Dear Babe: I attended the PGA Championship in August 1969 in Dayton, Ohio. I have a program signed by Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bobby Nichols and Sam Snead. – Thomas Cox, Atlanta

"I'd put this at $250-$300 if the signatures are in good spots and legible. None of the signatures would be considered hard to come by," said Mike Breeden, an autograph expert. Mike Heffner, president of lelands.com auction house in New York, put it in the same range, noting that it has vintage signatures.



Dear Babe: The issue of the odd rarity of the Oakland edition of the 1974 ALCS program has dogged me for a couple of years. I have, as part of my collection of 1970s A's memorabilia, found and purchased the 1971, '72, '73 and '75 ALCS programs issued by the A's and sold at the stadium. Each one cost $20-$50 in excellent condition. For some reason, I can almost never find the 1974 edition. The few I've seen have been priced at almost $300. I asked one of the eBay sellers if he knew why it was so much. He didn't know other than the going rate was high because of its rarity. Can the Babe take a swing at this one? – Jordan Perry, Redding, Calif.

Da Babe and his experts are swinging, but it is up to you to decide if it's a hit or a miss. "I think it's a combination of being short-printed and the team hosting only two games," said Mike Breeden, an autograph expert and Tuff Stuff columnist. "The deal is the same for the 1971 NLCS Giants home program – except it's worth two to three times as much. I've known for quite some time that these are worth many times more than the other home teams' program (1974 Orioles, 1971 Pirates) are worth. But I have never bothered to try to find out the reason behind it."

Breeden added that in addition to there being fewer programs around for folks to save, collecting and saving memorabilia seems to have been a bigger deal historically in the East. Fewer collectors means fewer copies saved for posterity. In the case of the 1971 NLCS program, the fact the Giants hosted only one game explains its rarity, said Phil Regli, owner of P&R Publications in Irvine and a long-time magazine dealer. In addition to that "you would never know it unless you open it to see if it was a playoff program," Regli said.



Dear Babe: I have an older chalkware Giants bobbing head doll. There is no number on the uniform. It actually looks like a batboy. – Ellen Richards, Livingston, Mont.

Actually, it’s papier mache. The bobbing heads with round green bases were sold in the mid-1960s. Warman's Bobbing Head Field Guide, authored by Lou Criscione of insidetheparkcollectibles.com, puts it in the $100-$150 range.



Dear Babe: I have a pair of Michael Jordan shoes that he signed. – Heidi Howard, Atlanta

A pair of shoes signed by Jordan is worth around $1,000, said Brian Marren, vice president of acquisitions for MastroAuctions.com auctions in Chicago.



Dear Babe: My father gave me a 1953 Boston Red Sox spring training program signed by all the players in Sarasota, Fla. This was a birthday present given to him from his mother when he was a child. It is signed by all the team members, including Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio. The players all signed around the border of the front cover. – Kelly Ogles, Villa Rica, Ga.

The signed program could be worth as much as $500, said Phil Castinetti, owner of Sportsworldauction.com in Saugus, Mass., a suburb of Boston.



Send card or memorabilia questions to Babe Waxpak, P.O. Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak@redding.com. Please give your full name and hometown and, if possible, include card number, year, brand or any other distinguishing information or a photocopy. Please do not send cards or memorabilia.