I believe he signed/Xed the 1908 Greenville contract shortly before he got married. As his wife helped him with signatures by setting out an example for him to copy, it's possible that he was able to sign something by 1911.
However, I read that when he and his teammates went to a restaurant, he couldn't read the menu, so he would wait for everyone else to order and then choose the same as one of them. If he was that embarrassed to let his teammates know that he was illiterate, why would he let a photographer know that he needed his wife's help to sign his name? It's possible that he signed it outside of the photographer's presence, and then his wife or the photographer added the place and date (I don't believe for one second that he could have written that). But it seems that he signed his name only when he felt it was legally necessary. Why was this photo important enough for him to sign? Maybe because in his rookie year of 1911 he didn't want to disappoint his teammates and be the only one not to sign his picture. Of course all this is speculation and proves nothing other than it COULD be legit. An analysis proving that the ink has been there since 1911 would be a big positive. But with what we know now, I would hesitate to join either of the 100% sure sides.
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