Feb. 12 Report: Ian Baker-Finch, Mark Price and Ozzie Newsome

Thankfully the streak I started yesterday was short-lived.

Today I follow up yesterday's shutout with a hat trick. Though oddly enough none of today's adds were from the hockey world. Instead I've added a major championship winner, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and a former NBA All-Star.

First up is Ian Baker-Finch. The Aussie won golf's oldest major championship, The Open, in 1991. Golf fans today recognize him from his announcing work, where he is highly regarded from his honesty and analysis, not to mention for being a great gentleman. I sent this card to his house and he obviously took it on the road with him, signed it and, according to the postmark, mailed it from Pebble Beach, where the PGA Tour is playing this week.

He was kind enough to add my requested inscription of "Open Champion 1991" to the card.

Going from the green to the gridiron, I added another Ozzie Newsome autograph to my collection. I've actually met Ozzie twice over the years and he has previously signed an 8x10 and a card for me, but this time I mailed him his 1983 Topps Sticker card as I try to complete that set. He, too , added an inscription, this time his HOF year.

"The Wizard of Oz" caught 662 passes at the tight end position, which made him the Browns' all-time leading receiver at that position. Those catches were good for 7,980 yards and 47 TDs.

Newsome caught at least one pass in 150 consecutive games, was All-Pro in 1979 and 1984 and was named to three Pro Bowls.

Lastly is the addition of Mark Price, a four-time NBA All-Star. Price was one of the league's most reliable shooters. His career ended with a 90.4 percent free throw shooting percentage and 40 percent three-point shooter.

Day of the Year: 43
Number of Autographs This Year: 77

January 28 Report: Jim McMahon, Bruce Armstrong, Scott Norwood, Walt Williams, Brad Daugherty and Hersey Hawkins

From this point forward I'm expecting no more than 1 or 2 autographs per day s I've gotten past the initial blitz to see how my mailing campaign would fare. I've been stunned so far with the results, so it was really surprising to receive six different successes today.

Ill start with a cool add to my NFL and Golf collection, all in one. Jim McMahon, a former All-American at BYU, quarterbacked the Chicago Bears for many years, most notably during the 1985 season when the Bears won Super Bowl XX.

McMahon is definitely a free spirit, and one who has taken to golf perhaps more avidly than he did in football. He regularly plays in his bare feet and is great fun with his fans at the celebrity tour events.

So I asked him to sign a golf ball for me, which he did and he even inscribed it as follows, "To Mark Hit Em Straight Jim McMahon 9 SBXX".

Keeping in the football field, I also added the signature of one of the most dominant offensive linemen of his era, Bruce Armstrong. Armstrong was named to six Pro Bowls during his 15-year career with the New England Patriots.

Definitely a No. 1 pick who lived up to his expectations.

Staying in the AFC East, we move just a bit over to Buffalo where kicker Scott Norwood agreed to sign for me as well. The former James Madison University player was one of the last USFL holdovers who played in the NFL. Norwood kicked for the Birmingham Stallions in 1983 and 1984 before catching on with the Bills in 1985, where he eventually became the club's all-time leading scorer.

The other three successes come from the NBA, which is without a doubt the weakest section of my present sports autograph collection. Basketball has never really been "my sport", but I still appreciate the talent and dedication it takes to make it to the highest level in your field of athletics.

That said, I've added the signatures of Walt Williams, Brad Daugherty and Hersey Hawkins to my ever-growing collection.

Williams was a No. 1 draft pick out of Maryland, who essentially helped bring the school's hoops program back from the dead in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He played 11 seasons in the NBA with six different teams and scored nearly 8,400 points in his career.

Daugherty followed a great career at the University of North Carolina by being the overall No. 1 draft choice in the 1986 NBA Draft. He was an All-Rookie first teamer who went on the be a five-time All-Star. Sadly his career was cut short by a back injury, but he still had over 10,000 points, 5,200 rebounds and more than 2,000 steals.

Lastly Hersey Hawkins put his signature on a few cards for me as well. Hawkins was a No. 1 draft pick in 1988 who played for 14 season in the NBA. During that time he scores 14,470 points.


Day of the Year: 28
Number of Autographs This Year: 51