Adolfo Phillips

It has been quite a while since I last showed off one of these. Well, that's because its been quite a while since I actually got a new one. I had every intention of sending a bunch out during Spring Training because I know a lot of former players show up as guest instructors. But things happened and I prioritized a few more obscure/tougher signers and never got that mass mailing out.

I may pimp a blog occasionally but I don't make a habit of advertising for a commercial business. However, Chris from over at Chris Potter Sports specializes in tracking down a lot of those more obscure/tougher signers I just mentioned. He sets up a ton of private signings and then hits the road for a month or two and brings the items to the players to sign. I have made use of his services in the past and he came through again.

His prices are fairly reasonable considering all of the time and effort he puts into the signing itself, traveling and paying the player. And like I said, some of these guys are tough. Chris isn't just collecting money for guys that sign for free through the mail. Those of you that do TTM autograph requests, have you ever had a multi-signed item that you wanted to add more signatures to but were afraid it would somehow be ruined? Consider the fact that Chris is a professional that is also a collector, so you know he'll handle your item with the same care he would his own.

Ok, enough free pub. On to the results. I sent in for two players in Chris's last batch of signings (and noticed quite a few former Cubs in his next batch). Today, I'll show off Adolfo Phillips. Before sending in, I did a quick search on SCN and noticed no TTM successes for Phillips. There were only a handful of requests but all were failures. No statuses of "waiting" so it was safe to assume that wouldn't be the best route to go. SCN probably represents a small percentage of actual TTM requests a player receives but I feel the percentages are pretty reliable.

The bulk of his career came with the Cubs as their starting center fielder in the late '60s. Phillips was part of the '69 Cubs but got out of Dodge before the infamous collapse when he was traded to the Expos in June of that year.

So if the TV show Quantum Leap was real life, could Sam Beckett go back to the day before that trade and stop it from happening? A little alternate history fan-fic?

Phillips played before my time so I don't really have any anecdotal memories of him, but I am more than happy to add him to the collection. Any of you more seasoned Cubs fans have any stories?

Hopefully, this gets the ball rolling for me to get off my butt and get some more made. I have a looooong way to go if I'm going to meet my New Year's goal! Check out the ATCRCS: Autograph Edition tab at the top to see who I have already gotten.