Behind the Scenes at a 60-Athlete Autograph Show in Nashville

What does it actually take to get customer memorabilia signed when50 or 60 different athletes are appearing at the same show?

From the outside, an autograph signing can look pretty simple.

Bring the item to the athlete.

Get the autograph.

Bring it home.

But at a large autograph show, the actual signing is probably the easiest part of the entire process.

We recently traveled toNashville for a major autograph show, and on an episode ofThe Powers Sports Memorabilia Show, Matt Powers and Caleb Harper talked about what happened behind the scenes.

There were game-used Doug Flutie jerseys, an inscription mix-up with Pedro Martinez, cards purchased at the show and immediately taken upstairs to be signed, our first major show using PROVA authentication, and some memorable interactions with the athletes.

Here's what collectors don't normally get to see.

Getting Ready for a Major Autograph Show

The work starts long before we arrive at the show.

When a customer's item arrives at Powers Sports Memorabilia, we need to know exactly what they want.

Which athlete is signing it?

What pen color should be used?

Where should the autograph go?

Is there an inscription?

Does the customer want authentication?

Once everything is documented and labeled, the item is placed with the other memorabilia for that athlete.

Then we have to get all of it to the signing.

For Nashville, that meant packing customer items, preparing our paperwork, shipping the boxes to the event location, flying to Nashville and then unpacking everything when we arrived. Pasted text

And then we do it all over again.

If certain athletes are signing Friday night, their items need to be ready first.

Once those signings are complete, those items are packed back up and the next group is prepared for Saturday.

Then Saturday's items are packed and Sunday's items come out.

There is a lot of:

Packing. Unpacking. Organizing. Signing. Repacking.

That's the part collectors don't usually see.

Getting the Autograph Is the Easy Part

It sounds strange, but actually getting the autograph can be one of the simplest steps.

The difficult part is making sure theright item gets the right autograph with the right pen, inscription and authentication.

When you're handling customer memorabilia for dozens of athletes, there are a lot of moving pieces.

The customer needs to send us the correct item and instructions.

We have to understand those instructions.

The item needs to be properly labeled.

It has to get to Nashville.

It has to be organized with the correct athlete.

Then it gets signed.

Then everything has to be packed again and returned to Powers Sports Memorabilia before it can go back to the customer.

Fortunately, we were able to get the Nashville items back and start shipping them to customers within only a few days of the show. Pasted text

Doug Flutie and the Game-Used Jerseys

One of our favorite stories from Nashville involvedDoug Flutie.

A customer sent us multiple game-used jerseys to have signed.

Game-used memorabilia can be some of the most interesting—and most complicated—memorabilia we handle.

When customers send us a game-used item, we like them to include a copy of any authentication or documentation they have.

That's particularly important when they're asking an athlete to add a"Game Used" inscription.

The athlete may want to know that the item is legitimate before putting that inscription on it.

In this case, the jerseys had documentation, including authentication connected to Gray Flannel. Pasted text

But then Doug saw them.

And he wanted to know:

How do you guys have these and I don't?

That's when things got interesting.

When the Athlete Recognizes His Own Equipment

Flutie carefully looked at the jerseys.

He felt they looked legitimate, but understandably, he didn't want to put a game-used inscription on something unless he was comfortable with what he was seeing.

One of the pieces was a Boston College jersey.

Think about how cool that is.

There weren't endless quantities of jerseys being produced and used for players the way collectors sometimes imagine today.

A legitimate game-used jersey from that part of an athlete's career can be a very special piece of memorabilia. Pasted text

And these types of interactions are one of our favorite parts of getting game-used memorabilia signed.

Sometimes an athlete sees something and immediately recognizes it.

"Bro, Where Did You Get Those?"

We've seen this happen with other athletes.

At a previous Julian Edelman signing, Matt had a pair of Edelman's game-used cleats.

Before Edelman was even close to the signing table, he saw them.

His reaction was essentially:

"Bro, where did you get those?"

There wasn't much doubt in his mind.

He knew his cleats.

Caleb had a similar experience with a Drew Tranquill game-used cleat that had been photo-matched to a Christmas Day game.

He also had a game-used Bobby Witt Jr. belt from Players' Weekend, and Witt noticed the piece when Caleb had an opportunity to see him.

Those reactions can become part of the story of the memorabilia itself. Pasted text

Why Game-Used Memorabilia Can Be Tricky

An athlete recognizing an item is cool, but collectors shouldn't assume that every athlete will remember every piece of equipment they ever used.

Sometimes they do.

Sometimes they don't.

Some athletes are very cautious about signing something with a game-used inscription.

That's understandable.

If they aren't sure the item was actually used by them, they may not want their autograph effectively endorsing the claim.

At Nashville, we also watched Reggie Jackson examine bats closely before signing.

That's why provenance, authentication and photo matching can be so important with game-used memorabilia.

The better the documentation, the better.

The Pedro Martinez Inscription Problem

Another great lesson from Nashville came fromPedro Martinez.

A customer requested an inscription with Pedro's MLB debut date.

Our paperwork had:

9/2/92

Matt brought the baseball to Pedro.

Pedro signed it and wrote:

9/24/92

That looked like a problem.

We assumed the athlete had accidentally written the wrong date.

Fortunately, we had extra baseballs.

So we asked if we could redo it.

Pedro signed another baseball.

And once again he wrote:

9/24/92.

At that point, it was time to check.

Pedro was right.

The requested date was wrong. Pasted text

Always Double-Check Your Inscriptions

That Pedro story provides a great lesson for anyone sending an item to an autograph signing.

Double-check your inscriptions before submitting your order.

Dates.

Statistics.

Awards.

Career totals.

Nicknames.

Championship years.

Anything that involves specific information should be verified.

Athletes can make mistakes too.

We talked about another situation involving Fergie Jenkins where an extra digit was accidentally added to a strikeout total.

Mistakes happen.

When possible, we try to catch them.

But if you're requesting a very specific or unusual inscription, make sure the information you're providing is correct before your item ever gets to the athlete. Pasted text

Buying a Card at the Show and Immediately Getting It Signed

One of the fun parts about some large autograph events is that there may also be a card show happening nearby.

That creates a unique opportunity.

You can find something downstairs...

…and potentially take it upstairs and have the athlete sign it.

Caleb did exactly that.

At the Nashville card show, we found anEric Dickerson Downtown card.

Since Dickerson was appearing at the autograph show, we were able to buy the card and then get it signed at the same event. Pasted text

That's pretty cool.

You're walking through a card show, you spot a card you like, and a short time later the athlete pictured on the card is signing it.

Those are the kinds of opportunities we always look for when we're attending these events.

Using PROVA Authentication at a Major Show for the First Time

Nashville was also important for Powers Sports Memorabilia because this was our first time usingPROVA authentication on a large scale at one of these shows.

PROVA approaches autograph authentication differently from the traditional hologram-only experience many collectors are familiar with.

For our items at this event, we had a PROVA representative working directly with us.

The process included photographing the item and adding that image to its authentication record.

When possible, we could also capture an image of the athlete actually signing the item.

Those images are then associated with the authentication record connected to the hologram. Pasted text

For us, that's a major benefit.

Why Photo Proof Matters

Think about what collectors really want from authentication.

They want confidence that the autograph on their item is legitimate.

Traditional witness authentication can be extremely useful.

But we think technology can give collectors even more information.

With the PROVA process we used in Nashville, a collector can potentially have:

A photo of the item.

A photo of the athlete signing the item.

The signing date.

And an authentication hologram connected to that information.

PROVA also uses NFC technology in its authentication system, something we discussed during the show as another layer that differentiates it from a basic numbered sticker. Pasted text

For collectors, we think having more information connected to an autograph is a good thing.

What "Witnessed" Authentication Actually Looks Like

Collectors may picture witness authentication as an authenticator standing directly beside an athlete and applying a sticker the instant every autograph is completed.

Sometimes authentication can work very closely to that.

We specifically discussed MLB Authentication and a Freddie Freeman signing where an item could be signed and authenticated within seconds.

But large autograph shows can operate differently.

There may be enormous rooms.

Many athletes.

Many dealers.

Thousands of items.

And authentication representatives moving around the event. Pasted text

That's one reason we were interested in using a system that could add more documentation to the specific item.

Eric Estrada Made the Show Fun

Not every memorable moment involved sports memorabilia.

Erik Estrada was also at the show.

Caleb knew him fromCHiPs clips and the later movie, and apparently Estrada noticed Caleb looking over at him throughout the event.

When Estrada finished signing, he stood up and offered people in the room an opportunity to come over and take photos with him.

He joked around.

He posed with people.

He recorded personalized videos.

He seemed like he was genuinely enjoying himself.

His vest even said:

"Estrada or Nada."

That was one of those fun interactions you remember after the boxes, paperwork and shipping are forgotten. Pasted text

What Is It Really Like Behind the Scenes?

People sometimes imagine the backstage area at a big autograph show as an incredibly formal environment.

Sometimes it is.

But other times it's surprisingly normal.

An athlete may be eating a sandwich.

Someone may be watching a football game.

Actors who starred in a movie you watched 100 times as a kid may just be sitting around talking.

At Nashville, Ricky Williams was watching Texas football.

At another event, we remember Trevor Lawrence simply sitting there eating a sandwich.

Caleb talked about seeing cast members fromThe Sandlot hanging out backstage.

There are moments when you almost have to remind yourself who is sitting in the room. Pasted text

These are famous athletes and celebrities.

But they're also people going to work, eating lunch and watching football.

The Sandlot Skateboard Everyone Wanted

One of the more unusual pieces at the show was aDGK skateboard connected toThe Sandlot.

Caleb later watched a documentary about the making of the movie and realized that members of the cast had actually discussed these boards and wanting one signed by everyone.

At the signing, some of the cast members were asking each other whether they had gotten theirs.

That's another great example of why unusual memorabilia can be so much fun.

Everybody has seen baseballs, jerseys and photos.

But then somebody walks in with an item that even the people signing it think is cool. Pasted text

Those are often our favorite pieces.

There Are a Lot of Moving Parts

When you look behind the scenes at an autograph show this size, the biggest surprise may simply be the amount of stuff.

Boxes everywhere.

Customer memorabilia.

Dealer inventory.

Authentication.

Signing schedules.

Athletes arriving and leaving.

Inscription requests.

Pens.

Paperwork.

Game-used equipment.

Cards.

Jerseys.

Baseballs.

Photos.

And unusual items you never expected to see.

One small mistake can matter.

That's why organization is so important.

It's Not Just About Meeting Athletes

Of course, meeting athletes is fun.

We enjoy the stories.

We enjoy seeing unusual memorabilia.

We enjoy those moments when an athlete recognizes an old piece of equipment and immediately starts telling you about it.

But when we attend one of these events for Powers Sports Memorabilia, we're there for a different reason.

We're working for our customers.

These aren't just boxes of memorabilia.

Someone may have sent us a card they've owned since childhood.

Someone else may have spent years finding a particular game-used jersey.

Another collector may finally have the opportunity to get an autograph they've wanted for decades.

Our job is to get those items signed correctly and get them safely back home.

Final Thoughts From the Nashville Autograph Show

Nashville gave us a little bit of everything.

We handled signings for dozens of athletes.

We saw Doug Flutie examine game-used jerseys.

Pedro Martinez corrected an MLB debut inscription without us initially realizing he was correcting it.

We bought an Eric Dickerson card at the card show and got it signed at the same event.

We used PROVA at a major autograph show for the first time.

We watched Erik Estrada turn a signing into an experience.

We saw unusualSandlot memorabilia.

And behind all of that were the hours of packing, unpacking, organizing, documenting and shipping that make these events possible.

That's what a professional autograph signing really looks like.

The autograph itself may take five seconds.

Everything that happens before and after those five seconds is where most of the work happens.