COMMENTARY : Autograph Sessions Put Fans in Reach of Ball Stars, for a Price

The gold rush of the 1980s and ‘90s has come and as of yet has shown no signs of decay.

But this rush, unlike the one that hit the country in the middle and late 1800s, has nothing to do with precious metals or rivers. In fact, the gold boom of the late 20th Century has little or no intrinsic value.

Instead, this rush is based upon a perception that a piece of cardboard or a signature will be wanted by someone else.

Sports memorabilia. Thousands upon thousands of card shops have opened in the last six years. In the process, these dealers of cardboard have helped to change the hobby of children into the industry of adults.

Right on the heels of mass card shops has been the advent of collectors’ shows, where dealers can mass in large numbers and sell their wares. But something even newer has become the focal point of many collecting shows.

Autographs. Who will be there to sign his or her name on a picture bought for $2 or $3, or better yet a baseball or baseball card? Card-show promoters now have to work just as hard to present the players people want to see. They need a draw.

- Sunday, Dec. 10. 8:50 a.m. There’s been a change of plans. Mark Grace, the Chicago Cubs’ star first baseman, was supposed to fly in, arriving at Seattle-Tacoma Airport at 10:30.

Ray Hade and a reporter were to drive up from St. Martin’s College Pavilion, where Grace would appear during a show put on by Hade and his brother Joe of the Strike Zone. But Grace had arrived Saturday night, they were told.

Even the Hades didn’t know that until they checked in the show’s other two guests, former Cleveland Indians pitcher Bob Feller and Milwaukee Braves great Eddie Mathews, both Hall of Famers. OK, but he’d be here. That’s all that counts.

Grace, believe it or not, is the largest draw of the three baseball players. Cubs apparel of every kind adorns little and large fans. But Grace isn’t scheduled until at least 11:30.

- 10 a.m. Bob Feller arrives. Before moving to the table at the head of the pavilion, Feller talks with a dealer at one of the tables. Young collectors walk up, not even noticing the gray-haired gentleman more interested in the glass-encased cards of Ken Griffey Jr. or Grace.

“They don’t even know who he is,” Ray Hade said.

“I make appearances all over North America,” Feller said. “I have been aboard ships, we do a lot of cruises. It’s a business. An autograph is a commodity in here. If anybody doesn’t like it, that’s tough. You don’t work for free; neither do I. But you should be halfway sociable, and most of them are.”

Feller sits and talks with anyone who comes to the table, talking about the old days of baseball, the players. And he sells.

“You can’t lose with this deal,” Feller said. “You don’t have to get anybody out. The thing about bringing in an older player is they’ll never lose another game. A kid today may be the Rookie of the Year, then have a terrible sophomore season. I haven’t lost a game in 34 years. I haven’t won one, either.”

But Feller also doesn’t turn down anyone who wants an autograph. Whether they be in an airport or a hotel lobby or the men’s room, Feller said, he’ll sign an autograph free. But once inside the doors of a show, it’ll cost you $5.50 (as it did on Dec. 10) or whatever the price might be.

“I’ll sign an autograph outside this door,” Feller said. “If a little kid can convince me he doesn’t have any money, I’ll sign it.”

- 11 a.m. Eddie Mathews has arrived, with his wife. The entire phenomenon of collecting shows and making money to sign his name are things Mathews never thought about when he was playing.

“If I’d have known, I’d have saved some stuff,” Mathews said. “When they first asked me to do this, I was never thinking about money, but it was nice. It has just kept rolling. We used to go out after the game outside the stadium and sign for half an hour or 45 minutes.”

Mathews is aware that most of the kids who come up to him are only vaguely aware of who he is. And only through parents or grandparents have most new baseball fans ever heard of Eddie Mathews.

“These kids don’t really know me,” Mathews said. “Most of them ask about present-day players. This is a combination hobby and business. And it will keep going because they are always coming out with so much new stuff.”

For Mathews, doing these shows is a matter of balance.

“You have to limit it and fit it in with the rest of your work schedule,” Mathews said. But then, why do it?

“Most of the guys that sign enjoy it,” Mathews said. “And I like watching guys like this (a youngster who had just had Mathews sign an autograph) come by. He’s another baseball fan. I thoroughly enjoy these things.”

So do those young fans. The 8-year-old Mathews pointed to, Marty Marstrom, even knew who Mathews was from his cards.

“It’s fun to meet those guys,” Marstrom said. Marstrom also held a ticket for a Mark Grace autograph.

- 11:40 a.m. By the time the announcement is made over the public address system that Mark Grace will be late because of a problem at the airport, a line has formed that stretches nearly half the length of the pavilion. The line actually began to form around 10:45.

By the time Grace arrived shortly before 1 p.m. many people had already waited in a line for several hours, and those at the back would have another hour or two to wait before Grace’s assembly-line 30 seconds to 1 minute with them.

The system for Grace’s signature is numbers-related. The line is to form in groups of 100. Grace ends up signing double the amount of autographs the two Hall of Famers combined will sign. Grace’s signature costs $8; Mathews’ $7; Feller’s $5.50.

For Grace, this is an opportunity.

“I’ll do about 20 of these (shows) during the off-season,” Grace said. “You can’t play baseball forever, so I will keep doing it while I am still able or there is still a demand. And I have never been to Washington. It’s beautiful here.”

Others outside of the show capitalized on Grace this weekend, as well. The airport mix-up was caused by an impostor who checked into Grace’s room Saturday night. Grace had to wait at the airport Sunday morning after arriving as scheduled.

But signing autographs will never get out of hand, at least for Grace. It doesn’t have to become just a business.

“I won’t allow it to get that way,” Grace said. “That’s not what it is all about. I prefer that the kids come to the parks. That’s the old-fashioned way; the way they should do it. I won’t put myself with just one guy or anything like that.”

- The show ends around 4 p.m. It has been a successful endeavor for the Strike Zone. But it has been work, as with any business.

“We worked very hard to put these people together,” Ray Hade said.