Official NFL HOF autograph set thread???

gregm13

<< <i>Hello All,
When I read all of the different posts, above all, there is one topic that makes me think of the one Hall of Famer that I thought that I was going to meet in person, and personally get some autographs from, and in the end, it didn't happen. Living 5 minutes from the Hall, and being the autograph nut that I am, I have attended dozens of autograph sessions at the Hall over the years, plus the dozens of autograph shows that I have went to that were NOT Hall sponsored. I have personally met and got auto's from the following # of Hall of Famers by decade in which they were elected, 1960's = 11 , 1970's = 29 , 1980's = 40 , 1990's=40 , 2000's = 35 for a total of 155 of the 247 in the Hall. When John Bankert took over for the retiring Pete Elliot in 1997, he started a weekly autograph session at the Hall that took place EVERY Saturday in the month of May from 1998 through 2005. The autograph sessions were Titled, " The Best of Yesterday and Today" and featured a present day NFL Star along with an NFL Hall of Famer, usually one that played the same position. I attended almost eveyone of the 36 sessions. You just paid the Price of addmission to the Hall, and you were able to get one autograph from each guy on whatever item that you wanted, 8x10, 3x5, mini helmet, full size helmet, authentic jersey, etc. etc. After you got your autographs, then you could get at the back of the line and go through again. Some sessions, you could get through 4 or 5 times. Anyway, the 4 sessions for May 1998 were Willie Brown and Albert Lewis, Bobby Bell and Levon Kirkland , Charlie Joiner and Andre Reed and Robert Smith , and finally, Sid Luckman and Warren Moon. The Saturday before the Luckman/Moon Saturday, John Bankert made an announcement that Sid was not feeling up to traveling and would be replaced by ( I don't remember !!! ) . I was VERY disappointed , as I had never met Sid, and in fact never remembered even seeing him here for HoF weekend. Then shortly later he died. To this day, I remember John making the announcement that Sid wouldn't be there the next week, and even then I had a feeling that I never would get the chance again to get an autograph from him.
Rocke >>



Rocke,

Thanks for sharing...I am green w/ envy that you went to all those autograph signings...arghh... Unfortunately, I started to seriously collect autographs after many HOFers (such as Luckman) had passed away. This is the reason why I'm trying to collect an autographed card from every set that the older players were featured in. For instance, I now have auto'd cards of Chuck Bednarik from 1950 through 1963 except for a 1961 Fleer. I'm doing the same w/ Stan Jones, Bob St. Clair, Yale Lary, Mike McCormack, ect... I don't want to miss out before the older generation of HOFers have passed on.

Please keep sharing your stories. I for one love them.

Rgs,

Greg M.

gregm13

<< <i>I just heard Gene Hickerson died today. RIP >>



Reese,

Wow - he really went downhill quickly. When we was nominated in August 2006, I started sending TTM's every month or so through January 2007 when he was inducted. I received my last response from him in late Jan 2007 and then my two subsquent requests were returned in a nice package sent by the Cleveland Browns. In the package, they explained that Gene was unable to respond to fan mail any longer and they included several articles about Gene's accomplishments and a laser copy of an autographed photo from Gene. It was a very nice gesture by the Browns organization....

Too bad - he seemed to be a very nice man (i.e. his responses were always very cordial). RIP.

Rgs,

Greg M.

gregm13

Wow - that program is AMAZING!!! There are several autographs on there that I will likely never own...

Rgs,

Greg M.

gregm13

Why in the world would anyone pay $1800 for this auto'd card? Granted, Hickerson signed few if any GLA's however why would someone pay $1800 for "Gene" only? Fools and their money...

Hickerson auction

Rgs,

Greg M.

gregm13

I have a funny story about Gene Hickerson. I sent a TTM request right as he was inducted in the HOF and I received my cards back unsigned 2 months later with a nice letter and an envelope from the Cleveland Browns as previously mentioned. In early June when the the Class of 2007 GLA's were released I tried again to see if he would sign. Unfortunately, I received the same response and my GLA was returned unsigned.

What's funny is that my wife every days tells me what's in the mail when I call in the afternoon from work. When she opened the 2nd envelope (w/ the returned GLA), the recognized the players name and the package from the Cleveland Browns. She proceeded to admonish me for writing to "the poor old man" who was too ill to sign. She went on to scold me that I likely caused untold stress on his poor wife (even though I don't think he was married...) for having to write me a letter saying that her frail husband was too sick to sign.

To this day, we have a running joke that I'm bothering all these poor old men with my requests and I always retort that my letters are what give them the strength to go on (and I use the many nice responses I received from the older players to bolster my position!).

Rgs,

Greg M.

tnspro

Rev Mike!!!!! Way to go!

BellagioPokerKing

Congratulations Mike. That is one AWESOME item.

revmoran

I had been the high bidder when this was in the Mastro catalog and went to bed thinking I had it then, only to discover in the morning that I didn't quite understand the extended bidding and had been outbid. I would have liked to have bid higher for all three programs but at that time I couldn't. On the Mastro bid you also have to figure in the 20% buyers premium. Now I see it was Ed Wolfe who outbid me, and I've had many positive transactions with him over the years, and I'm glad this is the program he put up on eBay. He did well and I got the program I wanted. I think that while auction prices are a little lower right now, my football collection is holding value better than my 401K and I enjoy it an awful lot more too!

tnspro

That is simply put one of the nicest programs I have ever seen. I am sure you will be a fine 'custodian' of it. I'd actually pay to have a copy of the cover, put it in a frame and pretend it's real!

Jim

gregm13

Congrats Mike! That's definately a museum piece!

Greg M.

gregm13

If this is real, then it's a VERY tough auto/year card to find (since Big Daddy died in 63). What does everything think? Should I take a shot?

Rgs,

Greg M.

Big Daddy

Reese3333

Did you do the quick opinion?

gregm13

<< <i>Did you do the quick opinion? >>



No - the auto really isn't that nice...so I'm not sure whether I even want to buy it. What do you think?

Rgs,

Greg M.

Fabfrank

I think it's at least worth paying for the quick opinion. I can't recall the last "Big Daddy" signature I've seen.

gregm13

Here is the newest addition to my collection:

Layne

Rgs,

Greg M.

Fabfrank

Very Nice Greg. I know you love sigs on old cards. I'm not as fond because they tend to be "scribbled". That Layne looks very nice and legible. Congrats!!

Reese3333

Is anyone familiar with Ernie Davis signatures? Does this look legit? I've only seen a few copies and have no exemplars saved.

Ernie Davis

BellagioPokerKing

<< <i>Is anyone familiar with Ernie Davis signatures? Does this look legit? I've only seen a few copies and have no exemplars saved.

Hey Reese, I do NOT collect Heisman autograph's, BUT, I have been looking to "steal" one at a "cheap" price, ( around $1,000.00 ) for a couple of years. I am guessing that is about impossible though now, because of the movie, etc. I have wanted one just because the Browns, ( don't think I have ever mentioned by the way, that I have had Season Tickets to the Brown's ( Clown's ? ) since 1989 ) drafted him. Also because of the fact that he followed the guy at Syracuse, that ALL Brown's fans, and many football fans in general , think was the Greatest player ever. I have looked at every Davis autograph I have seen available on every auction site that I am registered on ( FOURTEEN in all !!! ) If I was a betting/gambling man, (which, by the way, I AM ), I would bet $100.00 that IS an AUTHENTIC autograph. I have always noticed 4 distinct things about a Davis sig. 1st, The way he signed the Capital E in Ernie. 2nd, that the rn in Ernie always looks like a w . 3rd, The capital D in Davis, and 4th, the way he finishes the s, and the does that little " curly Q " thing at the end. That is in addition to auto's that I have seen on individual website's ( Albersheim , K. Keating, Lipset etc. ) for sale.
That's my opinion, for what it's worth.
And PLEASE, let's keep the number of jokes , remarks about the Brown's to less than 100.

Rocke

Ernie Davis >>

Reese3333

Hey Rocke,

Thanks for the info. I've been looking to also try and get one cheap, but it doesn't look like it will be happening. I thought the movie was great and definitely worth checking out. I am interested to see what the final price of this auto is since the last single signed index card I saw sold for somewhere between $1300-1500.

Reese

jradke4

Guys,

Well here is an end to my silence. I got some poppage tonight from the set registry freebies. Overall I am pretty happy, other than the Brady. But i think i only paid about $15 for it. It did come from UKRedskins though. My first of his cards that didnt get slabbed. I think i have some other of his in this sub (woodson and fryar). Not sure why the levy was a 7 but its an upgrade from my 2!!! The Sanders and George are for my Inscriptions sets. The Sanders was a crack out from a PSA 8. All were orginally bought from ebay. From my other freebies autos were a PSA 9 Forrest Gregg (Donruss Limited) and a PSA 8 Larry Little (National Treasures). Both were upgrades over cards that were in my set.

1 1 15694114 N4: QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY 2007 TOPPS TOTAL TOTAL TOPPS TT2 TOM BRADY Card US
2 1 15694115 MINT 9 1991 UPPER DECK 98 ROD WOODSON PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
3 1 15694116 MINT 9 1992 PRO LINE PROFILES AUTOGRAPHS 8 BRUCE SMITH PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
4 1 15694117 NEAR MINT 7 1988 TOPPS 175 PATRIOTS TEAM LDRS. PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
5 1 15694118 MINT 9 1997 UD3 SIGNATURE PERFORMERS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED PF4 EDDIE GEORGE PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
6 1 15658734 NEAR MINT 7 1990 PRO SET 48 MARV LEVY PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
7 1 15658735 MINT 9 1996 LASER VIEW INSCRIPTIONS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED BARRY SANDERS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
8 1 15658736 MINT 9 1997 PINNACLE INSCRIPTIONS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED B0 JEFF GEORGE PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
Total Items: 8
Date Received: 9/24/2008
Date Shipped: N/A
Order Status: OK

revmoran

The 1963 HOF Program arrived and there was a post asking who was missing from those autographs - most notable is Dutch Clark. But there are three autographs that are hard to identify so if anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks.

tnspro

#1- working on it

#2- Art Modell

#3- Gene Woodling (Yankees)

Those are my quick guesses......

Jim

gregm13

I think the last name of the first signature is Johnson...If I had to guess...I'd say Dan Johnson (although the only NFL player named Dan Johnson I'm aware of played in the 80's for the Dolphins).

Rgs,

Greg M.

revmoran

There was a Rube Johnson who played in the years before the NFL - I don't know when he died.

gregm13

<< <i>Guys,

Well here is an end to my silence. I got some poppage tonight from the set registry freebies. Overall I am pretty happy, other than the Brady. But i think i only paid about $15 for it. It did come from UKRedskins though. My first of his cards that didnt get slabbed. I think i have some other of his in this sub (woodson and fryar). Not sure why the levy was a 7 but its an upgrade from my 2!!! The Sanders and George are for my Inscriptions sets. The Sanders was a crack out from a PSA 8. All were orginally bought from ebay. From my other freebies autos were a PSA 9 Forrest Gregg (Donruss Limited) and a PSA 8 Larry Little (National Treasures). Both were upgrades over cards that were in my set.

1 1 15694114 N4: QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY 2007 TOPPS TOTAL TOTAL TOPPS TT2 TOM BRADY Card US
2 1 15694115 MINT 9 1991 UPPER DECK 98 ROD WOODSON PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
3 1 15694116 MINT 9 1992 PRO LINE PROFILES AUTOGRAPHS 8 BRUCE SMITH PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
4 1 15694117 NEAR MINT 7 1988 TOPPS 175 PATRIOTS TEAM LDRS. PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
5 1 15694118 MINT 9 1997 UD3 SIGNATURE PERFORMERS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED PF4 EDDIE GEORGE PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
6 1 15658734 NEAR MINT 7 1990 PRO SET 48 MARV LEVY PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
7 1 15658735 MINT 9 1996 LASER VIEW INSCRIPTIONS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED BARRY SANDERS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
8 1 15658736 MINT 9 1997 PINNACLE INSCRIPTIONS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED B0 JEFF GEORGE PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
Total Items: 8
Date Received: 9/24/2008
Date Shipped: N/A
Order Status: OK >>



Nice poppage Jay - thanks for sharing. I see that you're ready for the class of 2009 w/ Woodson and Smith! Very nice. What auto was on card #4 (Patriots Team Leader)?

Rgs,

Greg M.

jradke4

<< <i>

<< <i>Guys,

Well here is an end to my silence. I got some poppage tonight from the set registry freebies. Overall I am pretty happy, other than the Brady. But i think i only paid about $15 for it. It did come from UKRedskins though. My first of his cards that didnt get slabbed. I think i have some other of his in this sub (woodson and fryar). Not sure why the levy was a 7 but its an upgrade from my 2!!! The Sanders and George are for my Inscriptions sets. The Sanders was a crack out from a PSA 8. All were orginally bought from ebay. From my other freebies autos were a PSA 9 Forrest Gregg (Donruss Limited) and a PSA 8 Larry Little (National Treasures). Both were upgrades over cards that were in my set.

1 1 15694114 N4: QUESTIONABLE AUTHENTICITY 2007 TOPPS TOTAL TOTAL TOPPS TT2 TOM BRADY Card US
2 1 15694115 MINT 9 1991 UPPER DECK 98 ROD WOODSON PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
3 1 15694116 MINT 9 1992 PRO LINE PROFILES AUTOGRAPHS 8 BRUCE SMITH PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
4 1 15694117 NEAR MINT 7 1988 TOPPS 175 PATRIOTS TEAM LDRS. PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
5 1 15694118 MINT 9 1997 UD3 SIGNATURE PERFORMERS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED PF4 EDDIE GEORGE PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
6 1 15658734 NEAR MINT 7 1990 PRO SET 48 MARV LEVY PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
7 1 15658735 MINT 9 1996 LASER VIEW INSCRIPTIONS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED BARRY SANDERS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
8 1 15658736 MINT 9 1997 PINNACLE INSCRIPTIONS PSA/DNA CERTIFIED B0 JEFF GEORGE PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
Total Items: 8
Date Received: 9/24/2008
Date Shipped: N/A
Order Status: OK >>



Nice poppage Jay - thanks for sharing. I see that you're ready for the class of 2009 w/ Woodson and Smith! Very nice. What auto was on card #4 (Patriots Team Leader)?

Rgs,

Greg M. >>



irving fryar

BellagioPokerKing

Hello All,
I just printed off the sigs. from the ' 63 program. I will try to get hold of the original owner, or Rod W. I am positive they will know.
Rocke

BellagioPokerKing

Hello All,
Congratulations Jim. According to Rod, you are right on the money on the 2nd and 3rd autographs. Rod said that is definetly Art Modell and Gene Woodling. He said that the 1st autograph is.................drum roll, Please Dan Tehan. Dan accepted for Joe Carr, since he had died in 1939.
Rocke

revmoran

Thanks to everyone for their help - now would someone please send me their extra Joe Carr autograph - that would make my day complete.

gregm13

<< <i>Thanks to everyone for their help - now would someone please send me their extra Joe Carr autograph - that would make my day complete. >>



Is Carr the last HOFer that you need?

Rgs,

Greg M.

revmoran

No, not even from that class - I would need GP Marshall and Carr to complete 1963.

otwcards

<< <i>There was a Rube Johnson who played in the years before the NFL - I don't know when he died. >>



Rube was born 6/3/1892 in IA and died 5/10/1967 in IL. Although the signature is Dan Tehan, a former NFL official who represented Joe Carr at the '63 Induction and then presented "Shorty" Ray at the '66 Induction.

tnspro

Dan Tehan was a very interesting person and accomplished football player in his own right it seems. Here is an article I found that talks about his lengthy career.



Dan Tehan is a member of the Class of 1924 and was a legend in southwest Ohio. A varsity letterman in baseball, basketball and football for his entire high school career including his freshman year, he had an immediate effect on the teams at St. Xavier from the moment of his arrival. He was all‑Ohio in both football and basketball as a lineman and a guard. Such was his prowess that the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1925 called him one of the best tackles to have ever played in the State of Ohio.

This hall of famer then enrolled at Xavier University where he played four years of football and three years of basketball and won six varsity letters. A real gamer, he once played a game less than a week after breaking his jaw, rubbing mud on his face to prevent the opposition from discovering his injury. After his senior year of football, he was too injured to play basketball, so he helped coach the team.

He bypassed professional football, such that it was in those days, however he then became a referee and by 1930 he was in the NFL. He refereed in the NFL until 1963, retiring after doing the 1963 championship between the Bears and Giants. Today we are familiar with some of the NFL referees due to their constant exposure on TV. While this man retired before TV become so dominant, he was a legend amongst officials and especially the coaches. Even today he holds the record for having refereed the most play‑off games in NFL history. He is also remembered as being the only Democrat to consistently win election to county‑wide office in Hamilton County as he was the Sheriff for many years. Tehan passed away in 1980.

otwcards

Well, just received a couple of cards and IC's from HOF Senior candidate Claude Humphrey. Just wish he would've signed his name instead of "Big Claude." At least I've got some 8x10's that are signed with his full name.

Reese3333

Great cards Scott! I didn't think Humphrey was signing TTM anymore.

otwcards

This is the first TTM that I've heard being successful in several years. Perhaps the donation helped. I was pretty stoked getting it back and it was only a week. Also got Maxie Baughan on his '61F and that was back in 4 days. He's another very overlooked player who may get some Senior consideration down the road.

BTW, if anyone needs, I've got an extra 8x10 of Humphrey available.

tnspro

what are you asking for the 8x10?

Reese3333

I had a small order pop. I thought the legends would grade a little better, but overall I can't complain.

1 1 15604323 EXCELLENT 5 1955 TOPPS 29 LEO NOMELLINI PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
2 1 15604324 EXCELLENT-MINT 6 1955 TOPPS 23 DICK KAZMAIER PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
3 1 15604325 VERY GOOD-EXCELLENT 4 1955 TOPPS 84 ACE PARKER PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
4 1 15604326 EXCELLENT-MINT 6 1955 TOPPS 35 TOM HARMON PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
5 1 15604327 MINT 9 1994 TED WILLIAMS CO S32 O.J. SIMPSON PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
6 1 15604328 NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1997 UPPER DECK LEGENDS 37 LOU GROZA PSA/DNA CERTIFIED Card US
7 1 15604329 NEAR MINT-MINT 8 1997 UPPER DECK LEGENDS 53 MARION MOTLEY PSA/DNA CERTIFIED

I also got this back from Frank Gifford TTM.

otwcards

<< <i>what are you asking for the 8x10? >>



$20.00 dlvd for the 8x10.

KLS23

Hey guys,

Got this PSA/DNA card on E-bay for $80 last week and it seemed like a great deal. Excited to get it in hand. Don't Van Brocklin autographs usually go for a bit more?

1957 Topps Norm Van Brocklin

Ken

gregm13

Ken,

You're the one that bought it!!!! I was the underbidder and forgot to set a snipe!!! Are you willing to trade for it?

Rgs,

Greg M.

KLS23

Greg,

Aha....then I was lucky indeed as I know you don't let much slip through your fingers:}. Most of the Van Brocklin's I have seen recently on E-bay have been in the $150-$200 range. Anyway, I really need him as it was a hole in my HOF collection...but I don't care about on card vs. 3X5's etc....so if you have another Van Brocklin or someone else that I am looking for I would be happy to consider a trade. Just drop me a line.

Ken
ken_ams@hotmail.com

gregm13

<< <i>Greg,

Aha....then I was lucky indeed as I know you don't let much slip through your fingers:}. Most of the Van Brocklin's I have seen recently on E-bay have been in the $150-$200 range. Anyway, I really need him as it was a hole in my HOF collection...but I don't care about on card vs. 3X5's etc....so if you have another Van Brocklin or someone else that I am looking for I would be happy to consider a trade. Just drop me a line.

Ken
ken_ams@hotmail.com >>



I have a 75 Fleer Van Brocklin...but I'm not sure if I want to sell/trade that. What other HOFers / future HOFers are you looking for?

Rgs,

Greg M.

KLS23

Greg,

Right now, I am mostly looking for:

Jim Finks
Alan Ameche
George Allen
Elmer Layden

Other players, but they are much tougher like Paddy Driscoll, Arnie Herber, Lavern Dilweg, Joe Guyon, etc. Thanks.

Ken

otwcards

<< <i>Greg,

Right now, I am mostly looking for:

Jim Finks
Alan Ameche
George Allen
Elmer Layden

Other players, but they are much tougher like Paddy Driscoll, Arnie Herber, Lavern Dilweg, Joe Guyon, etc. Thanks.

Ken >>



Ken:

I have a George Allen (1973 NFC Championship card) on its way to PSA/DNA. Will advise upon return.

Also just got a letter from Al Wistert (he SHOULD be in the HOF) and wonder what he needs "help" with... Maybe he's just lonely. Mayb he liked the letter. I wrote him awhile back with a donation and he sent a nice letter as well as a bunch of extra stuff (much of it signed) including my '48 Leaf RC. Then out of the blue, I get this letter in the mail:



**I covered up the phone number out of courtesy to Mr. Wistert.

KLS23

Scott,

I wrote Mr. Wistert about 6 months back and he was very gracious in sending me a letter as well as signing multiple things for me. I didn't send him any sort of donation, but now I am thinking that maybe I should. If you find out what the issue is, please let me know. If there something I can do to help Mr. Wistert, I would be happy to do so.

On another note, I would be very interested in the George Allen went you get it back. Thanks!

Ken

tnspro

Since most of us write to players for autographs, I thought I would show this interesting photo. It shows this hobby has been around for a long time.



28 Oct 1954, State College, Pennsylvania, USA --- Lenny Moore, Penn State back, opens his box to get some of the large amount of fan mail he has been receiving. Moore, who leads the East and ranks third in the nation in ground gaining, averaged 115 yards per game in five games and is rated one of the nation's top backs by his coach, Rip Engle. Moore will play for Penn State against the University of Pennsylvania October 30th in a nationally-televised game.

gregm13

<< <i>

<< <i>Greg,

Right now, I am mostly looking for:

Jim Finks
Alan Ameche
George Allen
Elmer Layden

Other players, but they are much tougher like Paddy Driscoll, Arnie Herber, Lavern Dilweg, Joe Guyon, etc. Thanks.

Ken >>



Ken:

I have a George Allen (1973 NFC Championship card) on its way to PSA/DNA. Will advise upon return.

Also just got a letter from Al Wistert (he SHOULD be in the HOF) and wonder what he needs "help" with... Maybe he's just lonely. Mayb he liked the letter. I wrote him awhile back with a donation and he sent a nice letter as well as a bunch of extra stuff (much of it signed) including my '48 Leaf RC. Then out of the blue, I get this letter in the mail:



**I covered up the phone number out of courtesy to Mr. Wistert. >>



Check your PM.

Greg M.

gregm13

<< <i>Greg,

Right now, I am mostly looking for:

Jim Finks
Alan Ameche
George Allen
Elmer Layden

Other players, but they are much tougher like Paddy Driscoll, Arnie Herber, Lavern Dilweg, Joe Guyon, etc. Thanks.

Ken >>



Ken,

I don't have any extra auto's of Finks, Ameche, Allen or Herber...however, if I buy another Van Brocklin will you trade me the 57?

Rgs,

Greg M.

revmoran

All right, gentlemen, 'fess up - who spent $7,500 for the Tim Mara handwritten note and autograph on Lelands last night?