Thursday, June 23, 2011

A Major Addition

Willie Kirkland was one of three living former Orioles who I didn't have an autograph of; that is until an autograph website recently conducted a private signing with him and fixed my problem.

Willie's autographs occasionally turn up online but I was holding out for this signed Crown card since it's really his only Orioles card. His '64 Topps card is listed as an Orioles card, but blatantly shows him in an Indians cap, so I guess they didn't want to put in the "effort" to superimpose an O's logo as they did on other cards from this era. In the end, things worked out for me, and I don't have to worry about adding Willie's autograph anymore. 
Kirkland played in the Majors from 1958-66 with the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Orioles, and Washington Senators, spending a majority of his time with the Giants and Indians. Willie's time in Baltimore lasted all of 66 games during the first half of the 1964 season, which explains why he has so few Orioles cards. He was mainly a big power, low average type of hitter and hit 148 homers with a .240 batting average over his nine season career.


5 comments:

zman40 said...

Congrats on knocking a tough to get sig off of your list!

Paul Hadsall said...

Congratulations on adding another former Oriole to your collection.

I saw Kirkland's name on Chris Potter's upcoming private signings list... now I understand the pricing a little bit better.

Orioles Magic said...

Thanks Zach, Kirkland had been a thorn in my side for awhile.

Paul- Yeah, and of course that came up after I paid slightly more, but I can't complain too much. I'm just happy to have him done.

MrMopar said...

Those obscure guys sure make it tough for us team collectors. I have a fairly short, but frustrating list of Dodgers, both living and deceased, that seem nearly impossible. I am down to about 50 players between 1950-1999, mostly evenly distributed between the 1950s and the 1990s. I need about 5 each in the 60s, 70s and 80s (all living and all uncommon).

MrMopar said...

I just checked your wantlist. We share a pair of toughies, Bert Hamric and Frank Kellert. Kellert is obtainable if you have a couple hundred $$ extra for a guy who was essentially meaningless on the 55 Brooklyn team. I have never seen a Hamric auto offered anywhere. I don't really even know what it looks like unless I use his Topps card (which isn't always close). Good luck to both of us on those two!