I am absolutely gutted :(

[nazimcricket]

Never had a problem with Warne, have received cards signedby him TTM and IP. Its not him who asks for the $$$, it's the people who rumhis charity. The guy gets a bad wrap a lot of the time. I once met himon a golf course, was telling him I was spewing I didn't have anythingfor him to sign, he laughed, wrote an address on his scorecard and said meet me there tomorrow and I'll sign anything u want.

Top bloke, legendary player.

I'm sure you're right. Still, I feel really let down by the whole experience as I really wanted to get these items signed and was willing to pay for it - but not $2K.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Never had a problem with Warne, have received cards signedby him TTM and IP. Its not him who asks for the $$$, it's the people who rumhis charity. The guy gets a bad wrap a lot of the time. I once met himon a golf course, was telling him I was spewing I didn't have anythingfor him to sign, he laughed, wrote an address on his scorecard and said meet me there tomorrow and I'll sign anything u want.

Top bloke, legendary player.

Got that address? Might try my luck

 

[footypugs2011]

I have read thru some stories here and i remember when i started collecting cards. MY dad was a footy nut and made sure his daughter would follow in his footsteps. Even as a kid i remember going up to the crushers players when they first started out. I was maybe 12 or 13 and i had heaps of cards for these guys to sign. Dad made sure i had pen, always waited til they were finished, Asked them politly and always say thank you for your time. I always have and always follow those rules.

At a game crushers v manly i waited around the side of the bus to get some of the top players back then - lyons, menzies, hill, toovey just to name a few. Slowly one by one came out and i went up but cause i was small i used to get pushed out of the way. But i waited and if i player did'nt see me i would tug on his shirt and shout out excuse me sir can i you please sign my cards. Most of the players would laugh and start chatting to me and say sorry i did'nt see you. Toovey came out and i have a few cards and his words was f*** off. My dad sore red and asked him not to say that to kids, tooveys remark again was to go get f***d. Now terry hill saw what happen and he asked for my cards. I was worried to hand them over but dad said let he have them. He went on the bus and he even could'nt get them signed for me. Hill came back and said sorry to my dad and i and asked if i needed any more auto's.

Over the years alot of players don't like signing - Players on my shame list

Justin Hodges - Hates signing more then one card and scribbles
Geoff Toovey - hates signing
Jason King - Askes what are you going to do with them and only one card
Mark Gasiner - Very hard to get and was'nt signing in his last year, if you did get it it looked like a 3 year old did it

Now i'm in my late 20's and i still wait near the tunnel or at the bus but i always let the kids go first. I always carry 4-5 pens as there is always a kid who does'nt have a pen and i feel sorry for the little guy and give them my pen.PLayers still knock back kids and i just wonder when they retire they will be forgotten. The players that sign for us as the ones we remember as we got there auto at that game.

 

[jefferson]

I'm sure you're right. Still, I feel really let down by the whole experience as I really wanted to get these items signed and was willing to pay for it - but not $2K.

Send a tweet to Warnie. He spends a lot of time interacting with followers on twitter. Might be able to get a response rather than a ridiculous $2000 from his representative.

 

[nazimcricket]

Send a tweet to Warnie. He spends a lot of time interacting with followers on twitter. Might be able to get a response rather than a ridiculous $2000 from his representative.

I wouldn't know what to say to him. It's not something I could discuss publicly with him. For all I know, his manager has already conferred with him and it's his idea to ask for $2K. I doubt he'd respond to a tweet asking him to email me

 

[nazimcricket]

Screw it - have tweeted the following. Maybe he'll respond:

"@warne888 Absolutely gutted! Would love the opportunity to discuss with you direct .... please email me: nazim@nazimcricket.com"

 

[anakinleo]

Have I missed a point here? Thought he wanted the money to go to charity. $2k for 14 autographs sounds pretty reasonable to be honest.

 

[nazimcricket]

Have I missed a point here? Thought he wanted the money to go to charity. $2k for 14 autographs sounds pretty reasonable to be honest.

I disagree. Most TTM requests easily contain 3 to 5 items and cost nothing. $2K is an awful lot of money to "demand" for those autographs - charity or not. Besides, it was more the curt/dismissive tone of the response that irked me. Basically $2K or the Highway.

I made sure to point out that none of the items in my collection are ever used for profit or kind and that is the truth. As a genuine collector, I do "give back" and promote the hobby and players with a lot of sincerity. I had even volunteered to promote the Shane Warne Foundation, much as I do for the McGrath Foundation. I really don't think I deserved the type of response I got.

 

[anakinleo]

I see your point but you need to also see from the player's point of view. I mean put yourself in the position of the sports star, and the same person just asked you for 14 autographs. And multiply that by the number of people who wants his autograph. He is sort of doing the right thing by limiting this request through a donation. I cant see a win win situation unless he charges a nominal amount. In NBA land, most star players would charge an amount for their autograph and part of it goes to their pocket.

 

[BLOWN8]

I disagree. Most TTM requests easily contain 3 to 5 items and cost nothing. $2K is an awful lot of money to "demand" for those autographs - charity or not. Besides, it was more the curt/dismissive tone of the response that irked me. Basically $2K or the Highway.

I made sure to point out that none of the items in my collection are ever used for profit or kind and that is the truth. As a genuine collector, I do "give back" and promote the hobby and players with a lot of sincerity. I had even volunteered to promote the Shane Warne Foundation, much as I do for the McGrath Foundation. I really don't think I deserved the type of response I got.

i agree mate. 2k is a hell of a lot of money for 5 minutes of his time for a fan. shame its always about the money for someone that already has more than i'll ever see in my life lol, charity or not, fans come first. i dont ever get in-person signatures now, but did as a kid and its an amazing feeling to have something you worked at getting in your collection, kinda a one off or 1/1 if you like. tony modra and jason dunstall always returned my letters with cards, also found paul hudson to be a very nice guy and even wrote me a hand written letter back. TTM and in-person dont interest me at all and hold no value in my collection, but for a kid theres nothing better. sports stars are getting a little too big for their boots these days.
btw was at a hawks family day here in tassie with my nephew about a year ago, the players that came were all sitting in a tent in a line giving signatures out, about 3 mins from the end jordan lewis got up and snuck out the back of the tent. i was very tempted to yell out at him 'hey Lewis, to cool to sign autos for the kids?'. but decided against it as kids and their parents were everywhere around me, didnt want to cause a seen but was very disappointed. some sports people are just like that.

 

[Muzza]

The problem is that sport is run as a big business (cliched but true); no trust, no respect, survival of the fittest. Combined with the growing market for signed memorabilia created by ebay and the various governing bodies, every one wants a piece of the pie. Where does that leave the honest collector? But all of the anecdotes prove one thing - there are good people and then there are dicks. Same as in all walks of life.

 

[nazimcricket]

I appreciate the many opinions shared in this post. One thing I would like to clarify is that the entire purpose of my email to Warne's manager was to offer a small amount of money in exchange for the autographs. At no point was I looking for freebies.

I admit, I was asking for a lot of items to be signed and I was not offering a large sum in return, but regardless of that, I don't think I deserved the treatment I received. He could've offered to have half the items signed, or given me the opportunity to negotiate the donation amount, but he didn't - hence why I've vented here!

Anyhow, time to let this matter fizzle out. I doubt Warne is going to bother discussing this matter with me and I doubt, I'll ever bother writing to him again!!

 

[Jonathon M]

Michael Slater, when he was out of the Australian Team in 1996/97 was at Gosford's old Graeme Park - a real dump - and playing Foster's Lite Ice one dayers, or somesuch for NSW (the Aussie team was in Melbourne for a ODI vs Pakistan and that was the day Anthony Stuart took a ODI hat-trick). Anyway, they were all signing. So I handed him my 1994/95 Ashes box set Slater card...and he was like 'wow, do you really want me to sign this? Isn't this one of the rare ones?'. By then, the queue stopped, all the NSW players stopped and turned to look. Michael Slater was "Mate, I can't damage this card." I literally had to cajole him to sign it. So he did, in this beautiful handwriting and to this day, it is my most cherished signing/cricket moment. I mean I was 21 at the time, and the queue was all kids and everyone was a bit 'grow up mate' but I'm glad I did it. I thanked him and told him he'd be back in the Test team in no time. I still think he is the most dashing and exciting opener I have seen (yep...you can take your Langer and Hayden and...). Later, he went off the rails a bit, but I was glad he got himself sorted and enjoy his commentary now.

The other was Merv Hughes at the SCG for the Bush Fire appeal match at the beginning of 1994. Just a funny fella and when I was waiting at the back with all the little kids and finally got him to sign my 1993/94 Ashes common, he arced an eyebrow and said "mate, aren't you a bit old for this?" and I smiled and said no. But he signed it nice and neat and then patted me on the head and said "there you go little fella" making everyone laugh, even me.

Pat Symcox at the SCG outer, sharing a cigarette in 1993/94 because the team didn't like him smoking in the rooms. So we sit and chat for about an hour about South Africa, cricket (and mind you I was 17-18 at the time), but a true gentleman. Then he took all my cards and got 'em signed by the players and came back. LEGEND! At the beginning of 2002, the ODI final between NZ and Sth Africa at the SCG, we were having lunch in the city, and we came across the team bus for South Africa. They were all piled in, waiting for Jonty. So they're all yelling "come on Jonty...mate, you are so slow!" None of my mates got sigs, mind you I was 26 at the time, and I asked for Pollock, and someone was joking "he's s#it...you don't want his autograph...have mine." Eventually, my program was handed around the whole bus. They asked me if I wanted a lift and I said yeah, but the manager said no. We bade them good luck and farewell and got going. Anyway, Jonty comes running out and Pollock is all "hey Jonty, Jonty go sign that guys program." So here's Jonty Rhodes, South African legend, legging down the street and I've turned around and Jonty's goes "I have to sign something?" And I just died! Jonty Rhodes, another hero...and he's chased me for a sig. So he signs it, I wish him luck and he bolts back to their mini bus, jumps in and they roar off all acting like a tour bus full of teenagers. Even writing this now, huge smiles.

Steve Waugh at Erina Fair signing his books...just a gentleman. Mark Taylor at Borders Macquarie (where I worked and he was a regular) signing his autobiography. [My young co-worker goes up to his wife and says "Wow! Mark Taylor is in the store!" And the woman replies "I know, he's my husband!"] Gilchrist at Parramatta Dymocks...top bloke.

Sadly, my all time hero, Allan Border (at the same Bushfire Appeal match) told me to "F*** off, I don't sign those cards!" LOL! Gutted. Mark Waugh, Mercantile Mutual Cup 1991 at North Sydney - "where's your f***ing pen?" so I had to borrow one, which pi$$ed him off for some reason (but made me realise to always carry 3-4 different pens). Greg 'Mo' Matthews at the SCG on a rain soaked night for a Mercantile Mutual game - I'd say 1992. And I gave him the previous summer's ING Cup Australian Test card with a biro. The nib broke, getting ink all over the card, his hand and on his pants, resulting in a "Jesus ***ing C****t!" and a dirty look...LOL!

So yeah, you have to be in the right spot at the right time sometimes and you do get good memories. The bad ones, I chalk up.

Awesome post!

Slater was a gun, my fave modern day opener as well.... Couldn't give two shits about Hayden....I don't think I'll ever get over Hayden's breaking of Bradman's record against Zimbabwe - ZIM-FUKN-BABWE (after Taylor showed class by retiring when equaling it).... That was they day test cricket died for me up until the 05 Ashes series....


Love the Symcox/Jonty story too... Never too old to appreciate stuff like that

 

[Richo]

Michael Slater, when he was out of the Australian Team in 1996/97 was at Gosford's old Graeme Park - a real dump - and playing Foster's Lite Ice one dayers, or somesuch for NSW (the Aussie team was in Melbourne for a ODI vs Pakistan and that was the day Anthony Stuart took a ODI hat-trick). Anyway, they were all signing. So I handed him my 1994/95 Ashes box set Slater card...and he was like 'wow, do you really want me to sign this? Isn't this one of the rare ones?'. By then, the queue stopped, all the NSW players stopped and turned to look. Michael Slater was "Mate, I can't damage this card." I literally had to cajole him to sign it. So he did, in this beautiful handwriting and to this day, it is my most cherished signing/cricket moment. I mean I was 21 at the time, and the queue was all kids and everyone was a bit 'grow up mate' but I'm glad I did it. I thanked him and told him he'd be back in the Test team in no time. I still think he is the most dashing and exciting opener I have seen (yep...you can take your Langer and Hayden and...). Later, he went off the rails a bit, but I was glad he got himself sorted and enjoy his commentary now.

The other was Merv Hughes at the SCG for the Bush Fire appeal match at the beginning of 1994. Just a funny fella and when I was waiting at the back with all the little kids and finally got him to sign my 1993/94 Ashes common, he arced an eyebrow and said "mate, aren't you a bit old for this?" and I smiled and said no. But he signed it nice and neat and then patted me on the head and said "there you go little fella" making everyone laugh, even me.

Pat Symcox at the SCG outer, sharing a cigarette in 1993/94 because the team didn't like him smoking in the rooms. So we sit and chat for about an hour about South Africa, cricket (and mind you I was 17-18 at the time), but a true gentleman. Then he took all my cards and got 'em signed by the players and came back. LEGEND! At the beginning of 2002, the ODI final between NZ and Sth Africa at the SCG, we were having lunch in the city, and we came across the team bus for South Africa. They were all piled in, waiting for Jonty. So they're all yelling "come on Jonty...mate, you are so slow!" None of my mates got sigs, mind you I was 26 at the time, and I asked for Pollock, and someone was joking "he's s#it...you don't want his autograph...have mine." Eventually, my program was handed around the whole bus. They asked me if I wanted a lift and I said yeah, but the manager said no. We bade them good luck and farewell and got going. Anyway, Jonty comes running out and Pollock is all "hey Jonty, Jonty go sign that guys program." So here's Jonty Rhodes, South African legend, legging down the street and I've turned around and Jonty's goes "I have to sign something?" And I just died! Jonty Rhodes, another hero...and he's chased me for a sig. So he signs it, I wish him luck and he bolts back to their mini bus, jumps in and they roar off all acting like a tour bus full of teenagers. Even writing this now, huge smiles.

Steve Waugh at Erina Fair signing his books...just a gentleman. Mark Taylor at Borders Macquarie (where I worked and he was a regular) signing his autobiography. [My young co-worker goes up to his wife and says "Wow! Mark Taylor is in the store!" And the woman replies "I know, he's my husband!"] Gilchrist at Parramatta Dymocks...top bloke.

Sadly, my all time hero, Allan Border (at the same Bushfire Appeal match) told me to "F*** off, I don't sign those cards!" LOL! Gutted. Mark Waugh, Mercantile Mutual Cup 1991 at North Sydney - "where's your f***ing pen?" so I had to borrow one, which pi$$ed him off for some reason (but made me realise to always carry 3-4 different pens). Greg 'Mo' Matthews at the SCG on a rain soaked night for a Mercantile Mutual game - I'd say 1992. And I gave him the previous summer's ING Cup Australian Test card with a biro. The nib broke, getting ink all over the card, his hand and on his pants, resulting in a "Jesus ***ing C****t!" and a dirty look...LOL!

So yeah, you have to be in the right spot at the right time sometimes and you do get good memories. The bad ones, I chalk up.

That's a great post! The Jonty story is a ripper!

When I was on the 2005 Ashes Tour I carried around my Lords Test tickets and every Aussie Cricketer I bumped into I asked to sign a ticket. Glenn McGrath asked me what I would do with the tickets and that was about the only opposition I got. He still happily signed once I told them they would be framed though (See pic below for the result).

I am friends with Merv so I'll have to tell him about that memory of yours! He has signed MANY cards for me and in some cases my friends here @ OZCARDS - He ALWAYS has a great signature!

Sorry to hear about the AB experience.....I sent him a couple of cards through the mail and he promptly sent them ALL back with excellent signatures so maybe he has changed his stance on signatures now.

Sorry to read about the Warne experience Nazim.......I'd send a couple in via the mail and just hope to get them for free. Quite a few people here have succeeded in doing that.....trouble is you only get his shortened signature which is not much more than a "S".

 

[May-Z]

jonty also happens to be my favourite autograph. at the 1992 world cup match against india at adelaide i was waiting with my uncle (i was 9 at the time) round the back near the adelaide oval nets as the players were leaving that way. i had the entire south african team except for jonty and all of the players seemed to have left. we then heard someone say he might be leaving via the southern gates so we started running towards the gates and when we got to the gates he was just getting into a taxi so we yelled at him and he stopped the taxi and signed for me.

andrew flintoff post 2005 ashes was very arrogant and he refused to sign anything on the 2006/7 tour sprouting off about ebay all the time. he did eventually sign my mini bat for my little sister though. this was the complete opposite to his nature on the 2002/3 tour.

carl hooper wouldnt sign my book back in 1992/3 but i did get his signature in a county game in 1994, and he seems to sign a bit more now

 

[Richo]

To be totally honest I can understand where the players are coming from WRT eBay!

Sooooo many people get a signature with the intention of keeping it and end up selling it on eBay for a few $$$. Many get the signatures solely with the purpose of making a few $$$ on eBay!

So it is understandable that many players are now reluctant to sign.

I have never sold a signature card that I have personally obtained (by mail or in person) and I don't like seeing them for sale on eBay but that is the day and age we are in. I see plenty of people here on OZCT selling personaly obtained signatures in ALL the sport codes so we only have ourselves to blame when where get a knock-back because a player thinks you may just want to profiteer off his signature.

Just my 5c worth

 

[Richo]

Never had a problem with Warne, have received cards signedby him TTM and IP. Its not him who asks for the $$$, it's the people who rumhis charity. The guy gets a bad wrap a lot of the time. I once met himon a golf course, was telling him I was spewing I didn't have anythingfor him to sign, he laughed, wrote an address on his scorecard and said meet me there tomorrow and I'll sign anything u want.

Top bloke, legendary player.

That's gold! Great post!

 

[Matty76]

It amazes me Paul that more players don't dedicate their signatures to the recipient in TTM requests. For example, I sent a photograph to Pat Rafter to sign and he wrote "onya Matt!" above his autograph. So obviously that one won't have much resale value yet means so much to me personally. Same as Neil Harvey and Sam Loxton requests that I sent a number of years ago. That would automatically allay their fears about 'next day on Ebay" selling.

 

[Richo]

It amazes me Paul that more players don't dedicate their signatures to the recipient in TTM requests. For example, I sent a photograph to Pat Rafter to sign and he wrote "onya Matt!" above his autograph. So obviously that one won't have much resale value yet means so much to me personally. Same as Neil Harvey and Sam Loxton requests that I sent a number of years ago. That would automatically allay their fears about 'next day on Ebay" selling.

Very good point! Wonder if they even know that?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

That's a great post! The Jonty story is a ripper!

When I was on the 2005 Ashes Tour I carried around my Lords Test tickets and every Aussie Cricketer I bumbed into I asked to sign a ticket. Glenn McGrath asked me what I would do with the tickets and that was about the only opposition I got. He still happily signed once I told them they would be framed though (See pic below for the result).

I am friends with Merv so I'll have to tell him about that memory of yours! He has signed MANY cards for me and in some cases my friends here @ OZCARDS - He ALWAYS has a great signature!

Sorry to hear about the AB experience.....I sent him a couple of cards through the mail and he promptly sent them ALL back with excellent signatures so maybe he has changed his stance on signatures now.

Sorry to read about the Warne experience Nazim.......I'd send a couple in via the mail and just hope to get them for free. Quite a few people here have succeeded in doing that.....trouble is you only get his shortened signature which is not much more than a "S".

Yeah Merv made me laugh. Embasrrased me, but I saw the funny side. As for AB, he was signing heaps of stuff at the time, just not my card. LOL! After chatting on here the other night, I went searching through the boxes in the spare room (I have 2 littlies, the spare room is a horders nightmare and everything is in unmarked boxes!) Found the Merv card and my David Campese signed card [that's a whole other story, but geez, he was a tops bloke despite what people would have you believe] but I couldn't put my finger on the Slater (it's in one of those rigid frames things so I know it's safe 'somewhere' in the room).

Still...each player is allowed their own beliefs. I guess as long as you are polite, it doesn't hurt to ask. The anecdote about Toovey though sticks in my gullet. Can't believe players diss kids. Bah!