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A friend of mine told me of a piece of memorabilia his father has and I am trying to get him some info on the value of it. His dad played/tried out for the Steelers one year and was given a playbook that Johnny Unitas wrote his name on.
Unitas wrote his name in block lettering on the cover of the playbook, it was the fall of 1956 and
the playbook is still completely intact ... a little faded, but has all the old-school formations, plays etc.
It is probably tough to authenticate a name if it is not signed, but wondering if anyone had a feel for what something like this might be worth.
If it's authentic, I would guess at least a few hundred dollars. There's not much around from Unitas' Steelers days, and a standard modern Unitas signed photo is worth around $75-$100 these days. A 1956 Sig on a 1956 Steelers playbook has got to a worth a lot more than that. The obvious question is was the playbook Unitas' playbook-- his name printed on the front would strongly suggest so. It's doubtful a then nobody scrub like Unitas would go around printing his name on others' playbooks, nor would the other players be asking him for his autograph.
This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:44 PM This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:41 PM This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:35 PM This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:34 PM This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:28 PM This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:19 PM This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:14 PM
Thanks David, yeah I know the Steelers factor is probably a nice bonus.
The name is not really a signature though I guess, its more like a printed block lettered name. Do you think that could be authenticated?
This message has been edited by trobba on Oct 29, 2008 2:47 PM This message has been edited by trobba on Oct 29, 2008 2:44 PM This message has been edited by trobba on Oct 29, 2008 2:44 PM
Rob, that was my theory. It was Unitas' playbook and, when he was cut, it was passed along to another player. If this was Unitas' Steelers playbook, and from the description it sounds as if it probably was, it's quite a piece of memorabilia. A letter of provenance from the former pre-season Steelers player who currently owns it would be great too, and might be as important as an autograph LOA.
This message has been edited by dereb9 on Oct 29, 2008 2:55 PM
