Chicago Black Hawks goalie Tony Esposito, a star throughout the 1970s, will be one of six members of the Hockey Hall of Fame who will attend the National Sports Collectors Convention.

AP

If you’re an autograph collector, best keep pen and paper close at hand during the next few weeks — there will be enough sports stars signing their names to make writers’ cramp a national epidemic.

A lot of that autograph action will be at the 29th National Sports Collectors Convention on the outskirts of Chicago where more than 50 sports notables will be signing from July 30 through Aug. 3 — including Hall of Famers from four sports and one of the biggest delegations of Heisman Trophy winners assembled.

The signing tables will feature 29 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame including Joe Namath and Jim Brown; 10 from the National Baseball Hall (such as Stan Musial and Bob Gibson), and six from the Hockey Hall (including the Esposito brothers — Phil and Tony).

Collectors will find eight Heisman winners signing, such as Princeton’s Dick Kazmaier (the nation’s top collegian in 1951) and Ohio State’s Archie Griffin (the only double winner —1974 and ’75). Notre Dame fans will be greeted by six Fighting Irish including ex-coach Lou Holtz and Rudy Ruettiger, subject of the popular movie Rudy.

Boxing will have at least one representative — former heavyweight champ and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame Ken Norton Sr. Kevin Nash will bring greetings from pro wrestling. And two-sport star Bo Jackson is sure to be popular among both baseball and football collectors.

Locally, Red Sox rookie outfielder Brandon Moss will be signing on July 15 in Newport at Your Sports Memorabilia Store (from 6 to 8 p.m. at 170 Thames St.) and Les Dunbar has two PawSox (catcher Dusty Brown and outfielder Chris Carter) set to sign Aug.9 (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Check www.yoursportsmemorabilia.com.

Douglas Keating brought former Red Sox third baseman Frank Malzone to a collectors show at the Mansfield, Mass., Holiday Inn on the Fourth of July and he’ll follow that on July 27, with Russ Francis, the former Patriots tight end proclaimed as “all world” by the late broadcaster Howard Cosell.

Next Saturday, Mike Riccio has Baseball Hall of Famer Rod Carew in for a signing session at his Legends of the Game store in Westport, Conn. (Compo Shopping Center). A seven-time batting champ and 18-time All-Star, Carew also will be among signers at the 29th national convention later this month.

Sure Shot Promotions of Hansom, Mass., has private signings with former Red Sox relief pitcher Keith Foulke and catcher Doug Mirabelli, then is planning an Aug. 2 public event at the Shaws Center in Lexington, Mass. It’s likely to feature Sox stars such as Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, Sean Casey, Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Varitek and Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk. For updates and mail orders check www.sureshotpromotions.com or e-mail Mike Josselyn at mike@sureshotpromotions.

The region’s hockey collectors will get a special autograph fix on Sept. 13 at Phil Castinetti’s Sportsworld shop in Saugus, Mass. Castinetti will continue his parade of former Boston Bruins to a “Gladiators Are Back!” session featuring Cam Neely, Chris Nilan, Jay Miller and Lyndon Byers. Those four not only put a lot of pucks in opposing nets but also put a lot of hurt on opposing players. Together, the four rolled up 7,088 penalty minutes in regular NHL games and added 1,038 in playoffs sin bin.

Elsewhere, collectors will find scores of autograph opportunities at shows both large and small, most of them offering mail-order deals for those some distance away. Many of the signers are well-known and often appear at collector events, but some are seldom seen on the show circuit.

In the latter category are Andre Tippett, the great Patriots linebacker recent elected to the Pro football Hall of Fame. He’s signing on Saturday during a Collectors Showcase of America event in Chantilly, Va. On Aug. 3, Vladislaw Tretiak, the great Russian goaltender and a Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, signs at the A.J. Sports Cards store in Ontario. On Aug. 16, former Red Sox pitcher Tex Clevenger is among a long list of signers at the Westchester County Center in White Plains, N.Y.

THE PEDROIA TRIO: Three Boston Red Sox minor-league affiliates will be offering versions of Bobblehead figurines portraying Dustin Pedroia during the next few weeks. Leading off will be the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs on Thursday (7 p.m. game vs. New Hampshire), followed by Single-A Lowell Spinners on July 16 (5:05 game vs. Jamestown), then the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox on Aug. 2 (6:05 game vs. Scranton-Wilkes Barre). Pedroia took over at second base for last season’s world champions and earned rookie-of-the-year honors in the American League.

PRICEY STOOGES: Beckett Media reports that three scarce checklist versions of Fleer’s 1959 Three Stooges non-sport cards (numbers’ 16, 63 & 64) sold for a whopping $75,667 during a recent eBay auction.