favorite thru the mail autographs

[jakebeckleyoldeagleeye]

Anyone here collect autographs thru the mail over the years? If so the favorite you remember. Here's mine from each sport.
Mine is the first autograph I ever received by mail was Gordie Howe in 1969 he sent an Eaton photo personalized even though I didn't send a SASE. Still have it.
Also all the J.D. McCarthy signed postcards I received from Red Wings players and especially my favorite goalie Roy Edwards.
Mickey Mantle I received back in around 1970 from his home address when hardly anyone collected autographs because you didn't have home addresses but found his thru one of those long gone sports cards collectors newsletters that guys would print out of their house and you would subscribe to.
Red Grange for football. He was losing his eye site at the time but his wife wrote a note and sent it back with the signed items saying her husband couldn't see but still tried his best to honor his fans request. What a guy!

[Wrightfan85]

Have gotten a bunch of my gold postcards that way but Bobby Doerr is probably my favorite of the TTM's. Free and it's just so surreal that a guy who played when my Grandparents were children was still alive when I was an adult.

[Shoelessseb]

Originally Posted by Wrightfan85

Have gotten a bunch of my gold postcards that way but Bobby Doerr is probably my favorite of the TTM's. Free and it's just so surreal that a guy who played when my Grandparents were children was still alive when I was an adult.

Bobby Doerr was the best. And I share your feeling. He started in the Majors in the 1930's and signed for me 75 years later. Unbelievable !

My most special return was from Roy Sievers. I received my signed photos AFTER he passed away. Probably the last autographs he ever signed.

My favorite hockey return was Murray Armstrong, the last surviving New York Americans player.

I also like to get obscure players. The kind of guys who played 1 game in 1951 lol For me it's worth as much as a superstar player.

[w7imel]

I had good luck in the 90's. My favorite was Larry Bird personalized "To Mike" basketball card. Bob Knight was another I loved. For a while i would send about 10 items a week off revieved about 60 to 70 percent back signed I would say. Never had a race driver not send me back my item signed except Emmerson Fittipaldi.

Pete Rose was my first TTM autograph I recieved when I was 8 or 10 years old. Had it not been for him sending me that signed 4x6 back I dont think I would have collected autographs my whole life. Thanks Pete!!!! You cost me alot of time and money!!!!!!!!! hahaha

[egri]

I have a couple favorites:

Bobby Doerr was my first TTM success, when I was in fifth grade. I was so excited to be writing to a former Red Sox player that I didn’t include a SASE, which I found out later was a major pet peeve of his. Fortunately, he was kind enough to address one himself. That got me started on the Teammates era Red Sox, and baseball history in general.

Wayne Terwilliger was one of the first players I wrote to when I started my 1953 Topps project. I mentioned that one of my neighbors had served in the Marines during Vietnam (Twig was at Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima). He wrote back “Semper Fi to your neighbor, and tell him thanks for his service”.

I was one of the last people Al Dark signed for. I sent his 1949 Bowman card to him in late September 2014, and it came back a couple weeks later with my SASE stamped “Unable to sign/Thank you for understanding”. Surprisingly, he had signed it, albeit very shakily. About a month later, he died. It was thoughtful of him to keep signing as long as he did.

[Jim65]

I sent a bunch out in the late 1980's-early 1990's to NJ Devils players. I got everybody except Chris Terreri, he never responded.

My favorite was Patrik Sundstrom, I sent it to the team and it got mailed back from Sweden.

[laughlinfan]

As a teen in the late 70s I sent lots of requests out - still remember the excitement of seeing 1 or 2 SASEs back in my mailbox, and couldn't hardly wait to see who sent back. I had a blast! Some of my favorites - Satchel Paige, Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer (what great penmanship!), Red Grange, Otto Graham, and Stan Musial stand out. I got back into it in the 90s sending to football HOFers to get Goal Line art cards signed. Will always be thankful for the kindness so many of these men shared - they could have just as easily tossed stuff in the trash or never responded. Still flip through them from time to time for guaranteed smiles!

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by w7imel

Never had a race driver not send me back my item signed except Emmerson Fittipaldi.

Great to see another collector into racing. Racers are nearly universally awesome when it comes to autographs. When I was a a kid, I faithfully wrote to nearly every NASCAR Cup and Busch Series driver via their team headquarters, and I don't recall ever having a failure of a racer through the mail.

[mcgwirecom]

I was 10 when Hank Aaron broke Ruth's record. I wanted to get his autograph and as many will know baseballs were not so easy to come by back then. I had never seen an MLB baseball for sale anywhere. So we played with junk balls bought for $1 at the Woolco. Anyway I had a ball that had one red panel and one white panel we used a lot. I mailed it to Hank Aaron care of the Braves and I included a pen, $2 for return postage and a fan letter written by me. I also asked that he please sign it himself and not his secretary. LOL. I did get it back and signed with my $2 intact! I still have it today although it has faded almost to oblivion (plus the ball was beat up too).

[mr2686]

Great stories. I've actually only done a few over the years. First one was Wes Parker of the Dodgers back in the late 60's (I also did not send an SASE) and he sent back a signed photo with an inscription about staying in school. The last one's I did were around 2010. When putting together the 1961 Yankees autographs, I saw that Tex Clevenger and Bob Hale were still alive (I just saw that Tex passed away this past August, R.I.P.). They were very nice and both sent notes along with my signed items. I've got a couple of 70's SI's that I've been meaning to send to Cheryl Tiegs to sign, but I've seen conflicting addresses where to send them. I'll try to get those out by end of year.

[Case12]

Only sports ttm I tried was ball forBob Horner. He sent the open box back unsigned (with my return postage to boot).. I was mad at that fat guy :-)

Non-sports favorite: Jane Seymour

[todeen]

I was 12 when I mailed Monte Irvin a baseball. He signed it, sent it back, and enclosed a note saying he had a signing fee. It was like $10. He asked me politely to send a check back to him. I thought that was really classy.

I also sent Aaron Boone, while he was playing, multiple cards. I was 13ish. I saw him play in Billings MT at short-season A ball, and I had his minor league cards. Every card I sent him was eventually signed and returned.

[ocjack]

In the mid-sixties, when I was young and naive, I sent a letter to Mickey Mantle (my hero) asking him to autograph a few cards. I can't remember which cards I sent, but I do know they included some Bowman as well as Topps.

Needless to say, I never received a reply. Foolishly, I sent a second letter and requested that he at least return the cards I sent. hahaha

I read subsequent articles that said he would throw out the envelopes after giving any cards to his kids.

Maybe I should send his kids a letter?

[cnote08]

Originally Posted by todeen

I was 12 when I mailed Monte Irvin a baseball. He signed it, sent it back, and enclosed a note saying he had a signing fee. It was like $10. He asked me politely to send a check back to him. I thought that was really classy.



I also sent Aaron Boone, while he was playing, multiple cards. I was 13ish. I saw him play in Billings MT at short-season A ball, and I had his minor league cards. Every card I sent him was eventually signed and returned.

I wrote to Irvin around the same age and I now remember the nice note asking for money. That was a total no-brainer. I was happy to do it. I also recall Johnny Vander Meer signed my card, included a typed note that has ALSO signed asking for something like $3. Also a no-brainer...


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[theshleps]

I remember in the mid to late 60's getting back from Jackie Robinson, Ted Williams, most of the other living HOFers and sent to widows and got check cuts back. Unfortunately it was the 60's and I lost interest and sold it all. Since starting up again in 2000 my son and I started writing (we stopped 10 years ago). Tom Brady signed 3 cards for my son back in 2000 TTM