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My First Autographed Baseball
Ray Washburn (Cardinals pitcher) has a reputation in the TTM community as being a very reliable signer, but sometimes I think he gets overlooked by collectors because he played with Bob Gibson, and lets face it...Gibson was an amazing pitcher. But in my opinion, it's what Ray Washburn has done since he's left the game of baseball that impresses me much more than his statistics.
When I first stepped into the world of "through-the-mail" autographs, my first success was a 1969 Topps baseball card signed by Ray Washburn. That one card meant a lot to me for a number of reasons. First of all, it was my first vintage baseball card. Second, it was a vintage card of my favorite team. Third, that card was responsible for teaching me a lot about the 1968 Cardinals season.
On Sept 18, 1968 Ray Washburn threw a no-hitter against the Giants only one day after Gaylord Perry no-hitted the Cardinals, resulting in the first ever back-to-back no-hitters in the same series. Of course, you can't read much about the 1968 Cardinals without learning about Bob Gibson and the amazing year he had in '68 (1.12 ERA, Gold Glove, All-Star, Cy Young, MVP, record 17Ks in game 1 of the WS) So I credit this one baseball card with teaching me a great deal about the history of my team. Needless to say, this card holds a lot of sentimental value to me.
So when I sent Ray Washburn a baseball to sign, I took the time to write him a letter that told him about how the '69 Topps card he signed for me was my first TTM success and told him I really appreciated his generosity and what he does for his fans. The result was more than I could have hoped for.
Mr. Washburn not only signed my baseball, he put his jersey #, the date of his no-hitter, and the H/R/E from that game all on the ball. So now my first autographed baseball card, and my first autographed baseball both came from the same player.
(Yes, I will be getting a display stand to show off the card and ball next to each other.)
Thank you, Mr. Washburn. You're the best in my book!
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When I first stepped into the world of "through-the-mail" autographs, my first success was a 1969 Topps baseball card signed by Ray Washburn. That one card meant a lot to me for a number of reasons. First of all, it was my first vintage baseball card. Second, it was a vintage card of my favorite team. Third, that card was responsible for teaching me a lot about the 1968 Cardinals season.
On Sept 18, 1968 Ray Washburn threw a no-hitter against the Giants only one day after Gaylord Perry no-hitted the Cardinals, resulting in the first ever back-to-back no-hitters in the same series. Of course, you can't read much about the 1968 Cardinals without learning about Bob Gibson and the amazing year he had in '68 (1.12 ERA, Gold Glove, All-Star, Cy Young, MVP, record 17Ks in game 1 of the WS) So I credit this one baseball card with teaching me a great deal about the history of my team. Needless to say, this card holds a lot of sentimental value to me.
So when I sent Ray Washburn a baseball to sign, I took the time to write him a letter that told him about how the '69 Topps card he signed for me was my first TTM success and told him I really appreciated his generosity and what he does for his fans. The result was more than I could have hoped for.
Mr. Washburn not only signed my baseball, he put his jersey #, the date of his no-hitter, and the H/R/E from that game all on the ball. So now my first autographed baseball card, and my first autographed baseball both came from the same player.
(Yes, I will be getting a display stand to show off the card and ball next to each other.)
Thank you, Mr. Washburn. You're the best in my book!
More...