Why this high of a price???

[dgo71]

Originally Posted by earlywynnfan

OK, I'm not a card guy, but I love intrigue. Is there a site or forum somewhere where there is a list of these players who won't sign specific items and why?? I find this very interesting.

Ken

I've never seen a comprehensive list, but here's a few I know about:

1986 Topps Doug Flynn - he planned to sign it for charity to raise money for a pastor friend. The pastor passed away suddenly, and Flynn decided to just never sign the card. He recently broke down a little and signed 5 at a charity event and they were auctioned off in the $500-1000 range. Johnny Bench bought one of the five. There's a neat interview with Flynn (shot by one of the cards' buyers) on Youtube about this.

1985 Donruss Al Nipper - the card pictures Mike Brown, and neither Nipper nor Brown will sign the card.

1995 Upper Deck Steve Rodriguez - he signed one copy for his mother, and then vowed to never sign the card again.

1984 Topps Byron McLaughlin - this isn't really a case of him not signing the specific card, but he was involved in a counterfeit shoe ring (the guy made fake Jordans or something along those lines) and was sought by the FBI. He fled the country shortly after this card was issued, and although it's never been confirmed is thought to be living in France. The funny thing about this card? Dave Cameron managed to track McLaughlin down just before he left the U.S. and got him to sign a handful of these cards. I thought it was pretty amazing that Dave found McLaughlin before the FBI could!!

1982 Fleer Steve Garvey - Garvey is as gracious as they come in terms of signing, but for some reason doesn't sign this card. I do not know the specifics of why, or when he decided to stop signing it, so it's possible there are signed copies from that year when it was first issued.