Sunday, May 25, 2014

HHOF AUTOS - Hitting The Halfway Mark

A tremendous success at The Card Show on Saturday with regards to my hard signed Hall Of Fame autographs project.  I love the element of trading with this quest and I really feel like the people on the other end enjoy it too.

Normally, people (especially dealers) are hesitant to trade, but when I explain what my mission is and the parameters I have given it, they seem to open up a lot more.  Sure there are a few who are dead set against trades (and so be it...that's fair) but most are willing to work with me to land some new goodies.

And I managed to hit a few new sigs.  Nothing mindblowing but no doubt about it - some solid pickups.

Dickie Moore
(Inducted in 1974)

Yeah...let's start with a big one.  This Moore card is beautiful.  The design, the photo, the colors, the vintage feel and of course the autograph.  Beautiful penmanship nicely long the sweet spot of the card.

Look at those beefy gloves.  Amazing to think that players these days have something about a third of the size.  The leather laces just drooping down, the wood stick, the simple tape knob on top, slick back hairstyle.  It's all gold!!

Gerry Cheevers
(Inducted in 1985)

Another name I've had my eye on for a while.  This card is a great addition to the collection.  I really like the design.  And the photo used is fantastic - just look at the possessed stare coming from behind the stitches mask.  Leather again plays a huge part of the photo.  Love the pads.

Gerry's signature is also very solid.  With purpose, it does lean a bit on the illegible side.  It could very easliy be mistaken for "Gary Christmas".

Jacques Lemaire
(Inducted in 1984)

Yes, he does have a helmet on, but the Franchises set is such a beautiful product.  I couldn't say no to the trade.

Jacques has a very nice linear autograph which needed to be on an angle to fit.  That's no problem with me.  I like the "autographs" design on the card and if I were to build an autograph set...this one would get a serious look.

Michel Goulet
(Inducted in 1998)

Michel along with the Stastny brothers were the epitome of underdog in the early 1980's.  I loved watching them - even when they lost a lot - battle their fierce rivals in the Montreal Canadiens.  Goulet was an incredible player who was severely overshadowed by the superstar players and teams of the day.  Gretzky, Kurri, Bossy, Trottier, Lafleur, Dionne.  It's hard to compete with names like that.  But Goulet held his own.

I love the fact that I was able to find (and trade for) a card with him in his Nordiques garb.  Seeing him play with Chicago later on in his career just didn't feel right.  I remember him best as a Nord.

The auto is meh.  But what can you do.  It's hard signed.  Works for me.

Norm Ullman
(Inducted in 1982)

I always thought of Norm Ullman as a soft spoken, not so intimidating guy.  He looks to be unassuming and passive.  But you don't become a Hall Of Famer by being a guy others can step all over.

Norm was incredibly reliable, rarely missing a game, and was one of the paramount forecheckers in hockey history.  An excellent stickhandler, his career stats put him among the best ever centers in the game - period.

490 goals, 739 assists, 1229 points.  16 seasons of 20 or more goals - SIXTEEN!

He was so well respected as a player that he earned a spot on The Hockey News' list of Top 100 Players of All Time (ranked #90).

This card comes from the Panini Classics product (like the Goulet) but this offering is one of the highly desired inserts.  The Originals celebrates the Original Six teams (of which Ullman was a member of both Detroit and Toronto).  I love the retro feel and colors and the signature (although not his best effort) is a great example of hard signed goodness.

Yvan Cournoyer
(Inducted in 1982)

The Roadrunner is particularly sweet addition to the collection.  The big bold signature on this Panini Playbook card does my Linden shame with his sticker offering.  Why Yvan's auto is hard signed is beyond me...but I ain't complainin'.

Cournoyer has (according to Captain Canuck) 37 Stanley Cups.  He's done it all.  And what a group of guys to do it with.  If you were a Montreal fan during the time Yvan played with the team....you were loving life.

A career cut short due to back problems, I can only imagine the numbers he would have put up if he had a long, healthy career.  Easily would have been a 1000 point player and would have won what 8, 12, 23 more rings?

There's no denying what he brought to the table and to have his signature in the collection just makes for a fine finish.

Six great cards added to the collection.  What more can I say?  Other than, I hope Sunday is just as productive.

Current Collection - 52 HOF Autos

(Yes, that's right.....I'm now past the halfway mark.  What a blast it has been building the first half of this collection.  I can only hope that the remaining cards come as easily and as fun....ly as the first bunch)

2 comments:

  1. Wow! Great bunch of cards. Hard to pick a favorite.

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  2. awesome looking cards. I can't wait to see them all in a binder.
    Knowing you they're in top loaders in a darn box somewhere.... but I'll hold out hope.

    ReplyDelete