Two More TTM Successes
February 24th, 2011 by slangon

Got 2 more TTM requests back in the last couple of weeks. So far with the new Everyday Joes cards I’m 6 for 7. Not bad. Also, that 7th card was actually a Spring Training request, and those guys just got into camp a week or so ago, so I’m still hopeful about that one. I wonder if I can go the entire year with a 100% success rate? I guess I can only try. Anyway, here’s the cards.

2011 SlangKo Everyday Joes #3 Max Alvis

Max Alvis is one of those sort of tragic baseball stories. He came up with the Indians in 1962 and became their regular 3rd baseman the following year. He hit .274 with 22 dingers that first full year and appeared poised for a productive career. Unfortunately, he came down with spinal meningitis in ’64 which kind of derailed his career. He still managed to knock 18 out of the park in only 381 at-bats that year. To his credit, even after returning from the disabled list, he turned in a couple of more productive years between 1965 and 1967, including 2 All-Star appearances. Starting in 1968, however, his numbers steadily declined until his final year in 1970, when he played a handful of games for the inaugural edition of the Brewers.

2011 SlangKo Everyday Joes #7 Al Dark

Al Dark was the 1948 Rookie of the Year, back when they only gave out 1 Rookie of the Year award. He won pretty handily, too. He had 27 1st place votes. Gene Bearden, who came in second, only had 8, followed by Richie Ashburn, with 7. He was also 3rd in MVP voting that year, finishing behind Braves teammate Johnny Sain and MVP winner Stan Musial. He began managing immediately after he retired as player, taking the reigns of the San Francisco Giants in 1961. He took the team to the World Series the following year. It was around this time that he earned his nick name “The Swamp Fox”. The 1962 season was a tight race between the Giants and the Dodgers. In an effort to slow down Dodger speedster Maury Wills, Dark instructed the Candlestick Park grounds crew to severely water down the base paths, causing Vin Scully to dub him “a Swamp Fox”. I guess being given a nick name by Vin Scully himself has to count among Al’s many other accomplishments.

Mr. Dark also included a rather curious Biographical/Religious pamphlet that he also autographed and personalized with a bible quote.

I’m always very thankful when players throw in extras when I write asking for their autographs and I think I can safely say that this is my first autographed religious tract. Very interesting. What else is interesting is looking at the signature on the pamphlet and the one on the card. They both certainly look to be written by the same hand, with the exception of the card signature being very shaky. I’m sure the shakiness has to do with Mr. Dark being almost 90 years old, but I wonder why the pamphlet isn’t shaky. I assume that he had those printed up a while ago and signed them before his steadiness began to suffer?

I had told my Dad about getting this autograph in the mail and he was pretty excited to see it. Although he’s a Mets fan now, and the reason why I’m a Mets fan, he grew up as a Giants fan before they moved west and remembers Al Dark quite fondly.

Leave a Reply