Your experiences with HOF'ers

sicollector1954 · #1 02-05-2012, 04:32 PM

I once met Joe Dimaggio at the Sun Times show. The person in line in front of me had a B/W photo signed by Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle and he needed Joe D. to complete the photo. He paid his $175.00 fee for a flat signature which he was charging at the time. He also had a long list of items stated that he would not sign. When this person got up to the front of the line....Dimaggio looked at the item said he wasn't signing it. When the person pointed out he had paid his money for a flat item and waited patiently in line for about a half an hour Dimaggio said something to the effect--I don't sign anything Mantle signed ahead of me. And that was that.
The guy had to get out of line....spend $10.00 for a baseball and then proceeded to get that signed instead. Nice--true story.

39special · #2 02-05-2012, 04:47 PM

I met Ryne Sandberg when he played for the Reading Phillies,in 1980.
The team was coming off the field,and I asked one of the players to sign
my glove.He refused,and Sandberg came up to me,and told me he would
be happy to sign my glove for me.He signed my glove,shook my hand,and
thanked me for being a fan.I was a Sandberg fan from then on!

7nohitter · #3 02-05-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 39special

I met Ryne Sandberg when he played for the Reading Phillies,in 1980.
The team was coming off the field,and I asked one of the players to sign
my glove.He refused,and Sandberg came up to me,and told me he would
be happy to sign my glove for me.He signed my glove,shook my hand,and
thanked me for being a fan.I was a Sandberg fan from then on!

Steve-awesome experience! I had a similar interaction with Sean McDonough (broadcaster) at Fenway Park around '91....he was walking by and everyone was yelling, "Sean, Sean will you sign?" He just kept walking, but I yelled, "Mr. McDonough, you're my idol (at the time I thought I was going to the 'Cuse to be the next great broadcaster) and he came right over, signed a few things for me and couldn't have been nicer.

39special · #4 02-05-2012, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

Steve-awesome experience! I had a similar interaction with Sean McDonough (broadcaster) at Fenway Park around '91....he was walking by and everyone was yelling, "Sean, Sean will you sign?" He just kept walking, but I yelled, "Mr. McDonough, you're my idol (at the time I thought I was going to the 'Cuse to be the next great broadcaster) and he came right over, signed a few things for me and couldn't have been nicer.

Nice! There are some nice guys out there!!

7nohitter · #5 02-05-2012, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sicollector1954

I once met Joe Dimaggio at the Sun Times show. The person in line in front of me had a B/W photo signed by Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle and he needed Joe D. to complete the photo. He paid his $175.00 fee for a flat signature which he was charging at the time. He also had a long list of items stated that he would not sign. When this person got up to the front of the line....Dimaggio looked at the item said he wasn't signing it. When the person pointed out he had paid his money for a flat item and waited patiently in line for about a half an hour Dimaggio said something to the effect--I don't sign anything Mantle signed ahead of me. And that was that.
The guy had to get out of line....spend $10.00 for a baseball and then proceeded to get that signed instead. Nice--true story.

These are the stories I love to hear. Why would Joe D. care that Mantle signed the picture before him?

yanks12025 · #6 02-05-2012, 04:57 PM

I know you want hof players. But last week, I went to a signing and got acouple items signed by Chris Chambliss. My father and I, got him to sign his rookie bat and his yankee G/U cap. He couldn't have been nicer. Was shocked when we showed him the items and he checked them out and verified they were his.

7nohitter · #7 02-05-2012, 06:56 PM

That's awesome Brock...I've heard he's a nice guy.

Jcfowler6 · #8 02-05-2012, 07:06 PM

My encounter was with Bill Mazeroski. It was in the mid 80's. He had a small sports bar in Yorkville, OH. I was coming home from junior high and noticed a lot of people in the bar and cars parked everywhere. And when the door swung open a saw a bunch of flashes from cameras. I had a hunch maybe he was in town visiting.

So I ran home got a couple of my cards of him. I ran back and went inside and sure enough he was in there. It was neat cause it was like the Red Sea. Everyone saw this kid come into the bar and kinda made it a point to get me up to him.

He saw me and immediately asked my name. Had me sit down next to him and asked about my school and family. I told him that my grandfather new him from when he was in high school. He was such a class guy. He autographed both of my cards and just talked with me. I couldn't believe it. The rest is a blur. He has always been a hero in my parts and I got to meet him.

He is still a favorite of mine.

gnaz01 · #9 02-05-2012, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

These are the stories I love to hear. Why would Joe D. care that Mantle signed the picture before him?

I was well known that Mantle had no love for Joe D.

RichardSimon · #10 02-05-2012, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 7nohitter

These are the stories I love to hear. Why would Joe D. care that Mantle signed the picture before him?

Maybe some won't like me saying this but he was an unhappy nasty man and his ego was twisted.

RichardSimon · #11 02-05-2012, 09:29 PM

I along with a friend of mine was invited, to Florida, to view a very large autograph collection that had just been obtained by Vince Antonucci the agent for Ted Williams, who eventually wound up a convicted felon.
He was also the agent for Monte Irvin.
I spent virtually an entire day with Monte listening to him tell one baseball story after another as he viewed the wire photos I had brought for him to sign.
The next day I met Ted and spent an hour with him, he was a delight also regaling me with baseball stories.
It was two days I will never forget.

7nohitter · #12 02-06-2012, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

I along with a friend of mine was invited, to Florida, to view a very large autograph collection that had just been obtained by Vince Antonucci the agent for Ted Williams, who eventually wound up a convicted felon.
He was also the agent for Monte Irvin.
I spent virtually an entire day with Monte listening to him tell one baseball story after another as he viewed the wire photos I had brought for him to sign.
The next day I met Ted and spent an hour with him, he was a delight also regaling me with baseball stories.
It was two days I will never forget.

Richard,

Very cool to hear...and I'd heard that DiMaggio was an egotist, I guess I wasn't aware to what level!

timber63401 · #13 02-05-2012, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Maybe some won't like me saying this but he was an unhappy nasty man and his ego was twisted.

Truer words have never been spoken.

GrayGhost · #14 02-05-2012, 10:10 PM

I have four from years back:

I was the next to last sig for Willie Mays. A Kid was in line ahead of me w a book. Mays barked WHAT IS IT then when the kid told him. GIVE ME THE BOOK. The my ball was next. sloppy and smeared and rolled to me, and I later gave it away as a card show prize.

Met Mickey Mantle for six bucks at a car show. He had a cold, but still smiled and at least shook hands.

Met B Robby at a show, and he was incredible. HONORED that people cared bout him and his career.

My fave was when I was getting a Dennis Eckersley sig at a show I set up at. Eck wasn't in the Hall and was playing for Oakland at the time. Anyways, he was nice to me, but the little boy ahead of me was nervous to meet him. Eck asked him what was wrong. The kids dad told him he was nervous. Eck said "hey sonny, come here, he sat the kid next to him in a chair, took two pics and gave him an additional free signature too. The smile on the little boy and the look on his dad's face made my day.

mordecaibrown · #15 02-05-2012, 10:37 PM

Ill agree with Jon about Mazeroski.

Met him this past fall at a show here in Philadelphia and he could not have been any nicer. Took time to interact with every person in line! And are you ready for this, after returning my autographed ball to me, he said "thank you" to me.

It really does not take much effort for these players to make a difference; unfortunately, the more I read, the more it seems like interactions with Maz are the exception.

Needless to say, I am a Maz fan!

Jantz · #16 02-05-2012, 10:57 PM

Hi Andrew

I had the opportunity of working with Bob Feller. He came to the retail store that I worked at and signed autographs for free to any customer that wanted something signed.

It was a great time for me and just sitting there and listening to the stories he told was a great experience. At the end of the autograph session, I had two items that I wanted signed. He said that wasn't good enough. I went home with a grocery bag full of autographed items.

Jantz

thebigtrain · #17 02-05-2012, 11:19 PM

I can't really think of anything worse than an autograph signing if I was an MLB player. All those annoying people shoving trinkets at you to sign and trying to shake your hand, get a photo, etc. Bet it gets old quick.

I really wonder why they even bother, even at 175 a pop like Joe D. it seems like a really miserable & degrading way to make $$$. But old farts like him, Mays & Mantle who got paid squat while players have no choice I guess, maybe they need the cash to maintain their lifestyle?

Hard to see players today doing this garbage in say 10 or 15 years. Why would guys like Jeter, Arod etc waste a day of their life to do this when they already have more $$$ than any human could spend in 50 lifetimes?

If I was an MLB player I wouldn't sign anything for anyone while still an active player (like Steiner or whoever most of them now sign thru by contract). Why give those clowns a cut when you could create scarcity/demand and then be a huge "get" in retirement? Instead of shows you could sign thru the mail and charge rich collectors like 2500 a pop if they want it bad enough.

71buc · #18 02-05-2012, 11:36 PM

I got Feller a few times and on each occasion he was very gracious and friendly. I�m going to miss seeing him at spring training this year. Although he isn�t in the hall of fame, my favorite experience with a professional player occurred in 1974. I was eleven at the time. Lyman Bostock played wiffle ball with my friends and I for a few minutes in the Cheney stadium (Tacoma) parking lot. He was a great guy. His death was such a tragedy. Last week I took a female friend to see Cal Ripken at Mill Creek Sports. I came away thoroughly impressed. He was polite, friendly, and had a positive comment about each item he signed. He shook hands with virtually everyone and took the time to pose for pictures with anyone who requested one. He is a true gentleman and obviously a great ambassador for the game.

7nohitter · #19 02-06-2012, 04:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

I have four from years back:

I was the next to last sig for Willie Mays. A Kid was in line ahead of me w a book. Mays barked WHAT IS IT then when the kid told him. GIVE ME THE BOOK. The my ball was next. sloppy and smeared and rolled to me, and I later gave it away as a card show prize.

Met Mickey Mantle for six bucks at a car show. He had a cold, but still smiled and at least shook hands.

Met B Robby at a show, and he was incredible. HONORED that people cared bout him and his career.

My fave was when I was getting a Dennis Eckersley sig at a show I set up at. Eck wasn't in the Hall and was playing for Oakland at the time. Anyways, he was nice to me, but the little boy ahead of me was nervous to meet him. Eck asked him what was wrong. The kids dad told him he was nervous. Eck said "hey sonny, come here, he sat the kid next to him in a chair, took two pics and gave him an additional free signature too. The smile on the little boy and the look on his dad's face made my day.

Love your meetings, too bad Mays was such a jerk! Eck is too funny...He actually lived for a while in Sudbury, MA when I was working for a local grocery store. I see Eck coming down the aisle one day, grab a sign off the shelf and ask him to sign it...he was cracking up at that move. But, also got KC Jones, Jeff Reardon, Lee Smith, Danny Darwin and Oil Can Boyd all while working for the grocery store.

mschwade · #20 02-06-2012, 07:24 AM

Not in the same category in terms of on-the-field achievements, but a Hall of Famer nonetheless... I am a college basketball beat writer in Ohio and every home game I sit next to the great Hal McCoy, long-time Cincinnati Reds beat writer, enshrined into Cooperstown in 2003 along with Gary Carter, Eddie Murray, and Bob Uecker.

I could sit and talk with him for hours and like anyone that has been involved with baseball for as long as he has, he shares some great stories! He's always been awesome to me and jokes with me all the time. Last week, we were talking about the oddest things he has been asked to sign. Later at halftime he turned to me and said, "Did you just see that? The guy had me sign his popcorn box!"

Great guy and will sign through the mail for those wondering.

HexsHeroes · #21 02-06-2012, 07:43 AM

.

I've had the opportunity to get four HOF in person.

Ditto the prior comments about Mays. He was at a Jim Hawkin's Plymouth show and was quite surly and rude.

Berra also signed at a Hawkin's Plymouth show, and was surprising in that he was all business; rarely cracking a smile, or regaling in Yogisms or stories. Just business-like, polite, here's your autograph.

Gehringer signed at a Southfield Michigan show, and was similar to Berra inwhich he was very business-like and polite with his signing mannerisms. But Charlie did respond with eye contact and a smile when thanked, so he must have had an appreciation for proper manners too.

Al Kaline was signing at a Gilbraltar Trade Center show in Taylor (or was it Mt. Clements, I don't remember). I could see ahead that he was looking alittle frustrated and put out, but trying to remain polite. Earlier in the week, I had noted while reading in the recent Beckett Baseball magazine that Kaline's birthday was the day of the signing. So when it was my turn to get my item signed, I wished Al a hearty and enthusiastic "Happy Birthday". The look of surprise-turn-to-smile on his face verified that I hit a home-run with him. The promoter asked Al if it was indeed his birthday, and Al replied that it was. I got a nice, bold signature, firm handshake, and a word of thanks from Al for the birthday greeting.

Not a HOF, but a short story to share regarding obtaining Willie Horton's autograph in 1993. Jim Hawkins was promoting a 25th Anniversary signing with most of the members of the 1968 World Champions Detroit Tigers team, and the turnout was out-of-sight. Willie Horton must not have been expecting to signed literally dozens items for each individual in line (dealers???). While I was waiting to get my one item signed, Willie began making noise about having to leave for a doctor's appointment. After each person infront of me, he seemed closer to bolting. Fortunately, I got my autograph. So did the guy behind me. But the hundreds of fans behind him were out of luck, because Willie did get up and leave. Evidently, all of the Detroit Tiger ballplayers had spent a two or three hours signing stuff before the public show hours, upstair in Hawkin's private hotel room. Perhaps mail order; perhaps Hawkins own items. Anyways, Willie thought that the pre-public signing fulfilled his obligation, so having to sign autographs for the public for several more hours was not covered by the compensation he had received, or had agreed to do. I still feel for all those fans who waited for hours, to get nothing from Horton.

whitehse · #22 02-06-2012, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

I have four from years back:

I was the next to last sig for Willie Mays. A Kid was in line ahead of me w a book. Mays barked WHAT IS IT then when the kid told him. GIVE ME THE BOOK. The my ball was next. sloppy and smeared and rolled to me, and I later gave it away as a card show prize.

Met Mickey Mantle for six bucks at a car show. He had a cold, but still smiled and at least shook hands.

Met B Robby at a show, and he was incredible. HONORED that people cared bout him and his career.

My fave was when I was getting a Dennis Eckersley sig at a show I set up at. Eck wasn't in the Hall and was playing for Oakland at the time. Anyways, he was nice to me, but the little boy ahead of me was nervous to meet him. Eck asked him what was wrong. The kids dad told him he was nervous. Eck said "hey sonny, come here, he sat the kid next to him in a chair, took two pics and gave him an additional free signature too. The smile on the little boy and the look on his dad's face made my day.

Working for a Major League team has given me the opportunity to meet hall of famers and stars away from the limelight and I have to say I was never treated badly by any of them. Yogi Berra was a bit surly but very businesslike but I have to say he was the only one that came closest to being a bit nasty with me.

The memory of Dennis Eckersley that I have is that my first two years working for the team I was dugout security and I carried handcuffs in case we had people who ran on the field or into the dugout. A few teammates of Eck's borrowed my handcuffs and the next thing I know he is running out of the clubhouse and into the dugout where I was at, asking me where the key was. This was happening in the middle of the game and he was trying to hide this all from the manager. I had given the other players the key to the handcuffs as well so I didnt have it on my. Needless to say he wasnt very happy with me or his teammates. On a side note, I did arrange to get a pair of cuffs for a few different players on the team at their request. LOL

bjcunningham · #23 02-06-2012, 01:16 PM

I remember meeting Brooks Robinson as a kid. I had a 1960 Topps card my dad had given me to get signed and he remarked that he probably wouldn't have needed to shave in the morning before that picture had been taken.
Ernie Banks was super-nice to me and I remember that interaction better than most.
I remember Enos Slaughter, as well, as being genial and accommodating.

There's more than a handful where the line speed just moved me along and I didn't really get to talk to them, newer HOFers like Cal Ripken and Ozzie Smith, particularly and as I remember Killebrew and Weaver were about the same.

The most fun I had was talking to Buck O'Neil, though not a HOFer in Cooperstown.

theshleps · #24 02-08-2012, 09:01 AM

As a shy 16 year old going up to Mickey Mantle in 1967 as he was standing alone in front of the hotel he lived in while in NYC (I was the only one there) I had a Sport magazine photo already signed by Casey Stengel and I said "Mr Mantle can you please sign this" and he looked at me and spit in my face and walked off- that I will never forget .
My other horror story was going up to Hank Aaron (my hero) the same year outside the team hotel and politely asked him to sign my autograph book and he said "go play in the traffic son".
Considering I saw most teams these were my only bad stories. Eddie Mathews started up a conversation with me and was great.
After taking almost 35 years off I started doing IP collecting again in 2002 and still am though this may be my last year at it as dealers are getting too aggressive at spring training, etc and it is no longer as much fun for us "older guys". Sandberg, Brook Robinson, Billy Williams, Fergie, Santo,Ryan, Gossage, Herzog have been great (again none of these are show appearances which can give you a skewed impression since they are paid to be there).
Of present day "superstars" my least favorite has been Sammy Sosa who acted like he thought he was God when the cameras weren't on him.
Others like Frank Robinson and Griffey have been extremely tough autographs but would talk to us for long periods of time.
Lots more stories but these will do for now.

Gradedcardman · #25 02-14-2012, 08:03 PM

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 !!

Gary Dunaier · #26 02-05-2012, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sicollector1954

He also had a long list of items stated that he would not sign. When this person got up to the front of the line....Dimaggio looked at the item said he wasn't signing it. When the person pointed out he had paid his money for a flat item and waited patiently in line for about a half an hour Dimaggio said something to the effect--I don't sign anything Mantle signed ahead of me. And that was that.

I realize this isn't what this thread is about, but I've got to say that unless DiMaggio's "will not sign" list was publicized ahead of time, the guy in front of sicollector1954 got a raw deal. And the sad part is that there was probably no recourse to be had.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
WTT: My T-206 HOFers For Your '33 Goudey HOFers	bundy462	1920 to 1949 Baseball cards- B/S/T	0	01-06-2012 10:14 PM
Smaller 1930s sets and the HOFers within	Rob D.	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	8	07-02-2009 11:12 PM
FS: PSA 9/10 70s/80s/90s HOFers, Future HOFers and Near HOFers	Archive	1950 to 1959 Baseball cards- B/S/T	1	06-03-2008 08:12 PM
Collecting HOFers on a budget	Archive	Net54baseball Vintage (WWII & Older) Baseball Cards & New Member Introductions	2	01-05-2007 08:03 PM
High Grade 1916-1927 Types -- Trade Bait for HOFers	Archive	Pre-WWII cards (E, D, M, etc..) B/S/T	1	06-21-2006 05:12 PM