Toughest 1940's & 1950's Baseball Autographs

[JimStinson]

I get asked this question alot, So figured I'd put it out there for anyone thats interested.
Obviously a subject for debate here but what I did is put together the collector "want lists" I have accumulated over the years and found the names that intersected the most.
Probably not the most "expensive" autographs from the 1940's & 1950's but certainly the toughest to find.
The names noted with a (*) ARE expensive in some cases VERY expensive and would easily eclipse many Hall of Fame autographs in terms of what they would cost IF you could find one. Have listed by debut year
1941) WIMPY QUINN
1943) CONNIE CREEDEN (*)
1944) JOHN FICK (*), CLANCY SMYRES (*)
1945) WOODY CROWSON (*)
1946) JOHN CARDEN
1949) JULIO GONZALES (*)
1951) EDDIE GAEDEL (*)
1955) WEBBO CLARKE (*), WENC GONZALES (*)
1956) CHARLIE PEETE
______________________
Vintage autographs for sale daily
stinsonsports.com

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

I get asked this question alot, So figured I'd put it out there for anyone thats interested.
Obviously a subject for debate here but what I did is put together the collector "want lists" I have accumulated over the years and found the names that intersected the most.
Probably not the most "expensive" autographs from the 1940's & 1950's but certainly the toughest to find.
The names noted with a (*) ARE expensive in some cases VERY expensive and would easily eclipse many Hall of Fame autographs in terms of what they would cost IF you could find one. Have listed by debut year
1941) WIMPY QUINN
1943) CONNIE CREEDEN (*)
1944) JOHN FICK (*), CLANCY SMYRES (*)
1945) WOODY CROWSON (*)
1946) JOHN CARDEN
1949) JULIO GONZALES (*)
1951) EDDIE GAEDEL (*)
1955) WEBBO CLARKE (*), WENC GONZALES (*)
1956) CHARLIE PEETE
______________________
Vintage autographs for sale daily
stinsonsports.com

Great list Jim, thanks for the info.

[mr2686]

Jim, just curious but how hard is it to find an Eddie Gaedel autograph and if you could find one what ballpark range would it be as far a price?

[JimStinson]

Gaedel is near impossible, mostly because no one really considered him a ball player so he didn't get many autograph requests, plus he died young. The last ones that I remembered seeing sold brought in the $4,000-$6,000 price range on 3x5's. Likely he'd be more on a photo or something substantial

[JimStinson]

I looked up recent sales and a postcard photo of EG sold at auction a few years ago for almost $7,000 in very , very poor condition. This was part of the description that accompanied it
Gaedel was notorious for his surly disposition and was rarely interested in even talking to fans, let alone signing for them. This may explain why Gaedel signatures are virtually nonexistent, with literally fewer than ten examples known. Gaedel worked at the locally famous Midget Club on Chicago's Southside. He was mugged and murdered in 1961

[stat192]

I am trying to collect an auotgraph of every player who has debuted from 1946 to present. I only need 1948 Cubs Danny "Dummy" Lynch, 1949 Browns Ed Albrecht, and 1955 Senators Wence Gonzalez. So in my opinion those are the toughest. Other really tough ones not mentioned by Jim are Dizzy Sutherland and Bill Froats. Below are scans of my Eddie Gaedel Album page, John Carden on 1946 New York Giants team signed ball and Enrique Gonzalez on 1949 Washington Senators team signed ball. The thrill of finding one of these hard to find graphs is what makes this hobby so great.

[earlywynnfan]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

I get asked this question alot, So figured I'd put it out there for anyone thats interested.
Obviously a subject for debate here but what I did is put together the collector "want lists" I have accumulated over the years and found the names that intersected the most.
Probably not the most "expensive" autographs from the 1940's & 1950's but certainly the toughest to find.
The names noted with a (*) ARE expensive in some cases VERY expensive and would easily eclipse many Hall of Fame autographs in terms of what they would cost IF you could find one. Have listed by debut year
1941) WIMPY QUINN
1943) CONNIE CREEDEN (*)
1944) JOHN FICK (*), CLANCY SMYRES (*)
1945) WOODY CROWSON (*)
1946) JOHN CARDEN
1949) JULIO GONZALES (*)
1951) EDDIE GAEDEL (*)
1955) WEBBO CLARKE (*), WENC GONZALES (*)
1956) CHARLIE PEETE
______________________
Vintage autographs for sale daily
stinsonsports.com

Other than the ones who died early, would you mind giving a quick blurb about why some of these guys are so tough? I think that'd be very interesting.

Thanks, Ken

[JimStinson]

Don't know how I missed HERB GORMAN (Thanks Tom), yes he should be on the list also and with an (*).
Lino Dinoso WAS tough for a long time and to a degree still is. I bought and sold about a dozen signed Dinoso documents a few years back so I may have single handedly removed him from the list (smile) at least for awhile.
Ken ...with regards to the reasons they are tough see Tom's post above which applies to most I've listed here. They either died young, or vanished after their short stint in the major leagues or BOTH. The exception being CLANCY SMYRES who just absolutely REFUSED to sign ANYTHING
1941) WIMPY QUINN
1943) CONNIE CREEDEN (*)
1944) JOHN FICK (*), CLANCY SMYRES (*)
1945) WOODY CROWSON (*)
1946) JOHN CARDEN
1949) JULIO GONZALES (*)
1951) EDDIE GAEDEL (*)
1955) WEBBO CLARKE (*), WENC GONZALES (*)
1956) CHARLIE PEETE

[byrone]

How do Harry Agganis autographs rate in scarcity?

[stat192]

Agganis autographs are rare but not as rare as the others. Even though he died young, he was a a college superstar at Boston University in both football and baseball, so he signed alot in college. So even though he had a short period to sign, he was a willing signer both in person and through the mail.

[JimStinson]

Particularly sad ending to Charlie Peete

The reigning 1956 batting average champion of the Triple-A American Association who received a one-month, 23-game trial with the 1956 St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, Peete was projected by some as the leading candidate to be the Cardinals' 1957 starting center fielder.[1] But he was killed in a commercial airplane crash near the Caracas, Venezuela, airport while flying to his winter-league baseball team in late November 1956; his wife, Nettie, and their three young children were also among the 25 victims of the crash

[stat192]

Picked up a tough 1955 debut Webbo Clarke on Washington Senator Team Ball. I already have his but figured it can't hurt to have another as it is only the fourth I have seen. The ball is also signed by a 19 year old Harmon Killebrew.