Autograph Hell

Shaun Smillie The prominent pieces of the collection are the Lennon signature and the autographs The Beatles signed at their 1963 Royal Command performance. File photo Image by: GETTY IMAGES Christine got around. She hobnobbed with the stars of her day, if only briefly. But in those brief encounters, she persuaded them to append their autographs - and she did it over and over. The band The Searchers signed her book, as did Cliff Richard. John Lennon signed it twice. Christine collected those autographs more than half a century ago and next week they are expected to fetch tens of thousands of rands at auction in Johannesburg. The prominent pieces of the collection are the Lennon signature and the autographs The Beatles signed at their 1963 Royal Command performance. It was at this performance, in front of Princess Margaret, that Lennon famously remarked: "The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. And...

Michael Kahlig of Arlington scored a helmet-full of autographs in just one day. By Stefan Stevenson/Fort Worth Star-Telegram They arrive long before the bustling begins. Globe Life Park is usually still a quiet, peaceful place when the small group begins to gather on the grass by some trees at the lip of the tunnel where Texas Rangers players and officials enter a parking garage under the stadium. There, a group of diehard Rangers fans, typically no more than a dozen, all wearing team colors, sit and wait. They’re autograph seekers and there’s a group just like them at every Major League ballpark. Of course, autographs are nothing new to sports fans. Baseball players can be seen before most games signing along the first and third base lines at home or on the road. It’s part of the history of the game, one that players generally ...