Quote Originally Posted by godwulf View Post
It seems to me that if someone were genuinely concerned about their autograph being forged, they'd sign anything and everything, every chance they got and every time somebody asked - until their signature was essentially worthless as a "collectible" item. Everybody who wanted a Neil Armstrong autograph would have one, and if you didn't have one, you could pick one up for $9.99 on eBay.

As for worrying about what other people do with your autograph...again, if you want to minimize the profit motive, you increase the supply; it doesn't make any sense to refuse to sign anything, thereby vastly increasing the scarcity of your autograph, demand for same, and the motive to sell it for big bucks.
GodWulf -

While that reasoning sounds very plausible, it's actually very flawed when used in the context of a HOF player or very popular player, etc (also know as 'the exceptions to the rule')...

Examples: Mickey Mantle. I grew up in Dallas and Mantle worked the shows there in the late 80's and early 90's constantly. He has a TON of Authentic (whether Authenticated or not is another story) Autos out in the hobby. Hell, in the early 90's, local shops in Dallas bought AUTO baseballs from him by the case (12 count) and they could be found for about $35 or so... his AUTO after his death surged and has never come back down.

Nolan Ryan. Ryan has oft been quoted as saying, "I will sign anything for anybody. Then when I'm gone, the auto won't be worth anything" (paraphrased - not exact word for word quote - you get the idea). While Nolan is taking the idea you expressed and putting it into action, the fact he is a HOFer and very popular has kept his AUTOs a pretty decent value. I mean look how many cards he signs for sets - and his auto is always one of the higher $$$ ones in the set. When he is gone, his autos - just like Mantle's - while undoubtedly skyrocket.

As far as Bench, I've never met the man - but I've heard conflicting stories - and I have been on the end of good and bad autograph stories myself while having friends tell me of completely opposite tales of their meetings with the same people I had experiences with.

And yes, it is generally the decision of the store owner/signing rep/etc to determine what can or cannot be signed at a specific event, although somes places do leave it up to the athlete.

Case in point - Matt Holliday was signing at Listen Up about a week and half ago on behalf of Sharp TV and they had special Topps cards made up for the signing. The 'handlers' said that the cards were what were supposed to be signed, but if Matt agreed to sign other items, they would allow it. Matt signed balls, bats, etc and even inscribed (he had already signed) my 2007 GU WS Hat - and verified it was the ONLY one he wore for all 4 games of the WS. Mike Schmidt on the other hand was at an event my friend attended at a Toledo Mud Hens game and would ONLY sign the ED Medication 5x7 cards that the pharmaceutical company he was representing had made up - no balls, not bats, no baseball cards.

Ultimately, it all boils down to the athlete... this last tale happened to a friend of mine here in Denver about 14 years ago at the National when it was held here in Denver - Mickey Mantle was the BIG signer - and he took a glove that his dad had given him as a kid (a Mantle Model) for Mick to sign.

He paid his $75 signing fee to UDA (yes, Upper Deck Authenticated was 'handling' the Mick) and when he got to the table, he was informed by UD that he could NOT have his glove signed as they were considering making replica gloves for Mick to sign. NONE of this was listed/posted/etc - just a decision by the UD rep at the table - so they gave him an 8x10 to get signed for his $75. He was pretty upset, and made it very clear that he was upset and Mantle heard the whole deal. After Mick signed the picture and he was walking away, a security guard approached him and asked him to come talk to him. He thought he was in big trouble for making such a scene.

The guard told him to be at a certain elevator in the Denver Convention Center at a cetain time and not to be late. He went, the doors opened and the guard and Mantle were in the elevator. Mick asked him to come in, apologized for the BS he had to go through from UD and signed his mitt and dropped him off at the next floor. That is a class act!

I always like reading people's interactions with players and I will add some more of my own later...

All the best -

Chris