Did Santa Claus ever bring you one of these autographed baseballs?
countdouglas
Posts: 2,545 ✭✭✭✭✭
So, I was down a rabbit hole looking for information on collectibles that had at one time been offered for sale through the Sears Christmas catalog. Complete sets, hobby accessories, sports themed room decor, Starting Lineup figures, etc. I came across a website called wishbookweb.com, which has archived many of the old Sears Christmas catalogs with page by page scans, and also has started working on archiving some of the J. C. Penny Christmas catalogs, as well. Holy crap! All of the things I remember longing for! After several hours of reliving the 80s, I finally made it to the 1990 catalog. This page really caught my attention:
You could buy guaranteed authentic autographs on official major league baseballs from HOFers, future HOFers, and guys who were rightly considered stars at the time, all from the comfort of home! The list is actually fairly impressive. I found humor in the testimonial supposedly from Nolan Ryan, with a "signature" at the end that looks nothing like the signature on the ball that he is holding in the photo. I did not recall the fact that this opportunity even existed in my youth. So my question is, did anyone else know this nugget, and more importantly, did anyone ever order any autographs this way?
On a side note, I wasn't even looking at all for this, but I'd just mentioned in the January pickup thread how I'd come across some items called baseball plaques from the Tara Toy Company that I'd never seen before. Well, guess what was on page 378 of the 1989 Sears Wishbook? Give up? Take a look for yourself! Haha! 
Comments
These ball apparently did not come with COA so they would be mixed with the general population....the question is who the heck is Jerome Walton...I'm joking ...
But interesting read that 1rst advertisment..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
The item description indicates that they did in fact come with a certificate of authenticity. Has anyone ever seen a JC Penny COA? Haha! How much stock would you have put in one then, forget about now. Anyone have a story about saving up for one of these balls yourself, or adding it to your Christmas wish list? Anything? I don't know why I don't recall this being something available at that time, as I'd have thought I'd certainly taken advantage of it, or at least attempted.
As a kid I used to love looking at the bra ads.
My grandmother used to get me one every Christmas over the course of like 6 years from Penneys. I had Nolan Ryan, Hank Aaron, Reggie Jackson and the others I can't honestly remember anymore. I sold them all off on eBay around 2004 ish.
They came with COAs the size of the base that the ball would sit on and was from some random company, I don't believe Penneys was mentioned on the COAs.