Gary Peters

Who: Pitcher Gary Peters

Team: Chicago White Sox

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: In Person, Soxfest 2010

Comments: Yep, still rollin' on the Soxfest autographs. Still have a few more to post. Hang tight.

Gary Peters was a pretty darn good pitcher for the White Sox, winning the 1963 AL Rookie of the Year award. During that season, he had a string of 11 straight wins - impressive. Equally as impressive, during the 1967 All-Star game, retired 9 consecutive batters over three innings, including striking out three future Hall of Famers - Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Ferguson Jenkins. Wow.

Pretty nicely signed card, eh? Gary laid down a nice signature on this '69 Topps - the second from that set that I had signed at Soxfest. The other was from Joe Horlen.

Joe Horlen

Who: Pitcher Joe Horlen

Team: Chicago White Sox

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: In Person, Soxfest 2010

Comments: Joe pitched a no hitter for the White Sox back in 1967. He also help beat my Cincinnati Reds in the '72 World Series when he played with the Oakland Athletics. Drat!

How about that powerder blue Chi Sox uni? On wool, that color looks fantastic. I'm sure those uniforms will still hot as hell in the summer.

Dick LeBeau

Who: Defensive Back Dick LeBeau

Team: Detroit Lions

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: TTM 2/2 11/25/2009 (4 days)

Comments: He's another signed card from Dick LeBeau. This '69 Topps is a classically bad-looking vintage card. Gotta love the rough background knockout with the bright pink. Dick's a good lookin' fella, but this card isn't doing him too many favors.

The Lions logo is fantastic.

Lee May

Who: First Baseman Lee May

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: In Person (8/2/09)

Comments: I've received a few autographs from Lee May, but this one is a bit more special than the others. When I met Mr. May this time, I also had my 3-year-old nephew, Brayden, with me. Mr. May was signing autographs in the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum before a Sunday Reds game. Along with the card above, Mr. May also signed a card for Brayden, his first in-person autograph. Of course, Mr. May was fantastic with Brayden, giving him a couple of high-five and posing for a photo with us. He is certainly one of the nicest ballplayers I've ever met.

All-in-all that day was awesome. Not only did we get Brayden an autograph from a Reds great, but I was also able to snag a ball for him that was hit during batting practice by one of the Colorado Rockies. All that on top of the stadium giveaway that day - a kids-sized Jay Bruce mesh jersey. The little guy took home a lot of loot that day, but I have a fantastic memory with my nephew.

Tommy Helms

Who: Second Baseman Tommy Helms

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1969 Topps All-Star

Acquired: In person, at Reds HOF & Museum (8/1/09)

Comments: Mr. Helms signed this card for me recently before a Reds game at the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. They've had a handful of signings before games this year. Along with Tommy, I've been able to chat with and get autographs from Leo Cardenas, Lee May and George Foster over the course of the season. Since this autograph, I've picked up another at the Reds HOF and there will be a few more signings before the season concludes.

Like always, Tommy Helms has a great signature. He also has a wicked-awesome goatee (not pictured).

Plus, how awesome is this card? This is from when an All-Star card was a friggin' ALL-STAR card. Super-fantastic design from the late-'60s. I love the knockout with the black and white photo placed in the background. Great to see the old "The Sporting News" banner at the top surrounded by a plethora of stars.

Dave Bristol

Who: Manager Dave Bristol

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: TTM 1/1 7/8/2009 (11 days)

Comments: Dave Bristol started his managerial career in the Reds minor league system at the tender age of 24. WOW. After 8 season in the minors and 5 championships at several levels, he took over as manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1966 at the age of 33. But, after three seasons of warming up the Big Red Machine for Sparky Anderson, Dave was let go at the end of the '69 season. Dave went on to manage Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, and San Francisco Giants during his career.

Nice little auto from Dave. He even included his number (4), which I always dig.

Tommy Helms

Who: Second Baseman Tommy Helms

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: TTM 4/7/2009 (10 days)

Comments: I was lucky enough to see Tommy Helms and Lee May speak together a few weeks ago here in Cincinnati. They were totally cut-ups and a real joy to listen to. Though I had this card with me, I didn't get a chance to get it signed in person. But, no biggie, just didn't work out that night. So, I shot a letter to him a few days later and he hooked me up with this beauty. If you look closely at the beginning of his signature, you can see that he started it out in another blue pen - one that was fading. He finished it up with a fresh sharpie, laying down a great signature, as he always does.

'69 Topps have to be one of the best cards of all time to get autographed. Vintage card, simple design, large area for a signature. It's got it going on.

Ted Kubiak

Who: Shortstop Ted Kubiak

Team: Oakland Athletics

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: TTM 1/1 11/26/2008 (12 days)

Comments: This is another vintage card in my collection of a player unknown to me. I looked Ted up, and he is an active TTM signer... so what the heck right? Glad I did too! Ted had a so-so career, but won two World Series rings with the Athletics... one of them against my beloved Reds in 1972. That's okay though... I'm happy for him. Thanks for the autograph, Ted!

Jon Warden

Who: Pitcher Jon Warden

Team: Kansas City Royals

Card: 1969 Topps

Acquired: In Person, Moeller Card Show, 2008

Comments: Coming Soon...