My Martin Brodeur Autographs

As an autograph collector, not having any Martin Brodeur autographs in my collection would be like a baseball team not having any baseballs. It would be absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately, I do not have as many Broduer autographs as a baseball team, but the ones I do have mean a lot to me.

I have seen some Brodeur collections that absolutely blow mine out of the water. When I started collecting Brodeur, I envisioned myself becoming a Brodeur supercollector, but unfortunately, that neer happened. Instead, I have a couple of nice cards and some pretty cool photos of the greatest goalie that ever played the game.

2007 SportsKings Martin Brodeur Autograph

This was the first Broduer graph I picked up. I grabbed it off eBay for around 30.00. It's not the greatest card. SportsKings couldn't show The Devils logo, but despite that, I am quite fond of this card because it was the very first Martin Brodeur autograph I picked up for my collection.

2007/08 SPx Hockey Martin Brodeur Winning Materials Dual Jersey Autograph #'ed to 25

This card is probably the best in my limited collection of Brodeur autographs. This was a pick up at the Westchester County Sports Card Show a few years back. If I remember correctly, I picked this up at the end of the show for a lot less than the dealer was asking earlier in the day. I mentally noted the card, where it was and made sure to swing by later to see if he would take less for it. Surprisingly, he took a lot less. The card went home with me and to this day I am thrilled to have it in my collection.

2007 Fleer Hot Prospects Martin Brodeur Hotagraphs Autograph

This card was the last Brodeur autograph I have grabbed to this point. I'm always looking to pick up Brodeur autographs, but the prices are at times too high for me. Lucky, I found this card on eBay for a lot less than I paid for the previous two cards I picked up. I would love to have been the guy to thought of the name for this subset. I would have came up with one a lot better than Hotagraphs.

That's all my Broduer certified signed cards. I do have some signed Marty photo's in my collection.

This signed 8x10 was a gift from a fellow collector who was looking to clear out some clutter he had. Now, I don't know about you, but a signed Martin Brodeur picture should never be considered clutter. The only draw back to this picture is the fact that it's signed in black sharpie and most of the signature was signed on he dark part of the Stanley Cup. The guy told me he got this picture in person and I have compared it to other Brodeur autographs and I'm pretty confident that it's a legit Brodeur graph. Despite the placement of the signature I am very happy to have this in my collection.

This 5x7 signed photograph is my pride and joy of my Brodeur autograph collection. The one I'd never ever give up. Why? Because I got this picture signed myself. Marty made an appearance at the NHL Store here in NYC and I waited in line for 2 hours to meet him. I initially wanted to have him sign a puck that I had with me, but the store said he was only signing the picture that was provided. As long as I got to meet my favorite player, I was fine with that. He was nice, smiled and shook my hand and thanked me for the complements and that was it. I do hope too meet him again one day and maybe get that puck signed.

I also have a huge photo of the  Devils 2002 Stanley Cup winning team that Marty signed. I just haven't taken a picture of it as of yet. I will try to do so tonight and show it in tomorrow's blog post.

What about my "holy grail" signed items? The ones I dream of owning one day? Well, I still want a signed puck from Brodeur. That one is the easiest to get. I would also love a signed jersey, goalie stick and maybe a helmet. Those are the "Lotto Money" purchases. I can tell you if I ever did get those items, I would cherish them just as much as I cherish the autographs I have shown you today. There are not that many players I would spend that much on, but I would for Martin Brodeur.

My Five Favorite: Martin Brodeur Game Used Cards

Continuing with my Martin Brodeur week in honor of his career and announcing his retirement, I am showing off my five favorite game used cards in my Broduer PC. Now, bare in mind, most of the game used cards in my collection are pretty boring. One color swatches of fabric that may or may not have been used in an actual game. I prefer to think of it all as game used, just to say I have something that my favorite player wore or used in an actual game. And besides, ignorance is bliss.

Also, the collection is pretty small, like I mentioned yesterday. Brodeur has gotten to be a pretty pricey player to collect. Comes with being considered one, if not, the greatest goalies to ever play the game. When you have 20 records as a goalie in the NHL, then I'd pretty much just hand you the title of greatest goalie ever, with apologies to fans of Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek, Terry Sawchuk and Bernie Parent.

So, here are my five favorite cards:

5-2001-02 SPx Hockey's Treasures Game Used Stick And Jersey

The reason why this card means a lot to me is because it was my very first Brodeur game used card. I bought it a while back at the Westchester Sports Card show and paid $20.00 for it. I probably overpaid for it, but all I knew was I wanted to seriously collect Brodeur and I was buying as much Brodeur stuff at the show that I could. I think I only bought a few more base cards. But I came home with this gem as well.

4-2006-07 Bee Hive Matted Materials Game Used Jersey

This was an eBay purchase. I always like my jersey cards to have more than one color in them if I can help it. That's what drew me to this card. It's predominately white, but there is a touch of red in it. Plus, the price was pretty low because the seller misspelled Brodeur's last name in the listing. It always pays to check any variations of a player's name you can think of.

3- 2008-09 Upper Deck Ice Frozen Fabrics Dual Jersey

 
Another eBay purchase. And for the same reason as the Bee Hive card. I just love game used cards that have more than one color in it. This one is split red and white 50/50. Hey, I don't have a lot of high end Brodeur cards, so I find joy in my cards regardless of price or piece of material used.

2- 2007-08 SPx Winning Combos Martin Brodeur/ Patrick Roy Dual Game Used Jersey

One of the few Brodeur game used cards I actually pulled or had pulled for me from a group break. This one may be just one color swatches, but they are jerseys from two of the greatest goalies in NHL history. Anytime you can get two of the greatest on one card, it's a win.

1- 2010-11 Artifacts Tundra Trios Martin Broduer/Zach Parise/Patrik Elias Game Used Triple Patch Card

This one is my pride and joy of my Brodeur game used collection. This one was not cheap either. I made a trade with a fellow member of tradingcardcentral.com for this beauty. The price was an Evgeni Malkin autographed card I pulled from a box of Upper Deck Ice. The guy I traded with wasn't sure if that card was enough for what he was giving up, but agreed to make the trade. I am still very happy to have this beauty in my collection. The Elias patch is the only one that's not a triple colored piece, but I really don't care. This would have been out of my price range and I cannot thank the trader enough for trading this to me.

There you have it. My five favorite pieces from my Brodeur game used card collection. Hopefully over time I can pick up more pieces to grow my collection. I'm sure now that he's retired the prices will go up. But when you are a fan of a player, you will find ways to add new pieces to your collection and I'm no exception. Trades, purchasing, it doesn't matter. Anytime I can add a new Brodeur piece, I'm taking the plunge.

An Era Ends Today

It's no secret that I am an Islanders fan. My favorite player growing as a kid was Mike Bossy and I do collect his cards to this day. But ever since 1994, my all time favorite hockey player didn't play on Long Island. He played against them and beat the Isles on numerous occasions and for that alone he should have earned my wrath. But ever since I watched  a young Martin Brodeur play for the Devils I knew I was watching someone very special. So, when word broke that Marty was hanging up his pads, I felt pretty damned emotional.

I followed Marty's career ever since I first saw him play for the first time during the 1995-96 season. I may have actually seen him play during the 1991-92 season when he played four games for New Jersey when Chris Terreri and Craig Billington went down with injuries, I can't remember. I do know I first took notice of him during the 1993-94 season when as a rookie, he took the Devils to the Eastern Conference Championship and nearly led New Jersey to the Stanley Cup Finals with a fantastic performance that series, which went to 7 games. Brodeur won the Calder Trophy as Rookie Of The Year and I had a new favorite player.

Over the next few years, I got to watch Brodeur win a few Stanley Cups, a few Vezina Trophies as the top Goalie in the NHL and even a few Gold Medals for Team Canada in the Olympics. Even though I rooted for Team USA, I was happy that my guy got a Gold Medal. Every time I watched Marty, it seemed like he made an impossible save that would ultimately win the game for the Devils. I was impressed with Brodeur's hybrid style of goaltending, which has led him to the accolades and records he would achieve during his career.

One of my favorite moments of his career was a moment that I was actually in attendance for. After waiting outside the Prudential Center for hours, I was able to get tickets to see Brodeur take a shot at history. On March 17th, 2009, I was in the stands, watching the Devils beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 with Marty becoming the NHL's All Time Leader in Regular Season wins with 552. I had never been at an event where history was made. I never went to a game where a No Hitter was pitched, I've never been at a Playoff or Championship game, but the excitement that emanated from the crowd during the game and the pure joy that was felt after the game was something that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

When I got back into collecting cards around 2003, one of the first players I knew I would be collecting would be Brodeur. So I collected as many cards of him I could get my hands on. My collection is more base and inserts than game used and autographed cards, although I do have those as well. As of this moment, my collection stands at 363 cards. That's not a lot, I know. I actually hd stopped collecting Brodeur because his stuff is pretty pricey. Getting an autograph will set you back $75-100.00. Even his inserts can go for a high price. But, I still pick up his cards whenever I see them for a good price and I will always. I would like to re-start my Brodeur collection once I get back to work.

Cards are not the only thing I collect of Brodeur. I have figures, bobbleheads, autographed pictures, a jersey, t-shirt, a puck, a mini stick, even a Wheaties box that I bought off eBay that came from Canada. I'm always looking for items to add to my Brodeur collection. I would like to have a shelf or display case dedicated to Broduer at some point, so I will continue to add to my collection whenever I can.

In the future, I would love to add a signed jersey, maybe a game used stick to my collection. That would take me either getting a six figure job or winning the lotto. I also have a Devils throwback jersey that I want to customize into a Brodeur #29 jersey, to make it look like the jersey he wore when he first came up. Getting the NHL 75th Anniversary patch is easy enough. Finding a Devils 10th Anniversary patch for the back is a lot harder. I would also love to get an autographed puck and have a Brodeur puck collection.

Over the next few days, I plan to show off pieces of my Brodeur collection as a tribute to my favorite hockey player,  It was a joy watching him mind the net for the Devils through out his career. And even at this late stage of his career, he still managed to stick it to the Islanders, this time as a member of the St. Louis Blues. All I could do was smile and shake my head. Somethings never change. I will be in attendance at the Rock when the Devils retire his jersey and raise his number to the rafters and say thank you number 30.

Autographs. What Do I Need?

One of my main goals for 2014 is to get back into the autographing game. I used to love going to the old Yankee Stadium and just wait outside the players entrance and try to get some baseball cards, baseballs or pictures signed by various Yankees and other players.

As I got older and the hobby grew, I got tired of having to deal with pushy collectors and dealers for autographs, so I stopped hanging outside the ballpark. A lot of collectors will push an old lady out of their way for a signature. It's disgusting.

 I started attending signings were it's more of a controlled environment (sometimes), even if I sometimes had to pay for the privilege of having my item signed or picking up what the player will sign. Then the prices started going up and I stopped going to those as well.

To fill my autograph needs I started buying certified autographed cards. I filled a lot of holes this way and I will still continue to pick up autographs as long as the price is right. I also sent a lot of requests through the mail, or TTM as we call it in the autograph community. Due to lack of time, the letters stopped going out and I completely stopped collecting autographs.

Being able to attend the NFL festivities this past week not only got me wanting to get back into the hobby but also got me thinking about what autographs I want to add to my collection. Now, I have a lot of nice certified signed cards, players like Derek Jeter, Joe Namath, Walt Frazier, Martin Brodeur and even a Babe Ruth.

What I want to add is more signed baseballs, photos, magazines, etc. I also started thinking about which players I want to add. I would like to also one day get a few jerseys signed, but I have a hard time buying jerseys for me to wear, much less buy them for autographing purposes.

So, I kind of came up with a "wish list" of players I want to have something other than a card signed. Meaning, I may already have a card signed by the player, I just want something I can display on a shelf or on my wall. Something that will grab anyone's attention as they enter wherever I ultimately display my stuff. Hopefully in my home.

I also narrowed the list down to players who are still living. Kind of hard to get a someone who's passed on to sign a ball for you. That being said, here's the list

1-Derek Jeter 

Jeter is one of the most expensive autographs you can buy (Thanks a lot Brandon Steiner for that.). A legit signed Jeter can run you anywhere from $150.00 to about $500.00. Jeter is also a tough signature to get. Listening to various collectors, Jeter may only sign for children and women or not at all. Then there was the report that came out a couple of years ago where collectors would be lined up outside the Yankees complex in Tampa when Jeter was rehabbing, waiting for him to come out. He would either pull up his car and sign a handful or none at all leaving collectors who waited as early as 4am to walk away empty handed. Jeter might be one of those I may have to save my pennies and buy.

I'd either love to have a ball

Or a framed signed photo

2-Wayne Gretzky

As a hockey fan, I feel it's imperative to own an autograph of the greatest player to ever skate. Gretzky can be a pricy autograph as well, with signed pucks going for about $200 dollars, but sometimes you can find a signed puck in the $75 dollar range if you look hard enough. I have heard that Gretzky is accommodating when approached. That said, I will be keeping an eye out for appearances by The Great One this year.

I would like to have a signed puck for my 500 goal scorers PC

 
And maybe a photo

I would get some Kings stuff signed as well. Just no Rangers Gretzky.

3-Mike Bossy

As one of my all time favorite hockey players, you would think I would already have Bossy in my collection, and you would be right. I have a few certified cards in my Bossy PC, but I don't have any signed memorabilia of his. That should change come March when Bossy does a card show not too far from the Nassau Coliseum where he played during is career. I am of mind that I don't care what it will cost to have him sign for me. Bossy signed pucks are among the most relatively inexpensive for a NHL Hall Of Famers and of the all time great snipers in the history of the game and I could have picked one up a few times. Reason why I haven't is because I really want to meet one of my childhood heroes and I just may have that opportunity next month.

I really want a signed puck to put on my Bossy shelf when I put one up.

I hope to also add a signed photo and McFarlane figure at some point.

4-Jason Giambi

Now, admittedly, Giambi's Yankee career was not what we expected him to ultimately have. Plus there was PED allegations, the gold thong and that horrible porn stache he rocked at the very end, but he was still a Yankee and I want to add one particular piece to my collection. Yes, I would get a baseball, as I want a signed ball from as many Yankees as I can get, but I want Giambi to sign one of his Sports Illustrated covers. His Yankee cover was very cool and I think it would look fantastic on my wall.

With Giambi signing to play with the Indians this upcoming season, I may have my shot at getting him to sign one. I just have to find this issue.

5-Patrick Ewing

Ewing is my all time favorite Knick. I do have a PC of Ewing and nothing would be better if I could add a Ewing signed basketball to my Knicks signed ball collection. Ewing is a tough autograph to get. I did hear rumors that while he worked for the Knicks MSG playoff games in studio he would sign a couple after leaving, so I missed out on him. His autographs are pretty expensive, going for anywhere from $200 dollars for a certified card to $700 dollars for a signed basketball. I will have to be lucky to add Ewing to my collection.

I would love to add a signed basketball

Or this image that remains one of my favorites in Knicks history

6-Gordie Howe

Howe is another autograph that any hockey fan needs in his collection. Gordie was considered the greatest player until number 99 donned the ice and broke all of Howe's records. Howe used to sign through the mail for free, but once the hobby boomed that stopped. Howe is one of those missed opportunities that I kick myself for and will be another that I will have to purchase as at his age appearances are very rare. Howe is pretty inexpensive for someone of his stature, averaging about $75 dollars.

I would love to add a Howe signed puck for my 500 goal scorers PC

7-Mariano Rivera

One of my all time favorite Yankees. With all due respect to Mr. Jeter, the Yankees do not win all those World Series if it wasn't for Mariano. With his retirement, I actually expect Rivera to be around making appearances. I missed out on a few last summer, but I will not do so again if I can help it. Like Jeter, Rivera's autograph has become pricey (Thanks again Brandon Steiner), but I am confident that I can get Rivera at an appearance.

I do want a Rivera signed ball pretty badly

But this signed photo makes me drool every time I see it.

8-Martin Broduer

I don't care what anyone says. Martin Broduer is the greatest goalie that ever played the game. End of story. Save the arguments for Roy, Sawchuck, Belfour or Parent. The numbers back up my claim. All time wins leader, check. All time shutouts leader, check. 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophys and 2 Olympic gold medals support my argument. I have had the pleasure of meeting Broduer a few years ago when he made an appearance at the NHL Store here in NYC and got a 5x7 signed photo the store gave out. I have also acquired a couple of signed photos, but what I don't have is a signed puck and I would like to add one this year. I have a Broduer PC of cards, figures, pucks and other stuff. Would like that signed puck for the PC.

9-Joe Klecko

When I first started watching football, Joe Klecko was a player I really liked. He was a hard nosed player who made All Pro at 3 different positions. How is this man not in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame? It's a joke that he is not enshrined in Canton. I haven't really seen Klecko making any apperances, but he does work at SNY doing the Jets post game shows and the studio is in NYC, so I could have waited outside the studio for him to come out, but because Sunday is Jets day and I am usually home or it's cold, I never went.

I would love to add a Klecko signed mini helmet to my Jets PC

10-Tino Martinez

My favorite all time Yankee. Tino was intense, a fantastic glove and a great bat on those World Series clubs during the 90's and early 2000's. Another player who I have a PC of as well as a few signed certified cards and a mini helmet, I don't have a signed baseball from him. He's been my Moby Dick, very elusive. Each time he is scheduled to make an appearance I ether miss out for one reason or he winds up cancelling. My last chance was when I was in Los Angeles and he was still coaching the Marlins. I waited after the game for him to come out and sign but after about a half hour I wound u leaving with my girlfriend, who was a heck of a trooper for waiting. The next day, my buddy Dodger Bobble tells me he came out 10 minutes after I left and signed. I just can't win.

I want a signed ball to add to my Tino PC

There are a lot of other players I would love to add to my collection. Hall of Fame players like Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripkin Jr or Sandy Koufax. Legends like Vin Scully, Teemu Selanne and Terry Bradshaw as well as players from my favorite teams like Bernie Williams, Walt Frazier, John Tavares and John Starks. I hope I can add all of these players to my collection at some point. I know it will take a lot of work and probably money, but  believe that if you work hard enough and want it bad enough, you can have anything you want in life. Lucky for me, my dreams are pretty simple. If I can get all of these signatures, I'll be a pretty happy guy.

New Swag For The Sports Room

God, I love a packed Postal Box. Makes my day a heck of a lot brighter. This past week I have gotten some pretty sweet swag for the Sports Room. Some are things I bought, some are TTM autographs and 2 packages were from some very generous collectors.

Enough typing! Time to show off the goodies!

First up are these 2 pictures I got back signed by the recently retired Jason Kidd. I was very please when I got these back. Kidd was a great addition to this year's Knicks an played real hard during the regular season. Unfortunately, he slumped really bad during the playoffs and was benched when he went 10 games without a field goal. I had a feeling he was retiring at the end of the season, but I was happy I could see him play for the Knicks and still play well. These pictures were sent to him in care of The Knicks and took almost 4 months to come back.

Picked up this 1997 Topps Finest Wayne Chrebet Dominators insert card for my Chrebet PC off eBay for a buck shipped. Of course, it came in a plain white envelope and was not in a toploader, just a penny sleeve, but the seller did add 2 1989 Mets Topps cards of Dave Magadan and Lenny Dykstra. I should give the seller negitive feedback just for that alone.

I got an email from a football card collector over on Sports Card Forum, asking me for my address as he had some Jets cards he was unloading to downsize his collection. A week later I got a bunch of very nice cards.

For the Chrebet PC. #'ed 10/10.

I think these are steps that was inserted into the card. That's different.

And he included autographs, my favorite cards to collect.

Anyone who knows me or is a long time reader knows that the Jets are my favorite team, right after the Yankees. I am probably just as passionate about the Jets as I am the Yankees. So to be able to add these cards to my Jets collection was a real thrill for me and I hope I can repay the collector in some way in the near future.

Another collector on another forum offered these to me as well and I jumped at the chance.

This is my first Scott Stevens autograph and I am so glad I could finally add him to my collection. I have been trying to get a Stevens autograph forever.

Martin Brodeur is my favorite hockey player right along side Mike Bossy, so to get a free Brodeur signed 8x10 into the Brodeur PC was pretty sweet. Once I am able to, this will get framed and put up in the Sports Room.

Also added some cards to my Teixeira PC. Got this 2007 Upper Deck Ultimate Ultimate Team Marks for under 10.00, shipped.

 2011 Framed Topps Gypsy Queen, #'ed to 999. It came with the Jets cards. There were other Yankees included, but I will show those off in another blog at another time.

I haven't been able to pick up any new things for the Sports Room as of late, so to be able to get a nice full mail box was a nice feeling. My pick ups will be slowing down as I am trying to rebuild my bank account, but I should still be able to pick up some things here and there. As long as it's cheap, lol.