Signature Sundays - Brett Hull!

I've talked a few times in the past about the very first set that I collected as a kid, 1989-90 Topps and O-Pee-Chee hockey.  My dad used to bring home packs for my brothers and I after work, and we'd sit at the table ripping, trading, and sorting into our custom binders.

Certain cards from that very first set are entrenched deeply in my memory, and ignite a spark of nostalgia any time I see them to this day.  Here's one such card:

If you ask the average hockey card collector to name an iconic Brett Hull card, most would probably go with his '88-89 rookie.  While that's certainly the logical choice, for me it's his second-year card that really strikes a chord.

Brett was flat out tearing up the NHL in '89-90.  He was the talk of the league, scoring seemingly at will en route to his first 70+ goal season.  With this in mind, it's easy to see why 7-year-old me was ecstatic to own a copy of this one.

In tribute to the set that got me started in the hobby, and in an attempt to add some more depth to one of my favorite parts of my collection, I've decided to seek out a couple of autographed versions of '89-90 Topps/O-Pee-Chee hockey cards.  This card was high on my list, and I was surprised to find that it wasn't too difficult to locate an affordable copy well within my budget.  Behold!  

I could not be happier with this one.  Brett was easily one of the top 5 players in the league in '89-90, so this one feels like a significant addition to my collection.  Not only that, but this large, bold, on-card auto represents my very first Brett Hull signature, period.  Here's a better look:

The '89-90 Topps/O-Pee-Chee set is full of cards that are very dark as far as the photos go.  The presence of many road uniforms (this was back when the road team still wore dark colors, and the home team whites) makes some of the autographs I've seen a little tough to read, but Brett did a nice job with this one and the signature really pops.

I love that he was nice and liberal with his pen strokes as well, I feel like I got my money's worth with the auto spanning nearly half the card!

Brett here joins Al MacInnis to give me two HOFer autos from this release now.  While I'm not pursuing this with the obsessive mania I'm sometimes prone to, I'm certainly enjoying the project quite a bit and will keep my eye out for any other opportunities to add to it.  If I never ended up with another auto from this set though I could do a lot worse than the pair I now have...