Gift from Mark, the Mayor of Porthleven

Mark has been dropping in on this blog since I started back in 2008. He was draw to a post about TTM autographs when I was about to embark on a ambitious task of getting Jacoby Ellsbury to sign some Allen+Ginter cards. He offered advise from his years of experience in collecting autographs. The cards have never returned but thus begun a friendship of story swapping about his autograph hunting and general baseball.

Mark has also embarked on a number of trips across the Atlantic to see actual baseball games. I'm sure that is not the objective of his family holiday, but he has seen alot of baseball. After every trip he gifts me a number of items including books and cards. Mark knows that I like the details and photographs of where he has been, the autographs he has collected and who he saw. His son is paid-up member of Pawsox Kid's club and I am always amazed how well the baseball clubs look after the younger and future baseball fans.

Mark recently returned from a transatlantic holiday and a package arrived with some Red Sox cards. He carefully detailed exactly where he had obtained the cards. He also added that the cards might make me feel better. What could he possibly mean?

From Don's Sportscards in Portland he purchased these vintage Red Sox:

1962 Topps #368 Bob Tillman

1962 Topps #512 Mike Fornieles

1962 Topps#542 Dave Philley

1963 Topps #28 Mike Fornieles

1964 Topps #305 Jack Lamabe

1964 Topps #352 Ed Bressoud

1966 Topps #502 Lenny Green

Don also threw in a set of these 2011 Topps Prime 9 Redemption cards which were only available through hobby stores.

The third and final item from Mark was a pack of 2010 Allen and Ginter, although I am trying to collect the 2010 set of A+G, that is not what makes this pack interesting. It was in fact purchased from the Yawkey Way Store, which is directly opposite Fenway Pack. This may not seem exciting to regular attendees but for a guy sitting in Westgate-on-Sea in the UK it most definitely is.

Thank you Mark for thinking of a Red Sox fan during your holidays.

Trading with Mark from Cornwall.

Last May I joined the ranks of Through the Mail autograph collection. There was only one signature I was after -Jacoby Ellsbury. Before you ask, the cards I sent have not come back.... yet.
At the time a few collectors commented that patience is key when it comes to TTM and unfortunately hinted that Jacoby isn't the most prolific of signers.
This post lead to a number of e-mails with useful advice about collecting autographs in general. One of the people to make contact was Mark from Cornwall, who shared some of his secrets for successful autograph collecting. He is a veteran collector and just hearing about some of in-person autographs he has collected such as Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, yes all of the fab four and a number of major political names, is interesting reading. He regularly attends sporting events with specific people in mind. He was just starting to get into baseball autographs. If our recent correspondence are any thing to go by, he is beyond the 'dipping my toe in' stage to a full on English Channel swim, purchasing autograph cards aplenty.
Mark took his family to the US in the summer and collected some more autographs when he attended a Lowell Spinners game. As a bonus his son was chosen to run the bases and be the official game mascot. Unfortunately for Mark, who is Athletics fan, his son became a instant Red Sox fan. While on holiday Mark was kind enough to purchase some packs for me, Allen +Ginter, OPC and Bowman, which I will bust over at Pursuit of Red Sox. He intends to return to the US again this summer and sign his son up as an Red Sox Nation member. That must really hurt.
Thanks for the packs Mark, maybe I will pull an autograph.