Unpossible Autographs-Orioles Card Updates

It's been a while since I have done an Unpossible Autograph post. There are a few reasons for this, but my main excuse is the start of the 2010 baseball season and my focusing on that.

I wrote about these three players last July when my dad bought their autographs for me. The autos that he gave me then weren't on Orioles cards, and since then, I have come across signed O's cards of all three guys.

Since I already wrote something about each of these guys before, I'll try not to repeat myself.

Bob's hat looks like it is sitting on top of his head, doesn't it? It either that or that he has a very oblong head. His autograph is pretty legible, and reads something Like Ber Kennedy.

Fred's autograph looks almost exactly the same as the pre-printed version on the card. I normally like to compare the autograph to the pre-printed copy and this has to be the most similar I have come across so far. Looks like Fred was pretty consistent with a pen, with the only real differences showing with the exaggerations on the d and h.

Ray's signature is also very readable, and features a very unique R to start things out . It's amazing how players from the past seem to be able to sign very well even as they get older, while many young guys today just draw a squiggle on my cards. I guess it has something to do with the frequency of requests today and the dying art of penmanship. Believe me, you should all be glad that I get to type this blog. If I had to hand write it, it would look like a 5 year old was involved, so I'm far from saying that I'm not guilty of crappy writing either. (HEY- I meant hand-writing) It's just that no one asks me for my autograph to care, except for an occasional check-out counter. But that does nothing for my ego.


On an unrelated note, I omitted something from my Orioles bobblehead post on Friday. I meant to include a link to a new-to-me bobblehead centric blog that I found last week. dodgerbobble focuses on all things bobbleheads and Dodgers, but specifically on Dodgers bobbleheads. It's a very cool idea, and if I ever started another blog it would probably be about Orioles bobbleheads. But I'm not like the Troll who seems to have time for 3 or 4 blogs!

An assist goes to my Dad

My dad, who has his own Orioles autograph project, sometimes will get on Ebay to see if he can find anything that he needs for his collection. If you don't want to click on the link and missed the first post, he is trying to collect autos from the entire Orioles 83 World Series team. If you can help him out, please leave a comment.

Well, this time he found some cards that helped me with my project! In fact, he found a dealer who used to collect autographs and is now selling them off, and he was able to get me signed cards of four former O's who are now dead; Mike Blyzka, Joe Kennedy, Fred Marsh & Ray Murray.

Mike Blyzka 1954 (d. 04)

While his Major League career was very brief, Mike does have the distinction of being a part of the largest trade in MLB history. Between November 17-December 1, 1954, the Orioles sent 7 players to the Yankees and received 10 players in return. Can you imagine your team trading either 7 or 10 of their players at one time!?! That's almost like trading the entire team. Mike's career in the Bigs was over after 1954 so he never played for the Yanks. One other interesting thing about him is that he served in the Army during WWII.

Bob Kennedy 1954-55 (d. 05)

Bob played mostly with the White Sox and Indians over a 16 year Major League career that was interrupted for three seasons (1943-45) by his service in the Army during WWII. His career highlights include receiving a few MVP votes after the 1940 season and winning a World Series on the 1948 Indians team. In 1954, he hit the first grand slam for the O's after they moved to Baltimore from St. Louis.

After his playing career was over he served as the Cubs manager from 1963-65 and general manager from 1977-80; he also managed the Oakland A's in 1968.

Bob's son, Terry, was an Oriole from 1987-88, making them possibly the only father-son Orioles combo. Does anyone know of another?

Fred Marsh 1955-56 (d. 06)

Another player who served our country in WWII, Fred kicked around the Majors for 7 years, primarily as a backup infielder.

Ray Murray 1954 (d. 03)

Ray was the O's backup catcher during their inaugural 1954 season which was at the end of his career. He had played for the A's & Indians for the 5 previous seasons and was also a member of Cleveland's 1948 championship team along with Bob Kennedy.