1990 Upper Deck Joe Boever

Who is this? Joe Boever, a former relief pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates

What is this? An autographed card from the 1990 Upper Deck set

Where'd I get it? I wrote to Joe Boever after Christmas last year and asked him to sign it. I got it back today.

How much did it cost? I'm not sure where the card came from; the only real cost was the 84 cents for postage.

Why is this so special? The Atlanta Braves weren't very good when Joe Boever was their closer, so it was ok to root for "Boever the Saver." It was a good story... a journeyman reliever got a chance to be a closer and saved 21 games for an Atlanta team that only won 67 in 1989.

By 1990, the league started to catch up with Boever's palmball. The Braves traded him to Philadelphia for "Starvin' Marvin" Freeman. Boever pitched in the big leagues for another six seasons, but he was never a closer again after 1990.

After he retired, Boever went into coaching. He is now a real estate agent in Tennessee.

Boever has a nice autograph. I like how the letter "B" loops around part of his last name.

1990 Topps Troy Aikmen

Who is this? Hall of Fame quarterback, Troy Aikman

What is this? An autograph card from the 1990 Topps set, card number 482.

Where'd I get it? I got it signed through the mail in the early '90s.

How much did it cost? The price of a pack and two stamps.

Why is this so special? I got this card signed in either 1990 or '91 when the Cowboys were still building up to their dynasty status. I had no idea at the time that I got an autograph from a future Hall of Famer. Not only is this card signed by the legendary Cowboy, but it is also personalized to me. I think that this was the second card that was personalized to me through the mail.

Aikman was a six time Pro Bowler, was Super Bowl XXVII MVP, and he lead the 'Boys to three straight Super Bowl victories. In 2006, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. These days, he does commentating for games on Fox

1990 donruss bob tewksbury

Who is this? bob tewksbury

What is this? an autographed 1990 donruss card

Where'd I get it? perhaps the tewks fairy? i really don't remember. in person at twinsfest or through a trade, most likely.

How much did it cost? not much, i am sure.

Why is this so special? i really like this card. the red border complements the red in the cardinals uniform, and the signature is strong in blue.

bob tewksbury pitched for the twins in 1998, and i saw him go against the cardinals one stormy day in the metrodome. this was during mark mcgwire's home run chase, so the dome was packed. tewksbury had been quoted as saying he was not afraid to use the eephus pitch, and sure enough, he threw it to mcgwire. i think mcgwire grounded out.

he was also part of the 96 padres, who, led by ken caminiti, beat the dodgers for the nl west title. but i won't hold that against him.

1990 topps lance parrish

Who is this? lance parrish, catcher for the (then) california angels - better known as the catcher for the 1984 world champion detroit tigers

What is this? an "in person" autographed base card from 1990 topps aka (in my opinion) the ugliest topps set to date

Where'd I get it? in a trade i made with a co-worker about 12 years ago

How much did it cost? a lot. i traded a bunch of star wars stuff - the original stuff - figures, vehicles, etc. for a bunch of cards. i got a lot of cards, including a 1989 ud griffey jr and a 1971 topps nolan ryan, but i think i got the short end of the trade as time has passed

Why is this so special? is it special? lance did play in the dodgers organization late in his career, but never played in a game for the dodgers. he was a big part of the 1984 tigers, so he has that going for him.

here is my only lance parrish story. in 1989, i was living in orange county. i went to an angels/red sox game - jim abbot vs. roger clemens. i had clemens on my fantasy team, along with lance parrish. bottom of the first, parrish takes clemens deep - part of a 5 run first. clemens gets the hook after 2, and parrish goes hitless the rest of the way. turned out to be jim abbott's first career shutout.