Anyone Else Collecting a 1987 Topps Autographed Set?

[rschear]

Good Morning.

I'm doing this set as well. Currently:

780/792 98% - Base
115/132 86% - Traded

895/924 98% - Overall

Down to last few baddies. Always paying top dollar for the ones I don't have.

#51 Mel Hall
#138 Roy Lee Jackson
#198 Lee Mazzilli
#202 Ricky Wright
#331 Mets Team - Darryl Strawberry / Gary Carter
#353 Ernie Camacho
#395 Damaso Garcia
#472 Bill Doran
#602 Gary Carter AS
#665 Rod Scurry
#775 Joaquin Andujar

#7T Thad Bosley
#15T Ivan Calderon
#18T John Cangelosi
#23T John Christensen
#30T Mike Dunne
#44T Brad Havens
#55T Stan Jefferson
#75T Mark McLemore
#79T Greg Minton
#82T Charlie Moore
#83T Jeff Musselman
#87T Reid Nichols
#95T Tony Pena
#106T Jerry Royster
#122T Dave Valle
#126T Alan Wiggins
#128T Frank Williams

[BryLojo]

Originally Posted by rschear

Good Morning.

I'm doing this set as well. Currently:

777/792 98% - Base
114/132 86% - Traded

891/924 98% - Overall

Down to last few baddies. Always paying top dollar for the ones I don't have.

#41 Bo Diaz
#51 Mel Hall
#136 Ron Romanick
#138 Roy Lee Jackson
#198 Lee Mazzilli
#202 Ricky Wright
#331 Mets Team - Darryl Strawberry / Gary Carter
#353 Ernie Camacho
#395 Damaso Garcia
#472 Bill Doran
#602 Gary Carter AS
#644 John Denny
#665 Rod Scurry
#775 Joaquin Andujar

#7T Thad Bosley
#15T Ivan Calderon
#18T John Cangelosi
#23T John Christensen
#30T Mike Dunne
#44T Brad Havens
#55T Stan Jefferson
#72T Joe Magrane
#75T Mark McLemore
#79T Greg Minton
#82T Charlie Moore
#83T Jeff Musselman
#87T Reid Nichols
#95T Tony Pena
#106T Jerry Royster
#122T Dave Valle
#126T Alan Wiggins
#128T Frank Williams

I can help with couple of those needs. in the '87 set I have Romanick and Denny available.

[dgo71]

Out of curiosity what do those of you actively pursuing the set do about the checklists? I had a thought to have Peter Ueberroth sign them as he was commissioner in 1987. Does anyone have other ideas of who would be best to put on them? Or do you simply discount these cards?

[rschear]

Originally Posted by dgo71

Out of curiosity what do those of you actively pursuing the set do about the checklists? I had a thought to have Peter Ueberroth sign them as he was commissioner in 1987. Does anyone have other ideas of who would be best to put on them? Or do you simply discount these cards?

I have them signed by people who were involved in the 1987 year but don't have a card.

I was a big A's fan growing up, so I have some obscure A's people for some of the checklists.

#128 - I have 2 outstanding requests. Mike Gallego (A's) and Joe Wathan (Cubs interim manager).

#264 - Sandy Alderson - A's GM in 1987

#392 - Working on Dave Duncan, Rene Lachemann, and Dave McKay (A's coaches in 1987)

#522 - Frank Lucchesi (Royals 3d manager after Howser and Gardner)

#654 - Billy Williams w/ HOF 1987 inscription

#792 - Peter Uebberoth (Commissioner in 1987) - great signer but he signs in ballpoint (I've tried twice - both ballpoint and one signed on the back)

#132T - Walt Weiss w/ Oakland A's 7/12/1987 inscription - Debut

I may upgrade some of the CLs. Thinking McGwire and Santiago w/ 87 ROY inscriptions, Frank Viola w/ 87 WS MVP Inscription, Bell and Dawson w/ 87 MVP inscriptions, or Clemens and Bedrosian w/ 87 Cy Young inscrptions. Takes some cash as McGwire w/ an inscription runs $155 through a private signing on SCN. I'm also picky as Big Mac had a very different signature early on than he does now. My Mac #366 has the old signature.

I won't upgrade the Williams HOF, Ueberroth, or Weiss Traded.

Also - I have Bill Mazeroski on the Clemente TBTC since they were teammates and Maz is a HOFer. Most people seem to try for his kid or wife. I'd rather have Maz, that's just me.

If you have any other questions about this set (players, returns, etc), let me know. I'm pretty far submerged in it so I feel that I have a lot of knowledge on this particular set.

[dgo71]

Those are some neat ideas. I sent the checklists to Ueberroth and included a Sharpie. He signed all in rapid fashion but like you, he signed the backs. I considered resending with sticky notes on the back to indicate to sign the other side.

I like the Maz idea on the Clemente TBTC. He's not terribly hard to get and there's a strong connection there.

I really like the idea of the HOF guys from that year. Too bad I never thought of that while Catfish and Dandridge were alive. That would've been a neat solution for half of the 6 checklists.

I started collecting in '86 so I'm pretty knowledgeable on the set, who the toughies are, variations of signatures (I have the rookie era Big Mac sig as well), etc. I never focused on completing the set but as I've collected over the years I've gotten 500+ different done, so I thought I'd try to see how close I could get without putting a ton of effort into it. I'll probably never pay up for Dick Howser, and I know Ricky Wright is next to impossible. Even the ones that have sold for prices far beyond what I'd be willing to pay have questionable authenticity. It's a great set though and brings me back to my early days in the hobby.

Thanks for the input!

[dgo71]

I find it interesting that Ernie Camacho is on most of the want lists I see for this set. He has an educational foundation he uses to host clinics and provide scholarships in the Salinas area, has anyone ever tried contacting him there and/or inquiring about him signing for a donation?

[mantleman]

Derek,

I got Ernie Camacho through that very same foundation, with a donation of course.

Andy