ShareThisDear Babe: I have a collection of signed LPGA golf balls. Within that collection are all of the LPGA player Hall of Fame members with the exception of Babe Zaharias and Dinah Shore. I also have the next member to go in (Lorena Ochoa). Additionally, I have the one player who should be in (but is not) Jane Blalock. -- Tim Ward, Jackson, Tenn.
When it comes to Halls of Fame, the LPGA version is one of the most exclusive. There are just 23 player members plus Dinah Shore, who is an honorary member.
You've got a very nice collection, but you're looking at a limited field when it comes to potential buyers. There's not a lot of demand for golf balls signed by women HOFers with the exception of Zaharias, which is the one you are missing among players.
"I'd value this collection in the neighborhood of $500,'' said Mike Breeden, a Sports Collectors Digest columnist and autograph expert.
"I'm not sure if a Babe Didrikson signed ball exists. If there is such an animal, there wouldn't be very many out there. I don't know that you could put a value on one without testing the market by selling one -- if there is one. There might be Dinah Shore balls, but I think they'd be few in number as well. When she hosted her tournament, I think she would have been asked to sign mostly things like the program, etc.''
The rules for entry into the LPGA shrine have changed a few times over the years. Generally, players qualify by earning points for winning tournaments along with playing for at least 10 years.
Ochoa has already racked up enough points to earn a spot, but she has only played on the tour for eight years, she won't be eligible for official induction until 2012, which makes her achievement all the more impressive.
In addition to the 10-year playing criteria, golfers have to win at least one major title or the Vare Trophy (lowest average stroke for a tour year) or Rolex Player of the Year honors. And then they have to amass 27 points, which are doled out in the following manner: one point for each LPGA official tournament win, two points for each LPGA major tournament win and one point for each Vare Trophy or Rolex Player of the Year honor earned.
While the current LPGA Tour Hall of Fame was established in 1967, it actually traces back to the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf, which was instituted in 1950 at Augusta (Ga.) Country Club. There were six LPGA players then who were members of the Hall of Fame of Women's Golf and were included in the inaugural class. Those players were Patty Berg, Betty Jameson, Louise Suggs and Babe Zaharias (1951), Betsy Rawls (1960) and Mickey Wright (1964).
(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)
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