Frank Udvari

2011-12 TTM Stats
Letters sent: 127
Successes: 71
Percentage: 55%

Frank Udvari

Retired referee.

Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973.

Fan letter sent: July 17,  2012.

Autographs received: July 28, 2012.

Frank Udvari was a referee for 15 seasons, and only missed 2 games in that span. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973, and continued to train and mentor referees after his retirement.

Mr. Udvari signed both of my cards in blue Sharpie marker. He also included not one, but TWO 8" x 10" photographs.


Mr. Udvari wrote "Best Wishes Sal" on this autographed photo, which shows his exhibit at the Hockey Hall of Fame.


On this photo, Mr. Udvari wrote "Good Luck Sal" above his autograph. I LOVE this picture, which shows the former referee climbing the glass to avoid two players chasing the puck. He labeled a few things on the photo; the Chicago player (left) is Reg Fleming, the Toronto player is Ron Stewart. Towards the bottom it says:

Nov.
Game 1961
Toronto at Chicago
I was much younger then.

One other thing I'd like to point out is that I sent a small SASE for the return of my cards. Mr. Udvari packaged the cards and photos in a large envelope he addressed himself and generously paid the postage. He also included a printed copy of his biography from the HHOF website and a cardboard insert to keep all of this stuff nice and straight. (However, he clipped it all together with a paper clip, which caused indentations on the cards and photos. Ironic that he'd go through all the trouble to keep things nice...only to be thwarted by Clippy).


Overall, this was a very memorable return from a Hall of Fame Referee. Thanks, Mr. Udvari.

Bernie Federko

2011-12 TTM Stats
Letters sent: 127
Successes: 70
Percentage: 55%

Bernie Federko

Retired player. Currently a color commentator for the St. Louis Blues.

Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

Fan letter sent: July 17,  2012.

Autographs received: July 26, 2012.

Bernie Federko played 14 seasons in the NHL--13 with the St. Louis Blues, and his final year with the Detroit Red Wings. He scored 1,130 points in 1,000 games, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2002.

Currently, Federko works as a color commentator for the St. Louis Blues television broadcast team. 

Mr. Federko kindly autographed all four cards sent in thin blue marker. What is extra-awesome is that this return took only nine days. An excellent return from a 1,000-point man and Hall of Fame player.

Cliff Koroll

Cliff Koroll

Retired player.

Autograph obtained in person on July 21, 2012.

Cliff Koroll played 11 seasons in the NHL, all with the Chicago Blackhawks. After he retired, he wold be an assistant coach for the team for 6 seasons.

I was able to get Cliff Koroll's autograph in person at the Chicago Blackhawks Convention last weekend. Since I was able to ask the players to use a different marker, I got Mr. Koroll to sign my card in blue Sharpie marker--or rather, my girlfriend did.

Though Koroll has not worked for the team since 1987, he still remains involved and is a regular guest at autograph events like the 'Hawks Convention. In fact, I also got his autograph in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Sheldon Brookbank

Sheldon Brookbank

Recently signed by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Autograph obtained in person on July 20, 2012.

Although Sheldon Brookbank has yet to play a game for the Chicago Blackhawks, he was at the Blackhawks Convention last weekend, signing autographs.

Needless to say, the line for him wasn't very long. I think I waited around 20 minutes once I got in line.

I welcomed Brookbank to the team and asked him to sign my card with a blue Sharpie marker I had in hand. He signed it for me--and by "signed" I mean made some sort of half-assed squiggle that looks like SLB. Oh, well...par for the course, I guess, when it comes to current players.

Marcus Kruger

Marcus Kruger

Currently with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Autograph obtained in person on July 20, 2012.

I went to the 5th annual Chicago Blackhawks Convention last weekend with my girlfriend, and she got me this card signed by Marcus Kruger. Prior to joining the Blackhawks, Kruger played 3 seasons for Djurgardens IF Stockholm in the Swedish Elite League.

We did really well that weekend, getting over 20 different cards and photos signed.

Don Beaupre

2011-12 TTM Stats
Letters sent: 127
Successes: 69
Percentage: 54%

Don Beaupre

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: July 18, 2012.

Autographs received: July 25, 2012.

Former goaltender Don Beaupre played in the NHL from 1980 to 1997. He is perhaps best known for his time with the Minnesota North Stars and the Washington Capitals. He also played for the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Beaupre nicely signed all five cards in blue Sharpie marker. Turnaround time was only one week!

FYI, this is my third success in requesting autographs from Mr. Beaupre. I also received autographs from him in 2007 and 2011.

Jimmy Carson

2011-12 TTM Stats
Letters sent: 127
Successes: 68
Percentage: 53%

Jimmy Carson

Retired player.

Fan letter sent: July 18, 2012.

Autographs received: July 23, 2012.

Last week, I mailed out letters to twelve retired players. Yesterday, I got my first response from that batch. Jimmy Carson so kindly autographed five cards for me in black Sharpie marker.

This was one of my quickest turnarounds ever--only five days!

Carson played 10 seasons in the NHL. He started out with the Los Angeles Kings, and was later traded to the Edmonton Oilers as part of the "Gretzky Trade." Despite enjoying a 100-point season for Edmonton, Carson felt under a lot of pressure and requested a trade. He then went onto play for the Detroit Red Wings, the Kings again, the Vancouver Canucks and the Hartford Whalers. He then wound down his career playing two seasons for the Detroit Vipers in the old IHL.

This is my second success when requesting autographs from Mr. Carson. He also signed cards for me back in 2007.

Niklas Hjalmarsson

2011-12 TTM Stats
Letters sent: 127
Successes: 67
Percentage: 52%

Niklas Hjalmarsson

Currently with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Fan letter sent: October 11, 2011.

Autographs received: July 21, 2012.

Niklas Hjalmarsson signed one card for me in black Sharpie marker, and personalized it To Sal.

I sent two other cards--a 2007-08 Rockford Icehogs team card and a 2008-09 AHL Top Prospects card. Hjalmarsson kept those two cards for some reason.

Hjalmarsson and numerous other Blackhawks were in town this past weekend for the annual Chicago Blackhawks Convention. He must have been answering fan mail the day before the show started, because my return envelope was postmarked July 20 from Chicago.

Murray Craven

Murray Craven

Retired player.

Autograph purchased at a card show in June 2012.

At first glance, you might think these were two different guys. What a difference facial hair makes.

The card on the right is from 1985-86, and was probably signed that year since the autograph is in black ballpoint pen. I don't think anyone used markers back then.

The card on the left is from the previous season--1984-85--but autographed in blue Sharpie marker. So it was probably signed a few years later, as blue Sharpies did not come into vogue until the 1990s. In fact, I'm thinking that this might have been signed at some sort of alumni game, since it is an old card but signed in marker. Also, the 1984-85 card of Rich Sutter I posted yesterday is also 'graphed in blue Sharpie, so maybe the autograph seeker got them both signed at the same event?

OK, tomorrow no more Flyers--I promise :)

Rich Sutter

Rich Sutter

Retired player. Currently a scout for the Phoenix Coyotes.

Autograph purchased at a card show in June 2012.

You might be feeling a bit of deja vu. Yesterday, I showed a signed card of Ron Sutter. For today, it is a signed card of his identical twin Rich. The brothers played together for the Philadelphia Flyers and later the St. Louis Blues. Rich played for a few other teams, including the Chicago Blackhawks.

This card is from the 1984-85 season. However, it is signed in blue Sharpie marker, so it may have been signed a few seasons later. (When did they start making blue Sharpies, anyway?)

Ron Sutter

Ron Sutter

Retired player. Currently a scout for the Calgary Flames.

Autograph purchased at a card show in June 2012.

This is a team-issued card measuring 4" x 6" of Flyers forward Ron Sutter. It is autographed in blue ballpoint pen. I find it kind of odd that he put his signature over the facsimile autograph above his name. 

Sutter played 18 seasons in the NHL, and was captain of the Flyers. He is the twin brother of Rich Sutter.

Bill Barber

Bill Barber

Retired player. Currently a scouting consultant for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Autograph purchased at a card show in June 2012.

This team-issued card, from the 1985-86 season, shows Bill Barber in his first year as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers. Like the other Flyers cards I purchased, it is signed in blue ballpoint pen.

Barber played in the NHL for 12 seasons--all with the Flyers. He was part of the famous "LCB Line" that included Bobby Clark and Reggie Leach. In 1990, Barber was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Dave Poulin

Dave Poulin

Retired player. Currently the Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Autograph purchased at a card show in June 2012.

Late last month, I purchased 6 different team-issued cards of the Philadelphia Flyers--not so much for the autographs, but for the fact that they were cards I had never seen before. But each card I purchased was of a player who had a long NHL career.

First up is this card of Dave Poulin. The card is from the 1985-86 season and was given away at autograph events. This card is signed in blue ballpoint pen, and roughly measures 4" x 6".

Show-and-Tell: 2006-07 Fleer

I have 60 autographed cards from the 2006-07 Fleer Hockey set. It was a perfect set for TTM purposes--it was cheap, consisted of 230 cards and, most importantly, did not have a lot of gloss on the front. Next to a blue Sharpie marker, cheap cards with low gloss are a TTM collector's best friend.

































I bought a box of these Fleer cards way back on November 3, 2006. The very next day, I met Nikolai Khabibulin and Martin Havlat and got each of their Fleer cards signed. Havlat was surprised to see a card of him in a 'Hawks uniform so soon.

Meeting those two players and getting their autographs is what inspired me to both start collecting autographs again and to blog about it.