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#1
02-20-2018, 01:57 PM
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Who Are The Pioneers Of The Baseball Autograph Hobby?
Just curious as to the history of collecting baseball signatures. Who was first? The most prolific? When did collectors start gathering baseball signatures? I got to thinking about this when an old photo of the 1904 Husker baseball team with Doc Steen popped up in my facebook memories today. He was actively seeking baseball player signatures in the 1930s, but I'm sure there must have been other hobbyists much earlier than him.
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#2
02-20-2018, 02:09 PM
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As far as I know autographs have always been popular, although they were more geared towards collecting signatures of people you knew for intrinsic value and not celebrities for monetary value. Autograph books go back to the Civil War period. There are countless photos of Ruth signing autographs throughout his career and being surrounded by immense crowds. Even more people collected Hollywood signatures. I don't know the specific names of people but it seems like they've always been out there.
Last edited by packs; 02-20-2018 at 02:13 PM.
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#3
02-20-2018, 03:28 PM
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Basically collecting baseball autographs did not exist until the mid-late 1920's. It emerged as a hobby in the early 1930's and expanded in 1932 when the Watermans fountain pen company gave away free books to kids all across America and gave them instructions on collecting signatures as a hobby. After that contest, it really took off!
One of the guys who posts here from time to time, Tom Hufford, is one of the pioneers of the hobby and his stories are absolutely amazing and go back to the 1960's. He was a co-founder of SABR and literally has a story about every single ballplayer I have ever mentioned to him. I have told him he needs to write a book, but that thing would be bigger than the baseball encyclopedia. I dont think anybody has been bigger in the hobby for as long as he has. Rhys
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#4
02-20-2018, 06:01 PM
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Here is an article about King Kelly signing baseballs in the 1890s
http://blog.robertedwardauctions.com/?p=725
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#5
02-20-2018, 06:08 PM
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I also have seen many GPC from a Collector named Nate Mindel from the late 20s/early 30s. I have never seen a GPC dated earlier specifically just for collecting a sports autograph. The collection has since been broken up.
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#6
02-20-2018, 09:23 PM
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Quote:
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#7
02-20-2018, 10:13 PM
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Great info fellas. Thank you.
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Looking for Nebraska Indians memorabilia, photos and postcards
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