Autographs- Do you collect? Do your care?

[Tim Kindler]

David, Perezfan, and Josh,
Points well taken. Let me say again that when I posed my question: Do You Collect Autographs and Why? I clearly stated at the end I was curious to hear everyone's thoughts. I wasn't implying that if you collect autographs that there is something wrong with it and you are crazy idolizing someone like a teenage girl at a Justin Beiber concert, I just wondered why people collect them. My comment on "Godlike" status of those in which we collect autographs from, probably wasn't clearly stated by me, and I don't know if I can clearly state it at all, but what I'm trying to say is that when SOME (NOT ALL) autograph collectors clamour and pay hundreds of dollars to get someone's autograph, you can't tell me that these people feel like they have a status that is above the person seeking the autograph. Now I do get that when we buy a card, jersey, etc, of say A-ROD or somebody, I guess we are essentially doing the same thing....like I said point well taken.
There is one difference in cards as related to autographs and that is that there aren't nearly the amount of fake/fraudulant cards out there as there are fake/fraudulant autographs and the ones that are are certainly more easily detected than bad autographs and fake letters of authenticities.

Good topic to debate on and again, I'm just curious on peoples' thoughts; not criticizing any of us on what we collect and I'm especially not criticizing anyone who collects autographs, I have a few from my childhood.

Tim

[Jay Wolt]

I collect signed checks be it personal or business to me they are
a bit safer, authenticity wise then buying a file card or a photo.

Here are a couple of Catfish Hunter Yankees & A's payroll checks
both endorsed on the back by Catfish.

[JimH5]

I collect autographs because they are a personal connection to the person who signed it. Plus, each one is unique to itself, they display beautifully with a photo, and often are artistic on their own.

There's always a risk that I'm buying something that isn't authentic, but if I buy from trusted dealers within the hobby, and if I maintain a basic knowledge of what something is supposed to look like, that's enough for me.

I collected gum cards when I was a kid, and I still enjoy them, but the value of specific cards is usually only appreciated by other collectors. I can show off an autograph to a friend or someone in my family and they get a kick out of seeing something signed by Cobb vs. seeing something made by a card company.

[steve B]

I only have a few, but not just baseball. I've sold off some of the ones that didn't mean much to me, mostly stuff I bought rather than got in person.

Others I have are ones I've run across in odd ways. While those could be fake, I'd be very surprised if they were.
Johnny Most - 3x5 ish card from a live radio appearance
Happy Rockefeller - Postcard to a friend while honeymooning.
Bob Cousy - faded sig on a very worn black and white 8x10 Not basketball, but some sports club portrait.

None of those cost much at all, I think the Cousy was the most expensive at $2-3

A few authors I like sell signed first editions directly, and for almost nothing above the price of the book. (What's the rarest Terry Pratchett book? An unsigned first edition! Joke from a fan site..)

One of the most fun after Brooks Robinson And Bob Feller was Neil Gaiman. My sister was really into his sandman series of comics and he was doing a signing at a comic shop local to me. About a 2 hour line, and he stayed later than advertised to take care of everyone who was in line at the "closing time" I got the new graphic novel for her, and a comic for me. For the books he was doing personalisations and a quick sketch of a character. When I told him her name for the personlisation he gave me an odd look and said I didn't look like I matched the name. So I explained that I was getting it for her since she lived 3 hours away. He seemed a bit surprised that I'd spent 2 hours waiting to get the book signed for someone else. Especially since I was only a casual reader. It must have actually been odd, since I got a sketch on the comic, something he hadn't done for anyone else even on request. (One guy pressed the issue and was told to be a bit less cheap! )

Steve B

[Jewish-collector]

I am a huge collector of Jewish Sports memorabilia, particularly correspondences, letters & autographs. Over the last dozen or so years, I have written to many former Jewish athletes, not only from the major sports, but particularly from the minor sports like fencing, track & field, rowing, etc,… where a lot of the older athletes were Jewish. When I wrote to them, I wouldn’t so much ask them about their athletic achievements, but rather more of their “Jewishness”. My questions asked things like “how observant were you”, “what was it like being a Jewish athlete at that time”, “had you experienced any anti-semitism”, etc,… Some of the letters from these former athletes are very interesting and I'd like to send copies to some of the Jewish museums and Jewish Sports HOFs.

How I got started: Back in the mid-1990’s, I received a gift-certificate from one of the book stores. I decided to use the gift certificate on the book, When Boxing was a Jewish Sport”. It was a fascinating history of Jewish boxers in the 1920’s thru 1940’s. After I read it, I decided to research & acquire autographs from some of the guys depicted in the book, who were still alive. Then, from there, (and I’m not sure how/why it happened) but I ended up interested in Jewish athletes from all sports, the major sports like baseball and football to the lesser popular sports like golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, swimming, etc,… I have since slowed down with the hobby over the last few years, though. It was getting too time consuming and too expensive with stamps.

Alan

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

There is one difference in cards as related to autographs and that is that there aren't nearly the amount of fake/fraudulant cards out there as there are fake/fraudulant autographs and the ones that are are certainly more easily detected than bad autographs and fake letters of authenticities.[emphasis added]

Really?

[Tim Kindler]

The only basis I have to say that is that the FBI says that 90% of autographs out there are fake. So, if people are being fooled 90% of the time, then they must be harder to detect. Look I'm not claiming to be an expert, just basing my comment on that stat. But I've been wrong before.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Tim Kindler

The only basis I have to say that is that the FBI says that 90% of autographs out there are fake. So, if people are being fooled 90% of the time, then they must be harder to detect. Look I'm not claiming to be an expert, just basing my comment on that stat. But I've been wrong before.

And you're wrong again.

[Tim Kindler]

David,
Are you saying Jesus Christ can't hit a curveball?

Seriously, debating on this board in a good spirited manner can be fun and informational. I started this thread just to pick the peoples' minds of those who collect autographs since I'm one who doesn't. Unfortunately for any of us collectors, it can be a scary thing at times with so much garbage, and horrible, dishonest people willing to sell their souls to make a buck.

Anyway, happy collecting everbody and keep pursuing your passions.
Tim

[parker1b2]

I enjoy collecting autographs as I feel it is important part of my memorabilia collection and really enjoy it. I got out of collecting cards in the mid 90s when too many different types were hitting the market and was no longer fun for me. But as someone said collect what you like. I would prefer to get items signed in person, but with deceseased players that is impossible. I do have a goal in life, although will almost never hit it, but to get an autograph from every baseball HOF.

Oh and Scott Garner, I have heard so many horror stories from Albert "don't call me Joey" Belle, but when my brother, me and a whole bunch of other kids at the time met him outside the Skydome when he was with Cleveland, he couldn't have been nicer. Signed for everyone for about an hour and was nice. Signed 3 times for me. But that is the only good experience I think anyone ever had with him.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by parker1b2

Oh and Scott Garner, I have heard so many horror stories from Albert "don't call me Joey" Belle, but when my brother, me and a whole bunch of other kids at the time met him outside the Skydome when he was with Cleveland, he couldn't have been nicer. Signed for everyone for about an hour and was nice. Signed 3 times for me. But that is the only good experience I think anyone ever had with him.

I never really had any problem here in Cleveland with Albert either. Maybe we were just lucky. Albert could be the nicest person in the world when he wanted to be, unfortunately he had a very short fuse. If he didn't have a good game, or even if a reporter asked him the wrong question in the locker room after the game, you'd have been better off to stay away. Problem is, you never knew which Albert you were getting. Dealing with Albert was like trying to pet a stray dog, sometimes it works out, and other times you're gonna get bit.

Anyways, here in Cleveland we were lucky to have some very classy and accessible players back in the 90's. Omar, Nagy, Thome, Sandy Alomar, so on and so on. Just hanging out near the parking lot you were guaranteed great auto's. Anyone from the best player to the worst. They all signed.

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

Really?

You don't think there are more fake autos on eBay at this moment than there are fake cards? What percentage of autos do you guess are forged?

I've personally never seen, or even heard of, completely fake cards of the players I collect (pre-1970 Minnesota Twins, primarily Killebrew, primarily Topps, primarily slabbed). Wait, I take that back - I think I've seen one (a faked Bazooka card). But I've seen what I think are fake autos for just about any of them. For that matter, it seems there are fakes out there of just about any player that's ever played.

As others have stated, if I need to spend some inordinate amount of time educating myself on whether an autograph of Rob Wilfong or Dave Boswell or Cesar Tovar is real or not, then it's not the hobby for me. I have too many other hobbies that I enjoy that are much less work.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Karl Mattson

You don't think there are more fake autos on eBay at this moment than there are fake cards? What percentage of autos do you guess are forged?

I've personally never seen, or even heard of, completely fake cards of the players I collect (pre-1970 Minnesota Twins, primarily Killebrew, primarily Topps, primarily slabbed). Wait, I take that back - I think I've seen one (a faked Bazooka card). But I've seen what I think are fake autos for just about any of them. For that matter, it seems there are fakes out there of just about any player that's ever played.

As others have stated, if I need to spend some inordinate amount of time educating myself on whether an autograph of Rob Wilfong or Dave Boswell or Cesar Tovar is real or not, then it's not the hobby for me. I have too many other hobbies that I enjoy that are much less work.

Who cares whether a Dave Boswell signature is forged? Get one in person. I'm talking about vintage material--Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, Wagner, Young,... The vast majority of those forgeries are quite easily detected, if you know what you're doing. (And getting to the point where you know what you're doing is one of the pleasures of collecting. Although not easy, I wouldn't call it "work.")