Autographs from afar

[HattrickSwayze 3]

Hey guys, I have a friend who's a huge Red Wings fan with a birthday coming up, but I live in WA. Does anyone know if it's even possible to get a personalized autographed photo from a player? A simple message like "To so-and-so, all the best." I would say it's highly unlikely unless you can catch them in person, as I can't imagine you can send them an email and they'll throw one out your way.. but it's worth asking.

[RadioGaGa 162]

Hey guys, I have a friend who's a huge Red Wings fan with a birthday coming up, but I live in WA. Does anyone know if it's even possible to get a personalized autographed photo from a player? A simple message like "To so-and-so, all the best." I would say it's highly unlikely unless you can catch them in person, as I can't imagine you can send them an email and they'll throw one out your way.. but it's worth asking.

When I was a kid I mailed cards to a few players (c/o the Team address) with a nice, hand written letter asking for an autograph and a return envelope. I got cards back from 3 of the 4 I sent. Patrick Roy was one of them. Teh player I didn't get got traded shortly after I sent it...so I can only assume had he stayed where he ws I would have. All the cards appear to be hand signed...I have no reason to believe they aren't legit. Come to think of it...I should have kept doing it...I could have had a relly nice collection by now.

[badger_14 601]

Hey guys, I have a friend who's a huge Red Wings fan with a birthday coming up, but I live in WA. Does anyone know if it's even possible to get a personalized autographed photo from a player? A simple message like "To so-and-so, all the best." I would say it's highly unlikely unless you can catch them in person, as I can't imagine you can send them an email and they'll throw one out your way.. but it's worth asking.

It's certainly possible to get autographs, even personalized ones, through the mail. It does seem to depend a lot on the player, though, and it often takes a while. I can't say much about current players, since I've only gotten retired players to sign, but if you go googling for sports card/autograph sites, you can get an idea of who's a reliable signer and who isn't. What I've done for the autographs is the same as RadioGaGa - SASE, the photo or card I want signed, and a nice letter. It's definitely worth a shot.

[BobbyD9 0]

When I used to work in the theaters in NY and on Broadway in security, requests would come in quite often. Those who sent a nice hand written note with a SASE and the item they wanted signed were much more likely to get something in return, often more than they sent. Especially if it was in a child's handwriting (ie the person wasn't trying to obtain the signature to sell it). Being that actors/actresses and singers are more prima donna like than hockey players it would seem that they would be even more responsive. Best of Luck!

[Moose 1]

I'm really reaching back into the vault to revive this topics. I did the same thing as RadioGaGa only on a much larger scale. These were my hobby growing up so from my skate guard under-the-table paychecks. Some teams (NJD, TBL, Mighty Ducks, and Colorado) often sent back pre-signed pictures. A couple guys mailed back personalized ones (most notable Joe Thornton sent me a back a couple personalized during his rookie year). In all it amounted to about 200 autographs.

So as for the revival- is there even a market for hockey cards and autographs? I'm going through and looking at my autographs from guys like Paul Coffey, Doug Weight, Jagr, Bure, Modano, Brett Hull, Alfredson, Federov, Lindstrom, Yzerman and if it's worth it to try to get the, authenticated. Anyone still in the sports card circuit that can share some insight?

When I was a kid I mailed cards to a few players (c/o the Team address) with a nice, hand written letter asking for an autograph and a return envelope. I got cards back from 3 of the 4 I sent. Patrick Roy was one of them. Teh player I didn't get got traded shortly after I sent it...so I can only assume had he stayed where he ws I would have. All the cards appear to be hand signed...I have no reason to believe they aren't legit. Come to think of it...I should have kept doing it...I could have had a relly nice collection by now.

[hunterphfr 12]

I'd look on eBay for an assessment of what the going(different than the asking) rate is.

[dsjunior1388 81]

The more personal you make it, the more likely you are to recieve an autograph. Athletes and celebrities know it's a lot harder to sell something that says "To Theo, best wishes, XXX XXXXX"

[mickz 107]

I'm really reaching back into the vault to revive this topics. I did the same thing as RadioGaGa only on a much larger scale. These were my hobby growing up so from my skate guard under-the-table paychecks. Some teams (NJD, TBL, Mighty Ducks, and Colorado) often sent back pre-signed pictures. A couple guys mailed back personalized ones (most notable Joe Thornton sent me a back a couple personalized during his rookie year). In all it amounted to about 200 autographs.

So as for the revival- is there even a market for hockey cards and autographs? I'm going through and looking at my autographs from guys like Paul Coffey, Doug Weight, Jagr, Bure, Modano, Brett Hull, Alfredson, Federov, Lindstrom, Yzerman and if it's worth it to try to get the, authenticated. Anyone still in the sports card circuit that can share some insight?

Yes and no. The type of autographed cards will fetch a different crowd. The average collector may be interested in cards that were obtained TTM (through the mail) or in person but a more hardcore collector they would prefer cards that were signed straight out of the pack.

There are companies out there that provide authentication services but the price to get them done most likely won't increase your item's value enough to justify the cost.

I have been collecting autographed cards since I was a kid as well but it was always strictly personal, never sold them. Many of the "base" cards people get signed are only worth pennies and the autograph really doesn't add much value to it.