they came through the mail

i've had some more through the mail autograph successes over the last month or so, including one former dodger - jose hernandez.  hernandez signed both his 2004 topps

(which may very well be the only baseball card to ever feature a strip mall in the background) and his 2005 topps card

for me from his current coaching assignment with the orioles triple-a affiliate in norfolk.  

the other successes i've had aren't dodgers, but they are players from the 1978 topps set which is very nice.  i think i am closing in on 300 cards signed from the set.

tim blackwell

legend has it that tim blackwell's mustache and phil garner's mustache were not allowed on the field at the same time when the pirates visited montreal - too much bristle-brush for one field to handle!  blackwell actually took his mustache to chicago for the 1978 season as he played for the cubs that year.

jim willoughby

willoughby changed the color of his socks in 1978, also going to chicago but playing for the southsiders.

jamie easterly

i recall that easterly shared space with rick rhoden on a 1975 topps 4-player rookie card, but i can also easily picture his solo 1976 topps card.  here, we can see that his mustache has filled in quite a bit since that 1976 topps card was issued.

don hood

don sent me his best wishes, which is great.  his actual signature is a very small part of the writing there.    he's got a burt reynolds thing going on there, which i suspect was very popular with the ladies in the late 1970's.

three players signed notes for me as well as their cards.  former twin jerry terrell

quoted two different bible passages - one on the card, and one on a note

terrell may very well be standing in holman stadium at vero beach in the photo used for his 1978 topps card.  the twins (terrell is airbrushed into his royals uniform) trained in orlando back then, so would have made the 100-mile trek to vero beach every spring, i am sure.

dyar miller

signed his card and wrote a note thanking me for being a baseball fan, and also sent his best wishes

i remember miller from his time with the angels, although he had his contract purchased by the blue jays during the 1979 season, so didn't get to pitch in the playoffs with the halos that year.  miller got his only major league hit (he spent a season or two with the mets in the early 1980's) off of dodger burt hooton.

last, but not least, here's roy thomas, who signed his 4-player rookie card

thomas was a first round pick of the phillies in 1971, but was traded a couple of times (and picked in the 1977 expansion draft) before debuting for the astros in 1977.  he made it back to the majors in 1978, but with the cardinals - not houston.  thomas wrote a short note in response to my comment that i grew up near lompoc, which is where he attended high school.

he sends his regards.

thanks to all for signing my cards!