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Ty Cline, Autograph All-Star, Retires

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Not the longest name to write!

Thanks to Harvey Meiselman. Here’s yet more proof that his 2013 Baseball Address List provides exceptional value throughout the year.

He notified all of list purchasers through e-mail update that Ty Cline has stopped signing through the mail, sending this message as the sole reply:

 “Ty Cline regrettably is no longer signing memorabilia through the mail”

This news is especially worrysome. The www.sportscollectors.net website reported that, through October, Cline had signed 151 of 156 requests.

When a generous signer stops suddenly, one of three red-flagpossibilities appear:

1. He’s quite ill. (Cline is 73.)
2. Someone has perpetuated the myth that the signer’s free autographs are being black-marketed on the Internet, with untold riches escaping the former player’s family.
3. The fan mail screening service wants a cut of the action, offering to split profits from future TTM signing for a fee.

Cline (or family) have been sending out notices. They could have been trashing mail, instead. I hope to find out if they’ll start “Return to Sender” refusing mail, so collectors won’t lose their cards.

I’m grateful to Harvey for the update, and to a player who gave generously of his time and signature for so many years.


Easier Mailing To Canada…Soon!

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“Global Forever” sounds like a rock anthem.

Actually, it’s one of the best parts of the upcoming postal increase Monday.

For the first time,  air mail will have some simplicity. It’s $1.10 per ROUND stamp. One of these beauties will get you up to a 2-ounce letter-sized mailing to Canada. You’ll still need Canadian postage on your SASE back to the USA, however.

For the collectors outside the United States, there won’t be the worry of not getting a response before the next postal increase. Buy it now (or when it’s on sale Monday) and get the benefits FOREVER. Hence, the name.

My only wish? The stamp is round. Make one that looks like a baseball!

HOFer Earl Weaver’s Unanswered Mail

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He looked too dignified
to be a professional
wrestling manager…
but he would’ve been
GREAT!

I’m glad I wrote to Earl Weaver when I had a chance.

I never asked for an autograph. I had something to give him.

The last game I ever saw at Minnesota’s Metropolitan Stadium was an Orioles-Twins affair. I don’t have the date or the final score right now.

No stat could compare to the image. I sat on the 3rd base side. I loved going to a game before the game. I loved watching players be boys. That’s when they have the most fun.

Well, manager Weaver was walking across the field, chatting up an attentive Lee May. The skipper threw back his head and laughed. May smiled and nodded, hanging on every word.

“Weaver…you son of a bitch!”

Ever hear all the wind sucked out of a place with one collective gasp? It wasn’t me shouting. Some rabid Twins fan wanted to be heard.

Weaver heard. He scanned the stands. May spread his huge arms, ready for battle. He took one purposeful stride toward my section.

I never spotted the screamer. But I swear I can hear the SQUEAK followed by the sound of running.

“The Duke of Earl” grabbed May’s elbow. He looked at his manager, who burst out laughing. They continued to the dugout, unphased by the muttering buzz from the stands.

Did the O’s like Weaver? I sent him proof. I saw one who would have committed a crime for him!

Pete Rose’s Forged Autographs

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What years did you get your Pete Rose autograph by mail?

Do you know who really signed it?

I wasn’t dreaming when I mentioned last week that I seemed to recall a book from the 1980s detailed how Rose delegated his fan mail duties to an assistant.

“Dear Pete” by Helen Fabbri (the secretary) & Larry Names; published by the Laranmark Press in 1985.
This confirmation comes from noted baseball book dealer Bobby Plapinger:
“HERE’s my “catalog blurb” about it: Pete Rose’s story as told (mostly) through his fan mail w. connecting narrative supplied by Ms. Fabbri, his “personal fan mail secretary” for over 9 years. Fwd. by Rose who says he likes letters from kids because “their innocence and faith in me makes all the hard work worthwhile”. He, of course, would go on to reward his young fans’ “innocence & faith” in him for the rest of his career in and out of the game. BW photos.”
 

Even the book held a hidden story. Could it be that the likely ghost-signer of Rose autographs used a ghostwriter for author?

“Actually, I wrote the book for her. All she did was pick out the fan letters, and i let her have credit as author. Yes, she did sign Pete’s fan mail for him. So anybody who has a response from Pete in those years she was his fanmail secretary might have a forgery. I had Pete’s autograph on something. He signed something for me when we had breakfast together down in Tampa on the last Sunday of spring training 1985. He even picked up the check. Personally, I like Pete and think he’s getting a raw deal from MLB. But that’s another story. – Larry Names”

How’s this for some juicy subplot for the Rose TLC show?

TTM Signers Charging $100 Fees

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Fee-charging autograph signers haven’t hijacked this hobby…yet.

I counted five pages of prices in Harvey Meiselman’s 2013 Baseball Address List.

Bargains remain. Sid Bream, Dana Kiecker and Reggie Cleveland ask just one dollar per card autograph.

The top fees are $100 per autograph from two Hall of Famers, Yogi Berra and Bob Allen.

Oops. Wait a second. Hmmm…

Bob Allen. I looked him up.

Debut 1961 Cleveland Indians. Reliever for five seasons. Career 7-12, 4.11 ERA.

Wait! The page has a Bob Allen autographed card. Was that a $100 acquisition, too?

I contacted Sean Holtz, the talented founder, researcher and webmaster for the site. He replied:

As for Allen his signature is about 25 years old. Can’t remember exactly the year. I live in Florida, have my whole life, even went to middle school right next door to where the Expos did their Spring Training. Braves too. I would get countless signatures with all my friends. We would then trade. So I’d use a clipboard, put 3 cards across the clip, get them signed. My two other best friends did the same. We’d then trade! What I didn’t know was what a great idea that was decades later. Anyway, Bob had retired for a while. I didn’t have any cards for him, but there was a card shop there and we picked up a couple cards for him.

Crazy fee, $100! Wow! Maybe it’s a typo?”


That is no typo, baseball fans. The figure is confirmed
.
I asked Harvey for his take on lavish Bob Allen. He responded:

Tom – regarding Bob Allen, basically what he’s saying by charging a $100 signing fee is “Leave me alone. I don’t want to sign autographs.”
No secret with verifying the signing fees every year. I send out an autograph request to each player I have in my database as charging a fee and then confirm or update the signing fee information he sends back. You’d be surprised at the small percentage of players who donate their money to charity. There probably is a lot of the players who don’t specify a charity that do donate to charity but I don’t think it’s a high percentage.
 
Lefty Bob has my sympathy. Being a 1960s Indian was far from glamorous. Also, he pitched in 204 more major league games than I ever did.
 
Nevertheless, there’s no reason to take your frustration out on collectors who’re trying to complete a signed Topps set. Former players who want to leave their baseball life behind should ask Harvey to be removed from his 2014 edition, instead of punishing well-meaning hobbyists.
 
Coming Monday: a P.S. on Pete Rose.