Monte Irvin (1919-2016)

The ninth autograph in my collection, and the fourth to respond by mail, was Monte Irvin.  This was a significant signature for a number of reasons.  Mr. Irvin is the oldest living Hall of Famer who played in the Negro Leagues, so there is a historic significance to this signature.  Second, he was kind enough to sign (in blue sharpie) with both his induction year and uniform number (a nice touch).  He also added a return address label, so if you want to get in touch with him, click on the photo above.

This request was mailed out in the first wave of mailings I did back on July 1st.  The response arrived just twelve days later.

Update: Mr. Irvin passed away on January 11, 2016. 

Gaylord Perry

The final autograph I obtained at the Fan Festival was from Hall of Famer, Gaylord Perry.  He signed in blue pen and included both a personalization as well as his induction year.  Mr. Perry seemed like a fascinating guy - he was willing to sign a tub of Vaseline (a reference to his alleged use of the substance to throw a form of spit ball), and signed a second autograph for my friend Sam who was in line for a different autograph at the same time.

Juan Marichal

The third autograph from the All Star Fan Festival was from Juan Marichal, who in addition to being one of the SLOWEST signers of the day, was unwilling to personalize the signature.  He did include his induction year, and signed in blue sharpie.

Dick Williams (1929-2011)

The second autograph we got from the All Star Fan Festival was from former player and manager, Dick Williams.  We actually got in line for his signing without really knowing much about him.  We were pleasantly surprised to find he had recently been inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Mr. Williams was also willing to personalize the autograph to me, as well as including his induction year.

Update: Mr. Williams passed away in 2011.  

Harmon Killebrew (1936-2011)

I recently attended the MLB All Star Fan Festival, which is a pretty spectacular event for any baseball fan.  One of the coolest elements of this festival is that there are autograph stages set up around the exhibit halls.  The price of admission to the event allows you to obtain autographs from many current and former players - many of the latter who are Hall of Fame inductees (who often charge $25-100 at baseball card shows).

Harmon Killebrew was the first autograph I received, knocking another name off my list.  He was nice enough to personalize it and include his induction year.  Another benefit of this particular event is that an MLB authenticator was on hand to add a holographic sticker to the autograph, proving that the signature is real.

Update: Mr. Killebrew passed away on May 17, 2011.  

Bobby Doerr (1918-2017)

Bobby Doerr's autograph arrived on the same day as Nolan Ryan and Duke Snider.  I'm not sure I'll ever get three in one day, but it was a pretty amazing feeling!  I assumed (incorrectly), that it would only be a matter of a few days before I had this quest completed!

Mr. Doerr sent back both my signed 3x5 card (in black pen), as well as an autographed postcard of his Hall of Fame plaque (in blue sharpie).  Both autographs included his induction year - which I've always thought was a nice touch (and something that neither Snider nor Ryan did).  Notice that he also added his own return address label to my SASE.  Click on the photo if you want his address.

I was especially pleased to receive this autograph because Doerr is the oldest living player who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Update: Mr. Doerr passed away on November 13, 2017

Nolan Ryan

Pitching great Nolan Ryan sent me a response on the same day that Duke Snider's response came back.  Mr. Ryan clearly gets a huge number of autograph requests, and so on this occasion rather than signing the 3x5 cardstock that I sent, he (or more likely, a member of his staff) returned a pre-signed photograph (in blue sharpie) as well as a pre-written form letter.