Jim Wywn

I noticed this the other day when putting together a blog post on Jim Wynn, and was going through his TCDB pages. I don't usually pay attention to facsimile signatures, even on vintage cards, but this one on his 1969 Topps Deckle caught my eye.

Wywn! Did he not know how to spell his own name, or was this such a bad job by Topps in making a fake one?

This inspired me to go through his full run of cards on TCDB. The oldest Wynn card with a facsimile auto is a 1966 team issue. His handwriting is clearly labored, especially with his M and N's which seem constructed of multiple separate lines. Still, his name is spelled correctly.

Another team issued card in 1967 has a more script autograph. It does look like it says "Wynne" instead of "Wynn" but that might just be some extra flourish.

That year, Topps issued their fourth card of Wynn, and first with a facsimile auto. Here is where we see WYWN!

For the next several years, this exact same WYWN autograph appeared whenever there was a facsimile auto in a set Wynn appeared in, most notably 1968 Topps Game, 1970 Topps Super and 1971 Topps. Also his 1970 Kelloggs card. Topps provided the photos, and I guess the autographs, for that set.

His MLB Photostamp from that year, not produced by Topps, has a correct autograph for him.

Finally, in 1975, Topps produced a card with a "correct" autograph for Wynn. (Well, it looks like it could say Fire Ulyru, but at least it doesn't say Jim Wywn.)