Making a Market: 1992

Imagine a Joe DiMaggio autograph ticket for $10. A Mickey Mantle for $8. A Nolan Ryan for $6. That was around 1987, when the sports autograph industry was in its infancy. To some people, lining up to pay for a signature may seem crazy, too commercial for our precious, pristine national patime; to others, it brings method to the madness and brings the public face-to-face with childhood sports heroes. Fast forward to 1993. Mantle and DiMaggio have entered into exclusive autographing contracts with mass-marketing collectibles giants, companies that reach tens of millions of consumers and sports fans via television and mailboxes. Ryan and so many players in other sports, namely basketball, football and hockey, have done the same. Fans can sit at home, stuffing their gourds with corn nuts, and order a baseball signed by players who've hit 500 home runs or tossed 300 wins. Or they can charge goods through interactive computer systems and telephone auctions; or through the relatively arcane marketing technique of direct mail. For baseball's most famous Yankees since Ruth and Gehrig, the prices for autograph tickets have risen 600 percent in six years.

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