When I was about 12, I was hanging out at a sports club/gym in the Boston area when a giant of a man walked in, put more weight on a bench press bar than I had ever seen before, and proceeded to crank out rep after rep with what looked to be no effort. I remember that the bar was bending. After he finished, I walked up to him and asked if he was a football player. Looked me dead in the eye, and with a completely straight face, responded “yeah, you want to fight”? I froze for a second and then turned to walk away when he broke out in a huge smile, and told me his name... Fred Smerlas (nose tackle for Bills, Niners and Patriots). I asked if he was going to be there for a while, then rode my bike home, flipped through my football cards until I found a few of his, then hauled back to the gym. He signed all the cards, couldn’t have been nicer.
Around the same time period, I was at Legal Seafood in Burlington, MA with my family. Saw Jerry Remy (then 2B for the Red Sox) eating with his family. I stood up, walked over to his table, interrupted his meal (to the horror of my parents), and asked for an autograph, even though I didn’t have a pen, or anything for him to sign. He couldn’t have been more gracious, found a pen and signed for me (don’t remember what he signed). Had a chance to talk to him a few years ago, and still a very nice guy.
At spring training a few years ago, saw Luis Tiant sitting in a golf cart. Had my kids walk up and ask for autos. Absolute nicest guy in the world. Spoke with the kids for a few minutes, asked them about their Little League teams and how they were doing in school. Got the impression that the whole reason he was there was because he loved talking to people and signing autos. Same day, met a bunch of other players including David Price. Was pleasantly surprised, as he signed for every single kid until there were none left without an auto.
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