Quincy Trouppe, Star Catcher. Auto help?

[AstroJake09]

Hi all,

I recently came across a signature described as being that of famed Negro League catcher, Quincy Trouppe. It is a signed postcard dated May 10, 1952 and postmarked from Cleveland, Ohio. Interestingly, Trouppe played in three MLB games for the Indians in 1952, his only stint in the big leagues. The last game of his career in which he recorded his only hit, was on May 10, 1952. If genuine, this would be a remarkable piece from Trouppe's short carrer in the MLB. The issues that stand out are the fact that unlike most Trouppe signatures, which flow quite nicely and exhibit curves, this one is sharp and jagged. I could only find one example, dated from the same year (1952), In an Indiapolis Indans autograph/scorebook signed by the entire team, including Trouppe. The two signatures are nearly identical. Another issue is that by this time Trouppe had been spelling his name with an added 'p', Troupe to Trouppe, and had been doing so since 1946 when playing in the Mexican League. The signature on the postcard is spelled Troupe with one 'p' as is the identical one in the Indians program. So I am left to wonder if it is authentic? Being that Trouppe only spent a month in the MLB, I doubt that they would have a clubhouse boy or secretary sign his name but I could be wrong. Any and all opinions welcomed!

[mr2686]

Honestly, not sure. You've shown two as one style and I've seen at least 3 that was the other style. What I can tell you is that the person it was addressed to was a big name in the hobby. Here's a link to a cool story.
http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=151976

[Tom Hufford]

I'm not going to comment on the Quincy Troup(p)e signatures, since I don't have mine close at hand right now - but I'll just mention a couple of interesting things.

Quincy Trouppe, the 1952 Major Leaguer, spelled his last name with one p - Troupe, like his family had spelled it for many generations. As late as the 1900 census, though, they didn't use an e on the end - it was just Troup. Somewhere along the line, Quincy added an "e" on the end - Troupe, and in 1946 he added a second "p" - Trouppe. According to his self-published 1977 autobiography,"Twenty Years Too Late," that was because he had played six years in Latin America, and the Mexican fans pronounced his name "Troo-pay."

A much shorter, but excellent biography of Quincy Trouppe can be found in the Bioproject section of the SABR website.

Then, there is another Quincy Troupe (one p) who is the ballplayer's son. Although the Internet Movie Database says he was born in New York City in 1943, he was most likely born in St. Louis in 1939. He is a poet, co-wrote (with Chris Gardner) the book "The Pursuit of Happyness" which was the basis for the Will Smith movie of the same name, and he was the first Poet Laureate for the State of California. but he resigned that position when it was learned that he had never graduated from Grambling University, as he had claimed. Much more can be found about Quincy Troupe, Jr. by doing an internet search.

In short, both Quincy Sr. and Quincy Jr. used the "Troupe" spelling, but Sr. used "Trouppe" after 1946.

[rhettyeakley]

I have one as well and it is pretty consistent with your example so I am pretty sure there is no issues with yours...