Here is one of my very favorite autographs I own. I was very lucky and able to purchase this from the bookstore the day it went on sale. It is Barack Obama’s A Promised Land (Deluxe Signed Edition).
I thought I’d mix it up a little bit and go with a non Mantle 😉
Now, I’m asking you right now to name in your head the best pitcher of all time. Got it? Actually, make it top three...no, no...top five. And I could probably go to ten and we still might not hear this guys name. Sure, he’s a household name - for sure - and a Cy Young winner, a World Series MVP, and a Hall of Famer but he just never seems to rate. And I don’t really know why. You would think someone this famous would get a mention. But I bet you’d hear lots of mentions of Koufax, Pedro, Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Bob Gibson or Tom Seaver. All excellent choices, assuredly. But I just wonder why we never hear a mention of the guy with the lowest career ERA of any retired starting pitcher in the modern era of baseball (2.75). And I’m not even saying he’s necessarily #1 but why do people always seem to forget...
... Whitey Ford ?
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
I had baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays autograph this card back in 1993 (though, sadly, not in person). The "Say Hey!" Kid is still with us, and just turned 90 years old last month.
Lou Brock held the career record for stolen bases with 938, until Rickey Henderson came along. He led the National League in stolen bases 8 times, including his then-record-breaking 118 SB's in 1974, at the age of 35. Over 3,000 hits in his career, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals.
I got Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda to autograph one of his Hall of Fame plaque cards back in 1997. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers to 4 Pennants and 2 World Series titles.
Looks like he signed it the year he was inducted. Maybe he hadn't yet figured out yet that the preferred placement was above the plaque.
Or maybe he preferred to inscribe things.
I got a few things from him back in the day. He was a good signer for a while. I collected the signed HOF plaque cards for a time but slacked off by then so I missed people like Lasorda.
@JBK said:
Looks like he signed it the year he was inducted. Maybe he hadn't yet figured out yet that the preferred placement was above the plaque.
Or maybe he preferred to inscribe things.
I got a few things from him back in the day. He was a good signer for a while. I collected the signed HOF plaque cards for a time but slacked off by then so I missed people like Lasorda.
Yeah, I was surprised to get it signed on the back.
Attorney F. Lee Bailey died yesterday. He defended or co-defended some of the most famous and infamous defendants like Sam Sheppard, Ernest Medina, Patty Hearst and O. J. Simpson. Here is the autographed photo I obtained from him back in 1998, it was a through-the-mail autograph, so I'm not sure it's for real.
Gale Storm's first TV series, "My Little Margie" ran from 1952 to 1955, and I only saw these episodes in reruns. After that, she starred in another series that I do barely remember the end of, "The Gale Storm Show", aka "Oh! Susanna", in which she plays a social director on an ocean liner. Her series were populated with the likes of veteran actors / actresses like Charles Farrell, Zasu Pitts, Willie Best, Roy Roberts and Hilary Brooke.
Another autograph that takes me wayyyy back. Paul Petersen played Jeff on the old Donna Reed TV show. As a grownup he started an organization called A Minor Consideration, which helps child actors from being exploited and counsels them and advocates for them. Paul's a little kid in this photo, but is now 75 years old.
@ernie11 said:
Another autograph that takes me wayyyy back. Paul Petersen played Jeff on the old Donna Reed TV show. As a grownup he started an organization called A Minor Consideration, which helps child actors from being exploited and counsels them and advocates for them. Paul's a little kid in this photo, but is now 75 years old.
Donna Reed was so beautiful.
I’d lasso the moon for her…
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
Congratulations to Tony La Russa, who moved past John McGraw into sole possession of second place on baseball's career manager wins list, directing the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Only Connie Mack has more managerial wins in baseball history. Here's my autograph of La Russa on an index card.
It seems like every time I turned around in the 1980's, I was watching a film by French actor Gerard Depardieu. Films like The Last Metro, The Return of Martin Guerre, Danton, Les Compères, Jean de Florette, My American Uncle and Menage. Here's my autographed photo of him, sent to me all the way (to quote Marilyn Monroe) from Europe, France.
This one isn't too exciting but I was proud to get it.
I wrote a letter to actor Alan Alda about an environmental issue he was involved with and he sent this reply. I am not sure that he signs through the mail anymore due to health issues so this letter is especially treasured.
I like writing to celebrities about things unrelated to their usual claim to fame and getting the occasional reply like this.
People of my generation remember the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match on September 20, 1973, between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. At the time, I was in college, and I bet my elderly landlady that Riggs would win, and she was sure that King would win. King beat Riggs in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. This was the last time I bet against Billie Jean King. She must've forgiven me, because years later she sent me this autographed photo.
@USSID17 said:
These are all nice but I don't believe any of them come close to the rarest most sought after autograph.
So the question is: What/who is the #1 most significant, rarest, sought after signature/autograph?
Being the "rarest most sought after autograph" wasn't the criteria or goal for this thread.
In any case, who is #1? No way to answer that. Shakespeare is among the very rarest signatures that actually exist. But most people seek other autographs relevant to their particular interests.
Furthermore, many people seek letters which have exceptional content which makes them particularly desirable/valuable.
@ernie11 said:
People of my generation remember the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match on September 20, 1973, between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. At the time, I was in college, and I bet my elderly landlady that Riggs would win, and she was sure that King would win. King beat Riggs in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. This was the last time I bet against Billie Jean King. She must've forgiven me, because years later she sent me this autographed photo.
Great photo.
She still signs TTM but one per person, and she does keep track.
When I've sent various well-known individuals my requests for an autograph, I'm often skeptical that what I receive was signed by the individual themselves. So it goes with this autographed photo I received in late 1998 from Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. I can only WISH it is for real.
There's only one Darlene L. that I would write to for an autograph who would respond with "Lots of Love", and that's Darlene Love, famed partly for her iconic holiday song, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", from 1963.
The autographs of BOTH main drummers for the Beatles. On the lower left, their first drummer, Pete Best, and Ringo Starr in the next photo. I love how Ringo draws a star to indicate his last name.
Jimmy Nicol substituted for Ringo for about 10 days on an overseas tour in 1964 while Ringo had tonsillitis, but I don't have his autograph.
@ernie11 said:
The autographs of BOTH main drummers for the Beatles. On the lower left, their first drummer, Pete Best, and Ringo Starr in the next photo. I love how Ringo draws a star to indicate his last name.
Reminds me of my former autograph collection. I got Pete Best ttm in the very early days of collecting in 2004-2005 then I got Ringo later on when he actually signed ttm for a short while. I remember he had stopped signing and I was sad I had traded the Ringo I got at the time thinking I could just get another one since he appeared to sign multiples for people ttm.
@ernie11 said:
The autographs of BOTH main drummers for the Beatles. On the lower left, their first drummer, Pete Best, and Ringo Starr in the next photo. I love how Ringo draws a star to indicate his last name.
Reminds me of my former autograph collection. I got Pete Best ttm in the very early days of collecting in 2004-2005 then I got Ringo later on when he actually signed ttm for a short while. I remember he had stopped signing and I was sad I had traded the Ringo I got at the time thinking I could just get another one since he appeared to sign multiples for people ttm.
There are very few autographs I would pay to be professionally authenticated, but this is one of them (slabbed, not a sticker), since if it ever got sold things would be much easier that way.
The one I had was a photo I printed off the internet on photo paper and I made it 3x5 so it could fit in a small return envelope from overseas. I learned later it’s best to get professional photos signed as they are more archival and don’t fade as easily.
One of my more bizarre autographs is this one from a low-budget horror film from 2000 that no doubt went straight to video, 'cause I never saw it in theaters - "Hollywood Mortuary". It features two old-time movie stars - Anita Page, who was a silent film star who came out of retirement for a few schlocky horror films (she was 90 years old when this film was released), and once-child star Margaret O'Brien. Randall Malone was a Hollywood devotee and memorabilia freak who aspired to appear in movies, so his "film star" self-description here may be tongue-in-cheek.
When I started writing to baseball players way back in 1989, asking for their autograph, I'd mail them an index card to sign if I didn't have a baseball card. The very first player to respond back was the great Dodgers pitcher of the 1960's, Hall of Famer Don Drysdale.
Ralph Kiner had a shorter career and barely made it into the Hall of Fame. He banged over 50 home runs twice in the late 1940's and, believe it or not, led the National League in home runs 7 years in a row. He later became a Mets broadcaster with his post-game show, Kiner's Korner. He had the uncanny ability to mangle player's names and say things that were way off base or showing the firm grasp of the obvious, he was very funny. Here are some samples, and also my Kiner autograph.
"Solo homers usually come with no one on base."
"The Mets just had their first .500-or-better April since July of 1992."
"If Casey Stengel were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave."
"On Father's Day, we again wish you all happy birthday."
"All of the Mets' road wins against Los Angeles this year have been at Dodger Stadium."
"The Hall of Fame ceremonies are on the thirty-first and thirty-second of July."
"(Don) Sutton lost thirteen games in a row without winning a ballgame."
"Darryl Strawberry has been voted to the Hall of Fame five years in a row."
"All of his saves have come in relief appearances."
"Now up to bat for the Mets is Gary Cooper."
"There's a lot of heredity in that family."
"Tony Gwynn was named player of the year for April."
"We'll be back after this word from Manufacturers Hangover."
"Hello, everybody. Welcome to Kiner's Corner. This is....uh. I'm...uh"
“Hello everybody, welcome to Kiner’s Korner, I’m Ralph Korner.”
"Hi, everybody. I'm Ron Kiner from Wrigley Field."
"Kevin McReynolds stops at third and he scores."
When Barry and Bobby Bonds combined to break the record for most homers by a father-son duo, Kiner noted that "they surpassed the father-son tandem of Buddy Bell and Yogi Berra."
Comments
Here is one of my very favorite autographs I own. I was very lucky and able to purchase this from the bookstore the day it went on sale. It is Barack Obama’s A Promised Land (Deluxe Signed Edition).
I thought I’d mix it up a little bit and go with a non Mantle 😉
Now, I’m asking you right now to name in your head the best pitcher of all time. Got it? Actually, make it top three...no, no...top five. And I could probably go to ten and we still might not hear this guys name. Sure, he’s a household name - for sure - and a Cy Young winner, a World Series MVP, and a Hall of Famer but he just never seems to rate. And I don’t really know why. You would think someone this famous would get a mention. But I bet you’d hear lots of mentions of Koufax, Pedro, Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Greg Maddux, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Bob Gibson or Tom Seaver. All excellent choices, assuredly. But I just wonder why we never hear a mention of the guy with the lowest career ERA of any retired starting pitcher in the modern era of baseball (2.75). And I’m not even saying he’s necessarily #1 but why do people always seem to forget...
... Whitey Ford ?
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
I had baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays autograph this card back in 1993 (though, sadly, not in person). The "Say Hey!" Kid is still with us, and just turned 90 years old last month.
Lou Brock held the career record for stolen bases with 938, until Rickey Henderson came along. He led the National League in stolen bases 8 times, including his then-record-breaking 118 SB's in 1974, at the age of 35. Over 3,000 hits in his career, mostly with the St. Louis Cardinals.
I got Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda to autograph one of his Hall of Fame plaque cards back in 1997. He managed the Los Angeles Dodgers to 4 Pennants and 2 World Series titles.
Looks like he signed it the year he was inducted. Maybe he hadn't yet figured out yet that the preferred placement was above the plaque.
Or maybe he preferred to inscribe things.
I got a few things from him back in the day. He was a good signer for a while. I collected the signed HOF plaque cards for a time but slacked off by then so I missed people like Lasorda.
Yeah, I was surprised to get it signed on the back.
Attorney F. Lee Bailey died yesterday. He defended or co-defended some of the most famous and infamous defendants like Sam Sheppard, Ernest Medina, Patty Hearst and O. J. Simpson. Here is the autographed photo I obtained from him back in 1998, it was a through-the-mail autograph, so I'm not sure it's for real.
I got him a few times TTM. I'd have no reason to doubt it.
The gold paint looks great on the photo, but he used something like that to sign a book for me once.
Gale Storm's first TV series, "My Little Margie" ran from 1952 to 1955, and I only saw these episodes in reruns. After that, she starred in another series that I do barely remember the end of, "The Gale Storm Show", aka "Oh! Susanna", in which she plays a social director on an ocean liner. Her series were populated with the likes of veteran actors / actresses like Charles Farrell, Zasu Pitts, Willie Best, Roy Roberts and Hilary Brooke.
I love the history of early TV.
Add people like Milton Berle, Danny Thomas, Sid Caesar, Burns and Allen, and many others.
Another autograph that takes me wayyyy back. Paul Petersen played Jeff on the old Donna Reed TV show. As a grownup he started an organization called A Minor Consideration, which helps child actors from being exploited and counsels them and advocates for them. Paul's a little kid in this photo, but is now 75 years old.
Donna Reed was so beautiful.
I’d lasso the moon for her…
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Congratulations to Tony La Russa, who moved past John McGraw into sole possession of second place on baseball's career manager wins list, directing the Chicago White Sox to a 3-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Only Connie Mack has more managerial wins in baseball history. Here's my autograph of La Russa on an index card.
Here is a Warren Buffett autograph that I helped a friend get for her father several years ago.
I don't think Buffett has signed much in the past 10 or 15 years. I have no idea why he made an exception for us.
It seems like every time I turned around in the 1980's, I was watching a film by French actor Gerard Depardieu. Films like The Last Metro, The Return of Martin Guerre, Danton, Les Compères, Jean de Florette, My American Uncle and Menage. Here's my autographed photo of him, sent to me all the way (to quote Marilyn Monroe) from Europe, France.
This one isn't too exciting but I was proud to get it.
I wrote a letter to actor Alan Alda about an environmental issue he was involved with and he sent this reply. I am not sure that he signs through the mail anymore due to health issues so this letter is especially treasured.
I like writing to celebrities about things unrelated to their usual claim to fame and getting the occasional reply like this.
This kid is the Yankees top prospect…
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
Do those come already signed?
Yes. The back is also nice looking, in my opinion. His first card, though I think the 2020 Bowman Chrome is/was the more sought after one.
Curious about the rare, mysterious and beautiful 1951 Wheaties Premium Photos?
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/987963/1951-wheaties-premium-photos-set-registry#latest
These are all nice but I don't believe any of them come close to the rarest most sought after autograph.
So the question is: What/who is the #1 most significant, rarest, sought after signature/autograph?
People of my generation remember the "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match on September 20, 1973, between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. At the time, I was in college, and I bet my elderly landlady that Riggs would win, and she was sure that King would win. King beat Riggs in straight sets, 6–4, 6–3, 6–3. This was the last time I bet against Billie Jean King. She must've forgiven me, because years later she sent me this autographed photo.
Being the "rarest most sought after autograph" wasn't the criteria or goal for this thread.
In any case, who is #1? No way to answer that. Shakespeare is among the very rarest signatures that actually exist. But most people seek other autographs relevant to their particular interests.
Furthermore, many people seek letters which have exceptional content which makes them particularly desirable/valuable.
Great photo.
She still signs TTM but one per person, and she does keep track.
I didn't say it was. I was just asking a question.
Sounds like a thread hijack attempt.
That would be a good topic for a new thread.
I wouldn't do that. You guys can have it back.
Chicago Sun Times original press photo signed by Bill/Cal Ripken & Carlton Fisk
IMF
I love multi-signed stuff like this.
When I've sent various well-known individuals my requests for an autograph, I'm often skeptical that what I receive was signed by the individual themselves. So it goes with this autographed photo I received in late 1998 from Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. I can only WISH it is for real.
Looks like mine I got TTM.
There's only one Darlene L. that I would write to for an autograph who would respond with "Lots of Love", and that's Darlene Love, famed partly for her iconic holiday song, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", from 1963.
The autographs of BOTH main drummers for the Beatles. On the lower left, their first drummer, Pete Best, and Ringo Starr in the next photo. I love how Ringo draws a star to indicate his last name.
Jimmy Nicol substituted for Ringo for about 10 days on an overseas tour in 1964 while Ringo had tonsillitis, but I don't have his autograph.
Reminds me of my former autograph collection. I got Pete Best ttm in the very early days of collecting in 2004-2005 then I got Ringo later on when he actually signed ttm for a short while. I remember he had stopped signing and I was sad I had traded the Ringo I got at the time thinking I could just get another one since he appeared to sign multiples for people ttm.
I got both of mine in 1999 TTM.
I have these two signatures as well.
I believe that Ringo has climbed in value since he no longer signs TTM.
Here is my Ringo, 2009 TTM.
I think I also have one with the star but I can't put my hands on it right now.
Mine was like that - no star. I got it I believe in around 2005. It was a small 3x5 photo.
Mine seems to be 4x6.
There are very few autographs I would pay to be professionally authenticated, but this is one of them (slabbed, not a sticker), since if it ever got sold things would be much easier that way.
The one I had was a photo I printed off the internet on photo paper and I made it 3x5 so it could fit in a small return envelope from overseas. I learned later it’s best to get professional photos signed as they are more archival and don’t fade as easily.
One of my more bizarre autographs is this one from a low-budget horror film from 2000 that no doubt went straight to video, 'cause I never saw it in theaters - "Hollywood Mortuary". It features two old-time movie stars - Anita Page, who was a silent film star who came out of retirement for a few schlocky horror films (she was 90 years old when this film was released), and once-child star Margaret O'Brien. Randall Malone was a Hollywood devotee and memorabilia freak who aspired to appear in movies, so his "film star" self-description here may be tongue-in-cheek.
When I started writing to baseball players way back in 1989, asking for their autograph, I'd mail them an index card to sign if I didn't have a baseball card. The very first player to respond back was the great Dodgers pitcher of the 1960's, Hall of Famer Don Drysdale.
Just added this one to my collection. I now have Obama and Clinton for U.S. Presidents in my growing “new” collection.
Ralph Kiner had a shorter career and barely made it into the Hall of Fame. He banged over 50 home runs twice in the late 1940's and, believe it or not, led the National League in home runs 7 years in a row. He later became a Mets broadcaster with his post-game show, Kiner's Korner. He had the uncanny ability to mangle player's names and say things that were way off base or showing the firm grasp of the obvious, he was very funny. Here are some samples, and also my Kiner autograph.
"Solo homers usually come with no one on base."
"The Mets just had their first .500-or-better April since July of 1992."
"If Casey Stengel were alive today, he'd be spinning in his grave."
"On Father's Day, we again wish you all happy birthday."
"All of the Mets' road wins against Los Angeles this year have been at Dodger Stadium."
"The Hall of Fame ceremonies are on the thirty-first and thirty-second of July."
"(Don) Sutton lost thirteen games in a row without winning a ballgame."
"Darryl Strawberry has been voted to the Hall of Fame five years in a row."
"All of his saves have come in relief appearances."
"Now up to bat for the Mets is Gary Cooper."
"There's a lot of heredity in that family."
"Tony Gwynn was named player of the year for April."
"We'll be back after this word from Manufacturers Hangover."
"Hello, everybody. Welcome to Kiner's Corner. This is....uh. I'm...uh"
“Hello everybody, welcome to Kiner’s Korner, I’m Ralph Korner.”
"Hi, everybody. I'm Ron Kiner from Wrigley Field."
"Kevin McReynolds stops at third and he scores."
When Barry and Bobby Bonds combined to break the record for most homers by a father-son duo, Kiner noted that "they surpassed the father-son tandem of Buddy Bell and Yogi Berra."
Those are great quotes. I never knew he made comments like that. He makes Yogi Berra look eloquent.
I got a thing or two from Kiner. Maybe a baseball and some HOF postcards.
Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt's book from 15 years ago.
My autographed copy of "The Incredible Journey". My favorite book as a little kid.
That's great!
My favorite as a young kid was "Where The Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak.
I wrote to him once and he replied to say he would regrettably not sign books through the mail. I tried some years later and he agreed.