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 Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Mantle photo ended with baffling price
Posted by Chris
 On a seperate note for this Tuesday, Henry Yee had a bunch of killer original photos that ended last night on eBay. The biggest suprise out of the whole bunch was this Mickey Mantle batting cage photo: CLICK HERE. I honestly didn't think this piece would go for more than a few hundred bucks. What am I missing here? 6K++??? What the heck!??
2/12/2008 5:21:03 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Gavel Chat reader responds
Posted by Chris
Today I received this well-thought-out e-mail in my Inbox from a guy named Jeff who read yesterday’s blog. I wanted to share it with everybody else. The one thing that I would like to point out is the part where Jeff has this comment: “I wonder if your sources might be a little biased due to the profit motive. While signing autographs for true fans is one thing, signing autographs for dealers to buy and sell is quite another.” While I agree with many of Jeff’s points, I must say that I don’t really understand this one. If Paul Hornung, or any other athlete is charging for their signature, doesn’t that give a dealer or anyone else the right to profit from buying one of these autos as well? Here is Jeff’s entire email: Thanks to Jeff for the note and keepem coming!
Chris,
Let me start by saying that Paul Hornung is a friend of mine. And he ain't perfect (who among us is?). But I think your sources might be giving you a bit of an unfair view of him.
I've observed many times how he treats the autograph-seeking public (and, how the public treats him, too, which, frankly, is not always courteously). From what I've seen, I think he is usually more patient and more gracious than most people (including me) would be under the circumstances. It is hard to understand what it is like to go out for dinner with family and friends and to be interrupted continuously by persons wanting something autographed, each of whom "hates to interrupt you" and will "only take a minute." Well, each piles on the other until the food gets cold. No joke. And, yes, sometimes that gets old and sometimes he has to cut them off. Otherwise, he would get nothing else done. I've seen him ask people to wait until he's done eating, and watched them react with offense that he wasn't willing to drop what he was doing right then to accommodate them.
There is something else to realize, and I hope I can explain it properly, without sounding defensive for him. Basically, a certain aloofness is necessary. Otherwise, some people would mistake friendliness as an invitation to engage in more conversation, thus increasing the duration of the interruption. Look how pro golfers do it, how they sometimes sign but always keep moving. To stop moving is to invite a crowd to form around them, and then they're stuck. I've seen Paul do the same thing. And I've seen him cut off all autographs when the crowd gets to be too big or disruptive to others.
Please note that anything negative I've said about fans doesn't really apply to Green Bay. From my very limited experience in Green Bay, those people seem to me to be by far the most polite and respectful toward their former stars. They're always excited, but still say "Please" and "Thank you," and still are polite and pleasant even if their request has to be turned down for some reason. I've been a lot of places and seen a lot of autograph seekers go after Paul, but I've never seen any as civilized as the people around Green Bay. They are true, respectful fans.
I wonder if your sources might be a little biased due to the profit motive. While signing autographs for true fans is one thing, signing autographs for dealers to buy and sell is quite another. It is true that Paul does not have much patience for those who are trying to make a profit off him, especially the ones who pretend to be fans but are just in it for the money. Don't get me wrong - Paul sells his own autograph at organized book signings; but that is his to sell - not somebody else's. And he can be pretty brusque as he's trying to keep those lines moving at organized events. But, otherwise, somebody will want to talk about some old game they saw and how they ran into him at a bar after the game and on and on and things can really bog down.
Paul Hornung doesn't need a defense from me. All you need to know about what kind of person he is, you can get from the dozens of charities he's supported with his time and money over the years. Contact the Sister Visitor Center in Louisville, Kentucky, (a Catholic charities organization) to see what the sisters think of him and of the work he puts into the fund raising event he holds for them every year.
At any rate, there are always two sides to every story. Thank you for taking the time to consider the other side.
Sincerely,
Jeff
2/12/2008 4:14:29 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, February 11, 2008
Is your hero a jerk?
Posted by Chris
 Let me start by stating, I've never spent more than one minute with Paul Hornung. I don’t know him as a person, but know he was one of the greatest football players of all time. I recently attended a card show in my area and was chatting to a few different dealers, and somehow Hornung’s name came up. Not one, two, but three dealers pitched in with stories of how much of an "arrogant jerk "Hornung was to them when they met him at autograph signings. They gave me detailed stories and these guys seemed very credible. I've also heard this from a few other Packers collectors who have met Hornung. Mainly, they use terms like “arrogant” and “pompous.” Like I said, I never really spent much time with the man … Just shook his hand at a game once or twice. And that brings me to my question. Do stories that you hear from other people effect your opinion on your hero? Anybody who has been in the hobby for a few years has heard great stories and horrible ones about how their favorite players act to the fans. Every time I see a piece of Hornung now, in the back of my mind I remember those bad stories. Is it right to base an opinion on someone who you don’t even know? Has anyone else asked themselves these questions? I am curious to hear others opinions and experiences. Feel free to drop me an email and we can share them with our SCD readers. chris.nerat@fwpubs.com
2/11/2008 4:44:52 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, February 08, 2008
Non-Sports stuff can be cool too
Posted by Chris
 I usually don’t touch on non-sports memorabilia too much, but on eBay lately I have seen some awesome non-sports pieces, particularly ticket stubs from historic events. Check out these two eBay listings that just sold. HERE and HERE. I love tickets because it puts the collector at the event. Imagine attending the 1939 premier of “The Wizard of Oz” in Hollywood or being read to by one of the greatest authors in history. I wish I would’ve seen these pieces before they sold, because I would actually love to own these ticket stubs, and I don’t usually go after non-sports pieces. I think one of the coolest stubs to have would be from the Beatles first appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show." I've never seen one, but I bet it would get $10,000-$20,000.
2/8/2008 12:31:11 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, February 04, 2008
I can admit when I'm wrong
Posted by Chris
 Well, so much for Friday's blog. The exact opposite of how I thought the Super Bowl would turn out happened last night. I thought Super Bowl XLII would be one of the most boring in history and I really think it may have been the most entertaining, at least in my lifetime. Right after I saw Tom Brady shrug off a friendly pat on the back by Eli Manning before the game started I had no choice but to root for the Giants. I know Brady had his game face on, but it was a little classless. The New York Giants have one of the most prolific histories in the National Football League and it's cool to see the Mara family get another ring. I bet Steiner collectibles is pretty pumped about the game, since they have cornered the market on Giants signed memorabilia. Sometimes it pays to take a gamble. I even gained some respect for Eli this year and I never thought that was possible after his NFL Draft debacle.
2/4/2008 5:46:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, February 01, 2008
Super Bowl Sunday two days away
Posted by Chris
 Maybe I’m just bitter, but I can’t think of a Super Bowl in my lifetime that I was less excited to watch than the one that will take place two days from now. When my Packers aren’t in the game, the one thing that I can only hope for is that the Big Game is an exciting one. Well, I really find it hard to get pumped for a game that involves a team that is basically indestructible versus a team that barely made it into the playoffs and is nearly a two-touchdown underdog. I guess the only hope that I have that the Super Bowl will be an awesome game will be if the commercials exceed expectations and the half-time show features another infamous Janet Jacksonesque wardrobe malfunction … Ah. Never mind. The half-time show is Tom  Petty. Gross! Enjoy!
2/1/2008 3:51:41 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, January 28, 2008
Wire photos are wild
Posted by Chris
 I may have mentioned one, two or ten times that I love wire photos. Well, here may be my 11th display of admiration for these sports treasures in today’s blog. On Friday, I was lucky enough to visit hobby pioneer Bob Lemke, who happens to still live in Iola, Wis., right down the road from the Krause offices. Bob let me borrow an absolutely huge collection of photos that spanned from the early 1900s, through the 80s. The reason I wanted to take a look at his photos was for an article I have been preparing about wire photos, but as a little teaser I figured I’d put some in today’s blog to let Gavel Chat readers get a little sampling of these unique masterpieces. Check out the photo of Casey Stengel! Who said there was no HGH use in the 1960s? Classic. By the way, do you think that there’s any possibility that the Mays photo is Willie showing godson Barry Bonds how to bat at a very early age? I am thinking no, but wouldn’t that be a cool one? Enjoy. I know I did. More to come as well.    
1/28/2008 3:52:04 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, January 25, 2008
And the award for wackiest eBay auction goes to
Posted by Chris
 Just when I thought I've seen it all in the wonderful world of eBay I came across this gem of an auction. CLICK HERE. Former Cleveland Indians great Rocky Colavito decided to sell his bedroom. What?!! This is definitely a new one, and I apologize if this blog is a little shaky because I can’t stop laughing while I look at the off-the-wall images of Rocky posing in front of his beautiful white furniture in, yes, his bedroom. Apparently Colavito may have opted for a more rustic, wooden-finished bedroom set. Maybe an oak headboard and wooden set of drawers. Not sure. All I know is if you're in need of some flashy white bedroom furniture, not to mention a heck of a nice fully-lit vanity mirror, Rocky is your guy!
1/25/2008 11:11:49 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, January 24, 2008
NFC Championship wasn’t only bad for Packers fans
Posted by Chris
 It was also bad for anybody who purchased a counterfeit ticket at the game, and believe me, there were tons of counterfeits being peddled in the parking lot of Lambeau Field. From the second we parked our car we experienced it firsthand. A young couple who drove to the game from Minnesota signaled me over to their car to ask me to see my ticket. When I showed it to them all they did was stare at it with a discouraged look on their faces. I asked them what was wrong and they asked me if they thought their tickets were fake. I looked at them and quickly could tell that they have been forged. The couple kept pointing out that their ticket had the mandatory watermark on the back of it, but it didn't shine like it was supposed to. I explained that to them. About 15 minutes after that my buddy and I walked up to the parking lot and saw that there was a man trying to sell another man a ticket. I could tell from a distance that it was another fake, so I told the prospective buyer to stay away. The seller became angry and asked me why. I told him it was a fake and that they should show it to a cop. Instead, they took it up to a ticket taker, who told them it was indeed a counterfeit and the seller took off running. I quickly found a cop and he told us to run after him and call 911 because he couldn’t leave his post. We chased the guy for a while and left it up to the cops to take care of the rest. According to an Associate Press story, Green Bay police arrested seven men Sunday afternoon on either forgery allegations or for not having solicitor permits. Police seized more than 40 fake tickets altogether. The collectible part of this story takes us to eBay. Right now there are several eBay auctions online with people selling full tickets to that game for collectors items. I have a very strong feeling that the majority of those “fulls” being sold right now on eBay are fake. You can’t tell from the scan, but there were very few no-shows and I can’t imagine very many “real” fulls exist. Just wait for the Super Bowl. Something needs to be done, because these fakes at the NFC Championship Game were actually pretty good and Super Bowl ticket are going for a few more thousand dollars than the Packers/Giants game.
1/24/2008 5:25:18 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Counterfeit tickets and more
Posted by Chris
I am still thawing out from that horrible game that I attended a few days ago at Lambeau Field. Who would have ever thought that the New York Giants would have even made the playoffs, considering their bad start to the season, let alone the Super Bowl. Congrats to Manning and the crew. They held great poise in some of the most adverse conditions. Tomorrow I will be blogging about what I saw place at Lambeau with some shady dudes trying to pawn off fake tickets to the game and what was done to try and stop them.
1/23/2008 6:12:55 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, January 17, 2008
PSA announces half-grade designation
Posted by Chris
 The full story is on our home page, but I just thought I’d touch on this subject a bit. Half grades? … hmm. SGC uses them, Beckett does too. PSA has jumped on board in 2008. I wonder how many PSA collectors will resubmit cards in hopes of getting their card bumped up another half point. If I had a really solid 1952 Topps Mantle that was graded an 8, I probably would be resubmitting it. What will this do to values? How will it affect the Set Registry? According to my understanding, if you resubmit a card already graded by PSA, it can’t be dropped a half grade. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
1/17/2008 10:10:55 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, January 16, 2008
SCP/Sotheby's kicks off New Year in the auction world
Posted by Chris
 What do you get when you have a compilation of items such as Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx and Ty Cobb game-used bats, a solid selection of PSA-graded T cards, a 1923 Christy Mathewson signed contract, a complete run of unused Super Bowl tickets and more than 900 other impressive lots all rolled into one sale? You get SCP/Sotheby's 2008 January Internet auction.I just received the catalog in the mail and I believe they used a Mickey Mantle image from the SPORT magazine archive as the stunning cover shot. Make sure you check this sale out. Definitely a good way to start off the new year in the auction world.
1/16/2008 5:35:45 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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