TTM SUCCESS: Another Fantastic Andre Dawson Baseball For My Collection!!! Y-E-S!!!

TTM SUCCESS: Another Fantastic Andre Dawson Baseball For My Collection!!!  Y-E-S!!!

I have been craving a few more signed baseballs for my Andre Dawson ‘Ultimate Dawson’ collection so I put a plan in place a few weeks ago to work towards that goal.

Ultimately, I am trying to seek out and find new inscriptions to ask for – and I have some really great ideas to request for future signing options.

This time around, I went with the request of a ’4X Sillver Slugger’ option.

And Andre did not disappoint (he never does).

Have a look:

As always, the ball is signed perfectly – and is so neat and clean!!!

Dawson won four Silver Slugger awards during his major league career and I find this to definitely be an inscription-worthy feat.  At the peak of his career, he had some major competition for the award so walking away with four of these honors is a great, great accomplishment.

This is the 11th Andre Dawson signed baseball in my collection and I am so very proud of how it all looks together.

And the next few I hope to go after will only help take ’Ultimate Dawson’ to the next level.

Thanks for reading!!!

Fergie Jenkins 2013 Topps Tribute – Base

Fergie Jenkins 2013 Topps Tribute – Base

It is so nice to see that Fergie Jenkins made it into a few 2013 Topps sets so far this year.  It gives me the chance to build up my collection a bit while also showcases him to new collectors that may not know his great history.

This card is from the 2013 Topps Tribute set; it is the base card from the set.

Time for me to start going after the colored parallel versions now.

Stay tuned!!!

1977 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Connects For First Major League Home Run

1977 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Connects For First Major League Home Run

On this day in 1977, Andre Dawson of the Montreal Expos connected for the first home run of his major league career.

On the road and facing the Atlanta Braves in front of a crowd of less than 10,000 fans, Dawson and the Expos played in a high scoring affair ultimately won by the Braves by a score of 10-8.

In the top of the 8th inning, and trailing 9-5, Andre Dawson hit the first home run of his career off of Braves’ pitcher Buzz Capra to get the Expos a bit closer.

This home run would be the first of 19 that Dawson would hit in 1977 and the first of 438 that he would hit in his career.

Happy Anniversary ‘Hawk’!!!!

Did You Know…

Greg Maddux and Cy Young are the only pitchers in major league history to win 15 or more times in 18 big league seasons – the most in the history of the sport.

1989 Topps Rack Pack With Andre Dawson’s Card On Top!!!

1989 Topps Rack Pack With Andre Dawson’s Card On Top!!!

This new part of my Andre Dawson collection has been a slow going…  I have been trying to haul in both sealed rack pack and cello packs from the 1980′s that feature Andre Dawson on the top.

At first I was finding a good amount of them and my collection got off to a good start.

But lately, I have been running into sellers that are still trying to sell these for what they were going for twenty years ago.  And that does not work for me or my budget.

Still, I persist. 

Any my persistence landed me a 1989 Topps rack pack with Andre’s base card on top.

Have a look:.

Sorry about the horrible scan.

Dawson has three cards in the 1989 Topps set – it would be cool to be able to snag a rack pack with each of the three being featured on top.

So far, I am 1/3 of the way there!!!

1988 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Drives In RBI #1,000 Of His Career

1988 HEADLINE: Andre Dawson Drives In RBI #1,000 Of His Career

On this day in 1988, Andre Dawson drove in the 1,000th RBI of his major league career.

On the road in Houston, Dawson and the Chicago Cubs were being hosted in the Astrodome by the Astros.  The game was played in front of more than 33,000 fans, and the Astros won the game by the score of 3-1.

The lone Cubs run came as the result of a first-inning sacrifice fly by Andre Dawson in which Shawon Dunston scored.  That run would be the only run that the Cubs would score during the game.

For the game, Dawson went 1-for-3 with a single, and an RBI.

Andre Dawson 2011 Topps Marquee ‘Titanic Threads’ Jumbo-Jersey Relic!!!

Andre Dawson 2011 Topps Marquee ‘Titanic Threads’ Jumbo-Jersey Relic!!!

Ever since I first laid eyes on this card back in 2011, I wanted one for my collection.

But, since it was part of a fairly expensive and somewhat low-distribution set, not too many of them were found at acceptable prices.  Couple that with the fact that the card is serial numbered to just 99 copies and I had a real hunt on my hands.

Since being released, I have probably seen 12-15 of these cards appear on Ebay.  They all sell – and they all sell for a lot more than a normal relic card that has just 99 copies.

Why?

Well, it is all because of the relic – IT IS HUGE!!!

Have a look:

I told you.  And I probably did not describe it properly either – the relic is TITANIC IN SIZE!!!

And I am so very proud to finally have one in my collection.  My patience paid off on this one too – Yes, I paid a decent amount for it but nothing close to what it was going for when it was released in 2011.

Mine is serial numbered as 18/99 and it features the largest piece of jersey relic on a single card in my collection thus far.

YES!!!

1970 HEADLINE: Ernie Banks Joins The ’500 Home Runs Club’

1970 HEADLINE: Ernie Banks Joins The ’500 Home Runs Club’

On this day in 1970, Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks crushed his 500th career home run!!!

Ranking at #21 on the All-time home run list with 521 career round-trippers, Banks’ ranking continues to drop as more players overtake his career achievement of 521. It’s quite possible that Banks will drop 2 to 3 more spots over the course of the next 4-5 seasons, but one thing is for sure – ERNIE BANKS’ STATUS WILL NEVER FADE AMONGST CUBS FANS!!!

Banks personifies what Cubbie Baseball is all about, and he is without a doubt the most popular baseball player to ever call Wrigley Field home.

Happy Anniversary Mr. Banks!! We Still Love You!!!!

Fergie Jenkins 2005 Leaf Limited ‘Limited Legends’ Game-Used Jersey Relic Card – #’d To 31

Fergie Jenkins 2005 Leaf Limited ‘Limited Legends’ Game-Used Jersey Relic Card – #’d To 31

I’m on a bit of a ‘Hot Streak’ when it comes to landing some rare Fergie Jenkins cards for my collection.

I’m not sure of the reason for all of this luck, but I do hope that it does not end any time soon as I am hauling in some great beauties for my player collection that honors Fergie’s magnificent career.

My latest score comes from the 2005 Leaf Limited set.  The card is part of the ‘Limited Legends’ subset and features a nice piece of jersey framed in the shape of Fergie’s jersey number – #31.

The card is also serial numbered to just 31 copies so that it pretty neat too.

Have a look:

 

Looks nice, huh??

The card is a little dark in the scan, but it is much brighter in person.  Where you are seeing dark Brown, it is actually a vibrant Gold.

 

Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown – Blue Crystal Parallel

Andre Dawson 2012 Panini Cooperstown – Blue Crystal Parallel

I keep chipping away at this set.  This is now the third card from the 2012 Panini Cooperstown set that I have picked up.

This version is the Blue Crystal parallel.  It is serial numbered as 89/499.

Have a look:

So far, I have the base and the crystal versions of the card.  This ‘Blue Crystal’ version is the best looking one of the bunch thus far.

For me, the Blue works very well with the design of the card, and since Andre is wearing a Cubs uniform in the image that was used, it also works well with the Cubs’ colors.  The Blue also makes the Red pieces of the card’s graphic design stands out.

And now that I have three cards from this set, I need just one more to knock out the full 4-card set.

Time to get ‘Red’!!!!