Autograph-hunter on the prowl, 1920 and counting

He doesn’t know how it all came about — but it just happened for Don Wigan.

He doesn’t know how it all came about — but it just happened for Don Wigan. He remembers the days when he used to run around collecting autographs from his childhood heroes. And after retiring from first grade cricket, where he represented Midlands in Tasmania, he somehow decided to get back to his ‘old’ habit. That was 1980. Today at the age of 60, Wigan is a proud owner of 1920 signature photographs of Test cricketer. He is a memorabilia collector.

“I remember a former New Zealand player seeing my small collection of 500 autographs and saying — ‘what a fantastic collection’. It just snow-balled from there, so to say, and it became a passion. I think there are about 2500 Test cricketers all together, so I have a good percentage, and I am hoping to get better. I don’t know if I have the maximum but I reckon to be quite up there in there are any records,” he said, before giving another angle to his prized collection.

“I have the world’s three best cricketers in my collection. I have signed photograph of Sir Don Bradman, WG Grace and Ranjit Singhji. How about that?” he asks with a huge smile on his face.

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At a time when the Melbourne Cricket Ground is celebrating the 60th anniversary of India’s first tour to Australia, Wigan has signatures from almost all Indians who have touched Australian soil to play Test or one-day cricket. “I think I am missing five or six of those guys. I am missing KP Sen and JK Irani for sure.” he paused. “Not many know about them unfortunately. They were both wicketkeepers if I remember right. They came here in 1947-48,” he added.

Wigan, enjoying a pension now, is dedicated full-time to his passion. “I have a room in my house where I keep all of them. And that’s full. I have all the editions of the Wisden Almanac series, caps from Muralitharan, and much more. I do realise that all this has a great monetary value, but I have never looked at that side. These are my prized possessions,” he says. “I have written thousands of letters trying to get in touch with players; I have contacts in various countries and there are people who help me, sometimes we exchange some photographs,” he revealed.

Modern cricket, they say is very different, so how has cricket and cricketers changed for a memorabilia collector. “Things have become very difficult. Approaching cricketers has been the biggest problem, the security is also very stifling around them, so you have little access. New Zelanders and South Africans are fantastic blokes. They will all do it for you easily. It’s the Indians and the English with whom there’s a bit of a problem. There is always such tight security,” he complains. “But I can manage to work my way through,” he said, before disappearing into the library here to look at some of the old and rare photographs of Indian Test cricketers.