Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Many of us have written to players for writing projects. I am not one of those people. How does one go about contacting a retired player? Let's say you wanted to write to an obscure player from the 1973 Bears and you have no idea where the guy lives. Do you write the letter and mail it to the Bears hoping they would then forward it to the player?

Also, has anyone here wrote to a player just for fun and gotten a nice response?

JWL wrote: Also, has anyone here wrote to a player just for fun and gotten a nice response?

When I was a wee tyke (so, the mid 60's or so) my mom discovered you could write NFL players (or at least the teams) and get autographed pictures from them. It was a different era...
Fan appreciation actually meant something then.

So, I wrote (on a big chief pad in letters an inch tall) to the Rams and Colts.
I told them who my favorite players were (Colts on offense and Rams [mostly] on defense) and got back several 8" x 10" glossy photos, autographed. They've long since been lost in one move or another but for years those pics were among my most prized possessions: Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, Johnny Unitas, Roman Gabriel, Lenny Moore, Ray Berry... all for free.

Try that nowadays...

When I was a wee tyke (so, the mid 60's or so) my mom discovered you could write NFL players (or at least the teams) and get autographed pictures from them. It was a different era...
Fan appreciation actually meant something then.

I did this when I was in Junior High (1973-75). The 49ers were one of the more generous teams. Each year they would send me a large oversized envelope full of decals, b&w player photos and a large color team photo. Like most teams, the Jets would send decals and 5×7 b&w player photos stapled inside of a Button House catalog. The photos featured facsimile autographs but back then it didn't matter much. Button House was a great place to order licensed NFL souviners back in the '70's.I wrote the Broncos asking for autographed photos in 1978 and was informed they were $2.00 each. I ordered 5 or 6 photos but a couple players (Alzado & Morton) appeared to have stamped signatures.

I do collect autographs of a lot of the older players, both on index cards and mini helmets, with several being rather obscure players. I know there are also address lists out there, as well as various sites, where you can find addresses of players on. If there is a particular player you are looking for, let me know and I'll see if I can locate any contact information for them.

I, myself, have sent both letters, asking permission to send an item, as well as sending and taking a chance. Generally both have ended up working, as I am not after any super high profile folks. Of course, I have also not received my items back and this has happened even with receiving permission ahead of time to send the item.

Bart

I once wrote a retelling of the Miracle at the Met and sent two copies to Tommy Kramer, one for him to keep and one for him to sign. He did sign it and sent it back.

I notice that Baseball Reference lists agents for players in their bios, but I haven't seen that info on Pro Football Reference.

Some teams will (or at least used to) forward letters to former players. Players can be tracked down on the Internet, especially if they have an unusual name, or if you know where they live or who they now work for.

My experience from doing this for a while in the late '90s was that older players (especially the less heralded ones) are often glad to be remembered and will happily accommodate an autograph request accompanied by a polite note and a SASE. The more famous ones often ask for a fee, either to themselves or to charity they endorse.

Some players are wary of their signatures being solicited for profit. Otto Graham had an ingenious way around that: He would personalize the autograph using the recipient's full name, making it all but worthless for resale.

I wish I had done so when I was a kid in the 1970's. Now, I would love to write a letter to Larry Little as he was one of my top favorite players when I was a kid. I would love to write him a letter today, but have no clue how or where to even send it.

James-

I sent you a PM

Bart

"TAR--The Autograph Review" has been running a classified ad in Coffin Corner for as long as I can remember. I've never seen the publication and know nothing about it, but the ad does mention addresses.

rhickok1109 wrote:"TAR--The Autograph Review" has been running a classified ad in Coffin Corner for as long as I can remember. I've never seen the publication and know nothing about it, but the ad does mention addresses.

I get TAR. It gives addresses for players as well as talk about successes/failures of trying to reach players.