TTM This Week: HOVG, Appraisal Talk and Autograph Returns

TTMCast this Week

Hall of Very Good podcast hosts Shawn Anderson and Lou Olsen visit the show this week to talk about their very funny podcast. The guys share their favorite guests, funny things that have happened on their weekly show, their plans for the National and other collecting topics.

On the TTMCast 1-on-1 show, PBS Antique Roadshow appraiser Leila Dunbar joins me to talk about the right time to have your collection appraised. We also talk about some of the interesting items she has seen over the years and chat about appraising collections of players including Bobby Orr and Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

You can listen to all our podcasts at ttmcast.podbean.com.

TTM Successes this Week

The TTM drought continues. Usually when I have a slow-down in returns it’s because I haven’t been sending many requests out. This time I’m not quite sure why my mailbox has been almost empty. In the past three to four weeks, I’ve sent out over 70 requests, but my successes have all but dried out. I got on it again and sent out 15 more football letters this week. Hopefully I’ll see the fruits of my labor this week.

Below are a few of my recent TTM successes. If you’d like to try your hand, you can find mailing addresses on various TTM web sites including SportsCardForum.com and SportsCollectors.net.

Craig Ehlo

Ehlo played 15 seasons in the NBA from 1983-1997 with Houston, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Seattle. He scored almost 7,500 points and dished out almost 2,500 assists during his career. Ehlo led Washington State University to the NCAA tournament his senior year and was selected in the third round of the 1983 NBA draft by the Rockets. He played in the 1986 NBA Finals with Houston and is, of course, known for being the defender on one of Michael Jordan’s most famous playoff shots.

Ehlo signed his 1990 NBA Hoops card in about three weeks.

Danny Ferry

After earning All-America honors at Duke, Ferry was taken with the second overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Clippers. He played one season for Il Messaffero Roma in the Italian League because he refused to play for the Clippers. He played for Cleveland (1990-2000) and San Antonia (2000-2003) winning an NBA championship with the Spurs in 2003. His best season in the NBA was with the Cavaliers in 1995-96 when he averaged 13.3 points per game.

After retiring he became Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Spurs and General Manager for Atlanta and Cleveland.

Ferry signed his 1991-92 Upper Deck card in a couple of weeks.

Willi Plett

Plett played right wing for Atlanta, Calgary, Minnesota, and Boston from 1975-1988. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy aa NHL’s top rookie in 1977. He was traded to the North Stars where he played five seasons before finishing his career with the Bruins in 1988. He scored 222 goals during his career, scoring 33 in 1976-77 and 38 in 1980-81 with the Flames. He also amassed 2,572 penalty minutes during his career.

He signed his 1977-78 Topps card in less than two weeks.

Lou Nanne

Lou Nanne was Mr. Everything for the State of Minnesota. After staring at the University of Minnesota he played, coached and served as General Manager for the North Stars his entire career. He played in 634 regular season games for the North Stars from 1963-1978.

Lou shares some great stories about his time in the NHL with me when he was a guest on my podcast. Click here to listen to our interview: https://ttmcast.podbean.com/e/ttmcast-1-on-1-with-hockey-legend-lou-nanne/

Lou signed an personalized his 1976-77 and 1977-78 cards in about three weeks.

Dennis Lamp

Lamp won 96 games and struck out 857 batters while pitching for the Cubs, White Sox, Jays, A’s, Red Sox, and Pirates from 1977-1992. His best season was 1985 when he went 11-0 for Toronto. Interestingly, he gave up both Lou Brock’s 3,000 hit and Cal Ripken’s first major league hit.

He signed his 1982 Topps and 1986 Donruss cards in about a week.

Sammy Khalifa

Khalifa played parts for three seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1985-1987. He got six hits in his first eleven at-bats in his rookie season with the Pirates. He played in 164 games and finished his career with a .219 batting average.

He signed his 1986 and 1987 Topps cards in about 10 days.

Patrick Wisdom

Wisdom was the third Spring Training success for me this year. He played briefly with the Cardinals and Rangers before becoming a full-timer with the Cubs in 2021. He slugged 28 HR in 2021 and 25 in 2022 and is off to a fast start in the 2023 season with five homers in the first few weeks of the season.

Wisdom signed his 2022 Topps and 2022 Topps Heritage card for me in about four weeks. He personalizes his TTM requests.

Have a TTM success story you would like to share with me? Please, send it me at [email protected]. If I use it in my column, I’ll send you a prize.