Roberto Clemente Signature "Bob"

[EddieP]

Double post

[ALBB]

Yea, after looking at that sig again.. its looks like a lot more then just - b-o-b,..I think a rushed scribbled Roberto

[cgjackson222]

I'm pretty unconvinced by all of the supposed "Bob" Clemente signatures.

I think its pretty easy to forge a signature, and the memorabilia world is rife with fakes that have been identified as authentic by the "experts".

I am also unconvinced by the 1967 Topps card's supposed "Bob" Clemente signature. We are talking about a company that routinely airbrushed and tampered with photographs. At least one person doesn't even think it says Bob, but rather "Rob" which adds another wrinkle.

I am also unconvinced that Topps was overtly racist or had malevolent intentions in calling him Bob. On the back of both the '57 and '62 cards, for instance, he is referred to as Roberto. I think Topps calling him Bob was probably a sloppy oversight.

What we can say for certain, is that he unequivocally told the Press in 1955 that he wanted to be called Roberto Clemente (see post#34). Whether that changed later in his life, we may never know for sure.

[AndrewJerome]

This is a very interesting topic. The Topps usage and changes over time especially. Why would Topps unilaterally make the change to Bob without asking him? And why was the change made to Bob in the first place if no one called him Bob? Surely if he asked for a change back to Roberto, Topps would have made the change for him, right? Certainly for the year after he requested the change. Why would Topps refuse to use the name he wanted? I don’t buy the idea that he allowed “Bob” just so he had a card. There would be a card of him every year either way, why not have it be the name he wanted? And why was the change made to Bob in the first place if no one called him Bob? That’s the part I’m confused about. Some random, rogue Topps employee doing this and having it stick for years doesn’t logically make any sense.

On the flip side, no one calls me Andy, always Andrew my whole life. If I had a card, and it said Andy on it, my initial thought (now) would be like you gotta change that thing asap. Like yesterday. However, when I was a young kid 15 1/2 working my first job, they made a shirt for me that said “Andy” on it. They didn’t ask me, just printed it that way. And I wore it that way the entire time I worked there because I thought it was funny. So who knows!

I guess the threshold question to answer is: as a general matter, do we know what power players had over what exact name was put on a Topps card? And are there other players whose name/nickname changed on the front of their cards over the course of their Topps run?

[EddieP]

Originally Posted by AndrewJerome

And are there other players whose name/nickname changed on the front of their cards over the course of their Topps run?

Dick Allen. When he came up the Phillies called him “Richie” to make him less threatening. Allen hated that name. But his cards from 1964-70 had either “ Richie” or “Rich”.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Someone already mentioned Albert/Joey Belle. Topps decided to use "Rock Raines" on Tim's cards, but I want to say that was only for one year.

Tony Oliva was Pedro on his RC. There have been many others.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Ironically or not, Roberto, Bobby, and Bob Avila all appeared on different cards. Topps used Bobby. Bowman and Red Man used Roberto.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by AndrewJerome

And are there other players whose name/nickname changed on the front of their cards over the course of their Topps run?

This guy:

[Peter_Spaeth]

David Ortiz' LAST name changed.

[JollyElm]

George/Jorge Orta. I actually wrote to Topps thinking I found another incredible variation. Alas...