Just Met a Former Big Leaguer

Hey there!

I'm almost embarrassed to pop in here every two months or so, which seems to be the norm for the past year-plus, after I once fed this blog so regularly. I've never even updated you all on whether I went ahead and met Denny McLain a few months back at a local card show.

I did indeed and he signed a couple of things for me - including a ball on which he added umpteen inscriptions just for the heck of it. Despite having one of the more horrifically entertaining Wikipedia pages of all past professional players, Mr. McLain was a friendly, chatty man that day. I promise to post a photo of what he signed in a post soon.

Tonight I'm writing because I got to chat with another old timer. This one not as old as Denny Mac but in my estimation he is definitely an MLB near-great.

Who was it?

No, clearly it was not this man. But the player did appear in this set. By the way, how cool was Vada Pinson?

The former player I met appeared in MLB games in parts of the '60s and '90s - along with the two decades in between. He was not a pitcher. Those are my hints for now. Leave one guess in the comments and if nobody guesses correctly, I'll add a comment with another hint.

I don't have any great prize. I just thought this would be fun. That said, I will do my best to send you some cards of a team you collect or possibly from a set you're collecting (but those options are likely limited to 1982, 1984, 1985 Topps, 2011 Topps Chrome, 2014 Heritage and other 2011-ish sets). For the past two years, some random new pack purchases and 2014 Heritage notwithstanding, I'm strictly a vintage guy.

Still, I'll work to put a little something together.

By the way, I did bring some cards of this player along with me tonight as I had several from my youth collection on hand. I ended up handing four of them (three from 1976 Topps; one from 1979 Topps) to a family behind me (in the line of 12 total people) as the kids didn't have anything to get signed but toy sunglasses! They and the mom were so happy. Made my day.

The cards I kept are likely going to me, my daughter, my nephew and (in a few years) my young grand-nephew.

I should add that the former player was cordial enough and he was happy to sign all of my cards. He signed one ball as well and I had someone snap a pic of me and him on my iPhone. I'll share that evidence in an upcoming post.

I'm so mysterious tonight. It's somewhat annoying, I know.

The Search for a Vintage Denny('s): Part II

Vintage Denny('s)

Denny McLain is coming to town in 10 days and here I am without a nice card.

While I'm normally not an autograph guy, he'll be at the small card show that I normally attend and so I practically have no choice but to fork over the relatively-small-for-the-game's-last-30-game-winner fee of $15. It should be interesting. By all accounts (from the fellas at the last show) it's going to be a mob. We'll see.

I'd love a nice condition (no creases, rounded corners, etc.) '65 or '69 - or, heck, maybe even a great '68. I'll do everything possible to make it worth your while. If I don't hear from anyone soon, I'll go the eBay route by tomorrow. I have one McLain but it's not in too good of shape.

For possible trade, I have a decent, growing collection of nice vintage star cards. I'm starting to catalogue them now. It sure would have been nice if I had completed that project so you could take a look and claim something ahead of time.

Not Denny McLain.

The protocol for this signing is unclear. I think I need to present something for him to sign and then return to the back of the line if I want something else. If that's the case, and because I have a family obligation, I'll surely only have time to get one card signed. If it's something different, I'll try to get more than one signed. I'd say my limit due to cost would be two.

The catch to this post is I really need the McLain in mail right away.  Thanks for reading.

Denny's Grand Slammer

Well, here I am again.

While I've neglected this blog for far too long, I've been fully engaged for many months now in building my vintage (1975 and earlier) Reds and Cubs - along with select vintage stars and other vintage cards I come across that I love. I'm much more at peace with my hobby direction since I zeroed in on the cards I truly love. That said, I do still pluck a few new Reds, Tigers and Cubs while at the shows.

I'm planning to share much more about where I'm going with the hobby (and actually include scans!) very soon. Hopefully I'll be able to ramp up trading too.

But for now (and I'm burying the lede here) I'm writing to see if anyone happens to have any Denny McLain (Tigers only) cards from his playing days. Anyone?

For one, I don't have any McLains. Secondly, he'll be attending a local card show in two weeks. While it's possible I'll be out of town when he's in town, I'd like to have a card handy just in case.



I'm looking for a sharp card or two. No creases or soft corners and so forth.

I'm not an auto-seeker normally other than the year I attended The National, when I picked up a few, but with him set to be five miles away, and the price low, I figured I might go for it if I can.

The literature states one auto per person - which means I probably cannot thank you by buying an auto for you too. I will, however, work to send you nice cards from your want lists and/or will work with you to understand what you're interested in.

The catch is I really need the McLain(s) right away.