Football Too Many Autograph Cards

[gipper1985]

DJ HALL

I have nothing against DJ Hall, I did not even know who he was until I stumbled upon a trading card website called Check Out My Cards a few years ago. He is a perfect illustration of one of the more goofy parts of card collecting.

I am a New York Giants fan and I collect New York Giants cards. Over recent years I have been buying a number of autographed cards of players in Giants uniforms. Most of these cards I purchase for a couple of dollars or less because they never made it in the pros. Like I said I am a life-long Giants fan and I have never heard of DJ Hall. Yet on the above mentioned website there are forty different autographed issues of DJ Hall available for sale and I would say there is probably another forty or fifty not listed.

Consulting “master” Google I determined that he had a stellar college career starting all four years at Alabama. That is definitely something to be proud of. But he was undrafted and signed as a free agent with the Giants in 2008. He never played a down in the NFL or any other professional league. In retrospect he was a longshot at best, yet the card companies felt like he had to be included in just about every set. I just don’t understand it.

Personally I would rather have autographs of players who at least made the team for a few years, even if they were very minor players. Unfortunately, it seems the bulk of autographs available are of very talented players who never even made a roster.

 

[CamaroDMD]

I think part of it might be simple economics. Hall was a good college player and since he wasn't expected to be a high draft pick (turned out wasn't picked at all) I'm sure the card companies were able to get him to sign autos cheap. Since almost all autos these days are just stickers...they probably had him sign sheet after sheet of stickers.

Even though he didn't pan out, the card companies had all these autographs in their inventory they needed to get rid of. Rather than toss them...they ended up finding ways to use them, even if that means issuing a ton of cards of him. Plus, collectors these days are so crazy for "hits" they have to keep up with that demand...and doing this allows them to do that.

I think this is why we see autos of many players who don't make it in large quantity.

 

[gipper1985]

I never consider how far in advance of the draft, etc. they need to get these things autographed. It makes much more sense now.

 

[rz3300]

Well you never really know what the market will hold for any card, and I have come to be surprised over the years. Sometimes all it takes is the right buyer and you can find yourselves quite surprised. Do not get too excited though because it is rare, but you never know.

 

[CamaroDMD]

Well you never really know what the market will hold for any card, and I have come to be surprised over the years. Sometimes all it takes is the right buyer and you can find yourselves quite surprised. Do not get too excited though because it is rare, but you never know.

Not just that...but sometimes the right fit for a player and suddenly a forgotten bust is a star. That happens every now and again. Guys like Kurt Warner pop up and suddenly all those old worthless cards are something.

 

[rz3300]

I agree with CamaroDMD...My friend actually had a Steven Jackson card from his days with the Rams and he said he went ahead and sold it when he was playing this year for New England and kind of resurrected his career with his last stop. It is all about taking advantage of the situations and the current market.