SCD question
 

Who was the autograph columnist in the early 1990s in Sports Collectors Digest?

Do you mean Dave Miedima?

Dave was the game used jersey guy, I have no idea who the autograph guy was.

I'm thinking it was Kevin Keating.

Steve

Dave Miedema was your man. ;)
His autograph article was entitled "Up Autograph Alley" in SCD. I'm looking at an issue from May 25, 1990 as we speak.

Dave would write about in person collecting at Wrigley Field and the Chicago area long before he became known as a 'Jersey Guy'. I believe he also put out sale lists or advertised in SCD. I seem to recall there may have been some shenigans later, but have no proof so I will not relate any anecdotal information.

Thanks, I didn't realize Dave was autographs as well. I think his game used jersey column was called "The Shirt off My Back"

Yeah Dave did both

As a teen IP collector, I wrote him a letter about getting the notoriously difficult Al Lopez autograph in person. He wrote me a wonderful response back, which I always appreciated.

Did you ever go to Al's house in Tampa ?
I went several times to his house and 9 out of 10 times he was in a housecoat with the AC running at about 60 degrees but he was always gracious and would sign 3 items for me . At one time he was considered a very hard autograph to get because he wouldn't do shows , but he answered mail and signed at his house. Then he started doing private signings for the National Pastime.

Another great guy was visiting Johnny van der Meer at his house . He' d always invite you in and ask if you wanted anything to drink and then he 'd sign whatever you brought him and then he'd start telling stories and pull out the memorabilia from his career . He once called Early Wynn while I was there and wanted me to go to Early's house but he was out and wouldn't be home until later .

Oh man, I remember how excited I was when I saw an ad for Lopez signing for the National Pastime. Being on the West Coast I knew I was never going to get an in person, so it was the next best thing. Sent in a ball, Perez Steele and Celebration card, all of which I still have.

At some point, Lopez grew tired of all the uninvited guests and hung a "No Autographs" sign at the front of his house.

It's one of my greatest regrets that I didn't ever manage to get down to Tampa to visit Al. Ray Berres and his wife were close friends and two of the most wonderful people I've ever known. Ray always wanted me to go to see Al and offered to call him up to ensure I'd be welcomed. I had other baseball friends who wanted me to go visit Ted Williams and offered to make the arrangements, but Lopez was the guy I truly wish I had gone to see. My reasoning at the time was that Williams had been interviewed so often, so what more was there to discuss? Lopez wasn't as interested in such matters, so I thought he'd have been a better subject. Both Williams and Lopez had multiple decades of baseball memories, but Lopez' stretched back even further, which interested me. He spanned so many glorious eras. His first big league manager was Wilbert Robinson, who made his MLB debut in 1886. Lopez went on to manage Tommy John, who retired in 1989! Robby was born during the Civil War, in 1864, and of course Tommy John is still with us. Taking us to today, that's a span of nearly 160 years with Al Lopez as the binding agent. It's just remarkable to me.

As many of you might recall, Al's coach and closest friend, Tony Cuccinello, lived on the same street. I was friendly with the Cuccinellos, also great people. I have never told anybody about this until now, but Mrs. Cuccinello was ghost signing Tony's mail requests for the last 12-18 months of his life. He had suffered a bad fall and was unable to sign. I'm sure that very few people would spend money on having Tony Cuccinello's autograph authenticated, but still have to imagine there are some authenticated Clara Cuccinello secretarials out there. You would never be able to tell the difference, she was that incredible at replicating her husband's signature. I was honestly in disbelief when she wrote me that it was her signing all the mail. If she hadn't have told me, nobody would have been the wiser. Actually, until this point nearly 30 years later, nobody has been!

One thing that helped me tremendously with getting an in with Al Lopez was that I went to the same high school as his grandsons and Al was a benefactor for the high school.
Tony Cuccinello was a great gentleman and very polite and humble . Al and Tony would play golf together at the Palma Ceia Country Club. Whenever Al was with Tony and people would approach Al for an autograph Al would always include Tony in the conversation and make sure you got Tony's autograph also .
Another ex-player in Al's circle was Manuel Onis ( he had a short but interesting career ).