Custom TTM Success: Goose Gossage!

Got another TTM return the other day, this one from Hall of Famer Goose Gossage.

Looks great! Goose has one of the better looking signatures in the game. This isn't entirely my custom, as I think I modified a "card that never was" from When Topps Had (Base)Balls, so shout-out to Giovanni for the assist.

Gossage pitched one All-Star season in Pittsburgh in 1977, but much like Reggie Jackson's forgotten stint in Baltimore, Goose's year as a Pirate is largely forgotten thanks to never appearing on a Topps card. His 1977 Topps card show him with his old team (White Sox), and his 1978 card airbrushes him into his next team (Yankees). The only real card picturing Goose as a Pirate that I'm aware of is his 1978 Kellogg's card.

This is a "1977 Topps Traded" card that never was, with the back being a modified version of his real '77 Topps card.

As a Pad in the Hall, Rich Gossage is among top-tier guys I collect. I've already got a certified auto or two of his, but figured I'd try my hand with a TTM request. Inspiration struck, and I whipped up 3 different customs that I was pretty happy with. I read he typically will only sign for a fee these days, with his current asking price jumping up to $25 per signature as of a year or two ago, though occasionally he'll be in a generous mood. $25 seemed a bit pricey to me, so I wrote out a check for $15 and crossed my fingers.

Less than 3 weeks later, my return envelope arrived back home and I cautiously opened it. It was bittersweet when I slid out 1 signed card and 2 unsigned. Bummer.. one for three. Maybe I would have had better luck if I included more money or my letter was better. Oh well, I'll still consider this a success. Much better than nothing.

Below are the auto-less customs I had included.

Did you know the White Sox wore shorts for a few games in the 70s? Pretty funny. I thought it might be cool to have a card with Goose in shorts signed. As far as I know, he has a light-hearted memory of the shorts, but for whatever reason didn't feel like signing this one.

Here's a "1984 Donruss Traded" card that never was. Goose's real '84 Donruss card shows him with the Yankees, but he had signed with San Diego as a free agent that January, and would go on to help the Padres win the pennant that year.

From researching his recent signing tendencies, it seems like the team he's most likely to sign cards/photos of are Padres (Yankees least likely), so I would have thought this would be the front-runner to get signed. Nice smiling dugout photo. But nope, no autograph on this one either.

But yeah, I'm happy with the 1977 Topps custom, at least! Thanks, Mr. Gossage!