I sent this 1986 Topps card to former Ranger George Wright on February 5, 2014. He was gracious enough to sign and return it to me. It came back in the mail on February 10, 2014. The autograph is much appreciated since I didn't have Mr. Wright's signature in my collection yet.
When I went to put the card away I noticed something. I have a lot of signed 1986 Topps Rangers cards. 25 to be exact. That's out of a team set of 37, including the traded set. The 25 autos I have include four of the traded cards. I decided maybe I should try to get the whole team set signed.
Here's the 1986 Topps Rangers I don't have signed yet:
Dickie Noles
Larry Parrish
Geno Petralli
Wayne Tolleson
Duane Walker
Gary Ward
Curt Wilkerson
Mickey Mahler
Tom Paciorek
Darrell Porter
Mitch Williams
Ricky Wright
None of these guys are big names. There weren't many big names with the Rangers in the 1986 set. They do present challenges though. Sadly, Darrell Porter has passed away. Unless I can trade for, or buy, a previously signed card I may have to make an exception for him. Curt Wilkerson will not sign through the mail because he considers it weird that people send mail to his home. No word on how he views store ads in the mail. I've tried Petralli, Tolleson, Ward, Mahler, Paciorek, and Williams before without success. I just sent out a new request to Petralli at a new address. I'm currently out of extra cards of Mitch Williams and Mickey Mahler.
If you happen to have any of these cards signed (and are sure they are legit), please let me know. I have several through the mail autographs listed for trade and I am sure we could work something out. If you happen to have an address for any of these guys that you know is good please shoot me an email. I would be thrilled to give it a shot. If you have ever undertaken a project like this I would like to hear about it and any successes, challenges, or tips you may have.
2 comments:
If you run out of any cards to send out, let me know. I don't have autographs, but I have plenty of extra 1986s to replenish you.
This is one of the team sets that I have done and will tell you my experience with it.
-Ricky Wright is next thing to impossible. Will not sign an autograph. I have heard some have offered him $1000 to sign a 1987 Topps and he refused it.
-Geno Petralli used to sign ttm No longer! Got mine signed at a private signing with him.
-Larry Parrish used to sign a lot through the mail c/o the minor league team he was coaching at the time, but has quit because, rumor has it, the same people would send to him over and over multiple cards each time.
-Curtis Wilkerson you covered him pretty well although he will sign IP.
-Darrell Porter. Have seen very few 86's on ebay over the years to bid on.
-Tom Paciorek signed for me ttm back in the day.
-Dickie Noles signed for me ttm back in the day.
-Mitch Williams is tough! After several attempts, finally got mine signed at a private signing
-Duane Ward I got him IP when he came through Albuquerque,NM as a minor league player in the late 1980's
- Mickey Mahler is fairly tough. Got him on a 1986 Fleer card when he came through Albuquerque prior to me working on the Topps team set.Tried a few times with no result.
-Gary Ward signs ttm
-Wayne Tolleson is very hit and miss ttm with relatively long wait times.
It was in the late 1980's that I started on this team set,so some of the signing habits might have changed since then. Ron Smith
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