Do you believe in Magic?

Part of my ill advised 1989-90 Hoops autograph project consists of checking eBay on fairly regular basis for new listings featuring players from the set who have either passed away, or those who are still living but who's autograph can't be obtained through the mail.

Other than a bunch of what I feel are overpriced cards, these searches don't usually yield too much. However, sometimes that old saying about persistence paying off, does seem to hold water -- as was the case earlier this year, when I came across these:

This pair of Magic Johnson autos came from a dealer who had attended a well documented private signing with Magic in early 2016. Just in case I ever had to sell them, it was really nice to be able to buy something like this/these, and have so much documentation come with it/them.

The seller had these listed separately (along with a bunch of other signed 80's/90's base cards) for I don't remember how much apiece, but after making an offer on both of them, and using the eBay bucks I had -- the final out of pocket cost ended up being $15 for each, which I thought was pretty reasonable considering Magic has never been one to sign TTM, and I can't imagine a scenario where I would have some of encounter with him in which I would be able to try and get both of these cards signed.


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Worth the risk

A few of my longtime readers might already know (or remember after I mention it again) that I have been trying to get as many cards signed from the 1989-90 Hoops set as I can, and for any newer readers, well... I'm trying to get as many cards signed from the 1989-90 Hoops set as I can :)

I have been at it for almost two years now, and am up to around fifty or so. In retrospect this probably wasn't the best project to undertake. Maybe if it had been started in the early 90's it wouldn't be so bad, but waiting until the mid-2010's made things considerably more difficult.

Even though there are still a lot of player's from the set you that can get via TTM requests, there are quite a few you can't (mostly the hall of famers), not to mention the guys that have passed away in the 25+ years since the set was released. So for the living who don't sign anymore, and the deceased, who can't sign anymore, the only real choice one has, is to try and obtain their signatures through purchase... which does come with some risk.

Obviously there are a lot of fake's out there, but despite what all the various authentication company's say, there are plenty of genuine unauthenticated signatures out there as well. I don't want to use this particular post to delve in to that any further, otherwise this is going to devolve into one long rant.

I haven't purchased too many cards yet, I think counting today's card, I have bought five so far.

Scottie Pippen doesn't sign through the mail, and even if you catch him at some sort of Bulls Alumni event, where other player's are usually happy to provide an autograph, he (according to what I've read) is really hit or miss when it comes to signing things. Knowing that, I kind of figured all along that I was gonna have to buy his card for the set.

This card came up on eBay a couple of weeks ago, and after comparing it to other signed cards of his, including JSA certified copies of the same card, I felt pretty confident that it was genuine and decided to bid. Even with some other interested parties bidding, I ended up getting it for just a little over $10, which considering who it is, seemed like a pretty darn good price. I'm on the fence as to whether or not I will ever try to get it authenticated, but in the meantime, I'm convinced that it's real, and in the end that's all that really matters.


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TTM Triumph #19: A Hoops Sampler

I had originally planned on this post being the first of four covering recent trades, but I have been a bit of a funk lately, and because of that, I have been having much difficulty in putting those together. So instead, you're going to get a post that was much easier to write.

When I started sending out TTM requests a couple of months ago, I decided that for as a side project I was going to try and get as many cards from the 1989-90 Hoops set signed as I could. I decided on that set for many reasons. The number one being that I thought would be actually feasible to either get every card signed either through my own efforts or via purchase. Even with the couple of players who passed away very young (i.e. Reggie Lewis), there are still plenty of authenticated cards out there for purchase. I was thinking of trying an older set, but there a few players in pre 1980 sets that are almost impossible to find an on card signature of.

I have shown a couple of signed cards from this set before, but I decided to group together a few of the most recent one's for this post. I had some trouble finding the rest in my cluttered photo files, so there will only be six featured here. And in case anyone is curious, I am currently up to 27 signed cards out of the 353 card set.

So as mentioned, here are a few of the most recent returns:

 Randy Wittman: Was part of the Hoosiers team that won a national title in 1980. Current head coach of the Wizards.

Jimmy Rodgers: Has six championship rings as an assistant coach.

Kenny Walker: Probably best known for winning the 1989 Slam Dunk contest. Also, it's really neat that his signature includes his nickname "Sky" (between Kenny and Walker).

Jack Sikma: Future Hall of Famer. With all this nonsense about Yao Ming being elected (bull jive) to the HOF, it's absurd to think that Mr. Sikma hasn't been voted in yet. On a different note, did you notice this autograph. I think most people would consider this less than ideal because of the smudge, but I think it's absolutely wonderful due to the partial thumb (logical assumption) print. A lot of people can say they have a Jack Sikma autograph, but how many can say they have a Jack Sikma partial fingerprint!

Walter Davis: 1978 Rookie of the Year. 6 time All-Star. In his prime he could put up points with the best of them.

Spud Webb: Always a fan favorite and again, probably best known for winning the 1986 Slam Dunk contest. He ended up having a solid 13 year career, despite many "experts" saying he couldn't ever make it in the NBA. From what I have gathered he doesn't sign through the mail very much anymore, so I would like to think he did so for me because of my awesome letter.

Jim Peterson: A very underrated player. Known primarily for his defensive skills, but could also provide offense when necessary. He was also a very solid backup for Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson on those great mid 80's Houston teams.


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