The Holy Grail of autographs
Shoeless Joe photograph could fetch $100K at auction
Sharon Bowen thought her late husband was a bit crazy for buying a scrapbook filled with black and white photos of Cleveland ballplayers from the early 1900s — but not anymore. It turns out that book held what may be the only autographed photo of Shoeless Joe Jackson, the Holy Grail of baseball signatures.
Jackson, who was tossed out of baseball for throwing the 1919 World Series and remembered in the movie Field of Dreams, was illiterate and rarely signed anything but paycheques and legal documents, making his autograph among the rarest in sports.
How many Jackson signatures are in existence isn’t clear, but most experts agree that it’s probably less than 100. But this is the first signed photo authenticated by autograph experts, according to Heritage Auctions, which is handling the sale of the century-old photograph this month.
It could fetch at least $100,000, according to the Dallas-based auction house.
“If I were a betting man, I’d say the chances of another one surfacing would be highly unlikely,” said Joe Orlando, president of Professional Sports Authenticator, which validated the signature and photo.
Bill died at age 67 last April, and the family decided someone else should enjoy the photos.
The signed photos of Jackson and other members of the Cleveland Naps, the team that later became the Indians, will be sold in New York City on Feb. 21. The photo of Jackson — taken the year he became the only rookie to hit over .400 — had an online bid of $42,000 as of last week.
A baseball bearing Jackson’s shaky signature brought $78,000 in 2011. Even a scrap of paper with his autograph sold for $23,100 nearly 25 years ago.
The experts at Heritage Auctions were skeptical when the Bowen family contacted them. “We get calls and emails on a daily basis about stuff that turns out to be reproductions or they’re not authentic,” said Chris Ivy, the company’s director of sports auctions.