With the passing of Dr. Mike Marshall

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I love the 1978 set too. It's a nice, simple design with a mixture of great and grainy photos. This unevenness has made it unpopular with many people, but some collectors really like it.

Many, many years ago, I thought it would be a fun idea to try for the entire autographed set. Of course, Munson and Bostock were long gone, but most of the other players were still with us at the time.

I started out by writing to the 200 players for whom I had cards handy. The results were incredibly saddening, leading me to give up and call all the postage a loss. Out of 200 letters written, several came back RTS. Five--yes, you read that right--five people signed and returned their cards. Herman Franks was always a great signer and responded quickly. Darrell Evans and Steve Henderson took a year or three. The two others responded quickly as well, but what made it so strange was that neither of them usually respond to mail requests--Wayne Nordhagen and Jerry Martin. I later learned that Mr. Nordhagen has moved around a lot and the case could be made that he's not a bad signer, but it's perhaps a matter of being able to catch him at the right address at the right time.

[mrmopar]

That is an extreme version of the story that rings in my head any time I think i should dig out old cards and do some TTM requests.

I just don't like the thought of spending all that time and postage for maybe nothing, not to mention the agonizing waits for some, with many never coming back at all.

Years ago, I bought a lot on ebay that had maybe 400+ 78T cards signed. i was also buying a lot of singles too. I have a good amount of the set, including Bostock. I do not have Munson. I don't have Messersmith either! One that really sticks out in my mind that I don't have and should is Reggie Jackson. I really would like that card signed. it is one of the all-time great cards.

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

I love the 1978 set too. It's a nice, simple design with a mixture of great and grainy photos. This unevenness has made it unpopular with many people, but some collectors really like it.

Many, many years ago, I thought it would be a fun idea to try for the entire autographed set. Of course, Munson and Bostock were long gone, but most of the other players were still with us at the time.

I started out by writing to the 200 players for whom I had cards handy. The results were incredibly saddening, leading me to give up and call all the postage a loss. Out of 200 letters written, several came back RTS. Five--yes, you read that right--five people signed and returned their cards. Herman Franks was always a great signer and responded quickly. Darrell Evans and Steve Henderson took a year or three. The two others responded quickly as well, but what made it so strange was that neither of them usually respond to mail requests--Wayne Nordhagen and Jerry Martin. I later learned that Mr. Nordhagen has moved around a lot and the case could be made that he's not a bad signer, but it's perhaps a matter of being able to catch him at the right address at the right time.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Don't let that story dissuade you. It certainly didn't make me stop writing to players; I just switched focus. Also very important to realize that I wrote those letters in the era before the internet. Many of the players in that set so sign now and we have much better resources than the old address list I used at the time. Nothing you don't already know, but put here for others who might need to see it.

[egri]

Originally Posted by mrmopar

That is an extreme version of the story that rings in my head any time I think i should dig out old cards and do some TTM requests.

I just don't like the thought of spending all that time and postage for maybe nothing, not to mention the agonizing waits for some, with many never coming back at all.

Years ago, I bought a lot on ebay that had maybe 400+ 78T cards signed. i was also buying a lot of singles too. I have a good amount of the set, including Bostock. I do not have Munson. I don't have Messersmith either! One that really sticks out in my mind that I don't have and should is Reggie Jackson. I really would like that card signed. it is one of the all-time great cards.

There are a few sites that have an address database with feedback from other collectors of who signs, how much they charge, wait times, etc that can help you cut down on wasted postage. SportsCollectors.net is one, SportsCardForum.com is another. I haven't used either in a while, but they were both very handy when I was writing to the living players for my project.

[Topps206]

I’d probably have to go with Byron McLaughlin, just because his prices for a signature are usually higher than Chiles or Wright. Wright may it be a great signer, but from stuff I’ve read on this forum and other places, he sometimes gives on Non-1987 Topps items.

Ask yourself where and how you’re supposed to find Byron McLaughlin and what he looks like. I’d even argue make the case he’s more scarce than Dr. Mike was. Dr. Mike did a show I saw years ago, albeit for eye popping prices, but consider the source.

It seems like every set has a toughie, just about. I’m also not terribly fond of the 1978 Topps set, as my personal favorites from the decade are the 1972 and 1973 sets. However, as of this post, I have at least one card signed in every Topps set between 1952 through 1992.

I view the 1978 set as okay, nothing special. I’m not terribly fond of the 1975 set, as the color schemes and design are a bit loud for me. Not to mention that, with few exceptions, I’m not fond of facsimile signatures on cards. To me, the worst set design of the decade is the 1977 set.

[sreader3]

Moved to the correct thread — sorry about that.

[mrmopar]

I had read somewhere, don't recall if it was an article or maybe a collector feedback. Supposedly, McLaughlin fled to France when this was all unfolding after his arrest. Of course, he could be anywhere or even dead by now.

The funny part is that he, like so many other obscure toughies, are guys nobody would care a lot about normally. People build sets all the time and getting the common players is part of that ritual. It is when we discover how hard one is to find that the $ soon catch up.

I found out about McLaughlin when I decided to track down as many signed "vintage" M's cards as I could, from 1977 to about 1987-88. They have plenty of guys who just don't have a lot of supply out there besides Byron. Maybe it was the crappy teams, or maybe they just disappeared into obscurity. Names like Rod Craig (i did see that he was murdered in a homeless camp several years back), Randy Sten (now also deceased), Rick Anderson (Deceased), Paul Serna, Greg Bercierviez (probably misspelled, not going to look it up), Kim Allen, Casey Parsons, Jose Baez, Juan Bernhardt, Carlos Lopez, Reggie Walton to name a few. I really enjoyed building those team sets, but it was frustrating to see so many were a lot harder to find than the average common form those years, and my team sets will likely never be complete because of McLaughlin.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Kim Allen is a great signer--he just takes forever--sometimes years. Same goes for Greg B., but with a little less frequency. Mr. Allen seems like a really nice person. He's always been an extremely devout Christian as far back as I can recall. Not sure why he has such long reply times, but with enough patience, anyone will hear back from him.