Anatomy of an Autograph
This is the third post in the series “The Art of the Autograph.” I’m writing this post by leaning heavily on my graphic design experience, knowledge of the players and their backgrounds, and vivid imagination to make these observations about autographs. No empirical research, no in-depth study of Graphology, no founding in fact … just personal opinions. With an apology to Otto Preminger for taking liberties with his 1959 movie title: “Anatomy of a Murder.” Several years ago I began to notice the difference between the beautiful and carefully written signatures of yesteryear’s players and the...
Read MoreThings We Do For Love – And Autographs
This is the first post in the series “The Art of the Autograph” You’d think someone my age would be ashamed at some of the tactics I’ve employed to obtain autographs. There’s no shame when you’ve secured a great signature – none. I’ve crawled under bleachers, stuck my hand through a hole in an outfield fence (a groundskeeper promptly chased me out of the area – after 3 autographs), talked grandkids into helping me (players universally sign for kids and pretty girls), and walked onto a Cincinnati Red‘s team bus as they were leaving their hotel heading to the ballpark (I was almost put to...
Read MoreTales of a Misspent Youth
This is the second post in the series “The Art of the Autograph.” I am a kid again when asking for an autograph from anyone wearing a Major League uniform – from the stars to the youngster just brought up from the Minors for a “cup of coffee.” For a half century I’ve been a collector. I’ve watched promising rookies develop into stars, and I’ve watched them retire – some gracefully, some not. But I have their autographs as a part of their history and mine. The collection officially started in 1962 when I met the “Yankee Clipper,” Joe...
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