Posted by winnetka1 on 6/27/2023 10:24:00 AM (view original):
I bought a collection of old horse racing programs and inside many of them are autographs of jockeys. Many famous jockeys but they are not worth money. I like them for sentimental reasons.
my two favorite autographs are from a professional golfer and one from a great soldier from WWII. Charlie Sifford was a black professional golfer that was not allowed to play in a PGA tournament until the early 60’s. There was a rule that stipulated that only white golfers could play. Charlie eventually got to play and in the early years he was confronted by virulent racists in nearly every tournament he entered. He wrote a book about it called “Just Let Me Play “ . I brought the book to a senior golf tournament back in the 90’s and asked Charlie to sign it.
the Band of Brothers was a series on HBO in 2001. It is a true story of the heroic actions of Easy Company of the 506 PIR of the 101st Airborne. The commander was Dick Winters. . I wrote him a letter years ago on Veterans Day and he was kind enough to write me back.
Me as well re sentimental value.
The financial worth is of only secondary interest.
It is all about the intrinsic heart felt feeling that you get.
The story about Charlie Sifford was phenomenal.
On the one hand, it is great to be able to lend one ‘s humanity to another and on the other hand it is horrible and sick that other people and events have compelled all of us to realize a choice of how to live and be and to recognize a responsibility to others who have never lived on a normal and level playing field and ill leave it at that!!
But the history and humanity even without the meetings endow certain autographs with a power of great sentiment and connection.
The autographs I got in person are special but going just on superstardom the 5 best as far as I am concerned from my collection not in order are
1. Marilyn Monroe - canceled check to her housekeeper
2. Humphrey Bogart - green ink signed with incredible effort for beauty and legibility.
3. Elvis Presley on a rare photo. Again - signed with careful perfection
4. Ty Cobb - green ink - perfect signature
5. Rocky Marciano - on a handbill for a show he was speaking at.
again really nice signature.
My collection covers baseball basketball hockey football boxing wrestling some golf and tennis movies and tv some history.
The vendors I have purchased from are nationally known and a few are used as experts by the FBI for autograph fraud cases ( I do have Barry Bonds signed around 88-92. ) before he got a big head.
Not a great signature mostly the first and second B. That was his signature at one point of his career.
There are some athletes that had evolving signatures. He was one and Mantle was another. ( I have several Micky Mantles ).
The hobby is mostly dead and a main reason is the advent of the scribble or graffiti signature.
Those signatures are mostly 1990 on.
NO SENTIMENTAL VALUE and who knows what is and isn’t real anyway.
In “the olden days” signers were honored and took great pride in their signatures. That is really true.
6/27/2023 2:52 PM (edited)