Phil Goyette

Phil Goyette

Retried player.

Fan letter sent: June 15, 2009.

Autographs received: June 30, 2009.

Another fantastic return for the month of June. Phil Goyette signed all six--count 'em, six-- cards sent in blue Sharpie marker. Goyette's career spanned 16 seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. In 1970, he won the Lady Byng Trophy.

Oh, and for those keeping score at home, I now have 60 cards autographed from the "Tall Boys" set.

Chris Pronger

Chris Pronger

Currently with the Anaheim Ducks Philadelphia Flyers.

Fan letter sent: October 14, 2009.

Autographs received: June 29, 2009.

This took all season, but what's my rush? Chris Pronger nicely signed all four cards in black Sharpie marker, and personalized them To Sal. I also had success when writing to Pronger in 2007.

Ron Ellis

Ron Ellis

Retried player.

Fan letter sent: June 11, 2009.

Autographs received: June 26, 2009.

Ron Ellis signed four cards in blue Sharpie marker, and returned the fifth card unsigned. The unsigned card was from the 1973-74 Topps set. Either he does not sign that card or four is Mr. Ellis' limit when signing autographs through the mail. Either way, it's awesome that I got these four signed.

Lou Angotti

Lou Angotti

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: June 16, 2009.

Autographs received: June 26, 2009.

Lou Angotti signed both cards using a silver Sharpie marker.

Ted Lindsay

Ted Lindsay

Retried player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966.

Fan letter sent: June 10, 2009.

Autographs received: June 25, 2009.

Ted Lindsay remains one of the best TTM signers out there. He signed all four cards in blue Sharpie marker, and also sent a biographical pamphlet which he also autographed (see below). This is an update of his 2007 pamphlet.

Dickie Moore

Dickie Moore

Retired player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.

Fan letter sent: June 16, 2009.

Autographs received: June 23, 2009.

Another day, another Hall of Famer. Like pretty much all Original Six Era players, Dickie Moore has a great-looking signature. He autographed the Tall Boys card in silver Sharpie marker, and the Missing Link card in blue Sharpie marker. Turnaround time was a brisk seven days.

Norm Ullman

Norm Ullman

Retried player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1982.

Fan letter sent: June 16, 2009.

Autographs received: June 22, 2009.

Today, I got back cards from two Hall of Fame players: Bill Gadsby and Norm Ullman.

Norm Ullman has a classy looking signature. He adds #3 and H.O.F. 1982 underneath his autograph. He signed all five of my cards in black Sharpie marker.

Bill Gadsby

Bill Gadsby

Retried player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970.

Fan letter sent: June 16, 2009.

Autographs received: June 22, 2009.

This is the second time I have written to Bill Gadsby. The first time, in 2007, was also successful.

Mr. Gadsby signed all four cards in thin black Sharpie marker. Turnaround time was six days.

Mike Hartman

Mike Hartman

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: June 10, 2009.

Autographs received: June 20, 2009.

Mike Hartman signed both cards I sent in ballpoint pen. When I wrote to him way back in the 1990s, he autographed my cards in ballpoint pen too. I guess some things don't change, eh? :)

Johnny Bower

Johnny Bower

Retried player. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1976.

Fan letter sent: June 10, 2009.

Autographs received: June 19, 2009.

Johnny Bower retired from the NHL almost 40 years ago, and to this day he remains one of the classiest players to sign through the mail. Mr. Bower signed all four cards I sent in blue Sharpie marker. This is the second time I have written to him--the first time was also successful.

Larry Zeidel

Larry Ziedel

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: June 10, 2009.

Autographs received: June 19, 2009.

Larry "The Rock" Ziedel was an interesting hockey player. He played for the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks from 1951 to 1954, then was buried in the minors for the next 13 seasons. At 39 years of age, the career minor-leaguer sent resumes to each of the six expansion teams in 1967, and got a job playing for the Flyers. A very cool story on how he was able to make it back into the NHL after being out of it for so long.

Mr. Zeidel signed my card in blue Sharpie marker--though saying he signed it is an understatement. Zeidel filled every inch of the card--front and back--with writing. On the front, he put:

larry Zeidel 1967 "The Rock" Defense Bonus Plus 17 6/1/27....

"The Rock" was his nickname, he played defense and was born on June 1, 1927. I guess his plus/minus rating was plus-17 that season.

On the back, he wrote:

6/1/27 6/1/27 Red Wings Cup '52 Keep that Spirit Going, etc. etc. etc. Larry Zeidel "The Rock"

So, let's see. He autographed the front and back, put his nickname on the front and back, wrote his birth date on the card three times, some of his career accolades and an inspirational message ("Keep that spirit going, etc. etc. etc").

This has got to be the most, ahem, interesting autograph I've ever gotten through the mail.

Curtis Glencross

Curtis Glencross

Currently with the Calgary Flames.

Fan letter sent: March 9, 2009.

Autograph received: June 16, 2009.

The past two weeks have been super busy for me, with final projects for my two Grad School classes due at the end of last week. But finally, I'm caught up with this blog. I also managed to post a new article at Puck Junk, too.

Anyway, I got a card back from Curtis Glencross today, signed in black Sharpie marker. The problem is, it wasn't the card I sent him--I mailed out a 2007-08 OPC Marquee Rookie, and got back this 2007-08 MVP Rookie instead. Ah well, not the end of the world or anything.

Chris Conner

Chris Conner

Currently with the Dallas Stars.

Fan letter sent: January 20, 2009.

Autograph received: June 15, 2009.

Chris Conner signed this OPC Marquee Rookies card in black Sharpie marker. Late last year, I decided to try and get as many Marquee Rookies cards signed as possible. I now have 19 of the 07-08 Marquee Rookies signed. The ink takes well to them, and they're a bit more expendable than Young Guns.

Like other Dallas Stars players, I also got a nice, friendly form letter.

Mark Fraser

Mark Fraser

Currently with the Lowell Devils (AHL).

Fan letter sent: February 9, 2009.

Autograph received: June 3, 2009.

Fraser has spent the past three seasons with the Lowell Devils, though he did play 7 games for New Jersey in 2006-07. He signed this OPC Marquee Rookies card in black Sharpie marker.

Garnet Exelby

Garnett Exelby

Currently with the Atlanta Thrashers.

Fan letter sent: March 16, 2009.

Autographs received: June 1, 2009.

A former member of the Chicago Wolves (AHL), Exelby has been with the Thrashers since midway through the 2002-03 season. He signed all three cards I sent. Strangely, though, he signed one in ballpoint pen and the other two in black Sharpie marker. Not sure why he did that. Maybe he signed the first one in pen, saw that it looked crummy, then found a marker to sign the other two. Who knows? Exelby was also cool enough to personalize the cards To Sal.

Sheldon Souray

Sheldon Souray

Currently with the Edmonton Oilers.

Fan letter sent: October 14, 2008.

Autographs received: June 1, 2009.

This return took nearly the entire season, but a 4/4 success is always worth the wait. Sheldon Souray signed all four cards in blue Sharpie marker.