
Tommy Dean - 1 of 1
Joe Nash - 2 of 2
Bobby Scott - 2 of 2
Mike Huffaker - 2 of 1 - he also wrote a note and signed the back of my letter
Scott Cepicky - 1 of 1 - (yes, he is related to Matt Cepicky - they are cousins)
Travis Metcalf - 1 of 1 - in c/o Rangers spring training
Ivan DeJesus - 1 of 1 - in c/o Cubs spring training. Unfortunately, he swapped my SSPC card for this 1984 Topps card. I guess he does not sign the SSPCs because they were unlicensed by MLBPA.
Robb Thomas - 2 of 2
Tom Owens - 1 of 2 - he did not sign the index card.
Steve Blass - 2 of 3 - he kept my Upper Deck B.A.T. card
Ed Bauta - 2 of 2
Jim Lindsey - 2 of 2 - There was a paper clip attched to the upper right hand corner of the card which caused a little damage to the card
No spring training returns lately...
Dennis O'Toole - 2 of 2 - he signed his 1973 rookie card already signed by Bob Strampe
Rick Bryan - 2 of 2
Scott Hunter - 3 of 3
Chase Wright - 2 of 2 - in c/o Yankees spring training. I now have 23 of these Scranton Yankees cards signed.
Mark Dusbabek - 2 of 2
JJ Putz - 2 of 2 - in c/o Mariners spring training
Ned Yost - 2 of 2 - in c/o Brewers spring training
Joaquin Arias - 1 of 1 - in c/o Rangers spring training
Brian Buscher - 1 of 1 - in c/o Twins spring training
Bob Strampe - 2 of 2 - I'm going to send this out to Dennis O'Toole
Carter Hartwig - 1 of 2 - he did not sign my index card
Kei Igawa - 2 of 2 - in c/o Yankees spring training. Many collectors have reported that Igawa's returns have come in unsealed envelopes. My sase was taped shut.
Darrell Rasner - 2 of 2 - in c/o Yankees spring training.
Ray Busse - 3 of 3
Bob Arnzen - 2 of 2
Dewon Day - 1 of 1 - in c/o White Sox spring training
Aaron Laffey - 1 of 1 - in c/o Indians spring training
Luis Hernandez - 1 of 1 - in c/o Orioles spring training
Burton Lawless - 2 of 2
Chris Basak - 2 of 2 - in c/o Twins
Vinny Rotino - 1 of 1 - in c/o Brewers
Steven Jackson - 1 of 1 - in c/o YankeesJohn Gabler - 2 of 2
Brent Sutter - 3 of 3 - in c/o NJ Devils
A great day at the post office!
Joba Chamberlain - 1 of 1 - in c/o Yankees spring training. JOBA RULES!
Sean Henn - 1 of 1 - in c/o Yankees spring training
Bill Bray - 2 of 2 - in c/o Reds spring training
Manny Parra - 1 of 1 - in c/o Brewers spring training
Joe Delli Carri - 1 of 1
Kevin Long - 2 of 2 - in c/o Yankees spring training. He replaced my blank index card with another signed Topps card.
Marty Marion - 4 of 3 - He also signed my letter. I had gotten Mr. Marion years ago and notice that his current signature is not quite as fancy as it used to be. It's still a real nice autograph, however.
Ryan Feierabend - 1 of 1 - in c/o Mariners spring training
Fredi Gonzalez - 1 of 2 - in c/o Marlins spring training. He did not sign the index card
Patrick Misch - 1 of 1 - in c/o Giants spring training
Carmen Pignatiello - 1 of 1 - in c/o Cubs spring training
Jared Burton - 1 of 1 - in c/o Reds spring training
As you can tell, I really like these Topps '52 Rookies cards
Rocky Cherry - 1 of 1 - in c/o Orioles spring training. My first spring training success of 2008!
Dale Plummer - 2 of 1 - former Mets minor leaguer included a signed card
Royal Clayton - 1 of 1
Pete Craig - 2 of 2 - he signed this rookie card already signed by Dick Nen
Hal Haydel - 2 of 2 - I will probably not get this card completed unless Steve Brye does a public signing since he does not seem to sign through the mail
Ed Mickelson - 3 of 2 - Mr. Mickelson had the last RBI for the old St. Louis Browns before they moved to Baltimore.
Mike Bruhert - 2 of 2
Sonny Dixon - 3 of 2 - he also signed a short note apologizing for his handwriting as he has difficulty holding pens (I would assume due to arthritis)
Andy Rincon - 2 of 2
Yates Hall - 3 of 1 - the former NJ Cardinals farmhand also included two additional signed cards.
Earl Stephenson - 2 of 2 - Mr. Stephenson completed my Cubs rookie card already signed by Burt Hooton and Gene Hiser
Ray Rippelmeyer - 3 of 3 - he did a nice job signing my Phillies manager & coaches card already signed by Danny Ozark, Bobby Wine, and Billy DeMars.
Bud Daley - 3 of 3
Kirk Presley - 1 of 1 - Kirk was a #1 draft pick for the Mets and also a relative of Elvis
Gavin Baugh - 1 of 1
Congratulations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2008 - Emmitt Thomas, Andre Tippett, Art Monk, Darrell Green (yes, I know this card has a stamped "autograph", Gary Zimmerman, and Fred Dean.
I have three of these - now I have to get Green, Zimmerman, and Dean for my collection.
Dick Nen - 3 of 3 - he signed his rookie card, which I am now sending to Pete Craig
Lee Johnson - 2 of 2
Alan Zinter - 1 of 2 - he did not sign the index card
Neal Arnold - 1 of 1 - former NJ Cardinals pitcher signed using the address from Meiselman's new minor league address list
Joe Landrum - 3 of 2 - The former Brooklyn Dodger signed my two index cards and included a short signed note. Best of all, he got his son, Bill (a former pitcher for the Reds), to sign his baseball card as well.
Patrick Roy - 1 of 0 - sent an e-mail request in c/o Les Remparts de Quebec and received this signed photo
Roy White - 2 of 2 - sent to his New Jersey address - postmarked from St. Petersburg, Florida
Brandon Folkers - 1 of 1 - former NJ Cardinals minor leaguer. My first success using Meiselman's 2008 Minor League list
Bobby Hammond - 1 of 1 - received this after a 13 month wait (an omen for a Giants Super Bowl victory? - Nah, not even LT in his prime could stop the Pats)
Jim McNamara - 1 of 2 - he did not sign the index card (which fewer players do these days)
I heard today that the New York baseball community lost two former pitchers. Don Cardwell, who pitched for the 1969 Mets, and Johnny Podres, who won game 7 of the 1955 World Series for the Brooklyn Dodgers have passed away. They will be missed.
John Beck - 2 of 2 - I sent this card in c/o the Dolphins during the summer. I received this card and a signed index card
Bill Jennings - 2 of 2 - Mr. Jennings played in the infamous game where Bill Veeck hired Eddie Gaedel (wearing uniform number 1/8) to pinch hit in a big league game.
Eddie Basinski - 2 of 2 - he kept my blank filler card, but double signed my letter
Herb Plews - 3 of 2 - he also signed my letter
Frank Thomas - 4 of 2 - I included a donation which he gives to charity. Mr. Thomas included a signed note as well as this Mets card. Mr. Thomas (The Original One), also signed my 1962 Mets yearbook cover. I now have 16 autographs on this item.
Bruce Howard - 3 of 2 - I actually only received 2 Bruce Howard signatures. He was nice enough to include a signed card of his son, former Royal Dave Howard.
Wayne Mulligan - 4 of 3 - Once again, I received an additional signature as Mr. Mulligan included a signed note.
Dave Szott - 1 of 1 - I met Mrs. Szott at my part-time job (as soon as she said her last name, I asked her if her husband played pro football) and she gave me an unsigned religious card of Mr. Szott. I mailed out the card and he quickly signed it for me.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Gary Thomasson - 3 of 3
Dan Gakeler - 1 of 1 - I sent him a duplicate of this card to keep.
Julian Javier - 2 of 2 - Sent to his home in the Dominican Republic, I added a couple of dollars to pay for the return postage. The envelope got a little beat up causing slight creases to the cards, but still a nice success.
Ed Kirkpatrick - 2 of 2 - Mr. Kirkpatrick was involved in a serious accident which explains his signature. I'm very appreciative that he still signs for his fans.
David Lattin - 2 of 2 - "Big Daddy" Lattin was the physical force on the historic UTEP NCAA Championship team featured in the movie "Glory Road". I mailed this out in January and I was pleasantly surprised when this showed up in the mail.
Jake Gibbs - 4 of 3 - He signed my '64 Rookie card previously signed by Tom Metcalf and also included a signed 1971 Yankees postcard.
Terry Humphrey - 3 of 3
Al Olmsted - 2 of 2 - Trying to decide whether or not to send out this rookie card to Andy Rincon. According to Sports Collectors http://sportscollectors.net/Default.aspx he was a reliable signer until this fall. Tito Landrum has been hit or miss. I may just hold on to this the way it is.
Leon Roberts - 2 of 3 - Unfortunately, he kept the SSPC card which is the one I really wanted signed.
Congratulations to baseball's newest Hall of Famers: Dick Williams, Bowie Kuhn, Billy Southworth, Barney Dreyfuss, and Walter O'Malley.
Tom Shopay - 2 of 2
Dave Marshall - 3 of 3
Mark DeRosa - 2 of 2 - sent in c/o the Cubs back in April
Doug Gwosdz - 2 of 2 - unfortunately, did not include his nickname "Eyechart"!
Dennis Leonard - 4 of 4 - I usually do not send out this many at one time, but I had four totally different cards, and he is known to be very accomodating to his fans.
Ruben Amaro, Sr. - 4 of 3 - he even signed my letter!
Dave Pallone - 2 of 2
Tom Webster - 2 of 2
Robin Burns - 2 of 2
John LeClair - 3 of 3 - This Beehive auto came out really sweet!
Don Nelson - 1 of 2 - in c/o the Warriors last season.
Billy Loes - 1 of 1 - I included his $5 fee
Minnie Minoso - 1 of 1 - I included $10 donation
Ron Klimkowski - 2 of 2
Jim Fregosi - 3 of 3 - including a managers card already signed by Buck Showalter
Joel Smeenge - 2 of 2
Gregg Olson - 3 of 3 - did not put R.O.Y. inscription on his rookie card, but a good success nonetheless
Kevin Reese - 1 of 1 - in c/o Scranton Yankees
Dave Bristol - 3 of 3 - Interesting because he signed all with a different pen.
John Bucyk - 3 of 3 - including 5x7 Beehive card
R.C. Stevens - 3 of 3
Larry Burright - 2 of 2
Bob Meyer - 4 of 3 - he included a signed photocopy with his picture and a brief write up about his career.
John Tamargo - 2 of 2
Fred Hetzel - 2 of 2
Bobby Wine - 3 of 3 - He also signed a card already signed by manager Danny Ozark and coach Billy DeMars
Jeff Twitty - 3 of 3
Jackie Brandt - 3 of 3
Chuck Allen - 2 of 2 - Oops! I forgot that I had sent an autograph request to Mr. Allen last year. I have duplicates of this card. Contact me if you would like to trade for it.
Dan Saleaumua - 2 of 2
Frank Nunley - 2 of 3 - he kept one of my cards
Gary Weiss - 2 of 2
Buddy Gilbert - 2 of 2
Scott Earl - 2 of 2 - the 1984 Topps is actually a custom card made by another collector
Lou Klimchock - 2 of 2
Steve Grogan - 3 of 3 - He also signed a cover of a 1979 Football Digest magazine with him on the cover
Dick Gernert - 2 of 2
Larry Yount - 2 of 2 - This is Robin Yount's brother. He never pitched in a big league game, but did appear in a box score. He was summoned from the bullpen and hurt his arm while warming up and never got a chance to throw an official pitch. This is a custom card that was made by a fellow collector.
Alan Hargesheimer - 3 of 3 - he also signed a custom card made by that same collector.
Rich Wortham - 2 of 2
Derrel Thomas - 2 of 2
Marv Foley - 3 of 3
Mike Mercer - 2 of 2
Mike Taliaferro - 1 of 2 - he did not sign the index card
Jerry Logan - 3 of 3
Mike Jerzembeck - 2 of 2
John "Mule" Miles - 2 of 2
Brian Schneider - 1 of 1 - in c/o Nationals during spring training
Ken Johnson - 2 of 2 - I was happy to add this request as mr. Johnson refused to sign my TCMA card a few years ago because he saw his autographs selling on eBay. I later found out that he is currently signing, but still will not sign the TCMA card for some reason.
Bart Shirley - 2 of 2 - he signed this rookie card that I had gotten signed by Greg Goossen several years ago.
Mike Eischeid - 3 of 3
Dave Chapple - 2 of 2
Glenn Beckert - 2 of 2
Andy Heck - 3 of 3 - in c/o the Jaguars
Malcolm Snider - 2 of 2
Bob Johnson - 2 of 2 - He kept my 1971 card, but replaced it with this Tennessee Hall of Fame card
Phil Housley - 3 of 3
Tim Jorden - 1 of 2 - he did not sign the index card
Glenn Ressler - 2 of 2
Julian Fagan - 2 of 2
Milt Morin - 2 of 2 - he also wrote me a short note on the back of my letter
Bruce Robbins - 2 of 2 - he also signed his Topps rookie card which I am sending to Mike Chris tomorrow
Darcy Fast - 2 of 2 - I am sending this one out to Derrel Thomas tomorrow
Stanley Glenn - 2 of 2
Bobby Bragan - 5 of 2 - Mr. Bragan sent me several extra signatures
Felix Mantilla - 2 of 2 - I paid his fee & he also signed my 1962 Mets yearbook cover
Tom Egan - 3 of 3
Bill Curry - 2 of 2
Larry Willingham - 2 of 2
Chris Hakel - 1 of 1
Tom Gilles - 2 of 2
Jerry Kutzler - 2 of 2
Johnny Morris - 2 of 2
Carl Erskine - 3 of 2
I went to the Scranton Yankees game tonight (an 11 - 2 victory with an impressive pitching performance by Matt DeSalvo), and picked up six autographs. I got Doug Mientkiewicz who was there on an injury rehab assignment (see scan), and I also got Eric Duncan, TJ Beam, Ben Kozlowski, Chris Britton, and pitching coach Dave Eiland.
