Sports Illustrated?

[commishbob]

Originally Posted by ocjack

Commishbob, great autograph but even greater story and I'm sure a treasured experience.

Thanks, it was something I didn't really appreciate then as much as I have over the years. I can't tell ya what I had for breakfast today but I really remember that afternoon.

[Topps206]

I went to Indianapolis yesterday for the Indiana Boxing Hall of Fame. Michael Spinks and Buster Douglas were both there.

Michael Spinks arrived early to his signing, which was scheduled for 11:15. He was was a very nice man. I took a picture with him. I asked him how Leon is doing, he said much better. I also asked him what he would've done differently if he could have the Tyson fight again. He said he would've moved around the ring more.

The signatures were $20 each. I didn't know. So, initially, he only signed one cover for me because of that.

Meanwhile, Buster Douglas was late. It was as if people completely abandoned social distancing while there yesterday. I wore a hat, sunglasses, mask and gloves to try and protect myself, since I only went for the autographs.

I was standing by the door by the signing table, and sometimes went outside, holding the door open, to keep six feet. People were shaking hands and had their masks on their ears, but not being covered. Not to mention, the room over was very small, with many tables and people packed in. That's probably my one complaint about the event is they didn't take enough precautions, in my opinion.

Anyway, I'm wondering where Buster is and I have to use the restroom, and I look over in the lobby. Buster is sitting down chatting with somebody. So, I pass him his $20, and I lay my SI down. He puts it on his lap and signs it. I asked him if he could believe it's been 30 years.

I have $15 left. So, I ask Michael Spinks if he would do another cover for $15. He agreed to do so. This one was a thing of beauty.

I didn't get my cover signed with him beating Larry Holmes, but honestly, that magazine isn't in as good of a condition as the others are. I waited months for this, and three out of four isn't bad at all.

I believe this now puts me at 43 signed covers. It's obviously a long way to go, but also a lot of progress since I had about eight signed through the years, but only decided to go for this since July 2019. I love getting these by mail. I love getting them in person even more.

[HNM1959]

Very cool thread...I only have one Autographed S.I. John Wooden on Sportsman of the Year cover. Not sure what year it was. I’ll dig it out and post a picture.

[Topps206]

I'm now at 45 signed Sports Illustrateds.

Not pictured is a Sports Illustrated signed by Michael Graham, who was on the cover in 1984 after Georgetown won the National Championship. I omitted it because it's personalized, but he thanked me for my friendship.

Both Michael Graham and Rick Slager I managed to connect with them after adding them on LinkedIn, and they were nice enough to oblige when I emailed or messaged them my request. I thank them both, and it was very kind of them to do so.

I really like the Shealy cover. That's going to be a hard cover to complete. He's the only one I know of who signs by mail. Art Schlichter has lived a troubled life of being in and out of prison. The other three I cannot seem to track down. Still, a signed cover is a signed cover, and I love getting the former college athletes to sign these.

Then, there's Andy North, a two-time U.S. Open Champion. This was the second time he appeared on the cover, and he returned this to me in relatively short order.

Rich Karlis has always been a very good signer by mail. When I first started expanding my Sports Illustrated collection, this was one of the SIs I wanted signed the most. It's a really cool cover.

I gave a big thank you to all five for helping expand my collection.

[ocjack]

Forgot to add my Sportsman of the Year Johnny Podres .

[Topps206]

I got this today from Manny Mota. Thank you, Manny.

[dwr11]

Some Signed Newsstand Edition Sports Illustrated magazines in my collection. All autos were received in person.