i received congratulations from bob walk the plank

yes, matthew from bob walk the plank sent me some congrats recently.

those, of course, are the backs of three baseball cards - a 2014 topps mini bill buckner autograph,

a 2001 fleer greats of the game ron cey autograph,

and a 2007 upper deck ultimate collection chad billingsley autograph

that wasn't all.  here's another card back

that's the back of a 2014 topps archives bill russell gold parallel autograph card

the shortstop for the team of my youth! numbered 6/50 (that's garvey's jersey number and one-third of russell's jersey number - got to be a 1/1, right?!?).  this will pair well with the base and silver autos i already owned.

but wait - there was more!  i noted on a recent bob walk the plank post that i regretfully did not own a john candelaria autographed card featuring the candy man in dodger blue, having been rebuffed in previous through the mail attempts.  here's the back of the last card matthew sent

yes, that's a 2004 donruss recollection collection 1992 donruss card, signed by candelaria himself

matthew, did we just become best friends?

thanks for the congratulations and the autos!  i'm working on another package to be heading your way soon!

a mayoral memorial patch

bob o'connor was the 58th mayor of pittsburgh.  he began his term in january of 2006, and just a few months later was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer.  he passed away on september 1, 2006.  for the remainder of the season, the pirates wore a 'bob' patch on their jerseys.  you can see it on brian rogers' 2007 upper deck card

along with the all-star game patch.  sadly, o'connor was diagnosed just a day before his city hosted the midsummer classic.  o'connor had mentioned the all-star game in his inaugural address as a motivator to 'redd up' the city, but he was unable to attend the game due to his illness.

this 2007 upper deck ultimate collection ian snell card

will represent the bob o'connor memorial patch in the collection.

cards from saints of the cheap seats

i received some cards from dan at saints of the cheap seats a while ago, including some from his 2007 upper deck ultimate collection box break. i don't think any of these three cards are ones that were originally pulled for my slot, but through trades with the other parties, i came away with a jason schmidt card, an andy laroche auto,

and a torii hunter jersey.

but dan also included some dodgers, such as a 1994 upper deck sp todd hollandsworth

just think - this card may have, at one time, been in a pack with an alex rodriguez rookie!

a 1987 topps all star glossy fernando valenzuela

true story - i was once so mesmerized by the sight of mike scioscia being escorted in the concourse of dodger stadium before a game that i bumped into the other guy in the group: fernando.

1981 donruss steve garvey

the garv had two cards in the 1981 donruss and fleer sets. only one in topps, though. i was bummed.

2001 upper deck the decade 70's steve garvey

i think he had three cards in this set, plus a few different bat card combinations.

finally, a 2009 topps chrome russell martin wbc card

i hope this is the only time we see russell not wearing dodger blue.

thanks dan!