My latest Hall of Fame & Tobacco Card Acquisition

The Pirates have 37 Alumni who played at least one game with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Hall of Fame.  Of that group, only 11 were inducted into the Hall having played more games with Pittsburgh than any other franchise that individual had played for.

Recent inductees like Bert Blyleven and Goose Gossage had wonderful careers, but likely won't be remembered a generation from now as being on the Pirates.

The Pirates were a powerhouse in the early 1900s being lead by the greatest shortstop of All-Time, Honus Wagner, and leftfielder, Fred Clarke.

My ultimate goal is to add autographs of Hall of Famers, Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner, but adding Fred Clarke was a major score to my collection.

This 2015 Historic Autographs includes a cut auto of the 1909 World Series Champion along with an original t206 Piedmont trading card.

Clarke finished his career with over 2,600 hits, a career batting average of .312 and an on base percentage of .386 while swiping 509 bags.  His best season may have come in his final season before joining the Pirates back in 1899 when he hit .340, stole 49 bags, and only struck out 18 times in 681 plate appearances.  He became the player manager his first year with the Bucs in 1900.

I was having a conversation with my brother the other day and what I find most fascinating about adding these incredible cut autographs to the collection is that guys like Fred Clarke had passed away before Carlos Correa's father was even born.  Wrap your head around that for perspective.  Fred Clarke was born before electricity really took off with Thomas Edison's inventions.

Hall of Fame Autograph /10 for under $15....um ok

This year I really wanted to increase my collection for non Pirates. I've been adding a lot of Pacers recently because despite making it to the Conference Finals twice in the past 3 years, no one really notices that they exist in the cardboard community. The team is filled with plenty of young talented fast defensive guys that can put up the points. This current roster with the additions of Monta Ellis, Jordan Hill, and rookies Joe Young and Myles Turner are a lot of fun to watch.

The Pacers don't have many players in the Hall of Fame. The most recognized from our generation is obviously Reggie Miller and his performance against the Knicks in the mid 90s is the main reason I root for the Pacers.

Mel Daniels was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2012. He finished his career averaging double double stats in both points (18.4ppg) and rebounds (14.9rpg). He is one of only four players to have his number retired by the Pacers.

This 2013 Leaf Metal green parallel numbered 5/10 was acquired for under $15. The card features an on card autograph, which sadly isn't possible anymore. Mr. Daniels passed away last year from complications with heart surgery.

Football Sunday A trio of Hall of Famers

One of my collecting goals was to acquire some Pittsburgh Steelers autographs of men enshrined in Canton, Ohio.  Very early in the year, I was able to track down a lot of three on card autographs that met that criteria.  For $37 delivered, I was fortunate to add autographs of Jack Ham, Franco Harris, and Mel Blount.

Granted, the Ham isn't licensed and the signatures of Harris and Blount aren't the cleanest, but they are all certified autographs and for $12.33 each you just can't beat that price for someone who has earned the golden jacket.

eBay recently ran a 5x eBay bucks program so I picked up another Steelers autograph as part of the promotion and I have to say that it's a huge hit for my PC. 

On Card HOF AUTO: National Treasures Reverse Box Update #6

For the past month I have been showing off my reverse box of 2014 National Treasures and I have already shown some incredible cards.  I will recap them all at the end of this post.

My latest addition of National Treasures is an on card autograph numbered to 10 of Hall of Fame Second Baseman and the only player to ever have a walk off Home Run in Game 7 of a World Series, Bill Mazeroski.

I've shown a handful of Maz autographs on this blog before with my most recent being a sketch card autograph last November.  The last On Card Auto I showed of Maz was from way back in 2013.

The back of the card talks about his dramatic World Series Home Run.

The above low numbered logoless on card autograph ran me $42 delivered which was under budget and brings my total to $234 for the $425 box.  I need 1 more autograph and 1 more auto/relic/or gem hit to complete my 8 card reverse box.  As previously stated once I complete the reverse box, I will just pick up cards I like until I reach the $425 limit.

Other cards I have shown already in my reverse box of /50 copies and all Pirates include

Roberto Clemente bat relic 6/25

Willie Stargell Cut AUTO and jumbo bat booklet 7/10

Gerrit Cole on card AUTO and jumbo jersey 32/49

Jameson Taillon Jersey Patch 2/25

Gregory Polanco Colossal Prime Jersey Patch 14/25

This is what a high end Hall of Fame Cut Auto should look like...

This week has been a powerhouse week at the PTR. Dont believe me? Go back to Sunday to see how it started.

Last week, I showed off a Roberto Clemente bat relic numbered 6/25.  It was my 15th bat relic of the Hall of Famer.  I stated that I would do a reverse box of 2014 National Treasures this year and will likely have a lot of fun tracking down these high end cards.  The Pirates Pittsburgh Baseball Club is well represented in 2014 National Treasures with current players and Hall of Famers.

One such player that has some great looking Cut Auto Booklets /10 is Hall of Famer Willie Stargell.  Known to the fanbase as Pops for his leadership role on the 1979 World Series Championship team, Stargell has a great signature and for the most part it's also very affordable.

I've seen a handful of Stargell's booklets from National Treasures end up in the $125+ range, but I was fortunate to win this auction for only $81 delivered.  Now you're probably thinking $81 is a lot to spend on one card when you're trying to do a reverse box....and you're right.

I'm currently way over budget at $145 on two cards that my budget for said cards was $106.  I have a lot of ground to make up as I accumulate the remaining 6 cards of my reverse box.  Honestly though, I can't complain about having a HOF cut auto and jumbo bat relic numbered /10 along with a Clemente bat relic numbered /25 for the prices paid though.  I know it sounds crazy to think two cards for $145, but for these two beloved Pittsburgh icons, that's a great deal.

With 3 more guaranteed autographs, and a combination of gem, relic, auto left I know that I will be able to complete the remaining 6 cards for less than $280.  I am allowed to spend $46 per card to finish under the allowed amount.

Savings Start Now!

Super Bowl Sunday: 6 Time Super Bowl Champs DUAL AUTO!!!

One of my 2015 Collecting Goals was to add a pair of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famers to my collection.  With this card, I am now half way there.  When I was looking to upgrade my Steelers collection, I knew that I wanted to go Quality over Quantity.  Getting a dual autograph of the two quarterbacks who have brought the Steelers 6 Super Bowl Championships seemed like a no brainer.

Hailing from 2005 Donruss Elite, this Passing the Torch dual auto numbered 25/50 features 4 time Super Bowl Champion Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw on the front

and

2 time Super Bowl champion (and potential future Hall of Famer) Ben Roethlisberger on the back.

With the Patriots and Seahawks playing today, it is a guarantee that one of them will tie the number of Super Bowl rings with someone on this card.  Could it be Tom Brady as he attempts to get the elusive number 4 tying him with Bradshaw and Montana for most all-time or will it be the young Russell Wilson tying Ben Roethlisberger and 10 others in the list of 2x Super Bowl champions?

Personally I'm pulling for the Seahawks because quite frankly, I hate Tom Brady and the Patriots.

GO HAWKS!!!!

A NEW HALL OF FAMER ENTERS THE COLLECTION, First Goal of 2015 Complete!!!!

Last year was a great year for my collection.  I completed my first 2014 Goal within a week and day of making my list by adding a Goose Gossage Pirates autograph.  This year, I followed suit and completed my first 2015 Goal within a few weeks of the new year.

Following the same pattern as last year, I sought out a new Hall of Fame autograph to add to the collection.  There's a long list of Pirates in the Hall of Fame that I currently don't have, but 1961 inductee Max Carey can now be crossed off that list.

Max Carey never received more than 51% of the votes for Hall of Fame eligibility during his 15 years post retirement.  However 3 years after his last year of eligibility he was inducted in by the Veteran's Committee.  The fleet footed outfielder won the Stolen Base crown 10 times while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and still ranks 9th All-Time.

Carey finished his 19 year career with a .285 batting average, 2664 hits, and a patent for sliding pads to protect your legs and hips when sliding.  His numbers don't jump off the page, but during a ten year stretch he was one of the best in the game patrolling the outfield.

I've seen Carey autographs sell for as much as $200 in the past and I was very happy to win this auction with a best offer in the $50 range.  Obviously getting sticker autos or on card autos of many of the Pirates in the Hall of Fame besides Bill Mazeroski and the recently deceased Ralph Kiner are going to be tough to come by so I don't mind a cut auto when available.  However, I do have one rule for cut autos and that is it must show an image of the player.  I don't care if the logos have been cut out or it's unlicensed, but I want to see an image of the player.

R.I.P. Ralph Kiner

I may have already had 13 autographs of the Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner, but for less than $12, I couldn't resist adding another to my collection, especially since it's on card!  Welcome to the collection, number 14.

2001 Fleer Greats of the Game ON CARD AUTO

Sadly, news broke of Ralph's passing a few hours after receiving this card. My condolences go out to the Kiner family, the Mets and Pirates organizations and all those whose life the great HOF slugger impacted.