Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

SPORTS AUTOGRAPHS BY MAIL

Addresses for professional sports including:

My son and I started collecting autographs by mail several years ago. We have a collection of over 3,000 autographs that cost us nothing more than a little time and a couple of stamps.

We've received autographs from people such as: Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, A-Rod, Ichiro, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and so on.

The very first thing I can tell you is that it is important to enclose a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) as well as an item to be signed (ie: trading card or index card). Please remember that these people are busy and don't have the time to address an envelope and find a card to sign for you. Some Pro's have presigned items that they will send back in your envelope along with the unsigned item you sent them. For example, I sent a trading card to Cal Ripken Jr. which was returned to me unsigned but also enclosed in my envelope was an autographed postcard of himself, which was much nicer than the original card I sent. Kurt Warner, former QB for the St Louis Rams also returned my trading card unsigned along with a different trading card signed by him. Mr. Warner is a very religious man and the back of his signed card was a Bible verse. Also, know that some pros will not sign anything but will return your card unsigned. These people are few and far between but they are out there. I was born and bred a Washington Redskins fan and my all time favorite player used to be Darrell Green. He returned my unsigned card and a website address where I could go and purchase an autograph from him. That same day I received an autograph from Peyton Manning and Stephen Davis. Needless to say Stephen Davis became my new favorite player and Peyton Manning scored high in my books as well. I thought it was a little nuts that a cornerback from a team that hasn't been in the playoff for quite some time wanted money for an autograph but an outstanding Quarterback (in his rookie year then) could spare the time.

Second, they will never respond if you make a reference to selling the autographed item. Again, they're busy and don't like the thought of wasting their time signing something so you can make a profit. I always make it a point to enclose a short letter that tells them I'm a big fan and I ask them to sign the card enclosed. When my son, Spencer, got a little bit older, I let him write some of the letters, and was really impressed with the responses. I guess his misspelled words and his huge 9 year old handwriting was more appreciated than a typed letter from me. My son's letters were answered much faster and many of the cards were personalized to him. Jake Plummer (with the cardinals then) sent a card back that said "To Spencer, hope to see you in the NFL someday" then signed Jake 'the snake' Plummer. Two days after we received the card in the mail we also received a form letter from the Jake Plummer fan club thanking him for the letter he sent and also signed by Jake Plummer. Nomar Garciapara, (Boston Red Sox), also sent a personalized card to my son. It simply said "To Spencer, thanks a lot", then signed by Nomar. I personally believe that these pros appreciated the fact that this was a child and knew that it wasn't for profit.

Next, I always sent my letter and cards in bright envelopes, we found some neon colored envelopes in a craft store once. I'm sure that these pros receive tons of mail each week, my thought was in a pile of white envelopes a bright orange one would stick out and maybe grabbed first. Nontheless, some pros take a long time to respond. Keep in mind the profile of the person that you're writing to. If you figure that more people are writing to Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers than to Trent Green of the Kansas City Chiefs, it will take Favre longer to respond. Infact, it took about 14 months for me to hear back from Brett Favre and only 3 weeks to hear from Trent Green.

And last, I've found that sending letters to players during the offseason gets me a quicker response. If you figure, during the season the players are going to the games and traveling on the road they have less time to answer their fan mail. I usually send out Baseball in October and November, Football in late December and early January and Basektball and Hockey in late March and early April.

One final thing is when you write to a player (I'll use Barry Bonds for example) your mailed envelope should look like this:

Barry Bonds

c/o San Francisco Giants

24 Willie Mays Plaza

San Francisco, CA 94107

This will ensure that the envelope goes to Barry Bonds' fan mail. Enclosed should be a short letter asking for an autograph, a trading card or index card and a self addressed stamped envelope. Thanks a lot and lots of luck.

Major League Baseball addresses
National Basketball Association addresses
National Football League addresses
Women's National Basketball Association Addresses
Racing Addresses
National Hockey League Addresses