Joe West Signed Baseball

My friend, Gerard, sent me this signed baseball that he got done for me recently of Joe West.  West is a former umpire who likely will be elected to the Hall of Fame at some point.  He missed out during the most recent veterans committee voting, but is likely to be the next unprecedented to get in at some point. 

West (b. 1952) umpired from 1976 to 2021, for a record 43 seasons.  He resigned during the 1999 Umpires strike, but was rehired in 2002.  Born in Asheville, NC, West later moved to Greenville, NC and attended ECU and Elon College.  He was part of the inaugural ECU football team, but transferred to Elon after that first season when the then ECU coach was fired.  He is a graduate of JH Rose High School in Greenville.

West umpired for a record 43 seasons and a record 5,460 games.  He umpired three All Star games (1987, 2005 and 2017) and six World Series (1992, 1997, 2005, 2009, 2012 and 2016).

Thanks for getting this ball done for me, Gerard.

TTM Success - Derryl Cousins

I used up another 1987 Topps checklist recently when I sent TTM to former umpire, Derryl Cousins.  I wanted to add some of the umpires to my set, so if the slot for the checklist is already full, I will add this one to the back of the binder.  I plan on adding some other, different, stuff to my binder via the hundreds of checklists that I ended up with.  We'll see if I can make that happen.

I also had these ad and promo cards put aside for some reason, so I included them with the TTM request to Cousins.  I figured getting an umpire on these would be fine.  Now, these oddball ad cards will have a place in my album, as well.

Cousins (b. 1946) was an umpire in MLB from 1979 to 2012, beginning as an AL umpire from 1979 until the AL and NL umpires were combined in 2000.  He officiated three World Series (1988, 1999 and 2005) and three All Star games (1987, 1998 and 2008).

I mailed to Cousins on October 28 and got the cards back on November 25, for a 28-day TAT.

TTM Success - Ed Montague

I still have a huge stack of 1987 Topps checklists, and I have been thinking of ways to use those for my set, and also some other things I may be able to do with them.  I sent a couple off to some umpires who were working that season.  I also may branch out and send some to other folks that accomplished things in 1987.  We'll have to see about that, though.

One of the umpires I sent to was Ed Montague.  Since I had the 87 checklists, and some other miscellaneous cards from that era, I sent an assortment of stuff for him to sign, and they all came back.  I was able to get this mini Spring Fever Baseball ad card signed.  I have a ton of these for some reason (why can't I throw stuff away?), but they have come in handy in the past when looking for something for someone to sign.

These Topps All Star Baseball Game cards are pretty cool.  I think they came from 1985 Topps.  I'm not certain; either 84 or 85.  I got one of these signed in the past by Bobby Brown.  I have several others, so I will probably get those signed as well.

Finally, Montague sent his own photo that he signed.  I appreciate that he did that; it will go in my post card album.

Montague (b. 1948) was an umpire for the National League in 1974 and 1978 to 1999 and both leagues from 1999 to 2009.  His 4,369 total games were 8th all-time at the time of his retirement.  He worked 6 World Series (1986, 1991, 1997, 2000, 2004 and 2007); the last four of which, he was the crew chief.  Only Bill Klem and Bill Summers crew chiefed World Series as much as Montague did.

Montague's father played in the majors in 1928 and 1930 to 1932.

I mailed to Montague on October 28 and got the cards back on November 12, for a 15-day TAT.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Al Barlick

My 107th baseball signed by a Hall of Famer is of former umpire, Al Barlick.

Barlick (b. 1915 - d. 1995) was highly regarded by players and managers of his era as being one of the all-time great umpires.  He was an NL umpire for 28 seasons (1940-43, 1946-55 and 1958 to 1971).  He missed the 1944 and 1945 seasons while serving in the Coast Guard during World War II and also missed the 1956 and 1957 seasons due to heart issues.  He officiated seven World Series and seven All Star games.

Barlick was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1989.

Hall of Fame Signed Baseball - Jocko Conlan

When I went to the National Card Show this summer, I picked up a catalog for Collect Auctions.  I'm always in the market for places to find signed baseballs a lot cheaper than their Ebay price, so I gave them a look when I got home from the show.  There was an auction ending at the end of August, so I watched it and saw that, when it ended, there were a bunch of hard-to-get Hall of Famers going for more than half of what their autos were going for on Ebay.  I decided that, when they offered their next auction (they have auctions quarterly, it seems), I would try to jump in on a ball or two and see what happened.

Well, they had an auction ending before I went on my trip to Vegas, so I looked and bid on several baseballs.  I won't get into the ones I DIDN'T win because it is too depressing, but I did get lucky and get two baseballs at fractions of their normal cost.  They're both PSA authenticated, too, so you know I'm happy.

The first ball I am showing is the above Jocko Conlan signed baseball.  Conlan (b. 1899 - d. 1989) played in the majors from 1934 to 1935 with the White Sox.  He had 96 hits, 0 home runs and a .263 batting average.  Not exactly knocking the socks off of the stat fiends is he?  How did he become a Hall of Famer, you might ask?  Well, Conlan was known more as an umpire.

Conlan was a National League umpire from 1941 to 1965.  He umpired five World Series (1945, 1950, 1954, 1957 and 1961).  He was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1974, at that time, the 4th umpire enshrined.

Conlan is my 79th Hall of Fame signed baseball and my 2nd umpire (Doug Harvey being the other).  Stay tuned to see the other baseball I picked up.  Someone who had some clashes with tonight's subject, Conlan.

Really Awesome Mail Day Part 1 - Doug Harvey Signed Baseball

I was so busy today with little odd jobs around the house that I forgot to check my mail until well after 7PM.  When I got the the mailbox, I opened it and said "Oh cool, I got a ball... no wait... 2 balls... no wait... some cards too!  AWESOME!!!

Here is the first of the two TTM successes I got today:

Hall of Famer Doug Harvey!  Harvey (b. 1930) is one of only 9 umpires in the Hall of Fame.  He umpired in the National League from 1962 to 1992 and was one of the last umpires in the Majors who did not attend an umpiring school.

Harvey's 4,673 games called ranks fourth all-time.  Harvey umpired in 5 World Series (1968, 1974, 1981, 1984, 1988), six All Star games (1963, 1964, 1971, 1977, 1982 and 1992) and 9 times in the NLCS (1970, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989 and 1991).

Harvey makes my 49th Hall of Famer and my 34th TTM success.  I mailed to Harvey on June 20 and received it today, October 15 making him a 4-month TAT for me.  I had almost given up on the ball, but am glad that it finally came.  I'll post the other ball I got tomorrow with the cards to follow that post.