A Fathers Day Tale

[NiceDocter]

Well.... I was going through a bag of 200 autographs I had bought from a dealer long forgotten about 40 years ago ...... and I found one in the bag that looked more interesting. It was a signed index card dated 1946 from Mike Garbark.... a guy Id never heard of before, but it was printed on the card that he was a New York Yankee. In doing some research, he was far from a star but rather a "replacement player" during the end of WW2, unable to be drafted because of a failed hernia repair. See this link for a lot of fascinating information about this guys life in and out of baseball....
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/mike-garbark/
This included a lifetime relationship with his minor league roommate Yogi Berra!
Anyhow, I noticed that when he passed on in the early 1990s he had three children..... and one was listed as being in Jacksonville, Florida where I live.
Its an unusual last name so I Googled up the younger son John Garbark and found an address about 20 minutes from my house. Could not find a decent working phone number. What the heck.... I got in my car and drove over to his house, hoping I wouldnt get shot or attacked by a pit bull being as I was a stranger showing up at his door unannounced!! But it worked out well, he and his wife Amy were very surprised and grateful for the card and Mike Garbark( his Dad ) made a return visit once more to their house on Fathers Day 2024. The last picture is the son John holding a colorized photo of his Dad during playing days. Making sure the right people get the right items is what this hobby is all about. Happy Fathers Day everyone!!!!!!