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Todd (nolemmings)You're suggesting if not saying that clubhouse balls, while by definition full of forged player signatures, are themselves collectible, so it's ok to say that those signatures are "authentic", as it merely means that they belong to an acceptable forger. Buyers should not read anything more into it and should educate themselves. Sorry, that seems like a crock to me.
If the term "clubhouse ball" has such a specific and easily-understood meaning, there is little need to add anything about authentic signatures. What does the LOA say? That the sigs are authentic to the unibrowed clubhouse boy for the team, or simply that the sigs are authentic? How hard would it be to state that the sigs are not those of the named players, but of some other person or team representative?
All that being said, I do agree that LOAs are only as good as what they say and who's saying it, and that one should always exercise due diligence. This Spence LOA would raise flags wih me, but I do agree with Shelly that it is inconsistent to authenticate a forged signature by a separate and unconnected reference to "clubhouse ball".