Because nobody thought of it at the time. It would probably be considered a bizarre act to get the person on the tobacco card, to write his own name on it. The hobby wasn't the hobby back then.
Cards were a gimmick, a way to advertise the smoke brands and I highly doubt that it was the goal of the smoker to collect every possible card and from every manufacturer, either.
When you see autographs during that time, it's often in the form of clipped letters (or letters), documents, maybe a calling card, almost never a ball.
Nobody was waiting in the parking lot for these guys as I think they would have been flattered at the time, and amused by the gesture.
DanC
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