HHOF AUTOS - Three In, Only One Off The List

I went with a plan.  I went to last week's trade night with serious intention.  The goal....to trade for at least one new HHOF auto.

It had been a good couple months since I added a fresh face to the project.  Lately, the word "upgrade" has been used.  And while I managed to do that again the other day, I was finally able to cross off another name from the wantlist.

It started with a quick sift through a trade box (fancy that).  But it was exciting because these trade boxes haven't made an appearance in quite some time.  I know that my trade box (along with a few others) can feel pretty stale month after month.

There was one card that caught my eye and I made a point of putting it aside.  I thought I'd have a good shot at trading for it since the auto is really not that desirable in the collecting world.

Along with the HOF sig, I added a couple inserts (you've just recently read about them in my blog posts).  A quick and easy trade was made and a new upgrade was added to the collection.

Bill Barber

(Inducted in 1990)

I like this card.  It's from a set that hasn't made an appearance in my project yet and for pretty much that reason alone I added it.

Taken from 2013/14 SP Authentic this sports a very nice, bold signature.  The photo has a hit-and-miss quality to it.  70's pics are awesome to begin with, but focus issues are always an......issue.

Overall, for what I gave up to get it, it was more than worth it.

This was a bit of a bonus auto for the night.  As I mentioned off the top, I had definite plans of landing a HOF auto.  Why was I so sure?  Because I knew a trader who had one.  I just didn't have any trade bait he was interested in.

He's a Wings fan....so I went to work.

The local monthly card show helped me add about a half dozen Detroit cards and I felt confident about my chances of finalizing a trade.

Denis Savard

(Inducted in 2000)

Yes....another upgrade.  But the Savard currently sitting in the slot was from the Panini Classics product.  And while that is a fantastic set and a great resource for landing HOF autos, I don't want to oversaturate my project with cards from one release.

This card comes from an earlier offering, 2008/09 SP Authentic.  The Sign of the Times autograph  set is a great insert staple that SP Authentic has developed and I really like this particular design.

Lots of great color, the photo takes up a good portion of the card (unlike other years where the horizontal design allows for more auto space) and a dedicated spot for the signature.

Savard's auto is not the nicest in the world and this offering is a little "meh" but I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Brian Leetch

(Inducted in 2009)

Finally!!  We have a winner.

I knew this card was sitting in the trade box for a couple months now and it's about time that I managed to make a trade happen.

This card has everything that I want in an auto for this project.  Unique design (yes, I have a Milt Schmidt from the same product...sue me), good photo (yes, it's of the Rangers and reminds me of 1994...but I can't really avoid that) and quite possibly the nicest signature of a player not from the 60's or 70's.

It's cards like this one (as opposed to the tougher, more expensive vintage offerings) that will get me to my goal of 100 HHOF autos.

Accessible, affordable and tradable.

Just gotta put my mind to it.

Current Collection - 62 HOF Autos