How to Write the Letter

After assembling the list of athletes you're going to contact, the next biggest step in the process is writing the letter. I've always found that a short, hand-written letter is much better than a page-length typed version. This shows that you are geniuinely interested in that specific person and didn't just print out 100 copies of the exact same thing.

Here is an example letter, very similar to the one I am sending this year:

Dear Mr. (Player's Name),

My name is (name), and I am from (city),(state). I began collecting sports autographs back when I was 11 years old and am really hoping to add yours to my collection this fall. I enjoyed watching you and the (team name) win last year's Sugar Bowl and want to wish you guys a ton of success in 2006. Thanks a lot for your time!

Sincrely,

(Signature)

While this letter is extremely short and pretty basic, it's enough to get the job done. I'll come back later on and talk about each individual part of the sample letter above, why it's important, and what changes or variations you might include in the letters you send out.