Mell Ott Auto

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Posted By: <b>John Young</b><p>Hi All,<br />My dad bought a John McGraw biography at a paper show recently. Inside he was thrilled to find a cut auto of Mel Ott glued to a page with a picture of Mel Ott.<br /><br />It looks like the auto has been in the book since the date on the page. I'm not too concerned about authenticating it. I'm considering getting it authenticated just to put it in a slab, which I think would make it easier to handle and look at. However, am I hurting the value of this if I cut out the whole page so I can put it in plastic? <br /><br />What is a slightly smudged auto of Ott worth? There are a few on Ebay, but all Buy It Now with high prices.<br /><br />Thanks in advance.<br /><br /><img src="http://i535.photobucket.com/albums/ee352/johnty11/Mell_Ott_Auto_zoom.jpg">

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Posted By: <b>Mark</b><p>That's so cool.... I would just leave it as-is. Keep it true to its heritage, and in its original state. There is no question as to authenticity, and you really don't need some third party to tell you it's real.<br /><br />I guess if you were looking to sell, its another story, but I think it's much more interesting in its current state. Great post... congrats!

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Posted By: <b>davidcycleback</b><p>I don't believe removing the page will harm the autograph value.

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Posted By: <b>Jodi Birkholm</b><p>No, but it would mar the eye appeal of the book. And, by the sound of it, this chap has no intention of parting with the piece, so I say leave it be. The book has done a splendid job of protecting the signature for 64 years, so let sleeping dogs lie. It's another story should the owner wish to sell sometime down the road.

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Posted By: <b>Jimmy</b><p>I agree with Jodi, keep the book intact and just get a PSA or JSA letter<br /><br />nice autograph!<br /><br />Jimmy

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Posted By: <b>Josh Siegel</b><p>I would expect the signature to sell in the neighborhood of $300.

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Posted By: <b>Richard Simon</b><p>Absolutely agree with Jodi, don't remove the autograph and it is worth more than $300, as a dealer I would gladly pay $300 for a nice Ott.<br />--<br><br>I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.<br />Unknown author <br />--<br />We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.<br />No retreat baby, no surrender.<br />The Boss

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Posted By: <b>John young</b><p>Thanks for all the feedback, guys.<br /><br />I've reconsidered and will keep the book intact. The rest of the book, though old, looks mostly untouched. This auto was obviously treasured by whoever pasted the auto in there decades ago as evidenced by the dirt and browning of this lone page. I think I'll keep it's spirit together.<br /><br />On a related note... Is Ott the toughest (note: NOT most expensive) 500HR club auto to get? He died too young at 49 years old only 10 years after his playing career ended. Or might Foxx be a bit harder to find? Ruth autos are plentiful, albeit expensive. All the other 500HRers played into at least the 60's (and lived at least into the 90's).<br /><br /><br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>Jodi Birkholm</b><p>None of the 500 HR Club members' autographs are tough. There are tons of each out there, but lots of fakes, too. If you absolutely needed to label one of the club members as being "tough", then, yes, Ott would be your man. There are thousands of Otts out there, though. He was a wonderfully obliging signer. His widow continued his tradition of kindness to fans by sending out signatures removed from Ott's cancelled checks to fans who wrote and asked for one. <br /><br />Come to think of it, perhaps I should edit this to say that Foxx and Ott are likely of equal rarity. Foxx outlived Ott by nine years, but was out of pro ball for several years prior to his unfortunate encounter with a piece of steak. Foxx was also an obliging signer, but would occasionally employ his brother Sam to sign mail requests in his early days. There were at least three separate individuals who ghost-signed mail requests for Foxx during his career.<br /><br />Both Ott and Foxx had clubhouse variations throughout their careers. The most common "clubbers" found on Foxx date from the late 1930's when he played with Boston. Ott's clubhouse signatures were most prevalent on team-signed items signed during WWII (balls and team sheets, mostly from the 1942-44 period). <br /><br />Both players had rubber stamps bearing their signatures. Although he did not seem to employ his stamp very often, Ott seemed to originate the tradition of Giants managers having these stamps. This practise spanned from Ott-Herman Franks (1940's-60's). I have only seen perhaps three instances of the stamp being used, all on Giants team-signed balls. The discovery of the Ott stamp is actually fairly recent (perhaps within the last three years). Foxx, on the other hand, had more than one rubber stamp, and used them to honor mail requests in his later years. Thankfully for us, Jimmie didn't employ the stamp all that often, either, although he used it much more than Ott did his.<br /><br />Ott remained in the game his entire life, leading to more in-person autograph opportunities. Although not unheard of, through-the-mail secretarial examples of Ott are few and far between. Foxx, on the other hand, spent many years outside of pro ball, thereby limiting in-person opportunities. It also seems as though there was a period of time in the late 1950's-early 1960's where the collecting world failed to have a valid address on Foxx, judging by how few through the mail items can be positively dated to that era.

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Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>My dad waited outside the Polo Grounds when he was a kid and got Ott to sign for him. I still have that signature, the only one I ever kept.

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Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>Jodi,<br />Thanks very much for the wealth of info! Fascinating stuff.