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Freddy Schmidt

Secret Santa In Your SASE?

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Good signers have a little Santa in them.

I look at www.sportscollectors.net and see others who note in their tracked response: “Added small photo.”

I think that some of the hobby’s most generous custom card designers are these Secret Santas. Those of you adding an extra or sending some dupes on request are giving a retiree the chance to treat other collectors.

My one request of all of you? When you give, give freely. Add a post-it to a bonus card saying FOR YOU, so the signer doesn’t autograph everything in sight.

I see too many collectors saying, “I told him he could keep a couple if he wanted, but he signed them all.” That smells too much like, “I’ll make a half-hearted offer in hopes of getting lots of autographed extras because of the confusion.”

Someone like Freddy Schmidt loved rewarding the best letters. Help them help us.

Coming Monday: The Yankee who inspired Harvey Meiselman’s address directory!

Cubs/Phillies/Cardinals Fans Mourn

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The Cubs, Phillies and Cardinals. Three popular teams, all fun to collect.

Then, where were all the collectors when it came to Freddy Schmidt?

Schmidt died in November at age 96. The journeyman pitcher was part of two Cardinals World Series winners.

I expected to see a couple of hundred successes listed on www.sportscollectors.net.

Nope.

Schmidt was 30 for 30, signing through February of 2012. Did his health begin to decline then, or didn’t he get any more letters?

The mystery? His last year in the majors was 1947, also known as the pre-Topps era.

Collectors lucky enough to write found that Schmidt answered questions, wrote notes, sometimes added photos and loved signing “95 Years Young.”

The moral? Set collecting is fine. But don’t limit yourself to “what can I get signed?” Ask, too, “Who can I write to?”

By the way, don’t miss the great interview with Schmidt (linked above) by Ed Attanasio!