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 ...

I have Reggie Jackson to thank for a recent personal epiphany. A few people before it was my turn to get an autograph last Saturday, a man had to wait as Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson put pepper on the sandwich he was eating. I snapped this cell phone picture of MLB Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson April 11 at a signing in the Twin Cities. I’d hoped to capture him signing my bat, but I failed and got him looking at me to silently ask where I wanted him to sign the bat. When it was my turn to get his autograph at the Sportsnews Production Show on April 11 at the Earl Brown Center in Brooklyn Center, I took out my phone to get a photo of the hall of fame outfielder known as Mr. October signing my bat. I looked up to see him staring at me and pointing at the bat with a look of “Where do you want me to sign this?” Without saying a word, he kept pointing until I picked ...

By Tony Henderson Tony Weightman reckons there are around 3,000 autographs in his collection which will be sold by Anderson & Garland in Newcastle Tony Weightman (left), a spiked trainer worn by Jonathan Edwards (top) and Elton John's tracksuit (bottom) The haul from years of tracking down celebrity signatures by a North East businessman will be auctioned on Tuesday. Tony Weightman reckons there are around 3,000 autographs in his collection which will be sold by Anderson & Garland in Newcastle. He runs management development consultancy Weightman Associates, based in Gosforth in Newcastle, and has gathered signatures during his worldwide travels for work and sporting events. His business career has seen him work for Procter & Gamble, Unilever and at director level for Scottish and Newcastle Breweries. “My first autograph was Mohammed Ali and that started me off. I had idolised him when I was a kid,” said Tony. ...

Sad to hear about the loss of golfer, Charlie Sifford.  I will always remember meeting him - a really cool guy.   (CNN) Charlie Sifford, the first African-American to play on the PGA Tour, died Tuesday at age 92, the Professional Golfers' Association of America said. "His love of golf, despite many barriers in his path, strengthened him as he became a beacon for diversity in our game," PGA of America President Derek Sprague said in a statement. "By his courage, Dr. Sifford inspired others to follow their dreams. ... Golf was fortunate to have had this exceptional American in our midst." Sifford was called the Jackie Robinson of golf for breaking the color barrier in 1961 when he was 38 years old. "I wanted to prove that a black man could play golf," he told   CNN affiliate WEWS   after he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in November. His son told the station that his father was advised by Robinson to use his smooth sw...

Celebrity autographs are big business, bought and sold for hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars.  An Illinois man started collecting autographs of athletes and movie stars as a kid. And 43 years later, he’s still going strong. “Hi, I’m Marty Peters. I’m from Coal City, Illinois, and I am an autograph collector. (Marty opens a photo album)  This is what I call my beginning for my autographs. I’ve been a sports nut my whole life. (Marty holds up Bill Melton’s picture)  “This is Bill Melton, 3 rd baseman for the Chicago White Sox. This woulda been back in 1971. It was my very first autograph that I ever got.  I have, give or take a few, right around the 30,000 mark. That bin right there I completely forgot I had. You wouldn’t believe what they’re going for on E-bay. My cousin, Rick Roseland, he collected autographs for many years.  He’s 15 years older than me, and at 6 years old he got me started on doing this.” “I’m Rick Roseland, Coal City...

I had the pleasure of meeting Hall of Famer Ernie Banks, AKA "Mr. Cub" and getting his autograph.  It was something I will never forget. RIP Ernie Banks Ernie Banks' family has announced that the Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer died after suffering a heart attack. Banks, a two-time National League MVP who spent his entire major league career with the Cubs, died Friday at age 83. "Let's play two!" the late Ernie Banks was fond of saying. And he'd have happily played three or more games per day if he could. Nobody represented his city or team more joyously, or more admirably, than Mr. Cub did. Ernie Banks died Friday at age 83, Michael Wilbon writes . The cause of his death was not announced until Sunday, when family attorney Mark Bogen revealed at a news conference that Banks died from the heart attack just seven days before his 84th birthday. Banks' wife, Liz Banks, also was in attendance. "It is certainly a sad day f...

My greatest brush with greatness came on April 12, 1987, while attending my first Chicago Bulls game. There was a special promotion where you could have your picture taken with your favorite player before the game. Of course, this is well before the team's championship years, when there was only one player with whom anyone wanted to have his picture taken -- Michael Jordan. The Cliff's Notes version of the story has me waiting in line for two hours and thankfully getting shuffled into Jordan's line. The Polaroid photograph of a gangly 16-year-old me and His Airness sitting on a table on the baseline at the old Chicago Stadium is one of my most prized possessions. It would be one of the first things I would grab if my house caught fire. In the wake of meeting my idol, all anyone asked was whether I got his autograph. Why in the world would I need Jordan's autograph? I had photographic evidence that I met him. For some, collecting autographs ...

To order my book Autograph Hell, please click HERE For more information about my Summit Murder Mystery series, please  CLICK HERE Order my newest book Murder on Kilimanjaro by clicking  HERE Follow me on twitter,  HERE 'Like' my Facebook page,  HERE Subscribe to my YouTube channel,  HERE  and  HERE

For years, Scott Smith had tried to find the woman who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on Oct. 17, 1960. Model Dolores Greer died last month. The search for a Los Angeles woman who 53 years ago was a Sports Illustrated cover girl has ended sadly for a collector of autographs from cover subjects. Model Dolores Greer, 81, died last month on the same day that cover autograph collector Scott Smith was being interviewed by The Times. Greer's obituary appeared in Sunday's Times. The saga of Smith's search for the model who illustrated the magazine's Oct. 17, 1960, cover story on the "new look in sports clothes" has spanned more than three decades. The retired New Jersey investment banker and corporate debt specialist has collected the signatures of 4,413 individuals who have been featured on 2,913 of the sports magazine's covers. He figures he has the autographs of 95% of all cover subjects. Tuesday's s...

 Here is another autographed photo from my collection! Edward "Eddie" McKay Cheever, Jr. is an American racing driver who raced for almost thirty years in Formula One, Sports cars, CART and the Indy Racing League. Cheever participated in 143 World Championship Formula One races and started 132, more than any other American, driving for nine different teams from 1978 through 1989. In 1997, he formed his own IRL team and won the 1998 Indianapolis 500 as both owner and driver. The team now competes in sports cars. For more information about my Summit Murder Mystery series, please  CLICK HERE Order my newest book Murder on Kilimanjaro by clicking  HERE Order my book Autograph Hell by clicking  HERE Follow me on twitter,  HERE 'Like' my Facebook page,  HERE Subscribe to my YouTube channel,  HERE  and  HERE  

Really neat article worth sharing! 10 things you might not know about signatures When Chicago author Nelson Algren -- shown at his West Town home in 1947 -- signed his autograph, he liked to include a drawing of a cat. ( Tribune / October 22 , 1999 )   Jack Lew, nominated for...

Hi Everyone!  I've enjoyed the feedback from all of you regarding my celebrity picture collection!  I'm glad you are enjoying my pictures and so here is another one for you.  This is actor Gary Busey and I. Gary Busey is a film and stage actor and artist.  He has appeared in a variety of films most notably in the 1980s and 1990s in major action releases Lethal Weapon , Point Break and Under Siege .  Busey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1978 for his role in The Buddy Holly Story . For more information about my Summit Murder Mystery series, please  CLICK HERE Order my newest book Murder on Kilimanjaro by clicking  HERE Order my book Autograph Hell by clicking  HERE Follow me on twitter,  HERE 'Like' my Facebook page,  HERE Subscribe to my YouTube channel,  HERE  and  HERE