Who Are The Pioneers Of The Baseball Autograph Hobby?

prewarsports · #1 02-20-2018, 04:28 PM

Basically collecting baseball autographs did not exist until the mid-late 1920's. It emerged as a hobby in the early 1930's and expanded in 1932 when the Watermans fountain pen company gave away free books to kids all across America and gave them instructions on collecting signatures as a hobby. After that contest, it really took off!

One of the guys who posts here from time to time, Tom Hufford, is one of the pioneers of the hobby and his stories are absolutely amazing and go back to the 1960's. He was a co-founder of SABR and literally has a story about every single ballplayer I have ever mentioned to him. I have told him he needs to write a book, but that thing would be bigger than the baseball encyclopedia. I dont think anybody has been bigger in the hobby for as long as he has.

Rhys

tazdmb · #2 02-20-2018, 07:01 PM

Here is an article about King Kelly signing baseballs in the 1890s

http://blog.robertedwardauctions.com/?p=725

tazdmb · #3 02-20-2018, 07:08 PM

I also have seen many GPC from a Collector named Nate Mindel from the late 20s/early 30s. I have never seen a GPC dated earlier specifically just for collecting a sports autograph. The collection has since been broken up.

dgo71 · #4 02-20-2018, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tazdmb

Here is an article about King Kelly signing baseballs in the 1890s

http://blog.robertedwardauctions.com/?p=725

10 cents for King Kelly....

slidekellyslide · #5 02-20-2018, 11:13 PM

Great info fellas. Thank you.

Griffins · #6 02-21-2018, 01:33 AM

In the early 70's, when The Trader Speaks was the monthly journal, and SCD was just starting Max Schrager was the big autograph dealer. He had a monthly article and was at every Anaheim Convention. The ones named above were obviously before him, but he was probably the first big dealer when the hobby was starting to really explode.

Scott Garner · #7 02-21-2018, 04:46 AM

I would also throw Dr. CG Steen into this category.
Somewhere on net54 there is a terrific entire thread on Dr. Steen, who was a dentist that, during the 1930's and early 1940's, would write to players asking for them to sign a Baseball Magazine supplement featuring the player.
Here is my Vandy response letter and signed supplement, that I own thanks to others on net54.

I can't imagine a conversation about collecting autographs without mentioning Jeff Morey, that I believe is still alive. Definitely an autograph pioneer and he is the author of a publication called The Autograph Review on collecting autographs. He amassed one of the largest collections in the hobby before selling it a number of years ago.

BTW, Jim Stinson would be a great one to answer this question, if we could get him to weigh in.

vintagechris · #8 02-21-2018, 06:36 AM

Conrad Anderson. Undoubtedly spent hours and hours sending autograph requests starting in as early as the 50's and maybe sooner. Sent large quantities of items to players over and over and over and over and over.

If you run across earlier items that are signed to Conrad or Connie, they most likely originated from him. He had to be one of the first big time dealers and you can find his ads in old SCD's. If anyone is interested, I can try to dig up an old SCD ad and post it so people can see his prices and the type of players he had.

T206Collector · #9 02-22-2018, 02:38 PM

I am happy to report that Jeff Morey is still alive and well. You can listen to an audio recording of an interview I did with him 10 years ago on my website at:

http://www.signedt206.com/jw-morey-interview/

The focus was his experiences getting deadball era baseball cards signed by players. Among other things in this 30-minute interview, Morey described his visit with old time New York Giant pitcher Hooks Wiltse in 1954 and his encounter six years later with Ty Cobb in Cooperstown, New York. I share a few images of items Morey had Cobb sign over breakfast in Cooperstown on June 27, 1960.

Many of my signed T205 and T206 cards come from Morey's old collection, which he sold on Mastro back in 2001.

There are a few Steen related threads on Net54, but the primary one that followed the sale of his collection a few years ago is here:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthr...ighlight=steen

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