If you find enjoyment in
collecting baseball memorabilia,
you must give "Oddball Autographs"
a try. It's a hobby, have some fun
with it. An oddball autograph is an
item signed by a ballplayer, that
is atypical, bizarre, unusual, or
uncommon to the game of baseball
itself. For example a betting slip
signed by Pete Rose, or a bar
napkin signed by Mickey Mantle. An
item that will truly strike up a
conversation.
.....And just when you thought you saw it all. A
Tom Lasorda PSA/DNA Authentic
Single Signed Blue Claw Crab Shell.
I could just picture Lasorda being
approached at a restaurant to sign
a crab. His reaction with Spaghetti
hanging out of his mouth would be
priceless. As it turns out the crab
was autographed in the presence of
a PSA/DNA representative. The C.O.A
that accompanies the crab that
features the hologram sticker,
lists that the crab was made by
Rawlings....Interesting.
Gaylord Perry finished his
Hall of Fame career with 314 wins
and 3,524 strikeouts, but his place
in baseball history rests mainly
with his notorious use of the
spitball. As reveled in his 1974
autobiography "Me and the Spitter,"
Gaylord admitted to throwing mud
balls, sweat balls, Vaseline, and
K-Y jelly balls. it became common
for fans to show up at card shows
and ask him to
sign jars of
Vaseline.
When Gaylord Perry retired from the game in 1983, he became a tobacco and
peanut farmer in Williamston N.C.
The "Shelled-Raw Extra Large
Peanuts" were sold in two different
sized burlap bags. One bag was 32
ounces, the other 5 pounds.
Pictured here is the 5lb. bag
autographed by Perry at the top.
The bag "Packed for Gaylord Perry
Peanut Farm" also features his
facsimile Signature, and a recipe
enclosed.
Another "Nutty" oddball autograph is this Corey Koskie signed jar of
Skippy Peanut Butter. In honor of
Boston Red Sox retiring DH David
Ortiz playing his final series ever
in Minnesota he received an
interesting joke gift from his
former club. David Ortiz was
presented with a jar of peanut
butter from
former teammate Corey Koskie as a
gift. As the story goes, it was in
reference to an old prank that once
played out in the Minnesota Twins clubhouse.
Jokesters David Ortiz and Corey Koskie went at it all the time. One day
Koskie came out of the game in the
seventh inning. David was still in
the game. Koskie went upstairs and
put peanut butter all in David's
tighty whities. The whole team knew
about it, and watched it unfold.
After the game Ortiz took a shower,
put his underwear on, his pants,
shirt, and shoes. Ortiz took about
10 steps and when he got to the
door, he paused with one foot in
the air. Ortiz went off on his
teammates as they were on the
ground laughing.
Inscribed "Best Wishes to Diane"
this mini baseball Bottle opener
was given as a gift from Phil
Rizzuto in 1957. The novelty bottle
opener has a leather cover
mini-baseball for a handle, and
dates to the mid to late 1950's. it
measures 3 1/2" long and 1 5/8"
wide. I've seen a number of these
bottle openers on ebay from time to
time but none autographed by a
ballplayer.
This hand crafted 'Hot Iron Originals' saddle was made by J. Williams in
1997, and celebrates Nolan Ryan's
Years with the Texas Rangers, and
Houston Astros. The Limited Edition
number 25 of 34 leather saddle is
signed twice by Ryan, once on each
of the two fenders which also
features hand burned action shots
of the Texas "Lone Star Legend."
The Express is immortalized with
three more hand burnt portraits,
and career milestones achieved while
playing with both the Rangers and
Astros.
Here is an oddball autograph which value needs to be checked with a Kelley
Blue book, instead of SCD's
Standard Catalog of Sports
memorabilia. This Is a Matt
Holliday Autographed BMW that a
woman had bought from Matt, and
like the Nolan Ryan Saddle, had him
sign it twice. Not on the fenders
but on each of the two headrests.