[brian1961]

I cannot think of any major league player that "worked so hard" at killing his legacy, erasing great memories, sledge-hammering his statue that Willie's long-time fans had built within their tender minds to him, then murdering hundreds, if not thousands, of "little boys within grown men" at autograph shows than "Say Hey" Willie Mays. In the late 1980s, I virtually gave away all my cards of Willie Mays in the pages of Sports Collectors Digest, and Mr. Mays has not done a single, solitary thing to cause me a moment's regret.

As for Mr. Henry Aaron, a year or two ago I purchased his gorgeous, mesmerizing 1967 Coca-Cola premium, printed by Dexter Press. I want to have PSA grade that beauty. You'd of had to guzzle a whole slew 'o Coke to get all the bottle caps, and probably draw a few faces reserved for the places of the very short-printed Braves caps, to fill the Atlanta Braves Coca-Cola cap saver sheet. Once the saver sheet was filled, and if the relatively brief deadline had not passed, redeem it at your local (actually, GEORGIA OR SOUTHEAST STATES ONLY-ONLY-ONLY!) Coke bottler to receive a "free" 12-card premium set of your Atlanta Braves. Nestled within the set was their star, Henry Aaron. His face reflects a hero wanting to graciously smile back at his adoring little fans, who thought the world of him. Yes sir, I prize that '67 Coca-Cola Hank Aaron premium highly; not the sort of prize you see staring at you every day on eBay, not to mention the National Sports Collectors Convention. Didn't cost me a lot, and yes, I think it's got potential to increase in value nicely, but that is not why I bought it. I bought it because I like Henry and how he looks on the premium, period. I love the challenging regional promotion from whence it came, period. Lastly, I like that the item has remained a scarce, somewhat rare Hank Aaron piece THAT WILL STAND OUT IN ANY DISPLAY OR ASSEMBLAGE OF HANK AARON CARDS.

And how does your Willie Mays look on his Coca-Cola premium? I was going to write, "No comment", but decided it would be more appropriate to accurately depict how Willie strikes me on his Coke premium that kids would also have had to guzzle tall glass after tall glass, and thus work hard to get those precious cards (and cavities!!!!!)-----flavorful adjectives and a description as "disinteresting", "disappointing", "dilapidated", downright "sad-faced" and "diametrically opposed to saying 'Kansas City!", as Henry Aaron was. Perchance that last one flew over your head---walk to your closest mirror and say "Kansas City!" and watch your expression light up.

I've had to force myself to think of Willie Mays so long here I have to stop now and burp, or perhaps it will be the dreaded barf.

---Brian Powell