The Final Countdown- Erv Palica, Oriole #50

I was able to knock another tough name off of my list recently, as I finally tracked down a signed copy of Erv Palica's 1956 Topps card, the only Orioles card of his that was issued during his lifetime. It's always specifically challenging to add old signed cards like this to a collection because one has to compete with set collectors as well as fellow Orioles collectors, and everyone is up against the test of time. It's not like any new copies of a 56 year old card are just going to turn up, well not authentically signed ones at least.

Erv pitched nine seasons in the Majors 1947-56, but missed almost two full seasons in 1952-53 due to his service in the military during the Korean War. He spent his first seven big league seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers before being traded to the Orioles in exchange for Frank Kellert prior to the start of the '55 season.

He became the 50th player to appear in a game for the Orioles when he appeared in the team's third game of it's sophomore season in Baltimore on April 16, 1955. He went on to pitch 62 games, including 39 starts, for the O's during his two seasons in Baltimore, and had a 9-22 record with a 4.28 ERA.

Erv continued to pitch in the minor leagues for the following seven seasons, and spent time in the Orioles, Reds, Red Sox, and Angels' farm systems, but was never able to make it back to the Bigs.

In 1982, he was working as a longshoreman in California when he died of a heart attack at just 54 years of age. (On a personal side note- he died just over three months before I was born, and it's things like this that remind me how wacky my collection can be at times.) RIP Erv.

The '56 Topps card replaces this nice signed black and white postcard in my collection. The signature is slightly faded but still very legible.

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.