odds and ends

I have been trying to get a signed card of Todd Hutcheson for many years.  I have even made cards and sent them to him.  Never heard back.  He has been a Padres trainer for many years and is now the head trainer.  I met him about the time this card came out in 1986.  I would go to Civic Stadium in Portland any time the Las Vegas Stars (Padres AAA affiliate) would come to town.  I would go to the whole series and talk with players, once and I while I would give them rides around town.  One series my friend Dan Fields and I made up a sign with blown up cards of Todd on it and dubbed ourselves the Todd Hutcheson Fan Club and hung it on the railing above the Stars dugout.  It was a hit with the whole team and Todd invited Dan and I down to the clubhouse after the game and showed us around.  This card brings me to 842 different signatures.  I will start showcasing the cards again next week, a page at a time.

I have bought about 10 packs of Topps Series 1, which is probably all I will buy.  I bought several team sets so I could have cards to send to those I don't have signatures of yet.  I got this in one of my packs.  It looks like it had been folded multiple times and left in someones wallet and sat on many times. I took it into the LCS and showed the owner, who has been in the same location since 1982, he said he would be embarrassed to even give that to someone, as would I.  What does Topps think that collectors are so desperate for old cards that we don't care about the condition.  Many of the cards I have seen on eBay are in the same condition.  It's like they gave some one $100 and said this is your budget get as many cards as you can and we don't care about the condition.

I sent off my first cards of the year yesterday.  It has probably been a year or more since I sent out cards to anyone.  I sent to Nick Hundley, Robbie Erlin, Tommy Medica, Eric Stults and Tyson Ross.  I already have Hundley but I am thinking I might use him for my yearly collection.  I sent two cards, a letter, a sharpie and an SASE to each player.  See who I get back.  I still need to send out a few cards of guys that were on the team last year and only had cards in the update set.

I collect cards of several basketball players rather haphazardly, Lakers mainly.  I collect one player zealously at least one card of that player.  Several years ago Jeff Pendergraph (now Jeff Ayers of the Spurs)  played for the Trailblazers and my son and I were impressed with his enthusiasm and my son started collecting his cards.  One card was this one, it came out in Panini Update 2010/11.  There are 499 of this card, this is #105/499.  This is the 50th copy of this card we have and we want the other 449.  I check eBay, COMC and the Beckett Marketplace regularly.  Any other places you can think of.  If you local card shop has it for less than $5 buy it and I will reimburse you.  I bought this one for $4.95 including ship.  If it is more than $5 let me know and I can work something out with you.

Next week, Signed Padres cards year by year 1969-2013