Al Lewis signature value
 

Finally uploaded pics. Looking for confirmation of signature and value of ball. There are no known balls or cards signed by Allen Lewis. This I believe is his autograph. Comments please. I have been told it could be quite valuable???

It may be valuable to a handful of folks, perhaps collectors who needs every A's player or MLB player. I had to look him up myself. I can appreciate a tough obscure signature to complete a run, but how much will anyone pay for that kind of signature is probably hard to pin down.

I have been trying to collect all the early Mariner cards signed and learned along the way that Rick Anderson on his 1981 Topps Prospects card is quite tough and likely an impossibility to me and my budget/. I saw one sell for over $1K on ebay. I believe the high value there was for the card itself signed and not just the signature though, as I had seen 3x5s signed bu him for under $100. It just takes 2, sometimes just 1 to make you scratch your head and wonder why?

He is still alive it seems too, so he must be a non-signer. I don't even know the story behind why his signature is so elusive.

I believe he lives in Panama, which may account for the rarity

So you weren't asking about this Al Lewis? Haha.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73BYfY8e_y8

I had to look him up too. Agree with you on your assessment. But I know a few years ago (or more) the Cincinnati Reds HOF wanted to create a wall of every known Reds' player's autograph. They were 99.9% complete, missing only examples of some of the earliest players, or players that only played just a handful of games. But I can suppose they paid a beauty price here or there attempting to get some of these - the one's you call head scratchers.

Allan Lewis (Allan with an a not an e) is not particularly rare. At one time, he was difficult because he lived in Panama, but in the 90's/2000's he did some private signings and by mail signings so you'll find 8x10's and 3x5's more than baseballs. If it was a single signed baseball, you might get 100 - 150 by an A's collector trying to get everyone on the 72-73 championship team on single baseballs, but a multi-signed minor league baseball is worth much less.

Here's a couple of Allan Lewis sigs:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Allan-Lewis....c100010.m2109

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Allan-Lewis...gAAOSwsupb00OI

Thanks for the examples they help,

This is the kind of stuff that makes collecting so interesting. Most people would brush by a guy like this with little to no interest. We all probably have these kinds of guys that for whatever reason take a much higher priority in our collections.

I generally don't care for common players but my exceptions are almost always team related. In the case of the Mariners players, it would have to be on the 77-87 era cards, or maybe team postcards and an occasional photo, otherwise I really have no interest at all. Without a photo link to the M's of that time, they are just not that interesting to me.

Dodgers on the other hand, I will take anything signed to cross a name off the want list. Dodger cards are the most preferred item, but cuts or other team items are acceptable if that is the best I can do with my budget. If Al Lewis had played for the Dodgers, I'd be wanting his signature for that only reason.

Yep, every team collector has an Allan Lewis type player they're looking for. I've had Lewis for the A's, Dick Barone for the 1960 Pirates, Red Worthington for the 1934 Cardinals, and Bert Hamric for the 1955 Dodgers. If I didn't collect those teams, I wouldn't even know who they were.

Ahh, Bert. The Dodgers seem to have more than their fair share of elusive commons, but then again, the team has been around for a long time too. Could also just be that I know of more because I was trying to track them all down at one point. What other reason could there be for the popularity of guys like him, Frank Kellert and Karl Spooner otherwise though.

Allan Lewis was the Panamanian Express and the first designated runner. He currentlty lives in Panama. he worked as a MLB scout for 30 years.