Another One Bites the Dust

It's been slow goings in my Pirate collection this year.  A lull in collecting, general disinterest in new product, lack of local shows, and less free time to browse the internet have really put a halt on new additions.  And no aspect of my collection has been hit harder than my Pirates All-Time Roster autograph project.

At 528 players, I have signatures of every current and ex-Bucco who has certified issues, and just about every living player who is a decent signer through the mail.  But rounding out the other 400 or so autos I need for post WWII players is a bit tougher.  After all, I'm not searching individually by name for all those players, and generic searches like "pirate auto" and "pirate signed" mostly lead me to players I already have.

But occasionally I've stumbled across a gem or two.  Jason Thompson has been on my want list for quite some time.  He's a player that played relatively recently, but seems to be a toughie.  He doesn't sign ttm, isn't noteworthy enough to be included in modern sets, and despite a lengthy career just doesn't seem to pop up all that often.  But luckily I stumbled across this card while browsing other auctions from a seller who had another autograph I was after.

Better yet, the card ended with no bids for a mere $1.50 shipped.  I then managed to promptly misplace the card for two months until it showed up inside a box of 9-pocket pages.

To add icing to the cake, Thompson's signature comes complete with MLB authentication, which dates the signature as coming from All-Star FanFest in Detroit in 2005.  Having experienced an AS FanFest, my heart goes out to whoever stood in line for hours upon hours and ended up getting an autograph from Jason Thompson.  But it's one more name to check off the list, and a nice toughie to cross off.