Your experiences with HOF'ers

[Exhibitman]

Great Ali story, Mike; that's why he's the greatest. He could be all pissy and self-pitying over his ailment but he's been a joy to his fans for decades instead. It's his personality, just like being a selfish turd was Mantle's personality. I remember seeing Ali at a card show shortly before he was diagnosed. He did not look well at all and was not his usual gregarious self but he stayed and signed as the 'free' guest for hours past his quitting time to make sure everyone got a signature. I remember seeing the ink stains on his white shirt cuffs [he was wearing a suit] and wondering at how much a major celebrity cares about his fans to stay on and keep signing for free like that.

Another guy who impressed me with his caring for fans was Steve Garvey. When he was at the height of his fame here in L.A. I saw him and his family one Sunday morning at a local deli in Woodland Hills. Kids were lined up 20-deep at his table to meet him. His wife was visibly pissed off but he not only signed everything as his eggs sat getting cold, he engaged each kid in conversation, sat them down next to him, etc. Although I was a Dodgers hater at the time [they were playing my beloved Yankees in the W.S. three times in those years] I was really impressed with him.

Another one who's always been good with fans even when he was the biggest star around is Sylvester Stallone. I ran into him a couple of times here in L.A. in the 1980s and he was always polite and nice to his fans and signed whenever he was able. I was so tongue-tied that all I could sputter out was that I'd seen all his movies. He thanked me and signed my autograph for me.

[Mr. Zipper]

Despite the upsetting story about the Mick, this has been a great read!

Love the Ali stories.

Keep 'em coming!

[scmavl]

Anyone got any Stan Musial stories? The Ali stories are very impressive.

[whitehse]

Another quick story of my time working in the major leagues.

I was assigned, along with another co-worker to be Pete Rose's shadow on the weekend in which he came to Wrigley Field and would eventually tie Ty Cobb's hit record. Pete had received death threats and various other threats and they thought it was a good idea to put two of the larger guys on him all weekend wherever he went. Pete would show up at the ballpark and we would literally follow him around wherever he went. The cool thing was I was able to see him in his everyday baseball glory. He was actually very nice to us and engaged us both in conversation the whole weekend. It was very odd to be hanging around the guy that I hated as a kid but he actually won me over.

The cool thing of the whole experience was that Pete would have a press conference every day leading up to the record setting game. We escorted him, on field, to the right field corner where a press conference was being held under than stands. After the presser ended we headed back, on field towards the Reds dugout. Batting practice was going on and we were walking in right field when a ball was hit our way. It was one of those line shot one hoppers that came right at me and I reached out and grabbed it bare handed. Pete looked right at me and said "wow nice grab"! I couldn't believe that I caught the ball AND Pete Rose was complimenting me. It took a few seconds but I realized my hand and arm were on fire from the pain of catching a major league line shot one hopper with no glove but there was no way I was going to show Mr. Rose that I wanted to cry like a baby!! LOL It was a huge thrill for me, as someone who loves the game of baseball to have this massive star not only talking to me and asking questions about my experiences but to compliment me on a great catch!!

I have heard stories of Pete Rose and how much of a turd he could be but for that weekend, he couldn't have been more pleasant and engaging to me and my colleague. He did cause the game of baseball to be cast in a bad light when he bet on baseball and do the crap he did but I did gain a measure of respect for him that weekend.

[theshleps]

My son batboyed for team USA when Frank Robinson was manager and they were doing practice games in Maryvale in Phoenix.
There is a superfan named Suzie who has a deep voice and comes to the games in AZ (mainly Dbacks) and cheers on each player. Even if they are just having a catch- she'll yell "great catch or something like it". She is well known to AZ fans. The players didn't know how to relate to her. One day Suzies voice was saying its usual accolades but Suzie was nowhere to be seen. It turns out that Frank was imitating Suzie from the dugout. You'd have to be there to appreciate it, but it was hilarious.
Despite my son and Frank having many neat conversations, Frank only signed one autograph for Noah for all the time they spent together. Noah had some 1960's Topps RBI and HR leader cards that were partially signed already but Frank would turn him down. Frank would say "maybe you'll get me someday".
Noah would yell from the dugout a cheer he learned in school to the batters "stroke it and poke it". He didn't understand the sexual connotations. Within a few days Frand was yelling it to. I once paid $65 to get Frank to sign a picture of he and Noah and to inscribe- stroke it and poke it. he refused to inscribe.
I ran into Frank at the winter mlb meetings a few years ago. We spoke about Noah and he remembered him. I said Frank can you sign this card or Noah's and he said no.
One more story- not a HOFers but since our collection specializes in HOF and Jewish- we own Shawn Greens AAA home jersey from Syracuse. We went to the DBacks spring training camp in Tucson not knowing if we'd get it signed or not as it was quite crowded and we didn't know Shawns signing habits. Shawn and the rest of the team came out about 50 yards away to warm up. Noah was wearing the jersey. Shawn looked over (50 yards away) and sprinted over to Noah to get a look at the jersey. He was amazed that we had it. He signed it and posed and was amazing. A few weeks later Noah saw Shawn outside of Phoenix muni and remembered him and they talked for 20 minutes.
Noah has alot of these stories and times we shared together. As a result we can rarely root for a team- just individual players as each team is a mix of great guys and not so great guys

[GrayGhost]

More great stories. I wonder why Frank doesn't sign much in person, or didn't in those days? Seemed friendly enough.

One that a friend told me, not a HOF, but hope you allow it. He was at a card show w Bucky Dent and Mickey Rivers signing. Apparently it was Mick's first show. A kid walked up to Mick and handed him a photo, and Mickey asked Bucky "What do I do" Bucky was flabbergasted,..maybe Mick was kidding? Anyways, Bucky said, like this. Bucky took one of his own photos and signed it Buckey Dent. Mick then took the kids photo he had, of Mickey Rivers mind you and signed it BUCKY DENT

Another HOF'er I met many years ago at the same show I met Brooks Robinson at was NFL HOFer Bob Lilly. He was really really cordial.

Last one was at an Ed Keetz show in Polish home in Albany NY years back. Scooter was a guest and I had a yankees stadium postcard to have him sign. He asked me where to sign it, I pointed to the sky, and he said right up there where Mick was right now. Also, a card show years back in my old HS w Scooter. A big line was forming for him, in the hall outside the signing area. Phil came down the hall w a rep and a little boy rushed up to him, w no autograph ticket. He asked Phil if he could sign the ball. Sure Sonny. The promoter then runs up to Phil and says "he didn't have a ticket for that" Phil's reply. "You Huckleberry, I'll sign for the kids anytime I please" . Made me smile.

[scooter729]

I once saw Frank Robinson when he was managing the Orioles around 1990, on a trip to Boston. It was a Sunday, their last day in town. I approached him outside of Fenway with no one else around, and asked him politely to sign my 1967 Orioles card with he, Brooks Robinson and Hank Bauer, already signed by the other two.

He looked at the card, saw it was signed by the others, and said, "Nice card you got there, signed by Hank and Brooks."

I said, "Thank you, Mr. Robinson - would you mind signing it for me?"

He said, "I'll sign it for you tomorrow."

I responded, "But it's your last day in Boston."

He loudly laughed and said, "I know," and walked into the park.

I wonder what would've happened if I followed the Orioles to the next town and presented the card to him then. What a jerk.

[scooter729]

One other bad HOF story to share now - this happened about 2-3 years ago now, but I'll copy and paste from my post at the time, about Johnny Bench....

================

I went last night to the Boston University Bookstore for a book signing by Johnny Bench. I was planning on buying his book and having it signed, but my real goal was to have him sign my HOF bat. I've been working on this bat for about 15+ years, where I have been getting as many Hall of Fame people to sign it. I'm close to 30 now. (My experience has been that at book signings, usually the people will only sign their book and not other things, but I figured I'd take a chance.)

I went into the signing area and left the bat in my car, and figured I'd ask Bench to see if he'd sign it first. (It's pointless to ask bookstore people, since they'll just say no.) So I waited in the small line, went up to Bench, had him sign my book, then asked him:

Me: Mr. Bench, I have a bat out in my car that I've had about 30 Hall of Famers sign. I would be thrilled if you would sign it for me as well.
Bench: Ah, well, ask my son what he thinks (pointing to back of room).

His son is about 20 years old and goes to BU - hence the appearance there. I'm confused, but I do as he said and go talk to his son. I repeat the story to the son, and he says sure, although he's not sure why Johnny told me to ask him. I go back out to my car, get the bat, wait at the back until the last 10 people or so get their books signed, then I go up to the front where Bench is, by himself.

Me: Thanks to you and your son for agreeing to sign the bat for me; I greatly appreciate it.
Bench (taking my pen and signing my bat): My son told you I want fifty bucks for doing this, right?
Me: Excuse me?
Bench (somewhat snapping at me): I'm here to sign books, not your bat. I want fifty bucks.
Me: No one said that to me. I had no idea.
Bench (angry now): Don't give me that crap. If you've had 30 people sign this, you know how it works. You want it signed, you pay up. (He's now holding my bat, not giving it back.)
Me (opening my wallet and showing him): I've got 24 bucks on me; I came in with 50, but just spent 26 to buy your book. And honestly, I haven't paid anyone else to sign my bat.
Bench: So you think I'm here to just sign your bat for free? Ridiculous. (Rolls the bat back across the table at me.) And to think I tried to give you a break - go to my website next time, and you'd have to pay 100 bucks.
Me: So do you want my 24 bucks?
Bench: Get out of here, will ya?

My memories of The Baseball Bunch have just gone up in flames. Another hero shot down in my mind.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

All goes back to my "butt in the dirt theory" most former football and hockey players are nice and appreciate people caring. And don't give me any crap about "well he was a tough catcher."

Still never had a football or hockey player in person be rude.

In the early 1980s a group of NFL players were trying to get the Kangaroo Shoe Company off the ground. The formed a couple of basketball teams and did a tour to show off the shoes.

St. Louis Cardinals wideout Roy Green was one of the guys. They kicked off their tour at his alma mater Henderson State University in tiny Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He brought 25 players in including; Walter Payton, Billy Simms, James Lofton and Joe Ferguson.

I took the players on vans to each area school where they met and signed for everyone at each stop. That afternoon before the game I took them a state hospital for the very severly retarded. Each player did everything they could to make those kids happy.

That night after the game they stayed for over an hour visiting with the sellout crowd.

I can't imagine group of 25 current major leaguer baseball players doing this today or even back then?

[jt39]

Last one was at an Ed Keetz show in Polish home in Albany NY years back. Scooter was a guest and I had a yankees stadium postcard to have him sign. He asked me where to sign it, I pointed to the sky, and he said right up there where Mick was right now. Also, a card show years back in my old HS w Scooter. A big line was forming for him, in the hall outside the signing area. Phil came down the hall w a rep and a little boy rushed up to him, w no autograph ticket. He asked Phil if he could sign the ball. Sure Sonny. The promoter then runs up to Phil and says "he didn't have a ticket for that" Phil's reply. "You Huckleberry, I'll sign for the kids anytime I please" . Made me smile.

I mentioned this in the through-the-mail thread already, but figured I'd piggy-back on the story about Rizzuto signing for a kid who hadn't purchased a ticket. I sent him a check for $15, which I'd read he charged, along with a baseball. In addition to signing the ball, and inscribing it with a whole host of nifty things ("Holy Cow!", "Scooter," etc), he cancelled the check, signed it as well, and wrote: "No fee, that's just what the agents say!" This is now one of my favorite items ... not least because $15 was a lot of money for me back then!

I did have one in-person story to share as well. Went to a local mall probably 20 years back where Jim Palmer was signing, and ended up near the front of the line. He asked me some questions about baseball, reached across the table and tussled my hair, signed the 1970 Topps card I had brought along, and then shook my hand. It was a great experience for a young fan.

Almost all of my collecting was done through the mail rather than in person -- it always seemed forced and uncomfortable to me, not to mention requiring a parent to drive and cash out of my pocket. Now, I regret somewhat that I didn't make an effort to go meet some of the players from the 40's and 50's that I was always most fascinated by.

[whitehse]

Originally Posted by scooter729

One other bad HOF story to share now - this happened about 2-3 years ago now, but I'll copy and paste from my post at the time, about Johnny Bench....

================

I went last night to the Boston University Bookstore for a book signing by Johnny Bench. I was planning on buying his book and having it signed, but my real goal was to have him sign my HOF bat. I've been working on this bat for about 15+ years, where I have been getting as many Hall of Fame people to sign it. I'm close to 30 now. (My experience has been that at book signings, usually the people will only sign their book and not other things, but I figured I'd take a chance.)

I went into the signing area and left the bat in my car, and figured I'd ask Bench to see if he'd sign it first. (It's pointless to ask bookstore people, since they'll just say no.) So I waited in the small line, went up to Bench, had him sign my book, then asked him:

Me: Mr. Bench, I have a bat out in my car that I've had about 30 Hall of Famers sign. I would be thrilled if you would sign it for me as well.
Bench: Ah, well, ask my son what he thinks (pointing to back of room).

His son is about 20 years old and goes to BU - hence the appearance there. I'm confused, but I do as he said and go talk to his son. I repeat the story to the son, and he says sure, although he's not sure why Johnny told me to ask him. I go back out to my car, get the bat, wait at the back until the last 10 people or so get their books signed, then I go up to the front where Bench is, by himself.

Me: Thanks to you and your son for agreeing to sign the bat for me; I greatly appreciate it.
Bench (taking my pen and signing my bat): My son told you I want fifty bucks for doing this, right?
Me: Excuse me?
Bench (somewhat snapping at me): I'm here to sign books, not your bat. I want fifty bucks.
Me: No one said that to me. I had no idea.
Bench (angry now): Don't give me that crap. If you've had 30 people sign this, you know how it works. You want it signed, you pay up. (He's now holding my bat, not giving it back.)
Me (opening my wallet and showing him): I've got 24 bucks on me; I came in with 50, but just spent 26 to buy your book. And honestly, I haven't paid anyone else to sign my bat.
Bench: So you think I'm here to just sign your bat for free? Ridiculous. (Rolls the bat back across the table at me.) And to think I tried to give you a break - go to my website next time, and you'd have to pay 100 bucks.
Me: So do you want my 24 bucks?
Bench: Get out of here, will ya?

My memories of The Baseball Bunch have just gone up in flames. Another hero shot down in my mind.

Scott I was wondering if this story was going to show up in this thread!

As a 8 year old, I was able to get his autograph at Wrigley Field and I was the only one he signed for among a large group. But later in life I had observed him when I worked at Wrigley and he was well, a bit of a turd. I have heard of zero good things about this man and your story backs all the things up that I have heard.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by scooter729

One other bad HOF story to share now - this happened about 2-3 years ago now, but I'll copy and paste from my post at the time, about Johnny Bench....

================

I went last night to the Boston University Bookstore for a book signing by Johnny Bench. I was planning on buying his book and having it signed, but my real goal was to have him sign my HOF bat. I've been working on this bat for about 15+ years, where I have been getting as many Hall of Fame people to sign it. I'm close to 30 now. (My experience has been that at book signings, usually the people will only sign their book and not other things, but I figured I'd take a chance.)

I went into the signing area and left the bat in my car, and figured I'd ask Bench to see if he'd sign it first. (It's pointless to ask bookstore people, since they'll just say no.) So I waited in the small line, went up to Bench, had him sign my book, then asked him:

Me: Mr. Bench, I have a bat out in my car that I've had about 30 Hall of Famers sign. I would be thrilled if you would sign it for me as well.
Bench: Ah, well, ask my son what he thinks (pointing to back of room).

His son is about 20 years old and goes to BU - hence the appearance there. I'm confused, but I do as he said and go talk to his son. I repeat the story to the son, and he says sure, although he's not sure why Johnny told me to ask him. I go back out to my car, get the bat, wait at the back until the last 10 people or so get their books signed, then I go up to the front where Bench is, by himself.

Me: Thanks to you and your son for agreeing to sign the bat for me; I greatly appreciate it.
Bench (taking my pen and signing my bat): My son told you I want fifty bucks for doing this, right?
Me: Excuse me?
Bench (somewhat snapping at me): I'm here to sign books, not your bat. I want fifty bucks.
Me: No one said that to me. I had no idea.
Bench (angry now): Don't give me that crap. If you've had 30 people sign this, you know how it works. You want it signed, you pay up. (He's now holding my bat, not giving it back.)
Me (opening my wallet and showing him): I've got 24 bucks on me; I came in with 50, but just spent 26 to buy your book. And honestly, I haven't paid anyone else to sign my bat.
Bench: So you think I'm here to just sign your bat for free? Ridiculous. (Rolls the bat back across the table at me.) And to think I tried to give you a break - go to my website next time, and you'd have to pay 100 bucks.
Me: So do you want my 24 bucks?
Bench: Get out of here, will ya?

My memories of The Baseball Bunch have just gone up in flames. Another hero shot down in my mind.

The proverbial flaming bag of shit!! Yikes!

[GrayGhost]

YIKES FOR SURE

[7nohitter]

Maybe it's just me but i feel like the posts about Frank Robinson portray his as an arrogant prick. Why would he promise to "sign tomorrow" when his team was leaving...or string a KID along??? What a jackass. I actually had a great deal of respect for him until reading these interactions with him.

[scooter729]

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

YIKES FOR SURE

Yikes is right! Even though it's been a few years since that story happened to me, I still have to laugh when I look at my HOF bat and see that Johnny Bench autograph, knowing it must have killed him to realize he signed it, then asked me for 50 bucks.

I should ship him 5,000 pennies and a thank you note.

[scooter729]

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Maybe it's just me but i feel like the posts about Frank Robinson portray his as an arrogant prick. Why would he promise to "sign tomorrow" when his team was leaving...or string a KID along??? What a jackass. I actually had a great deal of respect for him until reading these interactions with him.

I spent close to 10 years collecting autographs during the 80s and 90s from basketball, baseball and hockey, and can honestly say Frank Robinson was probably the worst person to deal with. Aside from my story above, he yelled "NO!" at me a different time (again, when I was the only person around). I never again asked him for an autograph after that time.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Maybe it's just me but i feel like the posts about Frank Robinson portray his as an arrogant prick. Why would he promise to "sign tomorrow" when his team was leaving...or string a KID along??? What a jackass. I actually had a great deal of respect for him until reading these interactions with him.

On the flipside, I sat next to Frank Robinson at Anaheim Stadium when he was the GM of the Orioles. Several people attempted to get his autograph to no avail over the course of the game. I did get a chance to talk baseball with him though. He was very cordial and seemed to genuinely enjoy our conversation. In this particular instance I chose not to ask him for an autograph. The conversation is a memory that I will always cherish.

Not baseball, but I had chance encounters with two of my favorite all-time HOF basketball players at baggage claim areas at the airport: Magic Johnson in Detroit and Julius Erving (Dr. J) at Orange County, John Wayne airport.

Both were no longer active players at the time, but the conversations with each were awesome!

My conversation with Dr. J was about his love of golf. He had just flown into John Wayne airport to play in the Don Drysdale Memorial Golf Tournament in Newport Beach. Dr. J looked "game ready" and looked like he could still take it to the hole!

One morning I was picking up my luggage in Detroit and looked over to my right and Magic Johnson is standing right next to me. Yikes!!

I grew up in So Cal and was always a huge LA Laker fan, especially during the "Showtime era" featuring Magic, Worthy, Michael Cooper, Kareem, Byron Scott and company. I finally got up the nerve to go over and say hi.

I let him know what a huge fan I was when I lived in So. Cal. He asked me where I lived (now in the Midwest), and he made a point of reminding me that those were his roots also, growing up in Lansing, MI. I asked him what he was doing in town, and he let me know that he was picking up his mom because he was getting inducted into the Basketball HOF the following day. Unbelievable!! He spent 15 minutes asking me questions about me and my family, how I had enjoyed living in the midwest, etc. The topic of children came up and he asked if I had any and did I have any pictures? My wife had recently made me one of those calendars with photos in them. He complimented me on the photo of my young son Sam, pulled out a Sharpie and signed the photo with this inscription: "To Sam, Have a great life! All the best, Magic Johnson # 32". I was absolutely speechless...

Let me tell you, Magic Johnson has to be one of the nicest, most down to earth great athletes you will ever meet, bar none!

[matty6]

Maybe Frank Robinson was illiterate and he had his assistant coaches fill out his lineup cards....just a thought.

[7nohitter]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

On the flipside, I sat next to Frank Robinson at Anaheim Stadium when he was the GM of the Orioles. Several people attempted to get his autograph to no avail over the course of the game. I did get a chance to talk baseball with him though. He was very cordial and seemed to genuinely enjoy our conversation. In this particular instance I chose not to ask him for an autograph. The conversation is a memory that I will always cherish.

Not baseball, but I had chance encounters with two of my favorite all-time HOF basketball players at baggage claim areas at the airport: Magic Johnson in Detroit and Julius Erving (Dr. J) at Orange County, John Wayne airport.

Both were no longer active players at the time, but the conversations with each were awesome!

My conversation with Dr. J was about his love of golf. He had just flown into John Wayne airport to play in the Don Drysdale Memorial Golf Tournament in Newport Beach. Dr. J looked "game ready" and looked like he could still take it to the hole!

One morning I was picking up my luggage in Detroit and looked over to my right and Magic Johnson is standing right next to me. Yikes!!

I grew up in So Cal and was always a huge LA Laker fan, especially during the "Showtime era" featuring Magic, Worthy, Michael Cooper, Kareem, Byron Scott and company. I finally got up the nerve to go over and say hi.

I let him know what a huge fan I was when I lived in So. Cal. He asked me where I lived (now in the Midwest), and he made a point of reminding me that those were his roots also, growing up in Lansing, MI. I asked him what he was doing in town, and he let me know that he was picking up his mom because he was getting inducted into the Basketball HOF the following day. Unbelievable!! He spent 15 minutes asking me questions about me and my family, how I had enjoyed living in the midwest, etc. The topic of children came up and he asked if I had any and did I have any pictures? My wife had recently made me one of those calendars with photos in them. He complimented me on the photo of my young son Sam, pulled out a Sharpie and signed the photo with this inscription: "To Sam, Have a great life! All the best, Magic Johnson # 32". I was absolutely speechless...

Let me tell you, Magic Johnson has to be one of the nicest, most down to earth great athletes you will ever meet, bar none!

Scott,
Awesome encounter with Magic. We must be about the same age as I grew up during the same era except in Boston...huge Larry Bird fan. Never met him, but boy did I hate those '80's Lakers teams...in retrospect I realize that what the 10-yr-old version of me 'hated' was actually respect and admiration for the one team in the NBA (save the Sixers on occasion) who could actually handle the Celtics!

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Scott,
Awesome encounter with Magic. We must be about the same age as I grew up during the same era except in Boston...huge Larry Bird fan. Never met him, but boy did I hate those '80's Lakers teams...in retrospect I realize that what the 10-yr-old version of me 'hated' was actually respect and admiration for the one team in the NBA (save the Sixers on occasion) who could actually handle the Celtics!

Andrew,

Thanks! The Lakers/Celtics rivalry of the 1980's was really one of the greatest of all time. Your boy Larry Bird is another guy I would like to have had an opportunity to meet. If you ever meet him, I hope that your encounter is as nice as the one that I had with Magic.

[scooter729]

Originally Posted by Scott Garner

Andrew,

Thanks! The Lakers/Celtics rivalry of the 1980's was really one of the greatest of all time. Your boy Larry Bird is another guy I would like to have had an opportunity to meet. If you ever meet him, I hope that your encounter is as nice as the one that I had with Magic.

I was lucky enough to get to meet up with Larry many times during his playing days. He was never super talkative, but most of the time would stop and sign an autograph. He often would sign just "Bird" or sometimes "L Bird", but usually was good for some sort of autograph.

Here's a pic I have of me with Larry Legend, circa 1992 I think. (I look pretty foolish here, esp. wearing "Jordan 23" shorts for the picture with Larry!) The 8x10 in my hand signed by Bird and Red Auerbach is still hanging on my sports room wall!

[frankbmd]

Alston, Walter
Ashburn, Richie
Campanella, Roy
Doby, Larry
Herzog, Whitey
Killebrew, Harmon
Snider, Duke
Stengel, Casey

Personally obtained autographs from the 8 HOFers above during 1957 spring training in Clearwater, Florida. The Dodgers were the most difficult, but ultimately came through.

In 1977 worked at Wrigley Field for a day game and drove to Milwaukee for a night game against the Yankees. At the old County Stadium sat in front of Warren Spahn, and we were not in box seats.

Around 1990, when my daughter was 6, I took her to a movie ("Ghost Dad" with Bill Cosby) and we were sitting in front of Magic Johnson. I told her not to stare. She didn't. She didn't think it was him. After the film, when he stood up, she still wasn't convinced. I respected his privacy, but would have asked for an autograph on my daughter's behalf if she had been a believer.

[thebigtrain]

I met Chris "Mad Dog" Russo at the US Open a couple years ago. He was doing a live broadcast from the concourse, and of course none of the yuppies there had any idea who he was- I think they thought he was a salesman or something.

So my buddy and I waited until he went to commerical, and he tossed his headphones down and got up to walk around for a minute. I ran up to him and saud "Hey Chris, can I get a photo?"

He said "Sure!" and seemed thrilled that someone knew who he was! I still have the photo on my old phone, need to figure out how to download it.

[GKreindler]

Ohhh, Mad Dog...I still really miss him on WFAN.

[2dueces]

I guess as the players got more famous it went to their heads. I saw Bench play with the Bisons as a young kid. I got 2 autographed balls from him. My father said, hang on to them he's going to be great in the majors. Both were signed during games passed down from the stands and he never hesitated to sign them. Only autographs I ever got in person from a baseball player. Got a Hulk Hogan on an airplane for a friend of mines kid that was a wrestling fan. No interaction, just passed it to him and he signed it.

[7nohitter]

keep the momentum going!!

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Has anyone had a positvie experience with Aaron, Koufax or Seaver in recent years?

I have never encountered any of them at shows through the years nor do I have their signatures.

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Has anyone had a positvie experience with Aaron, Koufax or Seaver in recent years?

I have never encountered any of them at shows through the years nor do I have their signatures.

I've met Seaver at a card show. Not very friendly. Signs with his head down, doesn't look up and mumbles. I've heard similar stories from others, so I don't think I just ran into him on a bad day.

[Runscott]

Back in the mid-60's I was at a charity event attended by a bunch of NFL players. Alex Karras and Lee Roy Jordan actually each spent quite a bit of time joking around with me. I was so startled that I didn't say much, but I took a snapshot of Jordan and have it framed along with his autograph. He asked me if I wanted him to stand on his head and act like a monkey. Alex Karras told me he wasn't Alex Karras, but would go get him. He then brought back some short guy, but took the pen away from him at the last minute and signed. They both thought it was hilarious.

I can't imagine that kind of stuff happening nowadays.

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Steve, that is what I expected from Seaver but have always been a fan. I suppose the exposure the big stars received over the years jaded them toward fans. I am also sure they have encountered some real jerks at times. But I still think that if you are receiving money you should perform the service in a nice manner.

Scott, that is hilarious and it goes back to my theory about old football players, really pretty nice guys for the most part.

Last week I went to a local event that featured a former Arkansas Razorback as the speaker, Ken Hatfield. I stuck around a few minutes and had him sign a mini helmet and the cover of the 1964 Texas program. He was never a pro but was a very successful D-I coach. What a nice man. He seemed appreciative that I asked.

I remember listening to that 1964 Arkansas-Texas game as a ten year old with my Dad. When Hatfield took back a punt 81 yards for a TD we both started jumping up and down, memories like that are special I suppose for all of us. I took the mini helmet to Dad who turns 94 next week.

I took him a Randy White helmet back before Christmas, White and Lee Roy Jordan were his favorite all-time Cowboys. Dad used to love Bear Bryant's old line about Jordan; "If they stay in the stadium Lee Roy will get 'em."

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

I took him a Randy White helmet back before Christmas, White and Lee Roy Jordan were his favorite all-time Cowboys. Dad used to love Bear Bryant's old line about Jordan; "If they stay in the stadium Lee Roy will get 'em."

Jordan was my favorite player, so getting to meet him and have such an interesting interaction was priceless. Don Meredith was another of my favorites who was supposed to be there that day, but he missed it.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Has anyone had a positvie experience with Aaron, Koufax or Seaver in recent years?

I have never encountered any of them at shows through the years nor do I have their signatures.

Mike,

I actually had an awesome experience with Tom Seaver at a big MAB Sports event in NJ about 3 years ago. The event was called "Pitcher Perfect" and featured over 30 different pitchers that threw a no-hitter or perfect game. This was an awesome opportunity to speak to a ton of no-hit pitchers, which is a central focus of my personal collection.

Tom Terrific was sitting with his catcher, Don Werner, from his no-hitter vs. St. Louis on June 16th, 1978. I presented a full, unused ticket to Seaver to have him sign it in blue Sharpie. He looked at the ticket and said "Cool! Don, check out this full ticket to our no-hitter game!". Werner leaned over and looked at the ticket and smiled. Seaver stated that he had never seen a full ticket to this game.

I mentioned that I collect tickets to no-hitter games dating back to the early 1900's.
He asked how many no-hit games did I have a ticket to? My response at the time was about 140 different games (now 178). He did a double take and said "What??" Then he asked me what was my oldest? At the time it was Jess Haines' no-hitter in 1924. He told me "that was unbelievable and to keep working on that collecting theme".

When he finally got up from signing at the end of the session, he got a huge round of applause from all the NY/NJ patrons in attendance. As he was leaving he actally veered off his path to the exit to come over and talk to me again. What he told me was "that he is a huge fan of early baseball history and that he found my collecting theme to be both unique and unbelievably cool." He encouraged me again to keep collecting this theme. I've got to tell you that as a collector, Seaver taking an interest in my collection was really awesome! It made me very happy and proud to have gone after this collecting niche...

I can also tell you that Seaver is a huge wine nut like I am. Perhaps some of you know that he has a winery in Napa Valley. I've always found that this to be an interesting topic to him when I've had him sign items through the years.
He likes to test collector's knowledge of games and events in baseball history when he's in a good mood, FYI....

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Thanks to both Scotts! I too was/am a huge Meredith fan. I ran into him on a Dallas trip and found him to be very personable! I just wish I had a photo signed by him in my office. He was second only to Bart Starr in the pantheon of stars from my youth.

The Seaver story was wonderful, I actually was a little down after reading so many negative experiences in this thread.

Scott, my wife enjoys researching wines so I asked her last year to find a bottle of Seaver's Cabernet. After a little work she came back to my sports room and informed me that I could not afford it! His Studio 42 interview with Costas on MLB Network was very enjoyable. He talked at length about his wine venture, you could tell he was happy with that life style.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by Hot Springs Bathers

Thanks to both Scotts! I too was/am a huge Meredith fan. I ran into him on a Dallas trip and found him to be very personable! I just wish I had a photo signed by him in my office. He was second only to Bart Starr in the pantheon of stars from my youth.

Starr AND Meredith? When I was growing up, it was one or the other. Everyone hated the Packers - thought Starr never made it into the end zone on that last play of the '67 championship game. There was ONE Packer fan in our neighborhood - he was also the only guy lucky enough to pull a '67 Philly Gum Meredith. And he would not trade

[Hot Springs Bathers]

Scott I loved the Packers even though we were in the Cowboys TV market. I think as kids we all latched on to teams that were winning. That probably was more the case for kids like me that grew up a long way from any pro teams.

I followed the Yankees, Packers and Celtics in the 1960s. But living in the South they were all secondary to college football and the Razorbacks of course.

My Dad was and is a huge Cowboy fan since we got them on TV every week, our backup was the St. Louis football Cardinals. We and by that I mean the whole state of Arkansas were Charger fans in the AFL because of Lance Alworth.

In the summer it was all St. Lous Cardinals baseball. I would read the papers every day looking for Yankee news but every radio was tuned to Harry Carey and Jack Buck.

By the way Bart Starr provides a really neat service for fans today. He has been a longtime supporter of the Rawhide Boys Ranch in Wisconsin. He will sign anything you send him for a fee made out to Starr Enterprises. All money goes to the ranch.

He does require that every item be personalized. He will send you a photo for $20 and for $35 will sign something you send him. Not bad, I got a mini helmet back not long ago.

Thanks for reviving the memories!

[3and2]

1985 I was 11 years and Mickey Mantle was at a small card shop in Brooklyn, NY. My dad took my friend and I. When we finally got to the table Mickey signed our items and we thanked him and started to walk away.

Mickey said, "Hey guys you're walking off and your not going to let me shake your hand." I stopped in my tracks and thought Mickey Mantle wants to shake my hand...WOW! So we went back shook his hand and he said to my dad, "I see you have a camera lets get a group shot." It was really nice on his part to take a couple of minutes of his time to reach out to us. I'll always remember that day.

[Orioles1954]

I am originally from Arkansas, but was raised in Maryland. As such, I am the world's only die-hard Arkansas Razorbacks AND Baltimore Orioles fan. It's only natural that I am a huge Brooks Robinson fan, although I wasn't alive during his zenith. Got to meet Brooks last year at a local signing. The minute I told him I was from Arkansas, that's all we spoke about....for ten minutes. Brooks is also a huge Razorbacks fan and we talked about the football team and his brother who played for our national title squad in 1964. We spoke nothing about the Orioles or baseball....just our love for our mutual home state. He was so excited that he asked to have his picture taken with me! It really was a great experience. Love Brooks, Go O's and Woo Pig Sooiee.

[Gradedcardman]

I have met 2 over the years that stick out. In the late 70's I met Yaz at a charity golf tournament in NC. He was in a golf cart and stopping patiently between holes. I got a great auto on a 1967 Life magazine. The second was for me the best, meeting Bert Blyleven last year in Chicago. He never stopped smiling and was nice to everyone. We discussed the wire photos I had for him to sign and my PSA registry sets of him. Great times !!

[ocjack]

I wanted a different type of autographed baseball collection, so I would ask HOF'ers (and other players) to sign their full name (first, middle and last). I would always make sure I knew their middle name so they knew I had done some research.

I met Joe D. at the San Francisco National in 1989. He was a little more mello in those days, but still on guard. I asked him to sign "Joseph Paul DiMaggio." He stared at me for a minute and then signed my ball. He handed it to me and said, "that's the way I sign my checks". He had signed it "Jos. P. DiMaggio." I was ok with that.

Willie Stargell was surprised when I asked him to sign "Wilver Dornel Stargell." But he did.

I asked Bob Gibson if he would sign his full name. He looked at me and said "you want me to sign Bob Gibson?" I said "no, I'd appreciate your signing it "Robert Gibson." He just looked at me and said "no."

The old-timers; Feller, Lemon, Appling, Doby and so many others, were always friendly, happy to be remembered and provided a clear, legible signature.

I have a poster with 54 multi-colored baseballs on it and had each ball signed by a Hall of Famer as I traveled with it from show to show. So I have many memories of meetings with the greats of the game.

[russyurk]

Like many I've met dozens of hall of famers at various shows over the years, some good some not so good. I work in sports and when I was finishing grad school I interned at the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) marketing office when it was in Pittsburgh. Over the course of my six months I had three notable interactions that I treasure to this day.

The first was finding out they need one more person to drive over to Bob Feller’s home near Cleveland and have Bob sign 2,000 lithographs for a program we were doing with Campbell’s. We arrived mid-afternoon after Bob had already made an appearance somewhere else that day. We found the prickly guy that is often discussed. This was in 1994 so he wasn’t exactly young even then and you could tell he was tired. I was pretty uptight as he signed in near silence and was relieved when we wrapped for the night. We arrived back the next morning to complete the signing and found a rested, engaging Bob. We chatted easily while he signed, talked about his time in the bigs, how the clubhouse guy could sign everybody’s name but most of all his time in World War II. He had a large wall size world map and he took us over and showed where the USS Alabama was a various point while he was aboard. We completed the signing and he was off to another appointment but he made sure his wife Anne gave us a full tour of his home. We ended up in his private office where he had a number of model John Deere tractors and one of the coolest signed baseball I’ve ever seen. When he was 10 or so Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig’s Bustin' Babes-Larrupin' Lous barnstorming tour passed through Iowa. He attended the game and got a baseball signed by Ruth and Gehrig and then added his own “Robert Feller” in your standard child’s cursive. It was truly a one of a kind piece.

My second interaction was similar, I had to drive to Bill Mazeroski’s home outside of Pittsburgh and have him sign a few things, as I recall it was mostly pictures and a few dozen balls. Bill was a super nice man and his wife was as well. She was scurrying around the house cleaning and eventually shows up with a MLBPAA sweater vest in her hands that was way too small for Bill and asked me if I wanted it. Of course I took it and still have it somewhere packed in a box.

My final interaction was with Fergie Jenkins. The MLBPAA assembled a team that participated in a barnstorming tour through Ontario, 13 games in 12 days as I recall. As a native of Chatham, Ontario Fergie was a huge hit and definitely was the most popular player along with Ernie Whitt. Fergie was a cool guy, pulling pranks on everyone including me. One stop I had to wait for Fergie at the hotel with the team going ahead. He was very easy to talk to and even let me hold his Hall of Fame ring to get a closer look.

It was a fantastic experience and even though it was an unpaid internship I was well compensated in autographed balls and experiences that I will never forget.

[7nohitter]

Great stories, Russ!

[Kzoo]

A couple more run-in's with HOF's left me with positive and negative memories.

The two negative memories are as follows....Willie Stargell was signing at Gibraltor in Detroit a few years before his passing and from what I remember, there wasn't an additional cost for an inscription, so I politely asked him if he could write his 'HOF year' under his signature. To my surprise, he was extremely rude and gave me a hard time about it. He eventually inscribed it then did his best Willie Mays impression by rolling the ball back to me across the table. Thanks Willie for the great memory! (On a side note, I sold the ball on ebay a year or so after his passing and it went for a whopping $263 .....the ball was snow white with a perfect sig.)

Next, I was at a Cardinals spring training game in about 2004 and I brought my Bob Gibson '59 topps rookie to possibly get it signed. Gibson accessed the field in the right field corner before the game and he came over to sign for a few people standing there. He reached for my card, then changed his mind and said "I'm not signing that". I asked why not? He said, "That's card show stuff, catch me at a show". Thanks Bob. (Sorry about the '68 WS).

On a positive note, I used to attend a lot of Indy Car races in the mid '90's and to my surprise, Walter Payton showed up at the Detroit Grand Prix on a Friday morning as he was a partial team owner with Dale Coyne (they were known as Payton-Coyne Racing). A few people recognized him as he was just hanging out by his team's transporter in the paddock and he motioned for me to come over. He wasn't super thrilled people were noticing him and I was probably the last autograph he signed that morning, but he wasn't rude and gave me a great signature. On a side note regarding other celebs that hung around the Indy Car series, Paul Newman and Joe Montana were impossible autographs back then. I never saw either one sign a single autograph over several years.

Matt

[7nohitter]

Matt...

Just wondering what other people were asking Gibson to sign that he didn't consider 'card show stuff?' What a stupid comment...ANYTHING could be considered card show stuff.

[Kzoo]

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Matt...

Just wondering what other people were asking Gibson to sign that he didn't consider 'card show stuff?' What a stupid comment...ANYTHING could be considered card show stuff.

He was signing balls, hats, programs, etc......you know, the kind of stuff nobody gets signed at card shows.