Dear Babe: I have an autographed Razorbacks golf ball signed by John Daly when he was at Oakmont for the U.S. Open.

– Jan Garrett,
Warren, Pa.

Daly, who did compete for the University of Arkansas, has a roller coaster career with most of it being on the downside.

He was a rising star still when he won 1991 PGA Championship at 25, following up with a second major win – the 1995 British Open.

The rising star turned into a meteor, crashing and burning amid behavior that was questionable at best. In the end, he has won but five tour titles – the last one in 2004.

These days he depends on sponsor exemptions to get into PGA events.

Recently, he carded a sextuple-bogey 10 a par-four hole at the Tampa Bay Championship.

Nonetheless, he has two majors titles and that makes his autograph desirable.

Theo Chen, owner of www.AutographsForSale.com, said that Daly does sign golf balls, although like many golfers prefers not to. He said the Razorbacks ball signed by Daly would be worth around $60.

Dear Babe: A neighbor has a 1974 L.A. Rams signed team football. He owned a deli in the L.A. area which was frequented by the Rams. To my surprise, Ron “Jaws” Jaworski is on there!

– Nate Hale,
Redding, Calif.

It just goes to show you what being on TV does for you. It’s true. Jaworski was a rookie backup quarterback for the 1974 Rams, but he’s far from the top name on the ball. Hall of Famers Jack Youngblood, Tom Mack and Merlin Olsen lead the cast. The team also featured Cullen Bryant, John Cappelletti, Charley Cowan, Fred Dryer, Dave Elmendorf, John Hadl, James Harris, Harold Jackson, Lawrence McCutcheon, Willie McGee, Lance Rentzel, Jack Reynolds, Isiah Robertson, Rich Saul, Jack Snow and Jim Youngblood.

The 1974 Rams were NFC West champs under Coach Chuck Knox. The run-oriented team was known as “Ground Chuck” in those days. All they did was win NFC West titles from 1973 through ’77. Knox’s teams went 54-15-1 over those five years.

However, it was a different story in the playoffs. The Rams under Knox went 3-5 with three first-round departures. Then owner Carol Rosenbloom couldn’t handle that, firing Knox after the ’77 playoffs.

“That football is worth $400-$500, depending on how dark the autographs are and the ‘look’ of the football,” said David Kohler, president of www.scpauctions.com.

Babe note

Upper Deck is taking another run at a baseball set, using its license with the Major League Baseball Players Association. Several products will feature current and retired stars – without showing team logos or letters. 2013 Fleer Retro Baseball is scheduled to release this summer.

A second MLBPA licensed baseball product will be revealed in the summer. In addition,
Upper Deck plans to produce 2013 Sweet Spot Classic, which will feature retired subjects.

Upper Deck tried to use its MLBPA license to produced cards in 2010, but those weren’t very well edited. They showed logos. Major League Baseball went to court and Upper Deck pulled the sets along with forking over a hefty settlement for its transgression.

Based on some sample images UD sent along with its press release, it appears the images on the 2013 cards have been more carefully selected.

Babe Waxpak is written by Bill Wagner and is a feature of the Record Searchlight in Redding, CA. If you have a question for Babe Waxpak, include your full name
and hometown, the card number, year and manufacturer or send a photocopy. Please do not send cards. The address is: Babe Waxpak, Box 492397, Redding CA 96049-2397 or email babewaxpak@charter.net.

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