The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs
By Tom Zappala and Ellen Zappala
Peter E. Randall Publisher (2016)
$30.00
Whatever your connection to the National Pastime – autograph collector, statistics addict, historian, trivia buff , casual fan or fanatic – “The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs” should capture a spot on your book shelf (or coffee table).
Baseball Roundtable
While the central focus of The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs is identifying the most desirable and sought after baseball autographs of all time, this is not a book solely for autograph collectors. It is really a book for baseball fans – offering not just an evaluation of each autograph by PSA/DNA experts, but also telling the story of each featured player through statistics, trivia, comments from contemporaries and entertaining on-field and off-field stories. As with previous baseball books from the Zappalas (The T206 Collection: The Players & Their Stories and The Cracker Jack Collection: Baseball’s Prized Players), The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs also is well laid out, with plenty of solid graphics and photographs. Note: For a review of The Cracker Jack Collection, click here.
Furrther, you don’t have to be a nostalgia buff or student of baseball history to relate to the players whose signatures are featured in this volume. The one hundred players on this list range from pioneers like Hall of Famer Albert Spalding (who played his last MLB game in 1877) to contemporary stars like Albert Pujols (1B/DH for the 2016 Angels). Along the way, the book takes a look at players (and their signatures) like Grover Cleveland Alexander, Cy Young, Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Roberto Clemente, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Ichiro Suzuki – and more. Authors Tom Zappala and Ellen Zappala also did not limit the book’s scope to the U.S. major leagues. You’ll also find Negro League stars like Josh Gibson and Oscar Charleston; Cuban great Martin Dihigo; and Japanese home run king Sadaharu Oh. (Is that something for every fan picture starting to emerge?)
As you can tell, I liked the book – and, if you are reading this blog post, I’m pretty sure you’ll like it too. But, to whet your appetite, let’s take a closer look at just a few examples what you can expect to find on the 200+ pages of The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs.
The Obligatory List
If you going to promise to identify the 100 greatest of anything, you better provide some kind of list. Well, it’s right up front. In Chapter One, the authors identify the top twenty most desirable baseball autographs. I don’t want to “give away the whole story,” so here are the top five:
The Top Five Most Desirable Baseball Autographs
#1 Babe Ruth
#2 Christy Mathewson
#3 Josh Gibson
#4 Shoeless Joe Jackson
#5 Lou Gehrig
Evaluation from PSA/DNA Certification Experts
The book provides collectors an evaluation of each autograph by PSA/DNA experts, covering such areas as specific characteristics of each signature, changes over time, rarity and tips on determining authenticity.
Here are just a few tidbits from the evaluations:
- “Out of respect for Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig very rarely signed his autograph on the sweet spot of a baseball. Gehrig felt that it was Ruth’s place to be on the sweet spot … It was not until Ruth retired as a player that Gehrig’s signature began to appear more frequently on the sweet spot.”
- Christy Mathewson’s autograph is notable because of its “scarcity, beautiful appearance, and his legendary status.” (Mostly found on documents such as checks and contracts, Mathewson’s signature on a baseball has been known to command more than $100,000.)
- Jimmie Foxx changed his autograph over time, even altering the spelling of his first name (Jim, Jimmy, Jimmie).
- Ted Williams’ signature is one of the most forged in baseball – and a large volume of counterfeit Williams items were seized in a late-1990s FBI sting.,
Hall of Famer Pitcher John Clarkson – As Rare As It Gets
“Not only did he play in an era when autograph signing wasn’t commonplace, Clarkson spent the last several years of his life in various sanitariums and psychiatric hospitals, making his autograph almost impossible to obtain in that tragic time … As of this writing, PSA has not certified a Clarkson autograph.”
The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs
The Stories a Player’s Signature Can Tell
You will also find comments on how a player’s performance and popularity can affect their signature – adding to or subtracting from its legibility or prompting the use of ghost signers (relatives, club employees, etc.)
Mickey Mantle – Growing Into Greatness
“If you were to compare a rookie autograph of Mickey Mantle to one penned later in his career and life, you can see the evolution not only of his signature style, but also of his personality. What was once a very simplistic signature early in his career developed into one of the most recognizable and stylish autographs in the entire hobby. Mantle went from being a small-town phenomenon to the starting center fielder of the most popular team on the planet – the New York Yankees
“If you follow changes in his autograph, you can see Mantle’s rise to stardom. As he blossomed into a superstar on the field, more people asked for his autograph. As more people requested his autograph, Mantle had time to perfect it and his confidence grew as an athlete. You can sense that the confidence in his seasoned signature. It is bold and definitive like those of fellow baseball legends like Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth.”
The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs
Ted Williams came in as the 20th most desirable autograph.
Statistics – Statistics – Statistics
We count everything in baseball, and The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs honors that tradition. Each player’s on-field performance is well documented – from Walter Johnson’s 12 strikeout titles, 417 wins and 2.17 career ERA to Albert Pujols’ 2001 rookie-season stat line of .329-37-130. The authors give solid statistical evidence – career accomplishments and best seasons – for why each of these player’s signatures are among the 100 greatest autographs in the game.
For the Trivia Buff
The Zappala’s also provide a look at some of the unique stats and occurrences that translate into grist for baseball trivia buffs. Here is just a sampling:
- Stan Musial collected 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 hits on the road.
- When the Dodgers met the Twins in the 1965 World Series, the only Dodger boasting a .300 or better batting average was pitcher Don Drysdale. (That season, Drysdale hit .300 with seven home runs and 19 RBI in 130 at bats and was occasionally used as a pinch hitter).
- Rickey Henderson stole 30 or more bases seven times – after age 35.
- Cy Young is credited with introducing the changeup to baseball
Chuck Klein – A Home Run Title that was a Walk in the Park
“In 1929, his first full season in the majors, the 24-year-old (Chuck) Klein batted .346 and smacked an amazing 43 homers to win the National League home run crown. Interestingly, Klein’s teammates helped guarantee that home run title. On the last day of the 1929 season, the Phillies played the New York Giants in a doubleheader. Klein and Giants superstar Mel Ott were tied for the home run lead. In the first game, Klein homered, which put him one ahead of Ott. In the second game, Ott was walked FIVE times by Phillies pitchers, and one of those walks came with the bases loaded.
The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs
Note: Most of the time Klein, who went on to win the HR crown in three of the next four seasons (including the Triple Crown in 1933), signed “Chuck” Klein (with quotes around his first name).
A Look into the Lives of Featured Players
The Zappalas also give readers a look into the lives of the featured players with background as diverse as:
- How Babe Ruth “dominated the Big Apple’s Roaring Twenties social scene as much as he did opposing pitchers.”
- The impact on Ty Cobb of his mother’s fatal shooting of his father.
- Rube Waddell’s zany antics, including wrestling alligators.
- Journeyman catcher Moe Berg’s ties to the OSS and CIA.
What Peers Had to Say
The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs is also sprinkled with quotes from peers about the players whose signatures are so popular. Just a few examples:
I played with Willie Mays and against Hank Aaron. They were tremendous players, but they were no josh Gibson.
Monte Irvin, Hall of Famer
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His fastball looked about the size of a watermelon seed and it hissed at you as it passed.
Ty Cobb on Walter Johnson
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Does Pete Rose hustle? Before the All Star game, he came into the clubhouse and took off his shoes and they ran another mile without him.
Hank Aaron
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(Harmon) Killebrew can knock the ball out any park including Yellowstone.
Paul Richards, Orioles Manager
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When ol’ Diz was out there pitching it was more than just another ballgame. It was a regular three-ring circus and everybody was wide awake and enjoying being alive.
Pepper Martin, Dizzy Dean teammate
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So there you have it, a taste of what you can expect from The 100 Greatest Baseball Autographs – again, a book that offers something for baseball autograph collectors, statistics addicts, historians, trivia buffs, casual fans and true fanatics. It’s entertaining, informative (and well-researched), easy-to-read, and beautifully laid out and illustrated. Baseball Roundtable recommends it as a worthy addition to any baseball library.
The authors:
Tom Zappala: A Boston area businessman and talk show host who is passionate about our national pastime and collects vintage baseball memorabilia.
Ellen Zappala: President of ATS Communications (a marketing and consulting company) and a former newspaper publisher, who enjoys bringing the stories of Deadball Era and Golden Age players to life.
Also contributing:
- Joe Orlando: President of Professional Sports Authenticators and PSA/DNA Authentication Services; Editor of Sports Market Report.
- John Molori: Columnist for Boston Baseball Magazine.
- Steve Grad: principal authenticator for PSA/DNA Authentication Services
- Arthur K. Miller: award-winning portrait artist specializing in historic sports figures and pop culture icons.
- Tony Dube: President of White Point Imaging.
I tweet baseball @DavidBBRT
Member: Society for American Baseball Research (SABR); The Baseball Reliquary; Baseball Bloggers Alliance.
