Searching for Huey

4/09 Mall Show Finds

2009-04-19T10:47:00.003-04:00

This is my haul from the most recent mall show this weekend. It was a decent enough haul as you can see.

I was able to obtain The Naslund, Collier, Darr, both Reeses, and the Stenson for 1.00 each. The Gary Anderson signed Rookie set me back 2.00, and the Hirsch 3.00.

Darr was killed in a car accident a few years ago. Stenson was killed in a bizarre car jacking. Collier died as a result of an enlarged heart.

Markus Naslund was garbage in Pittsburgh, but was able to find his scoring touch in the Great Northwest.

I would have bought the Reese cards anyway, but I thought that it was cool that one is signed "Calvin", and the other is signed with his nickname "Pokey". I'd like to say that I noticed that as soon as I picked up the cards, but that would be a lie. I did not notice until I was checking out the total haul. There were a few other cards that did not make the scanning "cut". For instance, there was a Preston Wilson certified autograph, a Jose Guillen certified autograph, a Kaz Matsui jersey card, a Phil Housley autograph, and also a Ben Grieve signed card. All for 1.00 each.

The highlight of the show would be the Gary Anderson signed Rookie Card for 2.00. I would have paid 1.00 for it unsigned, and would have probably paid 10.00 for it. A future Hall of famer's RC for 2.00? I'm all over it.

I was also able to obtain a few Manny Sanguillen cards. I did get those signed at the 4/18/09 Pirate game (vs. the Braves). It's always a nice bonus to get a non TTM signer on the arm. The Pirates also gave out a Ryan Doumit bobble head to everyone in attendance. It features the new alternate uniform that the Buccos are wearing this year. I'll post photos of that after I (hopefully) get it signed.

Successes for the week

2009-04-19T10:34:00.001-04:00

Gary Dunn 4/4
Dan Reeves 4/4
Tom Ricketts 3/3
John Tudor 3/3

That is 14 cards for the week.

April Successes through 4/12

2009-04-12T11:21:00.002-04:00

Tunch Ilkin 4/4
Billy Sims 3/2
Kei Igawa 2/3
Gary Varsho 3/3
And the frontrunner for success of the year

Jim Thome 1/1

It's not everyday that a 500 HR hitter who is currently playing signs his mail, but when he does, it's a nice suprise.

Success catch up

2009-04-08T13:48:00.003-04:00

Tommy Nobis 3/3
Ian Snell 2/3
Will Shields 2/2
J.J. Furmaniak 4/5
Franklin Morales 3/3
Tom Matte 3/3
Earl Campbell 2/2

That adds 19 more cards to my total!

That gets me up to 71 for the month.

I have a grand total of 133 for the year.

To reach my goal, I only need 767 cards to go!

Successes for March '09

2009-03-22T09:03:00.003-04:00

I got off to a really hot start in March, only to have it slow down in the last two weeks. Here are pics of the "highlights".

Brandon Phillips 1/3-Don't send him 3 of the same card, or this is what happens.
Chris Young 1/2-See above
Marvin Miller 1/2-again, see above.
Steve Grogan 3/3
Brad Eldred 3/3
Yovani Gallardo 2/2-Very pumped about this success.
Bobby Bonilla 3/3
Howie Hendrick 1/1
Blair Thomas 2/3
Ricky Jordan 3/3
Bill Almon 4/4
Mike Rabelo 3/3
Hideki Okajima 2/3
Joe Jacoby 3/3
Joe Mullen 3/3
Larry Bowa 2/2
Matt Capps 3/3
Tom "Triple A" Gorzelanny 3/3
EJ Holub 3/3
Brent Lillibridge 3/3
Neil Walker 2/3

February Successes

2009-02-28T15:23:00.003-05:00

The month of February did not bring out a whole lot of successes. The reason being is that the majority of my requests went to Spring Training signers. Nonetheless, here is what I got this month.

Joe Theismann 3/3
Bobby Doerr 3/3
Rick Reuschel 4/4
Xavier Nady 1/1-From 2008 Spring Training
Phil Bourque 5/5
Bert Jones 3/3
Mervyn Fernandez3/3
Russ Grimm 4/4
Troy Loney 4/4

That gives me 30 for the month. That gives me 62 for the year.

The success of the month for January would have to be Todd Christensen and for February it would have to be Xavier Nady.

I have about 40 requests pending just from 2009. Hopefully March will be a 50 card month.

Scratch one tough Steeler off the list!

2009-01-22T19:14:00.007-05:00

As many hardcore Steeler collectors know, Carlton Haselrig is one of the tougher Steeler autographs. While not as difficult as Huey Richardson, Haselrig is far from easy. It is especially frustrating with him because he lives about 45 minutes away, and is frequently seen in the community. While not a recluse, it's tough to go to an unfamiliar town and try to locate a player without invading his privacy. He has a long history of legal problems related to substance abuse, and recently was incarcerated at SCI Laurel Highlands (State Correctional Institute). There was no way that I was going to try to find him, and did not want to bother a friend for an "introduction" to him. There had to be another way..... On Friday, I was tipped off by signingshotline.com, that Haselrig would be appearing at McFadden's Bar in Pittsburgh.

I was debating if I was going to go or not. At the last minute, I decided to go.

After the night was over, I was certainly glad that I went.

When I arrived, I saw Carlton sitting at a table next to a Steeler fan group's table. I then found out that they were charging 10 per item. I was a little upset about this, but forked over the cash anyway. I got some 1992 Steeler Police cards signed, and two Steeler mini helmets as well. Carlton was more than cool, and very engaging. It's nice to see that he has put some of his issues behind him. He is currently involved in MMA. Check out the pics of Carlton signing.

Best of the year so far..

2009-01-21T18:23:00.000-05:00

Today brought Tim Lewis who, in a disturbing trend, personalized 3/3 cards.

Also, arguably the success of the year so far, Aeneas Williams signed 2/2 cards.

More Successes

2009-01-15T16:22:00.003-05:00

Monday brought Tony Mandarich 4/4 all personalized, Fay Vincent 1/2 personalized, Charlie Joiner 4/4, and David Klingler 4/4

Tuesday brought Gerry "Moon" Mullins 3/3

Wednesday brought Steve Tasker 3/3

Thursday brought Todd Christiansen 3/3

That adds 22 more cards to my total. Only 872 more cards to go!

Oldboy

2009-01-10T20:19:00.005-05:00

I saw this movie last night on Comcast on demand. It's called Oldboy. This is a Korean film from a few years ago. It features Korean with English subtitles. I know that some hate subtitles, but this movie is worth it. It features one of the most F'd up endings that I have ever seen. It makes the twists in Fight Club, The Usual Suspects, and the Sixth Sense look like a Disney Movie. This movie generated some controversy in the aftermath of the VT massacre, but there was no link between the movie and the killings. Check out the preview.

First successes of 2009

2009-01-10T19:39:00.006-05:00

Received 2/3 from Tom Gorzelanny from Pirates Spring Training in '08, and Todd Blackledge 4/4 in about a week from home.

If my calculations are correct, I only have 894 more cards to go.

Trying to get off to a decent start

2009-01-10T18:34:00.006-05:00

I decided to try this to monitor my collection, and to opine about various things such as sports, music, movies, politics, current events, sports memorabilia, books, and other random stuff.

I'm a little too big into collecting sports memorabilia, and my collection has gotten way out of control. To be quite honest, sometimes it gets overwhelming. This year I decided to set a goal of filling a 100 page book with 9 pocket sleeves. That was not hard, it only took like a miniute or two. The difficult thing will be the second part, and that is filling the entire book with signed cards. I plan to fill this book only using cards obtained through the mail (TTM). So that will be one of the reasons that I use this blog, as for any other reasons, we will just see what the day(s) bring.

If you are interested in why I chose "searching for Huey" as a title, please allow me to explain.

I have been trying for years to obtain a signed item of Huey Richardson, the Steelers 1st round pick in the 1991 draft. In his career, he did not record any meaningful statistics. Apparently, he has gone on to be a successful guy in NYC. I have never seen a Huey signed item, but they have to exist. I have spent many hours scanning flea markets, card stores, and ebay with no luck. Here is a link to Huey's wiki entry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_Richardson