Thoughts on this Ted Williams Ball

[greenmonster66]

What do you all think of this Ted Williams signed ball?

[Steve D]

It looks bad to me.

Steve

[jimjim]

No good

[greenmonster66]

Thanks guys, kind of thought so myself! But you never know!

[shelly]

I say this over and over. If it has an open d or a it is probably not good

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by shelly

I say this over and over. If it has an open d or a it is probably not good

Yoda has spoken

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by shelly

I say this over and over. If it has an open d or a it is probably not good

Can you please explain what you would look for? I am in the market for one, and have really not looked past the UDA stuff he signed.

I randomly pulled one off eBay for compare:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/UDA-TED-WILL...sAAOSwlY1ZMyW-

[shelly]

Go to ebay. Look at all the uda williams. No where would you see and opened d or a. If you look at the ball we are discussing just take a close look and you will see a space in the d vs the balls on ebay. Same thing is true when you see and open a. I hope this helps. Richard and Zipper might be able to explain this better than me.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by shelly

I say this over and over. If it has an open d or a it is probably not good

As a matter of fact, Ted used to say this over and over while signing.

"Gotta close the d, gotta close the a."

[deeg23]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

As a matter of fact, Ted used to say this over and over while signing.

"Gotta close the d, gotta close the a."

Hahahahahaha 😂😂

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by shelly

Go to ebay. Look at all the uda williams. No where would you see and opened d or a. If you look at the ball we are discussing just take a close look and you will see a space in the d vs the balls on ebay. Same thing is true when you see and open a. I hope this helps. Richard and Zipper might be able to explain this better than me.

Thanks Shelly. I am a little daft though, as I am serious on adding one to my collection.

When you say "Open A or Open D", are you talking about the top of the letter? Open how?

Thanks for the help, as I am not understanding what part is open that I should look for.

[Steve D]

Originally Posted by Stampsfan

Thanks Shelly. I am a little daft though, as I am serious on adding one to my collection.

When you say "Open A or Open D", are you talking about the top of the letter? Open how?

Thanks for the help, as I am not understanding what part is open that I should look for.

You're correct Bob. One of the first things to look at is the "d" and the "a". Both letters should be "closed" at the top. If they are "open", meaning the strokes don't come together/overlap, then it's likely to be a bad signature. There are of course other things to look at, but those are the first two usual "giveaways".

Steve

[shelly]

Like I said. Take a look at your ball. The d is opened right at the top. That is the same thing you look for in the a.

[RichardSimon]

Right here.

[Stampsfan]

Thanks to all. So for me to summarize...

On the ball in OP, the "A" is closed at the top, but the "D" is not.

On the randomly selected UDA ball I linked to, both the "A" and the "D" are closed at the top.

Thanks to all for the clarity... and patience explaining to me.

Now, if any of you experts have a good single sig for sale, I'm interested... PM me.

Thanks
Bob

[Steve D]

Bob, I just now looked at the UDA ball you linked to, and personally, I would stay away from it. It may be completely legit, but it is an "ugly" signature. if real, it's a late-in-life signature. You can find far better looking real Williams signed baseballs.

The nicest thing about Ted's signature is that it stayed very consistent and legible throughout his life, only deteriorating very late/close to his death. He is one, like Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, who always took pride in his signature, and took the time to give everyone a nice readable autograph.

Steve

[Stampsfan]

I never knew that Williams made an effort to provide a clean signature. Until you mentioned the "later in life" possibility, I had not thought of that possibility.

I hear you on the ugliness, and while the price is good for a Williams UDA SS ball, I have not made the leap for that reason... it would not display as well as I am hoping.

Steve... Thanks again for your patience and time in helping a collector out. Much appreciated.

Bob

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Just curious, not an autograph expert, but not a neophyte either. I don't recall ever seeing Williams connect his first and last name like he does on the ball in the OP. Is that something he did?

[mr2686]

Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards

Just curious, not an autograph expert, but not a neophyte either. I don't recall ever seeing Williams connect his first and last name like he does on the ball in the OP. Is that something he did?

Yes, quite often. I think it was separate during his playing days, and I can't really tell you when it changed (probably when he started doing shows/signings) but I know that most that I've seen since the mid 80's looked similar.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

Originally Posted by mr2686

Yes, quite often. I think it was separate during his playing days, and I can't really tell you when it changed (probably when he started doing shows/signings) but I know that most that I've seen since the mid 80's looked similar.

Funny I was thinking the opposite, that maybe it was connected in his playing days, the good ones I see that I assume are modern are not connected.