Although he was always a willing signer, not many fans seemed to write to Austin for an autograph following his retirement. This is evidenced by the lack of examples when compared to the surviving items signed by non-HOF players of his era who passed away around the same time (mid-1960's). Interestingly, most of those other men had careers that paled when placed side-by-side to Austin's accomplishments. Most surviving Austin autographs can be found on cuts or multi-signed album pages, with a few 3X5s and GPCs in the mix.
Also, I would say that Austin's signature ties with those of Chief Meyers and Canadian George Gibson as being the most difficult of the men featured in TGOTT. While not incredibly rare, they can at times pose a bit of a challenge to procure (especially if one is picky about quality).
Last edited by BillyCoxDodgers3B; 07-18-2009 at 08:38 AM.
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