Tips for building up autograph collection

Having once been a schoolboy — many years ago, I am aware that often school holidays tend to be boring unless the schoolboy or girl is involved with sports or hobbies.

The  days pass so slowly and then,  before you know it, it is time to start a new school year and you look back and acknowledge you did not use the break from school wisely.

So I would like to recommend a hobby that kept me busy during my school holidays and which may be used by schoolchildren during future breaks from school during 2024 and even beyond.

How about meeting various sports stars in your city and collecting their signatures as a hobby?

Or writing to them for their autographs?

In time such a collection could become pretty valuable.

Any player who has represented SA at rugby or cricket as well as professional soccer, appear to be the most valuable.

However, the collector is free to follow the sport he or she loves. It may be an aquatic sport like swimming, water polo or diving, golf, or even yachting. There are so many avenues to follow.

Very important, when one approaches a sportsman or woman for their autograph, one should use a clean book for the signature or present them with a photograph to sign across the front.

Sometimes it is good to get extra cards or pictures to swap with other collectors. If writing, always enclose a self-addressed and stamped envelope for their response.

As a youngster, I lived close to Newlands rugby and cricket grounds in Cape Town and I approached players directly or wrote to them.

In time, my collection has grown to over 550 Springbok rugby players’ signatures, and about 1,600 of various Test cricketers.

I have communicated with other collectors in Australia, New Zealand, England and India and one needs to be honest at all times with your collector-friends.

As I started this hobby back in the late 1950s, many of the signatures have grown in value because naturally a great deal of the players are now deceased and it is difficult and in many cases, impossible, to obtain their signature these days.

A word of warning, though. Be careful of unscrupulous dealers who sell or swap fraudulent signatures.

You will soon get to know who among the collectors or dealers is honest, and then you can deal freely with them and build up your collection.

Late last year, I managed to obtain the autograph of a Springbok rugby forward who played one Test against Great Britain in 1896 from a reputable collector in Cape Town.

My earliest SA Test cricketer was capped in 1922-23 in one Test against England, while I have a few signatures of Test cricketers from other countries who were capped before World War 1.

It is good to keep the autographs in a scrapbook for easy reference, in alphabetical order or in the sequence they were capped in a certain sport.

Finally,  always remember to sincerely thank the sports star for adding their valued signature to your collection.

I promise, you’ll make their day!