The Ultimate List of Autograph Resources on the Web
My long-term mission for Autograph University is to develop the most complete educational resource for autograph collectors on the Web. I want to help you improve your autograph collection, meet celebrities and, in turn, get more enjoyment out of the hobby.
But by no means am I the only person developing autograph-related content that can help you sharpen your graphing skills. With your help, I want to create the definitive list of autograph resources on the Web to highlight everyone helping other collectors by creating, educating, and engaging. The Ultimate List of Autograph Resources on the Web is a live document that will be edited continuously through my own research and your contributions.
Know a resource that should be added? Leave a comment and tell me why it should be included (please help me out by including the full URL).
Thanks for your help!
COMMUNITY FORUMS/MESSAGE BOARDS
Autograph Magazine Live!
Community featuring discussion forums and Facebook-like social media functionality. The most active discussions center on authentication.
MarkedOut.com
This site features a series of in-person reports of celebrity encounters (primarily in NYC) and an active forum.
MMAGraphing.com
Forum and blog dedicated to mixed martial arts (MMA) autograph collecting.
On The Road With Pat Neshek Message Board
Minnesota Twins pitcher and autograph collector Pat Neshek created the board and is an active moderator. Discussions skew toward baseball autographs and memorabilia.
SportsCollectors.net
A particularly robust resource for TTM collectors, this site features an extensive database of addresses which are continuously validated by users. The site also features active forums for in-person collectors. Annual subscription costs $14.99 to access all features and content.
SportsGraphing.com
An active community of in-person and TTM collectors share their experiences and tips on this site’s forums. Annual subscription costs $9.99 to access all features and content.
Sports Card Forum
While the largest forums are dedicated to card collecting, the site features an active community of in-person and TTM autograph collectors.
BLOGS
Autographs 4 Alopecia
Ten-year old Blake is a huge baseball fan who was diagnosed with Alopecia Areata at the age of one. He and his brother Gavin donate $0.05 for each item them get autographed during the season to National Alopecia Areata Foundation. Blake chronicles their baseball adventures on this inspiring blog.
Autograph Hound’s Blah Blah Blog
In addition to blogging about his autograph adventures, Lew (a.k.a. Autograph Hound) has compiled a comprehensive listing of fan conventions and autograph-related resources.
Autographs Today
Read about this Charlotte-based autograph collector’s encounters with some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment.
Baseball By The Letters
Tom Owens—a TTM collector for nearly 40 years—chronicles his correspondence with retired professional baseball players.
Celebrity Book Signings & Events
A list of celebrity book signings in the United States.
Collecting-Autographs.info
Articles and resources about autograph collecting.
My Cubs and Bears Collection
Read about the TTM and in-person autograph adventures of Jim Mathison, a die-hard Cubs and Bears fan.
PUBLICATIONS
Autograph Magazine
Online publication featuring news and commentary about the hobby. Content tends to focus on classic entertainment and historic autographs. The site also features an active community.
Autograph Quarterly
New print publication dedicated to autographs. Minimal online content at this time.
ORGANIZATIONS
Universal Autograph Collector’s Club (UACC)
This non-profit organization is dedicated to educating collectors, producing content and hosting events on a regular basis. The UACC publishes and a quarterly journal called The Pen and Quill which is available to members as part of an annual membership which starts at $35.
UPCOMING SIGNINGS
Celebrity Book Signings & Events
A list of celebrity book signings in the United States.
FindBookSignings.com
A comprehensive list of author signings across the United States.
SigningsHotline.com
This site features a comprehensive listing of public and private signings in the U.S. and Canada. Several membership levels are available, ranging from free (access to some listings) to the DeLuxe Gold level for $29.99 (access to all listings, discounts, access to all features).
Upcoming Autograph Signings
Last year this site featured nearly 1,000 daily updates on signings across North America. Definitely worth checking out.
ADDRESS LISTS
BaseballAddresses.com
Home of Jack Smalling’s popular Baseball Autograph Collector’s Handbook.
Collins NFL Address List
Printed list of home addresses for current and former NFL players with emailed updates.
SportsAddressLists.com
Harvey Meiselman’s infamous sports address lists (updated annually).
LICENSED PHOTOS
Future Star Photos
Offers officially licensed Minor League Baseball photos.
PhotoFile
The largest selection of officially licensed sports and entertainment photos.
PHOTO PROCESSING
Adorama
Upload your pictures for high-quality prints with numerous size and finish options at low prices. Keep an eye out for their specials (e.g., 8x10s for $0.99).
For people who want to write to college athletes, this site lists addresses for all universities and colleges in the USA:
http://www.cosida.com/directory.aspx
– Type the school name into the search box and select “Organization” button
Thanks Paul, great resource for TTMers. I found that I needed to search for “Massachusetts” rather than “University of Massachusetts” to get results back (just a tip for those who try it out).
Another recommendation I have is The Bench. You can find it at TheBenchTrading.com, it’s similar to Sports Card Forum. I’m active on them both.
Matt,
Hello, my sports autograph site has now been around for 21 years and its updated each time a success arrives in the mail.
http://www.angelfire.com/mb/markssigningbonus/
Thanks for sharing with us Mark!
Hi Matt,
When you print your 8×10 photos to print for autograph signing- do you print the photos glossy or matte finish? Do you think theres a finish that takes the sharpie marker better?
Hi Luke, I prefer Lustre finish from Adorama.
So when you get your 8×10 photos printed (to be autographed in the future)- do you just find a very large sized photo of the celebrity or athlete online and then upload it to the Adorama site and print it from there?
Copyright issues aside, one could follow that process and produce good results 🙂
Matt, great site. Found some interesting links thanks to your list. Love to add my own if you’d like. My blog is called Daily Autograph. Every morning I post an autograph that I obtained and a brief story of where and when I got it, all in the order of how I got them. I started this blog last year and with over 1,300 autographs, it’ll be a few years before each one is posted. I actually post them on 2 different sites simultaneously, mainly for backup reasons. The sites are: http://dailyautograph.tumblr.com and/or http://dailyautograph.blogspot.com.
When writing players, you need accurate information as to whether the player is alive or deceased. I have found this web site to be the most accurate in this regard.
Dear sir, We are writing to you from a bilingual high school in Warsaw, Poland. We recently saw a film, ‘The Wire’, and were amazed by the tightrope walker Mr. Philippe Petit. We would like to write to him, but we do not know where to do this… Maybe you can help us, our English is not too good to do good searches and we are having problems. Maybe you can help? We hope so. Thank you sir!
Hi,
Please consider to include the following website on your list: UPCOMING SIGNINGS”
http://booksigningevent.com/
Thank you.
If you follow my blog I am updating the scammers who constantly resurface under new accounts.
https://autographinfo.wordpress.com/
I trying to find out about my order. Can you please let me know when you might have a delivery date
I have a large collection of autographs mainly of classical performers; one of Diana Rigg, and Marian Anderson in a paperback book. Who can I contact about selling these? Edgar