1988 Star Co. Sam Horn

Who is this? Former Boston Red Sox slugger Sam Horn
What is this? An autographed card from an 11-card set produced by Star. Co. in 1988.
Where'd I get it? Bought from a local card show dealer
How much did it cost? 50 cents (you can get your own full set for $32.95 on eBay if you want; I just have the signed checklist card.)


Why is this so special? Sam Horn was once a highly-regarded prospect. He hit 14 home runs in 158 at-bats for the 1987 Red Sox as a rookie. He never lived up to the expectations fueled by that early success, but he did play in the majors for parts of 8 seasons and went on to play in Taiwan.

Horn currently works for the New England Sports Network as a baseball analyst.

Horn's autograph is clear and easy to read, but the signatures on the Star Co. cards look very different from the other Sam Horn autographs I've seen on the internet.

1988 TCMA Albuquerque Dukes Terry Collins

Who is this? Mets manager Terry Collins
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 TCMA Dukes team set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Collins and asked him to sign it
How much did it cost? The unsigned card was a couple of bucks. Collins does not have many cards available at the moment.


Why is this so special? Terry Collins was the first person I wrote to for an autograph at spring training this year. The new Mets manager signed and returned my card in just over two weeks, and he's got a legible autograph.

Collins does not have any nationally-issued cards at this point - just minor league sets, team issues and other regional stuff like Mother's Cookies cards. Hopefully Topps will correct that soon, but it doesn't seem like this is a year that they want to make manager cards.

1988 Donruss Cory Snyder

Who is this? former Cleveland Indians outfielder Cory Snyder
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Snyder after Thanksgiving and asked him to sign it. I got it back in Friday's mail.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically.

Why is this so special? Cory Snyder played in over 1,000 major league games during a nine-season career. He had a powerful throwing arm - in 1987, he had 16 assists in right field and made 9 errors.

Snyder also struck out a lot. He led the National League in Ks in 1993, and would have led the American League in 1987 except for a couple of guys named Rob Deer and Pete Incaviglia. But that made Snyder fun to watch - you never knew quite what was going to happen, but there was a decent chance that it would be exciting.

Before he turned pro, Snyder played for the U.S. Olympic team in 1984.

Here's the other card Snyder signed for me - it's a little easier to make out his autograph on this 1993 Leaf card.

Signed 8x10 Wade Boggs photo

Who is this? Hall of Famer Wade Boggs
What is this? An autographed 8x10 photo from from a set of five 1988 American League Award Winners  Where'd I get it? Boggs signed it at an autograph show in Secaucus on Saturday
How much did it cost? $65


Why is this so special? What can you say about Wade Boggs that hasn't already been hundreds of times. He was one of the best hitters in baseball history, and one of the top three I ever saw play. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2005 with 91.9% of the vote.

Boggs was a 12-time All-Star, a 2-time Gold Glove winner and a 5-time American League batting champion. For three years - 1986 to 1988 - Boggs led baseball in Wins Above Replacement as calculated by Baseball Reference. For his career, ranks 27th among all position players with an 89.0 WAR score.

I found this photo among some odds and ends from my junior high school collecting days last month, so I decided to get it signed even though it put me a bit above my planned budget for the autograph show. Boggs has an ok signature, though it could be a little neater. He was adding the Hall of Fame inscription to everything he signed at the show.

1988 Fleer Jim Dwyer

Who is this? former Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jim Dwyer
What is this? An autographed card from the1988 Fleer set
Where'd I get it? I purchased it from a SportsGraphing.com forum member late last year.
How much did it cost? $1-$2


Why is this so special? Dwyer spent 18 seasons in the major leagues as a part time outfielder, defensive replacement and pinch hitter. In 1976, he played 11 games for the New York Mets, so I needed his autograph for my collection. (This card will probably be a permanent resident of my binder unless I manage to track down another copy of his 1991 Wiz Mets card and get it signed.)

However, Dwyer spent most of his career in Baltimore. He won a World Series ring with the 1983 Orioles. In the series, he went 3-for-8 with a home run.

Dwyer also played in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball League after his major league career was over. He is currently a hitting coach in the Minnesota Twins farm system.

Dwyer's autograph is a bit tiny, and seems to be missing some letters from his last name.

1988 Donruss Greg Gagne

Who is this? former Minnesota Twins shortstop Greg Gagne
What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Donruss set
Where'd I get it? Last year, I wrote to Gagne and asked him to sign it.
How much did it cost? Postage, basically


Why is this so special? Greg Gagne was the shortstop for two World Championship Minnesota Twins teams. He spent 15 seasons in the big leagues - 10 with the Twins, 3 with the Kansas City Royals and 2 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. During that time, he appeared in 1,798 games and had 1,440 hits.

Last year, he was inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

It's a bit difficult to read Gagne's signature, but his initials seem recognizable enough. It looks like he may have included a Bible verse inscription, but I can't quite make it out.

Here is a 1994 Pinnacle card picturing him with the Royals that he signed for me last year as well:

1977 Topps Alan Ashby

Who is this? Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Alan Ashby
What is this? An autographed card from from the 1977 Topps set
Where'd I get it? I wrote to Ashby earlier this month and asked him to sign it; I got it back Monday.
How much did it cost? Not much; postage, basically.

Why is this so special? I mainly remember Ashby as an aging catcher who lost his playing time to a young Craig Biggio, but he had a pretty good career.

• He caught three no-hitters, tying an NL record
• He was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame
• He was named the catcher on the Houston Astros All-Time Team
• He was an original Toronto Blue Jay

Ashby's autograph went downhill since he signed whatever document was used as the template for the facsimile signature on his 1977 Topps card. He didn't change too much between his 1977 card and his 1988 one.

1988 Pacific Legends Clem Labine

Who is this? Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Clem Labine

What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Pacific Legends set

Where'd I get it? At a baseball card show last month.

How much did it cost? $8

Why is this so special? Labine, a World War II veteran, spent 13 years in the major leagues as a relief pitcher for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets.

A two-time All-Star, Labine was part of two of the most famous teams in New York baseball history – the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers and the 1962 New York Mets.

The ‘55 Dodgers are famed for winning the team’s only World Series in Brooklyn, while the ‘62 Mets are known as the worst team in modern baseball history.

Labine also won World Series titles with the 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers and 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates.

Labine’s ornate signature is neat, but a little more difficult to read than many ballplayers of his generation.

Labine passed away in 2007 at the age of 80.

1988 Pacific Legends Bobby Shantz

Who is this? Former New York Yankees pitcher Bobby Shantz

What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 Pacific Legends set

Where'd I get it? I bought it at a baseball card show last month

How much did it cost? $3

Why is this so special? Bobby Shantz was born in Pottstown, Pa. – the same town where my father grew up.

Shantz spent 16 seasons in the major leagues, from 1949-1964. His lifetime record is 119-99, with a 3.38 ERA.

In 1952, he went 24-7 with a 2.48 ERA. In 33 starts, Shantz pitched a remarkable 27 complete games. He won the AL Sporting News Pitcher of the Year Award and the American League MVP. Amazingly, another pitcher – Allie Reynolds – was the runner-up. Mickey Mantle was the only position player to win a first place vote.

Shantz also won 8 Gold Gloves and was a three-time All-Star.

Shantz seems to enjoy signing autographs through the mail – he generally responds to requests sent to his Ambler, Pa. home in about a week. Unlike many modern ballplayers, you can even read his signature.

1984 Topps Nestle Bob Gibson

Who is this? Former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Bob Gibson
What is this? An autographed card from the Nestle's version of the 1984 Topps set.
Where'd I get it? Nearly two years ago, I wrote to Gibson and asked him to sign it. I got it back today.
How much did it cost? The card cost less than 50 cents.

Why is this so special? Robert Louis Gibson made it to the major leagues after beginning his career as an undrafted amateur free agent. In four seasons with the Brewers, he appeared in 97 games. He finished with a 12-18 record and a 4.24 ERA.

I needed a Gibson autograph for my collection because his 98th and final major league appearance came in 1987, when he was called upon to temporarily bolster a Mets pitching staff that had been ravaged by injuries and off-field issues. Gibson's New York Mets career lasted just one inning. He faced four batters, walking one and striking out two.

The card Gibson signed is somewhat unusual. In 1984, Topps produced a parallel set for Nestle to use for a sendaway promotion. The Nestle cards are identical to the regular Topps cards, except the Nestle logo replaces the Topps logo on the card front.

The Nestle cards were only distributed in 132-card uncut sheets, but many of the sheets were cut and sold as individual cards.

Gibson has a neat autograph, and he took care to sign the card so that he wouldn't write over his face. He also signed a 1988 CMC Rochester Red Wings card for me in more conventional fashion.

1988 St. Lucie Mets Kevin D. Brown

Who is this? Kevin D. Brown, a former pitcher for the New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers and Seattle Mariners

What is this? An autographed card from the 1988 St. Lucie Mets team set

Where'd I get it? Nearly two years ago, I wrote to Brown and asked him to sign it. I got it back yesterday.

How much did it cost? I don't remember, so let's say $1 for the card and postage.

Why is this so special? Kevin Brown spent parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues, retiring with a 3-5 record and a 4.82 ERA.

Brown made his big league debut in relief of Frank Viola on July 27th, 1990 at Shea Stadium. The Mets were cruising to a 10-1 victory, and Brown came on to start the ninth inning. After surrendering a leadoff walk to Ozzie Smith, Brown retired Craig Wilson, Tom Pagnozzi and Todd Zeile to end the game.

He pitched for the Mets one more time, on Aug. 1, 1990 in a 6-4 win over the Expos at Olympic Stadium. Brown came on in relief of a tiring Ron Darling with the score 4-1 in Montreal's favor.

Brown got Jerry Goff to ground out to start the seventh. The pitcher, Zane Smith, reached on a rare error by shortstop Kevin Elster. Delino DeShields flew out, but then things started to get a little too interesting. Dave Martinez singled, giving the Expos runners on first and second with Tim Raines coming to bat. Raines singled to left, but Smith overran third base and Kevin McReynolds threw him out to end the inning.

And that was the end of Kevin D. Brown's Mets career. In September, he would be traded to Milwaukee to complete the trade for catcher Charlie O'Brien. He started a few games for the Brewers that September and showed some promise, but he lost his spot in the rotation the next year.

In 1992, the Mariners claimed Brown off waivers just before Opening Day. He appeared in just two games for Seattle. Brown spent a few more seasons in the minors, but he retired after the 1995 season.

According to his Wikipedia profile, Brown is currently a pastor at Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church in Sacramento, California.

Brown has a nice, artistic signature... but I'm glad I don't have to try to decipher it.

1988 Topps Dick Williams

Who is this? Mariners manager Dick Williams.

What is this? An autographed 1988 Topps card, card number 104.

Where'd I get it? Andy at 88 Topps Blog.

How much did it cost? Won it in a contest.

Why is this so special? Dick is in the Hall of Fame as a manager, but he also had a pretty decent 13 year career in the majors. He's in the Hall of Fame for his managerial career though as he won two titles with the A's and took the Red Sox and the Padres to the World Series as well. I won this from Andy in a contest on 88 Topps Blog, and this card is by far the favorite of the ones I got for two reasons.

This card with Dick sporting a somewhat goofy looking expression from 1953 Topps was one of the first ones I owned from the '53 set and may have been my first Brooklyn Dodger card ever.

Also the man has a helluva mustache.

1988 Score Mookie Wilson

Who is this? Mets outfielder Mookie Wilson.

What is this? An autographed 1988 Score card, number 474.

Where'd I get it? In a large autographed lot off of Yahoo.

How much did it cost? About a buck.

Why is this so special? MOOKIE!!!

1988 Topps Sparky Anderson

Who is this? Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.

What is this? An autographed 1988 Topps card, number 14.

Where'd I get it? In a repack tin from Target.

How much did it cost? Twenty bucks for the tin.

Why is this so special? A few years back Target had these tins filled with baseball cards they were selling alongside the blasters. They advertised one graded card, one autograph card and something like 200 cards for twenty bucks. I decided to try one out and bought it. The 200 cards were utter rubbish, mostly late 80's, early nineties junk if I recall correctly. The graded card was a Cal Ripken Ultra Gold Medallion card graded 10. Not too shabby. This card was the autographed card. When I pulled it I was a little confused, I expected a minor league autograph from Best or Just Minors since they were selling a lot of those at the time. This was really sweet, an auto of a Hall of Fame manager. This is one of his greatest cards too, featuring Sparky in full blown Jedi Mind Trick Mode. I can hear the conversation on the mound now:

Gassed Pitcher: Dammit coach! Don't pull me! I can get this guy out!
Sparky: (waves hand) You haven't got anything left...
Gassed Pitcher: i havent got anything left....
Sparky: (waves hand) It's time to go to the showers...
Gassed Pitcher: its time to go to the showers... (hands Sparky the ball)

Sparky went all out on this autograph too, he used every bit of that card. The card has a little COA sticker on the back, which looks odd on a 1988 Topps card. Still a great card, and completely unexpected from a repack box.