Header - Baseball by the Letters

Month: December 2010

Fewer Baseball Cards = More Autographs?

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The baseball card reference library of Sports Card Database is like a free museum.

They don’t quite have one of everything scanned yet. However, it’s better than I’ll ever do. I can’t imagine having the budget or space for all these cards.

Check it out. Send them some praise and support on their feedback page.

Then, do some autograph math. If you’re puzzling over who to write to next, find someone who was pictured only in one 1960s set. Who’s going to get the most autograph requests? In general, the guys who are pictured on three or more card sets. Collectors want one of everything signed. The former players or coaches who had a card once, or NEVER — those are people surely lacking in fan mail numbers.

If you’re in a collecting slump, skip the superstars or 10 year vets. Start with the cup-of-coffee cameo player, the person who’ll fill your mailbox the fastest.

Collecting Autographed Team Letterhead

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Is there any alternative to baseballs when collecting groups or themes of autographs on one piece?

I think it can be done by mail. The low cost might surprise you.

One of the best bargains remaining in sports memorabilia is team letterhead. Keep looking, and you’ll find unused sheets of stationery.

Or, consider photoshopping a vintage logo onto card stock. Especially when the return address lists a bygone ballpark! Your wall would thank you for adding such a framed piece.

One possible source for help is Sports Artifacts. While the inventory varies (lots of sales!), Kevin Johnson does find gems regularly. He shared an example of a Giants response to a job applicant. Kevin wrote:

“Yes, people collect letterheads to get great examples of team logos, usually highly detailed and in color.

I  recently purchased an autograph collection from a collector who kept all the original return envelopes, many with great football, baseball and basketball team logos on the envelope. This helped him authenticate the autographs when he sold them.

When the team returns a player’s photo with a stamped signature and a letter along with the team logo envelope instead of returning the signed requested items, these items kept together will have collectible value in the future in my opinion.”
Kevin said he’d be happy to answer reader questions. Contact him at Kevin@SportsArtifacts.com.

Knowing the pre-Miracle Met Gil Hodges

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The man known as “Rabbit”
kept same smooth sig.
Every letter is legible!

Leading the 1969 New York “Miracle” Mets to a World Series crown wasn’t the first time manager Gil Hodges made dreams come true. With the Senators, Bob Saverine was one of those players he believed in.

What did Saverine remember about the man who gave him the chance to post career numbers?

“Gil gave me many opportunities to play, something that my other managers did not do. He was an intense person, wanting only to win games. He was a fine gentleman and a great manager. He had a great mind for baseball and its percentages.”

Oriole Bob Saverine Studied For First HR

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Bob Saverine might be one of baseball’s most patient names of the 1960s.

Although he debuted with the 1959 Orioles at age 18, he’d wait a full four years before his first baseball card appearance.

He waited a year for another crack at sidewinding reliever Ted Abernathy. The patience paid off in a first career home run on June 19, 1963. Saverine explained in a thoughtful letter:

“I had faced Ted Abernathy in triple-A the year before. I learned to watch his knee when he delivered a pitch as the knee would turn aside and the ball would follow.

I saw the pitch well and it did not curve as it ordinarily would. thus I hit it for a home run.”

Tomorrow: Saverine pays tribute to manager Gil Hodges.

Slugger Phil Roof Saw The Future

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Topps Knew How We
Imagined Roof Most!

Phil Roof starred more with the mitt than the bat. More than 15 years with only 43 career homers?

He treasured one dinger most:

“My first homer was my biggest thrill. It helped win the game in the 12th inning. Tied 3 to 3 at RFK Stadium, I hit it in the top of the 12th.”

One day turned the tables for the studious Roof. On May 30, 1972, his two homers were the difference in a 3-2 win against the Royals. Roof wrote:

“I hit a Dal Canton fastball over right field fence. Then I hit a hanging curveball to left field. The way he brought his right hand out of his glove gave his pitches away. I was lucky to pick that up. He was tipping his pitches and he was going into his stretch position. It was a big thrill.”