Classic Productions?

[jerseygary]

My mother just passed away and I am back in New Jersey going through her things. My mom was a huge Cal Ripken fan because I designed the graphics at Oriole Park when it was built. As a Christmas gift I obtained an autographed ball from a connection in the Orioles front office and that turned out to be one of the best Christmas gifts I ever gave someone. It sat on a bookshelf in the living room for years and I came across it again yesterday.

Rawlings MLB baseball signed on the sweetspot. I don't collect autographs but from wandering around Net54 I know the COA that came with it has a good chance of being garbage. The company is called "Classic Productions" and says it was signed in their presence and the sticker on the paper is 10576.

Don't really care too much if it is fake of not, it was free and my mom didn't know the difference, it just made her happy. I'm not a Ripken fan at all and I'd like to pass it on, but if it's fake I will destroy it (or most likely play catch with it!).

I don't have a camera on me but the main thing I need to know is if the COA is from a reputable company. If it is I'll did deeper and post pictures, if not, I guess I'll go out in the yard and see if my curve still has anything on it.

[jgmp123]

I have never heard of that company and cannot find any info on them doing a signing with Ripken.

[drc]

I have no knowledge that they are related but there was a company named Classic that produced sports cards in the 1990s and they had autographed insert cards of folks like Shaquille Oneal and Alex Rodriguez.

[drc]

Just looked and the company name was Classic Games, Inc and they were a subsidiary of Scoreboard.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by drc

Just looked and the company name was Classic Games, Inc and they were a subsidiary of Scoreboard.

Yes. I think Gary is referring to "Classic" which was owned by Kenny Goldin. He had autograph contracts with everyone back then.

[jerseygary]

So this may be a good ball? After reading all the bad stories over the years I figured it was probably bad since I didn't see him sign it in person! Thanks for all the input, I couldn't find a thing about this company.

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

Yes. I think Gary is referring to "Classic" which was owned by Kenny Goldin. He had autograph contracts with everyone back then.

yes, but they idn't affix stickers to anything; I'm thinking this is an entirely different company

[jerseygary]

the sticker with the number on it is on the COA paper that came with it, not on the ball.

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by jerseygary

the sticker with the number on it is on the COA paper that came with it, not on the ball.

Common practice for Kenny and team back then.

[jerseygary]

I read a thread a while back that the ol' "working class hero" Ripken has lawyers that pull his autograph from ebay, is that still true? Like I said, I'm not a Ripken fan and want to get rid of this in the near future but don't want my auction cancelled by him.

[drc]

Goldin was, and perhaps still is, the autograph/memorabilia agent for Ripken, so if the ball is from him it would be legitimate. Though we haven't cleared up that Classic Productions is Goldin's company.

Though I think there's a strong chance your COA is a Goldin/Sore Board thing. I say this because Score Board was a major multi million dollar company and they would not have been willing to let someone else use the Classic name to hawk baseball autographs. That Godin at one time was Ripken's rep only it that more likely.

The kicker would if there was an address on the COA. Score Board and Goldin were out of Cherry Hills New Jersey I believe.

[roarfrom34]

Originally Posted by jerseygary

I read a thread a while back that the ol' "working class hero" Ripken has lawyers that pull his autograph from ebay, is that still true? Like I said, I'm not a Ripken fan and want to get rid of this in the near future but don't want my auction cancelled by him.

they pull only the forgeries

[Plinvestments]

This sure sounds like a Scoreboard item. Ripken was Ken Goldin's biggest athlete by far. Ripken probably signed 5x as many items for Ken than any athlete.

[Wymers Auction]

If you post a picture of the ball I think guys could help even more.

[jerseygary]

Thank you for all the responses to this Ripken ball question, but most of all, I really appreciate the nice messages I received from Net54ers about my Mom's passing. To say I was touched would be an understatement.

I finally got home and was able to take some pictures of the ball with the COA. If you can't make it out, the sticker on the ball matches the sticker on the cert. If indeed this thing is original, any idea what it would go for? I don't collect signatures that I didn't get in person or need a metallic sticker and certificate to go with it, so I would like to put it on ebay or here in the BST section.

[Plinvestments]

I'm sorry to disappoint you but this is definitely not from Ken Goldin, Classic, or Scoreboard.

The auto itself seems bad. Ripken's signature has evolved over the years and he almost never signs his full name. In the examples I've seen, the last name looks nothing like what you've posted. The p and k are discernible. In yours, the k looks like it is before the p. The i is also very distinct with a definitive point. Lastly, there is almost always a lean in the j like a /. Yours is a little more vertical than I would like.

There is enough suspicion that would scare me away from this but ripken has had so many sig changes that this could be a variation.

[HOFAUTOS]

They tried to sign a vintage Ripken signature on a modern MLB baseball. LOL

[jerseygary]

No disappointment, it was free. I'm thankful for the opinions, I don't want to sell anything that could be fake.

[joed25]

Forsure fake. Sorry.

[kengoldin]

Hello All
I have joined. Yes, this is the Real ken Goldin and can be verified with Leon.
The autograph above is not authentic, and that company is NOT from a company I was affiliated with.
ALL (100%) of all ripken autographs that were ever sold by Goldin Sports came with a Cal Ripken jr #8 hologram ON THE ITEM
regards
Ken Goldin

[Leon]

Originally Posted by kengoldin

Hello All
I have joined. Yes, this is the Real ken Goldin and can be verified with Leon.
The autograph above is not authentic, and that company is NOT from a company I was affiliated with.
ALL (100%) of all ripken autographs that were ever sold by Goldin Sports came with a Cal Ripken jr #8 hologram ON THE ITEM
regards
Ken Goldin

Hi Ken
Thanks for joining and posting. On this forum there won't be anyone impersonating anyone else. Per the rules you can remain private unless you get into an argument or want to give an opinion of someone or a business. Then your first and last name has to be in your post. You will never have to worry about that as your user id is your name....See ya round here ...

[Deertick]

Originally Posted by kengoldin

Hello All
I have joined. Yes, this is the Real ken Goldin and can be verified with Leon.
The autograph above is not authentic, and that company is NOT from a company I was affiliated with.
ALL (100%) of all ripken autographs that were ever sold by Goldin Sports came with a Cal Ripken jr #8 hologram ON THE ITEM
regards
Ken Goldin

Welcome, Ken! Glad to have your expertise on here. As your 2nd order of business, can you look at the My Favorite Players thread and give us a little history on that?

[RichardSimon]

I know obviously that Ripken is alive and well but I wanted to add that none of Kenny's autographs came from the grave.

[kengoldin]

Hi Richard! and yes Derrtick, I will try to search that in next day or so and comment.
if you want to PM me with a link to it to save me time, feel free as I am just learning this site

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by jerseygary

I obtained an autographed ball from a connection in the Orioles front office

If it's been established that the signature is a fake, I wonder just how good the Orioles front office "connection" was.

[jerseygary]

The connection was a girl I knew who was an intern at the time. No idea how she came across it and since it was free, don't really care, but it did make my Mom really, really happy, authentic or fake. As for the ball in question, when I play catch later this week this will be the ball I'll be using...