TTM This Week: The Mailbox Provides and International Mailing Info

This Week On TTMCast
Lee Alexander joins me once again as co-host, and I take a moment to talk to Ameer Kim El-Mallawany about his new collectible collegiate card game, Five Star Dynasty. We’re also discussing some of our latest TTM autograph returns.

 

You can check out the podcast here.

TTM Successes
I was getting pretty tired of having this space empty the last few weeks, and fortunately this week the players and the postal service were good to me. All of these were mailed out on Tuesday the 16th, meaning they only took 6-11 days to come back to me.

Kyle Clifton

The vastly underrated Jets’ linebacker signed four cards for me in only six days – it helps living in the same state.

Dennis Gentry

Same as Clifton, a six-day response from Gentry who also calls the Lone Star State home.

Ron Heller

Not to be confused with the same-named 49ers tight end, this Ron Heller is an excellent signer and spent a few seasons protecting Randall Cunningham.

Ike Hill

It’s always great when players take a moment to write a note back about things mentioned in your letter.

Ed O’Bradovich

My TTMCast guest co-host, Lee Alexander, mentioned that there’s a great NFL Films clip featuring Ed O’Bradovich: fortunately it’s on YouTube! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YKGXpVTfwQ)

Gerry Philbin

 

Sacks weren’t an official stat yet in 1968, but if they were Philbin would have led the AFL that year; his efforts get overshadowed by Namath’s guarantee.

Mark Robinson

 

The former Buccaneers’ safety now is a TV host for the team and coaches youth sports at a school he co-founded with his wife.

Charlie West

 

West still holds records for the Vikings (longest punt return: 98 yards) and his alma mater of UTEP (19 career interceptions, and 4 picks in a single game)

Ted Bowsfield

 

I often name-drop George Brunet in my letters to players from the 1950s-70s; he lived next door to my dad and grandparents in the offseason. Bowsfield wrote “Hi Drew, Yes, I knew Geo. He was a very good pitcher!”

Chuck Estrada

Injuries and control problems derailed Estrada’s career on the mound, but later was pitching coach for the Rangers, Padres, and Indians.

Russ Heman

With the current rookie card rules, this 1959 card wouldn’t get made today. Heman didn’t hit the majors until 1961, tossing 10 innings with Cleveland and 10 innings with California.

Lou Klimchock

 

Another note about Brunet, Klimchock says “George was a good teammate and friend. Great fastball, 100+ mph.” Ted Williams agreed with the latter part.

Joe Shipley

Joe spent a total of thirteen seasons of pitching in pro ball, followed by twelve seasons coaching East Tennessee State.

A brief tutorial on international mailing
TTMCast listener Mike Danzi sent me a question about mailing internationally, specifically to Japan to get Masanori Murakami to sign a Topps Living Set card.

The toughest parts of international mailing are finding addresses and getting the right postage. Some guys are fortunately easy to find: Murakami has been a very willing signer and his address is available through sites like SportsCollectors.net. Others, like a few soccer players, have taken me finding addresses of clubs they coach or other workplaces.

Postage is a little tougher. Your outgoing request letter is easy– you can send your letter, cards, and SASE for the price of a single Global Forever stamp. These cost $1.55 and your local post office should have them, If not, you can order sheets of ten stamps online.

Your SASE must contain postage for the country where it is directly put in the mail. In Murakami’s case, you need a Japanese stamp for your return. This is much tougher: I haven’t been able to find a way to buy directly from Japan Post. For my last batch of Japanese mailings, I had to look for stamps via eBay. The cost for a letter to go from Japan to the US is 140 yen. Also, I believe Japan post prefers typed envelopes rather than hand-written, so you may want to print a label for your SASE, or even print your address on it directly.

If you want a handy list of return postage costs for various countries, I have posted one on my website. I last updated it a year ago so I need to make some adjustments, but it gives you a basic idea of what stamps you’ll need and their costs. Some can be purchased easily online, others will require eBay or seeking out a stamp dealer.

Aside from that, it’s just the standard TTM rigamarole: write your letter, put in your cards and SASE, drop it in the mail, and hope for the best.

If all else fails and you can’t get the right postage, toss in $5 and just mention to the player that you couldn’t get his country’s stamps easily. Most players are understanding, willing to help you out, and just grateful that someone would go to the effort of contacting them in another country.

Just remember, the easier you can make it for a player, the higher your likelihood of a positive result.