1967 Topps Ed Kirkpatrick California Angels

Today's entry in my 1967 Topps Autographed baseball card collection is a player who had a 16 year career with 5 different teams. It is Ed "Spanky" Kirkpatrick, utility player for the Californai Angels. Sadly, Ed Kirkpatrick passed away today, November 15, 2010 at the age of 66. Card number #293 in the 1967 Topps Baseball card set of 609 subjects.

The autographed was obtained through the mail after sending Mr. Kirkpatrick the card om January 6, 2009 to his home in California. Forty-one days later, I received the card back signed with a blue sharpie. Thank you, Mr. Kirkpatrick. As of November 15, 2010, I have accumulated 512 different signature in my collection.

During Ed Kirkpatrick's 16 year career, he played in 1311 games with .238 batting average, 85 home runs, 424 runs batted in and 34 stolen bases. His career started in 1962 with the Angels, then played there until 1968 when he was traded to the expansion Kansas City Royals. He also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers, retiring in 1977. 

Sadly, Spanky Kirkpatrick was maimed in a 1981 auto accident that relegated him to a wheelchair for life. Ed Kirkpatrick's post-baseball life is rich in many ways. His hometown of Glendora, California, has named a civic award in his honor, as each year the member of that community who has done the most in support of youth athletics wins the "Ed Kirkpatrick Award."
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1967 Topps Dalton Jones Boston Red Sox

Today's entry for my 1967 Topps Autographed card collection was a vital part of the 1967 Boston Red Sox Impossible Dream season and was originally scouted by Hall of Famer Ted Williams. It is Dalton Jones, 2nd Baseman for the Boston Red Sox, card number 139 in the 1967 Topps Baseball card set of 609 subjects.

This autographed was obtained with a through the mail (TTM) request to Dalton Jones' home in Mississippi. Addresses for thousands of current and former players can be found at sportscollectors.net. I sent the card to Mr. Jones on January 9, 2009 and received it back 8 days later with a nice blue sharpie signature. Thank you, Mr. Jones.

Dalton Jones played nine seasons of Major League Baseball from 1964 to 1972. In his first 6 seasons, Dalton played for the Boston Red Sox (1964 to 1969). Then he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, where he played from 1970 to 1972 and finished his career that same year with the Texas Rangers. His manager in Texas was the same Ted Williams who had originally signed him to the Red Sox. Incidentally, Ted Williams was the boyhood hero of Dalton Jones. During Dalton's nine seasons, he hit 41 home runs, drove in 237 runs and had a career .235 batting average. His best season was the pennant winning season for the Red Sox in 1967, hitting .289 and having many valuable hit down the pennant stretch. In the 1967 World Series, Dalton hit .389 second only to Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski hitting .400. Even though the Red Sox lost the series in 7 games to the St. Louis Cardinals, the "Impossible Dream Season" will always be remembered by the Red Sox Nation.

To learn more about Dalton Jones, visit is biography at wikipedia.org.

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