In today's mail...
 

Got a good little index card letter from Gary Beban, Heisman winner at UCLA in 1967...

Mr. Schwade:

Think twice about encouraging your sons to play football

Gary Beban,
Heisman

http://vmedia.rivals.com/uploads/1080/F888239.JPG

Anyone else get anything in the mail today? Let's keep this thread alive for TTM autographs!!

Mel Parnell TTM- RIP
 

Hi Matt,

I'll play...

The last two autographs I received TTM were from Red Sox no-hit pitcher Mel Parnell. I was very fortunate to have gotten these before he passed away in March of 2012. He signed a ticket stub to his no-hit game in 1956 and a vintage Topps card that I always have liked.

RIP Mr. Parnell!

Interesting TTM response!
 

Matt,
Hmmm...That sure is an interesting TTM response you received from Gary Beban!

This happens to be the way I personally feel with my own kids, but it's got to be an unusual response for correspondance TTM, FWIW....

I shouldn't paint a completely negative picture of Beban... I asked him to sign my Heisman football card and a couple of index cards for my two sons. He only signed my football card, but sent the note on one of the index cards.

That's nice Scott! Love the ticket stub! I tried Mariano Rivera at Spring Training with a ticket stub from the game he tied Trevor Hoffman for career saves from last year at the Rogers Centre and I never saw it come back :( Bummed about it, but I still have another stub from the same game.

Rivera has historically been a good ST signer, but I was skunked with him as well. I sent one 8x10 and two trading cards (in seperate envelopes) hoping I'd get one back. I have not heard of any successes from him this year.

In fact, ST was a total bust this year. ZERO successes out of about 20 requests. Pathetic. And I was not shooting for the big stars... I only targeted those who I thought I had a chance of getting something back. I think I am done with ST requests for good. Not worth the time and effort.

I actually got my first Spring Training success yesterday as well.. A 3x5 signed by Glenn Hubbard!

Received in yesterday's mail. Not a toughie but one I needed for the 69 Cubs project.

Just to keep this thread alive....I sent this one to spring training 3 years ago and just got it in the mail. I've since quit TTM but am considering starting up again. It seems that the returns you get are few and far between....nothing like it used to be.

That's funny! Congrats on the return! I've been sending out to former Dayton Flyers basketball players from the 60's (where I went to school) and got some nice successes. Haven't posted since they are basketball :)

Mariano signs during game...
 

Not sure how many of you watched the Sox/Yanks game on Fox yesterday (4/21) but they zoomed in on Rivera signing a ball for a fan in the 9th inning...Mike Harkey (bullpen coach) acted as the go-between.....pretty cool, I thought.

I saw that. He routinely sneaks signed balls into the crowd during games. I sat behind him at the old Tiger Stadium where the bullpen is right on the field and the pitchers sat on a bench against the wall. Rivera signed and fed balls back into the crowd throughout the game. Probably among the most fan friendly of today's big names.

This thread reminds me of the good old days of TTM, over 20 years ago.

Even Joe DiMaggio would sign for you, one item, once a month. Don't ask for more because I think he kept records of the requests.
He actually signed a couple of B&W HOF plaks for me, using that one a month schedule.
Joe Sewell would thank you for remembering him.
You would get your requests back from Bobby Thomson in 4-5 days.
Clint Hartung took one year.
Most living HOFers would respond to you in 10 days or so.
Good times.

It's the TTM returns I get that keep me feeling like a kid. :)

Just got back my sons 1988 Starting Lineup I mailed to Kent Hrbek UNSIGNED. Pretty sure it was him that wrote his return address on it?!?! ugh

I've used the mail for a ton of my autographed baseballs, because the guys I look for are so obscure nobody seems to know who they are. I have reached out to every WWII Vet I can find, but as you can imagine, the list is fairly short.

5 years ago, I sent a ball to Fred Bradley (say it together now: "WHO??") It never came back, which is the price you pay with through the mail. Well, two weeks ago, a package shows up with my own pre-printed address. I stared at it for a while, since I knew I hadn't sent one out in over a year. I was like a kid at Christmas! When I opened it, there was a nice note from his wife, saying that Mr. Bradley isn't doing to well. He must have gotten my package, and put it on a shelf in the garage. She had just come across it while cleaning, had him sign it, and returned it to me.

How cool is that!!


Ken
earlywynnfan5@hotmail.com

That is COOLER than cool! Congratulations on the return! Hopefully, it brought a smile to a struggling Mr. Bradley's face as well!

I am in a mail drought, but I haven't sent anything out in a couple of weeks :( One extreme of excitement when you get a return in the mailbox, another extreme of disappointment when all you get is bills. :(

Ken Johnson no-hitter picture
 

I just received this TTM signed postcard back from Colt 45 no-hitter pitcher Ken Johnson. Johnson threw his no-hitter on 4/23/64 and has the unusual distinction of losing it.

This postcard itself is a really rare, as not many of these were produced back in the 1960's. I picked it up a while ago on eBay and sent it off to ask if he would be willing to sign it. He responded promptly and I received it back in less than a week.

One of the things that I collect is signed postcards of no-hit pitchers. I had never found one for Johnson wearing the correct style uni. I'm happy to add this guy to my collection. :)