To celebrate Boston’s World Series win (and my return to Blogville), I wanted to share a 2011 post. The late second baseman gave stunning reasons why he never stopped signing by-mail requests. Let’s hope his same devotion to fans and The Game rubs off on the 2018 World Champions.

And now, it’s flashback time!

My admiration for Bob Doerr grows every year.

A Hall of Famer since 1986, he should be a charter member of any Autograph Hall of Fame.

While some mortals complain about trying to send Christmas cards to two dozen people, this 93-year-old baseball icon signs thousands of autographs a year. He keeps thousands of letters a year straight. Sign the ball here. Add your Hall of Fame year. All those requests for inscriptions, pens, whatever. Doerr delivers!

Thankfully, the “Silent Captain” was anything but when I asked him about his feelings about autographs. He replied on his official stationery, complete with the HOF logo and BOB DOERR as letterhead.

Q: How many autograph requests come in the mail weekly? How do you manage?

A: I average between 50 and 100 requests per week. Some days there are 30 or more requests and some days there are only 1 or 2. Very rarely are there days when there aren’t any. I do have a person who regularly helps me with the mail. Two people when I split my time between here and the Rogue. I also have family and friends that fill in from time to time.

Q: You’ve never stopped signing. Other Hall of Famers demand a fee. Or, they just ignore fan mail. Why are you different?

A: I have always enjoyed the fans. Their support and encouragement is inspiring. I also feel that we as players are honor-bound to respond to them. After all, they are the reason we are able to get paid for playing the sport we love.

Q: How can collectors show their thanks? Is there a charity you support that we could help with?

A: As to showing your thanks, I guess the best way to do that is to educate other collectors on good ‘request etiquette.’ So many either send way too much (I try to limit it to about 4) or they don’t send proper postage (etc.) or both.

I hope these answers are helpful to you. Thank you for your interest in time.

The letter is signed “Bob Doerr,” with that careful penmanship.

I could read Doerr’s words all day:

Fans…inspiring…players…honor-bound…the sport we love.

This man’s autograph isn’t signed with ink. Doerr’s pen is filled with gratitude.

*************************************************

I’ve never asked before. But now, I’m asking for Bob Doerr.

Doerr never wrote, “Send me money.” He never even asked for any of us to donate to charity.

All he wants is more collectors to learn and respect “request etiquette.”

Share this post. Tweet. Use any social media. Spread the Hall of Famer’s hope.

I thank you. I know that this throwback hero would, too.

A collector, part of Cooperstown? 

That’s one fascinating possibility lurking within the correspondence collection kept by the National Baseball Hall of Fame research library. The 25-page list produces many surprises, none of which may be on public display.

Everyone knows that Hall of Famer Don Sutton has been a reluctant by-mail signer for years. Well, the HOF owns a hand-written letter from the pitcher, offering advice to a young player in 1966. An article from the period documents the exchange.

Players like Jackie Robinson saved letters of support from fans. Browsing the list, I found one fan wrote Robinson six times from 1952-55.

Sure, the archive includes lots of business letters: owners, commissioners, journalists. 

However, none of those official missives would match a single hand-written bit of correspondence between players and fans.

That’s the joy of Baseball By The Letters.

Click to access BA+MSS+44+Correspondence+Collection.pdf

An autographed, personalized copy! Superb storytelling. A great gift from a great friend. Thanks, Judy!

The Baseball Hall of Fame results brought me more questions than answers.

I just checked in with the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ron Santo was just one example. Marvin Miller led the Major League Baseball Players Association. For better or for worse, he helped pioneer free agency. Another worthy, overlooked part of baseball history.

From eBay: small sigs were vintage Miller!

Inducting someone after their death has happened before.

Miller may have peeved as many collectors as owners in his lifetime. His final stats on www.sportscollectors.net say that he responded 126 times to 174 recorded TTM attempts.

I found the non-player in just two card sets: a 1994 Upper Deck issue and the 2005 Topps All-Time Fan Favorites set.

Miller’s eyesight may have been failing for years, judging by his microscopic signatures.

In his defense, neither card offered a great space for an autograph.

I think he became irritated with the cumbersome nature of signing his book and baseballs. I believe that the final collectors who succeeded with Miller were ones who proved they were sincere, educated fans.

Another eBay example: face-signed cards?

Look hard for other baseball pioneers. Find them before Cooperstown, or the Grim Reaper, calls.

Team owners
umpires
general managers
scouts

Readers: are other non-players Hall of Fame material, ready for autograph collections?

Coming Wednesday: Arizona Fall League insights from The Autograph Card

Autograph collectors have loved them for decades. The postcards depicting Hall of Fame plaques have been a mainstay in many collections.

Once, when most HOFers signed for free, a bonus postcard would be included with a reply. Bob Feller told me years ago that the Hall gave him bundles free for his own use.
Us old-time hobbyists wince at the climbing prices of the postcards, now 50 cents each.

Even worse? Look on the HOF website and see that postage and handling begins at $7.99.
Or maybe not.
For a collector who needs only an annual update of that year’s inductees, the $7.99 seems like a punishment for someone wanting just two postcards.

Here’s an alternative:

Call the Hall of Fame switchboard (607-547-0397). Ask to be connected to the gift shop. Have a credit card handy. Ask if you can place a small order by phone.

Shrewd collectors have found that the shipping charges have been as low as $2 for a few cards.
HOF workers will ask collectors to send in a FAX for a large order.

Worst of all, don’t get soaked by dealers who are re-selling new cards for a few bucks each. Order straight from the source for the best deal.
Coming Friday: A review of the fun new book Baseball Fantography.

Far after his 1989 death, specimens like this are common on ebay, averaging $10 to $15

I’ve tried to imagine growing up as the child of a baseball star.
The riches and the famous family friends? Nah, too easy. What’s mind-blowing is the idea that the mailbox would be filled with letters from strangers.

That’s what prompted me to send questions to Vernona Gomez, daughter of baseball Hall of Famer Vernon “Lefty” Gomez and the co-author of Lefty: An American Odyssey.

Q: How did your Dad feel about fans and autographs? What versions of his autograph did you see?

A: Lefty enjoyed the fans and signing autographs. He signed as ‘Vernon Lefty Gomez’ and ‘Lefty’ Gomez, but not as ‘El Goofo’ — not his name.

Lefty read fan mail and autographed fan mail for free. I have read many of his fan mail.
Q: Do you sign autographs, such as your book?

A: Yes. I am doing book signings for Lefty, An American Odyssey, across the nation. As an author, I’m happy to sign the Lefty book and only the Lefty book at the book signings.

Q: Have you ever signed the Hall of Fame plaque postcard featuring your Dad?

A: No, I do not sign Lefty Gomez’s Hall of Fame cards. His induction is based on his accomplishments in baseball. Only Lefty should sign the card.

Coming Wednesday: Where and how to get those cool HOF postcards.

Any Bay Area baseball fans will recall his calls. He’s the voice that beckoned Giants and Athletics followers. He’s Lon Simmons.

In an amazing reply of blunt humility, the acclaimed broadcaster questioned his 2004 Frick Award honor from the Baseball Hall of Fame. He wrote:

Simmons did accept the award. He recalled the ceremony:

Didn’t make it to Cooperstown that year? Relive the glory courtesy of the Bay Area Radio Museum, offering a replay of Simmons’ acceptance speech!

Coming Friday: Simmons salutes Giants broadcaster Russ Hodges!

Every signature has a story.

Sadly, these histories have devolved into:

1. How and where I got it.
2. What I paid.
3. What it’s worth today.

The lack of a good #3 answer stops some collectors from exploring a great sector of the hobby: baseball family members.

Collector/historian John Bennett is a veteran school teacher. Additionally, he’s a superstar presence with the screen name “Double X” on the http://www.sportscollectors.net/ forum. The milestone moment when he reached his 15,000th autograph by mail is preserved as one of the forum “sticky” posts.
Was that old news? Well, John had racked up more than a 1,000 signatures before joining the SCN community!

If someone has an autograph history question on the forum, “Double X” buzzes in like a JEOPARDY champion. John chose his nickname to honor Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx, after striking up a correspondence with Foxx’s daughter.

Where did the idea first arrive for John to write to famous family members of baseball legends. He says:

“Hi Tom- originally with the ttm sends, I was trying not so much to get autographs as to do research. As part of a project I had several of my students write to the surviving relatives of Hall of Famers to ask them about their famous fathers.

While working on the Podres book I found Johnny’s wife Joanie to be extremely helpful, and I also got a surprise call from Joan Hodges when she heard we were working on the book.”

I was grateful that John pointed out the knowledge of Mrs. Podres and Mrs. Gil Hodges. Baseball spouses have heard all the stories. They kept the scrapbooks and knew which reporters told true tales. More team alumni associations are popping up yearly. I’d hope they’d forward mail, as does the Hall of Fame.

Also, it’s a chance to applaud the biography John and his family collaborated on with Podres. It’s a great tale from an overlooked Dodgers gladiator. John floated the hint that he’s considering releasing the title on kindle. Petition the author here!

For more from the daughter of Hall of Famer Foxx, enjoy this 2006 article from Gordon Edes comparing “Big Papi” to “The Beast.” Read closely, and you’ll see one talented collector/researcher quoted.

Coming Thursday: Pitcher Bud Byerly teaches me a lesson.

In my eyes, Dave Van Horne is a Hall of Famer.

Ford Frick Award winner Van Horne is being honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. No, he is not an inductee. He will not have a plaque. However, I still think he has a Hall of Fame voice. I’ll never condemn a broadcaster who signs “HOF” with his award-winning year after.

For someone thinking that a Frick winner is common, consider this: the award began in 1978. Only one man has been honored each year. I think this puts Van Horne in select company.

Van Horne has been a baseball broadcast tradition since 1969. He sent me a reply I’ll treasure. I consider it a preview of the acceptance speech he’ll be making in Cooperstown later this year.

I asked the man who called the first Montreal Expos game in 1969 about his first place of employment, Jarry Park:

Van Horne solved one mystery, in part.

Everyone ALWAYS asks baseball insiders to name an all-time all-star team. I wanted Van Horne to tell me the “go to” players who helped him take care of his business. In short, an all-time INTERVIEW team!

Could you tell someone why you’re a baseball fan? Let this award-winning Marlins ambassador go first. Sense the gratitude and awe in Van Horne’s heart-felt assessment of the sport:

To borrow from another hit song, in Van Horne style, I second that emotion.

Tomorrow: Pat Gillick, baseball’s newest Hall of Famer, shares his roots.