SIGnificant Cards - Bob Feller 2003 Fleer Rookies & Greats The Naturals

A Bob Feller auto might be easy to find
but it is a must have.

Bob Feller. Where do I start? If you regularly listen to my show Cardboard Connection Radio you know we have a few good stories about Bob. But the one thing that all collectors know is that there are a boatload of Bob Feller autographs out there. I pulled 14 Feller autos out of packs over my years of collecting.

On one show not to long ago, we gave out a prize to the person that showed us the most ridiculous thing Feller ever signed. We did this in jest because there wasn't anything Bob wouldn't sign and collectors loved him for it. It's not often a man that has Feller's career stats still liked to sign his autograph. Well we got a lot of entries but by far the winner was a kid. Yes, you read that right, Bob once signed a kid. You can't make that up and you certainly can't pull that out of a pack!

Among the Feller autos I found in packs, the one pictured here is my favorite.It comes from 2003 Fleer Rookies & Greats. I really like the vintage image and the grayscale and black combination on the card. I think it hearkens back to the days Feller played the game and it didn't need color to be classy. It's also a nice clean and legible signature. Why they opted to do a cut-out auto instead of on card befuddles me a little, but compared to some of the ridiculous autographs you see out there today, Bob had a really great signature.

Now while Feller autos might be pretty easy to come by, there is no denying his greatness on the field. He's an 8-time all-star, hall of famer and many have said he was the best pitcher of his era. With 266 career wins, many write him off because he isn't a member of the 300 club. He is a must have for any real baseball fan that respects the greats of the game.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1941-1954 and there is not a doubt in anyone's mind that he'd have eclipsed 300 with those additional years in the majors. I have more respect for the fact that he was the first active MLB player to sign up for the military after  Japan attacked Pearl Harbor than I have for him as a player, and he was one hell of a player.