February autograph pickups

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

The problem is he doesn't want to get involved in the controversy when some of his rarities turn out to be of questionable authenticity.

If someone doesn't want any opinions on their stuff then they shouldn't post pics and probably shouldn't discuss it on the board.

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

If someone doesn't want any opinions on their stuff then they shouldn't post pics and probably shouldn't discuss it on the board.

He listed a handful of reputable sources for some tough graphs he owns. If he was completely full of BS then one of the several he named, who are members, should pop up and call BS. I haven't seen Stinson, Simon, or Keurajian pop in and call his bluff. He could be 16 short or he could be 116 short, I don't know, but pissing on his parade in the open seems trifling to me. Honestly though, after selling out except for my Bridges material I'm starting anew in autographs so I'm just trying to inject myself with the piss and vinegar you guys rock over here. All's be good.

[HexsHeroes]

.

So Steven, I have to ask. Why Tommy Bridges ?

[sbfinley]

Originally Posted by HexsHeroes

.

So Steven, I have to ask. Why Tommy Bridges ?

We both hail from the thriving metropolis that is Gordonsville, TN.

[David Atkatz]

"Innocent until proven guilty"? My ass. He claims to have autographs that no one has. No one. He might. But what are the chances?

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

"Trust, but verify."

[bender07]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

"Innocent until proven guilty"? My ass. He claims to have autographs that no one has. No one. He might. But what are the chances?

"Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."

"Trust, but verify."

And thanks to your handling of the discussion, we may never know. Well done.

[David Atkatz]

That's right, Mark. I forced him away by asking "why no pictures?"

And then, when he explained why he would not post pictures of his rare autographs (because he didn't want anyone questioning their authenticity), I agreed that that was a completely understandable position.

I sure hope his skin is a little thicker when he's practicing dentistry. It would be terrible if he quit in the middle of a procedure because a patient questioned him.

(I guess I just shoulda gone along with the others, heaping praise on his remarkable (but invisible) collection.)

[tazdmb]

Originally Posted by sbfinley

He listed a handful of reputable sources for some tough graphs he owns. If he was completely full of BS then one of the several he named, who are members, should pop up and call BS. I haven't seen Stinson, Simon, or Keurajian pop in and call his bluff. He could be 16 short or he could be 116 short, I don't know, but pissing on his parade in the open seems trifling to me. Honestly though, after selling out except for my Bridges material I'm starting anew in autographs so I'm just trying to inject myself with the piss and vinegar you guys rock over here. All's be good.

I have to agree with Steve here, innocent until proven guilty. He admitted to owning the one of the only Addie Joss signatures that is considered genuine. I would think this would be somewhat easy to disprove, plus only a true collector is going to own this, not someone who is trying to get every HOF signature and call it Little Cooperstown.

[Mr. Zipper]

It does seem a bit of a tease when someone discusses a collection of this potential magnitude and then doesn't share any pics. And I understand the thinking that there may be a bunch of fakes.

But in his defense, we often see knee jerk claims of "fake" from people who frankly don't have a clue. So I understand not wanting to open one's collection to doubts generated by people who have no business opining.

[Klrdds]

After viewing posts to this thread, after I said I would leave the site, I have found it rather humorous that I am still the "topic of conversation" and an obsession of David Atkatz. I am posting some pictures of my items to help settle this controversy concerning my collection. I do not feel that after this is done, I will post any more photos. This should satisfy the curiosity seekers and doubters. I do not care about authenticity opinions, because I have a few well-known vintage autograph dealers whose opinion I respect, but feel free to post your opinions provided you have the evidence to back them up; and I do not consider Ron K's book the end-all-and-be-all for authenticity opinions.

Please note the following for the posted pictures:
1. The Hulbert and Addie Joss are from the Lajoie scrapbook. And the Joss is the one in Ron K's book.
2. The Dean is his 1936 contract. Note: The Rare full name signature.
3. The Taylor is an HLS.
4. The White is a legal document.
5. The Ross Young's is a photo from the early '20's.
6. The Clarkson is a check endorsement. You can see the date on the scan. Did not load on this will post later
7. A final tidbit is Shoeless Joe Jackson's 1948 South Carolina Driver's License. This was purchased through the Sothebys auction in the late 90's.
Since I am a private person I do not go about posting/publishing pictures of my items. Close collector friends of mine have seen my collection and know what I have....they have never expressed any doubts.

I have never said that my collection rivaled the Baseball Hall of Fame's or was a "little Cooperstown"; this opinion appears to have come from this thread.

I appreciate everybody's interest and, again, hope this will put the issue to rest. Feel free to contact me through this thread if you would like.

As for you, Mr. Atkatz, since you posted publicly your opinion of me, I shall now post publicly my opinion of your comments. You do not know me, nor will you ever know me well enough to state an opinion concerning my professional integrity, judgment or demeanor; or my personal integrity, judgment or demeanor. Please do not even insinuate that you can judge my collecting habits, judgment or demeanor. I do not deal with jerks in my office, personal life or collecting circles. I took your bait and posted pictures of some of my items, I am now cutting the line and hope that we will have no further contact with me via this thread.... let the matter end. I believe by the tone of your posts that you are a bitter, jealous and cynical collector. If you want to show me yours, I'll show you mine and I'll bet my collection is bigger. I hope that I never have the displeasure of meeting you in person.

[Klrdds]

Here is the Clarkson I promised....1883 check endorsement

[bender07]

These guys are way out of my comfort zone but I do appreciate you posting them.

[theshleps]

Thanks for posting. I am no expert on these impossibly rare signatures but congrats to getting them. I hope to add my Andy Cooper to your collection this summer.

[tazdmb]

Am I the only one drooling, I mean wow! I should have been a Dentist. Congrats on an amazing collection and best of luck trying to finish.

[Maddog]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

Here is the Clarkson I promised....1883 check endorsement

At this point, am I the only one here embarrassed at their collection

[Baseball Fan]

Originally Posted by Maddog

At this point, am I the only one here embarrassed at their collection

Not really. I mean, a baseball fan walking into your autograph room would probably be more impressed with a Bryce Harper autographed ball than a Clarkson autograph.

Now, if it was a Net54 member walking into one of our rooms, then we all should be humiliated, yes.

[tazdmb]

Originally Posted by Baseball Fan

Not really. I mean, a baseball fan walking into your autograph room would probably be more impressed with a Bryce Harper autographed ball than a Clarkson autograph.

This is so true, the fact that a Jeter autograph can go for more than a Cobb boggles my mind.

[gregr2]

Well for me, I just started my HOF collection a few months ago. I currently have only 40 autographs and they are of course all pretty easy ones. I will never achieve a collection of the magnitude displayed here but that was never my goal as I knew that finances would never permit it. That being said, I am enjoying the hunt and having fun doing it so I'm not embarrassed.

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Originally Posted by Maddog

At this point, am I the only one here embarrassed at their collection

Collecting stops being fun when it becomes a competition.

[GoCubsGo32]

Originally Posted by i only smoke 4 the cards

collecting stops being fun when it becomes a competition.

+10,000

[bender07]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

Collecting stops being fun when it becomes a competition.

I doubt he was trying to compete. Just admiring an incredible collection.

[Maddog]

Originally Posted by I Only Smoke 4 the Cards

Collecting stops being fun when it becomes a competition.

But where's the fun without the competition
I look at it as a personal competition. I am at 164 HOF'ers (once I open my box from Jim S. I'll be at 169) but I will eventually like to hit the magic 200

[Scott Garner]

Please note the following for the posted pictures:
1. The Hulbert and Addie Joss are from the Lajoie scrapbook. And the Joss is the one in Ron K's book.
2. The Dean is his 1936 contract. Note: The Rare full name signature.
3. The Taylor is an HLS.
4. The White is a legal document.
5. The Ross Young's is a photo from the early '20's.
6. The Clarkson is a check endorsement. You can see the date on the scan. Did not load on this will post later
7. A final tidbit is Shoeless Joe Jackson's 1948 South Carolina Driver's License. This was purchased through the Sothebys auction in the late 90's.
Since I am a private person I do not go about posting/publishing pictures of my items. Close collector friends of mine have seen my collection and know what I have....they have never expressed any doubts.

I appreciate everybody's interest and, again, hope this will put the issue to rest. Feel free to contact me through this thread if you would like.

Truly an impressive collection you have there, sir!

I especially like the Addie Joss. That was from when Addie was a sports writer for the Toledo Bee newspaper. Very cool!

Thanks for taking the time to share part of it with us and you are certainly welcome to weigh in any time that you would like.

[packs]

Glad those were posted. Truly weird way to go about askign to see a collection.

[parker1b2]

Awesome autos!!! Thank you for showing them to us.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by packs

Glad those were posted. Truly weird way to go about asking to see a collection.

Just what do you find odd about the question "Why no pics?"

[packs]

Nothing. There is more than one way to say things and I think we can agree you were a little more confrontational than you needed to be.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

As for you, Mr. Atkatz, since you posted publicly your opinion of me, I shall now post publicly my opinion of your comments. You do not know me, nor will you ever know me well enough to state an opinion concerning my professional integrity, judgment or demeanor; or my personal integrity, judgment or demeanor. Please do not even insinuate that you can judge my collecting habits, judgment or demeanor. I do not deal with jerks in my office, personal life or collecting circles. I took your bait and posted pictures of some of my items, I am now cutting the line and hope that we will have no further contact with me via this thread.... let the matter end. I believe by the tone of your posts that you are a bitter, jealous and cynical collector. If you want to show me yours, I'll show you mine and I'll bet my collection is bigger. I hope that I never have the displeasure of meeting you in person.

I did or said nothing to judge you, your collecting habits, or your integrity--professional or otherwise. I asked "Why no pictures?" You replied that, among other reasons you did not want your collection open to scrutiny. I replied that was totally understandable, but if you post here about your collection, folks are going to want to see pictures. Only natural, and it is what everybody here does. And, of course, extremely rare autographs will undergo much scrutiny, as they have a much higher possibility of being forged. You then turned-tail and ran.

Just think how much easier this all would have been if, when asked by those other HoF collectors (before my post) to see some of your collection, you, like the vast majority here, graciously complied. I'm no expert on the guys you show, but I'd question none of them.

As far as "showing you mine," I have, and have been for years. Look up my postings--you'll find images of a large number of my 1903-1927 Yankee pieces. And yes, there is a risk involved--anyone here in the autograph section can tell you how my most prized item (a 1927 Yankees signed ball) was determined by members here to be a forgery. (And with a Jimmy Spence CoA, too. Whoda thunk?) All due to my posting images. (The ball has been replaced with an authentic example BTW.) Perhaps that's why I have so little patience for those who refuse to post photos of their extremely rare and extremely valuable pieces.

I don't collect HoF autographs, but even if I did I'm sure your collection would be bigger and more valuable. You win.

PS On this board, the rule is that if you call another names--"bitter," "mean," "jealous," etc., you must use your own name in doing so. No hiding behind a username.

PPS If you are going to flaunt your degree, I'm just gonna hafta use mine.You can call me "Dr. Atkatz."

PPPS You've got a great collection. This started with my asking to see pics, and escalated. Why don't we chalk it up to misunderstanding, and temper on both sides, and start again? And then you can call me "David."