Best In Person Autographs of 2011

Well, as the year comes to an end, so does my year of graphing. This year was unique because on top of graphing baseball, I did basketball and a bit of football as well. Like last year on my old site, I decided to make a countdown of my top 5 autographs of the year. This year brought some of my best autographs in a long time so here are my top 5 out of the 382 I got:

#5 Andre Drummond F & Jeremy Lamb G University of Connecticut basketball.

I decided to pair these two guys together because well, they are going somewhere. They are currently projected to go 1 & 2 in the NBA Draft next year, and be impact players. If you know what you're doing, it is easy to get these guys, and it was a nice first experience graphing basketball.

#4 Rob Gronkowski TE New England Patriots.

This choice was simple. Gronk completely went off this year and set the new record for touchdown receptions by a tight end in a single season. There is nothing but success ahead of him. Too bad he isn't on my Jets.

#3 Jim Calhoun, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer

Right now, Calhoun is in season #26 at Uconn, and he is simply a legend. He is classy as can be, and always stops to sign when asked. It is always nice to get a hall of famer, especially one who has done so much for New England's premier college basketball team for almost 3 decades.

#2 Pedro Martinez

This name speaks for itself. Ranked the 13th best pitcher of all time, Pedro will be a first ballot hall of famer when the time comes. This was the longest I ever waited in one day to get an autograph, probably about 4-5 hours. Definitely worth it, for a true Red Sox legend.

 #1 Ryne Sandberg, National Baseball Hall of Famer

Oh, Mr. Sandberg. Yes Pedro was probably a better player, but it was my season long journey to get this legend that puts him at #1. 3 games I went to throughout the season when Lehigh Valley was in town, and I was unsuccessful. Miraculously, Pawtucket ended up hosting them in the playoffs, and I was finally able to get him after many failures. This is definitely the hardest I've ever tried to get an autograph and on the 4th try, it payed off. Sure, he ran with a blue sharpie, but I am not about to complain after I finally got him.

Uconn Vs. Harvard 12/8/11

Well at different points tonight, my night went many ways. First, during the game, the fans in my section were really going at it with some rowdy Harvard fans, so that was exciting and fun. Harvard stayed in the game for a while, but ended up being no match for Uconn.

My graphing tonight started out very slow, and I eventually got Michael Bradley first. He literally has the smallest autograph I have ever seen:

Next was my disaster of the night.

I was kind of mad because I had gone to Target and they did not have SRX markers, so I had to settle for a sharpie paint pen. Normally I wouldn't have touched one, but it was my only option for this game. Anyways I made a complete bonehead move and forgot that I had to prep it, before I went up to Jim Calhoun, so he signed my magazine, but nothing came out of the marker, so I walked away disappointed and will have to get it next time.

After that, my night went pretty well. I got former Duke star and current Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker. The auto looks much better out of the flash:

Alex Oriahki was up next:

I once again got Jeremy Lamb again, on 2 magazines, and 2 11x14's that came out amazing:

 

 

 Finally the man of the night, who had 2 of the top 10 plays on Sportscenter, Mr. Andre Drummond:

I got one more Drummond that is not pictured.

Other than the Calhoun incident, I had a great night. I'm sorry for my 50/50 clients who wanted their items strictly in silver, but as I said, I could not get an SRX, and my paint pen crapped out on me. The items all came out great even in blue. I was lucky enough to get the silver to work on the Lambs before it died.


On one more final note, I have been getting more and more views with every entry I publish. Thank you for all of you who are reading, and don't be afraid to leave comments. As of right now, I don't know when my next event will be, but hopefully soon!

12/3/11 PawSox Christmas Party and Pedro Martinez Signing

This morning I started my day off by going to the PawSox Christmas Party. It was a nice little event, Nate Spears and Brandon Duckworth were there to sign:
I got 3 of these:

And got each to sign their page in a media guide:

Then My main goal of the day, Pedro Martinez up in Bedford Mass. This was a toy drive; basically you had to donate 2 toys, and you got an autograph. Great deal.Ended up only being like a 1:10 drive, so not bad. Got there at 2:00 for the 5:00 Signing. I ended up getting him at 6:00. My dad got him as well.

SS HOFROMLB With CY Inscription:

(Help) SS ROMLB With World Series Champs Inscription

These came out p.e.r.f.e.c.t. I am very happy with how the day went. He really took his time with  each autograph. Here is a picture of Pedro:

Next Up:Uconn Vs. Harvard on Thursday