Back in the 80's and early 90's me and my two partners ran some successful mall shows in the suburbs of Chicago and we would try and bring local athletes in to sign free autographs for the show guests. We tried to bring in some decent names but never brought the current athletes in because we could never afford them as we were giving the autos away.
Here are some of the guests we had. Excuse the pictures as some got really beat up and my scanner really sucks.
1st up is Ray Meyer, head basketball coach of DePaul and a Hall of Famer. Great guy and even asked me what much of his memorabilia collection might be worth. He had every basketball from his milestone wins and he was thinking about selling them.
Next up is the man that practically raised me. Jack Brickhouse is the voice I always wanted to hear on a summer day because that meant baseball was on WGN television. Jack was the broadcaster for the Cubs for many years and the White Sox as well. I got to spend three hours with him and found out he was so much more than a baseball announcer. He interviewed presidents, queens, kings, popes and just about anyone else in between. The man is a Chicago legend and I am glad I got to know him a bit.
The next guest we had was Notre Dame's Heisman trophy winner Johnny Lattner. Johnny came into the mall pushing a shopping cart and was looking for me. After shaking hands I finally realized what he had in the shopping cart....THE Heisman Trophy!! I almost fell down right there. He was one of the best guests we ever had and he let everyone touch the trophy and pose for pictures with it. I have one some where where I was actually holding it but cant find it right now. That thing was heavy. One of the best moments of my life.....sports speaking!!
The photos are beat up and I have to have new copies made. (I am the fat guy on the right!!)
The last one I have pictures of (I have to dig more out) was Dottie Ferguson Key. She was a Rockford Peach and told us she was one of the inspirations for the "Dottie" character that Geena Davis played in League of Their Own. Dottie had an incredible grip and you just knew she would kick your ass if she wanted to. She was the Canadian Skating Champion in the 30's and was due to go to the 1940 Olympics before they were cancelled because of the war. Her husband, Donald Key, who is sitting next to her in this picture was also a Canadian Olympian and a damn fine athlete himself.
I will have to dig out more pictures.