Tough 1970's & 1980's Autographed Cards

[theshleps]

How about 1971 Lefty Phillips? Took me awhile to find one

[stewbacca]

Bob Moose
Danny Thompson (d 76)
Roberto Clemente




Tough in person:
George Hendricks
Jeff Leonard
Andy Messersmith stopped signing

Those are a few I can think of off the top of my head.

[mrmopar]

There are probably several more obscure players that set builders could share. I know the 1981 Topps Rick Anderson (Mariners rookies card) went for over a grand earlier this year. Anderson died not too long after his career ended (his life had later a turn for the worse after baseball) and the story goes the 400+ pound Anderson died with an autograph request in his hands.

[mrmopar]

I also heard directly from Ron kittle via Facebook after struggling to find it, that he only signs his 84T for a $25 donation to Indiana Sports Charities. Considering he signs for free TTM quite freely, this card might be significantly tougher depending on who was willing to spend the $25 for it.

Doug Flynn also has one like that. I think it was 86T, but that can easily be checked.

82 Fleer Garvey is another that supposedly is not signed. I saw one sell a while back (maybe by someone on this site even) that looked fake to me, but was graded/certified as real. It sold for crazy money.

[dgo71]

Gary Carter charged $25 for cards from 1984 to present, then after his HOF selection changed that to all cards. Still feel like there are a ton of cards signed by him out there but some issues might be tougher to find, such as his cards from update sets of the 90s and others that weren't as available at the time (i.e. readily found in packs).

[sbfinley]

Wish I had joined this party earlier, but I've been on a key in Florida without wifi for two weeks. Just back the other day and haven't had time to post.


Some that I track and others on the OP list:

Lyman Bostock Jr: Not terribly tough to come by and there are usually a handful on eBay if you want an example. You might have to wait for a particular year to add it two your set, but even 78's pop up occasionally. I assume he was a great signer before his death.



Joe Desa: Tough, especially on Topps. I might see one a year. His 86 Donruss seem to much easier to acquire.



Bo Diaz: Not especially tough until you get to 1987. He was a great signer TTM from what I've heard. I've added him to my early-mid 80's set for less than $30 often. 87's are tough to come by because it's the most widely collected set, but can be found. 88's don't pop up often. I've seen one authentic 89 Topps and one 1989 Fleer sold I starting watching a few years ago (didn't save a scan of them.) I've never seen a signed 1990 Topps, Donruss, or Upper Deck. I doubt they exist, save for maybe 1 or 2 examples. They only purported sale of a 1990 signed Bo Diaz I've come across is a 2011 Collect Auction signed set that included Bo Diaz and although they scanned about 30 cards for the website, they didn't seem it necessary to scan the most important card in the set which I found odd because Collect Auctions handles more signed cards and sets then any other auction house and they would have known how rare it was.


Steve Macko: Ultra rare. The heavy hitting set collectors I know always quote between 2-5 examples when they talk about it's population. I've seen one I believe is good and haven't yet seen one for sale since I started watching. This card is near impossible as Ezcano is tough too.



Win Remmerswaal: Very Rare. I think this card is in the 15-20 authentic signed examples range. It's the "famous" tough card from 81' but the Macko is tougher and Anderson w/Craig is impossible. With the those two however, you can get Martz or Biercevicz for cheap and call it a day. There is actually a Remmerswaal on eBay now that I've been debating pulling the trigger on but I'm not 100% liking it.

Authentic:

on Ebay:

Ricky Wright: Tough and expensive. Not as rare as Remmerswaal, Macko, and others, but he's jacked up because he's in 87 and when his 87's come up they get bid up. Probably the most faked tough 80's signature. I wish this guy would just do a signing already...



82 Fleer Garvey: He won't sign it. A member here bought one raw on eBay and got it slabbed a few years ago. I didn't keep a scan of the card, but I remember not liking it at the time. Could be wrong. Haven't seen one I like since I started tracking it. Probably a $1000 card 100% authentic, but I made this for less than $10. It'll work for me.



1990 Leaf Kelly Gruber: He won't sign it. Signed some for his kids. This set is becoming very popular with set collectors and will probably become the next Garvey. Haven't seen one, but also haven't been watching as I don't collect the set.

1986 Topps Doug Flynn: Doesn't sign it, except for rare occasions. He signed 5 a charity auction for $400 a pop when pressed to do so. They were the only five on the market. One of the guys who bid $400 convinced him to do more signings for that particular card at the same price (he says it wouldn't be fair to those that bid $400 if he signed for any cheaper.) So it's tough, but if you need him for your set you can get him - once a year for $400.




THE IMPOSSIBLE: 1981 Topps Rick Anderson, Greg Biercevicz, Rodney Craig: Doesn't exist that I know of completely signed. Anderson was a recluse after 81 and most know his story. Rodney Craig was a terrible signer during his career and was homeless with mental problems for a long time following his career. I've seen one authenticated example featuring Anderson and I don't like it. The legend is the former owner of the authenticated Anderson tracked down Craig and set up a signing. He showed up, freaked out, and left. Six weeks later he was dead. The owner then sold the card, I believe KO bought it for $3k +. From the only photo I've seen of the card, however, I believe either A) it was signed by former Mets/Royals Rick Anderson, or B) someone forged it in the vein of Mets/Royals Rick Anderson because they were sloppy. The original owner had an amazing collection, but the signature was so atypical I couldn't accept it. Far as I know, this card doesn't exist.

The authenticated Rick Anderson:



There are other's but I just realized it's 3:30 am here....

[vintagechris]

Anything with Steve Hovley on it is tough. Any signed stuff of him I believe is from the early 70's and they don't come around often.