no more freebies

duke snider was one of the first through the mail attempts i made when i started in earnest about a year ago.  he signed two cards for me very quickly and he did it for free!  that was surprising to me as he is a hall of famer, a brooklyn dodger, and an icon of the 1950's, so there has to be a great demand for his autograph.  of course, he was in some trouble a while back for not claiming earnings from card shows on his tax returns, so maybe he was gun shy about taking money through the mail.

anyway, i followed up my success with the silver fox with another request last summer.  he once again obliged, first on my 2003 fleer flair greats ballpark heroes card

and then on this 2003 donruss team heroes card

both cards use the same pose.

i was recently toying with the idea of sending a third request to the duke (2010 topps ebbets field card and a vintage card) when i noticed a spate of 'rts' at sports card forum.  mixed in were a couple of successes (with donations) although sending a fee didn't necessarily guarantee success.  i'm not sure if i will make another attempt (if i do, i will gladly pay) but i am happy to have been lucky enough to have the two successes regardless.

thanks duke!