OT: Autographs/Hockey Cards Thread

Young Sandwich

Trout & Hockey
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Dec 13, 2015
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What's up with that Voracek jersey?
 

Strawberry Fields

12x Calder Cup Champs
Sep 29, 2017
8,368
28,051
Central PA
Carter Camper
c/o Grand Rapids Griffins
Sent: 2/5/19
Received: 2/19/19

A lot of the letters I've sent out lately have been to current/former Hershey Bears so they probably won't be of much interest around here. Camper only played one year in Hershey (15/16) but it was a good one and he was a key member of a team that went to the Calder Cup Finals. The goal he scored in the picture I sent him (game 7 of round 2) made it onto SportsCenter the next day. He also included a nice little note about his time in Hershey and his positive feelings towards the town. Always love it when players write back.

He also played three games for Boston in 11/12, scoring a goal.

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Here's the goal he scored
 

BrindamoursNose

Registered User
Oct 14, 2008
20,032
14,090
Started with Monater Mania then walker stalker.
Walker stalker has turned into a major cluster F the past few years so we’re not going back to that one.

How so (as a cluster F)?

I went once and it was aight. Wasn't in love with it and MAN IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE. I paid $70 to meet Michael Rooker (and of course I lost the damn ticket AT THE EVENT so I never met him)
 

Lord Defect

Secretary of Blowtorching
Nov 13, 2013
18,745
34,739
How so (as a cluster F)?

I went once and it was aight. Wasn't in love with it and MAN IT WAS SO EXPENSIVE. I paid $70 to meet Michael Rooker (and of course I lost the damn ticket AT THE EVENT so I never met him)
At the risk of sounding like a hipster, it’s too mainstream. First year was good, after that they started to nickle and dime you. They started to charge you to take a selfie. Year after they stopped selfies and started pimping photo ops.
Then they started overselling admission, adding multiple tiers of VIP status and all the while the volunteer staff do not know what’s going on.
“Normal” cons, the clientele “get it”. Your paying admission and then paying to meet movie or tv stars. Your normally allotted a small bit of time to chit chat, take a picture, get your autograph and move on.
At walker stalker you get people that do not go to conventions, are surprised that you have to pay for the autograph and stand in line on top of that.
Normal cons the price range for an autograph range from $20-50, walker stalker started near there, normal was 20 the first year, now they are $50-$100 with the same for a photo op.
Walker stalker just got too big too greedy and the majority of the con goers are unaware of what they are getting into.
The last time we went we waited the entire day for Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s autograph. He was pulled from the signing table constantly for photo ops and panels
 

Strawberry Fields

12x Calder Cup Champs
Sep 29, 2017
8,368
28,051
Central PA
Deryk Engelland, c/o Vegas Golden Knights in 25 days

Aaron Ness, c/o Hershey Bears in 20 days (with a nice personalization)

Returns from a former and current Hershey Bear today.

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Strawberry Fields

12x Calder Cup Champs
Sep 29, 2017
8,368
28,051
Central PA
How do you ship them?
I just send a card/picture, letter of request, and self-addressed stamped return envelope (SASE) to the player in care of the team they're currently with. I usually send cards because I've collected them for a while, but lately I've been sending small pictures to players I don't have a card readily handy for, mostly minor leaguers and junior players. For example, the picture I sent to Ness was a picture of him I found on Google Images, printed out onto photo paper, and cut out. If you're more technologically literate than I am, then you can probably just print 4x6s without going to the extra hassle of having to cut them out and stuff. I've sent 8x10s before, too, but they're a bit more of a hassle because you need the bigger envelopes and have to get them weighed at the post office, etc.

The letter is usually the toughest part. You're asking for the autograph while also explaining why you're a fan of the player. Not all the players even read them, but I try to make them nice, anyway. It shouldn't be a five-paragraph essay, but should be more than just "Please sign this," too. Being genuine is the biggest thing. Mine are usually about half a page, starting by saying I'm a big fan and would appreciate if they'd take the time to sign what I sent them. Then go into why you like them for a couple sentences; for instance, you can mention a particular goal they scored or something else about them that sticks out to you. Then I wrap up by thanking them for their time and wishing them good luck with the rest of the year. I also personally add a P.S. telling them to personalize the card/picture if they'd like to (this shows that you're not just gonna turn around and sell it). So short, sweet, and genuine are the three big takeaways there.

The SASE is pretty much to save the player time and money. Lots of players won't send your stuff back if you don't provide them with a way to do so. It makes it so the player doesn't have to take the time to write out a new envelope and use their own stamps.

Of course, not all players sign and not all players sign everything. I usually look here to see if anyone's had success with a player in the last year or so. The only downside is you have to join the website to see the addresses, because some of them, especially retired players, were obtained through home addresses, which aren't as publicly available as team addresses. I'm not comfortable sending to those. SCF - TTMM player list

Addresses are usually pretty easy to find. You can either Google them or search them on this website (I usually do the latter): ★ FanMail.biz: The Celebrity Addresses Database

This site has accurate AHL and juniors addresses, but hasn't been updated since 2016 so some more recent teams are missing (but in any case, you should be able to find any address you need either on Google or on the team's website): Addresses - Hockey

He also has a good FAQ section on his page that covers a lot of bases. Ask Mac - Frequently Asked Questions

Success isn't guaranteed no matter who you send to. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, sometimes several months, sometimes you never see your item back again. But it's still a really fun hobby. Hopefully this helps. If you wanna know anything else, you can always shoot me a message and I'll be glad to help.
 
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Magua

Doer of Hoffific Things
Apr 25, 2016
37,157
154,047
Huron of the Lakes
Three back today. I think this is the most I've ever gotten back in one day before.

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Mikko Koivu, c/o Minnesota Wild in 164 days

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Cal Foote, c/o Syracuse Crunch in 24 days

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John Tortorella, c/o Columbus Blue Jackets in 17 days

Really happy with all of these.

I'm not saying you should get Tkachuk family and Torts autographs for @Captain Dave Poulin 's birthday. But you should.

Which big players haven't you gotten stuff back from?
 

Strawberry Fields

12x Calder Cup Champs
Sep 29, 2017
8,368
28,051
Central PA
I'm not saying you should get Tkachuk family and Torts autographs for @Captain Dave Poulin 's birthday. But you should.

Which big players haven't you gotten stuff back from?
I got Matthew in January and I sent to Keith at the beginning of the month... haven't heard back from him yet, though. Rest assured that if I ever hear back from Keith (or Bunnaman, I sent to him on the same day), Cap will be tagged in the post :laugh:

As far as big name players, it's a little harder to say because I've been targeting prospects and minor leaguers lately. I do research before I send out to see if anyone's gotten the player recently, and if not, I usually just shy away. The only three Flyers I never heard back from were Giroux, Jagr, and Couturier, and I knew the first two were longshots, anyway (this was back in 2012). I never heard back from Weber or Rinne, either, but I sent to Weber again a few weeks ago because he's apparently a good signer now. Carlson never returned my card (but this was years ago and the Caps don't take fanmail now). There's a few other bigger names I sent to at the beginning of the year that I haven't gotten back yet that I don't consider lost yet (Toews, both Staals, Chara, Atkinson off the top of my head- I also sent to Dubois and Werenski back in the fall, because I saw people get them last year, but I'm not so sure about those). I thought that Koivu was never coming back until it showed up in my mailbox today, so you never know.

The bigger surprise is when "smaller" names never send back to you. I sent to Jason Akeson back when he was in Adirondack and never heard back. I sent to AMac before he was a Flyer and I knew he was terrible, and he never sent my card back, either. So I have extra reason to hate him. Like, even John Tavares sent my card back when I wrote to him; Mac has no excuse :laugh:
 

Strawberry Fields

12x Calder Cup Champs
Sep 29, 2017
8,368
28,051
Central PA
A week ahead of my birthday, I bought a bunch of cards on COMC for about $140, including 9 or 10 autographs I don't have and can't get through the mail. I'll post them as soon as I get them. Anyway, David Pastrnak was one of the guys I was interested in, but I looked and he only has three autographed cards available...
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...aaaaand I quickly decided against that.
 

Strawberry Fields

12x Calder Cup Champs
Sep 29, 2017
8,368
28,051
Central PA
Just last night I told posted in my response to Magua that I had unsuccessfully written to Shea Weber when he was in Nashville seven years ago and tried him again a few weeks ago. Speak of the devil, it showed up in the mailbox today.
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Shea Weber, c/o Montreal Canadiens, in 24 days. He kept the $ I sent to cover for postage but I'm not gonna complain.

Also received Samuel Montembeault, c/o Springfield Thunderbirds in 29 days
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