Who's the earliest HOF you met in person?

[Prince Hal]

Back in the early '90's the Congressman who represents the Cooperstown area had a fundraiser every year during induction weekend and he would bring in several HOFers to meet and sign autographs. The best person to interact with was Harmon Killibrew but the oldest was Bob Feller. The man's grip even in his later years was freaking amazing and he was always cordial. Not a HOFer but a very cool person who would go was Buck O'Neil. The worst was Gaylord Perry.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by Prince Hal

Back in the early '90's the Congressman who represents the Cooperstown area had a fundraiser every year during induction weekend and he would bring in several HOFers to meet and sign autographs. The best person to interact with was Harmon Killibrew but the oldest was Bob Feller. The man's grip even in his later years was freaking amazing and he was always cordial. Not a HOFer but a very cool person who would go was Buck O'Neil. The worst was Gaylord Perry.

Did he spit on you?

[kmac32]

Ernie Banks, Billy Williams, Ryne Sandberg, Fergie Banks all at Cubs Fantasy camp

[Paul S]

At the Martin Luther King, Jr. East-West All Star Classic (1970) at Dodger Stadium. Had to cut across the section that separated us, as the usher wasn't letting anyone down the aisle.

[Prince Hal]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Did he spit on you?

Ha! At least that would constitute a form of interaction. He just sat there looking at his watch. I wonder why his cheating doesn't come up more often during the steroid discussions...

[oldjudge]

When I was a kid my dad used to take me to Old Timers Day at Yankee Stadium and we would always sit behind the announcers booth. After the game many old timers would come up to the booth to chat on the air. I once met, and got the autographs of, Dizzy and Daffy Dean. Unfortunately, the ball is long gone.

[Cozumeleno]

For seven years, I was a tournament director for a celebrity golf tournament in Pittsburgh, where I live. Most of the guys were veterans or guys that made a few All-Star teams, but my lone HOF experience from it was Bill Mazeroski. Really shy/quiet guy, but extremely nice.

[tedzan]

I first met Phil Rizzuto in 1953....he was my nearby neighbor (2 blocks away) in Hillside, NJ. Phil would drive his 1953 Nash Metropolitan past our home on his way to Yankee Stadium.







Visited with Johnny Mize in his hometown (Demorest, Georgia). A really great guy to talk baseball with. One of my all-time favorite Yankees players.






Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio....and, many, many more HOFers....that I have stories of.



TED Z
.

[vthobby]

Stan Musial and others....(Appling & Aparicio I think) were at an armory in Manhattan at a card show in the 1970s.

My grandfather used to send Stan Musial Maple Syrup that he tapped from Vermont in the 1950s.

I mentioned this to Stan and he remembered my grandpa. That was pretty cool.

Peace, Mike

[Hankphenom]

I met Clark Griffith in 1955, and remember it very well. I was nine.

[Jobu]

That is awesome about Griffith, I loved the story in your book (Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train, a must read for those who haven't yet).

Didn't you also meet your grandfather (Walter Johnson for those who don't know) when you were 8 or 9 months old? Even if you don't remember it I say that this counts and you win the prize given he is one of the original 5!

Originally Posted by Hankphenom

I met Clark Griffith in 1955, and remember it very well. I was nine.

[Hankphenom]

I guess I did technically meet him when he was in the hospital, or at least he met me, I hadn't thought of that. I was only a few months old, so naturally I don't remember it. I have always thought it was special to have been the last grandchild born before he passed away, and that he "knew" me.

Originally Posted by Jobu

That is awesome about Griffith, I loved the story in your book (Walter Johnson: Baseball's Big Train, a must read for those who haven't yet).

Didn't you also meet your grandfather (Walter Johnson for those who don't know) when you were 8 or 9 months old? Even if you don't remember it I say that this counts and you win the prize given he is one of the original 5!

[mrmopar]

Found this old thread via a search and thought I would revive it.

The first and earliest HOFer I met was Bob Feller, who was signing at Pacific Trading Cards in Edmonds. I think it was 1984 or so.

I "met" a few others at Mariner games in the 80s as well when I was chasing autographs, although all were still active except Yogi Berra, who was a Yankee coach or manager at the time. he was walking to the team bus after the game. Guys like Dave Winfield, Jim Palmer, Gaylord Perry, Tony Perez, Carl Yastrzemski and Eddie Murray all signed something for me at M's games. That was more seeing him close and in person vs. actually meeting him. I also got a bunch of signatures (maybe 1-2 HOFers, but I'd need to see the program to remember) at one of the Equitable Old Timers Game in Seattle.

I then met a few more at the Seattle Fan Fest in 2001, including Bob Gibson, Jim Rice, Orlando Cepeda & Enos Slaughter.

Lastly, I was able to meet a couple at Everett Aqua Sox games when they were signature guests before the games. Rollie Fingers, Gaylord Perry and Fergie Jenkins (I guess they like 60s-80s pitchers!). It was fun too be able too get a number of items signed by each, an opportunity you don't typically get in card show settings, as they were there for 2 hours each and there were really only so many fans interested in standing in line more than once.

[CurtisFlood]

Originally Posted by Prince Hal

Back in the early '90's the Congressman who represents the Cooperstown area had a fundraiser every year during induction weekend and he would bring in several HOFers to meet and sign autographs. The best person to interact with was Harmon Killibrew but the oldest was Bob Feller. The man's grip even in his later years was freaking amazing and he was always cordial. Not a HOFer but a very cool person who would go was Buck O'Neil. The worst was Gaylord Perry.

I found Gaylord Perry to be most gracious. Same with Phil NIekro and Fergie Jenkins. Whitey Ford and Bob Feller as well. Mr. Feller did plug his museum non stop though!

[SMPEP]

When I read the title to this thread quickly, I thought it said "ugliest" and I was like ...

Wow! Two pages on who the ugliest HOFer is! Can't believe the thread got that many responses!

Guess I need to improve my reading comprehension skills,
Patrick