HOF Autograph Collection

[jgmp123]

I'm 31 years old and began collecting around 11 with some autographs I inherited from my grandfather when he passed away. I reached 202 earlier this year and have recently had to part with a few autographs and currently sit at 180. I have since shifted my collection to more of target players that I enjoy (Clemente, Mantle, Eddie Collins, Ted Williams, etc.)

It's an amazing feeling once you hit 200, so be patient...

Also, don't be afraid to doubt an autograph in your collection...I'm sure I can speak for everyone here when I say we have all been duped at some time or another. Come to the experts here and ask questions, but please participate and add value to the forum.

Happy Collecting!
James

[parker1b2]

I'm 36 and also have been collecting since I was 11. Started with baseball cards and when I went to shows with my father started to get autographs. He gave me some old autos he had and told me about the players when he grew up and I was hooked. Right now have 106 HOFers autos in my collection, but collect a wide variety of vintage baseball memorabilia.

[tazdmb]

Currently Age 37 and sitting at #204. Up to two years ago, was just focused on IP BBHOF, which was costly for travel, but rewarding as even when I started collecting in 1993, I was always worried about forgeries. In 2001, I received the last of the IP HOF (at the time) with Kirby Puckett. Because of the forgeries, I picked up a signed check here and there but that was it. Two years ago, I came across a Chief Bender autograph program for a price I could not refuse and have been going strong ever since.

My personal advice for vintage collecting, don't rush to make impulse buys, almost every autograph you see will be offered again in one form or another. If not, you probably can't afford in the first place. Wait until you see what you want at a price you can afford. Finally, as others have mentioned, this is a great community with a wealth of knowledge, don't be afraid to use it. I would never have dipped my foot in the vintage autograph pool if not for here.

Meanwhile, I ignored my advice recently and took out a loan to buy #205.

[rschisler]

Thanks for the responses and advice guys! I've definitely found this to be an incredibly helpful source. I hope to have something up to share my collection soon. Thanks again!

Ryan

[albertheras]

Thx for sharing. 40 years old been collecting since age 11.
I collect autos. Cards and star wars. Also big on cuban memorabilia.
Any cool Cuban Baseball memorabilia to share?

[UnVme7]

Just turned 30 yrs old last month and I have several vintage autos(probably a couple hundred team signed baseballs) and bball cards, but my main focus is game used bats and jerseys. I have about 750 game used bats with about 85% of those being pre 1980. I have over 200 game worn jerseys but most of those aren't vintage. Most of them range in the 80's and 90's.

I'll have to check my HOF number on those.

[mighty bombjack]

I am 38 and started collecting in the mid-80s. My dad brought me to some shows, which is where I got my first HOF autographs. Those were mostly on 8x10s with a few baseballs thrown into the mix. I put it all away while in high school and college, and a few years after leaving school I went to work as a baseball editor at Topps. That was fun but got old after a couple of years, so I moved to Europe for a few years, and then came back to the US to get a graduate degree. That was 7 years ago now.

I had a lot of stuff from when I worked at Topps that I didn't really want, so I went to a number of message boards and starting doing some trading. I had no interest in football, basketball, or hockey stuff, so when somebody wanted that I would ask them what baseball they had, and I started focusing on HOFers. You want my Jaromir Jagr autograph? What baseball HOFers do you have for trade? I enjoyed watching my total grow, and it became a bit of an obsession. My father is still into the sport and the hobby, and I have gotten my father-in-law into it a bit, which has helped my collection tremendously.

With the three managers who are to be inducted next year, my total number of different HOF members is at 236, and number 237 is in the mail...

[baseball tourist]

Originally Posted by UnVme7

Just turned 30 yrs old last month and I have several vintage autos(probably a couple hundred team signed baseballs) and bball cards, but my main focus is game used bats and jerseys. I have about 750 game used bats with about 85% of those being pre 1980. I have over 200 game worn jerseys but most of those aren't vintage. Most of them range in the 80's and 90's.

I'll have to check my HOF number on those.

Wow! 750 game used bats and 200 jerseys...that sounds like an amazing collection. I love collecting both as well but have narrowed down to just Blue Jays (a couple of HOFers there) and 19th century (non pro) bats.