Dave Smith, aka "Flight 45"

I've had this Dave Smith card for several years, and really don't remember how I ended up with it. I remember buying about 10 cards from a guy one time and this card might have been in that lot.

That being said, I wish I had taken the time to write to Dave before he passed away last December of a heart attack. I enjoy writing the players and telling them about my collection of signed Astros cards; now I tell them about this here little blog. I guess some part of me thinks they might want to see if they made the site and would leave a comment. Dream on, eh?

So, here's my '84 Topps Smith card. Not the most attractive card I've ever seen...which leads me to believe I must have bought this card 'cause something tells me I would have chosen a better looking piece of cardboard to have signed!

Be sure to let the ink dry!

I met Luis Gonzalez before the beginning of his second season with the Astros. He was visiting the campus of Sam Houston State University with a few other guys from the team, which included Curt Schilling, Mark Portugal, Bob Watson and Larry Dierker. I was standing around waiting for the autograph lines to open and he walked up to the end of the line. We talked for a few minutes and I believe I had him sign the card there. I should have waited until he made it to the table. I forgot to wait for the ink to dry and the signature was smeared. Hey, it was a lesson learned. I've had a few cards signed in person and many 8x10 photos (mostly obtained at sci-fi conventions) signed over the years that turned out great...all because I made that little mistake about 17 years ago.




Luis also signed a photo card for me that day. At least this sig turned out better than his Donruss card.




I've got a few cards that I plan to send to him through the mail that will be added to the collection. Let's just hope they don't get smudged!

Bob Aspromonte

I sent a 1962 Topps card to Bob from when he played on the Colt .45s on 5/5/09 and it came back on 5/14/09. I had six or seven extra cards so I sent him my best one; unfortunately it came back in the mail a little bent up. I've been sending off cards lately just using a few index cards on each side of the card(s) I want signed and so far I've had no problems. Looks like I'll have to start sending cards in hard plastic protectors again. The next time I send Mr. Aspromonte a card I won't take a chance again...not with such an old card.

Bob sent a signed paper showing him playing for both the .45s and the Dodgers. It's always a nice surprise to get back a little something extra.

No updates to be posted this week

In case you stumble into this site and you're looking forward to new posts don't give up just yet. I'm headed off to a conference in San Antonio for the week and will not be able to update.

I'm also in need of a new scanner. I just bought a new Toshiba lap top and my Dell scanner/printer is too outdated to use on it. I'll have to scan a few cards in the meantime to have something to post until then.

Sid Bream

I mailed Sid Bream two cards on 2/23/09 and received them back on 3/30/09. Each card has a different verse from the Bible.

I think the '95 Score looks great as a signed card; Sid is signing an autograph for some lucky fan...so what better card to get signed? Makes it somewhat special in my opinion.

I never really watched Sid as an Astro; there were a few years that I didn't follow them (hang my head in shame). But back in college I followed the Braves and loved to Watch Sid play some ball. I had a chance to see him play with Atlanta in the 'Dome back in '92 or '93, or something like that. My ticket stub is faded too much to tell.

John Buzhardt

I didn't have a chance to post over the weekend; Saturday I went to see Foghat play in College Station, TX and Sunday I was without power for 18 hours due to a tornado.

I received this 1968 Topps card of John Buzhardt several years ago through the mail. I like how Topps featured a close-up of the players that year (at least thats how most of the Astros were) but this has to be by far the worst border from the 60s--or any decade.

Sent off TTM on 5/5/00; received 5/16/00

New TTM sigs today

Received these two Jim Corsi cards today which were sent off on 4/1/09. Interesting signature, especially how he signs his last name with the dash on each side of a spot (looks like Morse code or somethng).