Another "Blazing" Autograph Added to My Custom Card

After a Blazing Saddles post in June and another one in August, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you readers groaned at the title of this blog post. But I assure you, this one is worth the quick read.

You see, I was admiring the signature that Mr. Burton Gilliam had put on a few of the multi-player Blazing Saddles custom cards I'd created. . .

 

 

. . . And I figured I'd try sending one of the copies back out for a second autograph.

Sadly, Slim Pickens passed away in 1983, and Harvey Korman left us in 2008. However, the one and only Melvin James Kaminsky (a.k.a. Mel Brooks) is still going at 97 years young!

I found a fairly reliable business address, chose a card that already contained an extra-sharp Burton Gilliam signature, and put together an envelope with the following:

 

• A copy of the card
• A receipt for a small donation I made to a charity Mr. Brooks has been known to support
• A self-addressed stamped envelope
• A brief note of thanks

And then I waited. Based on other intel, it seemed like I might be waiting for a long time. And it made sense. You'd have to wonder if Mr. Brooks was spending much time signing autographs from day to day. 

 

Fast-forward about three months, and I received my answer:

 

The self-addressed stamped envelope appeared in my mailbox! 

 

The question was, would the card even be inside? And if so, would it reveal a Mel Brooks autograph? Or would the envelope perhaps only contain a note saying that Mr. Brooks doesn't sign through the mail?

Knowing that the photo of Brooks playing Gov. William J. Le Petomane was at the top right, I opened the envelope and slowly revealed the card, from bottom to top.

Halfway up the card, I had my answer.

 

 

 

It was an autograph! And a sharp one at that. Here's a close-up.

 

I'm hopeful that it's authentic. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not sure how much time Mr. Brooks is spending on a typical day to sign photos and other memorabilia. There are various versions of his signature posted online too, so it's hard to know what really appears on this card. There's also the possibility that some of his autograph signing has been delegated to a signature machine, or something like that.

Regardless, even the smallest chance that a legend of film like Mr. Brooks actually read my note, saw the custom card, and signed it (and maybe even got a kick out of it!) is good enough for me.

 

As for the man himself, Mel Brooks has certainly led an incredible life. Actor, director, producer, entertainer. History of the World Part I, Blazing Saddles, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights are probably my top three Mel Brooks films. Young Frankenstein is great, too. 

 

But most impressive to me is that Mr. Brooks enlisted in the US Army when he was 17 years old, became a Combat Engineer, was sent to Europe, and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. There are a couple of great interviews and documentaries about him available, if you'd like to learn more.

So that's that. Another autograph on the custom card. Safe to say it's become my most prized custom so far. Thanks for reading, everyone.

 

 

PS: For an extra laugh, look up Joseph Pujol, the original Mr. Le Petomane, and discover what peculiar talent he had.

Another Autographed Custom Card, Doo-Dah! Doo-Dah!

A couple of months ago I shared a cool story here on the blog about actor Burton Gilliam, and how he sent me a few autographed copies of the Blazing Saddles custom card that features his likeness. 

 

 

 

 

What I didn't mention is that there's more to the story.

 

You see, a week or so after I finished my email correspondence with Mr. Gilliam's friend, I received another message. The friend reiterated that Mr. Gilliam enjoyed the card a lot. In fact, he enjoyed it so much that he was hoping I could send over a bunch more copies. Like, 50 or 100 copies. 

 

Why?

 

Mr. Gilliam wanted to bring them to upcoming shows and conventions, to autograph and give out to fans!

 

How cool is that?!

 

I excitedly replied in the affirmative, and said I'd order a big stack of the cards. Happiness all around. And the happy feeling was so great that it inspired me to do a little more design work for Mr. Gilliam.

You see, that Rock Ridge Stars card was just one of the cards from the 6-card set I'd created. Some of the other cards were of the "Highlight" variety, and I figured I could create a similar highlight card featuring Mr. Gilliam's character, Lyle. He was part of a few classic scenes in the film, after all.

One of those scenes involved Lyle breaking out in song, hooting and hollering to that cowboy favorite, "The Camptown Lady". (Note: There's a word at the end of the video that's NSFW.)

 

 

The genuine belly laughs I got (and still get) from that scene were all the motivation I needed. A few days later, I came up with this:

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the card back

 

 

 

 

I sent out sample images, and heard back that Mr. Gilliam loved the card, and hoped I'd send a big stack of them to give out at shows as well.

 

So, I finished up the design, and placed an order for both cards. Within a few weeks, they were in Mr. Gilliam's hands.

And being the kind cowboy he is, it wasn't long before I received some autographed copies in the mail as a thank-you.

 

 

 

But wait, that's not all.

I couldn't possibly accept any kind of monetary compensation for the stacks of cards I sent, so Mr. Gilliam mailed me some autographed 8 x 10s instead!

 

 

 

He even personalized a couple of them to my dad, who got a big kick out of them.

 

And that's still not all! 

 

 

Because just like last time, Mr. Gilliam created a thank-you video for me. This time he even sang a few bars of "The Camptown Lady"! Totally amazing. (I won't share the video here for the sake of privacy, but I'll tell you that he sang the lyrics with a similar amount of gusto as he did in the actual film.)

Totally amazing. And that's the second part of the story. 

 

Another huge thank you to Mr. Gilliam and friend. This has been such a fun experience, and it's so cool to think that good ol' Lyle from Blazing Saddles will be putting his signature on my customs and handing them out at shows.

Thanks for reading, everyone.

A Cowboy Signed My Custom Card

 

When I'm writing down addresses on envelopes for custom cards that are going out, I usually don't pay much attention to the specific information. Once in a while I'll notice a town's name if it's wacky or interesting, or if a card is going to a state that I don't often send to, like Hawaii or Nebraska or something, but that's about it.

 

However, a few months ago, I paused as I wrote a person's name on an envelope:

 

Burton Gilliam

 

This particular Mr. Gilliam had a mailing address in Texas. As for the card that was ordered? It was a few copies of this one. (Note the name of the actor on the bottom left.)

 

 

 

 

Could the cards be going to the very same Burton Gilliam who played the character of Lyle in Blazing Saddles? Excitedly, I looked at the transaction record and found the buyer's name.

 

Nope. It didn't match. 

 

However, I figured I'd contact the buyer anyhow, because hey, if these cards were actually going to Burton Gilliam the actor, I wanted to send my thanks—and maybe a few extra copies of the card.

 

Soon enough, an email reply came in...

 

The cards were, in fact, going to Mr. Gilliam the actor!

 

I turns out that the buyer was a good friend of Mr. Gilliam's, and wanted to send him a few copies. How cool.

 

But wait, that's not all. 

 

The buyer was more than kind, and he and I struck up an email conversation. And when I say "more than kind", I mean it. Soon enough, I learned that Mr. Gilliam liked the card so much that he wanted to autograph a copy for me!

It didn't take me long to respond. I sent a few more copies of the card along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, and within a couple of weeks, this beauty was in my possession.

Mr. Gilliam even sent back more than one signed copy.

 

But wait, that's still not all!

Mr. Gilliam is such a nice and personable guy that he sent me a video thank-you message as well! 

 

I won't show it here for the sake of privacy, but I'll tell you that he was even wearing a cowboy getup quite similar to the clothing and stetson he wore in Blazing Saddles. The video also made it clear to me that Mr. Gilliam is still going strong into his 80s. He seems young and spry and joyful—the embodiment of the philosophy that age is just a number.

 

What a cool guy.

A big thank-you to Burton Gilliam, and his good friend who made all this possible. The autographed cards will have a very good home in my box of favorite cards.

Contest Winner!

This is my second blog post in a month that features modern cards. 

 

What's going on here?!?

Well, like many of you collectors, I occasionally enter a contest that's held by a fellow blogger, YouTuber, or collector. And recently I actually won one of those contests!

 

It was put on by Brent, who has a YouTube channel called Brent's Card Breaks. The only thing you had to do to enter the contest was to like the giveaway video, add a comment to the video, and subscribe to the channel. Easy enough.

 

Well, the date of the contest arrived, Brent spun the digital wheel with the names of all the entrants on it, and wouldn't you know it? "Nine Pockets" came up as the winner.

 

It was a generous prize package. Have a look at the team bags that recently arrived in my mailbox.

 

 

 

Modern baseball, '90s baseball, vintage baseball, and some random basketball cards added as a bonus.

 

Here are some of my favorites in the bunch.

Kelenic is trying to make his way back to the MLB. Detmers pitched a no-hitter in May of this year, but struggled with consistency and was sent to the minors in June. He's back with the big club now. As for Hayes, he's holding his own in Pittsburgh.

Here's a 2016 Topps Aaron Nola Rookie Debut card, a Jack Flaherty Bowman rookie from 2018, and a shiny 2021 Alec Bohm Panini Prizm Rookie Class card that didn't scan well.

And here we have autographs from two prospects. Agrazal pitched a number of games for the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2019, and is currently a minor-league free agent who last played with the Amarillo Sod Poodles (Double-A). Ottenbreit is playing Single-A ball with the Clearwater Threshers, and is currently injured. Let's hope both of those guys can get back on their horses soon! On the right is a fancy 2019 Chrome Black Refractor of Corbin Martin on the 1984 Topps design, serial numbered /199. Martin currently pitches for the Diamonbacks, and collected his first career hit in June.

Some nice vintage is up next, with a 1976 Topps victory leaders card, a smiling Jim Rice on the 1978 issue, and a Lee Smith Donruss rookie!

Jim Rice is a little more pensive here on his 1986 Fleer Star Sticker, Reggie is still swinging hard in 1987, and Frank Thomas is very happy on his 1990 Score rookie card, possibly because he knows how happy I am to have it in my collection.

 

 

All in all, a great prize. Big thanks to Brent at Brent's Card Breaks. If you enjoy watching wax packs being opened, especially those from the '80s and '90s, please do stop by his channel. 

 

And that raises a question: Do any of you readers and collectors watch trading card channels on YouTube? There are definitely some great content creators out there, including our good blogging buddy shoebox legends.

 

Share some of your favorite channels in the comment section, and thanks for reading as always!

A Commissioned Custom Card (and a Giveaway)

Since I began printing out my custom card designs last year, I've received a few emails from collectors asking if I'd consider designing and printing a custom card just for them. It's a flattering experience, and most of the time I've taken on the project, even if the subject matter isn't super-exciting to me personally.

 

I haven't mentioned these commissions here on the blog to this point, but recently I completed a project that I was especially pleased with.

 

The client asked if I'd create a card of Nancy Wilson, guitarist and vocalist from the rock band Heart, and suggested the 1967 Topps design. That worked for me, as I'd already created a 1967 Topps template when I worked on the El Mariachi and Carolina project, so I set out to find a photo of Nancy Wilson that was just right.

It didn't take long to find one, and I whipped up the card front pretty quickly.

 

 

As for the back, the client asked if I'd consider creating one that resembled the original '67s, which included two cartoons along with the standard batting record. I said I'd give it a try. After some thought and research, I found two cartoons from the original set that worked pretty well for a rock band, modified the accompanying text, and figured out a substitute for the batting stat section.

 

 

 

I like how the stats on the back turned out. Not only do they offer collectors a good look at Heart's discography and greatest hits, but they also provide a similar enough look to the stat lines that appear on a standard baseball card.

 

In fact, I was so happy with the result that I thought it would only be right to create a card for Nancy's sister, Ann, who is the lead singer in the band.

 

 

 

And here's Ann's card back. I used two different cartoons, and also created a separate write-up and stats.

  

 

 

 

Once I finished both designs, I sent the proofs out to the client. He enjoyed the finished product just as much as I did, and gladly purchased a few for his collection, which made me very happy. 

 

But that's not the end of the story. Recently he sent me an email to let me know that he did something special with a couple of the cards. Have a look at what he posted on his social media account:

 

 

 

He sent off the cards for autographs!

 

As far as I know, this is the first time one of my custom cards has been autographed by the person featured on the front. It's pretty cool to think that the legendary Ann and Nancy Wilson actually held my cards in their hands and signed them. Hopefully they enjoyed the designs.

 

But that's still not the end of the story. I've got some extra copies of these cards, so as usual, I'm going to offer up a few here as a little giveaway.

 

Just be one of the first three readers to list your favorite Heart song in the comment section, and I'll send you a copy of both cards. (Not autographed, of course.)

 

If you're one of the claimants and I don't already have your mailing address from a previous giveaway, here's how to reach me:

 

My email address is available on my blogger profile page. 

You can also message me on TCDB.

  

Even if you miss out on the giveaway, let everyone know in the comment section if you're a fan of the band, and if you've got a favorite song or two.

 

I look forward to your answers!

The Only Kid at the Art Auction?

I'm going to paraphrase a conversation between my dad and I that took place at some point during the summer of 1991.

Dad: Want to come to an art auction with me tonight?

Me: Umm. I don't know.

Dad: Pat Lafontaine will be there, signing autogr...

Me: I'll go! 

1991 puts me in middle school. Safe to say I wouldn't have wanted much to do with an art auction back then—especially if the event was being held at a random car dealership in the middle of my summer vacation, as was the case here.

It's not like my dad and stepmom were art collectors, either. But I don't know. It's certainly possible that they were looking for a new painting for the walls. Or maybe dad knew that I'd recently gotten into the sport of hockey and that Pat LaFontaine was the biggest hockey name on Long Island, and the whole "wanting to go to an art auction" thing was just a case of dad doing something cool for his boy. 

In any case, I'd already gotten busy flipping through my hockey cards and decided to take out the most recent LaFontaine printing from Upper Deck:

1990-91 Upper Deck #246, Pat LaFontaine

 
Nifty-looking card. And that, I told myself, is what I'd ask Mr. LaFontaine to sign. 

Soon we'd arrive at the dealership. A decent crowd had gathered, but it wasn't exactly a throng of hobnobbing artsy folk. (I don't think the auction was a widely advertised thing.) All the cars had been cleared out of the main showroom and rows of folding chairs had been arranged in front of an auctioneer's podium. Dad and I found two seats and waited for the games to begin.

Well, they began. There were lots of generic oil paintings. One after the other. I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention, but there must have been a few bidding wars, which I can only assume I enjoyed at least a little bit. (Dad bid on a couple of different items, but wasn't the high bidder on either occasion.)

They didn't have the air conditioning turned on, so it was certainly stuffy in there. I do remember that. And although the auction probably didn't last more than and hour or two, it sure seemed like forever to me.

Finally, the last painting came off the block, and we got on the line for autographs.

When we approached the table and I handed Mr. LaFontaine the Upper Deck card, he looked at me with a little smirk, as if he wanted to sarcastically ask, 

"So, you like art auctions, do you?"

Or maybe he appreciated the fact that a kid would sit through an entire auction just to get an autograph from a hockey player.

Regardless, he was very cordial, said hello with that smile still on his face, and happily signed the card even though I think he was mostly signing photographs that the dealership (or the Islanders) had provided. Here's the card, with autograph:

Dad and I gave our thanks and commended him on a great season, and then we scooted from the line to allow the next fan to receive an autograph.

As it turned out, just a couple of months later Mr. LaFontaine would be moving up to Buffalo in that big trade involving Pierre Turgeon. (The full trade was LaFontaine, Randy Wood, Randy Hillier, and a 4th-round draft pick for Turgeon, Benoit Hogue, Uwe Krupp, and Dave McLlwain.)

It worked out pretty well for both teams. Turgeon had some monster years on the Island, and LaFontaine made absolute magic with Alexander Mogilny in Buffalo. Have a look at these numbers from the 1992-93 season, for example:

Turgeon: 83 GP, 58 G, 74 A, 132 PTS, 24 PP Goals, Lady Byng trophy, 5th in NHL scoring

LaFontaine: 84 GP, 53 G, 95 A, 148 PTS, 20 PP Goals, 2nd in NHL scoring

Still, Patty was really missed by the fans on the Island.

I'm glad I had the chance to briefly meet him before the trade. Even happier to still have this card, in addition to the memories. Was the card the best piece of art in the auction that night? The 1991 version of me would probably say yes.

You readers and fellow collectors must have a good childhood autograph story or two. Feel free to share in the comment section.

And thanks for reading!

Stastny Brothers

Can you imagine three brothers all playing ice hockey on the same local team, and on the same forward line? Sure, that's likely happened numerous times. But what about all three brothers playing for their country's National Team? Okay, that's much less plausible. And then what about all three turning professional and playing for the same NHL team? No chance, right?

Well, remarkably this happened. And after a recent eBay pickup, I'm pleased to have autographs now for all three brothers. Here they are:

In hockey conversation, Peter is the brother you'll hear about first, simply because he was the most talented. Just how talented? How about this stat:

Wayne Gretzky scored more points from 1980 through 1989 than any other player in the NHL. Guess who's second on that list? Yep, that's right. Peter Stastny.

That's not to say his brothers were slouches, however. Check out the stats on the backs of their 1984-85 cards:

And that's not even the half of it.

Many hockey fans—and sports fans in general—are familiar with the story of Soviet or Cuban athletes defecting in order to pursue their professional careers here in North America. But I think fewer fans know that athletes from Czechoslovakia under the Soviet influence faced the same dangerous path.

And in 1980, the Stastny brothers—Peter, Marian, and Anton—had quite the experience getting here.

The best article I've found on the subject is here, at BSN Denver:

https://www.bsndenver.com/stastny-brothers-defect-for-nhl/

Please give it a read. Just remarkable.