Ernie Banks - Jersey Back 8x10

First off, there were quite a few looky-Lou's on yesterday's post about starting a new fantasy league but only a few nibbles. Check it out here if you missed it. Hoping to get a few more confirmed, so the sooner the better. Reserve your spot now, payment not due til March. Less than the price of a blaster could yield several! This will be my last reminder for a week or so.

Now on to your regularly scheduled post. I took time over the holidays to go through a box of miscellaneous stuff I had tucked away. In it were a few magazines and 8x10's I had gotten autographed but never really had room to frame them up and display. I still don't have room to do that but I thought I would pull them out and scan them. Maybe this year for Father's Day, I'll ask for a larger version of last year's gift!

If I don't have room to hang signed photos or magazines, I sure as heck don't have space to hang framed jerseys. About 2-3 years ago, before I started making customs msyelf, I ran across a site called Baseball Backs. (If you just want to browse, I've found it easier to go through his Flickr photostream, which is broken down by league and team). The guy who runs the site creates photos that resemble the backs of a player's jersey. I can't vouch for other teams' accuracy but as far as I can tell with the Cubs, he seems to put the effort into getting them right. During the season, he's usually good for one a day. He takes a break during the offseason but sometimes will add some trades or free agent signings. Looking forward to some new ones soon!



Ernie Banks, 1968 Cubs Road Jersey (Original Photo Courtesy of Baseball Backs)

I've previously posted about these (here's my Geovany Soto) but this one signed by Ernie Banks is one of my favorites. He signed it perfectly up the slant of the #4 in silver (Sharpie? Paint Pen? Can't remember...) and I have no doubt that when I do eventually get it framed, it'll look even better. 

 

Signature Saturday - Geovany Soto

Was going to write a congratulatory post directed towards Darwin Barney's record breaking errorless streak. That fell through so then I wrote a rant about the error and how it was just like the rest of the Cubs season. But, when I came back to it to publish it, I decided against it. 

So this is what you get a quick write-up on some Geovany Soto autographs. Vinnie from over on sportcollectors.net was offering to take cards for Rangers players when they were in his neck of the woods to play his hometown Mariners. His handling fee was acceptable to me so I reached out asking for help and he came through with this card for my 2012 custom team set. This brings the total count of different players signing their card in my set to 24.

2012 Custom Geovany Soto

This next 8x10 photo was sent in to a private signing Soto did, I think, before the 2011 season. It's a made-from-scratch-in-Photoshop photo made to look like the back of a jersey. You probably can't tell from the size of the photo but its incredibly detailed with a fabric texture background and stitching around the letters and numbers. Much cheaper than an actual jersey. I've also gotten one signed by Ernie Banks, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams. Eventually, I'll be getting them framed up and put up around the room.

Geovany Soto Jersey Back 8x10 (Original photo courtesy of Baseball Backs)