Sunday, May 12, 2019

May 12, 2019 Final Chapter......My Friend Ray Peters Passes

My good friend Ray Peters passed away on May 4th from an illness. As anyone who has sent him a TTM request would agree, he was a gracious signer and was great to collectors. That was how I came to know him, through a TTM request in 2008. We corresponded through the years as I made him many custom cards, the last of which came back signed the week he passed. Over the last few years, I was involved with Ray and Keith Olbermann as Ray was tracking down former teammates and opponents. Ray would find them, we'd make the cards for them.


I think Keith summed everything up......




I will miss his e mails at midnight.........



Friday, May 10, 2019

May 10,2019 Ron Hansen and Bob Johnson

Been sending out some more TTMs after a long hiatus and forgot how much fun it is to open the mail box and find some SASE's inside.......

Ron Hansen
played shortstop for the Orioles, White Sox, Senators, Yankees and Royals from the late 50s until the early 70s. He was the American League Rookie of the Year with the Orioles in 1960 and I would say was one of the best fielding shortstops of the 1960s. He led the AL in assists, putouts and DPs several times.






Bob Johnson 
was originally signed by the Mets in 1964 and made his major league debut with the 1969 Mets, pitching in 2 games, though he spent most of the 1969 season in the minors with Memphis and Tidewater. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals in the 1969 off season with Amos Otis for Joe Foy. He was then traded to the Pirates during the 1970 off season and started 27 games for the 1971 Pirates with a 9-10 record. He beat the Giants in the NL Playoffs but lost one game to the Baltimore  Orioles in the 1971 World Series.

 

May 8, 2019 Fred Cambria

Fred Cambria
from Cambria Heights, NY pitched in 6 games for the 1970 Pittsburgh Pirates with a 1-2 won lost record. He was drafted by the Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1969 MLB June Amateur Draft and was assigned to AA York and in his 4th pro start threw a perfect game. He included his phone number with the return and asked me to give him a call. What a nice guy on the phone!! He is currently involved in baseball clinics around the NYC area.

 

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

May 8, 2019 Lloyd Gladden and Benny Colvard

Lloyd Gladden
was a pitcher in the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers organizations from 1969 to 1974. His best season came in 1972 when he led the Evansville Triplets in wins and strikeouts with a record of 15-9 and 141 K's.


Benny Colvard
was an outfielder who played in the Cincinnati Reds farm system from 1988 to 1993. The card was made in the style of the Team USA subset in the 1988 Traded Set.