Al Kaline Failure - kept donation, sent back card unsigned

[vjw0307]

Way to teach him a lesson!

[jbwesterfield]

LOL... This thread has gotten out of control.

[george2607]

Thought I'd wait a few days before putting in my feelings about this.

First, everyone who wrote in is correct in what they said, it all depends on how you look at it.

When the old baseball stamp came out I sent a FDC to Al K. He was at his prime and was the MVP of the All Star game that year. He signed it and I had it back within days.

About 3 years ago I wrote to him and asked him to sign another of the stamp covers and a few pictures--again I had them back in a very short period. However a friend of mine sent to him a few weeks ago, got back the picture in the SASE with no note or anything.

Over the years I have found out that many times the mail goes to son, nephew or who ever and they are the ones who are asking for the money. I think in many cases they feel that their father, uncle, etc. got screwed by MLB because of all the money that todays players get. and this is the only way they can make a bit extra. In some cases the players get taken on by pro who set up shows etc. and many times the agreement prevents them from signing outside of the shows. I heard this from several of the old players from the Negro League but they signed anyway after telling me. Another example I was looking for an address for an old NFL player-a good player but not HOF material. He played his entire career for the same team until the last 2 years.
As it turned out those years were 2 of his best except he got a bad injury and had to retire. So he was very popular in those two cities. He is signed with a company who provide people who are known to give speeches at trade shows, etc or in some cases just show up at a car show or whatever. I contacted them and was told they would be happy to have him sign 1 picture--COST $345.00. Needless to say I do not have his autograph.

Now with regards to the money, etc. Legally anything that is delivered to you that you did not ask for can be kept free of charge. However on moral grounds the people know that the money is there for the autograph even if they don't read the LOR. However think about being 80 years old (or even more) most likely some medical problems (may not even be able to sign), etc and having to deal with the envelopes arriving all the time. My feeling is that if they are not going to sign they should just write RTS on the envelope and give it back to the mail carrier the next day . However if they are use to money in the envelops and they need it well ????

At the end of the day when we send out we are all taking a chance that it may never come back. I have lost some nice things over the years but I feel I'm ahead overall. I have had nasty replies and on the other hand I have had a 103 year old rocket science type sign, several blind people signed, an actress over 100 , some with Parkinsons who took some time to sign, I have a signature of a old Cabinet member who signed the day before he died, the daughter of a German WWII Jet fighter pilot wrote me a lovely letter telling me her father had died a month before I wrote him. She included a photo of her father, some magazine clippings about him and small tie pin from a club he belonged to.

This is just a long winded way of saying when you send you should always consider that it might not get back to you. So accept that as a "cost of doing business" or find another hobby. Many times you will be rewarded with how nice some people can be.

One last note, I feel more done by when I get back a sec instead of the real deal.

Lighten up and enjoy the many success you will get and learn to live with the disappointments-hey that sounds like normal living!!!!

george2607

[ultimateager]

did you send a check or cash. he only accepts cash i believe.

i sent him a nice letter and 2 8x10's with $40 and i got both back signed.

i know for a fact that he doesn't open his mail i asked him in person. i've talked to him many times over the years, just a few lines each conversation. he isn't the nicest person but he's far from the rudest.

he still works with the Tigers so I don't believe health has any problems right now.

i would try again with a nice letter and cash. i'd send $10 for a card $20 for photo and $50 for a ball

[jason1980s]

To paraphrase Humphrey Bogart, all the celebrity owes the fans "is a good performance." For his entire career, Al gave just that and for much less money than a lot of players today are giving for much less!

Without fans, what would he be? Even if there was no one in the stadiums and all the players did was play for themselves, he'd still be considered one of the best baseball players. He's a first ballot hall of fame member.

Perhaps it isn't him opening his mail or perhaps he is and is just getting tired of the years of signing. I couldn't imagine being Al and living decades of having to sign autographs. Sure, collecting is a hobby of mine but sometimes even I don't "get it." Maybe a family member is assisting him with his mail and wants it all to stop and is hoping fans get the message. Maybe they do feel $20 is better than $10. Who knows? Or maybe it is Al just feeling "if I gave one person one autograph in my lifetimes, I've given the fans as a whole more than enough." Why? BECAUSE HE OWES US NOTHING!

Sure, some celebrities cite ebay as a reason for not signing. It's a good excuse for them, even if it isn't completely accurate. But IMO the bigger reason would be because there are some collectors who ruin the hobby for everyone. There are many people involved in sporting that, if they ever were to see this thread, could probably cite some of the behavior of posters as a reason for not signing.

I'd be more angry with the newer players getting the million dollar contracts and not performing up to anything close to 1/4 of what Al did in his career. To me, that is stealing.

[jbwesterfield]

Once again, the point of this thread was to post the experience. I have stated multiple times that Kaline did not owe me anything. But I have just as much of a right to post my disgust with the unprofessional-ism of this TTM request as he does to just keep the $10 cash and send back the card unsigned. If nothing else, I hope my post warns others that if you send cash to Kaline, he might just keep it and not sign.

I just read yesterday on the sports card TTM forum that others have had the exact same experience in writing to Kaline that I did. Lesson learned, here...

[TheArtist]

Here's what I think of Al Kaline now.

It's worth it!

oooh you cut a card worth 5 cents in half. you're so dangerous. buy a real 54 topps kaline and cut it in half

[jbwesterfield]

You can get a "decent" Kaline rc for around $100. Not nearly as valuable as some of the greats.

[cagneyfan]

I know - you don't have to tell me - I used to deal 1933- 34 Goudeys, Play Balls, etc. Wish I had them now. LOL.

[NeilPearson]

Hi jbwesterfield

Thank you for your feedback Great Success

You have been added to the list for the $10 gift certificate.

Al Kaline on Fanmail.biz | Previous Feedback(s) Received

Fanmail

I'm not going to comment on this thread other than to question why 'Admin' thinks this is a success??!!! I hope the OP wins the $10 so he gets his money back!