Toews & Kane autograph signing this Saturday

Chicago Blackhawks rookies Johnathan Toews and Patrick Kane will be signing autographs from 2 pm to 4 pm on Saturday, December 8 at HawkQuarters, located on 333 N. Michigan Ave. From what I heard, fans will be limited to one autograph each per player. Autographs are free, and HawkQuarters will have color photos for sale. That's nice, since I don't own any cards of either player.

Speaking of Kane and Toews, they appeared on the cover of last week's issue of The Hockey News. First Becket Hockey Monthly, and now THN. What's next, Time Magazine?

Other upcoming Blackhawks autograph appearances:

December 10: Patrick Kane and Adam Burish, Orland Park

December 10: Johnathan Toews and Brent Seabrook, Glen Ellyn

December 27: Patrick Sharp, Glen Ellyn

I've always loved in-person autograph signings. I have fond memories of the annual Skate with the Hawks meet-n-greet that the team used to have in lthe late 80s / early 90s.

Here's to hoping that the team continues to have player appearances like these. If you want people to know and care about the players, you have to send them out into the "real world" and be accessible to the fans.

Another score for Rocky Wirtz!

1987-88 Topps

When I got into hockey in Spring of 1989, one of the first things I did was buy a complete set of 1988-89 Topps Hockey cards. I then focused on putting together a set of 1987-88 Topps hockey cards--this is the first set I tried to build, one pack at a time. The only card shop that I knew that sold hockey still had packs of '87-88 Topps in 1989, and sold them for like $1 or $1.25 per pack. That kind of sucked, because the newer packs were only 50 cents...but I had the newer set already.

You always remember the last card you needed to finish off a set. For me it was card 189, Kelly Miller of the Washington Capitals. I forgot specifically when I got that card--probably in 1990. I still need a few stickers to finish of the insert set, though, and it's been like 18 years.

Even though the Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets from the late 1980s are similar, I decided to make them separate reviews. Both Topps and O-Pee-Chee sets were intended for different audiences. Therefore, though similar, they will get different reviews. I plan on reviewing the 1987-88 O-Pee-Chee set next week month; in the meantime, check out my review of the 1987-88 Topps set.