Back to 100%! Unpossible Autograph Friday- Dick Luebke, Oriole #184

With the addition of Dick Luebke, I am (once again) back to having an autograph of every player who has appeared in a game for the Orioles, and this time, I believe all 942 of my autographs are authentic signatures. There are a few that are very difficult to confirm without sending them into a professional certification service, but that probably isn't going to happen and I'm satisfied, so I guess that's what counts.

Dick Luebke was the final signature I needed for my collection, and his autograph was very hard to track down. To the best of my knowledge, it seems like there are only a few examples floating around for sale, and none of them are cheap. Luebke was included in two card sets, 1983 Fritsch One Year Wonders and 1991 Orioles Crown, but both of them were issued well after his death in 1974. I'm very happy to have this cut autograph of his, as I have yet to see any sort of image of him during his playing days that might have been around for him to sign during his lifetime.

After pitching for about a decade in the Orioles minor league system, Dick made his O's debut on August 11, 1962 and finished out the season with the team. Over 10 MLB appearances that season, he had an 0-1 record with a 2.70 ERA, in what would prove to be the extent of his big league experience. During that following off-season, he was traded to the Reds for Joe Gaines.

I wasn't able to find a cause of death for Dick, but he passed away when he was just 39 years old in 1974. There are three factors as to why his autograph is so hard to come by; the fact that he died so young, that he passed away well before autographs became big business, and that his time in the big leagues was so limited. RIP Mr. Luebke.


While I now have autographs of all 942 players who have appeared in a game for the Orioles from 1954-2012, I am still looking for a handful of upgrades. If anyone out there can help me with any of these guys, I would really appreciate your help! I have a bunch of autographs to trade, so we might be able to help each other!

John Anderson- Orioles Crown
Luis Ayala- 2012 Topps Update
Bret Barberie- 1995 Collector's Choice, Flair, Leaf, Topps Traded, Upper Deck
Chris Brock- 2002 Upper Deck 40 Man
Mark Brown- Orioles Crown
George Brunet- 1964 Topps, Orioles Crown
Luis DeLeon- Orioles Crown
Howie Fox- 1954 Topps
Luis Garcia- 2002 Fleer Box Score, Upper Deck 40 man
Jason Hammel- 2012 Topps Update
Lou Jackson- 1964 Topps
Stan Jefferson- Orioles Crown
Mark Lewis- 2001 Pacific
Matt Lindstrom- 2012 Topps Update
Ed Lopat- Orioles Crown
Terry Mathews- 1998 Pacific Online
Darren O'Day- 2012 Topps Update
Chuck Oertel- Orioles Crown
Ronny Paulino- 2012 Topps Update
Carl Powis- Orioles Crown
Vern Stephens- 1954 Topps or Wilson Franks, 1955 Bowman
Pedro Strop- 2012 Topps Update
Joe Taylor- Orioles Crown
Valmy Thomas- Orioles Crown
Marv Throneberry- Orioles Crown
David Wells- 1996 Flair, Fleer Update, Ultra, Upper Deck Update, 1997 Fleer, Score, Topps
Jaret Wright- 2007 Topps, Topps Heritage, Upper Deck

To briefly explain the misspelled/made up title of these weekly posts: Every Friday, I profile a former Oriole who has passed away. I've substituted the word unpossible for impossible as an homage to a line from "The Simpsons". Young Ralph Wiggum, who is not very smart, says "Me fail English? That's unpossible."