Autograph traffic jam

The Baltimore Sun

Autographs are part of induction weekend, and yesterday so was gridlock a block away from the museum.

A group of 39 former players -- including 32 Hall of Famers -- was scheduled to sign autographs inside the Tunnicliff Inn throughout the weekend. If yesterday was any indication, it will be bedlam until tomorrow morning.

Late yesterday afternoon, fans were 10 deep outside the inn's quaint restaurant, and another group was crammed across Pioneer Street while police were sternly requesting that passers-by get off the road.

The crowd wasn't dispersing, however, because it had spent good money to get autographs and had to wait until specific players were announced.

"It's been crazy," said Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, who at one point was signing at the same time as fellow Orioles greats Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray and Earl Weaver. Surprisingly, he wasn't overtaken by Orioles fans.

"Honestly, I have seen more New Yorkers than people from Baltimore," Robinson said.

Robinson items were among the more reasonably priced -- with signatures on baseballs and small pictures going for $59 apiece, signatures on large photos, caps and other equipment at $69, and signatures on bats and jerseys at $89.

Murray fetched as much as $149 to sign a bat or jersey, while Weaver was $65 and Palmer $70 for similar signatures.

If you wanted New York Yankees great Reggie Jackson to sign a bat or jersey, it would cost $200 each -- the most expensive on the list.

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