TTM Stats
- Sent: 9/27/2018 | Received: 10/18/2018 | 21 Days
- ’81 Fleer, ’85 Topps, ’87 Topps
- Address: Home (address from Sports Card Forum)
The Story of the Autograph
Billy Sample played in the outfield for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He played from 1978 to 1986.
Sample was born and raised in Virginia and was a triple threat in sports. He played football, basketball and, or course, baseball. He actually played in the state championship game against T.C. Williams that was dramatized in the movie Remember The Titans. He went on to play at JMU and was drafted by the Rangers in 1976 in the 10th round. The Rangers had also drafted him in 1973, but he didn’t sign.
He had some pretty good seasons during his time in the majors, but he never really got to play full-time except for a few years. He made is debut on September 2, 1978 and singled on the first pitch he saw. In his rookie year in 1979 he played in 128 games and hit .292 with five homers and 35 RBI. That was good enough for the Topps All-Rookie Team that year. His played time went down in Texas until his last two years there when he made it into 130 or more games in those years. In 1983 he stole 44 bases in 52 tries for a career high in that statistic.
The Rangers traded Sample and Toby Harrah to the Yankees prior to the 1985 season and then the Yankees traded him to Atlanta in 1986. He never made it back to the majors after his year with the Braves. After his playing days Sample worked as a broadcaster and a writer.
The Score on Billy Sample – 8.0
Billy sent back one of my favorite signatures of the year. This score might not be entirely in the signature though. He sends back a copy of a piece he wrote for Sports Illustrated after he retired. It’s a great looks at what he was thinking as he left the game and highlights the things he won’t miss about the game. He seems like a good guys and a pretty reliable signer. Plus his signature has a bit of style so if you have cards of his I highly recommend him being on your list to send to.
Thanks Mr. Sample! I’m giving this return an 8.
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Information gathered using Wikipedia and Baseball Reference.