two very happy returns

do you remember my modest 1978 topps dodger autograph project?  the one i finally completed when i found an ed goodson autographed card online?  well, i was admiring the cards in my binder shortly after that final acquisition and noticed that the garvey in the collection was ballpoint rather than sharpie. i do have a sharpie signed copy that i picked up from kit young about 20 years ago, but i was hoping for one signed ttm.  so, i packaged up 4 cards, a donation to the garv's charity (youth baseball of palm desert) and waited for the bubble mailer to return.

the check was cashed, but the cards did not arrive and i assumed the package had been lost in the mail.  so, a couple months later, i sent a single copy of the 1978 topps card and not too long after that, received a familiar looking pwe.  it contained my card, although it was once again signed in ballpoint.

that's ok, because how often do you get a signed card in the mail from your favorite player of all-time?  well, more often than you might think, as the very next day, my bubble mailer showed up containing these beauties

a 1978 topps card

1999 upper deck retro

(sweet dodger stadium shot)

2001 fleer greats of the game

these cards look fantastic signed, and i am happy that he added his number.  i think i might now have base cards signed by all of the surviving dodgers in this set - garvey, cey, wills, craig, erskine, and parker, plus a duke snider card, too!  oh, crap.  i forgot about tommy lasorda and don sutton.

here's the last of the garveys - a 2012 topps golden moments insert

for the sake of comparison, here is the short printed certified autographed edition of that card that topps put out.

it took me a while to track a copy down, but i did.  still, i prefer the on-card ttm version.

i am left feeling happy and a little relieved.  i never take ttm for granted, but i was really looking forward to this return.

thanks steve!