How not to get an autograph - Ty Cobb style

thenavarro

Got a chance this week to pickup a nice Ty Cobb handwritten response to a fan's letter. It's practically a blueprint on how not to get a Ty Cobb autogaph, LOL

In this one, you can read where young Harold O'Neal, Jr. writes to Cobb and tells him about his grandpa playing with Cobb, mentions writing to Cobb before without getting a response, mentions how Cobb's suggestions have helped him in his ball playing abilities, but evidently makes the mistake of questioning why Cobb wrote a series of articles in Life magazine a certain way.

Young Harold evidently irked the Georgia Peach enough that Ty doesn't even bother wasting a piece of his stationary on young Harold and proceeds to ignore most of his letter, concentrating on a defense of his Life series, and ending by basically telling Harold the reason he didn't get a previous reply was because he didn't follow autograph etiquette by enclosing a self addressed and stamped envelope. To add insult to injury, Ty didn't even sign his reply, LOL.

Here's the text of Ty's response in case you don't want to twist and strain to read his reply:

"Dear Harold,
I note the fault you found in my Life stories, not mentioning certain players. I had only 12000 words allotted to me to use, the subject was selected as given to me by “Life”. I did not choose. If you were a very careful reader of story before you formed and expressed an opinion, you would have seen and realized-I said Musial and Rizzuto were type and example of ball players of moderns who could have played on old timer teams. I had to use only 12000 words, of course Reese & many others Yes Feller is a real or was a fine pitcher not because he is your favorite, he with any other modern pitcher cannot be placed on an all time pitching staff you have to go to the old timers see records, that counts – How would you place any modern pitcher on all time – Johnson, Mathewson, Alexander, Walsh, Plank, Grove, old Cy Young many others- lets be right in all this Records

You to be right, as I was, should have enclosed for convenience an addressed and stamped envelope. I receive an average of 4 requests for autographs alone






Here's the envelope this was sent in, postmarked from Menlo Park. It's not even initialed front or back like Cobb sometimes did. Evidently young Harold wasn't getting anything resembling a signature

scashaggy

That's funny. I have never seen a TTM response where a player wrote so many other player's names and not his own.

Jakt

Classic.

The irony is a letter like that would be just as much if not more than a random piece of paper signed by Cobb.

MintMoondog

This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing...btw would you mind letting us know where and for how much you picked this up for? Is there adequate provenance?

thenavarro

<< <i>This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing...btw would you mind letting us know where and for how much you picked this up for? Is there adequate provenance? >>



Thanks! I picked it up from a major auction house. It's PSA/DNA pre-certified, but more importantly, it's Ty's handwriting from the 50's. Cobb has been my favorite baseball player since I was a kid, and I'm a little bit familiar with his writing and signature.

In general, I don't put a whole lot of stock into "provenance" anyway. If someone will fake an autograph, they will 100% fake provenance as well. Some of the worst, bogus graphs and bogus memorabilia, come with the best provenance.

Mike

MintMoondog

<< <i>

<< <i>This is fantastic! Thanks for sharing...btw would you mind letting us know where and for how much you picked this up for? Is there adequate provenance? >>



Thanks! I picked it up from a major auction house. It's PSA/DNA pre-certified, but more importantly, it's Ty's handwriting from the 50's. Cobb has been my favorite baseball player since I was a kid, and I'm a little bit familiar with his writing and signature.

In general, I don't put a whole lot of stock into "provenance" anyway. If someone will fake an autograph, they will 100% fake provenance as well. Some of the worst, bogus graphs and bogus memorabilia, come with the best provenance.

Mike >>


Good point, it is basically why I stick to cards. BTW I love the fact that he didn't sign his name whatsoever,

handyman

Thats awesome.
I too have a strange letter from old cobby.
The story on mine is something like. The guy who asked cobb for an auto would send him I guess several requests and cobb would give him an auto up until this final letter I have. Cobb wrote back, Dear Mr I think you have enough of my autographs. And he signed TRC instead of his full auto.
LOL.
Loved seeing your new item! its a good one!

fkw

very cool!

Cooptown

Mike, absolutely love the item. I grew up right ouside of Syracuse too.

It reminds me of a similar item: A few years back I sent Marvin Miller a baseball card to sign. I talked about how my Dad was a big union guy himself. I enclosed a check for $10 made out to BAT (which I had seen other TTM success with). He returned my card unsigned along with the check and wrote: "I am not an agent for BAT. MM"

The way he wrote the initials MM were consistent with his signature, (and he definitely did not want to give me a full signature) so I would much rather have this check with a cool story than a signed card anyways. Would love to have PSA slab it, but I doubt they would.

OAKESY25

HANK ONEAL JR.. CHECK IT OUT

mlbfan2

Cool letter.



<< <i>HANK ONEAL JR.. CHECK IT OUT >>



Appears to be the same guy.

I found this: "She has written about baseball for publications including The New York Times, The Village Voice, New York Newsday, The National, and Hank O’Neal’s forthcoming book about Ty Cobb."
http://www.abirdoftheair.com/Director/abirdoftheairmar.html

thenavarro

<< <i>HANK ONEAL JR.. CHECK IT OUT >>



Very cool Bob. Thanks for posting that. Looks like young Harold ended up doing ok for himself.

Mike

thenavarro

mlbfan2,

Thanks for your lead as well. Very cool, here's a link about the book from Hank's webiste:

Sincerely, Ty Cobb

and here's a link to a preview of the book, my letter is even pictured (see page 15-18 of the pdf

pdf copy of the Ty Cobb book with my letter

I've now written Hank, let's see if he responds.


Mike

gonzer

I would love to find out what a forensic handwriting expert could glean from Cobb's reply without knowing the particulars of who wrote it.

BunchOBull

lol the auto'd picture he finally received was dated a full month after this letter was PM'ed. I guess Cobb didn't hold it against him...even called him a "friend."

OAKESY25

STEP BACK IN TIME AND IMAGINE

mlbfan2

<< <i>mlbfan2,

Thanks for your lead as well. Very cool, here's a link about the book from Hank's webiste:

>>



No problem!

Estil

Check out also this fascinating letter (from about the same time as the Cobb letter I believe) from Charles Schulz (creator of Peanuts) responding to a request from a fan that a Peanuts character be "killed off":

Letter Charles Schultz wrote granting request to "kill off" a Peanuts character (with an AX!!!)