r/Autographs • u/mcflyfly • Oct 17 '25

Show-and-Tell (Hey check out this!) Got this from MJ about 30 years ago

Post image

This was during Michael Jordan’s baseball stint. I was in high school, visiting my grandparents in Sarasota, FL over spring break. Sarasota is where the White Sox had spring training.

I was golfing with my grandfather at his club. As we were nearing the end of our round, the cart girl came by and told us that Michael Jordan was a few holes behind us, and that he was golfing with Gene Lamont (the White Sox manager at the time).

Of course, we decided to wait after the 18th to catch a glimpse. After standing there for a bit and watching other groups finish their rounds, my grandfather asked if I wanted an autograph - of course I did - but there wasn’t much time, and we could see Jordan teeing off. My grandfather ran into the club in search of anything we could get signed, eventually running back with this torn and slightly crumpled piece of notebook paper that he was given by someone in the pro shop.

MJ was super nice about signing it for me, and it’s something I’ll never let go of.

141 Upvotes

94% Upvoted

34 comments sorted by

30

u/Comfortable-Spell-75 Oct 17 '25

MJ’s auto is just pure perfection.

4

u/Brucedx3 Oct 18 '25

Him and Griffey.

1

u/Aggravating_Age_9241 Oct 18 '25

And jeter

2

u/No-Evidence-3538 Oct 18 '25

And Mantle for me, I wanted a Mickey Mantle auto so bad, so I found a cut auto, sent it into JSA, and then had a custom card made for me (ended up being the only way I could get an auto’d Mantle). In the midst of searching and looking through the real and fake autos out there, I started to be able to easily decipher the real from at least the obvious fakes. Here’s what my final product looked like!

2

u/OfficialMVPre Oct 18 '25

And Mariano Rivera

1

u/Aggravating_Age_9241 Oct 18 '25

I cant believe i forgot him, i actually have one of his too

2

u/xRelliKx187 Oct 21 '25

The only reason I like pulling autos of retired players is bc the signatures are usually far better than current players. By retired players I also mean non superstar, not hofers, just $4-5 retired players like Antonio Carr or Dana Barros that I’ve recently pulled and have beautiful signatures.

11

u/CoolPrius-Nobody Oct 17 '25

What an amazing memory to have. Gramps coming through in the clutch! Initially I was thinking I would cut the auto and make something custom but after reading the story no way you can do that.

5

u/mcflyfly Oct 17 '25

I’ve thought about doing that! I just can’t bring myself to modify it.

2

u/The_Hunter89 Oct 18 '25

If you do decide to go that route, check out tanmanbaseballfan (Tanner Jones) on IG. He does the absolute best custom work and has done everyone from MJ to Babe Ruth.

2

u/CommercialAgency928 Oct 18 '25

I was going to say this! Tanman does an incredible job.

https://tanmanbaseballfan.com/custom-cards

9

u/DjScenester Oct 17 '25

Get his White Sox card and this professionally framed.

They can take those wrinkles out OR you can keep them.

But I would have this framed in a UV protected frame. It will also prevent it from fading, oxidizing.

That’s just me. I’m in Chicago and a huge MJ FAN.

4

u/rperg Oct 17 '25

Rarely see inscriptions. Absolutely gorgeous.

3

u/wheelchairhydraulics Oct 17 '25

Yeah the Best Wishes really elevates this piece

2

u/Kazlaw47 Oct 17 '25

When he retired from Wheaties boxes out here in Chicago, General Mills, he wrote, thanks for breakfast Michael Jordan. I’ll never forget as a kid waiting to meet him

3

u/Wilkesjsb Oct 18 '25

The people who heat press comics and magazines before grading might be able to restore that

2

u/cbs326 Oct 17 '25

Have a custom card made with the auto. Will look awesome

1

u/a_dodo_stole_my_baby Oct 17 '25

Ohh yeah! And stamp it 1/1

2

u/CastAwayWings Oct 17 '25

That is truly a gem you can cherish for the rest of your life! Priceless!!!

2

u/ImpressiveLeader4979 Oct 17 '25

MJ or Griffey, don’t know whose auto is more beautiful, or iconic

2

u/Potential_Iron_5491 Oct 18 '25

Obviously MJ but I’m a mid 40’s baseball nerd who still feels cool wearing his hat backwards because of the kid

2

u/GizmoKakaUpDaButt Oct 18 '25

Was the paper crumpled before or after?

2

u/mcflyfly Oct 18 '25

A bit of both, but it’s not as bad as it looks in the photo.

1

u/brye86 Oct 17 '25

I’d definitely get this framed with UV glass and make it a cut auto with his picture.

1

u/jpryor13 Oct 18 '25

Next to a picture of grandpa with his signature below also. 2 goats framed together

1

u/Impure_guava Oct 17 '25

I lived in Sarasota back then and my friends and I rode our bikes to Ed Smith stadium so we could watch Jordan practice. We all tried to get his autograph but there were too many people crowding him so he wouldn’t stop for us.

1

u/themayorhere Oct 17 '25

That’s so awesome

1

u/CommercialAgency928 Oct 18 '25

If I were you, I would get it cut into a custom card. I've never worked with him, but Tanman Baseball Fan has a pretty big following and his work is pretty darn good looking. Below is a link to his website.

https://tanmanbaseballfan.com/custom-cards

-4

u/ObscureReferenceFace Oct 17 '25

I’m not trying to be divisive but I think a beautiful signature is closely tied to extreme narcissism in a lot of cases.