Great thread!!
As a younger fan/collector I would always collect the autographs of baseball players and golfers that I especially liked. With key focus players (Nolan Ryan being one) I was an admitted "stalker", getting his autograph over 100 times in person during the 1970's. That being said, I don't recall ever selling the autograph of anyone that I ever asked for a sig.
For over 11 years I worked in the restaurant business in Southern California, spending the majority of time over the last 8 years in high end food service and as a wine captain. As such, I had a tremendous opportunity to meet and take care of quite a few celebrities including major sports stars, politicians, high-ranking military, actors, comedians, etc. At times, under these circumstances, I would ask for an autograph, as long as it didn't seem too awkward.
I've certainly always enjoyed the opportunity to meet some of these people, as I've always been curious about what people are like in person. I've always viewed the autograph as a momento of this whole process. Not mission critical at this point in my life.
Some of you know that I collect the autographs of all pitchers that have thrown no-hitters and perfect games dating back to 1893 (first year that the mound distance became the 60' 6" standard). Obviously, many of these players were so early that I never had a chance to meet the great majority of them.
The amount of time which this project spans has provided a tremendous challenge as many of these 280+ players died long before autograph collecting became popular. Being a completionist collector is an obsession, for sure. This is one project that I most likely will never finish, but it's going to be a heck of a lot of fun trying!
Vincent Hecksel (HexsHeroes) eloquently mentioned in an earlier post on this thread, the autograph provides a link to baseball history and a sense of personal contact knowing that the player once touched the piece of paper.
I very much agree with this statement. Well said, Vincent!
