Fernando Valenzuela Secretarial?

[Scott Garner]

FWIW, I'm not sure that I agree with the observation that secretarial Fernando autographs exhibit the long tail below the signature.

When I lived in So Cal I managed to get Fernando's autograph 3 times in the wild.
For your consideration, please see the attached photo of the autograph that he signed for me at the LA Open at Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades, CA in the early-mid 1990's.

OT, so sad about the fires in LA. RIP to the 16 people that died in the fires.

I spotted Fernando and his son walking in to watch the tournament and managed to get this autograph on my golf periscope.
To say that he was a reluctant signer is the understatement of the year, but I did get it as the result of some serious begging from my close friend when I initially got rebuffed.

Note the long tales
I wouldn't necessarily subscribe to the theory that secretarial Fernando autographs were the only ones that had this characteristic.

RIP Fernando, one of the great characters in the MLB.

[homerunhitter]

This thread makes me want to focus on factory pack pulled autographs vs after market autographs.(and not TPA autographs)

[bowmanred]

Yes, there are several authentic variants of Valenzuela's signature with a tail on one of the letters in his surname.

[Kaneen]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

FWIW, I'm not sure that I agree with the observation that secretarial Fernando autographs exhibit the long tail below the signature.

When I lived in So Cal I managed to get Fernando's autograph 3 times in the wild.
For your consideration, please see the attached photo of the autograph that he signed for me at the LA Open at Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades, CA in the early-mid 1990's.

OT, so sad about the fires in LA. RIP to the 16 people that died in the fires.

I spotted Fernando and his son walking in to watch the tournament and managed to get this autograph on my golf periscope.
To say that he was a reluctant signer is the understatement of the year, but I did get it as the result of some serious begging from my close friend when I initially got rebuffed.

Note the long tales
I wouldn't necessarily subscribe to the theory that secretarial Fernando autographs were the only ones that had this characteristic.

RIP Fernando, one of the great characters in the MLB.

Hey Scott, congrats on landing that signature! I did not mean to imply that Fernando himself never drops some "tails" below the line of his signature. However, what I would point out is that when he does, the pronounced tail is typically on the "l" (next to last letter) and not on the "z." And it is typically a straight vertical line and not a long swooping curved tail. Your signature does have a slight tail on the z, but you'll notice it is a straight line. I've never seen an in person signature with the long, loopy tail on the z, and I've very rarely ever seen a TTM signature without it. Of course I haven't seen every in person signature he ever signed, so sure...there could be some anomalies or exceptions. The formation of the "F" in yours (and other confirmed IP examples) is markedly different from the TTM secretarials as well.

[Kaneen]

Here is another Fernando card I got signed in person. Note that it does have a below the line tail, but it is on the "l" and not on the "z."

[Scott Garner]

One question to the group on very early rookie autographs of Fernando.
I have what I believe to be an different early index card example of his signature, where he completely scribes Fernando, not the Fdo that you usually see.

Can others share what they believe to be a very early example of Fernando?
At this point this conversation has me wondering if my index card is a secretarial example...

Thanks in advance...

[Brent G.]

So Kevin, do you believe the PSA slabbed '86 Donruss above is not Fernando's signature?

[Kaneen]

Originally Posted by Brent G.

So Kevin, do you believe the PSA slabbed '86 Donruss above is not Fernando's signature?

Brent, unfortunately I believe that one to be a TTM version, and therefore most likely secretarial...if you look at the 2 side-by-side cards I posted above, your slabbed 86D signature matches pretty much spot-on the card on the right (which I received TTM). That's just my opinion, for whatever that's worth. From what I have witnessed, once a signature makes it into a PSA slab, the vast majority of collectors, buyers, and sellers don't really seem to care what I or anyone else thinks! Lol

[Brent G.]

Originally Posted by Kaneen

Brent, unfortunately I believe that one to be a TTM version, and therefore most likely secretarial...if you look at the 2 side-by-side cards I posted above, your slabbed 86D signature matches pretty much spot-on the card on the right (which I received TTM). That's just my opinion, for whatever that's worth. From what I have witnessed, once a signature makes it into a PSA slab, the vast majority of collectors, buyers, and sellers don't really seem to care what I or anyone else thinks! Lol

Appreciate the insight — it definitely matters to me; I’ll probably try to dump it and find the real thing.