Autographs

Gavvy Cravath

Gavvy Cravath

Moderator Emeritus
#1
#1
I stopped by the Roosevelt Field Mall last Saturday, September 9th, with the new gf. After dropping 120 at Bebe Sport and another 30 at the "rocker/punk" clothing store upstairs, I was ready to go.

We walked passed the sports memorabilia store, Hall of Heroes (I think it's called). I like going in there to check out some of the old pictures of Billy Smith, Dave Langevin, Doug Flynn, etc. I saw a bunch of kids with Met jerseys on milling about. The mall was not due to close for a few hours, but HOH closed it's gate. I peered in and who was there? None other than Carlos Beltran, who had played in a game earlier in the day.

Curiosity got the best of me and I asked a kid what the autograph went for. He said 125. I couldn't believe it.

I have a lot of questions:

1 ~ Would any of you guys pay for an autograph?
(I would never.)

2 ~ How much $ did Beltran make at the signing?
(The guy got there at tops 5PM. The doors closed at 7PM. How many autographs could he have signed?)

3 ~ What percentage does the store take?

4 ~ Do any of you guys get a kick out of asking guys for their autographs?

I would never ask a guy for an autograph. Just not my scene.

Gavy
 
R

robnotbob

#2
#2
I have.

Most of these guys get (from the sessions I've run) a set fee that covers time. So for example, Beltran may get $25,000 for a two hour session. Doesn't matter if two people show or 200. The store sells photos and balls and bats for him to sign. So the store charges $11 for a ball, plus the $125 for the signature. They get it all.
 
R

robnotbob

#3
#3
It's also more (probably not in this case) to sign a ball or bat than a picture or "flat". Like I said before, for a premium signing like that, they're not going to allow someone to bring their own ball..they might allow someone to bring a 2006 Met poster for example if the guy has Loduca, Reyes, Wright, etc and the guy is a collector. They're also not going to allow a guy to get 30 balls signed) cause they assume it's not just for him..the guy is gonna turn around and sell them)
 
O

Ozzy

#5
#5
The problem with sports memorabilia is that it's est price is worth shit. It's only worth what some other fool will pay you for it.

Funny but I have a 1947 brooklyn Dodger yearbook issued the week Robinson was called up and there's an insert bio on him glued to the center. It's supposed to be the rarest of the rare cause it was only with that insert for a week..... It's in near mint cond and it was last estimated the same year that baseball retired his number so it should have been at a peak.... I was told by several sources no more than 100-140. I put it on e-bay a year or two later just for the fuck of it with a high reserve ($1500) cause I didn't want to part with it and I saw offers in the 800 range and that was just one day before I pulled the auction.

Basically unless you luck out and stumble on a private collector and you have something they want... you can't sell shit for the prices you're told it's worth.
 
Last edited:
paulbunyon

paulbunyon

#6
#6
I guess I just don't get the high-paid, modern athlete who does these appearances. I can see the old, retired athlete hard up for the money doing them but, geez, what does Beltran make a year? 15-17 million, something like that. I admit, $25,000 or whatever they get is a lot to me but to those guys its just chump change. I just don't get them, have a little couth guys.
 
D

donquixote04

#7
#7
paulbunyon said:
... what does Beltran make a year? 15-17 million, something like that. I admit, $25,000 or whatever they get is a lot to me but to those guys its just chump change ...
Click to expand...
But $17 million a year works out to about $8,500 an hour. If they give him $25,000 for a two-hour appearance, he's makin' time-and-a-half. Not bad for a working stiff.
 
S

scoochamenz1

#8
#8
damn, when i was a kid we used to write to the palyers at their home stadium, send them a card and a sase and hope for the best. i have shitloads of old autographed cards. the longest wait was johnny bench. had to wait over a year, but it came back!!!!!!!!! also, the day of ranger games, we would go to the hotel across the street and accost the visitng players for autographs. worked all the time. imagine a bunch of little kids chasing athletes in a hotel now? lol.
 
Gavvy Cravath

Gavvy Cravath

Moderator Emeritus
#9
#9
paulbunyon said:
I guess I just don't get the high-paid, modern athlete who does these appearances. I can see the old, retired athlete hard up for the money doing them but, geez, what does Beltran make a year? 15-17 million, something like that. I admit, $25,000 or whatever they get is a lot to me but to those guys its just chump change. I just don't get them, have a little couth guys.
Click to expand...
My old man also pointed out how none of these guys support the oldtimers who are without a decent pension. Sure, they are a dying breed, but when the 80s memorabilia scene hit full force, there were plenty of them around to be taken care of.

The modern athelete, what a bunch of pricks.

Gavy
 
LorenzoDeMedici

LorenzoDeMedici

#10
#10
before everyone gets in a tizzy about this ....
consider that you have really No Idea how much exactly these guys are getting paid & what they do with that $$$. Many of them do the appearance and directly contribute that earnings to a specific charity. While I am not saying they All do. The bttom line is You don't know??
I went to an autograph signing about 11 years ago to get signatures of some of my favorite Cowboys in NJ. All in all the day cost me ...
transportation & tolls......$25
food..............$60
paraphanalia purchased....$45
Signatures of TOM LANDRY, Troy Aikman, Charles Haley, Jay Novacek, Randy White, & Chuck Howley................$200
......
......
......
.....
.......
Spending time with my brother & my son jawing with Randy WHite, meeting Tom not long before he passed away, and the picture I'm looking at now of my boy Arm wrestliing with Charles Haley................PRICELESSSSSSS

BTW I spoke to Haley for a good 20 minutes and he was telling me that people needed to let up on Troy that day because it seemed he had an attitude. (I told him). He said that what people don't understand is that 99% of the time guys do this because
A. they have to(team PR obligations), or
B. to connect with the fans in some sort of secure environment and
C.to raise $$$ for their chosen charities.
He also said that some guys handle it better than others and that Troy was just pissed about the way the Promoters were handling things as to not allow him to get more personal. He also said that "if you wanna know who's a real prick, just look at the guy walking around with an entourage almost teasingly, and not signing jack after his 1 hr. time limit......Jerry Rice"
 
Gavvy Cravath

Gavvy Cravath

Moderator Emeritus
#11
#11
I don't know, anybody over the age of 18 that wears profession sport jerseys with other people's last names on the back is kind of strange to me. I ALWAYS shiver when I see some guy wearing a hockey or football jersey with Yzerman or Chrebet on it. Just doesn't jive with me.

I grew up around the Pirates and Mets of the early 80s; I guess because my uncle and father told me not to bother those guys made an impression on me. I'd never ask for an autograph and definitely would never pay. Think about it, paying somebody to sign a picture of themselves? Kind of sounds a little like a self-esteem issue.

No offense, Lorenzo. You are still cool in my book, just as long as you don't tell me you wear your Emmitt Smith jersey while you're banging your Indian chick.

Gavy
 
LorenzoDeMedici

LorenzoDeMedici

#12
#12
No but one time I went to see her just after playing softball and had her wear my outer baseball jersey with MY # on it. She wouldn't scream Who's the real big poppy for me though LOFL
 
C

ciscook

#14
#14
Been going to Yankee games for over 50 years, and have some decent autographs. I have a Mantle bat that he signed for me when I was 12. About 3 years ago I turned down 5k for it from someone who found out I had it. I never paid for an autograph, and never will. I think the current athletes who do this suck. I can understand the oldtimers doing this as many of them are broke and need the cash. I understand Mantle's restaurant in NYC currently has a super bowl ring for sale (don't know whose it is).
 
Last edited:
R

robnotbob

#17
#17
The older guys that do it (Kiner, Feller, Y.A. Tittle) are the most fun cause they're happy that they are remembered, happy to get a check and happy to tell wonderful stories.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top