***** League Collectibles (share info, show off and learn)

I've started dabbling in ***** League collectibles and thought it would be nice to create a thread that shared knowledge on the subject, showed off items and perhaps was a bit educational on a part of American history that should not be forgotten.

Here is what I've found:


If you are interested in signed ***** League items, check out "The ***** Leagues Autograph Guide"

Because it only became popular to collect ***** League signatures in the last couple of decades, many players are incredibly difficult (if even possible to find). That said, those players who were in the last couple of decades, including some all-time greats, are readily available and are not expensive. For example: When the Pittsburgh Courier developed lists of their all-time best ***** League teams (spanning the history of the ***** Leagues) their "First Team" included Buck Leonard and Monte Irvin, whose autographs can be found for $20 or less. Leonard played from 1934-1950 and was often compared to Lou Gehrig. Note that Leonard has 2 versions of his signature, as he had a stroke which left his partially paralyzed on the right side of his body and he subsequently taught himself to write with his left hand. His pre-stroke signature is a little more expensive, but is a beautiful flowing signature. Irvin has a ton of signed cards out there.

There are many recent sets that include ***** League Signatures. These include: 2001 Fleer Stitches in Time (I believe the only set still comprised solely of ***** League signers), Fleer Greats of the Game (they had some each year) and Allen and Ginter.

The ***** Leaguers had reunions in the 90's where dozens of players would show. The signers were happy to sign but people rarely had individual or unique items for each person to sign so bats and photographs with 50+ ***** League signatures are not that unusual and can be had relatively cheaply. A really cool starting point for someone looking to explore the history of the ***** Leagues.

***** League players had ridiculously (and sometimes ridiculous nicknames...)

The ***** Leagues had a number of female players


Places to buy ***** League related items

• eBay
• Hakes.com
• Auctionscc.com

The auction house that sells the most ***** League stuff is Hakes.

Hakes.com

they have a lot of Americana and political stuff, but they always have baseball stuff in their auctions, the majority of which is often ***** stuff.

I can post some of my autos later.

Mighty Bombjack said:

The auction house that sells the most ***** League stuff is Hakes.

Hakes.com

they have a lot of Americana and political stuff, but they always have baseball stuff in their auctions, the majority of which is often ***** stuff.

I can post some of my autos later.

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Awesome, thanks. I'm going to start a list in the initial thread with auction houses. Do you know anything about Collectible Classics (auctionscc.com). They seem to have some nice ***** League signed stuff.

I came across this Clarence Williams autograph on eBay. Sweet item:

Possibly my favorite player of all-time...

Here are my ***** League autos. If I remember correctly, Simpson didn't play in the ***** Leagues for too many games. I also asked Simpson some questions, which he responded to by using a separate index card for each answer, and signing both sides of the index card

I used to pick signed cards and index cards from time to time for the uniqueness and to expand the auto collection (ladies baseball, etc too) and they were what i considered to be reasonably priced for players most bidders knew NOTHING about. It was hard to judge what to pay for players, because if they weren't the big names and you knew very little about them, the only other factor might be scarcity of their signature. Information and stats aren't exactly commonplace for the league and yet the popularity of these items have risen dramatically in the last 5 years in my observation. Now all you need to do is include "***** League" in an auction listing and it gets major traffic. I bet if you put the same unknown player name down and failed to mention that little fact, you'd get minimal traffic.

It's nice to see these men, some still living, getting more recognition via new card sets and increased fan appreciation though.

Topnotchsy said:

Awesome, thanks. I'm going to start a list in the initial thread with auction houses. Do you know anything about Collectible Classics (auctionscc.com). They seem to have some nice ***** League signed stuff.

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Yes, I have purchased from them before and recommend them. They always have baseball books in their auctions, which is my second focus after HOF autographs.

Oops, almost forgot one of my favorites. I always loved this set.

I've collected the majority of on card, pack inserted, autographs of ***** League stars, including the Ginter set. Here are a couple fav's

I always love a chance to show this off. My 1993 Fanfest autograph sheet consisting of only ***** Leaguers. I think all of these men are dead now.



Left side: Lymon Bostock, Sr., Leon Day, Charles Rivera, Sammy Haynes, James "Red" Moore, Luis Villodas
Right Side: Martinez Jackson (with inscription, "Reg's Dad." Yes, THAT Reggie Jackson), Frazier Robinson, Bill Wright (who was pretty much blind by then. Even though he had a handler, still managed to spin the sheet a little and sign off-kilter.)

1993 and 1994 Ted Williams Card Company featured Subsets of ***** League players. In 2001 Topps (and Chrome) had a very nice (but too small, only 10 players) insert set of ***** Leaguers, their first kind, I think.

I too am starting to get interested in this area of collecting. The nicknames and stats these men had amaze me
Yes it's only a seat but still a cool card








Also had a herb Simpson auto from ginter I sent To [MENTION=2413]MojoDan[/MENTION]
Have an Irvin somewhere

Buck O'Neil



Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe



Fleer Stitches in Time



Fleer Greats of the Game



Allen & Ginter



UD Century Legends



Topps Pristine Legends



Ron Lewis ***** League Postcard Sets (Series 1 and 2) <---- These are amazing, if you are a ***** league fan, buy them!



In-Person Show Signed Cards

My one signed item:

^

I wrote a Letter to Buck after his last appearance on the MLB HOF Veteran's Ballot. I was thrilled when this arrived a few weeks later and it is a cherished part of my collection. I have many other pieces to include all Allen Ginter ***** League players in Blue and Red Ink and a near complete 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Courier Team autograph collection (roster mentioned in the ***** League Autograph book) but this is my favorite.

http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a184/rangercalfas/*****%20Leaguers/scan0008_zps60692248.jpg

^^^ Wow George, I think that's one of the coolest things I've seen on FCB. Pure awesomeness with a ray of Buck's sunshine!

gracecollector said:

^^^ Wow George, I think that's one of the coolest things I've seen on FCB. Pure awesomeness with a ray of Buck's sunshine!

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I thought you might like it. I live how one on one the letter was written and also love how he signed it "Buck," no last name needed as if he and I had known each other for years.