1965 Topps Sandy Koufax and Dodgers friends

Amazing package from gcrl arrived the other day. I was super excited for this card. Apart from a beat-up league leaders card, I don't think I previously had any playing-days Sandy Koufax in my collection. It pairs nicely with the sweet autograph I splurged for last month. But technically, this isn't for the Koufax PC, but rather the 1965 setbuild. It's in the right the condition I like for vintage: just off enough to keep the Slabbing Sect away, but still a fantastic, eye-pleasing specimen of a baseball card.

The back's a beaut, too.

And we're not through with the vintage Koufax...

Jim also included this iconic LL card featuring the one-two punch of Koufax and Don Drysdale.

Jim is the cardsphere's premiere Steve Garvey collector, and looks like he had some dupes available to share with me.

We differ in that my fond memories of Garv are from his Padre days, while I'm sure gcrl would have rather he spent his entire career in Dodger blue.

Nice selection of 80s oddballs.

Here's a card that made my eyes light up. Terrific looking relic card.

Great stuff.. thanks, Jim!

And there's more from the package, too, but I'm going to spread it out over another post or two.

- --o

And since this post is heavy on Dodgers and it happens to be Ron Cey's birthday, here's a bonus card to show off today that I picked up off eBay a little while back:

Ain't that pretty?! You know I'm crazy about Topps Retired, and if I see a refractor auto I don't have pop up with a low opening bid, you can bet I'll throw a bid on it.

He'll always be an Oakland Athletic to me.

Just kidding.

Cey seem like a great guy, and is very generous signing autographs for fans. Got a nice TTM return from him last year.

Happy Birthday, Penguin!

Custom TTM Success: Ron Cey and Ron Gant! (2 Rons make a right)

The blast of TTM requests that I sent out mid January have been continuing to trickle in, much to my delight. Recently, returns from guys named Ron came back on consecutive days.

I'm no stranger to a custom Ron Cey card, him having been included in my 2015 Cardsphere Heroes 9-card set. But after learning that he's a dependable signer, I had to whip up a special custom for him to slap on some ink for me.

The triumphant image is from his way back to the dugout after he hit the big home run in Game 3 of the 1981 World Series, which turned the tide for Los Angeles and helped them bring home the WS trophy.

The blurry pack pic is of his webgem from Game 3.

Mr. Cey was kind enough to sign 3 of these customs for me. One has already been delivered to the esteemed Mr. Night Owl. One is for me to keep. And I've got one more available for trade.

-   - - - -------o

The other Ron to be nice enough to return my autograph request was Ron Gant. I loved Gant as a kid when I first got into baseball, watching plenty of Braves games on TBS back then. His 1990 season was incredible, and while he never quite cashed in on his HOF potential, he still had a long, solid career. It was a joy for me when he joined my hometown Padres for a year and was a bright spot to watch on the disappointing 2002 team.

I'm pretty sure Gant doesn't have any certified autos from his San Diego days, so I made one, like with the Cey, in the style of 1996 Leaf Signature Series. I would have preferred he signed in the "sweet spot" of the card, rather than in the photo area, but I'm not going to complain. Mr. Gant was kind enough to sign promptly and without a fee (sent via the TV station in Atlanta where he currently works co-hosting a morning show), and I'm grateful for it.

Here's a photo from an angle where the signature is a bit more visible.

The back turned out nicely.

I also threw in a second card-- not a custom this time, but a dupe I had on hand of 1993 Upper Deck, easily one of the best sets from the junkwax era.

Love it!

Big thanks to Mr. Gant and Mr. Cey for taking a moment out of their days for me!