Slightly O/T -- nice story on Jack Smalling

[Rich Klein]

As some of you are aware -- Jack has been tracking down player's addresses for years and he produces a very popular (within our hobby) book with that and other autograph tips. The NY Times (registration required) ran a story on him recently. He also used to send out a card price list and I kept buying from him back in the day as he became a source of 1969 White Letters for me.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/11/sp...r=1&ref=sports

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

All modern-day autograph collectors owe a huge debt to Jack's efforts. I visited Jack at his home many years ago and have been a customer of his for over 20 years.

[barrysloate]

The article is on the front page of this morning's Times, with a picture of him. Pretty impressive. I remember being in contact with Jack in the 1980's, when I passed on a group of 23 EX/EX-MT T206 with Uzit backs at $25 a card. Can you imagine that?

[slantycouch]

Originally Posted by JBirkholm

All modern-day autograph collectors owe a huge debt to Jack's efforts. I visited Jack at his home many years ago and have been a customer of his for over 20 years.

Absolutely! Before the Internet he was the single source I used to get TTMs. Very kind man, and a true asset to the autograph collecting community.