It took some patience, but Buzz finally found a Mel Allen auto

You ever have one of those items that you need for your collection that could be found somewhat easily but you're either too picky about its quality, too finicky about the price tag attached or have such narrow wants that it might not be too easy of a find after all?

I did, but I finally got over it a little bit while still getting what I wanted.

That item for me? An autograph from "The Voice of The Yankees" and former This Week in Baseball host Mel Allen. After years of casual looking from time to time, months of daily eBay searches with stuff that was either too pricey or not quite good enough for me (and my low price want), I finally found what I was looking for.

A slabbed and authenticated Allen check with a clean signature was firmly on my want list for this year's National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland beginning on Aug. 1, but my solution recently presented itself with a bargain price helped by a sale promo code and an admittedly mediocre auction photo that perhaps scared some other buyers off.

Signed and slabbed notepad scraps and index cards are pretty common for Allen as are signed baseballs, but thanks to his place in Yankees history they can be pricey. One example of that place? You can see him behind Babe Ruth in this photo from April 27, 1947, when MLB honored him as he fought throat cancer. (It's a pretty big place, though younger collectors may not know his name.) He was part of the Yankees broadcasting team from 1939 to 1964 and then later from 1976 to 1985 with plenty of occasional roles with the team and MLB after that. He hosted a syndicated weekly highlights show, This Week in Baseball, from 1977 until his death in 1996, and tt was a big part of many fans' viewing habits in the era of "The Game of the Week" and then not much else. Allen received the Baseball Hall of Fame's Ford C. Frick Award in 1978 along with Red Barber -- they were the first to get the honor.

I'm sure that TWIB was one of my first exposures to Allen and his "How about that?" -- a call that he used for many moments in baseball history including Roger Maris' Ruth-tying 60th home run and so many others from a resume that included calling 20 World Series and 24 MLB All-Star Games. (Barber called Maris' No. 61, by the way.) Another way I'm sure I found Allen as a kid? On VHS ... with Baseball Funny Side Up bloopers and Baseball Card Collector, a "documentary" for the hobby back in 1989. (See it -- and cringe at some of what you see -- below.)

Despite a career in the game, there's not a lot to collect for Allen -- roughly 40 baseball card appearances that include roughly a dozen certified autographs (all via cuts, which are pricier than his signed items). But my reason for needing an Allen auto in my stash? It's from all those years before his time with the Yankees. He began his career with football games at his alma mater, the University of Alabama -- first as a public address announcer and then on play-by-play in broadcasts. A vacation to New York after he finished school plotted his course toward pinstripes ... and the rest is history.

Now, after some patience, pickiness and pricing luck, I have some new history in my collection.

Follow Buzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz or send email to BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com. 

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