You’ve Got Mail: An Autograph Addiction is Born

1992.

The clap-clap of the brass mail flap in my front door was a daily starting pistol in a race between the family dog and me. Her claws skated on the ice-like hardwood while I bounded down the stairs three at a time toward the new rubber-band pile dropped on our welcome mat. Nearly always, I would flip through the correspondence, find nothing for me and drop it to the floor in disappointment. But occasionally, on the luckiest of days, amidst utility bills and grocery store flyers, was a business-size envelope creased in thirds, my name and address scrawled on the front in a familiar script. Inside, an autographed card from a sports hero. The Golden Ticket. The first fix.

For twenty years I have collected autographs, first through the mail and more recently in person. It’s a passion I share with millions that brings me joy, excitement, stress and disappointment. If nothing else, it’s provided me hours of cocktail party fodder (stories about meeting Paris Hilton, Bill Russell and Tom Cruise tend to hold people’s attention) and enough memorabilia to furnish ten man caves.

A brief Q&A to start the conversation:

Who is this guy?
My name is Matt Raymond. I’m an autographaholic.

I live with my wife and cats in a Boston suburb. During the workweek I’m a marketing guy at a global business information company. When I’m not graphing, I’m rooting on Boston-area and UMass sports teams, searching out new music and playing Ultimate Frisbee.

What is Autograph University?
When I was first introduced to in-person autograph collecting in 2006 I made a lot of mistakes. Missed opportunities, disappearing signatures (I’ll explain this in a future post), and hours of wasted time, to name just a few. Mistakes I don’t want you to make.

At Autograph University I will share the tips and insight I’ve collected over the years in hopes that you will become a more successful collector and get more enjoyment out of the hobby. If getting a hero’s autograph will bring a smile to your face, I can help make that happen. In addition to the educational stuff I will also share my adventures from the field. I’ll tell you about the day I was Shaq’s wingman or when the Boston Herald published a picture of me with Eliza Dushku.

I also want to learn from you and hope you will participate in this ongoing conversation about autograph collecting with me through blog comments and emails. There are collectors far more expert than me and I’m learning from them every time I graph.

How do I provide feedback/get in touch with you/ask a question/get updates?
I encourage you to leave your feedback in the comments section of my posts. That way, all readers can benefit from your input. You can also email me at autographu at gmail dot com or visit the Contact page.

I’m also on Twitter where I tweet about graphing, sports, music and marketing. Connect with me @mattraymond.

For updates, there’s a handy form in the sidebar to submit your email address (I won’t do anything untoward with it). You may also subscribe to the Autograph University RSS feed.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your participation in the discussion.