Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[tedzan]

In 1984, I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. Ted and I had a really interesting conversation "talking baseball" and baseball cards.
The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted. We talked for about 45 minutes.
I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME....."Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium."

And sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....usually up into the RF upper deck.

TED...."If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?"


ME....."Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the AL Pennant, anyways."

TED....(he smiled) and asked me...."so, why then are you a Yankees fan ?"

ME....."because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ"

TED...."if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs."




Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid....I still remember how enthusiastic he was "talking BB cards".

ME....."are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?" ......and, I showed Ted this card.

TED...."No, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954, and no other Gum Co. was allowed to portray me."

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was annoyed with him in 1959. Fleer had
approached Ted's agent to do a series of 80 cards depicting Ted's life. Fleer offered Ted $500 for the Rights. Sy Berger countered it
with $1000 for Ted to stay with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps ensued.
Finally, when Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. There it is folks, the real story behind the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....
straight from Ted, himself.

TED...."Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then just for having your pictures on a set of gum cards."

ME....."Ted, you ain't kidding, $5000 was my Dad's annual salary in 1959."

We talked some more as we walked. Then Ted ran into some dignitaries. He offered his hand to me, telling me that he really enjoyed
our conversation.







TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Kawika]

My buddy and I ran out onto the field at RFK to "help" roll out the tarp during a rain delay. Never forget the stink eye bestowed upon me by Manager Williams as we sprinted past the Senators' dugout, cops in pursuit. The babooze at the left doing a "rain dance" was me.

Best experience: Met Hank Greenberg outside Yankee Stadium in 1956 for a minute to get his autograph. He was kind and courtly. Worst: Met Don Larsen at a Barnes & Noble in Honolulu about ten years ago. About as charismatic as a desiccated turd.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by tedzan

In 1984, I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. Ted and I had a really interesting conversation "talking baseball" and baseball cards.
The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted. We talked for about 45 minutes.
I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME....."Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium."

And sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....usually up into the RF upper deck.

TED...."If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?"


ME....."Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the AL Pennant, anyways."

TED....(he smiled) and asked me...."so, why then are you a Yankees fan ?"

ME....."because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ"

TED...."if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs."




Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid....I still remember how enthusiastic he was "talking BB cards".

ME....."are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?" ......and, I showed Ted this card.

TED...."No, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954, and no other Gum Co. was allowed to portray me."

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was annoyed with him in 1959. Fleer had
approached Ted's agent to do a series of 80 cards depicting Ted's life. Fleer offered Ted $500 for the Rights. Sy Berger countered it
with $1000 for Ted to stay with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps ensued.
Finally, when Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. There it is folks, the real story behind the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....
straight from Ted, himself.

TED...."Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then just for having your pictures on a set of gum cards."

ME....."Ted, you ain't kidding, $5000 was my Dad's annual salary in 1959."

We talked some more as we walked. Then Ted ran into some dignitaries. He offered his hand to me, telling me that he really enjoyed
our conversation.







TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Great story Ted, thanks for sharing. The 59 Fleer Ted Williams set is by far my favorite set. I have a NrMint(avg.) SGC graded set, I bought it raw from a fellow member.

[tachyonbb]

My wife is a physician and is involved in a number of health initiatives. In the late 80's or early 90's she asked me to pick up a guest speaker for a diabetes awareness dinner (read fund raiser). I told her I only had my F350 truck and she said it was OK since he was a farmer from the Carolinas named Hunter.

He came in on an evening flight. I did my best impersonation of a limo driver with a sign for Mr. Hunter. He walked up to me and introduced himself as Jim Hunter. My knees buckled as I realized that it was Catfish Hunter. I stammered a little and told him he was my second favorite pitcher of all time after Bob Gibson. I told him my wife said to pick up a farmer from the Carolinas.

We talked about upland bird hunting and deer hunting all the way to the hotel. It was a great conversation. I did not think to ask him for an autograph. I had to leave the next morning for Denver so my wife picked him up for the dinner the next day. She came home with an autographed baseball for me.

[Rookiemonster]

Ottis Anderson- I seen him a a local fair in NJ. He was walking around so I approach him and said hi. ( with a bag of zeppolis) I said as you otttis Anderson and he said yes. I told him I was a fan and that I liked to use in in a video game ( super techmo bowl). He said he thought that Bo Jackson was the best player to use. I told him that I also like Bo Jackson. I offered him a zeppoli and he declined. I said by and started to walk away he stopped me and asked if I wanted a autograph. I said I do but I don’t have anything for him to sign.
Then I went back to my friends and they were all like who the hell were you just talking to? Lol

Kenyon Martin ( basketball) I worked a Macy’s as a stick boy back in the day. I was told to bring a big cart to the kids section. When I did there was a towering man and a few people picking out cloths for him. He didn’t like what they were giving him. He asked me if I thought kids would wear this stuff I said no.he smiled and ask me to help him pick some stuff out. He talked a lot . He told me about his kids. He was just going to the nuggets and they didn’t have Macy’s out there. I spent a lot of time with him and he paid with the biggest wad of money I ever seen. Then I help him to his ruck help load it, and he says is that all of it?
I said yes he said OK ! Wait do you want a autograph? I said I don’t have anything for him to sign and he took a piece of paper from my clip board and said here. Not gonna lie I wasupset at the time because he didn’t tip me. Even old ladies would give me 5 buck for taking a microwave to the car. This was a pallet and I carried it around for hours with him.

[ls7plus]

Best: Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew and Frank Howard. All very congenial, down to earth people willing to engage in at least brief conversation. I told Killebrew that I was pleased to meet him at an autograph show, even if he had been instrumental in beating my Tigers so many times. He replied, "Well, I'm very glad to meet you," and appeared to be very sincere in saying so. One of his neighbors said when he died that he was the kind of person that made the whole neighborhood feel safer! Treating people with respect until they prove themselves unworthy of it goes a long, long way. See Ted Z's story above with regard to meeting Ted Williams.

Worst: Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson. The former was rude to the point of being insulting upon being very politely asked to autograph a baseball bearing the signatures from as many all-stars as I could get to sign at the hotel where they were staying for the 1999 game in Boston. He strongly insinuated that because I was an adult (then 46) I only wanted his autograph to sell it and make money. He stated he only signed for the kids, and indeed he was--signing for a number of kids who were repeatedly being fed balls for that purpose by a couple of dealers just a few yards away. What a jerk! His shabby treatment of Giancarlo Stanton recently with regard to waiving the latter's no-trade clause only serves to underscore that assessment. Stanton, notably, had the good grace not to sink to his level. I should add that Tony Gwynn and Joe Torre were extremely gracious in signing and even conversing a bit at the same time and place.

With Reggie, his act upon being asked for an autograph in even the most polite manner possible, when he was only standing all alone in the hotel lobby, was to treat you as if you weren't even there--completely invisible and inaudible, and unworthy of having your presence acknowledged in any way! Guess I didn't realize how special he still was at age 52 or 53.

Compare the latter two with Babe Ruth, who was known to sign until every person who wanted his autograph got one!

Best regards,

Larry

[oldjudge]

I’ve met a lot of athletes, but there are three that I remember not liking. At the top of the list, far away in the lead, is that pompous Reggie Jackson. I didn’t like Ralph Terry or Lynn Swann either, but they are not even in the same zip code as Reggie.

[Chuck9788]

Good : I've met many boxers. Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns and "The Flushing Flash Kevin Kelly are among the long list of many nice pugilists that I've encountered. Baseball wise Yankees pitcher "Steady" Eddie Lopat was very nice to me when I was a young kid at a signing. Football : Jets Linebacker Joe Klecko was really cool when we met and in hockey Rod Langway from the Washington Capitals stands out. Everyone tells me that Brooks Robinson is the nicest guy.



Bad : I really don't have any. Mainly because rather than strike up a conversation about their sports careers, I tend to talk about other subjects. Example ; Talking about boxing for 10 minutes with the "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas at the Las Vegas airport. There was not one mention of his baseball career. I legitimately was more interested in his opinions on the fight game, And I feel he respected that.

[Bestdj777]

I live in DC, so my "celebrity" encounters primarily involve politic figures, who are pretty accommodating. Two that stood out were Scalia and McCain. I met Scalia at a mixer. He was incredibly friendly and willingly signed for anyone that wanted autographs (there were a few 9th Circuit judges there that were similarly accommodating). Scalia had an interesting approach though. He didn't want to interrupt his conversation with the group to pose for pictures, but would let you take photos of him or near him. It made sense but would have loved a better photo with him.

McCain was also really friendly. I ran into him on the street and shook his hand and spoke for a second. After I left, I saw someone take a photo with him and instantly regretted not asking. I turned around and he gave my phone to his assistant so she could take one. Understanding how busy he is, I kept the interaction to a minimum. But he left me with a very favorable impression.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by ls7plus

[Derek Jeter] stated he only signed for the kids

I don't understand the "I only sign for kids" mentality. For the sake of discussion, let's presume each and every kid is pure of heart and wants the autograph for themselves, and don't fall into the category of...

Originally Posted by ls7plus

kids who were repeatedly being fed balls [for Jeter to sign] by a couple of dealers just a few yards away.

Do the "I only sign for kids" people expect those kids to suddenly lose their interest in autographs the moment they turn 18?

[ronniehatesjazz]

Originally Posted by Gary Dunaier

I don't understand the "I only sign for kids" mentality. For the sake of discussion, let's presume each and every kid is pure of heart and wants the autograph for themselves, and don't fall into the category of...



Do the "I only sign for kids" people expect those kids to suddenly lose their interest in autographs the moment they turn 18?

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's unfair to serious collectors and fans who truly are in it for the love of collecting. On the other hand, I can think of two different experiences that would cause me to think like Jeter does (god knows how many experiences he has). When I was in high school I went to an Indians/Angels game. I wasn't a big collector at that time (typical young guy who leaves the hobby for girls, sports, etc.) but I was always a huge fan of Tim Salmon growing up and there he was pre game signing some autographs for some young Cleveland fans. I was a little embarrassed but I decided to go among the crowd of 10 year olds for an autograph of one of my childhood heroes. Keep in mind I was 17 (looked older though because of my height). I saw a guy who was mid 50's pushing through the crowd of kids with an album that full of cards. Kept going back to the same players time after time. The guy must have got 10 auto cards from each player. This guy didn't even appear to be that much of a fan and he was not being courteous to others trying to get autographs as well (5-12 year old kids). I actually saw him nudge (being polite; it was more like a light shove) a kid out of the way so he could capture a $3 auto of Benji Molina. I haven't asked for an autograph since watching all this happen. Another time I watched a middle aged man curse at Frank Thomas for not signing pre-game... The guy said things that would have likely caused a fight outside of the stadium... totally classless. If I were a pro, I'd sign for these fools just to get them out of the way but I can't fault some of them for focusing on signing for kids.

[Tabe]

A couple more, all from the same night:

In the late 90s, I was a teacher and coach at the high school in Craig, CO. The used car dealer in town knew several Denver Broncos and arranged for them to come into town for a "faculty vs Broncos" fundraiser basketball game for the school's sports teams.

Good:

Glyn Milburn - first of all, Milburn was an incredible athlete. Unbelievably fast and, at 5'7" or whatever, could touch the top of the backboard. Couldn't play basketball though - must have missed half a dozen dunks. Anyway, at the after party, I got a chance to talk to him. Told him I was a Lions fan and that I hoped the rumored trade of him to Detroit would happen. He smiled and said he was just glad someone wanted him. Super nice guy.

Bad:

Unknown Broncos lineman: he decided the game should be full contact and would run into me away from the ball every chance he got. Very annoying.

Other: Ed McCaffrey played in the game and was great. I had a wide open 3 when he was standing under the basket. He seemingly took one step and somehow blocked my shot. I swear he was 11-feet tall with arms a mile long.

[Buythatcard]

Originally Posted by tedzan

In 1984, I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. Ted and I had a really interesting conversation "talking baseball" and baseball cards.
The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted. We talked for about 45 minutes.
I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME....."Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium."

And sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....usually up into the RF upper deck.

TED...."If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?"


ME....."Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the AL Pennant, anyways."

TED....(he smiled) and asked me...."so, why then are you a Yankees fan ?"

ME....."because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ"

TED...."if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs."




Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid....I still remember how enthusiastic he was "talking BB cards".

ME....."are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?" ......and, I showed Ted this card.

TED...."No, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954, and no other Gum Co. was allowed to portray me."

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was annoyed with him in 1959. Fleer had
approached Ted's agent to do a series of 80 cards depicting Ted's life. Fleer offered Ted $500 for the Rights. Sy Berger countered it
with $1000 for Ted to stay with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps ensued.
Finally, when Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. There it is folks, the real story behind the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....
straight from Ted, himself.

TED...."Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then just for having your pictures on a set of gum cards."

ME....."Ted, you ain't kidding, $5000 was my Dad's annual salary in 1959."

We talked some more as we walked. Then Ted ran into some dignitaries. He offered his hand to me, telling me that he really enjoyed
our conversation.







TED Z

T206 Reference
.

Ted, this story should be in the Hall of Fame. When I met you at one of the shows, you told me part of the story. One of my favorite stories. I love the story behind the 59 Fleer set.

[Buythatcard]

Some of my encounters.

Best: Bob Feller
Met him at a card show during a signing. He took time to shake everyboody's hand. He then took time out to tell some stories about his pitching days.

Worst: Keith Hernandez
Stood on line for over an hour to get a ball signed for my nephew's birthday. When it was my turn, I asked him to personalize it to my nephew. He whispered in the ear of someone next to him who then made an announcement that Keith will not personalize any items. He never looked up and had the unfriendliest look.

Biggest disappointment: Mickey Mantle
Back in the mid 80's, I worked in NYC. I went for a walk and passed a sports card store which had a sign saying Mickey Mantle will be signing his new book. I went into the store and there was a table at the end of one of the aisles. Sitting at this table was Mickey Mantle. There was nobody in the store except Mickey, the store owner and myself. I had to purchase his book in order to receive an autograph. I purchased the book and walked up to the table. I didn't know what to say because I was standing in front of an icon. The only thing I came up was, "Is that your World Series Ring?". He looked at me and barked back "No, it's my Hall of Fame Ring". Gave me the meanest look. I walked out of there feeling pretty disappointed.

Almost Dumbest Encounter: Stan Musial
I was at a card show where Stan Musial was signing. Took my preteen nephew to the show. We both had to go to the bathroom. When we went up to the urinals, there was Stan Musial pissing. My nephew turned to me and said, "Should I ask him for his autograph?". I shook my head no.

[Bored5000]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Worst: Keith Hernandez
Stood on line for over an hour to get a ball signed for my nephew's birthday. When it was my turn, I asked him to personalize it to my nephew. He whispered in the ear of someone next to him who then made an announcement that Keith will not personalize any items. He never looked up and had the unfriendliest look.

Not at all surprising. There was a documentary a while back that exposed Hernandez as a "pretty boy."

Furthermore, it was his crucial error on June 14, 1987, that led to a five-run Phillies ninth and ruined the beautiful afternoon for the fans in the right-field stands.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/201...second-spitter

[Cmount76]

I've had lots of great experiences. These were some of the most memorable.

In no random order:
Brooks Robinson
Ernie Banks (surprised nobody mentioned him. He was GREAT!!!)
Yogi Berra
Ralph Kiner
Mike Tyson

Some more unforgettable encounters, just not for good reasons:
Tom Seaver
Willie Mays
Reggie Jackson
Orlando Cedepda

[71buc]

While father was serving in Vietnam my mother and I remained in Ft. Devens. One day Tony Conigliaro sat in the stands and watched my little league team play a game. He was in fatigues and it was hard to believe it was actually him. He stayed and signed autographs for all of us and asked many of us about our fathers who were serving in Vietnam. I remember how proud I was when he called our fathers heros.

When I was kid my father took me to countless AAA games in Tacoma. My friends and I would wait in the parking lot chasing foul balls and playing wiffle ball. One day Lyman Bostock left the game early. He encountered us in the parking lot and asked to join us. He played with us for about 20 minutes before a crowd began to gather. When the crowd grew he thanked us and said he had to go. He signed autographs and complimented us on our swings. I was devastated when I learned of his tragic death a few years later. What an amazingly classy man.

Speaking of classy, My son was fortunate enough to have Ali invite him to sit next to him during a spring training game in 2002. He was 12 at the time. It was a surreal experience. He sat with Ali for two innings. They talked and shared a large oatmeal cookie. My son was an amateur boxer at that age and was thrilled to have such a story to share when he returned home. Ali signed his spring training program, thanked him for keeping him company, and threw a couple of jabs his way when my son left his side. My son is 27 now and when people talk about celebrity encounters he shares his, "I shared a cookie with Muhammad Ali" story. Hard to beat that one. Ali was as close to American royalty as it gets. The world is a lesser place without him

[gemmint77]

Meet Craig Biggio, Nolan Ryan, Jeff Bagwell, Stan Musial and Lou Brock back in the late 80's at card shows. I can remember all being great to a 10 year old.

[GasHouseGang]

Best, Musial and Duke Snider. Both treated you with respect and would just talk to you like they knew you.

Worst, probably Don Sutton. He signed for me, but I made the mistake of having him sign his rookie card. He said "I always hated that card!", and signed boldly right across his face with a black sharpie. I found this card offered on ebay, so I guess I'm not the only one.

[Baseballcrazy62]

I was at the airport standing in line at the gate and Bob Feller was in front of me. After he checked in at the counter I asked the young lady if she had any idea who Bob Feller was. She had no clue and I told her about his career. Our flight was delayed and he was by himself and I went and sat next to him in the terminal. We talked about his career and the all star games he appeared in here in Detroit. The stories were incredible.When we were done he told me his son was picking him up and asked me if I needed a ride to the resort I was staying at. I politely declined and we went our separate ways. One of the greatest conversations I ever had with an athlete. What an incredibly humble guy. I was so wrapped up in the conversation I forgot to ask him to sign a couple of the baseballs I had with me. Thanks Bob!!

[whitehse]

It's funny how stuff stays in your head from when we were kids. I was hanging by the wall at Wrigley Field and Kurt Bevaqua was warming up in front of me and two other kids. To me he was pretty cool as he was immortalized on that 1976 Topps baseball card after winning the bubble gum blowing competition with Joe Garagiola and I really wanted his autograph. He kept promising to sign when he was done warming up and when he was done he said he would be right back to sign for the three of us and disappeared in the dugout. I was disappointed but hey, what was I going to do?

Fast forward to last year when I spotted him on Facebook as we had a mutual friend and I made a comment that I knew he would see about stiffing me on the autograph forty years ago. His response?

"Andrew, I've been looking for you and those other 2 boys for 30 years.message me and we will figure that autograph thing out."

True to his word he sent me an awesome autographed 8x10. We are now connected on Facebook and speak occasionally. He is certainly a pretty cool guy, just as I thought he would be when I was so much younger.

[joshuanip]

Went to a card show back in the 90's that featured free autographs, from Ali to Campy to Namath. My father was getting M Ali's autograph and he asked if he "can write a little bigger" when Ali was signing his glove. Ali retorted "did you call me a ni---?" Ali paused and my dad's eyes popped out of his head. Ali paused and my dad profusely apologized, then Ali let out a little grin..... At the same show, I would also have him sign my glove and without asking, Ali pointed his finger at the other glove in my hand so he can sign as well, without asking!

Ali was a class act and funny one to boot!