Why Autographs?

[Runscott]

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[btcarfagno]

I always loved collecting cards growing up in the 70's and 80's. It was something that I could share with my friends and kept me occupied for long periods of time. I could play with them, look at the stats, gtrade them...but autographs were more special.

I remember being in the hospital when I was a kid and having Phil Rizzuto send me his autograph at the hospital. I cherished that. I remember sending autograph requests through the mail and how thrilled I was getting some of them back.

These days it is the thrill of owning something that someone who played major league baseball took the time to write. It is somewhat personal in that sense. The fact that many of these gentlemen have passed away gives me a feeling of kind of perpetuating their legacy...keeping their careers alive in someone's mind.

And on a personal note, now that I have decided to focus my personal collection to Pittsburgh Pirates who started after 1900, the thrill of the hunt will, I'm sure, take me on every bit as much of a roller coaster ride as would any card set or card project.

Tom C

[mighty bombjack]

This is a really pleasant thread to read and contemplate. Thanks to the op and everyone who has posted.

My story is similar to many here. I started collecting cards in the 80s and going to shows with my dad. That lead to IP autos and my father's stories about his childhood interaction with the game. He wanted to meet the players and so did I, and the auto itself was in some ways secondary. Getting an auto always has a story behind a story behind a story, and that has captured my imagination ever since. I like contracts and official letters because they have built-in authenticity and are connected to the game itself, but a GPC has something that can't be defined. Somebody desired and requested, and that was me as a kid. I can look at my autos all day and wonder about the situation and parties involved.

[JimStinson]

I don't think it is a matter of choice, I was born with the autograph collecting "gene"
Wish I had been born with the bottle cap or butterfly collecting gene instead. Alot less expensive

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

I don't think it is a matter of choice, I was born with the autograph collecting "gene"
Wish I had been born with the bottle cap or butterfly collecting gene instead. Alot less expensive

I don't know but I would imagine those hobbies can and do get very expensive at some level of obsession.

[Exhibitman]

I enjoy owning something that was touched by a person whom I admire or whose work I admire and who inspire me. I do not limit myself to sports. I have signed pieces from actors, musicians, comedians, astronauts, war heroes and so on. One of my favorite pieces is a signed copy of the Guggenheim's lifetime show catalog for Roy Lichtenstein that I picked up at the museum in NYC. I was there looking in the gift shop about 2 years after the retrospective, saw the catalog for sale unsigned, and asked a clerk if they happened to have a signed one because I knew Lichtenstein had signed some of them. They did and sold it to me for the same price as the unsigned book. Weighs about ten pounds and is the size of a cafeteria tray so it made for an interesting carry-on time at the airport.

[HexsHeroes]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

I don't think it is a matter of choice, I was born with the autograph collecting "gene"
Wish I had been born with the bottle cap or butterfly collecting gene instead. Alot less expensive

I've got a brother who collects dog "tags" (licenses/registration tags), and from him I hear that it's not unusual to see late 19th century tags sell for several hundreds of dollars apiece. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that some of the earliest Coca-Cola bottle caps in above average condition bring surprisingly high dollars.