FAILURE - Mike Modano

Mike Modano
Not actual autographs.

Currently with the Detroit Red Wings.

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Ghost-signed autographs received: October 23, 2010.

These 4 cards that I received from Mike Modano do not have his autograph on them. I'm not sure who signed them, but these autographs are not consistent with other recent TTM autographs successes:

• Example 1 at Sports Autographs TTM
• Example 2 at Jess418's IP and TTM Autographs

Sadly, the 4 cards you see above are consistent with the fake autograph I received back in 2009. By the way, a person who "fakes" autographs on behalf of an athlete or celebrity is known as a ghost signer.

Sigh! I've been a fan of Modano's since 1989, and have wanted his autograph for over 20 years. I'd rather not get a response than receive fakes.

Pat Peake

Pat Peake

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: October 2, 2010.

Autograph received: October 22, 2010.

Pat Peake is a former first round draft pick of the Washington Capitals. He had a stellar career in junior hockey, scoring 319 points in 162 games. Unfortunately, several injuries limited his playing time in the NHL and ultimately ended his career.

Peake signed all 4 cards in black Sharpie marker, and added his number 14 to each of them--including his Team USA card where he is actually wearing number 16. Turnaround time was 20 days.

RTS - Doug Smail

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: October 11, 2010.

RTS received: October 22, 2010.

Eleven days after I sent a fan letter to former NHLer Doug Smail, it came back marked Return to Sender. Fortunately, the yellow label on the envelope shows Smail's new address, so I will try him again there.

Semyon Varlomov

Semyon Varlomov

Currently with the Washington Capitals.

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Autograph received: October 16, 2010.

A 19-day return from an NHL player is pretty fast. Of course, Varlamov has bee ninjured this season, so he probably has a bit more down time to answer fan mail.

Varlamov kept one card--a 2010-11 Victory Hockey card. He probably needed it for his set :)

He nicely signed the other 2 cards in blue Sharpie marker.

Notice that on Varlomov's minor league card, his first name is spelled SIMEON. It was written that way on all of his cards from 2008-09, but after that his name is spelled SEMYON. Varlamov changed the spelling of his name with the NHL to closer reflect how it is actually pronounced in Russian. (Thanks, Wikipedia!)

Bobby Smith

Bobby Smith

Retired player. Currently the owner of the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL).

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Autograph received: October 15, 2010.

Hooray! Another return from an 1980s/1990s era player. Bobby Smith generously autographed all 6 cards sent in black Sharpie marker. This is the second time I have written to him--the first time was also a 6/6 success.

Michal Pivonka

Michal Pivonka

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: October 2, 2010.

Autograph received: October 15, 2010.

Michal Pivonka played 13 seasons in the NHL--all with the Washington Capitals. He autographed all 5 cards sent in black Sharpie marker, and even added his number 20 below his sig.

I am glad to finally get Pivonka's 1990-91 Upper Deck rookie card signed (bottom row, right). That candid photo is just something else. I love that look on his face--open mouth, eyes looking at the camera, as if he's saying "Eh, what the #$&@ are you lookin' at?"

Doug Gilmour

Doug Gilmour

Retired player. Currently the Head Coach of the Kingston Frontenacs (OHL).

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Autograph received: October 14, 2010.

I've wanted Doug Gilmour's autograph since his days with the Calgary Flames, way back in 1989. Gilmour spent many seasons playing for division or conference rivals of the Blackhawks--the St. Louis Blues, the Calgary Flames and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Later, he would actually be the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, but unfortunately it was during their worst years.

Gilmour nicely signed all 5 cards in blue Sharpie marker. Turnaround time was only 17 days.

Jim Schoenfeld

Jim Schoenfeld

Retired player. Currently the Assistant General Manager of the New York Rangers. 

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Autograph received: October 12, 2010.

Jim Schoenfeld nicely signed all five cards in black Sharpie marker.He playd 13 years in the NHL, and was also an NHL coach for parts of 10 seasons. I could have sworn that I remembered Schoenfeld doing color commentary too in the early 1990s, but I might be wrong about that.

One little known fact about Jim Schoenfeld is that he had a short musical career. He made two albums--one called Schony (1971) and the other called The Key Is Love (1974).

Top picture courtesy of The Buffalo Sports Museum. Bottom picture courtesy of Amazon.com.

Basil McRae

Basil McRae

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Autograph received: October 12, 2010.

Basil McRae was one of the toughest enforcers of the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played for a lot of teams, but is probably best remembered with the Minnesota North Stars.

McRae generously autographed all five cards sent to him. Unfortunately, they were signed in ballpoint pen. It is still great to finally get his autograph.

Dave Bolland

Dave Bolland

Currently with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fan letter sent: December 18, 2009.

Autograph received: October 12, 2010.

Dave Bolland is a member of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks...it feels good to say that. This return took about 10 months to get back.Bolland signed the card in black Sharpie marker.

Behn Wilson

Behn Wilson

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: September 27, 2010.

Autograph received: October 8, 2010.

My first TTM success of the 2010-11 season! I sent out 14 letters on September 27, and 11 days later I received my 3 cards signed by former NHLer Behn Wilson. These were signed in black Sharpie marker.

Wilson played 5 seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers and 4 for the Chicago Blackhawks. Topps and OPC issued cards of Wilson when he was with the Flyers, but unfortunately not when he was with the Blackhawks.

Eric Staal

Eric Staal

Currently with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Autographed insert card. Purchased at a card shop in October 2010.

This card is from the 2005-06 Beehive Hockey set. It looks cool and is signed in blue Sharpie marker--and the price was right--so I picked it up.

I've had a TTM success with Staal way back in 2009, but it took a long time (over 1 1/2 years).

Shane Doan

Currently with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Autographed insert card. Purchased at a card shop in October 2010.

Since I heard that Shane Doan is another person who is hard to get an autograph from through-the-mail, I decided to pick up this 2006-07 Be A Player Portraits Signature card of the Coyotes' captain.

I now have 3 cards from this oversized autograph set.

Big Improvements to this Blog

I have maintained this blog for almost four years, documenting my successes and failures of collecting hockey autographs.

But now this site will grow to be much more.

Many people ask how to go about collecting autographs through the mail, so I've added a section called Getting Started, which will give step-by-step instructions on how to start building your autograph collection.

I have also added a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section,  which hopefully should answer some of the most common queries about this hobby. If you can think of some other questions that should be there, let me know. I want this blog to be a resource to both aspiring and longtime autograph collectors.

These sections can be found near the top of the site, along with complete NHL and AHL team addresses.

And there's so much more to come. Stay tuned...