[Mr. Zipper]

A forgery is by definition an unauthorized reproduction that is created for fraudulent purposes.

A proxy signature (clubhouse / secretarial) is an authorized reproduction that emanated from a source known by the intended signer.

With historical material (and most other genres of collecting), there is always a clear distinction between forgery and proxy. The terms are not used interchangeably.

Not sure what it is about the sports crowd, but we have seen this same discussion here numerous times where some insist forgery and proxy are one and the same. Perhaps they both have an equivalent level of desirability to some (zero), but that does not make them the same. Words matter.