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HIGHLIGHTED FEATURE: Signing Habits of Active Players
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Posted by jaygross
Comments: 0

A little bit of SCN History

Way back in 2009, I introduced the Players and Teams functionality on SCN in a blog post. I was really excited when SCN was the first (and still only) site to offer collectors the ability to easily see signing habits of players on specific teams for the 4 major sports going back to 1948.

I personally have enjoyed using this feature to help me figure out who to write to next with an All Time Red Sox project.

People collect Active Players!!!

While today's NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB players do not sign nearly as much as they did even 5-10 years ago (especially with the effects of COVID-19 on our society), there are still plenty of collectors who want to try to send newer cards to today's players. I don't blame them.

Over the past few days, I have had 2 collectors reach out to me asking for the ability to filter for only active players who sign TTM. I showed them a feature that they didn't know about to get this info (and now have hopefully made it easier for you all to find it too).

Seeing the latest signers by Sport and Year

As part of that 2009 launch of Players and Teams functionality, I added a pretty cool feature that returns the latest signers for all players who played in a game for that year. If you choose the most recent season, you should see active players sorted by who has most recently had successes reported. Below is a screenshot:

Latest Successes by Year

Making it easier to find Active Players who Recently Sign

On the Players and Teams main page, you should now see blue links for each sport labeled "Show Active Players".

In the screenshot below, you can see these links designated with the red arrows next to them:

Players and Teams screen



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UPGRADE: Payments for subscriptions on SCN
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Posted by jaygross
Comments: 1

The Problem

I first wrote the integration allowing members to pay for their subscriptions and renewals back in 2002, when we launched subscriptions. I chose Paypal as our payment processor because of their market position at the time, considering how prevalent it was for collectors to have Paypal accounts. I made a few enhancements in 2005 when I moved the site to its current platform, but it was fragile and confusing:
  • We experienced delays in notifications for payments - resulting in customers not getting immediate access after they paid.

  • There was a SUPER confusing process where Paypal would create a subscription, bill the customer, and then cancel the subscription.

The Solution

In March of 2021, I rebuilt the entire process from the ground up and we have been testing it out since then. Below you will see the new (better integrated) options

subscribe_options

Now you have the following options:
  1. Pay for 1 year of SCN with Paypal (without the confusing messaging around subscription profile creation and cancellation)
  2. Use Paypal's "Pay Later" feature.
  3. Pay using a Credit Card
  4. Send us a Check or Money Order
After nearly 3 months of testing this out, it has been a big success for our members. We have seen significantly fewer issues and just about all members have been able to get access to the features after paying.

We just want to reiterate that we will continue to NOT automatically rebill you when your subscription ends. I do not personally like it when sites do that. The site will continue to provide a banner prompting you to re-subscribe with 30 days or less left in your subscription.

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My 21 Favorite autographed items from the past 21 years
Sunday, April 18, 2021
Posted by jaygross
Comments: 1

One of my favorite parts of SCN is getting to see all the cool items folks here have in their collection and hearing the stories about they are acquired. So in keeping on theme of our 21st Anniversary, I thought it would be fun to share my 21 Favorite Autographed Items I have gotten in the past 21 years:

MULTISIGNED ITEMS

1967 Topps NL Pitching leaders - Sandy Koufax / Juan Marichal / Bob Gibson/ Gaylord Perry

1967 NL Pitching leaders

This is probably my favorite signed item. I got Koufax to sign this in the mid 1980's. In 2005-2007 I got Gaylord Perry (at JPRS show in White Plains, NY), then Bob Gibson (at MAB show in NJ), and finally Juan Marichal (at JPRS show in White Plains, NY) in person to complete the card. There are only a handful of vintage baseball leaders cards with 4 or more HOFers.

1972 Topps ABA Scoring Leaders - Charlie Scott / Rick Barry / Dan Issel

1972 Topps Charlie Scott / Rick Barry / Dan Issel

I am a huge basketball fan, so I have been trying to learn all I can about the ABA and its great stars. This card certainly had 3 big ABA stars who later had big NBA success. I got Dan Issel and Rick Barry to sign the card before 2010. I finished the card at Doug Keating's 2020 private signing with Charlie Scott.

1974 Topps Bucks Leaders - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar / Oscar Robeertson

1974 Topps Kareem Abdul-Jabbar / Oscar Robeertsonbr>
Around 2001-2002 there was a short window when Kareem and Oscar were signing TTM for free. And I was lucky enough to send this off to each of these stars of the 1970-71 Bucks championship team.

1974 Topps NBA Rebound Leaders - Elvin Hayes / Dave Cowens / Bob McAdoo

1974 Topps Elvin Hayes/Dave Cowens/Bob McAdoo

I got Elvin Hayes signed as part of Heidi Greene's 2010 private signing. I got McAdoo to sign it TTM a few years before and then got Cowens to sign it a few years after. Last year I completed a second copy of this card.

1975 Topps NBA Scoring Leaders - Bob McAdoo / Rick Barry / Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

1975 Topps Bob McAdoo/Rick Barry/Kareem Abdul-Jabbarbr>
I really like the 1975 Topps set (I am working on collecting it), and this is card #1 in it. I got Kareem TTM during a short window around 2001. I was able to get McAdoo and Barry TTM around 2008 to finish the card.

1961 Parkhurst Don Marshall / Henri Richard / Dickie Moore

1961 Parkhurst Don Marshall/Henri Richard/Dickie Moore

I needed to get a hockey card in here, and this is my oldest multi-signed item featuring 3 stars of the powerhouse Canadiens teams of the 1960's who were all really great TTM signers.

1971 Topps Wins Leaders - Tony Esposito / Ed Johnston / Gerry Cheevers / Ed Giacomin

1971 Topps - Tony Esposito / Ed Johnston / Gerry Cheevers / Ed Giacomin

I bought this card at the 2007 National Sports Collectors Convention from Mainline Autographs signed by Gerry Cheevers. The Eds (Johnston and Giacomin) have been great signers and I got them to sign it shortly after. Last year I saw that Tony Esposito was signing his mail consistently, so I got the card finished with a $20 donation. I love how all of them signed under their pictures in blue sharpie.

1983 Topps Braves Leaders - Phil Niekro / Dale Murphy

1983 Topps Phil Niekro / Dale Murphy

While this is not a hugely valuable card, I grew with 1980's baseball and really enjoyed watching the Braves teams on TBS. Dale Murphy was a massive star and clearly the best player on the team (back to back NL MVP's), but maybe even a better person than player. Phil Niekro was so fun to watch as his knuckleball frustrate hitters well into his 40's.

1977 Sportscaster Basketball Hall of Fame - Hubie Brown / Denny Crum / Harry Gallatin / Richie Guerin / Cliff Hagan / Bailey Howell / John Kundla / Bob Leonard / Clyde Lovellette / Frank Ramsey

1977 Sportscaster Basketball Hall of Fame

I hadn't previously went for generic Hall of Fame items, but I really liked the 1977-1979 Sportscaster series and I figured it would be cool to get a bunch of players of regular signers on it. Since I was too big to fit in a regular sized envelope, I folded it in half (hence the crease across the middle). During a 9 month window around 2014, I sent this out to 10 HOFers - I would send it out right out to the next guy after I got it back signed.

1977 Sportscaster Pro Football Hall of Fame - Herb Adderley / Harry Carson / Dick LeBeau / Bob Lilly / Gino Marchetti / Joe Schmidt / Charley Trippi

1977 Sportscaster Pro Football Hall of Fame

Much like the basketball Sportscaster card, I decided to also send off the Pro Football Hall of Fame issue. I was able to get this item signed by a handful of HOFers, and I am considering sending this item out to a few more players.

SINGLE PLAYER SIGNED ITEMS

1957 Topps Bob Pettit

1957 Topps Bob Pettit

Bob Pettit is absolutely one of the all time greatest players in NBA history. He scored 50 in a Finals game to beat Bill Russell's Celtics before they won 8 straight titles. And the 1957 Topps set is one of the most classic basketball sets, loaded with Rookie cards of 18 Hall of Famers. I was lucky enough to get Bob to sign this card TTM in 2016.

1934 Diamond Stars Al Lopez

1934 Diamond Stars Al Lopez

1934-36 Diamond Stars may be my favorite baseball set. It features some beautiful drawings and colors. I had an unsigned copy of this Al Lopez card that I got in the 1980's that I sent to him at least 5 times in hopes he would sign it, but it always sent back unsigned. A collector offered to sell me this copy in 2008 (3 years after Lopez had passed away). I also have signed Diamond Stars of Rick Ferrell, Earl Averill, and Carl Hubbell.

1978 Topps Pete Maravich

1978 Topps Pete Maravich

This was a big one for me. If you don't know who Pete Maravich is, you need to watch some of his YouTube highlights. The man was absolutely amazing with his level of skill and showmanship. This was the last card I needed to finish my 1978 Topps Basketball set and I acquired it this year from a fellow collector.

1965 Topps Steve Carlton

1965 Topps Steve Carlton

Steve Carlton is one of the greatest pitchers and as a kid I had always wanted to own his 1965 Topps rookie card. I bought this copy off of ebay and then sent it to him with donation in 2019.

1963 Topps Deacon Jones

1963 Topps Deacon Jones

No disrespect to Reggie White and Bruce Smith, but a good many folks believe Deacon Jones is the greatest pass rusher in NFL history. In 2011, a SCN member offered a private signing for Mr. Jones for $25 and I had this card sitting in a box that I sent in. Sadly Mr. Jones passed away 2 years later.

1965 Coca-Cola Phil Esposito

1965 Coca-Cola Phil Esposito

I am a Bruins fan and Espo had a pretty fantastic career for some great 1970's Bruins teams. Since I couldn't find + afford his 1965 Topps Rookie, I went with this 1965 Coca Cola variation and sent it to him in 2015. It took about 9 months to come back signed and I am very happy with it. I also have 1965 Coca Cola rookie cards of Yvon Cournoyer, Eddie Giacomin, Gerry Cheevers, and Bernie Parent.

1957 Topps Tom Heinsohn

1957 Topps Tom Heinsohn

Tommy is all time Boston sports legend. Great player (8 NBA titles), great coach (2 NBA titles in the 1970's), and was a broadcaster with Mike Gorman for 30+ years. My dad lived across the street from him growing up in Massachusetts. I bought this as a PSA 3 of his rookie card in 2008, cracked it out of the case, and got it back signed in under 3 weeks.

1951 Parky Milt Schmidt

1951 Parky Milt Schmidt

The 1951 Parkhurst is the first major main stream hockey set, and this one was loaded with rookie cards of HOFers. I picked Milt Schmidt as the representative from this set because he was such a huge part of the team's success as a player, coach, and exec. And he was a great ambassador to fans up until his passing in 2017. Milt signed this card for me in 5 days back in 2010. I also have signed 1951 Parkhurst cards of Alex Delvecchio, Fern Flaman, Howie Meeker, Bill Gadsby, Ted Lindsay, Edgar Laparde, Marcel Pronovost, and Elmer Lach.

1966 Philadelpiha Gale Sayers

1966 Philadelpiha Gale Sayers

Another card I had always dreamed of owning as a kid. I saw highlights of his punt / kick returns and was amazed by how he juked past defenders for easy scores. If only he had not gotten injured... I sent this rookie card to him in 2007 with a $10 donation and was lucky to get it back signed.

1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

1960 Topps Carl Yastrzemski

As a die hard Red Sox fan, I kind of have to love Yaz. I had this card sitting in a box for years (along with a 1960 Topps Willie McCovey rookie), and then sent them both to Tom Orr for private signings in 2016.

1969 Topps Decals Reggie Jackson

1969 Topps Decals Reggie Jackson

I bought this Reggie Jackson 1969 Topps Decal in random box at a card show for $5 many years ago. I sent it to Tom Orr for a private signing in 2020 and he got it signed.

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