TTM Thursday: Chris Paul Return

Posted: Thursday, September 15, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Received two cards back yesterday signed from Chris Paul in a little over a month.  This is one of my favorite successes to date.  What was neat about this return was that about a week ago, Chris Paul tweeted that he was working on returning his fan mail/autograph requests, even posting a picture.  Pretty cool stuff!  Thank you CP3!

TTM Thursday: Clark Kellogg Return

Posted: Thursday, September 1, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Received a Upper Deck Generations card signed by former Indiana Pacer and basketball commentator, Clark Kellogg.  This was from a handful of requests I sent out back on 7/27.  Probably my all-time favorite success to date. Not only did Mr. Kellogg return a card signed, but he also included a nice response to my letter.  He points out that the Pacers are moving in the right direction, and I can’t argue!  They now have a core group of young players that is only going to get better with more experience together.  Thank you, Mr. Kellogg, particularly for taking the time to write back!

Click on the image below to get a better look at the note:

Outgoing TTM Requests, August 20th

Posted: Friday, August 19, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Requests that I am sending out tomorrow, August 20th:

Jerry West, 14-time NBA All-Star, 1968-69 NBA Finals MVP (only to ever win award on losing squad), 1972 NBA Champion, 15th on NBA All-Time Points list
Gail Goodrich, 5-time NBA All-Star, 1973-74 All-NBA 1st team, 1972 NBA Champion

Although I’ve yet to get a signed return on a Topps Murad card, I expect they will look pretty sharp signed.

TTM Tuesday: Favorite Returns, John Wooden

Posted: Tuesday, August 16, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment


Today I will share probably my all-time favorite TTM autograph success, a return from arguably the greatest coach in basketball history, John Wooden.  Wooden coached UCLA to 10 national championships, including a string of 7 consecutive from 1967-1973 .  He also won a championship with Purdue as a player in 1932.  He was inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1960 and as a coach in 1973.

Coach Wooden signed two 2001 Greats of the Game cards in under two weeks back in 2008.  He also included his own leadership card, all three cards personalized.  Thank you Coach Wooden for your contributions to the game and to life.  We miss you!

TTM Tuesday: Favorite Returns, Derrick McKey

Posted: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

For this TTM Tuesday I will highlight another of my favorite returns, one that went straight to my personal collection, an autograph received from one of my favorite Indiana Pacers, Derrick McKey.  McKey was a member of the 1987-88 All-Rookie team and was named to the NBA All-Defensive 2nd team twice.  He spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Supersonics and the Indiana Pacers and played a key role in several deep playoff runs for both teams.  Received this Fleer Tradition card signed in about 2 weeks back in 2008.

TTM Tuesday: Outgoing Requests August 9th

Posted: Tuesday, August 9, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Requests that I am sending out today, August 9th:

Chris Paul, 4 time NBA All-Star, Rookie of the Year 2006, All-NBA First Team 2008
Lamar Odom, 2 time NBA Champion in 2009 and 2010 with Lakers

To Chris Paul I sent a 09-10 Upper Deck Masterpieces insert.  Hoping this along with the Topps Murad Odom will come out great signed!

TTM Thursday: Kenny Anderson Return

Posted: Thursday, August 4, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , | 1 Comment

Received my first autograph success from the small batch of requests I sent out last week.  The first return was Kenny Anderson, received back in 8 days.

Nice autograph signed with a black sharpie.  Great addition to my Indiana Pacers autograph collection!  Hoping his transition to coaching, as you can read about here, works out well!  Thank you Kenny!

TTM Tuesday: Favorite Returns, Eric Gordon

Posted: Tuesday, August 2, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

This week I will highlight a favorite return of mine from shooting guard Eric Gordon, received back in early 2008 in about two weeks through Indiana University.

It’s always fun to speculate on which college players will become stars in the pros, and college players are often better signers through the mail than current NBA players.  This was a custom index card I sent out and was pleased with the result.

Gordon should be considered one of the top 10 players at his position, surging on an up-and-coming Clippers squad that could make some noise in the coming years with a solid young core of Griffin, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan (Restricted FA), and others.

Through The Mail Tuesday: Outgoing Requests

Posted: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Requests that I am sending out tomorrow, July 27th:

Kenny Anderson, 1994 All-Star with Nets, retired in 2005
Peja Stojakovic, 3-time NBA All-Star with Kings, NBA champion with the 2011 Mavericks
Clark Kellogg, former Indiana Pacer, CBS college basketball analyst
Tim Hardaway, 5-time NBA All-Star with Warriors, Heat

These all happen to hit my project of getting an autograph from everyone who has played a regular season game for the Indiana Pacers.  I’m currently sitting at autographs from 67 different current or former Pacer players.  Hopefully I will get these back to add to that number!

Through The Mail Tuesday: Favorite Returns

Posted: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Through The Mail | Tags: , , , , | 2 Comments

The next few Tuesdays I will be highlighting some of my favorite TTM Autograph returns.

Thought I would start with a past regular season MVP and the reigning NBA Finals MVP, Dirk Nowitzki.  He is also arguably the best current NBA Star who signs autographs TTM!

I received this 2005-06 Topps Style base card back from Dirk in about two weeks back in early 2008.  This Topps Style set happens to be a favorite of mine.  I think they look fantastic signed.  It’s also interesting to compare the signature to the printed signature on the card.  Was certainly thrilled to get a return from a future Hall of Famer and one of the greatest international players of all time!