the topps dodger autograph project - the brooklyn years

when i started doing ttm in 2009, i didn't really have a plan other than getting some players from the early days of my collecting to sign some cards.  shortly thereafter, i decided to try for all of the 1978 topps dodgers, and then former dodgers in general, along with other players featured in the 1978 topps set.  i finally included current dodgers with varying degrees of success.  about a year or so ago, i found a post at the lost collector about his topps yankee project in which he was trying to obtain, via ttm, a yankee autographed card from each year that topps had produced cards.

i took stock and realized that i was only a couple years short of doing this with the dodgers, so i decided to finish it off.  unfortunately, one of the years i was missing was 1951.  both gene hermanski and duke snider, good signers through the mail, had passed away, so i wound up purchasing a preacher roe signed 1951 topps red back online.  

it's jsa certified, if that truly means anything.  i could have picked up a ralph branca card and looked for a private signing to send it to, but decided to go this route.  so, already i am off the track that the lost collector followed.

my 1952 topps entry, however, cost me just two stamps beyond the cost of the card itself.  rocky bridges was kind enough to sign his 1952 topps card for me

this was one of the requests i sent out after deciding to complete the topps run of signed dodger cards.  before that, i didn't really think too much about getting a 1952 card signed - not sure why.  wayne terwilliger still signs occasionally so there were some opportunities.  anyway, the bridges cards sits alone in the binder as the sole 1952 ttm representative.

i have a couple of 1953 topps cards signed.  one is from dick williams (which required his signing fee of $25), and the other is this bobby morgan card

which was obtained through the mail free of charge.

1954 was the other year that i had to purchase a card online.  i found a billy herman card and picked it up.

herman is a hall of famer who obviously coached the dodgers in the 1950's.  tom lasorda was the only 1954 option through the mail, but the cost of buying (another) 1954 lasorda rookie card was not appealing to me.  especially knowing that it would cost me more to have it signed at a private signing.

for 1955, i chose don zimmer

i've had a couple of successes with zimmer, and this is the only signed 1955 topps card i have in my collection.  same goes for 1956, where the randy jackson card is all by itself

jackson had also signed a 1957 card for me, but i will feature each player only once, just as the lost collector did.  that means that 1957, the dodgers' last year in brooklyn, will be represented by carl erskine.

erskine is one of the best signers out there, so he's a great friend to the hobby.  i've sent a few cards his way, and they always come back looking nice.  the aforementioned jackson and this oisk card are the only two signed cards from the underappreciated 1957 topps set that i have in my collection.

as always, i am appreciative of the players who sign through the mail, and i am glad that there are so many former dodgers who do so.  i'll post some of the early los angeles dodgers to have signed for free through the mail in the next post.