Phil Esposito TTM Success

Phil Esposito was one of the greatest and most famous hockey players ever. He shattered the record for goals and points in single season in 1970-71 with 76 goals and 152 points. He became the NHL’s all-time leader in goals and points scored.

His records were eventually broken, but his star never dimmed. In 1984 Phil Esposito was rightly made a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

I owned one hockey card of Phil Esposito which was one of the first hockey cards I ever owned. It was 75-76 Topps; the last card of Esposito as a Boston Bruin. In 2007 I decided to send a card to Phil Esposito to see if he would sign it. I did not want to send my 75-76 Topps for fear I would not get it back. Instead I created a card on my computer and printed it out on some photo paper. It turned out pretty good, so I sent it.

700 days later that card came back to me signed by Phil Esposito. I was pleasantly surprise. Phil Esposito does not sign much through the mail, so to get it back at all was amazing. Mr. Esposito even took the time to personalize the card to me and include his number (7).

Retired hockey players tend to be the best signers of any sport. I have gotten Hall of Fame legends such as Guy LaFluer, Bobby Clarke, Bryan Trottier, Steve Yzerman, Jean Beliveau, and others for FREE. Some big names like Bobby Orr, Gordie Howe, and Mario Lemieux charge big money while the “signed” Wayne Gretzky card I got may be auto penned.

Well my signed Esposito card looks very legitimate. It made my day to get it back. Thank you Phil Esposito!

Random Thought - Bryan Trottier

I was just getting back into hockey, and was collecting hockey cards extensively for the first time in 1979-80. That year’s Bryan Trottier card caught my eye. It not only looks good, but the red 1st Team All-Star banner under his picture it said he was someone to reckon with. That card sparked my interest in Bryan, and he soon became my favorite hockey player.

I started watching for his name in the box scores in newspaper. I hunted down articles on him in magazines that I found in the public library. And I was fired up when I my first chance I to see him on tv. It was a Saturday night in 1980 on a local board cast of the North Stars playing the Islanders in New York.

I would get to see plenty of Bryan the next year when the North Stars took on the Islanders in the Stanly Cup Finals. The Islanders won, but I was not mad at Trottier, because had become my favorite player of all-time, and he still in today.


The 1997 Hall of Famer was a member of four straight Stanley Cup Champion New York Islander teams. Bryan could not only score (he had six 100 point seasons), but he was a top notched defensive forward who was not afraid to hit someone. Bryan won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1978-79. He was named to four NHL All-Star teams, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 1979-80. Bryan ended up with six Stanley Cup Championships.

I had sent a hockey card to Bryan earlier this year to sign, but never got anything back from him. I had seen on the Web that other people were getting things back from him, so I gave it another try. Not having any 1979-80 Trottier cards to spare, I use my computer to create a Trottier hockey card. It worked out well, and I was very pleased to receive my card back signed and even personalized from Bryan. Thank you Bryan, you are now not only my favorite hockey player of all-time, your name is on my favorite autographed hockey card of all-time.