This year I cut back on the number of requests sent out, and instead focused on filling out a few specific projects. Over the previous two years I sent to a lot of requests to non-Phillies Hall of Famers and other notable players from the the 1950's/1960's. I also had sent out many requests to current Phillies, which proved to be a losing battle. The truth is, the Phillies are one of the hardest current teams to TTM. Requests to "stars" are returned with pre-printed postcards, or ignored. It was nice to get back to sending requests I knew would be returned. I stuck to the plan and sent to reliable players. This helped me achieve a 97% success rate, and complete (or almost complete) several nice projects.

It was also nice to shake the "grim-reaper" status 2010 had pinned on me. Last year, seven guys I had success with died within days/weeks of my item being returned. One, Cal McLish, died before he could fulfill the request. I received a note from a family member who notified me of his death and returned by card. And I may very well have received one of the last signatures given by both Robin Roberts and Tom Underwood as both died within a week of my successes. I am happy to report there were 0 deaths this year!

All in all, 2011 was a successful TTM year. Here is the best (and worst) of my 2011 Phillies TTM experience:

Requests Out - 67

Successes - 65

Success Rate - 97%

Much improved success rate from 2009 and 2010. I primarily relied on sportscollectors.net for good addresses, and steered away from current Phillies - who killed my average the past two years.

Hall of Famer Successes -

Jim Bunning, Pat Gillick, Doug Harvey and Ernie Banks

Pat Gillick and Doug Harvey

Jim Bunning Number Retirement Insert

Fastest turnaround - 5 days

5 tied (Stan Lopata, Bobby Shantz, Bobby Malkmus, Curt Simmons and Larry Bowa)

Longest turnaround -

Sent in 2010, received back in 2011:

Ernie Banks (392 days)
Johnny Briggs (284 days)
Jack Baldshun (278 days)

John Briggs and Jack Baldschun

Ernie Banks

Sent in 2011, received back in 2011:

Gene Garber (93 days)
Bob Boone (71 days)

Main Projects -

I was really focused on the older guys this past year. As mentioned earlier, I had been bitten by losing so many things to the current/recent Phillies that I all but shut them out in 2011. The guys who played pre-1990 seem to be a lot more reliable and I like seeing my stuff come back!

1950 Whiz Kids Team Photo

One of my favorite pieces, I bought this on eBay for $30 (with Ashburn, Hamner, Ennis, McDonnell, Seminick) with JSA authenticity.
Successes through TTM were - Curt Simmons, Stan Lopata, Putsy Caballero, Bob Miller and Jack Mayo

1950 Whiz Kids Team Photo

1964 Phillies Team Photo

I talk about this one at length in the Current Projects section of the site, but I really love this picture, too. I have had a lot of success through the mail with the '64 team and even got to meet a few more of the guys in person this year.
Successes through TTM were - Gus Triandos, John Herrnstein, Art Mahaffey, Ray Culp, Danny Cater, Bob Oldis and Dennis Bennett. I also got Roy Sievers, but he signed the back of the picture for some reason...I plan on getting it back out to him soon!

1964 Phillies Team Ball

Getting this ball in the mail was a real pleasure - and even solicited a couple personal responses from the players. I have been able to collect 16 signatures from members of the '64 team this year. If you don't already have any team items from this group, I highly recommend that you do it in 2012!
Successes through TTM were - Jim Bunning, Frank Thomas, Dennis Bennett, Bobby Shantz, Ed Roebuck, Clay Dalrymple, John Herrnstein and Art Mahaffey.

1964 Phillies Team Ball

1960 Sports Illustrated Cover

Again, I provided a lot of detail about this item in the Current Projects section of the site so I'll keep this nice and short. Kept with the themed of signed SI's I had already established and allowed me to write to a few guys I hadn't previously gotten to...
Successes through TTM were - Alvin Dark, Bobby Gene Smith, Bobby Malkmus, Ted Lepcio, Bobby Del Greco, Joe Morgan, Tony Gonzalez.

Biggest Disappointment -

Losing a signed 1960 Phillies team ball to Ruben Amaro, Sr. He has a great return record (I have had previous successes with him), and I even sent $5, but still never got it back. Not sure what happened, but it reminds you to always consider the possibility that what you send is not coming back. Overall, not a big deal - I had 6-7 signatures (including Robin Roberts)...but more sweat equity built into the ball.

Favorite Success -

Stan Lopata signed 1950 Inquirer insert. I have been collecting the team inserts for the past three years. Since then I have acquired 17 signed by the players. Unfortunately, many of the Whiz Kids had died by the time I started collecting them, and as a result most in the collection were purchased at shows. The collection of 17 pictures is definitely one of my favorite items - and being able to get one of the Whiz Kids to personally sign it for me is a highlight. If you are unfamiliar with this set check out my earlier post on them.

Stan Lopata 1950 Inquirer Set

Favorite non-Phillies Success -

I am also a big Eagles fan, and from time-to-time will send requests to former players of that team. Growing up watching the team in the late '80s, early '90s there was no bigger Eagle than Randall Cunningham. I picked up this Sports Illustrated on eBay, and mailed it out with $20 to Mr. Cunningham. It took about a month, but eventually came back signed. Awesome!

Randall Cunningham on 1989 SI