Win This Reggie Jackson Autograph from Autograph University
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who participated in our giveaway! I really enjoyed reading your submissions and this collection of comments is a great resource for collectors. We’ve emailed our randomly selected winner.
October may be my favorite month. Warm days give way to crisp, cozy nights. Leaves of red, yellow and orange crunch underfoot. Pumpkin beers and football tailgates. Soccer in full stride around the world while hockey and hoops seasons begin anew. My wedding anniversary. Halloween.
And playoff baseball.
When you think of October baseball one man comes to mind—Reggie Jackson. Though he isn’t known to be the friendliest of figures, one cannot deny he was a legend on the diamond. He has a new book out—aptly titled “Mr. October”—and I’m giving away my autographed copy to one lucky Autograph University reader.
All you need to do for a chance to win is leave a comment and tell me one thing you wish you knew when you started collecting autographs.
I will randomly choose a winner on Saturday, October 26 at 9pm EDT. One comment per person and please use a valid email address so I can contact you if you win.
Thanks for participating and good luck!
I wish I knew how time-consuming this hobby is! From letter-writing to addressing the envelopes to researching to find the address… it takes some work! But I love it anyway. 🙂
I wished I hadn’t & continue to be shy to ask the athletes for certain ways to sign. Like their # or something when it’s not a paid signing! . All they can say is NO & they usually will just do it!! I still get flustered!
I wish I had know to research more. I can’t tell you how many times I missed someone because I didn’t know that they cut their hair or that they used another entrance.
I wish I knew more about premium items and how to better preserve them. I was very young when I started collecting autographs some 25 years ago – so I lost a TON of great stuff due to not knowing how to properly store them. Also I was unaware of what to get things signed with and well.. the list could go on and on honestly. Live and learn!
I wish I would of written more letters in the 70’s when everyone still signed in the mail.Paying the $3.00 for that Joe Dimaggio autograph at a card show in 1982.All in all no major regrets it just gets harder and more costly to keep in this hobby.
I wish I would have mailed more premium items in the 80’s when I started collecting autographs. Willie Mays and Hank Aaron autos would look a lot better on an 8X10 or OMLB than some picture that I copied out of book and then cut it down so it fit in an envelope! But I still love it and now get to pass it on to my son. Going to the mailbox in the summer as a kid brings back a lot of good memories!
i wish i knew to use omlbs when i was younger i didnt get many balls signed at a young age but i still wish they were visable
The right material to use, whether it’s a baseball, pen or sharpie!
I wish I would have known how costly the hobby was. I always told myself it was a cheaper hobby because of the price of photos, but I never accounted for traveling and time….
I really wish I would have known how the hobby would explode in the years to come. Back when a Mantle/DiMaggio and other super star HOF players could have been had for a very reasonable price and I passed because I thought it was too much back them. I also wish I would could have known how the career of some minor leaguers would turn out. I can count how many times I passed on getting a guy in the minors only to have him turn out to be an All-Star MLBer.
I wish I’d learned sooner to bring a second item for the times they won’t sign a baseball. When I was a kid I was shy and missed a few because of not being aggressive enough. I wish I’d found out about black pens fading worst than blue. I wish I’d known about soundchecks.
Wish I knew as a kid that sending to basketball players TTM was a waste of time and my stamp “allowance” pretty much
I wish I’d found helpful autograph collecting sites earlier. I sent many letters to ball players who never sign in the mail. Now I know where to find success rates, who wants donations, who signs in person, and other information which is extremely helpful for collecting autographs.
I wish I knew how addicting the hobby would get. In the 8 or so years I have been collecting the hobby has become more of a addiction. I find myself researching all allies and ways on how to obtain new auto’s. Also having a photography hobby I’ve become addicted to taking pictures of the certain athletes and then printing my favorite shots and having them sign my photo making the autograph a “one of a kind” piece. I still get baseballs and helmets and such signed but I’ve come to love getting my own photo signed. It makes it more personal.
How time consuming and addicting the hobby is
I wish I knew that you gotta be persistent (to an extent) when trying to get someone. Can’t just give up just after one failed attempt. When I learned, was able to get Tek’s auto (my favorite player). A lot of others of these listed I too can relate to (time, what to use, etc.)
I’m relatively new to the autograph/memorabilia side of things as before I was primarily a card collector. While I’m still starting, I have learned many valuable tips from sites like this. I just wish that when I was younger and went to my first signing ever that I would have known about the effect of sunlight on autographs. My first ever Twins game that I attended, I was 8 years old and Bert Blyleven was signing autographs. We had no clue about this and I had no clue who he was but we hopped in line anyways. I only had my glove with me to get signed, and after that I stuck the thing on my shelves, right in the sunlight. Sadly, the autograph is barely visible and I am yet to get another Blyleven autograph to replace the one that I lost
I wish I knew how expensive he hobby is. In order to have a great piece, you have to really pay for it, and I mean PAY for it. Several hundreds or even a thousand. But all in all, that is what the hobby is. I always go by quality over quantity. I’d rather have 1 really great item than 30 “decent” items
I wish I would have known about the “Sharpie” when I first started autographing. I was really into cards and as most kids, really only knew about a pen! I have several signed cards from when I was a kid that just look like crap b/c they are in Bic pen. Just one of the issues of being young! Steve Yzerman and Barry Sanders cards in pen….ugh………
Wow, what a kind gesture! I wish I had sent to more players that would be remembered down the road. Sure it was nice to get an autograph in the mailbox, but in a couple weeks that player had fallen off the map greatly. With star/HOF players, the autograph becomes that much more sentimental because it gives a certain connection to that player, even if it only was a few seconds of a pen stroke. Thanks!
A little dumb but when I started when I was little I wish I had known what a SASE I never sent those when I did TTM because I didn’t know what they were; just thinking about how many more I could have gotten back.
I wish I knew about trying to get baseballs signed on the sweet spot. I used to get them just signed anywhere, and when I first found out about sweet spotting, I was too afraid to ask.
I wish I would have had better research resources when I first started. I have written a couple of books on baseball in my area, but I missed so many great stories from guys who passed away before I even knew they played here.
I wish I would have known not to use cheap baseballs. Many of my first, and most memorable, autographs have faded over time. Thank you China baseballs!
I wish that I had known how poorly cheap baseballs would hold up over time. I’ve lost way too many signatures that I obtained in my early collecting days because I didn’t spring for OMLBs!
Although, I have many many regrets concerning autographs, my biggest would be not correctly picking between baseballs and how to display them. As a middle school student with little money, I went into Walmart and I saw 2 types of baseball, one costed $15.99 and another only costed $4.99. Being the cheap student I am who had to pay out of my allowance, I obviously went with the cheapest option. I needed 5 baseballs and 5×5 is $25 so I can buy 5 baseballs for just $10 more than it costed to buy one. Sound like a win win right? I mailed out a baseball through the mail to ultra hyped high school prep player, Bryce Harper and planned to use the rest at my in person graphing at Fenway. In my first 8 games at Fenway, I was able to get Joe Mauer, Longoria, and Garza. Being a big baseball I was thrilled…I was even more thrilled when I got my TTM back from Harper in 3 weeks. I couldn’t wait to show them to my friends so I placed them all in my shelf, directly in the front of my window. I was so happy, then I left for summer camp. When I came back, I bought my friend over to show him the baseball autographs I have. Well, there were gone but the baseballs reminded so I thought someone must have stolen my baseballs and replaced them with regular unsigned ones. I started to scream for my mother and I questioned her. I suspected that someone must have robbed our house or something. Well it turned out the autographs FADED, you can believe that? I realized I picked the cheap chinese leather baseballs, got them signed, and then placed them in front of my window. 2 of the dumbest decisions ever. I lost 4 autographs….Harper was the NL Roy and posed to be the next all time great….Mauer is the face of the Twins..Longo is an all star…and Garza is just being Garza down in Arlington. I wish I could get them back but I learned my lessons..I began to save up for regular baseballs (the “expensive kind”) and I have a few signed but not as valuable as the ones I had before.
I WISH I HAD KNOWN ABOUT THE BLUE SHARPIE EARLIER ON. I STARTED GETTING ALL MY STUFF IN BLACK SHARPIE BECAUSE IT WAS EASIER TO GET. A LOT OF MY SIGNED CARDS AND PHOTOS LOOK TERRIBLE NOW THAT I LOOK AT THEM
I wish I had known where and when to wait for autographs when I was a kid, but I could have cleaned up then! Getting signatures and equipment is so much easier when you are a cute little child than an ugly old man!
There really is no answer. Autographing for me is a luck game. It’s all up to the players and the timing!
I wish I knew that all you really need to know is to be polite and respectfult. If I’d have known how much more autographs I’d have received by just saying please and thank you I would have received many more autographs when I started. Players are just like us and just want to be respected.
I wish I knew to get Mantle, Williams and Joe D as often as possible at shows in the 80s and 90s. Would’ve probably been able to put a new wing on the house. You live, you learn. Great site btw.
Thanks,
Mike
I wish I knew where Softy is going to be so I could graph elsewhere!!
I wish I would have known mote about autos by mail. Would have saved a lot of money and of course embarassment when I found fraudulent autos amongst those I had purchased.
What markers/pens work best with which items. Sounds like a common theme on here and sadly a lesson almost every collector has to learn the hard way.
I wish I had known before getting into this great hobby how much the stories of getting those autographs mean so much more than just getting one in the mail. The story makes the autograph!
One thing I wish I knew before I started.. Hmm, I would have to say that I wish I knew how easy it was to obtain autographs through email via contact pages. You still have the oppurtunity to be genuine and sincere and hope for the best. At the end of the day if you really like that player you will still route for him/her come game day no matter the signature or not.
I wish I had known to put the first one away somewhere safe. It was obtained at a Cub Scout pack meeting from a football Cardinal player (Ron Yankowski?) who showed a video of the team and spoke for a few minutes. It simply was a torn piece of paper with his name, but it meant a lot to a 6 or 7 year old.
patience- wait for the ttm returns- if your lucky always be ready- younever know who you may bump into at any time
wish I would have known to ALWAYS have a hot babe with a big pair of jugs with you and have her jumping up and down calling over to the athlete, almost always guarantees the athlete signing for you!
I wish I knew (back in the nineteen-eighties) that leaving autographed baseballs in their boxes wrappped in the original tissue paper might slow down the fading of the ink but would actually leave many of the baseballs yellowed.
When i first started collecting i wished i had know that it is a good idea to always carry a pen and something foe=r someone to sign. I missed 50 Nfl players from various teams at a dinnner. That my friend is an example of irony.
The one thing I wish I knew, or better yet believed to be true, sooner was that it doesn’t hurt to ask and the worst thing they can say is “No.”
I wish I didn’t get china ball’s signed and also went for star players on away teams insted of crappy, home-town bullpen pitchers.
I wish I had known about secretarial autographs. Thanks for the awesome contest.
I wish I had a autographed copy of Reggie’s book! Hint Hint!
Wish I knew what types of pens to use when getting balls signed. I have some old autos that have faded a lot. Like Griffey jr. And Cal. And A-rod. And always use BLUE!!!!!!
I wish I had paid more attention to the ever risihng prices being asked for autographs. I look at some catelogues from when I started collecting many, many years ago and look at what is being asked for today. Also when I started I was happy with signed cards whereas for the same amount of effort I might have been able to acquire better quality items
I wish I had known that “personalized” autographs are not as valuable as plain ordinary ones. I have a lot that are personalized to me
As a kid, wish I would have verified my sharpie prior to obtaining autographs. Not only for myself, but for others, if the athlete decided to use mine for anyone else.