Does anyone get auto TTM or in person?

CopperJJ

I just started getting autos TTM, wondering if anyone else here might also? Send me a PM or post. I'll probably start with active NFL players first. I am using 2005 Topps Heritage to send off for my autos. They should look nice with autos on them.

JJ

Ahmanfan

I used to do a ton of TTM auto's. any questions or anything?

I'd also like your heritage doubles, if I could swap somethign for them.
John

ktwilli71

Yes , i collect TTM . I have obtained in the neighborhood of about 1,000 auto'd cards . I do this because it turns what would be a no value card into something that i consider value . Besides receiving all those bills in the mailbox isnt any fun so its always nice to get something good in the mail . The one thing i have noticed about TTm autos is that you never know just who might sign your card for you . Ive had some very suprising responses from some of the best in their sport sign for me . I would love to talk about TTM autos if anyone else is interested .

orutulsa

SportsCollectors.net is a fantastic site for hooking up with fellow autograph collectors as well as tracking which players typically respond TTM.

ktwilli71

Sportscollectors.net is an awesome site for tracking who signs and who doesnt . Its the site that got me hooked on TTM autos about 2 years ago . A membership is somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 $ a year. i thought i wouls share some of the autos i have received . Ive gotten such names as Tom Glavine , Mark Prior , Al Kaline , Bobby Thomson , the Neikro brothers , Eric Moulds , Joe Montana , Randy Moss , and many many others . I do collect vintage cards and will be submitting about 50 1960s cards .

CopperJJ

Thanks for the website. and other posts. For those of you that collect TTM/person, are you working on specific sets, or do you just collect certain players?

I got to meet and get autos of Ephraim Salaam and Paul Spicer of the Jaguars tonight in person at a TV show. Rashean Mathis was there also, but he couldn't sign due to breaking his finger yesterday...he had surgery today...and will play against the Colts on Sunday. I already met Rashean and Kyle Brady on 11/14/05 at the same show. Rashean signed a 2003 Donruss Elite Status #10/27, and Kyle signed a 2003 Topps Total.

I sent out 8 more TTMs tonight also, for a total of 69 since 11/30/05 (all cards from the recently released 2005 Topps Heritage). From what I see on the TTM sites, I should be getting some returned in several more days...We will see.

JJ

Ahmanfan

those are some nice auto cards!

I got a few of the jags at a jaguars/rams game about a month ago (spicer included)

talked with george wrighster, good guy. also got, vince manuai (sp?), the guard, supposed to be a good pro? You'd know more, I'm not really a jaguars guy.

matt jones also signed, I was suprised that he had no hair!

besides those guys, didnt get any real biggies.

looks like your doing good. I'm a member of stararchive.com , it's about 30 bucks a year I think, they have something like 10 million celeb addy's. pretty decent for the price.
John

CopperJJ

The Jags are mostly real good signers. My 7 year old son got 19 sigs on his cap at a scrimmage during training camp. He got this weeks starter (David Garrard) also at Camp.

Jones, as a rookie prank got half his head shaved and had to practice a while like that...then he shaved it all and grew a full beard.

I wish I had some cards for the guys tonight, I wasn't expecting Spicer and they never tell ahead of time who it's going to be. It Mathis' show, so he's there all the time. Former Jag Tom McManus was there too, but he doesn't usually stick around to sign (never asked him though) but he always smiles and says hi.

spelling for Vince Manuwai (Hawaiian)

ktwilli71

I collect what i happen to have although i have been working on getting the 1992 upper deck baseball set auto'd . i have almost 200 of them signed so far . i did just obtain from a co-worker over 75,000 baseball , football , hockey , and basketball cards . Almost all the cards are from the early 80's to the late 90's . So i am sure i will have plenty of cards that i can send out to get signed . Another good way to obtain autographs on baseballs at a very cheap price is to just ask the player that you send a card to if they would mind if you sent them a baseball to sign . i have had alot of success doing this . I have received baseballs from Doug Drabek , Ozzie Smith , Bobby Doerr , George Kell , and Bobby Thomson , which he also signed it "shot heard round the world" which was really cool . i will try to get some scans of some of the cards ive gotten .

Jayssan

Hi Folks,

Wow this topic brought back a lot of memories! As a kid in the early 70's I can remember getting folks like Yaz,Jim Lonborg,Lou Boudreau (sp),and some players from the 1930's....the old baseball digest mags used to have players addresses from time to time. I can remember sending an autograph request to Casey Stengal, still waiting on that one.....

Anyway,as far as keeping autographed cards in good condition, whats the best way OTHER than getting them graded?

Does a penny sleeve/ traditional card holder wear away the signature? Are screwdowns best? I'm thinking of getting back into it just as a way to turn junk 80's cards and so on into something worth owning!

Any advice would be great!

thanks & happy Holidays, Jay

CopperJJ

The first auto'd cards I ever got in person were in 1987-1988 when I got Mark McGwire on a 87 topps and 87 Fleer Update at a card show in Orlando, FL. I still have them in penny sleeves and top loaders, There have been no problems with the autos fading, I just keep them and all my cards away from the sun. I just started the TTM on 11/30/05. I think I remember trying it when I was a kid a couple times, but never got anything returned. I have a cousin in KY that has done autos TTM at least since 1983 and he probably did it when he was a kid in the late 60s. I know he would always send index cards to people I never heard of back then. I need to call him and see if he is still doing it.

Plans for the Big Macs...send to PSA and save for my son. Wish I still had the Mac auto'd 1984 Olyimpic baseball I got back then. At least my cousin still has the AL ball I got him.

ktwilli71

The way i keep them is in a penny sleeve and then put that in a top loader . I do it that way so that i can handle the cards often without fear of damaging the card and auto . I used to collect negro league autos thru the mail in the early 90's . I managed to get over 300 negro auto's on index cards . In my own personal experience , never ever send more then 2 cards to a player . It will seem greedy if you do , but that is my own opinion . I would also recommend a pretty short sincere and polite letter . If a certain player gets lots of mail , he wouldnt usually have the time to read them all . I would also say that if anyone is going to try TTM autos , baseball players are really good at signing , football players are also pretty good , hockey players are fairly good at signing . The worst is current basketball players although retired basketball players are wonderful . Its all about fun , and good luck . I would love to help anyone who is interested in TTM autos , let me knoe if i can be of service.

CopperJJ

Well I am really going to give something a shot... Growing up in Louisville, KY in the 70s I was a huge fan of the U of K Wildcats.

With that being said, I am going to try to get the whole team on some custom made index cards. I did a little research today and found that Kyle Macy (Guard) is the head coach at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY and Rick Robey (F-C) is a Real Estate Agent in Louisville. I also found possible home addresses for Truman Claytor (in Toledo, OH), Chris Gettelfinger (Knoxville, TN) and Chuck Aleksinas (Connecticut).

Aleksinas transferred to UCONN after the Championship season and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in 1982.

I also found that LaVon Williams is an artist of wood carvings, but can't seem to find a contact for him. I only spent about an hour and found all this out. If anyone else has some info, I'd appreciate it...I also would like to confirm the possible addresses I have if anyone has them. Please PM me with any info.

Other KY players in the Championship game were:
Jack Givens
Mike Phillips
James Lee
Jay Shidler
Fred Cowan
Tim Stephens
Scott Courts
Dwane Casey

Thanks for any help

Ahmanfan

dwane casey is now the twolves head coach:
Target Center
600 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55403
USA

jack givens
Orlando Magic
c/o Sunshine Network
1000 Legion Place #1600
Orlando, FL 32801
USA

I have a mike phillips addy but this is for a 1980's phillies player...

thats all I could find on star archive.
JOhn

MooseDog

Regarding Joe Montana, save your stamps. Mail sent to him is signed with an Autopen. See the scan below for the most common Autopen sign found for Joe. His in person sig is about 1/2 the size of the autopen sig. This one the early 1990s, I have heard there is another variation recently for the Autopen sigs.

Joe's GREAT in person (except when he's with the wife who protects him like a Doberman).

CopperJJ

Thanks ahmanfan, I'll have to add them to my list, I found that Joe B. Hall has a radio show in Louisville that he does with Denny Crum (past Univ of Louisville head coach). So I'm down to just a few more

JJ

CopperJJ

I just figured out how to make some custom index cards....I'll send a couple in to a few Jags and see how they do....take them to the show too, so next time I have something for the guys to sign.

UTVolsFan

I use to do tons of in-person autos at the local minor league stadium, which is 5 minutes from the house....Granted they are not the worlds most difficullt sigs to obtain when I pick them up some pan out to be very good sigs.....

Recent years have netted:

Jason Isringhausen
Rondell White
Carlos Delgado
Rick Ankiel
Chipper Jones
John Smoltz
Miquel Cabrera
Joe Crede
Orlando Hudson
Dan Haren and lots of other top prospects and young stars.....I also have gotten 'graphs at the UT campus when they have their special events through-out the year with the alumni...



Another good site for sig info is http://www.sasesportssigs.com/

wufdude

I sent out a bunch of cards back in the early to mid 80s for autographs. In fact, all of the autos in my Baseball HOF set, except of a couple and of course the recent certified, were attained through the mail.

HOF Auto Set

CopperJJ

I got my first successes today with TTM.....

Mike Nugent-K c/o NY Jets (8 days) - 2005 Heritage
Eric Shelton-RB c/o Car. Panthers (8 days) - 2005 Heritage
Shaun Alexander-RB c/o SA Foundation (10 days) - 2002 Heritage and 2005 Heritage

Also got in person tonight at local Jaguars Team show:
David Garrard x 2 on custon index cards
Ephraim Salaam x 1 on custom index card
Rashean Mathis x 1 on custom index card

JJ

262Runner

My two daughters (10 & 13 years old) love to try and get autographs when we go to the games. Not much success really, but they enjoy the chase. I would like to help them get started in TTM auto's. Can anybody help with how to get started. Where do you get addresses, names, how do you send the cards, do you send SASE?

Any help or advice would be great.

Dave

CopperJJ

Dave, I started sending out cards on 11/30/05 and just got the 3 I listed above back in the mail last night. I send cards that I have extras of, just in case they don't come back. I write a short note and request the auto. I provide a SASE and use 2 folded 4x6 index cards inside my SASE, so when the card comes back it is safe. If you use a top loader, the player may get the impression you are going to sell it on ebay. For the majority of the cards I have sent out, I send to the player, care of the team. Team addresses are easily found on the internet. I type my letters and then sign my name. Other people print their letters. I address all of the envelopes by hand though. There are websites dedicated to TTM and I have found out a lot in just 2 weeks about who signs and how fast they return the cards. I have not had the great successes yet that people write about (some people are in the thousands), but I have sent out over 100 requests so far, so we will see what my success rate is.

Anyway, I have a 7 year old son that it was like pulling teeth to get him to write a player. Now that I got my first responses and I let him open them, he won't stop talking about the autographs and he did a couple tonight.

JJ

meuandthelot

Great way to pass the Winter month's These may get someone to send if they were "On the fence" about it.

A few recent TTm's..... Kaline in person. Joe through a Notre Dame alum

Scans removed...Taking up bandwidth

CopperJJ

The other day, I got back Kyle Macy and Rick Robey for my 1978 UK Wildcats team.

Sent out about 80 more yesterday morning....busy weekend

larryallen73

Stupid question of the day, what does TTM stand for?
Do you ever to send to their home addresses or stick to team addresses?

CopperJJ

TTM=Through The Mail

I mostly send to the active players c/o the team. Although some active players only seem to sign from home. I try the retied players c/o home or business.

JJ

duner

tttm stands for through the mail


I never ttm, b/c all the mailing can get expensive, and you never really know if you're getting the player or his wife's signature. I ardently pursue in person autos though....mostly at team hotels. So far this year I've gotten most of the LSU football team on a helmet, and the men's and women's bball team on a ball and some posters. Next week we're staying at the team hotel for the peach bowl, so i'll likely get a white panel ball signed while i'm there. I'm also going to take a drive a couple blocks and go to the miami hotel and try and get a ball signed there.

Ahmanfan

here was my experience at the rams/eagles game 12/18/05:

Well, no luck before the game (wasn't expecting much)

on a side note, both teams played really terribly. I guess it's the 'everyone is hurt and we are out of the playoff race' syndrome.

anyway, after the game I accidentally walked with my friend ALL the way around the Edward Jones dome, and finally made it to the EAgles bus. By that time, it was packed, so we went to plan b: home team autographs.

got a few in the street that some of the players walk across to get to the parking building next to the EJD. Shaun Mcdonald, Cevin Kurtis, D'Juan Grose, Ryan Pickett to name a few. Afterward, while walking back to my car, we spotted a small group of people near a parking lot. Wandering over, I recognized Curtis again. Turned out Holt was over there too, and got him on my ball!

All in all, a nice day, even though I think I have frostbite now.

John