Some Balk Over Charging for Autographs

Not everyone considers athletes’ autographs and double-digit fees a winning combination.

In June, baseball Hall of Famer Willie Mays incited a brouhaha in Washington, D.C., when he charged $10 to autograph baseballs and gloves during a book-signing tour to promote his autobiography.

The mother of an 11-year-old said her son began crying when he learned that he would have to pay for the former outfielder’s autograph. And Robert Haft, president of Crown Books, which sponsored the event, said that Mays had tarnished his hero image.

The incident prompted a tirade from Washington Post sportswriter Shirley Povich.

“Whoever laid down those ground rules was a rapacious blackguard who was giving baseball a black eye, and giving kids’ hero-worship and Norman Rockwell and his America a kick in the groin,” Povich wrote.

Povich was not the first scribe to disparage the autograph industry. Scott Ostler, a Los Angeles Times sports columnist, opined last year that “it seems like some things should not be for sale.”

“Remember the famous Coca-Cola TV commercial, where Mean Joe Greene tosses the little kid his jersey? It wouldn’t have been quite as touching if Joe had said, ‘Here kid. For you, 10 bucks.’ ”

But baseball card show promoter Harlan J. Werner said these critics are off base.

First, he says, card show autograph sessions give fans a chance they would not otherwise have to see famous athletes up close and in person.

Second, hobbyists and collectors are buying something that may increase in value since the demand for, say, Mickey Mantle’s autograph, exceeds the supply.

Finally, Werner said, if you have a problem with the fee, “don’t pay it. . . . I’m offering a service. Some people like it, others don’t.”