Do these even look similiar??

Stingray · November 2, 2007 4:07AM

The one in the slab does not look close to the picture autograph, maybe Al was in a hurry?? I have seen dozens of Kaline autographs and they are 99% like the one on the right. Maybe the card was mailed to Al??

Brian48 · November 2, 2007 4:33AM

The one on the card does look a little rushed. Especially since he didn't even bother to spell out his first name.

Brian48 · November 2, 2007 4:34AM

Well, maybe not. That little "L" looked like something else to me.

rube26105 · November 2, 2007 4:51AM

maybe al had to go take a whiz at that exact moment when he was signing it lol
depends on what time period each was signed-mine has changed big time in last 30 years

JeremyDie1 · November 2, 2007 5:13AM

Autographs are a tough call. Like Rube said who knows what the circumstance was when he signed these. Maybe he was hung over, had to take a whiz, or was in a hurry. Its tough to sign your name 100% of the time exactly the same way. If PSA/DNA saids its good, then I would go with it.

detroitfan2 · November 2, 2007 5:26AM

Plus, the blue mark on the right side of the card is clearly from the same pen that Al used to sign the photo, so it has to be real.

Cubby · November 2, 2007 5:45AM

It looks suspicious to me.

BunchOBull · November 2, 2007 6:19AM

Looks 100% authentic to me. Rushed, but authentic. People get too engrossed in the way an auto is "supposed" to look. The autos are identical in structure, they follow the same lines and style. Same swoop away on the L in "Al" and the E in "Kaline," same leg swoop in K, same forward angle on the N, the list goes on and on. Plus, your talking about the nuances between a fat tipped and fine tipped marker. In the world of hand writing analysis, you never look at writing as a whole. You don't even look at the individual letters. Swoops, points, bleeds, and directional shifts will be proportional to the relationship of the strokes before and after.

Stingray · November 4, 2007 9:38AM

<< <i>Looks 100% authentic to me. Rushed, but authentic. People get too engrossed in the way an auto is "supposed" to look. The autos are identical in structure, they follow the same lines and style. Same swoop away on the L in "Al" and the E in "Kaline," same leg swoop in K, same forward angle on the N, the list goes on and on. Plus, your talking about the nuances between a fat tipped and fine tipped marker. In the world of hand writing analysis, you never look at writing as a whole. You don't even look at the individual letters. Swoops, points, bleeds, and directional shifts will be proportional to the relationship of the strokes before and after. >>

How can you say that the "L" in Al are the same?? Christ there is no "E" in the first one in the Kaline. I can agree about the markers used in both, but beyond that, I see nothing similiar.

BunchOBull · November 4, 2007 10:00AM

On the finer example "L," the letter starts with an upward stroke, loops left, the downward to cross the initial swoop, kicking up towards the end.

The less pretty example does the same thing, however, the crossover is much higher on the L to the point that it doesn't form a loop. Both end with an upward stoke, with the example on the card showing the a natural corrective measure to keep the "L" within certain size parameters by making a more sharp swoop than is accustom. It's a very common occurrence on cursive letters such as Q's, l's and I's, a very easy slip up.

As for the "E," he fails to truly write the "-ine" on the end, instead losing track of his strokes, ending with a tell-all upward swoop. However, his strokes follow his writing patterns. In other words, the pieces are equal to the whole.

I'm not a handwriting analyst specifically; however, I work as an intelligence analyst, and if that autograph passed over my desk, I would conclude that it is authentic. Again, the pieces that are there are fitting. I do agree, visually, the card seems to be lacking, but that's the cause of several factors, including type of writing implement and size of the flat. Beyond that, who knows what conditions the card was signed under.

mosaic · November 4, 2007 1:09PM

They're both PSA/DNA certified... so, either they're both legit, or PSA/DNA certification is totally worthless. If so, you better ask Al himself.

I hear he's a pretty agreeable TTM signer *grin* Charges a piddly fee, tends to write back, etc.

RoarIn84 · November 4, 2007 1:57PM

i have NO confidence anymore in the lazy, disgruntled, clock-watching, PSA graders........but this is probably real. i've gotten his auto on 3 different occasions between the years of 1985 and 1996 and they all looked similar. twice he took his time because it was at a show where he was getting paid, and the other was at Lakeland (tigers training camp) in 1985 where he was rushed and just scribbled his name like the auto in question. that's unfortunate on that card, since he normally wouldn't (not many would!) sign right over his face......

Do these even look similiar??

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