Was talking to a collector the other day and happened to mention something which I took for granted everyone knew.
Sometimes over time common knowledge just gets lost in the shuffle , so I'll post some examples here.
Stan Coveleski was a great pitcher in his day , Eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was a great signer through the mail too but ever wonder why you rarely if ever see an "Inscription" ???? Rarer still a handwritten letter ??
Its because Stan Coveleski COULD NOT WRITE ! , He could sign his name but that's about it. Anything other than his name was written by his wife. I've seen Stan Coveleski handwritten letters offered for sale over the years but in almost all of the descriptions the seller forgets to mention or maybe does not know that the letters were written by Mrs Coveleski
Illustrated here are some examples which were obtained through the mail in 1980. They are written as in the 1st person but he didn't write them. Both the 3x5 card and note were penned by his wife. The other three items pictured here WERE signed by him. It should be obvious the handwritten notes and signatures were penned by two different people.
Also a long time collector who used to actually visit many of the old time players visited at the Coveleski home , He relayed the following to me. He had several items for Stan to sign which he gladly obliged , not knowing the facts mentioned above he asked Stan to "Inscribe" an item to him. He recalled at that point that Stan's wife said "Oh Oh". and the mood in the room changed abruptly , it was then they explained what I have pointed out above.
Likely he was self conscious about being unable to write and since most of the requests for his autograph came through the mail it was never an issue.
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jim@stinsonsports.com
Always BUYING Vintage Baseball Autographs !
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