Unpossible Autograph Friday-Curt Blefary

So I've decided to make every Friday here on the blog, an "Unpossible Autograph Day".  If this is your first time checking my site out, an Unpossible Autograph is my term for an autograph of a former Orioles player who has passed away, thus making their autograph impossible unpossible to get anymore.  You can obviously still purchase an autograph of theirs, but they will never sign any additional cards.  I got the term unpossible from Ralph Wiggum on the Simpsons; he is awesome. 

Curt Blefary's career arc was the opposite of many other players as his rookie season was his best and his success decreased with each passing year.  He won the 1965 A.L. Rookie of the Year for the Orioles, and is one of 6 Orioles players to earn the honor.  Can you name the other 5?  Don't cheat!

Curt spent the first four seasons of his eight year MLB career with the Orioles and was a member of the '66 World Series Champs.  Frank Robinson gave him the nickname "Clank" for his defensive shortcomings and he never really found a position that suited him.  He would've been an ideal designated hitter, but his career ended in 1972, one year before the DH rule came around.  He played over 200 games in left field, right field and at first base and also caught and played a few games at second and third base.  He was only behind the plated for 66 games over his career but something clicked between him and Tom Phoebus on April 27, 1968 as Phoebus threw a no-hitter against the Red Sox. 

After his playing career ended, Curt aspired to be a coach but never got the opportunity so instead held a laundry list of jobs including being a sheriff, truck driver, bartender and night club owner.  Curt died at only 57 years old in 2001 from complications of pancreatis.  His final wish was to have his ashes scattered at Memorial Stadium, but it was already being torn down at the time of his death.  Luckily, the Babe Ruth Museum came through and supplied the home plate used in the final game at Memorial Stadium and it was placed in the exact spot as Curt would have remembered it.  At the ceremony, his wife Lana said "He loved Baltimore, and he loved his fans, he was a lifelong student of the game." RIP Curt. 

I also wanted to mention that this card is the first PSA/DNA certified autograph in my collection.  It's nice to know that it is authenticated but I generally don't like to pay the extra amount that it costs.  Generally, I will compare other autographs that are available so that I am reasonably sure that the auto is legit.  I also try to do a little research on the sellers to make sure there other items for sale appear authentic.   I was able to win this card for a decent price on ebay so it was worth it this time around. 

Autographs from Saturday's 1970 Orioles World Series Championship Celebration

As some of you might know, the Orioles held a team reunion for the 1970 World Series Championship squad at this past Saturday's game . Most of the living members of the team were in attendance and there were three autograph stations set up around the lower concourse. All of the HOFers and other big names didn't sign but were at some sort of Q&A press conference.

With the help of Kalina and my parents, I was able to add the first in-person autographs of Pete Richert, Bobby Floyd, Bobby Grich, Merv Rettemund, Tom Phoebus and Dave Leonhard to my collection.



My dad knows that I like my autographs personalized, so he helped me out with a few of those, including Pete. It was cool to get him to sign a 1970 commemorative card.

Bobby had personalized my TTM request too, and wrote across his face on both. He's clearly not a vain man. Or maybe he's trying to cover up a scar?


Now that is an amazing mustache. Bob was probably the most friendly of all the signers I came across. But he no longer sports the 'stache.


Most of the players were nice, but Merv seemed kind of hot and bothered. Literally hot. Possibly bothered. It's hard to say. He was signing at a furious pace.


Don't have much to say about Tom. He also signed boldly across his face.



The top card is my TTM request that Dave personalized "Keep Smiling"; I think this one says "Best Wishes". He seemed like a cool guy.


I'm willing to trade the rest of these cards if anyone didn't get them and is interested.


I got Don's autograph years ago at another alumni signing of some sort. He was sitting down at his station but looked very short for a former player.

I was pretty excited about this one. The O's Crown set is perforated and I opened a new set for this event. Richert & Rettemund are right next to each other so these cards are still connected.

Another Leonhard. This one not personalized and signed in pen.

An Angels Grich from the cool Ted Williams set. Somehow I didn't have any other Orioles cards of him.

And a couple more Richerts.