Sports Illustrated?

[5-Tool Player]

Having A SI signed was a huge experience for myself, I've got a couple HOF'ers Rod Carew & Nolan Ryan.....got them at the Grand Hotel in Anaheim, mid 70's

[ledsters]

This was signed by Tony Gwynn at Spring Training 1998, Peoria, AZ.

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[mrreality68]

Great Post Everyone

Love seeing and remember all those covers and looking up the stories behind all of them

[Topps206]

What a day. I went back to the Chicago Sports Spectacular today and nailed some of the $10 guests they were having today.

First, I got Denny McLain on two of his four covers. I'll need the other SI from 1968 with Al Kaline, and the special 1993 edition with Bob Gibson. I saw some others in line with SIs for him. Ironically, one person had the 1993 cover and another with the other 1968 cover.

Even at a sports convention, people seem drawn to Sports Illustrateds. I was holding them out after I got them signed and walking away and people wanted to take a look. One person is another SI collector and has the 1968 cover I got signed, but not the 1970 one.

His logic was he didn't want to remind McLain of that, but I know athletes can and do reserve their right to reject items to sign at shows. If McLain doesn't object to signing it, I don't object to getting it signed. It wasn't anything personal or more than I simply want to get as many SIs signed as possible.

McLain took a while and had built a crowd.

Leon Durham was originally supposed to appear at 2:30, but then the show announced when I was waiting for McLain he'd been moved ahead to 12:30. I got my hand stamped and went out for a bit. I came back at noon, and he was at his table because he'd been moved ahead to 11:30. There was only one or two people ahead of me in line, and I was able to add his cover.

Having archived all of my SIs in chronological order, I now have 83 covers signed between 1955 and 2020.

[Kaneen]

Apparently, Denny McLain loves to add inscriptions. He had his own table set up at a card show I attended a couple years ago where he was selling signed items. I think it was 15 bucks if you wanted something of your own signed. I paid and asked him to please sign my SI. He said, "Sure...you want an inscription?" I replied, "That would be great, whatever you want to put will be fine." About 5 minutes later he handed me back this:

[Topps206]

Originally Posted by Kaneen

Apparently, Denny McLain loves to add inscriptions. He had his own table set up at a card show I attended a couple years ago where he was selling signed items. I think it was 15 bucks if you wanted something of your own signed. I paid and asked him to please sign my SI. He said, "Sure...you want an inscription?" I replied, "That would be great, whatever you want to put will be fine." About 5 minutes later he handed me back this:

Both McLain and Leon Durham were $10 guests yesterday with $5 per inscription. I didn’t pay for inscriptions, didn’t even ask for inscriptions. He just added them on his own accord.

[Topps206]

I don't have any new additions, but I thought I'd sure with all of you some of my earlier signed SIs in my collection. These were all obtained in person, and some of the ones I had through the years before I decided I was going to go all-in with collecting these in July 2019.

The first two I got signed at a show in November 2012. The third one I got at the 2016 Cubs Convention and the fourth I got through various shows and signings through the years. Most signatures on the fourth I obtained in 2010, though I got Steve Owens, Jason White and Billy Sims at a place in Norman, Oklahoma in September 2019.

I've got some more I got TTM before I really got into this that I can share in another post.

Some statistics on my SI collection.

1. I have 83 signed total in my collection, 84 if you count an Ivan Lendl TTM that came completely destroyed in the mail.

2. Out of the ones I have signed, 19 were obtained in person. The rest were TTM returns or what I submitted as a show/private signing order.

3. I have at least one SI signed from every year of the 1970s.

4. I have at least one SI signed from every year of the 1980s except 1981, though I do own some unsigned issues I haven't gotten signed yet.

5. The first chronological signed cover in my collection is a personalized one by the late Tony Trabert, who just passed away this year. Tony was on the August 29, 1955 cover.

6. The last chronological signed cover I currently have is by DeJon Young, a high school football player in Georgia who appeared with a couple of his teammates on a late 2020 cover. I'd love to get some newer covers signed, but the stars of today aren't as accessible to me or I don't have nearly enough money for the show prices.

7. States I've gotten an SI signed in are Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Oklahoma. I took a road trip to Iowa in July and stayed the night in a motel for the sole purpose of meeting Bill Rodgers at a free signing out there and him signing my covers.

I will never be Scott Smith, the SI King. I don't have the money, time, resources or connections. Besides, I wouldn't want 20,000 covers signed, just one each of cover, or as many covers as I can get. I have autographs on other items by cover subjects, some of whom have since passed on. I'll turn 30 next month, and wish I had started this project sooner, but I'm loving this now.