ShareThisDear Babe: I have a Jack Nicklaus MacGregor N275 "White Fang'' Putter that has never been used. It has a white ceramic putting head and is signed by Nicklaus in the ceramic. In addition, I asked Nicklaus to sign the putter, while he was a contestant at the Sarazen World Open Championship at Chateau Elon in Atlanta in 1996 or 1997. The putters were gifts given to customers attending the Atlanta Classic Golf Tournament in 1971. -- Ken Leach, Atlanta
Putting a value on your item is one thing. The history of it is quite another.
"The club is not particularly rare or sought after and would sell in the $10-25 range, depending on condition,'' Leila Dunbar, a collectibles appraisal expert (leiladunbar@aol.com), "The real value is in an authentic Golden Bear hand signature in ink or sharpie, an addition of at least $100-$200 to the club's value. If the club given at the Atlanta Classic had any other special marking or inscription making it a special edition, then more value could be added, but I am not aware that it was a special edition.
"Golf club aficionados know that Nicklaus used a Ping putter for years. However, in 1967 he was putting poorly, missing his first cut ever at the Masters as a pro, and knew that he had to improve to have a chance at the US Open. He borrowed one of his friend (and PGA Commissioner) Deane Beaman's Bull's Eye putters and loved it. Fred Mueller, a friend of Beaman's, had a Bull's Eye putter that Deane had fixed up for him, but he had painted the blade to reduce the glare of the sun. Fred gave it to Jack for the tournament.
"Aided by the newly dubbed 'White Fang,' Nicklaus chewed up Palmer by four strokes on Baltusrol's Lower Course. He scored 71-67-72-65, for a total of 275 that shaved Ben Hogan's 1948 Open (at the Riviera Country Club) scoring record by one shot. MacGregor saw a marketing opportunity, (in which Nicklaus became and investor, promoting MacGregor clubs for 20 years) and created the new club bearing Jack's imprinted signature. It sold well for several years, as Nicklaus won four more PGA tournaments with the White Fang before retiring it, using a MacGregor ZT Response to win the 1986 Masters."
Dear Babe: I have 22 copies of periodic issues of the Chicago Cubs News (May 12, 1939 to April 21, 1943) and Giant Jottings -- 20 copies Giant Jottings (June 15, 1936 to April 10, 1943). -- P. Douglas Wexler, Atlanta
The newsletters sell for $10-12 each, according to Mark Theotikos, vice president of auctions operations for Mastro Auctions.
BABE NOTES: As part of the Orlando Magic's 20th anniversary celebration this season, fans attending the Saturday, Nov. 29, home game against the Indiana Pacers will receive a 20-card set produced by Upper Deck. The set features one player from each of the team's 20 seasons. It includes Nick Anderson, Mike Miller, Scott Skiles, Pat Garrity, Otis Smith, Tracy McGrady, Anthony Bowie, Grant Hill, Jeff Turner, Jameer Nelson, Donald Royal, Hedo Turkoglu, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Dennis Scott, Rashard Lewis, Danny Schayes, Courtney Lee, Darrell Armstrong and Bo Outlaw.
-- One hundred football legends, including many Hall of Famers are featured in 2008 Donruss Leaf Limited Football. Legend cut signature cards include Tom Fears, Sid Luckman, Jim Brown, Hank Stram and Otto Graham. In addition to the legends base cards, which are numbered to 499, the set includes 100 base cards of today's top players along with 100 rookies. Sixteen-pack boxes contain on average four memorabilia and/or autographed cards. For details visit www.donruss.com.
(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.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)
