Bill Klem Autographs
William Joseph Klem (born Klimm; February 22, 1874 – September 16, 1951), known as "the Old Arbitrator", was an American baseball umpire who worked in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941, spending his entire career in the National League (NL). He worked 18 World Series, which is a major league record. Klem was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.
Klem was born on February 22, 1874, in the "Dutchtown" area of Rochester, New York. He had changed the spelling of his last name from "Klimm" to "Klem" because he thought it had a better sound. Klem pursued a baseball career as a catcher until he sustained an arm injury. He then worked as a bartender and traveled through the Northeast building bridges. He decided to pursue umpiring after reading a newspaper article about major league umpire Silk O'Loughlin.
His umpiring career began in the Connecticut League in 1902. That year, Klem had a run-in with league secretary and team manager Jim O'Rourke after Klem ejected one of the manager's players. O'Rourke threatened that Klem would not umpire another game in the league, but Klem responded, "Maybe so, but I'll umpire this one."
Read more about Bill Klem on Wikipedia
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Traded items with a signature of Bill Klem
The most expensive item with a signature of Bill Klem (Bill Klem Signed Autographed Cut Signature w/Postcard HOFer 9 Auto BAS 0094) was sold in February 2026 for $1,999.99 while the cheapest item (Bill Klem (Wife) Signed Hall of Fame Plaque Postcard Black & White Artvue Umpire) found a new owner for $15.27 in September 2024. The month with the most items sold (2) was April 2011 with an average selling price of $552.49 for an autographed item of Bill Klem. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in February 2026 with $1,999.99 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $15.27 was September 2024. In average, an autographed item from Bill Klem is worth $534.49.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Bill Klem were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | 1934 World Series Game 1 Stub PSA 2 SIGNED BY Umpire BILL KLEM PSA/DNA 8 UNIQUE? | $1,200.00 |  |
| AL BARLICK on BILL KLEM signed handwritten letter (baseball HOF umpirers) | $49.00 | |
| BILL KLEM (DIED-1951) AUTOGRAPH ALBUM PAGE SIGNED BY 12 | $450.00 | |
| Bill Klem (Wife) Signed Hall of Fame Plaque Postcard Black & White Artvue Umpire | $15.27 | |
| BILL KLEM autographed 3x5 Index Card! JSA! RARE! Hall Of Fame Umpire! | $679.99 | |
| Bill Klem Cut Autograph JSA Authenticated Signature Baseball Hall Of Fame Umpire | $575.00 | |
| Bill Klem Cy Riegler Pfirman Signed MLB Umpires Auto Vintage Page JSA COA Rare | $449.99 | |
| BILL KLEM JSA LOA Autographed Signed Newspaper Photo Framed * Spence LOA | $255.00 | |
| BILL KLEM PSA DNA COA Autograph Rare Photo Cut Hand Signed Authentic | $569.00 | |
 | Bill Klem PSA DNA Signed Perez Steele Cut Postcard Autograph | $850.25 | |
| BILL KLEM PSA/DNA SIGNED CUT SIGNATURE, MINT AUTOGRAPH RARE! HOF CERTIFIED | $450.00 | |
| BILL KLEM SIGNED AUTOGRAPHED BASEBALL UMPIRE BALL BARLICK CONLAN PSA/DNA AC09652 | $334.00 | |
| Bill Klem Signed Autographed Cut Signature w/Postcard HOFer 9 Auto BAS 0094 | $1,999.99 | |
| Important Bill Klem Single Signed Game Used 1929 World Series Baseball LOA | $1,375.00 | |
| MLB HOF umpire Bill Klem Autographed Letter PSA/DNA | $1,020.00 | |
