Long before he was Rambo, Tango, Cobra, Judge Dredd, or Sheriff Freddy Heflin (that’s from the Robert De Niro vehicle Copland – for those who don’t know), I had only seen Sylvester Stallone perform in one role, that of Rocky Balboa. I had enjoyed the Academy Award winning film Rocky repeatedly on our VHS player, and one night even boxed along with Rocky and Apollo Creed with my pal Kenny Carroll, while my parents looked on and considered having me euthanized. So it was of little wonder that when the time came for me to send out my first through-the-mail autograph request, I chose to send a letter to Sylvester Stallone.
I had first been introduced to the joys of celebrity autograph collecting when I had attended the Sons of the Desert convention in Hollywood over the Summer of 1980, so upon my return to school, I was excited to hear that one of the sixth grade teachers was also an autograph collector. Mr. Turner gave me a copy of my first celebrity address book (in exchange for me addressing his class and telling them about some of the autographs that I had acquired in Hollywood).
Sylvester Stallone was my first request and my first success. Although it was the days before I had used the thoughtful tactic of enclosing an self-addressed-stamped-envelope, I was pleased to find a 5 x 7 envelope arrive one day in the Fall of 1980 which included the signed photo seen below. Not too likely that Sly Stallone remained such a generous corresponder after his career really took off later in the 80’s.
I will always treasure the memory of receiving my first autograph in the mail, which acted as a catalyst for some huge autograph collecting initiatives in later years.
Return to the Fall of 1980…
This Sly signature is a facsimile. We can send you a different pic with the same inscription you can overlay. It is exactly the same. It appears original as it is a metal stamp and they ran the 5×7 through and “pressed” the inscription and Sly signature. It looks like a pen impression…..it is not.
John and Julie Wingate
jkwingatern@gmail.com
John Wingate
September 18th, 2016
I have exactly the same.
I can send you a pix
Best
Laurent
September 8th, 2019