“This is the last of my sports memorabilia from the 1950s,” John Gallagher explained to appraisers Bob DuMouchelle and Joe Walker at a recent Trash or Treasure appraisal session at the historic downtown auction house. “I had a lot, but unfortunately my mom gave it away while I was in college. They’re worth thousands of dollars now.”
“I used to go to Tiger Stadium and Olympia and get autographs,” he continued. When he was 14, he went to Tiger Stadium during the 1960 celebration of the 1935 winning team and collected signatures from luminaries such as Ty Cobb, Mickey Cochrane, and Hank Greenberg, along with many others, all of whom are featured in the autograph book he brought to the event.
“There are 10 or 11 Hall of Fame members,” he pointed out to the appraisers, including Cobb, Greenberg, Al Kaline, George Kell, Hal Newhouser, as well as Gordy Howe, Sid Abel and more. He also has the autograph of Tony Trabert, the 1955 Wimbledon champion.
DuMouchelle and Walker both marveled at the collection at the recent event. “We get a fair amount of these,” DuMouchelle said of similar autograph books, adding that some are worth more than others. “The big money in autograph collecting is in baseball. We don’t get as much for football or hockey.”
Another consideration, the appraiser said, is how available the players or sports stars were to sign autographs. The more available they are, the less money the autographs bring now, he pointed out. “With your collection, condition is everything,” he said. “Yellowed edges are caused by acid in paper.”
The rarest signature among the ones he has is Ty Cobb, said Walker. “That’s $1,500 alone, worst case,” he said, adding it could bring closer to $4,000 to $5,000 at auction. “He didn’t sign a lot of autographs,” which explains the higher value, he added. Jimmie Foxx is also rare, he pointed out.
As a whole, the autograph book would be worth $15,000 to $20,000 at auction, Walker told Gallagher. “You’ve got the story and authenticity for each one,” he added, cautioning him to keep it in a cool, dry area and away from water and sunlight, which damage works on paper. “The downside is that if you were to sell it, the successful bidder would probably cut it apart and frame each autograph with a photograph of the player and sell them individually.”
Gallagher says that won’t happen and that he intends to pass the autograph book down to his son.
“Now I will have to make it up to my daughter,” he added. “Hopefully your son will treasure it and pass it down as well,” Walker replied. “These things are getting more and more rare.”
About this item
Item: Sports autograph book
Owned by: John Gallagher
Appraised by: Bob DuMouchelle and Joe Walker, DuMouchelles
Estimated value: $15,000 and up
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Welcome Mat: Ty Cobb signature boosts 'rare' autograph book value