1967 Topps Detroit Tigers Jim Northrup #408

Today's entry in my 1967 Topps Autographed Baseball Card collection is a member of the 1968 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers and a five sport (baseball, football, basketball, golf and track) star in high school. It is Jim Northrup, Outfielder for the Tigers, card number 408 in the 1967 Topps Baseball card set of 609 subjects. Sadly, Jim Northrup passed away June 8, 2011 at the age of 71 from a seizure.

This autograph was obtained with a through the mail (TTM) request on March 18, 2009 to Mr. Northrup at his home in Michigan. If you are interested in contacting players through the mail, I highly recommend sportscollectors.net as a resource to the addresses of your favorite players and teams. Jim Northrup graciously signed my card with a blue ballpoint pen and returned it to me 13 days later. Thank you, Mr. Northrup. As of July 14, 2011, I have accumulated 544 different signatures in my collection of 1967 Topps Autographed cards.

Jim "Silver Fox" Northrup played 12 seasons in the major leagues, with the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles. The "Silver Fox" nickname came from that fact that his hair prematurely turned gray. His career started in 1964 with the Tigers, but did not win a starting position until the 1966 season. He was named the starting Right Fielder which required Future Hall of Famer Al Kaline to move to Centerfield. During the 1966 season, Northrup proved to be a major leaguer to stay by hitting 24 doubles and 16 home runs. His most memorable season was 1968, during which he hit 5 Grand Slams, including 2 in consecutive at bats and one in the World Series. Northrup helped led the Tigers during the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals by hitting 2 home runs and knocking in 8 runs.

Jim Northrup stayed with the Tigers until 1974, then was traded to the Expos and then again to the Orioles during the season. He ended his career in 1975 with the Orioles. His career statistics include a .267 batting average with 1254 hits, of which 153 were home runs, 610 runs batted in and 603 runs scored. Jim was an excellent fielder as well, with a .981 career fielding percentage in 1301 games. To learn more about Jim Northrup, go to his biography at wikipedia.org.



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1967 Topps Bengal Belters Detroit Tigers Al Kaline & Norm Cash #216

Today's entry for my collection of 1967 Topps Autographed Baseball cards is in honor of Derek Jeter getting his 3000th hit today. He joins this Hall of Famer in an exclusive club of only 28 members. It is Al Kaline, the great Detroit Tiger who shares this card with Norm Cash as the "Bengal Belters", card number 216 in the 1967 Topps Baseball set of 609 subjects. As of July 9, 2011, I have accumulated 542 different autographs in the 1967 set.

Hall of Famer and Detroit Tiger Great Al Kaline signed this 1967 Topps Baseball card during Spring Training 2010 in Lakeland, FL. Mr. Kaline arrives at the ballpark in Lakeland around 8:30am each morning during Spring Training and on March 2nd he was right on time. There was about a dozen collectors waiting for him and he graciously signed one item per person. As you can see, he signed this with a blue sharpie and has a beautiful signature. If you have any 1967 Topps autographed cards, please let me know, as I might need them to further my collection.

Al "Mr. Tiger" Kaline played all 22 seasons in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers from 1953 to 1974. He started his career in 1953 at the age of 18, signing as a Bonus Baby with the Tigers out of high school. Mr. Kaline mainly played right field, which he was feared for his strong throwing arm, for the Tigers but also played first base and designated hitter during the twilight of his career. He appeared in 18 All-Star games and won a World Series Championship with the Tigers in 1968 beating the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Al won 10 Gold Gloves awards for the defensive efforts in right field. His career statistics include a .297 batting average with 3007 hits, 399 Home runs and 1,583 runs batted in. Al Kaline was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980 on his first year of eligibility with 88.3% of the votes. After retiring from playing baseball, Mr. Kaline joined the broadcast booth for Tiger games and currently serves as a Special Assistant to the President of the Tigers.

"Stormin' Norman" Cash spent 17 seasons in the major leagues from 1958 to 1974. His career started with the Chicago White Sox in 1958 and played there for two seasons. He was part of a eight player trade with the Cleveland Indians but then was traded again before playing a game to the Detroit Tigers for Steve Demeter. Norm's career blossomed with the Tigers, winning a batting title in 1961 and a World Series in 1968. Norm Cash's career statistics include a .271 batting average, 377 Home Runs and 1,103 runs batted in. He appeared in 5 All-Star games and won the Comeback Player of the Year award twice, 1965 and 1971. Tragically, Norm passed away in 1986 when he drowned on a fishing trip in Lake Michigan. He was 51 years old at his time of death.




To read more about Al Kaline biography, go to wikipedia.com and Norm Cash at wikipedia.com.


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1967 Topps Twins Team Card with Tony Oliva and Rod Carew

The empty mailbox streak of 7 days has ended in a BIG way! Today, the mailbox had a super surprise waiting for me. It was an envelope from Tony Oliva of the Minnesota Twins post marked from Fort Myers, Florida, the spring training home of the team. Enclosed in the envelope were several items including this card for my 1967 Topps Autographed Baseball card set. It is the Twins Team card, number 211 in the 1967 Topps set of 609 cards. It has been signed by Tony Oliva and Rod Carew!

There is a long story behind this autograph card. The story begins during my Spring Training trip three weeks ago to Florida. On March 4, my friend Jim and I visited Fort Myers to see the Twins practice and then saw the Twins and Boston Red Sox play a game that night. Knowing that Tony Oliva was a member of the Twins front office, I had brought his 1967 Topps card, #50 just in case I ran into him. During the day, we waited for the players and coaches to arrive and we noticed that Tony Oliva and Rod Carew had driven to the ballpark together. They drove past the autograph collectors without signing any cards. I guess that was strike one. As the practice progressed, Mr. Oliva was instructing several Twins players in the batting cages along with Rod Carew. After a break in the practice, I asked Tony Oliva if he would be willing to sign my card for my collection.

He refused and said he was working. Strike two. Undeterred, I continued to follow Tony during the practice and at one point he saw me standing alone as he came out of the clubhouse and I asked if he would sign me card. Again, he refused and went back to work. I guess that was a foul ball, no third strike yet. As the practice started to wind down and the players and coaches started the leave the field, Tony was called over by a couple of fans and he started to sign some autographs. As he was signing the autographs, I asked if he would sign my card for my collection. He passed me over a couple of times, but I did not give up. Finally, he took my card and signed it with a blue sharpie that I provided. Persistence paid off.

I thanked Tony Oliva for the autograph, shook his hand and asked if he would take a picture with me and he obliged. That would have been a great story in itself, but it did not end there. After I arrived home, I decided to write Tony a letter apologizing for being so persistent in pursuit of his autograph. Enclosed with the letter, I included two 8x10s of the picture of me and Tony Oliva, two more 1967 Topps cards, the Twins Team card above and the 1966 American League Batting Leaders card, #239, and a gift card to Outback Steakhouse. I asked if he could sign one of the 8x10s and keep the other and asked he if could sign the Batting Leaders card, already signed by Hall of Famer Al Kaline and the Twins Team card. I also asked if he could have Hall of Famer Rod Carew sign the team card as well. I mailed the envelope on March 10, 2010 and received it back 12 days later with both photos signed and both cards signed. Even Rod Carew signed the team card. Thank you very much, Mr Oliva and Mr. Carew!

Tony Oliva's career lasted 15 seasons in major league baseball, all with the Minnesota Twins. He started his career in 1964, winning the American League Rookie of the Year award and named to the American League All-star for the first of eight consecutive seasons. He ended his playing days in 1978 with a career .304 batting average, 220 home runs and 947 runs batted in, 329 doubles and a total of 1917 hits in 1676 games. Tony's eight consecutive All-Star appearances to start his career broke the previous record set by Hall of Famer Joe Dimaggio of the New York Yankees. Tony Oliva won 3 batting titles during his career, 1964, 1965 and 1971 and won a Gold Glove award in 1966. The latter part of his career was hampered by injuries and there has been much debate about his place in baseball history. Considered one of the best players not in the Baseball Hall of Fame, Tony Oliva deserves his place in Cooperstown.

To learn more about Tony Oliva and his career, go to his biography at wikipedia.org.
 
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1967 Topps Al Kaline Detroit Tigers Hall of Fame

Hall of Famer and Detroit Tiger Great Al Kaline signed this 1967 Topps Baseball card during Spring Training 2009 in Lakeland, FL. Mr. Kaline arrives at the ballpark in Lakeland around 8:30am each morning during Spring Training and on March 3rd he was right on time. There was about a dozen collectors waiting for him and he graciously signed one item per person.

As you can see, he signed this with a blue sharpie and has a beautiful signature. This card is #30 in the set and is one of the 434 different autographs I have collected so far. If you have any 1967 Topps autographed cards, please let me know, as I might need them to further my collection.

To read more about Al Kaline biography, go to wikipedia.com.

Looking for Detroit Tigers collectibles or apparel, go to dugoutdug.com.