Open Letter To Lou Lampson

[Eric]

If anyone is going to the National, would you mind handing this letter to Lou?
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Dear Mr. Lampson,

My name is Eric Stangel. I'm a long time game used collector and the founder of gameusedforum.com, a place where we discuss the hobby.

Many times our discussions on the forum involve items that you have authenticated and many people have questions they'd like to ask you.

Since your COAs don't list any contact information, and the auction houses who employ you refuse to help people get in touch directly with you, I would personally like to invite you to come on the forum and answer some of these questions and participate in the discussions.

Registration is free at www.gameuseduniverse.com/store/

People spend money based on your expertise and opinion and would like to be able to discuss the techniques you use to come up with your findings.

I would have approached you to talk about this in person, but the National Convention coincides with a trip I am taking out of the country.

I have made attempts to speak with you in the past- I have called telephone numbers and written to you at an email address provided to me by prominent members of the hobby and have never gotten a response.

If you would like to get in touch with me, I am always available at ecky3@aol.com. If you would like to speak in person, email me at the address and I can give you my cell number.

Every other hobby authenticator has managed to make themselves available to answer questions and I would ask you to do the same.

Thank you and I hope to hear from you
Eric Stangel
founder gameusedforum.com

[sarahsdad]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

Eric:
Great idea. Unfortunately without a subpoena attached to it I am not sure you will have much luck. A for effort though!
Sarahsdad

[Jason]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

Has anyone actually verified if this guy actually exists?

If he's going to be at the National, maybe they just meant a cardboard cutout of a human silhouette with "Lou Lampson" written in sharpie on it will be there.

[Vintagedeputy]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

I think "Lou Lampson" is CIA-speak for "not a real person"

[Eric]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

You guys are making jokes about this, but I'm being serious. Will someone take this letter to Lampson?

Thanks
Eric

[gamehawk]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

Eric,
I hear you buddy, I have been trying to get ahold of the caped crusader for awhile now regarding his "LOA's" and MANY answers to questions I have regarding his work!

Best of luck with this. However, it will probably not get you anywhere except maybe someone affiliated with Lampson will contact you. My guess would be a lacky from American Memorabilia saying that Lampson is a very busy man who even they only see once and awhile That was the petty responses I got twice about 6 months and a year ago. I even emailed his company "25% Authentic" to no avail.

By the way, if someone does happen to call from AMI, ask them if they are wearing a Willie Mays Gamer or Macho Man Ring Worn Jacket while they are talking to you!

-LD

[b.heagy]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

Eric,
Jim, Chris, Mike and Rob are going to the National.

[dcrules01]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

Not being funny but does he really exist?It baffles me to no end how a guy can have his name stamped on so many game used jerseys that he authenticated but no one has ever met him or seen a picture even spoken to him.

[earlywynnfan]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

Yes, he does exist. I talked to him for a while at the last National.

Ken

[harpt]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

A year or two ago SCD ran articles with his picture. I can't remember if he wrote the articles or if they were about him (or both)...but his picture was always present.

[fridgefan]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

I saw him once -- at Dinky Donuts with Joe Dimaggio.

[aeneas01]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

the more i read about lampson the more i'm convinced that he's simply not in the "answering questions" business - frankly, he seems to be more in the "here's my opinion, take it or leave it" business.

i noticed that american memorabilia states that lampson "...has an astonishing 8,000 plus uniform-related photos in his reference library." while this number of photos may have been rather impressive 10 years ago, today anyone with the slightest interest in the hobby can amass twice as much inside of a week given the net's ever increasing resources - heck, i've accumulated well over 10,000 football helmet related photos alone.

i have to believe that the emergence of the intenet has been an authenticator's worst nightmare, especially considering just how ridiculously limited a collector's resources must have been not too long ago. i mean just how many second opinion options did collectors have 10+ years ago?

but i guess i should consider myself lucky, considering some of these posts, that lampson did recently respond to a question i had - albeit through mastro. but, i have to tell ya, if what i got from him was a typical example of his expert opinion then i would just assume not hear from him....

[aeneas01]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

A year or two ago SCD ran articles with his picture. I can't remember if he wrote the articles or if they were about him (or both)...but his picture was always present.

http://www.100percentauthentic.com/Authenticators.asp

[Eric]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

What was the analysis you got from Lampson (by way of Mastro)? What was your question? What was your answer?

the more i read about lampson the more i'm convinced that he's simply not in the "answering questions" business - frankly, he seems to be more in the "here's my opinion, take it or leave it" business.

i noticed that american memorabilia states that lampson "...has an astonishing 8,000 plus uniform-related photos in his reference library." while this number of photos may have been rather impressive 10 years ago, today anyone with the slightest interest in the hobby can amass twice as much inside of a week given the net's ever increasing resources - heck, i've accumulated well over 10,000 football helmet related photos alone.

i have to believe that the emergence of the intenet has been an authenticator's worst nightmare, especially considering just how ridiculously limited a collector's resources must have been not too long ago. i mean just how many second opinion options did collectors have 10+ years ago?

but i guess i should consider myself lucky, considering some of these posts, that lampson did recently respond to a question i had - albeit through mastro. but, i have to tell ya, if what i got from him was a typical example of his expert opinion then i would just assume not hear from him....

[aeneas01]

Re: Open Letter To Lou Lampson

i had a few questions regarding a dick butkus helmet currently listed by mastro - i emailed my questions to mastro and was told they would have to contact lampson for the answers. fwiw mastro was very prompt in answering my 3-4 emails.

a little background: because i was so interested in this lid, i contacted dick butkus through his website asking if he would please take a look at the helmet. the very next day i received a reply from mr. butkus stating that he was "bothered" by how the helmet was marked on inside. consequently i forwarded this to mastro, along with a couple of other questions, and that's when i was told by mastro that lampson would have to field the questions.

here's the exchange:

me:

...what can you tell me regarding the helmet's provenance - did you obtain it from a collector or directly from the bears? have you consulted with mr. butkus regarding the helmet's authenticity? because of my sincere interest in obtaining this item, i contatced mr. butkus for his opinion through his personal website (mounted memories) - i linked to your auction so that he could review the item. i received the following response:

======================

Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 8:50 AM
Subject: RE: Dick Butkus Web Contact

Robert-Here is Mr. Butkus response.

I would tell him what bothers me is where the "51" is located. I don't remember it being under the webbing.

Thanks
Becky Batista
Mounted Memories
954-742-8544

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needless to say jim, it would have been very nice if mr. butkus had responded with a resounding vote of confidence regarding this helmet - perhaps something along the lines of: "yes, i can tell you with a great deal of confidence that this helmet appears to be one that i wore when i played with the bears, i see nothing that would cause me to believe otherwise". especially given the potential amount of money involved. so if you could provide me with any information regarding the helmet's provenance, it would be greatly appreciated.

mastro:

Lou Lampson provides the LOA on this lot and we are going to have him contact you about this lot.
Jim

me:

thank you very much - i look forward to hearing from lou lampson.

mastro:

Lou Lampson has been contacted and Responses to your two open questions are listed below. A modification will also be made to the internet write that will help address the provenance. The modification will be made within next few hours. Hope this follow up helps and Good Luck. Jim

note: the italicized sections below are what i sent to mastro which lampson quoted and replied to.

1) "looking at one of the photos it appears that a faint number "7" can be made out on the large crown webbing towards the rear of the helmet - can you make out any additional numbers next to the seven (i.e., 3/8, 1/2, etc.?"

We looked at the helmet and we can not make out the additional numbers with any certainty.

2) "I would tell him what bothers me is where the "51" is located. I don't remember it being under the webbing."

This is in fact where the 51 is located. We can't change that fact.

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when i first asked about the helmet size i was told by mastro (and lampson?) that no size information was present in or on the helmet - this was particularly disconcerting given the clear photo evidence in the auction ad to the contrary. in question 1 (above) i pointed out where the size "7" was clearly visible/marked and asked if they could make out the other numbers.

as far as question 2 is concerned, i told mastro that i found lampson's response ("This is in fact where the 51 is located. We can't change that fact.") to mr. butkus's observations to be both dismissive and defensive. further, i pointed out that the person that made these observations just happened to be the hall of fame player who is supposed to have worn this very helmet and, as such, i found lampson's response to be rather disrespectful and of no help at all.

fwiw, i found it interesting that lampson referred to "we" when he responded to my questions - something which i should have asked mastro about. so what's the deal - when a loa carries lampson's sig is it actually a collaborative assessment? and, if so, would lampson sign off on an item without looking at it if one of his collaborators deemed it authentic? call me crazy, but i was under the impression that when a loa was signed by lampson it meant lampson - not "we".