Question about new cards.
 

One of the reason I collect t206's is the history and well there's a whole lot more to it than that.

I've considered collecting a few players rookie cards from the White Sox. Are these Bowman autograph cards actually legit ? I find it hard to believe that a player sits down and signs thousands of cards a year.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351364305774...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


http://www.ebay.com/itm/391109314634...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Yep, they're legit. They get paid to sign their name on a card, not really hard to believe at all IMO.

Yeah, and there are boards further down the page named "Post 1980" to ask questions like these.

Back when I was collecting in the 90s, some of the companies had autographed cards numbered to 7750. Now it's just parallels of 1, 5, 15, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 500, and unnumbered. Probably still adds up to less than the old 7750 per card. Minor leaguers don't make a lot of money, unless they got big signing bonuses. So they might make $20K during the season in A-ball. If Topps is going to pay them $3000 or $8000 to sign their name a few thousand times, do you think they'll turn it down?

As noted, they're paid by the card companies to sign the cards.

Thanks guys. I found it a little hard to believe but when putting it like that as their rookies who make almost nothing compared to the Big Leaguers I guess it does make sense to take some cash for signing your name a lot lol.

Stars and Hall of Famers sign certified cards, so they're likely paid good money.

Back in the pre-war era many of the big stars had off season jobs to make ends meet. IF I am not mistaking Christy Mathewson worked at a service station (or something like that) in the off season. They had to make money some way and baseball wasn't like it is today, when some non-starters gets millions of dollars a yr.

I don't know about Christy working in a gas station but Jimmy Sheckard, the fine deadball outfielder sure did work in a gas station after his retirement

From the SABR bioproject page

On a cold Sunday in January 1947, Jimmy Sheckard walked to his attendant's job at a gas station directly across from Stumpf Field, the home of the Red Roses. As he limped toward the station (he suffered from arthritis in his left foot, which doctors believed was the result of an old baseball injury), a car struck him from behind and knocked him to the ground. Sheckard died of head injuries three days later. Umpire Bill Klem, who had called the balls and strikes in many of Jimmy's games in the National League, presided over a ceremony in his honor at Stumpf Field, and the city of Lancaster erected a monument to his memory in Buchanan Park.

And not only pre-war. There used to be yearly articles when he played in Detroit about how Richie Hebner dug graves in the off season.