College World Series Contest TIme!!

It's that time again! It is time for my seventh annual College World Series Contest.

Yesterday, the NCAA announced the 64 teams that will be competing for the 2016 College World Series championship. To commemorate it, I am holding the seventh annual College World Series contest here at Autographed Cards. It is going to be a couple of weeks before the main phase of the contest starts, but you can earn some bonus points here that could make a difference when the main portion gets going. All you have to do right now is pick the eight teams that are going to be playing in Omaha. Here are the teams to choose from.

Slot One
1. Florida
1. Florida St
2. Georgia Tech
2. Southern Miss
3. Connecticut
3. South Alabama
4. Bethune-Cookman
4. Alabama St

Slot Two
1. NC State
1. LSU
2. Coastal Carolina
2. Rice
3. St. Marys (CA)
3. Southeastern Louisiana
4. Navy
4. Utah Valley

Slot Three
1. Texas Tech
1. Virginia
2. Dallas Baptist
2. Bryant
3. New Mexico
3. East Carolina
4. Fairfield
4. William & Mary

Slot Four
1. TCU
1. Texas A&M
2. Arizona St
2. Minnesota
3. Gonzaga
3. Wake Forest
4. Oral Roberts
4. Binghamton

Slot Five
1. Louisville
1. Vanderbilt
2. Ohio St
2. UC Santa Barbara
3. Wright St
3. Washington
4. Western Michigan
4. Xavier

Slot Six
1. South Carolina
1. Clemson
2. UNC Wilmington
2. Oklahoma St
3. Duke
3. Nebraska
4. Rhode Island
4. Western Carolina

Slot Seven
1. Mississippi St
1. Louisiana-Lafayette
2. Cal St Fullerton
2. Arizona
3. Louisiana Tech
3. Sam Houston St
4. Southeast Missouri St
4. Princeton

Slot Eight
1. Mississippi
1. Miami (FL)
2. Tulane
2. Florida Atlantic
3. Boston College
3. Long Beach St
4. Utah
4. Stetson


All you have to do is pick one team from each slot for a total of eight teams. In the past, for every team that you picked that made it into the College World Series, you got one point. I mixed it up a bit two years ago and I am going to stick with that format. Now, any team you pick that makes it to Omaha gets as many points as their seed. So, if you make the safe bet and pick the one seed correctly, you get one point. But, if you pick the dark horse four seed and get lucky, you get four points for that pick. If you don't feel like participating right now, that's fine. You can enter the second phase without participating in the first, but you might have some ground to make up.

This blog has been in the doldrums of late since I am lucky to post a card twice a week. So, to get a few extra contestants in the contest, you can get one bonus point just by pimping this contest on your blog. Just leave a link in the comments and I will chalk you up a point.

Here is the format that your entry (comment) should look like

1. Southern Miss
2. Rice
3. Dallas Baptist
4. Minnesota
5. Louisville
6. Nebraska
7. Cal St Fullerton
8. Utah
Link to your blog (which can be left on a separate comment, but must be submitted by Thursday night)

Keep in mind that the main portion of this contest is filling out a College World Series bracket when that field is determined in a couple of weeks. Every year, there are a couple of people that enter the first phase of the contest that never end up filling out a bracket. Those people have yet to win this contest.

Normally, the prizes for this contest are whichever autographs I am able to snag in Omaha for the opening weekend. This year, my son has a tournament that weekend and we are not going to be able to make it up there until Monday. So, I am going to miss out on getting those autographs for prizes. Luckily, I have a little stockpile from previous CWS trips, so here is what the prizes are going to be.

Those are 8x10s signed by Jim Palmer, Dennis Eckersly, Curt Schilling, and Frank Thomas and an unsigned 2015 CWS ball. Some of you may have won one of the 8x10s in previous years, but there should be something new there for all of the past winners.

If you have any questions, ask in the comments or email me at zman40 at hotmail dot com. The deadline to enter the first phase of this contest is 11:00 am (central) Friday and the link must be posted twelve hours prior to that. Good luck and thanks for playing.

1958 Topps, Hal Naragon

#22 Hal Naragon

Here is a card of Hal Naragon that was also signed through the mail in 2013. I sent this card to him in February and I had it back about five weeks later.

Hal played in the Majors for ten seasons with the Indians and Senators/Twins. Like the previous three cards I posted, that all happened to be catchers, he too was a back-up throughout his career. The one season he saw some significant playing time was 1959, the year he got traded to Washington. That season, he played in 14 games for Cleveland before getting into 71 games as a Senator. The most games he played in before or after that was 57, a feat that he accomplished three times.

For his career, Hal was a .266 hitter that had 6 home runs and 87 RBI. None of his seasons really stand out as being a career year, but he did have career-highs in homers and average in 1956 when he had 3 jacks and 18 RBI. That was one season after hitting .323.

Hal did have the privilege of playing in one World Series. It was with the Indians in 1954 and he got into one game as a defensive replacement that did not get to hit. Unfortunately, the Tribe was swept by the Giants in the Series.

When Hal was dealt to the Senators, he was traded for Ed Fitz Gerald. I posted a card of Ed earlier this week.

1958 Topps, Hank Foiles

#4 Hank Foiles

Next up is this '58 Topps Hank Foiles card that I got signed in 2013. I sent this card to Hank in April and I had it back about three weeks later. If I remember right, he also sent me card about his book. I cannot find that card, but he wrote a note on the back of the letter I sent him that briefly tells me about his book, "A Pirate's Journey", that can be purchased from his website.

That seems like a fitting name for his book considering that he played for eight Major League teams during his eleven year career. He made his debut with the Reds before being dealt to the Indians after five games. He played with them for parts of three seasons before moving on to Pittsburgh. He had his longest tenure with any one team with them as he was a Pirate for three and a half seasons. Then he had a whirlwind 1960 season where he played for the A's, Indians, and Tigers before settling down with the Orioles in '61. He was back in Cincinnati in 1962 and for one game in '63 before getting released and ending up an Angel through the '64 season. That was quite a journey.

Through all of that, Hank was a .243 hitter with 46 home runs and 166 RBI. His best season came with the Bucs in 1957. That season, he hit .270 and had career-highs in homers (9) and RBI (36). He was rewarded for that fine season by being selected to the National League All Star team. He represented his team well in the Mid-Summer Classic by getting a single in his lone at-bat. He came around to score, as well.

1957 Topps, Pete Daley

#388 Pete Daley

Here is the last 1957 Topps card that I got signed through the mail in 2013. I sent this card to Pete in February of that year and had it back just over a month later.

Pete played in the big leagues for just seven seasons, seeing time with the Red Sox, A's, and Senators. He spent five of those seven seasons in Boston and was mainly their back-up catcher behind Sammy White. Pete was a .239 career hitter who finished with 18 home runs and 120 RBI.

Pete's best season was with the Sox in 1956. That year, he played in just 59 games. But, he had career-highs in average (.267), doubles (11), homers (5), and RBI (29). Pete would get more at-bats in three other seasons, but could never outdo the numbers he put up in '56.

I have never asked for an in-person autograph to be done in ballpoint pen. I always want it done with a Sharpie. But seeing a signature like this makes me consider rethinking my practice when it comes to older cards. I love the way the pen came out on this card. The look fits the time period better than any Sharpie would.

1957 Topps, Ed Fitz Gerald

#367 Ed Fitz Gerald

Next up is the card that Ed Fitz Gerald signed for me through the mail in 2013. I sent this card to him in February and I had it back five days later. It was quite the turnaround. This one and the previous card both arrived in my mailbox on the same day, which happened to be the day before my birthday. So, they were like early birthday presents to myself. But then again, anytime you get a TTM in the mail is like an early birthday present to yourself.

Ed spent a dozen years in the Majors with the Pirates, Senators, and Indians. He was mainly a backup catcher his entire career as he only started a majority of his team's games once. That was with the Sens in 1954. That was his first full season in Washington and he responded with a .289 average, 5 triples, 4 homers, and 40 RBI. That was pretty good for a .260 career hitter.

Ed's career started in the late '40s and he has some good looking early cards that would be cool to get signed. His '49 Bowman stands out as does his fantastic looking '52 Bowman. However, since I got this card signed three years ago, I have no idea if Ed is still signing through the mail. He is 92 years old.

1957 Topps, Johnny Groth

#360 Johnny Groth

Here is the next vintage card pick-up from the bi-monthly card show in Wichita. I picked up this card for about a buck and sent it to Johnny the first chance I had. Johnny charges five dollars to sign through the mail and I have no problem sending an old-timer a few bucks to help them out. It is not like those guys made the type of money today's players do. Johnny had this card back to me in less than two weeks.

Johnny played in the Majors for parts of fifteen seasons with the Tigers, Browns, White Sox, Senators, and A's. He was originally signed as a twenty year old by the Tigers and made his Major League debut with them that same season. He would go on to spend about eleven years in Detroit, seven to start his career and three and a half to finish it.

Johnny never made an All Star team and he never played in the playoffs. But, he hit .279 for his career with 60 home runs and 486 RBI. His best season came with the Tigers in 1950 when he had career-highs in average (.306), doubles (30), home runs (12), runs (95), and RBI (85).

Johnny's career started in 1946, so there are some nice early cards of him available such as his 1950 Bowman and 1951 Topps Blue Back. I am not sure if the nearly ninety year old gentleman still signs through the mail or not since I got this one signed three years ago. But, if he does, there are some cool cards of him out there that would be fun to get signed. I am happy with a signed Kansas City A's card, but a '51 Topps would be a nice addition to my collection.

1956 Topps, Jack Crimian

#319 Jack Crimian

Next up is this card that I got signed by Jack Crimian through the mail. I sent this card to Jack at the end of 2012 and I had it back about a week later.

Jack pitched professionally for fifteen seasons, but only appeared in Major League games during four seasons. He spent parts of two seasons with the Cardinals, a full year with the A's, and then a partial year with the Tigers. He appeared in 74 games over those four seasons and 56 of them came with the A's in 1956. He was almost exclusively used as a reliever during his time in the big leagues and he went 5-9 with 4 saves and a 6.36 ERA.

His only decent season was his year with the A's. The A's were horrible that year, finishing 52-102, and I guess that is why they kept Jack up all season. He made 7 starts that season and finished with a 4-8 record with 3 saves and a 5.51 ERA.

I tend to be drawn to Kansas City A's cards to get signed through the mail. I probably have at least a dozen of them coming up over the next couple of months of posts.

In 1953, Jack was traded by the Cardinals to the Reds for Alex Grammas, the person of interest in my previous post.