1996 Donruss, Jeff Montgomery

#271 Jeff Montgomery

This is the third and final Monty card that I got signed at Royals Fanfest last year. You can see the first one here and the second one here.

I got this card about a year ago from Stats on the Back. He sent me quite a few Royals cards and there may have been five or six from this particular set. Before that package, I had never seen this set before. I still don't really know what to think about it. It is unique. That I do know.

There is a big foil box on the card that holds a ton of information. It has the brand name, the name of the team, the team's city, the players position and number, and the team's logo. Luckily, the foil fit right between Jeff's legs. I am sure that some others weren't as lucky.

Jeff is wearing the Royals short-lived road cap on this card. I thought that the hat was the ugliest hat in baseball at the time. It is kind if funny that I thought that since my high school baseball team had the same style of hat and I loved it. I was pissed when we went from the grey hat with forest green bill to all green.

Somehow, this signature got smudged. It obviously isn't a big deal since I didn't notice it until I saw the scan.

1996 Emotion XL, Joey Hamilton

#278 Joey Hamilton

For some reason, I thought that I already had posted a Joey Hamilton autograph on here. It turns out that I was wrong. Luckily, I am posting one now, courtesy of Rod.

Joey had a ten-year Major League career with the Padres, Blue Jays, and Reds. In 1996, he had a career high 15 wins and 184 strikeouts. He ERA was 4.17 that year and that would be his lowest over a whole season for the rest of his career. It just kept balooning as the years went on. But, he did finish his career with more wins than losses (by one), a 4.44 ERA, and 4 home runs at the plate. He also made one appearance in the 1998 World Series and pitched a scoreless inning.

This card is the only card from this set that I have. It is kind of weird. The brown border is raised like it is supposed to be a picture frame or something. Plus, I have no idea why it says "CONTROLLED" on the left side. I'm sure I could figure that out if I looked at the back of the card. But what would be the fun in that?

This card was made by Fleer.

1996 Collector's Choice, Mark McLemore

#324 Mark McLemore

This is the third and final card that I got signed by Mark McLemore prior to the Rangers pre-game show this summer. You can see the first one here and the second one here.

Mark is one of the few players that signs his first name above his last name. That has got to be something that just comes from signing baseballs, bats, and cards for years. I wonder if it is strange for him to sign on a line anymore.

Mark's career lasted 19 seasons. During that time, he played for the Angels, Indians, Astros, Orioles, Rangers, Mariners, and A's. He was a career .259 hitter that could play just about anywhere. He spent most of his time and second base, but he also logged time at all three outfield positions as well as third base and shortstop.

I miss Collector's Choice.

1996 Bowman, Juan Melo

#127 Juan Melo

First off for the 1996 cards is a Padrograph. This one features Juan Melo.

Juan is a former Padre prospect that never really panned out for them. He was in AAA by his fourth season in pro ball, but I guess that he wasn't producing up to the Padres standards. So, in his sixth season, the Padres traded him to the Blue Jays who traded him to the Reds 41 AAA games later. That off-season, the Yankees signed him and then traded him during Spring Training to the Giants. He spent most of the year of with the Giants AAA team, but he did get an 11 game cup of coffee with the Giants. He went 1-13 with the Giants and even had an RBI. That was his only time spent in the Majors.

After that, he spent eight more years bouncing around between affiliated leagues and indy leagues. He spent some time in the Pacific Coast League, Northern League, Atlantic League, Mexican League, Eastern League, Golden League, and the Northeast League. The last season he played was in 2008.

When I first got this card, I assumed Juan was a pitcher based on the photo. Many months later, I discovered that he was a middle infielder.

I think that this is the only 1996 Bowman card that I own.

1949 Bowman, Lou Brissie

#41 Lou Brissie

Normally, I would have waited to post this card after I finished off my 1996 cards. But, I was so excited when I got it back in the mail today that I didn't want to wait.

I got the idea to write to Lou Brissie from Carl Crawford Cards. A couple of months ago, he did a post on Lou and I learned a lot about him from that post. Lou took some shrapnel in his leg during World War II. The doctors wanted to take his leg, but Lou wouldn't let them. He still wanted to play ball. So after countless hours of rehab and almost two dozen surgiries, Lou was cleared to play ball agian with a brace on his leg.

The Philadelphia A's went ahead and signed him. After two years in the minors, Lou got a cup of coffee with the big club at the end of 1947. In '48, he stuck with the A's and made numerous appearances for them, both in relief and as a starter, until he was traded to Cleveland in 1951. He pitched for them into the 1953 season before he called it quits.

In 1949, Lou made the American League All Star team. He pitched the final three innings of the game and probably would have recorded a save if that was a stat then.

When I wrote Lou, I told him that I was sure that he had been awarded numerous awards and medals for his service. I asked if he would inscribe the card with the one that meant the most to him. He picked his Purple Heart.

I was lucky enough to find this card on ebay with a buy it now price of $2.29, with free shipping. Sure, it is a little beat up, but the card is sixty-years old. That seemed like a good deal to me. Plus, I now have a new oldest signed card. It is going to be hard for me to top this one.

Thanks CCC for the inspiration and the address!

1986 Topps, Bill Russell

#506 Bill Russell

This is the third and final Bill Russell card that I got signed through the mail last month. You can see the first one here and the second one here.

When I send multiple cards to players or former players, I take the time to carefully choose which cards I send. I don't worry about the '81 Donruss cards, I just send those. Many times, when I send one of those cards out, it is the only card that I send becuase I want to make sure that I do get that card signed.

With Bill Russell, I sent along his '71 Topps card just because I had it sitting in a box and I wanted to put it to good use. I sent this card for a different reason. Sure, it was sitting in a box just like the '71 card. But, this one was different. I remember this card very well from my early days of collecting. The reaon why I remember it is because of the photo.

When I was a seven-year old in 1986, I was convinced that Bill looked just like Clint Eastwood.

I got a vintage card in the mail today and rather than waiting to wrap up the 1996 cards (which will begin tomorrow) before I show it off, I'll post it tonight after work. So, stay tuned.

1986 Fleer, Ken Dixon

#273 Ken Dixon

Here is another card that I got signed in Baltimore. Ken was one of three Orioles alumni signing before the game. Luckily, Ryan, from the Great Orioles Autograph Project, knew Ken was going to be there and he brought me this card. This was the only Ken Dixon card that he had to spare, so I feel pretty lucky that I was able to get it signed. Thanks Ryan.

I was surprised to see that Ken's career lasted less than four seasons. While I don't really remember Ken's cards from my early collecting days, I do remember the name for some reason. Because of that, I assumed that he played at least into the '90s, but that is not the case.

Ken got two starts in 1984. He spent all of '85 and '86 with the O's and most of '87 with them. He spent time starting and relieving. But, he must have hurt his arm because he missed all of '88. He came back in '89 and made ten appearances (four starts) with the Hagerstown Suns. He posted a 1.86 ERA before calling it quits.