Willie Mays: to or not to say hey?

[ScottR81]

So if you were going to have Willie Mays sign your 1952 Topps baseball card would you have him also inscribe "Say hey"?

Would you have him write something different, or nothing at all, just his auto?

[Big Six]

So if you were going to have Willie Mays sign your 1952 Topps baseball card would you have him also inscribe "Say hey"?

Would you have him write something different, or nothing at all, just his auto?

I've never been a big fan of the "Say Hey" inscription...always been partial to HOF 1979...though if you could get him to sign his full name, Willie Howard Mays, Jr., I think that would be SWEET!

[39special]

Just Willie Mays HOF '79 would be fine with me.

[MacDice]

I would just have him put his number. I like it simple

[Kzoo]

Scott............Hey, I love collecting the vintage signed cards and I've thought about getting his autograph on an early career card like 52T or 51B before, as well.....but I always come back to the same few feelings. First, his signing prices are absurd. Second, 95% of people that have gotten his signature in person have had negative experiences due to his personality (i.e.....he's supposedly a huge jerk). And third, his autograph is UGLY!!! And it's gotten worse. If there was a way for him to sign his name like he did in the 50's, I would definitely pay for that style of signature on one of those two cards, but otherwise I'd pass and look for a card already signed with the older signature. That's just my opinion.....oh, and back to the original question....I guess I'd get him to inscribe 'N.Y. Giants'.

Sorry for the rambling,

Matt

[mr2686]

Count me in on part of the 95% that have had multiple bad experiences with Mays...and believe me, I am very very courteous when it comes to getting my stuff signed. Add to that his prices (upcoming show in Chicago is $289 for flats and $120 for inscription) and it's just not worth it. I have several more things I would like to have him sign, but have only one thing I HAVE to have signed so that will be the last one and it will be a mail in so that I don't have to deal with his bad moods.

[bbcard1]

As a compassionate human being, I can cut Willie some slack for the things he's seen and the slights, real and imagined he has endured. As a consumer, I do not feel obligated to pay $289 or more for it.

[GrayGhost]

Mays was VERY surly at a show I set up at in the late 80s. Cranky and as he's gotten older, worse from what Im reading.

I guess Id say why have a MODERN sig put on a great card like the one in this thread? I think it detracts from the presentation of the card too.

IMO, if the card had a period vintage ballpoint sig from his playing days, it would be much better.

[Big Ben]

I paid $5 for my Mays autograph at a show in the early 1980's and to be very honest, I would not walk across the street to see him again. I would rather spend $300 toward a lawn mower.:cool:

[ScottR81]

Ha, well I have heard stories about how weird he gets like he forgets where he is at times and is a jerk, sounds like they are all very true. I bought a 52 Mays PSA 2 that I’m going to crack out of the case so his cranky-ass can sign it anyway. I do agree that his signature sucks as far as the appearance. But it’s still Willie Mays and at least I personally will know he is the one that signed it and not some dude in his parents basement trying to hose people on ebay.

If his signature is that awful looking what must his inscriptions look like now.

[jsage]

I have had the pleasure of spending time with Willie Mays over the years.
We had some very interesting conversations and he signed for me without any problems. I have hear many stories about him being unfriendly at shows and I am sure that has been the case but I just wanted to pass along my interaction with him as being very positive.

[CW]

Judging from what I've heard and the replies in this thread, good luck with getting him to inscribe anything, let alone a phrase of your choice.

[brob28]

Not positive about this, but I thought I read somewhere that he will not do an inscription with "Say Hey".

I'd love to have him sign a picture of "tha catch" and inscribe it with "Sorry Vic"

[Big Six]

Not positive about this, but I thought I read somewhere that he will not do an inscription with "Say Hey."

I believe he won't do "Say Hey Kid."

[jsage]

I have had the pleasure of spending time with Willie Mays over the years.
We had some very interesting conversations and he signed for me without any problems. I have hear many stories about him being unfriendly at shows and I am sure that has been the case but I just wanted to pass along my interaction with him as being very positive.

I have attached some photos below:
Willie Mays signing a baseball for my Grandson. This was at The Annual Baseball Scouts Dinner in LA a few years ago. He was very talkatve and great with my Grandson.
Also, I have posted a photo of my Willie Mays Game Used Bat and a letter that was dictated by Willie to authenticate the bat and he asked that "The Say Hey Kid" be placed under his name.
My experiences have been truely "Fantastic" with the ball player that I think was the best I ever saw play the game.

[Big Ben]

Glad someone had a decent experience with Mays. I know a former dealer in my area who would have a vastly different story. The dealer contracted Mays to do a signing at his store. Mays arrived at his store on the day of the signing in a grumpy mood and immediately demanded an additional $20,000 above what was agreed upon with the contract. The dealer told Mays what he could do with the $20,000 and kicked him out of the store. Mays then asked the dealer to call him a cab, and the dealer refused to do so. So Mays was walking the streets in a strange city looking for a ride. What goes around comes around Mr Mays!:cool:

[Gary Dunaier]

Sounds like some of you might have had a more fulfilling experience buying a "Willi" Mays signed baseball at Toys R Us... :D

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2064/2275885935_a9ab542158_z.jpg
(Photo taken June 20, 2007. © Gary Dunaier. Link to upload on Flickr.com: here (http://www.flickr.com/photos/gary_dunaier/2275885935/).)

[travrosty]

I watched him sign at a show for over an hour in bloomington, mn in the mid 90's. very surly, didnt look up at the people who stood in line to see him.

he ruined a home plate that was signed by mantle, snider because when he went to add his name to it, he picked a sharpie that was drying out and weak, and his name was faint and light, compared to the nice mantle, and snider signatures. i am sure that guys heart sank when he saw that. i would have been not to happy about it.

then when mays was finished signing, he ran to the back door at a speed that usain bolt would have trouble keeping up with. i was already there though, had to stick my hand in the middle of his chest to get him to shake hands. he shook my hand and walked out he back door, leaving other people to shake hands with the broom closet.

i didnt stand in line to get anything signed by him, just watched. but later i went to the bert blyleven line, and couldnt have had a more pleasant experience. what a nice gentleman.

[GrayGhost]

ENJOY...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH6fUdncWkY

[Jayworld]

My dad and I were invited by a friend to the Equitable Old Timer's Game in Arlington in 1988. Our friend was an Equitable rep at the time. We got to meet the old timers prior to the game at the Arlington Sheraton Hotel, where we got to chat, shake hands, and get autographs, then we attended the game and got to go on the field during pre-game batting practice and take photos, then after the game, back to the Sheraton to meet players, etc.

All the players that we met were very gracious and some spent a considerable amount of time talking and reminiscing with my dad, such as Johnny Mize, Bob Feller, Ralph Branca, Al Oliver, Bob Gibson, Warren Spahn, Leo Durocher, etc., but the ONLY no-show to the pre-game and post game festivities was, you guessed it, Willie Mays. Our friend said that because of Mays attitude, he would see that he was never invited back to an Equitable Old Timers game.

On a side note, Bob Feller and his wife were wonderful, as was Bob Gibson and Al Oliver. All were incredibly nice signers, too. It was nice to see my dad meet and speak and length with his boyhood idol, Bob Feller.

[Vintagedegu]

-

[byrone]

Does anyone know why Mays is often so difficult? Has he actually given a reason for his contempt? Was he always difficult?

[ScottR81]

Does anyone know why Mays is often so difficult? Has he actually given a reason for his contempt? Was he always difficult?

Only thing I image is put yourself in his shoes.

You have to meet and sign for how many people (strangers) to make money to support your life style which he probably didnt think he'd live this long.

Plus your one of the greatest baseball players ever and now bench players of today make 10X the amount he did in his era.

I'd be pretty piss too.

[travrosty]

thats not an excuse, then why isnt ernie banks tee'd off then?

mays is making tens of thousands of dollars per appearance to sign his name. thats a sweet gig. babe ruth never got to do that. babe ruth should have been mad. he signed for free all of those years. Musial is still alive and he got less than mays, he should REALLY be mad then.

mays is shooting himself in the foot by being a grouch. he could make more money if he were nice. he would get more gigs, more money. he could get endorsements. i dont know any product that has him as an endorser, why would anybody? joe dimaggio was mister coffee. joe wasnt brooks robinson at the signing table , but he wasnt willie mays either. mays definitely is the benchmark when it comes to bad attitude.

he can make a decent living signing his name. whats not to like about that?

[Big Six]

Only thing I image is put yourself in his shoes.

You have to meet and sign for how many people (strangers) to make money to support your life style which he probably didnt think he'd live this long.

Plus your one of the greatest baseball players ever and now bench players of today make 10X the amount he did in his era.

I'd be pretty piss too.

The story I always heard was that he didn't understand why Mantle was always the toast of NYC centerfielders...he seems bent that Mantle has become this beloved icon (drinking problems and unfillfilled potential notwithstanding) compared to Mays, who many consider the greatest all-around player of all time...in short, simple jealousy.

[Brendan]

thats not an excuse, then why isnt ernie banks tee'd off then?

mays is making tens of thousands of dollars per appearance to sign his name. thats a sweet gig. babe ruth never got to do that. babe ruth should have been mad. he signed for free all of those years.

But Ruth made more money than the president. *GASP*

No matter how much of a jerk Mays is, Cepeda is worse.

[Scott Garner]

But Ruth made more money than the president. *GASP*

No matter how much of a jerk Mays is, Cepeda is worse.

Must be a Giants thang... :p

[Brendan]

Must be a Giants thang... :p

If there is it actually kind of makes sense.

[Cooptown]

I have two Mays stories I can share:

In 2008, I decided to pay for Mays' IP signature at Mickey's Place in Cooperstown. His price in Cooperstown was always considerably cheaper, cash only, and supposedly went to a charity. In 2007 the price was $100, and I decided to pass. In 2008, I decided to plunk down the money, although it did go up to $125. I was collecting HOF baseballs at the time, so I was in line to get a baseball signed (sidestory: I knew I could pick up a signed Mays baseball cheaper than $125, but I honestly wanted to meet the legend in person. I had heard horror stories of him IP, but I still wanted to be able to say that I had met Mays one day).

So I am in line, and turns out that he was only signing baseballs with sharpie....not something I was interested in. I got out of line, and purchased a Willie Mays "the catch" 8x10. Again, I knew I could get one of these cheaper than $125. I wound up getting it framed and it hangs very nicely in my office, but in hindsight I kind of wish I had gone with a vintage card. And I have since done a very nice multisigned HOF piece I would have liked to have added him to (which are another subset of Mays horror stories-multisigned pieces). I digress.

A guy about 10 people in front of me had a TON of items to sign. Must have been at least 10; jerseys, bats, balls, etc. I hope he was doing a consignment...or that he had a lot of money. Another gentleman in front of me had a Mays model glove. He had purchased an equipment ticket, but Mays would not sign it. Mays does not sign game used items, and Mays claims that this was a game used item. The guy who had the glove was claiming that it was his childhood glove from when he was growing up. The scene was pretty comical. I am pretty sure that the guy who had the glove is either a poster here or on the PSA boards, as I am pretty sure I have seen this story retold on a message board.

I got up there with my 8x10, and said "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mays". I had graphed IP for years growing up, and can say the only two people I have ever been nervous in front of were Mays and Ted Williams. When I said that, he didnt even ackowlege me, and I was thinking "here we go....". He then signed my 8x10, and put it extremely close to his eyes....within an inch or two. He then said "I am just checking to make sure I signed it ok, as if I didnt, I was going to sign another one for you." which I thought was incredibly cool. In hindsight, I kind of wish he had screwed it up, as then I might have been able to get two autos out of it, had I been able to keep the one that was messed up. So that's my story of meeting him in person the one and only time. I found it to be a good experience given his history.

My second story involves a guy I know, who volunteered at the Hall of Fame every induction weekend. In fact, his job is every one of our dream jobs. The HOF would give him 8 dozen baseballs, and he would set up shop at the Otesaga Hotel and have every HOFer sign each ball. At the end of the weekend, each HOFer would receive one of the baseballs as a keepsake. I asked him if he was able to keep one every year and he said "oh yeah!" and then I asked if he was able to bring other things in to get signed himself and he said yes. I have never seen his collection in person, but apparently he has quite a collection, as he got a really good rapport with these players (and sometimes wives and families) throughout the years. He has great stories, both good and bad, from HOFers. He says he really loved "the old timers", guys like Pee Wee Reese, and Billy Herman, who he claims were real gentleman.

Apparently Mays would always be difficult about signing the baseballs. This guy would set up shop in the lobby of the hotel, and Mays said "bring them up to my room and I will sign them". So this guy carts all these baseballs up to his room, and Mays says "leave them there and I will sign them." This guy wasnt leaving all of these baseballs, which already had a ton of HOF signatures on them, in Mays room. So apparently they went back and forth on it, and the guy leaves with the baseballs without Mays signing them. I asked if he "got in trouble" for having everyone's signature but Mays on them that year, but he said "No, the guy I was working for knew how Mays was."

Two other quick stories about this:

In 1988 (Stargell's induction year), he said that he knew things were changing. Dick Gordon was in the hotel and said "I am not sure if my client is going to sign those next year"-his client being Yaz. This guy explained that this is a long standing tradition, the guys getting inducted that year were always the highlight of the ball, etc. In 1989 he was expecting Bench to be incredibly accomodating (based upon seeing him on TV), and Yaz to be incedibly difficult based on his agent. He said it couldnt have been any more different, as Yaz was great and Bench was consisently a jerk year after year.

The other story involves (shocker) Tom Seaver. He said out of the 8 dozen or so baseballs he would have, each HOFer would sit down and sign them all at once. With the exception of Seaver. Seaver would do a couple of dozen at a time, and this guy is convinced that Seaver did this to make his guy's job harder, as he would have to always track which stack of balls had Seaver's signature, and which one didn't.

Sorry for the long post.

[Leon]

But Ruth made more money than the president. *GASP*



The story goes that someone asked Ruth what he thought of making more than the President of the United States.

His response "I had a better year than he did."

[CarltonHendricks]

I’ve been a hotel bellman at a golf resort 23 years. It was probably about 12 years ago I escorted Mays to his room. Most of what I’ve read here essentially rings true except my perspective is a little different.

As I recall it had been a busy day and I was just at the right place at the right time. I came back from a check in and it was about dusk…I spotted what looked like Mays and another older black gentleman standing on the front porch of the mansion with key packet in hand. I say what looked like, since in my mind I had a much younger mental picture of him from the 1960’s…Sure enough as I walked closer I could see it was him…

The rooms where I work are spread out in four sections over 1,200 acres….so once the guests check in and get their key they drive to it following a bellman. He was in the section closest to the mansion and main hub of the property. He followed me in his car as I led him in one of our electric bell carts to the parking lot.

As I recall he seemed a little gruff when I spoke with him initially…but then when we got to the parking lot and I gestured where to park I got the full Willie experience…Normally when you point out a parking place for the guest to park 98 times out of a 100 the guest follows your lead and parks where you tell them….not Willie Mays…completely ignored me and parked 30 feet past where I said…I knew right then it was Willie’s world and there was only one way to handle him….his way!

Naturally, as a professional I had no problem with it…It’s my job to be accommodating for every kind of personality and temperament…Really, for me, handling someone like Mays is a piece of cake….you just give’um what they want…and that’s always my policy anyway so it was easy.

Naturally Willie didn’t want to ride in the cart to the room like all the other guests…he wanted to walk…no problem there….I can inch along beside him in the cart with his luggage….no matter how silly it seems…with a smile on my face and a yes sir right this way…as a bellman gruff means almost nothing to me…I actually see it as an opportunity….find out what the problem is, fix it, get a bigger tip…it’s pretty simple.

So I got him moved in and gave him a quick Readers Digest version of the property…he flipped me a twenty and I was out’a there…Willie wasn’t the usual kind of guest you chit chat with about they’re vacation and where they’re from…just the quick basics and thank you sir!...the thought of an autograph didn’t even cross my mind...it was out of the question, you could just tell!

Personally, what did I think of him?...If he’s such a jerk why’d he flip me twenty? I think he’s private and very independent…and probably touchy…which I could understand…you’re one person against a world of strangers always trying to get something from you…a smile, a handshake, an autograph, a conversation…that’s gotta get old…. but genuinely mean? I didn’t pick up on that.

You should’a seen the time I checked in Montana….when he talks to you it’s like he’s talking thru you…and I doubt he’s even conscious of it…From what I’ve seen the bigger the name, the more they’re like that…every time you stop for gas, every time you go to a store…everybody’s looking at you, trying to talk to you…I think after a short time you just go like Joe…on automatic…when he spoke to me it seemed a little like everything was canned, like a pat answer. Very polite and nice really, but kind of like he didn’t really see me.

Once I was at a card show in San Francisco…I was on a pay phone when he walked by on his way leaving…he was surrounded by security, him in the center…There weren’t that many people around and as he walked by some yahoo yells …”Hey Montana” in a rude mocking way…To me the guy was out of line obnoxious…but even though he was only ten feet away it was like Montana didn’t even hear him…Obviously they tune it out.

We’re getting way off the Willie subject but I’ll finish up…I had a little lag time with Joe and Jennifer with them in their room because I had to get them a different room. They had their two or three rambunctious little kids with them who had already knocked over the fireplace tools before I’d set down one piece of luggage LOL…The driving range was right out their back door and smart mom Jennifer was afraid they’d get out onto it so I had to get them another room…LOL I remember when I told him I got a different room but it was more secluded on the back side of the property…I’ll never forget his reaction to the word secluded…he lit up…yeah that sounds good he said LOL…

I did however, get Joe to open up just a little….I was standing there making small talk as I waited for the front desk to call back with another room…there was a Tri-Star card show coming up that weekend and I mentioned I was going to it….He goes…”Oh yeah I think Roger said he’s going to that” (Roger Craig, as a signer of course…not like us civilian slobs)…So anyway, then I asked him if he collects…I think he said a little…but I definitely remember he said he was going to be trading some of his stuff with, I’m pretty sure it was Mike Tyson, or whoever was champion then….so that was pretty cool to cough that out of him!

I remember one time Montana was there for some benefit, cerebral palsy dinner or something…and there were people hanging around the front porch waiting for him to come out…Later after the event let out I was doing the doorman thing at the front door and I saw him coming from the lobby trying to leave…people were clamoring around him for autographs…I could just tell he’d had enough…I told him we have your car up front sir…smile about used up, he goes, where’s my keys?...and the look on his face was, man get me out’a here!...There was no getting his door, he just grabbed the keys jetted for his car and left!

So anyway, there’s a little of my close up observations of why celebs might be a little different…I apologize if it was too off the Willie focus….I start writing and rambling.

[travrosty]

yeah, they get stopped a lot, but they don't have any problem taking the money for all the signing events they go to. he could move to alaska, or do through the mail or private signings only, but he doesnt do that? why does he put himself through it if he doesnt like it? $$$$$$.


Muhammad Ali signed more autographs than any human being in history, never turned anybody down, he signed and handed out way more for free than he ever signed for money. in the signing line, ali was very accomodating, signing cassius clay when asked, even when the handlers told people not to ask him to sign cassius, he still did anyway. He couldnt turn down a free autograph request.

Why was Ali in such a good mood, and mays not? Ali never made the insane money per fight like 20 or 25 million bucks per fight, he'd be making 50 million if he were fighting today). i dont think he is bitter. Ali went basically broke after his fighting career, used autographs to make some money, but didnt seem bitter about it.

i know michael jordan once said that people want to be in his shoes for a day, but try it for a year, or a lifetime? i just wish mays realizes what an incredible position he is in to make so much money by signing his name that the fan deserves better treatment than they are getting. they are paying his salary. its just an autograph salary now and not a baseball one.