There comes a time......

[Tim Carroll]

when card companies should let a legend be and not have him autograph cards. I know, some players may be depending on the $$$ to help with any expenses they have. When you see cards like this, it is hard not to think about how "up in age" some of our legends are getting to be. Let's continue to appreciate them while they are still here.

 

[chaplain11]

Wow! He had such a neat signature back in the day. This is pretty sad as I would not want that in my collection as a Stan Musial auto. It is amazing that some of the older guys like him and Doerr are still around at their ages.

Dewayne

 

[mj23bullsfan]

ditto!

paul

 

[cjay101]

While i totally agree with what you said...no one is forced to sign...many players rely on the income in their later years.

 

[mrmopar]

Good example of how some people, despite their age, are actually holding together much better than others. Doerr still has a steady and strong hand at 94 (at least he did the last time I saw a signature from him). Musial is 91, but obviously not as steady or strong as he once was. We have seen this through the years from many players. I remember someone posting something similar for a Warren Spahn autograph as well. Nothing like his glory days, BUT it is still a signature from the man himself albeit not quite as attractive as they once were and Spahn died at age 82...12 & 9 years younger than Doerr and Musial.

I agree though that that card is pushing it.

Wow! He had such a neat signature back in the day. This is pretty sad as I would not want that in my collection as a Stan Musial auto. It is amazing that some of the older guys like him and Doerr are still around at their ages.

Dewayne

 

[mj23bullsfan]

that was me curtis, talking about the spahn sig. and like an idiot, i didn't even know he had passed

paul

 

[Pfinder]

Yikes, That Musial is rough!

 

[mrmopar]

There are a number of examples I can think of where signatures really took a turn for the worse, but at least they were still alive at the time to sign still.

Ed Stevens died recently and his later signatures looked like he was trying to write through an earthquake. His hand was obviously quite shaky at that point.

Buck Leonard got really shaky as well.

Of course, Roy Campanella is an unusual case, but his post accident signatures are basically scribbles. I am not sure if he had an aid in writing (autopen) or if he had enough mobility in his arm to actually write. I seem to remember seeing photos where his arms are raised, so I am guessing he may have had enough mobility to write.

Duke Snider's signature was starting to get shaky before he died.

I'm sure there are many others..

 

[Tim Carroll]

There are a number of examples I can think of where signatures really took a turn for the worse, but at least they were still alive at the time to sign still.

Ed Stevens died recently and his later signatures looked like he was trying to write through an earthquake. His hand was obviously quite shaky at that point.

Buck Leonard got really shaky as well.

Of course, Roy Campanella is an unusual case, but his post accident signatures are basically scribbles. I am not sure if he had an aid in writing (autopen) or if he had enough mobility in his arm to actually write. I seem to remember seeing photos where his arms are raised, so I am guessing he may have had enough mobility to write.

Duke Snider's signature was starting to get shaky before he died.

I'm sure there are many others..

Oh....without a doubt. Like I said above - I know most of these guys were so underpaid that they have made much, much more money in their lives signing their name than playing the game. It is still their primary source of income, so it makes sense that they are still doing it into their 90's. Personally, I hope I am around at 90+ and still able to sign my name as well. Carl Hubbell has 2 distinct signatures: pre-stroke and post-stroke. Bob Feller, on the other hand, was much like Doerr in the fact that he was able to keep the same signature for several decades at the later section of life. I have also noticed that Hank Aaron's signature is much more deliberate in the 2012 products than in past sets.

I guess my point was that seeing the brokedown signatures like the one pictured just refreshes my awareness that those heroes from past eras are creeping on up there in age - and the opportunities to meet them are slipping away.


Tim

 

[David K.]

Have to agree....Best regards, David

 

[Motown G]

Very unfortunate.

 

[BoomerSooner]

Wow. Just did a search on Ebay for Tribute Musial and it looks like all of his 2012 Tribute sigs are pretty awful, at least the ones on there.

 

[cadets68]

Here is another that got shaky towards the end.



Shawn

 

[baberuth#3]

I agree, unless the players really insist on signing. I know that auto looks rough but it's neat that these guys are trying their hardest to keep the autos flowing at their age. On the other hand, it's amazing how nice some of the older player's signatures still look, like some of the ***** leaguers and Bobby Doerr (just got him TTM a couple days ago).

 

[mintman2]

I'll take an "ugly" sig of someone like Stan Musial over a "pretty" sig from someone like Gus Frerotte any day.

 

[Tim Carroll]

I'll take an "ugly" sig of someone like Stan Musial over a "pretty" sig from someone like Gus Frerotte any day.

I think that would be a consensus, but I'm not talking about getting a choice between a true all-time baseball legend and career backup quarterback. I would also venture to guess that that the same consensus would pick a low-end Musial autograph from the late 90's over a super-premium, extremely low-#'d Musial autograph from 2012..........IF they were planning to keep it in their personal collections.


Tim