Autograph Seeking Advice -updates

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I've decided to try and write to former minor league players who played in Lincoln, but many of these guys never made it to the major leagues and thus may be difficult to locate. Anyone have any ideas on where to search for some of these guys?

The guys who made it to the majors should be easier since there are lists available for former major leaguers.

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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Dan,

The title of this thread confused me. I thought I was about to play the part of Dear Abby to an inquisitive signature.

Good luck! The Harvey Meiselman address list includes listings for minor leaguers who appeared on major league cards. Other than that, you'll be needing to contact the folks at "1-800-US-SEARCH" or something similar. I suppose you could always Google player names in hopes that some local sportswriter may have done a "where are they now?"-style article, but, chances are, this will only help for a few of them. Financially, it's not worth the effort! You'll have to assess how much such an undertaking is worth to you from a purely sentimental regard.

Edited to add--I would think that a good head start would be to consult your vintage reference guides. Check out biographical data (no matter how scant it may be). Look for the players' original home towns, then do an online phone company search for each player in/around the general vicinity of their places of origin. I'm sure you'll come up with a few that way. It just takes perseverance and a great deal of desire. That, plus you'll gain invaluable private eye expertise!

Second edit: Overuse of the word "inquisitive"
Third edit: To rank the ire of George Counter.

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Posted By: Alan

Dan,

It's a major undertaking. I've done a similar project some years ago with semi-pro basketball players. There are a few minor league address lists on line, but I think you're best bet is to google their names and hope for an article about them. You could also try contacting them thru their college alumni office or sports information office (if they attended). Also http://www.zabasearch.com

If you're willing to pay, there are companies that will provide addresses to you only if you have the players' complete name & birthdate. I've never used these companies, but this service does exist.

Good luck,
Alan

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Thanks guys...I've been looking at zabasearch and I've noticed that most of the listings there indicate a birthdate of the person at the address so that's a huge plus. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but I'm finding that about 50% of the players from the 1940's I'm looking at so far are deceased according to the SABR minor league database.

I'm guessing the guys like William James and Harry Jenkins are probably never going to be found by me, but Wilburn Heinsz should be easy. I had the print shop next door to me make up a bunch of index cards with Lincoln team logos printed on them. They only charged me $12 for 100 of them. If there's any interest I'll keep the board updated on my progress.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Success story #1 - I sent out 7 auto requests on Friday, July 25th and got the first one back yesterday.

Larry Shepard - Player/manager of the 1956 Lincoln Chiefs - some here may remember him as the Pirates manager and as the pitching coach for the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati.

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

Dan,

I would suggest using Lexisnexis for some other source for voting records. I'm pretty sure it's all public information and addresses can be found through there. However, as a disclaimer, I am not 100% sure if the information is considered public and can be used without permission. Regardless, I know Lexis allows you to search voting records which contain addresses.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Thanks Jon...had not even thought about that.