The Final Countdown- Heathcliff Slocumb

I'm at the point in my collection, needing only twenty-three upgrades and any autograph of three other players, where it's a cause for celebration (for me, at least) anytime I can knock a name off my list. Since I'm currently out of unpossible autographs (signatures of deceased Orioles) to feature every Friday, I'm going to start posting any autographs that I acquire from my shrinking need list. 

Up today is Heathcliff Slocumb, who I wrote about back in June as part of one of my Orioles season debuts posts. Since that time, I came across a private signing with him that was being held through a private promoter on SportsCollectors.Net. You see, Heathcliff is one of those tricky players who had just a single Orioles card produced of him, late in his career. Many recent players largely stop signing once they retire and some avoid charity events as well, which make getting their autographs a tall task. If you want just any autograph of Heathcliff, many signed cards from his time as a member of the Cubs and Phillies are available online, but when you are trying to find a signed copy of a specific card, you're typically going to be out of luck. Fortunately, this signing helped me to knock off a tough name from my need list and I was able to get the card personalized to boot, so I'm pretty thrilled to add this to my collection.

But I do have to point out that his signature is quite a bit more abbreviated than this in-person autograph he signed for me back in 1993 or '94. It's possibly due to the small white space and personalization on the O's card, but it's hard to say.