Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[ronniehatesjazz]

I'm sure this has probably been done on here but I couldn't find anything in the search. Would love to hear stories about best/worst interactions with athletes/celebrities. I'll start...

Best:

Johnny Bench (Nashville show in ~96)- Very generous with me. Took picture with me at the booth he was signing at. Later that day, after he was done signing, I saw him wandering around looking at some cards. It looked like he was just killing some time. I went up and talked to him for about 5 minutes. Nicest guy in the world and I remember being impressed with myself that I didn't get that nervous speaking with a baseball legend (was only 11 at the time). He talked so casually about baseball that it was like talking to one of my teammates dads and not a celebrity. Really great experience.

Eddie Taubensee- Signed for hours every game I went to when I was growing up. Not a superstar but still was always excited to get his autograph and he was great with the fans. Thomas Howard was also really good in regards to signing at games.

Okay:

Enos Slaughter- Met him in Cooperstown when I was 9 or 10. Was real nice the first day I met him on that trip. Was signing for like $10 at one of the shops up there. Saw him the following day at a restaurant and got his auto again. Was real grouchy but signed the ball I had. Could have been the fact that I asked him while he was at lunch. He was by himself though, not eating, and the place was dead. Usually I wouldn't have asked but it was so low key I thought I would go ahead and do it. All in all not that bad.

The Worst:

Walter Payton- This one isn't even close. Huge jerk. Met him at the same show I met Johnny Bench at. Got an 8x10 signed by him in a Bears black jersey. The guy signed with a black sharpie on the black jersey. Could have signed anywhere but specifically did it to be a jerk. Was super arrogant and wouldn't even look at people. Kind of surprised because I've heard good things about him but my experience with him was just terrible.

[kailes2872]

Interesting about Bench. I have never met him but have met guys who have who gave very poor reviews. Second hand, of course, so take it for what is worth.

Met Dave Parker at Pirarefest a frw years ago. He was a childhood hero. He was set to sign and the line was forming. My oldest (13-14) at the time walked up with a ball and asked to sign. Dave said, I’m getting ready to sign for the next half hour over there but okay. My younger son then held out the ball - he was 10 at the time and did not like to approach anyone but Conner insisted that Cam ask as well. Parker signed his. At that point a crowd started gathering and the Pirate rep said no more autos - if you want one the (long) lime forms over there.

Always loved the cobra

[seanofjapan]

Best:

Brett Butler - in 1990 I was among a throng of kids next to the Giants dugout during BP before a game at Olympic Stadium. I gave him my card of him (1990 Donruss) and my sharpie. He signed it, then looked at the card and noticed that my pen was running low on ink and his signature didn't look too good. He said "hold on", walked over to the dugout, grabbed a new pen, signed the card again and gave it to me with a smile on his face, saying "I think you need to get a better pen, this one is running out of ink." It only took about 10 seconds, but he gratuitously gave me those 10 seconds even though he could have walked away and I've always thought the best of him since that. Also I have a cool 1990 Donruss card that has been signed by Brett Butler twice!

Honorable mention: Brooks Robinson was super nice when I got his autograph at a show, letting my friend and i come behind the table to pose for pictures with him and chatting with us a bit and just being an awesome guy.

Worst:
My worst was with Hank Aaron, whose signature I got at the same show Brooks Robinson was at. After the great and personal experience with Brooks, my friend and I (we were both 15 years old at the time) went over to Aaron's table. We weren't allowed to have any interaction with him at all, I was told to give the ball I wanted him to sign to some guy sitting next to Aaron (maybe his agent? Don't know who), who would then give it to Aaron. After Aaron had signed it, he gave it back to the guy sitting next to him without so much as looking up at me, and that guy handed it to me.

It was such an impersonal experience my buddy and I both walked away feeling kind of jilted, especially when we looked at our balls and noticed his signature looked like "Stan Aaron" because of the way he wrote his first name. Also we paid 25$ for his autograph (this was in 1992) and only I think 5 or 10$ for Brooks. We both walked away with diminished opinions of Aaron, but as huge fans of Brooks Robinson. (in fairness I should note that Aaron's table had a much longer line than Brooks' which might explain the different treatment more than any differences in their character, but it still left a bad taste with me!)

[Baseballcrazy62]

Had the privilege of having Kareem Abdul Jabbar tell me to F off at a charity event fundraiser. There were a group of Police Athletic League kids there and he never signed a single autograph the whole evening. The organizer of the event spent half the evening apologizing for his ( Kareem's) behavior.

[MartyFromCANADA]

Sent this photo to my childhood hockey hero, Shayne Corson,, 15 years ago.
He sent it back beautifully signed and personally inscribed.
302363

Finally met him at the last Toronto expo. Great Guy.
Says he remembered signing the Zamboni photo.
302362

[bbcard1]

Lots of good ones, but the one that you might find surprising was Jose Canseco. He was back stage at an appearance (with ankle monitor) and he was nice and talked to my son at length (he was probably 10 at the time). Signed a nice legible sig and encouraged my son to continue to play baseball.

Worst may have been Tommy Gregg, former Brave. I asked him to sign my baseball encyclopedia when he was coaching in the minors and he not only blew me off (which happens) but growled and kind of asked it I wasn't kind of old for that stuff.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Had the privilege of having Kareem Abdul Jabbar tell me to F off at a charity event fundraiser. There were a group of Police Athletic League kids there and he never signed a single autograph the whole evening. The organizer of the event spent half the evening apologizing for his ( Kareem's) behavior.

Never met him but he always kind of gave me that vibe. Not a big fan of his for other off the court reasons as well. Sorry he treated you that way.

[Griffins]

Worst- Johnny Bench. It was 1983, I was 22 I was photographing him for a charity ad. He asked me if I knew anything about baseball, and I replied that not only did I follow Baseball closely but that he was my favorite player, and when I was a kid I’d sent him a get well card after his lung surgery in ‘72. He blew up and said I was trying to make him feel old. Total dick

Best was Kareem. I was shooting an ad for a friend of his and he dropped in and chatted for half an hour. I’d been around him before and knew he was pretty reserved so I mostly let him talk, and we had a pretty amazing conversation

Being a photographer is like having a backstage pass to the world. When you deal with people like Kareemm or Jerry West or Eric Gagne it’s the best job in the world. Johnny Bench and Tommy Lasorda not so much

[Dewey2007]

As a kid I don't remember to many bad experiences. Some guys were jerks but most were good.

As an adult it has been a whole different experience. I have gotten a few autos at shows in person and it has been weird. Nothing that the players have done to make it that way but as a 40+ year old adult I have found it very awkward asking another adult to sign an item. I am cool with things through the mail or sending an item in to get signed but doing it in person has been an unpleasant experience from my end.

My most recent experience was with Jimmy Rollins this past November. I help coordinate our high school athletic hall of fame ceremony and J-Roll was in attendance since he was introducing his old coach. I spoke to him briefly before the show and worked up the nerve to ask him if he wouldn't mind signing a couple of things after the ceremony but just couldn't go through with asking him to do it afterwards.

[oldjudge]

I used to put on dinners with famous ex athletes for my company's customers. Among the best people that I ever dealt with were Roger Staubach, Jim Brown, and Wilt Chamberlain. They were friendly, gracious and a pleasure to deal with. Of all the people I worked with the only ones I don't remember favorably were John Riggins and Richard Dent (too quiet-almost shy) and Lynn Swann (a real jerk).
However, at card shows by far the nicest guy I ever met was Pete Rose. He appeared at a show in Central Connecticut in the early 1990s and I took my five year old daughter with me to the show. I had a baseball so I decided to get his autograph. Julie was excited by this so when our turn came to get an autograph I told Pete that Julie was a big fan of his. He talked to her for a minute telling her that he had a daughter just about her age. Then he reached under the table, grabbed his briefcase, and pulled out pictures of his daughter to show her. While the line behind us was probably wondering what was going on Pete spent about five minutes with my daughter. What a nice gesture on his part.

[bbcard1]

Universally as a category, professional wrestlers are great. The reason is simple...they are closer to the money. Baseball players depend on owner who depend on the revenue of teams, a part of which is paying fans. Wrestlers' livelihood is directly related to the fan reaction to them. I remember when my son was six or so Bam Bam Bigelow offered to shake his hand and after my son did so Bam Bam grabbed his hand and asked him, "Why did you squeeze so hard! You're strong!" Made my son's day.

[Dewey2007]

As a kid I remember trying to get autographs after a match. Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissey in full character told me "I no sign in English" as he walked out to the parking lot. It was hilarious. I remember most of the other wrestlers being good about signing.

Universally as a category, professional wrestlers are great. The reason is simple...they are closer to the money. Baseball players depend on owner who depend on the revenue of teams, a part of which is paying fans. Wrestlers' livelihood is directly related to the fan reaction to them. I remember when my son was six or so Bam Bam Bigelow offered to shake his hand and after my son did so Bam Bam grabbed his hand and asked him, "Why did you squeeze so hard! You're strong!" Made my son's day.

[GoCubsGo32]

Sandy Koufax 3 years ago.

My father is a pilot and was riding in the back of the plane to get home.Before boarding the airplane, a random guy told my dad, "Hey! You are lucky!" "Koufax is on that plane!".. Dad was confused..he said, "Sandy Koufax?" sure enough, he was sitting 2 rows in front of my Dad. Pretty surprising considering it was a very small airport they were flying to. My dad knew I collected autographs and was going to surprise me with getting his autograph. Dad didn't feel comfortable asking since he was still in uniform(even though he was off duty) and he wanted my brother to get a chance to meet him. So he text my brother ( who was picking him up) telling him that Koufax was on the plane and to bring something to get sign.

My dad had no idea about Sandy and how "recluse" he is. In addition, my dad is not an autograph guy. He still thinks anyone who played baseball during the golden era are super friendly.

When Koufax was making his way to baggage claim (one on one) my brother asked him politely, " Mr. Koufax could you please sign this?"

He looked at my brother and scream "WHO THE F**K are you!?!" "WHO TOLD YA I WAS HERE!!" "HUH!!"

My brother who is 30 was so shocked and taken back, that he didn't know what to say. My dad walk over and politely said,"I told him you were on the plane.We are fans of yours and it was a rare occurrence.I wanted my son, to get a chance to meet you sir.Sorry to bother you Mr.Koufax." My dad then took the card, ripped it up, and threw it in the trash can as they left.

Granted, I kinda figure that would probably happen, but since my dad was trying to make it a surprise for me, I didn't know about it, or else I would of told him not to try. Sandy could of been alot nicer to my brother in turning him down. At least he got to meet him! ...kinda...

[savedfrommyspokes]

Dave Winfield and Ronde Barber were the two nicest well known professional athletes I have met. While at a game when I was 10, Dave took time to talk to me during BP ..... he talked for so long, I can remember running out of questions to ask him. He could tell and started asking me questions...IE what position I played, my favorite position, etc. At a work conference about a decade ago, Ronde Barber was signing and out of the 1000 people attending they were all into one of the other guests, so as he was alone I talked with him for 20+ minutes, could not have been nicer a nicer guy.



There are two former MLers who live near me in my neighborhood...they both have kids about the same age as my kids. Through my kids playing around the hood, I have run into them and while our kids have played, I have shot the breeze with them and both could not have been nicer.

[chlankf]

Met Yogi Berra and Lou Dials at a show in St. Louis in early 90s. I had recently seen Berra on a Pringles commercial, it was hilarious, so I brought an empty can for him to sign. He got a kick out of it saying he had never signed one before. I had heard stories of him playing harmonica and that he carried one with him. I asked about it, he smiled, stood up and addressed the crowd to be quiet and began playing. The promoter quickly came over, upset to stop him, and Yogi brushed him off and spent 5 minutes having fun. It was a totally incredible experience.

At the same show, Lou Dials had a table set up with a few negro league pics, pics of himself and a few books. All day Friday people just walked past him paying no mind and oblivious to who he was. Saturday noonish, same situation as Friday. Seeing this I walked over to meet him. He offered me a seat and I joined him for a conversation. I spent the remainder of the day with him. We talked about everything; baseball, girls, what America was like growing up - both our generations sides, college - his opinions and experience & degree. Memories I will never forget. I never asked him for an auto, can't believe I forgot. My dad was not happy I abandoned him at the table but understood. Sunday Lou comes walking to my table with a signed ball for me and thanked me for the company. My father and Lou chatted for a while and went back to his table.

'97 Triple A All-Star game in Des Moines, I was excited to see Paul Konerko play. I had seen him in Az, college for both at the time. During field time for players, he was exorcizing with other players. As he was walking off, many players stopped to sign for people. Paul just ignored fans and tried to get a few of the players to follow him. For 5-6 minutes he stood there rudely saying he wouldn't sign. Witnessing this I became upset. When he walked past, my smart ass youthful mouth shot off. I called him an a-hole and stated I always wanted his auto but was a broke college student and had to watch him play from A mountain. He turned, looked at me and walked over asking if I went to ASU. I acknowledged I did. He grabbed the ball I was holding and the pen, signed my ball, smiled and patted me on the shoulder and walk past everyone then off the field. All I could think was what a prick, however, I clutched my treasure and walked away with a story and a smile.

[bbcard1]

Dave Winfield and Ronde Barber were the two nicest well known professional athletes I have met.

I got to do a commercial with Ronde and Tiki. They were great!

[MattyC]

Best: Meeting Darryl Strawberry at age 10 in 1986, at a local church card show. I presented my two cards for signature, and a rude bodyguard told me it was only one card per "ticket." Darryl told the muscle to kick rocks, and signed my extra card with a personal inscription. Have it on my desk to this day.

Best #2: Cut to 25 years later. Straw needs to get into a club in LA and winds up asking my brother to get in (he ran the place). My brother tells me Straw is there so I roll over. I wind up drinking with him, and regaling him with the story of how he was so nice to me a quarter century earlier.

Best #3: Meeting Mike Tyson in LA, who turned out to be a big fan of a film I had written. One of the nicest guys around.

[drcy]

My dad, who's about the least likely to like rap music, saw MC Hammer being friendly to fans in the airport, happily allowing them to have their photos taken with him. My dad always thought rather highly of him after that.

His funny story is, as an undergrad science geek student, he got to meet Niels Bohr-- which for a physics student was on the order of getting to meet Joe Dimaggio or Charles Lindbergh. While Bohr spoke English, his Danish accent was so thick my dad didn't understand a word he said.

[sycks22]

Being that my neighbor growing up was the 1st base coach of the Twins we got to meet a bunch of ballplayers. Puckett was the nicest guy ever as my mom got to babysit his daughter at the time and we knew their family really well. "Twig" also introduced us to Griffey Jr when he was with the Mariners and you can image a 8 year old shaking hands with him after the game, it was something I'll never forget. A current player who couldn't be nicer is Trout. Every time he comes to Minnesota he makes sure to sign for at least 20 people at the game and will take pictures and talk to anyone willing to ask him something. You'd think the face of MLB would be above that, but not him. His teammate Pujols hasn't picked up a pen in 5 years since joining the Angels.

Even though he was my favorite player growing up Frank Thomas was kind of a douche when 2 of us approached him while he was walking around San Diego a couple years ago at the All-Star game festivities. He kept saying "no time" and looked visibly upset that we were even talking to him. Another former player who plays it up for TV, but when you meet in person is kind of a dick is Bert Blyleven. He won't sweet spot any baseball you give him and if you give him a photo he'll "best wishes" and personalizes your name on it because he knows it decreases in value. He even turned away my best friends' wife in a hallway with nobody around them before.

[Bicem]

WORST: Michael Irvin hitting on my girlfriend at a bar in North Dallas in 2012.

[steve B]

I haven't had any particularly bad experiences, and a few really good ones. I guess I've been lucky.

Brooks Robinson - At a Sports Illustrated hospitality suite in 1976. He was one of three guys signing that night. (Basically a free drinks event in hope that school principals will buy SI for the school, not exactly kid friendly, and I was 13...) He stopped to talk baseball for a while, and when some guy at the back of the line started complaining he stood up and told him "I'm talking baseball with this kid so you'll wait till I'm done"

Bob Feller - pitched a home run derby between games of a minor league double header. Came up in the stands after with a bunch of preprinted photo sheets to sign. I went up last, being shy, and after getting a couple plus one on a random bit of paper for dads autograph album I asked if it bothered him that most of the kids were just making paper planes with them. " No, they're just kids having fun. Do you play baseball?"
Ended up sitting with him for a few batters while he explained the pitching strategy the pitchers were trying. I didn't realize just how cool that was until a few years later.

Random Russian motorcycle rider at the International Six Day Trials in 73 -
We were all hanging out at the outlet from the motorcycle impound looking for autographs. Guy had a cast from hand up to the elbow, and had been riding trails for a full day. Figured there was no way he was going to do autographs. He looked at the gauntlet of kids and yelled over to the mechanic, who brought a pen and put it in a socket he'd had molded into his cast, then signed for everyone. Totally amazing!

One of the Pentons, same event same day a few minutes later - The manufacturer of the US teams bikes had a couple kids on the team. Very popular since they were "our team" He came out, looking tired and basically walked past us all saying "Sorry guys, not today I hurt my thumb. " All he had was a band aid, so it couldn't have been all that bad.
Not so amazing...

[docpatlv]

It's funny how people can have different outcomes with meeting the same players. I'm sure they get tired of people "bothering" them, I know that I probably would.

I don't get too many autographs in person, but two of the nicest signers I have met are Lou Brock (twice) and Johnny Mize. Rickey Henderson, not so much.

I met Sandy Koufax a couple of years ago at a shopping center. He was eating ice cream with his lady friend. I waited until he was finished and approached him. I just told him that I wanted to meet him, he responded with a huge smile and a shake of the hand (probably still on an ice cream "high"...lol). I didn't want to ruin the moment by asking him for an autograph or a picture of us together.

Edited to add: My experience meeting Pete Rose was similar to Rickey Henderson. Had first row seats behind the visitor's dugout at Busch Stadium. Brought my 1965 Topps card of Pete just in case. Was about ten feet away from him and asked if he could sign the card for me. He just looked at me and turned away. A side note on Pete that I've told before, but I grew up in Marion, Ill, home of Ray Fosse. Ray was always great with signing things for my brother and I as my father had operated on his mom years ago. I remember one of my teachers in junior high always badmouthing Rose for the All Star game incident. Well, years later, when Rose was sent to prison for income tax evasion, guess where he was sent. You guessed it, Marion, Ill. He wasn't enthusiastically received.

[frankbmd]

As evidence I present my in person autograph signed by a player who hit his first major league home run in 1912.

https://www.collectorfocus.com/images/show/frankbmd/autographs-tickets/7559/stengel-casey

Can anyone top that?

[steve B]

Almost forgot my favorite!

The local airbase used to have an airshow around the 4th of July every year. And had the Thunderbirds I think every other year, maybe more often.

The last time I went, I was working in Hydraulics. And the program just happened to include the support staff. The pilots usually came over to the fence for autographs photos etc after their part of the show. And they drew a huge crowd.
Spotting a couple guys way off to one side, I wondered who they were. checked the program, and surprise they're the hydraulic technicians for the planes.
So I went over with a pen and the program open. Before I could even say anything one of them says "the guys you want are over there" pointing towards the pilots. The look of surprise when I responded " You're the hydraulic techs aren't you? You are the guys I'm looking for"
Got the program signed, and had a nice chat about why and the few shop things that cross over. (Planes and industrial stuff don't have much in common at all.)

[ronniehatesjazz]

Being that my neighbor growing up was the 1st base coach of the Twins we got to meet a bunch of ballplayers. Puckett was the nicest guy ever as my mom got to babysit his daughter at the time and we knew their family really well. "Twig" also introduced us to Griffey Jr when he was with the Mariners and you can image a 8 year old shaking hands with him after the game, it was something I'll never forget. A current player who couldn't be nicer is Trout. Every time he comes to Minnesota he makes sure to sign for at least 20 people at the game and will take pictures and talk to anyone willing to ask him something. You'd think the face of MLB would be above that, but not him. His teammate Pujols hasn't picked up a pen in 5 years since joining the Angels.

Even though he was my favorite player growing up Frank Thomas was kind of a douche when 2 of us approached him while he was walking around San Diego a couple years ago at the All-Star game festivities. He kept saying "no time" and looked visibly upset that we were even talking to him. Another former player who plays it up for TV, but when you meet in person is kind of a dick is Bert Blyleven. He won't sweet spot any baseball you give him and if you give him a photo he'll "best wishes" and personalizes your name on it because he knows it decreases in value. He even turned away my best friends' wife in a hallway with nobody around them before.

That pains me to hear that about the big hurt... hopefully it was just a bad day.

[Writehooks]

Two fighters top my list: Muhammad Ali and George Chuvalo.

I was 22 years old, covering my first big fight -- Ali-Spinks II -- in New Orleans in 1978. After virtually everyone else had left the final media conference in the Hilton ballroom, I was still hanging around, savoring the moment. When Angelo Dundee, Ali's trainer, noticed from the press credential hanging around my neck that I was from a Canadian newspaper, he immediately recounted how well the Toronto press had treated Ali when he fought Chuvalo at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1966. He then asked if I would like to meet the champ. Before I could fully comprehend what was happening, I was sitting in the living room of Ali's palatial suite, chatting with The Greatest like we were old pals. Dundee and Ali's brother were also there. Ali couldn't have been more gracious -- even going so far as to ask if I was satisfied with my press row seat allocation for the fight, which was two nights later. "If you don't like where you're sittin', we can get it changed," he said. Incredible.
Although I was a huge fan, I never got to meet Chuvalo in person until 1986, when he was training heavyweight contender Razor Ruddock. George, who retired in 1979 with a record of 73-18-2 (64 KOs), is the only man to fight Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. He held the Canadian title for 21 years, and at the peak of his career was ranked No 2 in the world. A 30-year friendship blossomed from that first meeting, and in 2012 he asked me to co-author his memoir ("Chuvalo: A Fighter's Life"), which was published by HarperCollins in 2014 and has topped 50,000 in sales.

Honorable mentions: Mike Tyson (very interesting guy to talk to, and very polite) and George Foreman.

Biggest jerks: Sugar Ray Leonard (total asshole) and Bill Cosby (pretty much what you would expect).

[Jenx34]

I've been very fortunate in being able to have some great experiences in baseball. I worked in Minor League Baseball for 8 years which afforded me some awesome opportunities. I apologize in advance for this being long, though I'll try to keep it brief.

1. Willie Mays - Could be on some people's worst list, but I had the opportunity to spend 3 days with Willie in 2004, including driving him around in my personal car. It gave me a great insight into what Willie is like and why some don't have great experiences with him. He is not very social with people he doesn't know. Think of a typical cocktail party. Some guys hop around, meeting and greeting lots of people, are the life of the party with lots of stories, etc. Others stick to their group but are very cordial when other approach. And a few try their best to stay out of the limelight and don't feel comfortable when strangers approach and deal with them as quickly and with as minimal interaction as possible. The latter is Willie Mays. Every time someone approached him, you could see in his body language he tensed up and just wanted to get it over with. That said, when he was with people he knew or like in my case, with people that were supposed to be there, and no one was asking him for stuff, he relaxed, laughed, told jokes and was great.

On day 2, we took him to Rickwood Field (America's Oldest Ballpark, 1910) where Willie played as a 17 year old for the Birmingham Black Barons. There were about 7 of us, including a friend of his and Renee, his PR person that traveled with him and Willie McCovey. We didn't know how long he would want to stay, but he wanted to see the old ballpark. We ended up sitting in the press box and listening to Willie tell baseball stories for almost 4 hours. It was awesome! One story I will expand on if requested is that Willie and Bobby Bonds told Barry he would not/could not sign with the Yankees when he hit free agency. Barry listened and re-signed with the Giants.

Background: The reason he visited was we did a deal with him to use his likeness for a bobblehead doll giveaway. I handled the deal for the team. I attached one of my prized possessions - the original contract I wrote up for the deal with Willie's signature right next to mine!

2. Vida Blue - Another bobblehead giveaway. Vida agreed to come to the ball park and do a signing during the game for fans. Before the game he was in our office and saw me opening a case and writing names on them. We always made sure all staff, players and coaches got one. I always wrote their name on them and put them in each player's locker. One of the interns was helping me and asked Vida if he would sign his. Vida said hell, why don't I sign them all. He pulled up a chair and sat in the middle of my office and signed every one. After the game, he was still there, hanging out in the office and came back and asked me where a good place to have a drink. I told him where some of us went and he said let's go. He invited half the office and we all went out and drank beer for a couple more hours. He was as personable as you can get.

This is long so I will share one more for now.... This is a unique good and bad story.

Albert Belle - He was a complete enigma. In 1998 we hosted the Orioles and Phillies in an exhibition game the day before opening day.
The Bad - Belle would not sign autographs for the fans, blew off all that asked. Conversely, Ripken signed so long pre-game they had to ask him to come back into the clubhouse because the people whose seats where nearby couldn't get to them and the game was about to start. I had a clubhouse worker get some baseballs signed for me and he signed mine off the sweet spot, Albert Joey Belle. The clubhouse kid (who several years later would sign with the White Sox and later play in that some clubhouse in AA) said he was gruff in the clubhouse too.

The Good - After the game, fans crowded the exit ramp from the clubhouse where they load the bus. Belle came out earlier than most players, got on the bus and sat in the first seat by the window. He opened the window and told one of the security guards to bring him the kids, and the kids only. For the next 30-40 minutes, he signed something thru the window for every kid that was out there...... except one. More bad - One kid had a Cleveland Indians hat on and Belle looked at him and said I'm not signing for the Indians kid. Rumor has it the kid took his hat off and blended back in and got an autograph, but I was told Belle wasn't nice when he said it to the kid.

That's enough for now... got way too long. Lots more stories, fortunately.

[Marchillo]

[QUOTE=docpatlv;1738844]It's funny how people can have different outcomes with meeting the same players. I'm sure they get tired of people "bothering" them, I know that I probably would.

This is so true. I was in White Plains Saturday and a couple guys talking about how miserable Pete Rose was. I met him two years ago at induction weekend. No one in line so they asked if I wanted a picture with Pete (no charge) then we chatted a few minutes about my tshirt (Mr Perfect) and I told him about how good of friends he was it Boggs. Good experience.

Guys who got bad reps who were great with me - Fisk, Yaz

Great guys who was kind of a dick Tim Wakefield. In fairness he was generous enough to take tons of photos with kids and I think he thought he was getting a break with me as an adult and was annoyed.

I had two negative experiences with Bob Feller but they make me laugh when I think about them so they are actually more memorable than the negatives.

The biggest dick ever was Kelly Shoppach. Who? Exactly. Tristar did a lot of Boston area shows around the time the Pats and Sox won between 01-07. He was a free autograph I think and total ahole.

Matthew Slater of the Patriots could be the nicest guy ever. What he appears to be in interviews and on the field is 100% him. I was glad to meet him after last years Super Bowl.

I met Bench at a show in Cooperstown and he was extremely nice and stood up for a picture with me.

[cubman1941]

The worst experience I had was with Billy Williams at the 2008 Cubs Convention. They sold pictures then stood in line for an autograph. I waited in line for about an hour waiting for the picture to be autographed (which was ok). I noted him signing other things for lots of people besides the photograph and had one of his baseball cards with me. When it was my turn (and he signed a couple of cards for the person in front of me along with the picture) I asked him to please sign the card along with the picture. He blew me off by saying "I don't sign anything but the picture" and then said "Next". I really took offense at that at have never had any respect for him since then.

The best was Hank Sauer. I got to meet him at a show outside Atlanta around 1995. I had a magazine for him to sign. When I got to him I mentioned that I had send a bb card in 1952 to Spring Training for him to sign and it never came back. He seemed surprised and said he always signed and then proceeded to ask me to come up and sit next to him while he signed. In between signings we talked baseball and, to me, that was better than getting the card signed. I was up there talking to him for over two hours. A class act by a class man. Everything I have read about him always said how great a person he was and he proved it to me.

[puckpaul]

best: just about every famous hockey player i ever met. hockey guys are the best!! Messier, Richter, Anderson, Leetch, Greschner, St. Louis, Richard, Gilbert, Gretzky, Janssens, Orr, all super nice and happy to chat.

worst: easily Tom Seaver. i was 8 years old, he was my hero, he was signing at a Catskills, NY resort so my dad took me there, i was waiting next in line with an index card to get signed, and i was so nervous i slid my card so it was closer to him and he screamed at me: "You wait your turn!!". never forgot it, hated him ever since. pompous jerk.

[packs]

Best Experience: Curtis Granderson. I was at Tigers camp during spring training the year after his remarkable 20-20-20-20 season. After practice Granderson signed for literally every single person there that day. He must have 45 minutes just to walk around and sign autographs for anyone who wanted one. He talked to everyone too, took photos, he was just such a nice guy.

Miguel Cabrera was also really nice at Tigers camp too. One day he signed on his way into the clubhouse, then came back out after he showered and changed and signed again for anyone who wasn't there when he went in.

Worst Experience: Tommy Lasorda. Talk about a guy with a high opinion of himself. At Dodgers spring training he sets up this dinky table that he sits behind, despite no one asking him to do it, just so he can watch people line up for his crappy autograph. He has a pout on his face the whole time, refuses to talk to anyone about anything, and if you've got a baseball he'll sign it and roll it to you and if you have a card he'll sign it and flip it at you. Won't shake a hand either despite having nothing to do.

[Mark70Z]

BEST - Brooks Robinson

Brooks was my hero growing up as well as my families favorite player. Likely if you didn’t follow the Orioles I don’t really think you can truely understand how great a player Brooksie was for the Birds. I have met Brooks several times over the years and it was just the same, every time, like I was his friend and he was so glad to see me. I remember the first time I met Brooks, I was so nervous to meet my hero, I just kind of rambled. He said “why don’t we take a picture together”. I guess he noticed I was nervous; he was always so gracious. In tribute my son is named Brooks after my hero. Love the quote, "Brooks (Robinson) never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore, people named their children after him." - Gordon Beard.

Worst - Hank Aaron

Not that a person is obligated to be nice at a signing, but not even acknowledge anyone, nor even look up while they are at a signing to me I personally don’t really care for.

[GrayGhost]

Worst: Easily the legendary grouch Willie Mays

Best: Brooks Robinson, treated u like an old friend and was seemingly humbled that people wanted his signature.

Also, Earl Weaver and Dennis Eckersley, who was incredibly nice to a kid in front of me too

Carl Erskine, Phil Rizzuto and NFL Hofer Bob Lilly were super also.

[PowderedH2O]

Best - Jose Canseco. I was at an A's game in 1990. Jose was the biggest star in baseball, and after the game there were about 100 of us lined up at a fence near player parking, with another hundred or so at another fence nearby. One by one, the A's players ignored us. Last guy out is Jose accompanied by his wife Esther. He comes to the fence and starts signing. Midway through he asks Esther to go to the other fence to let them know he will be over shortly. He signed for every one of us, then walked over to the other fence for everyone else.

Also best - Bob Feller and Lou Burdette. It is the Summer of 1988 and there is a major convention in Arlington Texas. I live there and I am broke. I can't believe Mantle and Mays are in a building blocks from me and I can't even afford entrance. My wife and I go to the mall to kill some time. In the center, I see a giant baseball and 2 older guys sitting. As I get closer, I see it is Bob Feller and Lou Burdette. Nobody is near them. I go up and we talk for about a half hour. I go to Woolworths and buy a pack of index cards and a baseball and they sign multiple things for free. Bob Feller takes my 2 year old daughter and rocks her to sleep while singing her lullabies. Better than the convention any day!

Worst - Bo Jackson. Spring training, 1987 with the Royals. George Brett was signing for everyone. So was Frank White, Jorge Orta, and more. Bo comes out and kids flock to him. He drops a few F bombs and tells the kids to get lost. I couldn't believe it.

Honorable mentions - Had very positive experiences with Dale Murphy, Willie Stargell, Billy Kilmer, Lou Brock, and Lester Hayes.

[ArchStanton]

I was never an autograph person. I lived near Sparky Lyle's parents as a kid in the late 70s to early 80s. He was always friendly with us when he was around.

Rickey Henderson was my favorite non-Pirate growing up. I finally got to meet him in the mid-late 90s before a game at Three Rivers. A friend got us press passes. He told me I had to be professional. I met Rickey on the field before the game. He blew me off on his way out to the outfield to warm up. Flash forward a few years. I was sitting with a few friends at a strip club in Pittsburgh when Rickey walked in by himself. As he walked by, I yelled, "Hey Rickey." He came over an hung out for a few minutes and chatted. It was great.

I used to hit the same place every morning for breakfast on the North Side of Pittsburgh. One morning I walked in to find Franco Harris was in my seat surrounded by some guys in suits. I decided it was best to leave him alone and sit elsewhere. I used to leave flowers at his house on the North Ave every December 23rd. Never saw him there.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Best- I played video pong (pre Nintendo days for those who aren't old enough to remember) with Bobby Nystrom (NY Islanders) when I was 13. He let me score 20 points before he scored 21 straight to beat me.

Worst- By far- Willie Mays. He purposely signed something for my brother in a shaded area so you could not see the autograph (that we paid for).

Jeff

[DerekD]

Best - Luke Appling - Appling asked my friend and I to sit down a chat when you saw us walking around the back fields in West Palm during spring training. We pulled up some folding chairs and spoke with him for about 15 minutes. I wish I knew what I do know at the time (teen), so I would have appreciated more then.

Best #2 - Roger Maris - At a Yankees legends golf tourney in Ft. Lauderdale, I was getting autos on a ball and had a cast on my arm. When I asked Roger Maris to sign my ball, he noticed the cast with my friends signatures on it and asked if he could sign it too. Of course I said yes. He really couldn't have been nicer. Shortly after, I ran into Joe Dimaggio to get the ball signed. I asked if he would sign the cast too. As you can imagine, the look he gave me was priceless. He signed it though. :) 6th grade at the time, so I also didn't appreciate how big these guys were.

Worst - Hank Aaron - While I was sitting on a bench with no one else around, out comes Hank. He was meeting a couple of people, who I guess were his friends. He calls me over and asks to borrow a pen so he could sign something for them. I give it to him and wait closely by as he signed and talked with them another 5 minutes or so. He finishes up with them and gives me my pen back. I ask if he can sign one for me and he just walks away. No one else around. Never got him once. *&%$

[quinnsryche]

Sat with many famous athletes when my dad did autograph/card shows in the 80's and 90's. Many great experiences, a few clunkers.

Best: Stan Musial (HE bought ME lunch) we sat behind the curtains, just me and him and it was like talking to your grandpa. Eddie Mathews, Steve Garvey, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale were all super nice and treated everyone respectfully.

Middle: Bob Gibson, nice to me, jerk to everyone else.

Worst: Pete Rose. By far the biggest a-hole I've ever met. Didn't recognize it for what it was back then, but was placing bets the entire time he was signing autographs. Had a crew of track suit wearing clowns giving him odds the entire 2 hours while he was telling them how many thousands of dollars to bet on each one. Not to mentioned treated all the people who paid to get his signature like crap.I hope he never makes the Hall, doesn't deserve the pleasure.

[smellthegum]

Best - Patrick Roy - A couple of times my buddy and I drove into Boston to the hotel where visiting teams usually stayed (baseball and hockey at least). Roy came down to the lobby and was engulfed by other autograph hounds. While he graciously obliged everyone we stayed away to be on the lookout for other players who might come down and try to slip by while the crowd was occupied. We were both working on signed 1990-91 Upper Deck sets and knew there were tougher sigs than his that we needed. I'm sure we got someone but don't remember who. But I knew I was gambling that I might miss out by not standing in line for one of my idols, Roy. Anyway, about an hour later he returned, carrying a bag with several boxes of golf balls from a local golf store. As he approached, I politely asked if he would sign a few cards for my set and held out the cards and a Sharpie. He said sure, and had me hold the golf balls while he signed. While he signed I joked about him coming all the way from Canada to Mass. just to buy golf balls. We chatted a bit about golf. When the cards were dry I put them back into the stack I was carrying and he spotted some more of his cards that I'd brought. Having seen how many he'd signed on his way out I didn't want to look greedy and so had only dared ask about the ones I needed for my set. He said "Are those more of me? I'll sign them." I had about 12 more cards and told him so. He replied that that was OK and he signed them all! A great experience I remember vividly to this day. I haven't collected autographs in like 20 years but hockey players were usually FAR more gracious than baseball players regrading fan appreciation.

Best - Dwight Evans - My favorite Sox player. A diehard fan since about 1977. While he was a player he didn't make many show appearances, but did do one locally in the late 1980s, the only chance I've ever had to meet him. I brought with me a game used bat and a portrait I'd done of him. I'd met several players before but for some reason I was really nervous meeting him. When I presented the drawing I thought for sure he'd love it. He hesitated, looking at it for a minute. Then he asked, "did you do this?". I answered yes, I had. "There's too much gray in my hair." I nearly crapped my pants thinking he was being critical but then I looked up from the drawing and saw he was smiling and only joking with me, which put me right at ease. I replied that it must have been just the way the light was hitting his hair. He complimented me on the likeness and then even asked where I'd like him to sign it. Said he felt bad signing over the actual drawing. Shook my hand and thanked ME! Still have the drawing.

Worst - Ted Williams - A has been well documented he was a pompous curmudgeon. Gigantic letdown.

[Tony Gordon]

Best experience was in summer of 1981, I was 14 years-old, when the Boston Red Sox were here in Chicago to play the White Sox. I walked into the Ron of Japan steakhouse with my family in Downtown Chicago. The host immediately handed me a blank postcard, pointed at a table, said the guys there were baseball players and told me to get their autographs on the postcard. I immediately recognized Carl Yastrzemski. I walked over to Yaz and asked him to sign the postcard. He couldn't have been more gracious. He signed the postcard then handed it over to Dwight Evans, Frank Tanana and Chuck Rainey, who all signed as well.

My worst experience was in the summer of 1983 when the All-Star game was at Comiskey Park. My dad somehow got us tickets to the players' dinner on the night before the game at a hotel in Downtown Chicago. Prior to the dinner, the players were scattered all over the hotel. I walked around and got quite a few autographs. I found a group of players having a conversation with Rod Carew in an empty banquet hall. I had been a huge fan of Carew and checked his stats daily in the Sports Section of the Chicago Tribune. I walked up to the group and had each guy sign a single baseball, except for Carew. I stood next to him for what seemed like forever, probably five or ten minutes. I thought he would take the ball from my hand like the other guys. Instead, he ignored me. I finally said, "Excuse me, Mr. Carew, can you sign my baseball?" He exploded at me, shouting, "Can't you see that I'm talking!" I said I was sorry and walked away, no longer a fan of Rod Carew.

[Fred]

I didn't exactly meet him but...

At a Padre game, long, long ago... there was a player named Chris Gomez. As most people that attend MLB games know, the players warm up before the ball game and some will sign autographs and toss balls to the kids.

I was with my son, he was fairly young at the time. I was watching Gomez play catch with another player. I always bring a glove to a game (never know when a foul balls coming) and had it with me. Chris Gomez motions to me to raise my glove. He's at least a second to home throw away from the stands (it was just a bit further). I put my glove about head high and about a foot and a half away from my head. He throws a strike into the glove. I didn't have to the glove an inch. Tipped my hat and said thank you and nice throw.

Ok, here's one when I was a teenager. Mid to late 1970's. Dale Murphy is a rookie. Before the game starts, I asked him if he cracked his bat during the game if I could have it and he replied yes. Early in the game he cracked one however he was pulled from the game before the fifth inning. After the game I figured he'd probably headed back to the clubhouse. Instead, he had a bat in his hand and was looking around until he saw me. He then handed me the bat to which I said THANK YOU!. Turned out he was using a Phil Neikro bat that day. In that same series Biff Pocoroba cracked three bats during the series and gave them all to me. Dang, it's not hard to understand how a kid can get hooked on the game and the players.

Last one - Dave Winfield (yeah, he was a Padre at the start). I think I got 4 of his bats (nice black LS with a cork handle) in one season. Before and after games he'd sign. There were times he'd sign anything but then again there were times he was just human and having a bad day and didn't bother and may have seemed like a dick. I think it's timing. Sometimes you find a player in a good mood and at other times maybe the guys wife just let him know she found out about his girlfriend.....

I've got tons of fun stories and memories from when I was a kid going to MLB games.

[Andrew1975]

When I was about 12, I was hanging out at a sports club/gym in the Boston area when a giant of a man walked in, put more weight on a bench press bar than I had ever seen before, and proceeded to crank out rep after rep with what looked to be no effort. I remember that the bar was bending. After he finished, I walked up to him and asked if he was a football player. Looked me dead in the eye, and with a completely straight face, responded “yeah, you want to fight”? I froze for a second and then turned to walk away when he broke out in a huge smile, and told me his name... Fred Smerlas (nose tackle for Bills, Niners and Patriots). I asked if he was going to be there for a while, then rode my bike home, flipped through my football cards until I found a few of his, then hauled back to the gym. He signed all the cards, couldn’t have been nicer.

Around the same time period, I was at Legal Seafood in Burlington, MA with my family. Saw Jerry Remy (then 2B for the Red Sox) eating with his family. I stood up, walked over to his table, interrupted his meal (to the horror of my parents), and asked for an autograph, even though I didn’t have a pen, or anything for him to sign. He couldn’t have been more gracious, found a pen and signed for me (don’t remember what he signed). Had a chance to talk to him a few years ago, and still a very nice guy.

At spring training a few years ago, saw Luis Tiant sitting in a golf cart. Had my kids walk up and ask for autos. Absolute nicest guy in the world. Spoke with the kids for a few minutes, asked them about their Little League teams and how they were doing in school. Got the impression that the whole reason he was there was because he loved talking to people and signing autos. Same day, met a bunch of other players including David Price. Was pleasantly surprised, as he signed for every single kid until there were none left without an auto.

[bmattioli]

In the wild:

George Brett was the best

Doug Flutie awesome

Wade Boggs OK 2 times

Dwight Evans awesome

Kirby Puckett unfortunately not good, Thought I was a dealer outside Fenway Park..

That's it from my memory banks..

[Buckeye]

Best: Stan Musial in the mid/late 80s. Still have this on my desk ('61 Topps signed card and baseball) as I am typing this. Arrived late to Dayton, OH baseball card show after work...feel I was lucky...as it was not crowded. Was in a group of young teenagers ( I was around 15). He smiled and asked us all how we were doing and if any of us played ball. A kid's dream come true being asked this by a hero. Will never forget this.

Worst: Unfortunately, Hank Aaron (in 80's). Also Dayton, OH. Arrived early. Long line. He never looked up. Just signed and went on to the next person. He didn't look like he wanted to be there. Kind of a let-down.

[BearBailey]

Best Brooks Robinson

Great Roberto Duran, Steve Garvey, Jim Palmer, Steve Carlton, George Foster, Bill Walton, George Foreman

Worst Mickey Mantle, Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray, Joey Giradello

[seanofjapan]

BEST - Brooks Robinson

Brooks was my hero growing up as well as my families favorite player. Likely if you didn’t follow the Orioles I don’t really think you can truely understand how great a player Brooksie was for the Birds. I have met Brooks several times over the years and it was just the same, every time, like I was his friend and he was so glad to see me. I remember the first time I met Brooks, I was so nervous to meet my hero, I just kind of rambled. He said “why don’t we take a picture together”. I guess he noticed I was nervous; he was always so gracious. In tribute my son is named Brooks after my hero. Love the quote, "Brooks (Robinson) never asked anyone to name a candy bar after him. In Baltimore, people named their children after him." - Gordon Beard.

Worst - Hank Aaron

Not that a person is obligated to be nice at a signing, but not even acknowledge anyone, nor even look up while they are at a signing to me I personally don’t really care for.

This was EXACTLY my experience with both of these guys. I got both Brooks and Aaron at the same show in 1992 (see post 3 above). Brooks was just insanely nice and accomodating, chatting with me and my friend, posing for a picture, putting a personal message on his autograph, etc. He just went out of his way to be nice to us.

Then getting Aaron's autograph was the most impersonal, rule bound, unpleasant experience ever. They might as well have had a guy with a bullhorn shouting at all us plebians in line:

"Thou shalt not speak to Mr. Aaron, thou shalt not make eye contact with Mr. Aaron, thou shalt not do anything to make Mr. Aaron aware of your existence in close physical proximity to Mr. Aaron....."

Since that day Brooks has been one of my all time favorites (despite not being an O's fan), while Aaron I couldn't care less for.

Here is Brooks Robinson with two awkward teenagers who are huge fans of his today thanks to this meeting 25 years ago!

[joshuanip]

Best and worst at the same time. Getting Ted Williams to autograph a ball I was using to collect HOF autographs. Was at a card show. When he finished signing the ball, he bounced the ball to me. At first I was so scared if the ball was to get scuffed because it had mickey mantle, among others on the ball.

Now I'm older, I kind of laugh at it, cause I will never sell it. It was my childhood memory. And now when I think about it, a ball is made to be played with. Perhaps that's what (I would like) Mr. Williams was trying to say to me as a kid.

[shagrotn77]

I remember Whitey Ford being a jerk when I got his autograph at the grand opening of a Wiz store. Willie Mays didn't even look up when I got his signature (which looked like 2 squiggly lines) at a card show.

[perezfan]

Tony Gwynn was the nicest and friendliest athlete I have ever met. Such a gentleman, and an absolute San Diego legend.

Also had the pleasure of meeting Lenny Wilkens over the weekend. A triple Hall-of-Famer, he was incredibly cordial and talkative. We laughed about what a dump the Cincinnati Gardens was (and how a professional team probably wouldn't even practice there today).

[tjb1952tjb]

Tony Gwynn was the nicest and friendliest athlete I have ever met. Such a gentleman, and an absolute San Diego legend.

Also had the pleasure of meeting Lenny Wilkens over the weekend. A triple Hall-of-Famer, he was incredibly cordial and talkative. We laughed about what a dump the Cincinnati Gardens was (and how a professional team probably wouldn't even practice there today).

Totally agree regarding Tony Gwynn. He was so generous with his time while signing, made eye contact, and shook my hand. My son, 11 at the time in 2007, will always remember what a genuine gentleman Tony was. Me too.

[t206wagner]

I was at a garage sale a while back which had some baseball memorabilia and while looking at it, it all had the same players name on it. Turns out I was at a garage sale at Frank Dipino's house. He was moving and wanted to get rid of some of his things. I bought a bunch of stuff and when I went to pay Mr. Dipino was there collecting money and we started to talk about baseball. After about 15 minutes of talking he asked if I wanted to see some of his collection and invited me into his house. He took me into the basement where he had the walls lined with 200+ signed bats from players he had played with along with about 100+ signed balls. We went down the line looking at all of them and he had a story about most of them. Turns out he is also good friends with Nolan Ryan and the 2 of them would spend time together hunting and fishing. I still have a few of the things I bought and I remember that day every time I look at them.

[Jason]

Best would have to be NFL QB Aaron Brooks who is a native Virginian. My GF at the time and I saw him in Toys R Us of all places Christmas shopping with I assume his mother. I was telling her about him and it was when he was a very capable NFL QB with the Saints. She approached him for an autograph and he was blown away that I recognized him. Truly humble man who talked to us for a few minutes. Not a superstar persay but one of those encounters you never forget.

I will also agree about pro wrestlers always being very nice and great to meet. Too many too name but Matt and Jeff Hardy were top of the list. Also the local AA team players are just amazing year after year. Eager to sign for my son or myself and just easy to talk to. A few favorites Brandon Crawford, Joe Panik, Christian Arroyo, C.J Hinojosa, and my guy Slade Heathcott.

[bbcard1]

Here's a weird one I have had. I carry around cards with the picture of a sweet spot of a baseball because no matter who I run into, they can sign them. Minor leaguer, hall of famer...hell I've even had one concession vendor who had a particularly positive effect on my enjoyment of a game sign one....because the autos are my tangible memories of an experience. I have had on three occasions players turn me down flat and rudely saying that I was going to sell them. (none of the players who have turned me down would have fetched more than a dollar on eBay). Is someone telling players that's what's going on?

[Stonepony]

Best- George Brett- Lots of Beers at TGI Fridays by his house
Worst- Willie Mays ( A turd)

[thetruthisoutthere]

Sent this photo to my childhood hockey hero, Shayne Corson,, 15 years ago.
He sent it back beautifully signed and personally inscribed.
302363

Finally met him at the last Toronto expo. Great Guy.
Says he remembered signing the Zamboni photo.
302362

Very cool, Marty. I am a huge Rangers and hockey fan and I have always appreciated the tough guys on the ice (my second favorite Ranger being Nick Fotiu).

[Chris Counts]

When I was a kid, I used to hang around the hotels in Anaheim looking for autographs when the various American League teams were in town to play the Angels. I was inside one hotel when a particularly unfriendly security guard cornered me and another autograph hunter and read us the riot act. Just then, Yankees pitcher Dock Ellis comes around the corner and puts himself between us and the security guard, flashes a smile, and says, "Don't mess with these guys — they're my friends," before signing all our stuff.

The same day, I saw Billy Martin walking across the lobby toward me, and he was wearing a cast on his left hand. I believe he had recently injured it on somebody's face. I really wanted Billy's autograph, but the cast seemingly made it signing difficult, so I didn't say anything. But Billy strolled right up to me. "Would you like me to sign your ball?" he asked. I had a baseball with me, and I was getting it signed. I said, sure, and I handed him the ball, which he placed between the cast and his chin, and he signed it, surprisingly very legibly ...

[50sBaseball]

I have had some great experiences interacting with MLB players.

TED WILLIAMS: As a 13-year old kid at Fenway Park in 1959, I asked Ted if I could take his picture. Kids' cameras back then had two settings: on and off. He was a little further away than I wanted near the batting cage, so I asked him if he could move a little closer. Though he did not do so, he did speak to me and said: "Take the picture, kid, I gotta go hit." I treasure that picture to this day.
In 1999, 40 years later, Ted came to the Chantilly Show to sign autographs in commemoration of his 30-year anniversary of managing the Washington Senators. I had my picture taken with him and shook his hand. He signed a picture of him that I had bought at Fenway Park 40+ years earlier. Ted was not in the best of health then, but I ventured to speak with him, and told him, "Ted, I think that you are the best hitter who ever lived" (which is how he wanted to be remembered). He looked at me and after a moment said in his still booming voice: "why do you think so?" I said: "You hit for average and you hit for power." Perhaps he would have liked to have heard that he never swung at a ball out of the strike zone!

FRANK WHITE: KC Royals 2nd Baseman. Was at a spring training game in Florida with our young sons in, I think, 1979. He signed autographs for the boys, but then stayed a bit and talked with them. Asked them how they liked baseball, etc.
He was super-friendly to them.

1960 MILWAUKEE BRAVES/HANK AARON&CHUCK COTTIER: At a spring training game in Bradenton, Florida between the Braves and Pirates, chased down a foul ball during BP and started to get Braves' autographs. Aaron and a few others were playing Pepper down the third-base line, and their ball came over the chain-link fence and I got it. One of the players said, "hey kid, throw our ball back." I said: "OK if you will sign my ball." And 4 or 5 players signed my ball right there and posed for photos!! Later, I threw my ball over the fence only to have it land on the slanted roof of the dugout. Chuck Cottier, a utility infielder, saw what happened, and suggested to one of my older brothers how to get the ball, and it worked. And then Cottier signed it as well. 3 HOFers signed that ball: Aaron, Mathews and Spahn.

[MK]

I lived in Kansas City in the early 80's and always attended an annual card show which featured a different autograph guest each year. The years I attended they had Hank Aaron, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio.

Mantle was my boyhood idol and I was so excited about getting to see him up close and receive his autograph. The line was unbelievable and it took 3 hours before I finally arrived in front of The Mick. He had a beer in one hand, and a sharpie in the other, talking with Hank Bauer. He never looked up, never acknowledged anyone, and could obviously care less about the whole thing. By this time in my life I knew Mantle was not a role model and had many issues, but it was still a disappointment.

Joe DiMaggio on the other hand was a true gentleman. He wore a suit and tie, acknowledged everyone he signed for, shook their hand, and thanked them for being there. What a contrast.

[rainier2004]

So a little o/t, but I think it belongs.

Miles Bridges is the star on the Men's basketball team at Michigan State. He very surprisingly came back for his sophomore year and turned down millions to be a college kid for another year.

During the summers local players from MSU, UM and other D1 schools play in the moneyball which is an eight team round robin at a local complex that is free and all of 5 minutes from my house. I decided that I wanted to go at the last minute as I want to see Bridges play before he leaves us for the NBA. Id heard how this year would be different and he would be as hospitable signing things as he has already done this for a year, blah blah blah.

I actually walked in with Bridges, got a smile and a hello and we parted ways. He spent the next 30 minutes signing everything for everyone to the point it definitely affected his warm up. After the game I stayed for another hour watching the next game and he was still on the sidelines signing, getting pics taken and just chattin it up. All smiles for the entire 2.5 hours I saw him...its easy to root for guys like this and I will definitely remember that day even though I got nothing signed.

[Exhibitman]

I tend to differentiate the card show 'business' meeting from the casual meeting. Among the casual meetings:

Jim Brown: I ran into him--literally. I was leaving my room at the hotel in Cleveland one a.m. before the National and wasn't looking and banged into him. Like hitting a brick wall. I'm 6'3" and was about 240# at the time and I was the one who moved. I excused myself then realized who it was and said "Hey, you're Jim Brown...but you probably know that already." I chatted with him briefly. As I recall he was in town for the show and the HOF induction at Canton. I think it was for Gene Hickerson that year. He was also great at a show I went to; when I asked him to sign a 1960 Topps he asked why I was getting such a good card signed, I told him he was the best ever and I am collecting signed cards of the GOATs, and he seemed really pleased.

Luke Appling: back in the autograph early days he was a free host signer at a local show. I gave him this card to sign. Not only did he personalize it, he told me a story about the uniforms, that they were thick woolens and absolutely miserable to wear in the summer

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/autographedexhibitcards/websize/Appling.jpg

I once got backstage at the Academy Awards (family connection) rehearsals and decided to hustle some autographs:
--Johnny Carson: great guy. Not only signed happily but was cracking jokes the whole time.
--Gene Hackman: kind of a dick but did sign.
--Cheech and Chong: awesome. So friendly that if they'd had a J I think they'd have offered to share it with me.
--Ricardo Montalban: "Khan!" was very cordial and classy.
--Christy Brinkley: really nice and my god was she amazing to look at.
--Roger Moore: An English gentleman.
--Sly Stallone: I'd seen him around LA a few times and he was always nice to fans. Signed for me and was nice about it.

The one time I became a star-struck babbling idiot was in a bookstore. I was leaving and heard an unmistakable voice asking the clerk for a book on Voltaire. I wasn't even going to approach but my wife encouraged me; she said he was alone, no one was talking to him, and I'd regret it if I didn't. So I did. I got complete verbal diarrhea and went on about his charity contribution for a school where I was on the board and some other stuff. He was really great about it. I had the autograph made into a custom card:

https://photos.imageevent.com/exhibitman/comedians/websize/Idle_%20Eric.jpg

I grew up on Monty Python; I even made my parents take me to their live show in NYC when I was ten. So this was the best celebrity meeting I've ever had.

[tedzan]

I have gotten many, many autographs since 1981 at BB card Shows and at Cooperstown during HOF weekend.
Every sports figure that I met was very friendly and gracious. This is partly due to my avoided guys who had a
reputation of being a "schmuck". And more importantly, because I waited until the end of the autograph line to
get their signature. When you are the last guy standing, these ballplayers are more inclined to be friendly. And
it's my experience that they will be willing to spend more time having a two-way conversation with you.


Stay tuned for a great conversation which I had with Ted Williams in Cooperstown back in 1987.



http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/large/RizzutiMartinGilliamPhoto50x.jpg




TED Z

T206 Reference (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=237816)
.

[Tabe]

I've never had a bad experience with an athlete. They've always been great. I don't do autographs, so maybe that helps. But here are a few of my favorites:

1) Al Kaline - I was probably 8 when I met him and was absolutely terrified. He was signing at a bank and my grandmother took me to meet him. He signed a photo for me and could not have been nicer.

2) In 1989, I had a friend who worked at a movie theater in Pontiac, MI (where I grew up). After the Pistons won their first title, the Pistons had a free viewing thing at the Palace for their championship video they'd be releasing. On the way there, my friend tells me that he'd met John Salley the night before at the theater and went on and on about how much time they'd spent together and how cool Spider was. Yeah, right. We get to the Palace and there's hardly anyone where we are - except one car. As we're walking in, that car's door opens and out steps this gigantic human being. John Salley. And Salley sees us and yells to my friend "Hey Johnny, how are you?" We talked for a couple minutes. Salley was great.

3) Mark Rypien - Mark lives in the Spokane area and has a foundation here. He was at a Spokane Indians game. My wife approached him, said I was a big fan and asked if he'd mind meeting me. She came and got me and I met him, told him I was a Lions fan and that he'd broken my heart in the playoffs when the Redskins killed Detroit. I said, "You guys kicked our butts". Mark got a huge grin on his face and said "yeah, we did". It was great.

4) Steve Garvey - Garvey was in town to be honored before a Spokane Indians game. The night before he was to be honored, I got up to leave after the game and he was standing in the aisle right behind me. All alone, no one around. I asked for and got a photo. The next night, I brought my good friend who was a big Garvey fan. As a kid, he mailed Garvey a letter when he played in Spokane - and got a handwritten response! He brought that letter with him. We get to the park early and look around and there's Steve down in the corner. We went over and started talking to him. He signed my photo from the night before (so cool) and then my buddy showed him that letter. His eyes got REALLY BIG and he immediately pulled out his cellphone and took a bunch of pictures of it. He called over the news reporter he was talking to and showed it to her. Then he signed it for my friend. He posed for several pictures and we talked for a good 20 minutes. Just awesome.

5) Wayne Gretzky - Gretzky was at a Spokane Indians game because his son was in town to sign a contract with the Cubs (whose affiliate was playing Spokane). My friend points out Gretzky and I go over and ask for a photo. He kindly took his sunglasses off and posed for a pic. I immediately called my wife to tell her I'd met Wayne and I'm just over the moon. Only I didn't SAVE the photo. On my phone, you had to manually save it, it wasn't automatic. I was crushed. Then I see Wayne walking into the stadium and ask for another pic. He gives me this huge sigh and says "alright" and then grins at me. Take the pic and I save it and then I see...it's completely dark because we were in a shadow. I go sit down and am really disappointed at blowing my chance to get a good photo with Wayne. Then I see he's sitting near me and I find the courage to ask for one more. He graciously said yes and, well:

http://tabe.x10host.com/upload/Gretzky-smaller2.jpg

[Prince Hal]

Bobby Orr and Harmon Killebrew were the best. Bobby Orr came to Albany, NY many years ago to open the state rink. He then met with fans and signed autographs. I grew up in Western MA in the '60s and '70s and he was my all time favorite. When it was my turn he stood up and shook my hand and thanked ME for coming to see him.

A former Member of Congress who represents Cooperstown used have a political fundraiser during induction weekend and he would bring in 10 HOFers to sign autos and mingle. I had my son with me one time, he must have been around 10, and we met Harmon. He spent 20 minutes talking to my son about baseball and was amazingly pleasant.

The worst, Gaylord Perry. Same event, different experience. Total DB.

[Jenx34]

Good:
I flew to Charleston SC to visit a friend around 2000. Got in on a Saturday evening, friend picked me up and we went straight to a bar in Mt. Pleasant. It was packed so I went upstairs where they had a couple of pool tables to see if there were any seats. Found a round table big enough for 4-5 people and sat down while my buddy went to the bar to get beers. Shortly after I sat down a guy came up the stairs that looked out of place in the bar. He was a little older than the crowd, black (bar was at least 95% white, if not 100%) and by himself. Without saying anything he parks himself at my table and turns away from me and looks over the rail down to the first floor. After a minute or so, buddy still not back with beers, I kept thinking I recognized him. Then it hit me. He looked my way and leaned over and said "Excuse me, are you Dwight Smith?" He smiled and said yes. He was the hitting coach for the Charleston Riverdogs of the South Atlantic League. We chatted and then finally my buddy shows up and I introduce him to my new friend and my friend, who was a die hard Cardinals fan, yelled "Oh My God, I hated you!" Smith laughed and we all hung out the rest of the night, drinking beers and grabbed some appetizers. The team was at home the next day so he left us tickets and will call and we went to the game. It was a weird chance meeting and the fact that I recognized him was lucky, but I was a Cubs fan and remembered the '89 Cub playoff team very well.

Bad:
Moses Malone & Julius Erving - The 76ers arrived at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis in town to play the Pacers. There was a large group of high school kids (me included) in the lobby. Some of us immediately recognized them and approached for autographs. Malone mumbled "I ain't signing no autographs" and kept walking. Dr. J was at least polite and said he wanted to go to his room, get settled in and he would come back down and sign for us. He never did. Other guys on that team were great. Andrew Toney was one, Marc Iavaroni, Mark McNamara and Mo Cheeks are ones I remember being cool. They sat down with us and hung out for a bit.

[rgpete]

We took our son back in 2005 to Florida to see the Spring Training Camps of the Mets and Dodgers, he was 11 years old at that time. The worst experience was at the Mets, Mike Piazza was a total idiot with no one around him, told my son I'm working you cant bother me, while walking to a different work out station, but Tom Glavine was a class act he got a ball for my son and signed it for him, Mets were tough to get. Dodgers at Vero Beach were easily accessible, My son got to meet Eric Gagne who signed a Dodgers hat , Tommy Lasorda who talked to him for about 10 minutes, and pretty much got most of the Dodgers to sign a ball for him

[orly57]

Just before starting law school, I worked at a pretty nice restaurant in Miami that overlooked the ocean. One day on a lunch shift, I had a party of four which included a father, mother, and their two children (a boy and a girl). The boy was wearing a cast on his arm. At the table next to theirs sat Eddie George with a GORGEOUS woman (who often frequented the establishment with famous athletes). Unfortunately, Eddie's table was not in my section, but apparently, the family struck up a conversation with him. At some point, the mom allowed the boy to get his cast autographed by him, despite her previously firm "no signatures on your cast" edict. As I was running around getting drinks or whatever, a waiter tells me Eddie George wanted to talk to me. I thought the waiter was messing with me, but he wasn't. Eddie George was exiting the restaurant, and was looking for me. He asked me how much their meal was. I told him I had to check the computer, but he just took out a wad of cash, ripped off four $100 bills and asked me if that would cover it with tip. I told him that it absolutely would. The family was thrilled to find out that Eddie George had paid their tab, but it was I who was the fortunate one. The bill was about $250 of the $400 he gave me. AND, despite my telling them that the tip was covered, the family left me an additional $50. I will always hate Ohio State (See: 2003 Fiesta Bowl), but am forever a fan of Eddie George.

[abothebear]

I am not an autograph guy. I would hate to always be signing autographs for people if that was me so I don't ever ask if I meet anyone.

But, when I was 10 or 11 my dad took me and my brother to a Pistons game. It was in January and the giveaway was a calendar with a player's photo for each month. We got there early and some of the bench players were warming up and my dad made us go down to the court and ask for autographs. I was amazed at how huge they were. John Salley signed and was nice about it, and Dennis Rodman was willing to sign for me too. But Dennis started signing on the calendar part (not his photograph) and I panicked and said, "No, on the picture." I can still remember the look he gave me. It was an are-you-kidding-me look, but there was a trace of a smile in there. It could have gone either way. But then he signed on the picture and it became a great story. I told a huge professional basketball player he was signing wrong and lived to tell the tale.

I took my son to get Jack Morris's autograph at a Twins caravan event because I was a fan of his when I was a kid. We were the only ones wearing Tigers hats in the place. I don't think he was super enthused about the length of the line he had to deal with, but was friendly enough and let me take a picture of him with my son.

Those are probably the only autographs I've pursued.

My brother and his friend were playing golf and there was a guy playing by himself behind them so my brother invited the gentleman to join them. It was Bo Jackson. They played about 14 holes together. Bo is not an extrovert, but they got along well and had a nice time. My brother casually asked him if he'd sign a golf ball but Bo said he didn't sign. I think he said something about how that was work, and he wasn't working today. Which makes sense to me. If you don't have a rule, where do you draw the line?

[Chris Counts]

"Joe DiMaggio on the other hand was a true gentleman. He wore a suit and tie, acknowledged everyone he signed for, shook their hand, and thanked them for being there. What a contrast."

I, too, had a great encounter with Joltin' Joe. Back in the early 70s, I arrived early for an old timers game at Angels Stadium. I must have been about 12 or 13. I was wandering around the empty parking lot long before the game, and amazingly, I see Joe Dimaggio popping out of car just a few feet away. All I had for him to sign was a 3x5 card, so I handed him a stack of them so he would a stable surface to sign on. He was somewhat reserved, but friendly. There was nobody within 200 feet of us, and I was completely in awe of him, who I had only read about. After he signed the card, he placed it in the back of the stack and signed another. By the time he reached 12 or 13, I was feeling so guilty over my good fortune that I reached out for the stack of 3x5s and thanked him for his time ...

[rgpete]

I got to meet Tony Schumacher at the NHRA Summer Nationals in Englishtown,NJ and Austin Dillon at Martinsville in the Pit Area when our son got us Pit Passes , he was a Tire Carrier for Joe Gibbs/Kyle Busch Racing Xfinity Series and Red Horse Racing. Also our daughter got to meet the 2007 U.S. Women's National Team during a practice in Zarephath NJ, she had her picture taken with each player that signed a US National Soccer Jersey for her

[z28jd]

This might seem like an odd one, but I'm not a big autograph person, so there aren't many stories to tell.

About 12 years ago, Johnny Blanchard was signing at a small local card shop. My dad was a huge Yankees fan during Blanchard's time and he had stories about seeing him hit homers in person. He went to a lot of games during that time.

Anyway, I took my dad with me to the store and only one person was there getting Blanchard's auto at the time, so we got a chance to talk to him. I had him personalize a ball for me and he gave a terrific autograph, along with "61-62 WS champs" underneath.

To me it was cool to meet one of the players I heard my dad talk about a lot growing up. Then my dad was behind me and it was like he turned into a kid, talking to Blanchard for a few minutes and getting his autograph. I don't even know if my dad has another in person autograph after the mid-60s, but it was a cool experience to watch them interact.

Blanchard didn't have much of a career really, but he peaked at the right time for my dad to think highly of him.

[bigfanNY]

The Johnny Blanchard story was great and reminded me of the time my Dad met Clete Boyer. It was at a Philly show in the early 90's Mr. Boyer was an autograph guest and after my Dad and he had a beer together and he told my Dad some great stories about the early 1960's yankees. An hour or so later my Dad and Mr. Boyer come back to our table he signs pictures for me and my son tells a couple g rated stories and I drive us all back to hotel. Only time I ever saw my Dad get an autograph. If I mention Mr. Boyer to my Dad tomorrow a smile will instantly come to his face.
Before that show when there was an autograph guest I would pull some cards of theirs and get the signatures. But after that if and only if it was a Yankee I would still pull cards but my Dad would get the signatures. Sadly we only did a few shows after that and stopped when it was too hard for my Dad in 1997.
I have not had bad experiences with athletes but I never take it for granted they will sign so am not upset at all if they don't.

[Bored5000]

I got to meet Tony Schumacher at the NHRA Summer Nationals in Englishtown,NJ and Austin Dillon at Martinsville in the Pit Area when our son got us Pit Passes , he was a Tire Carrier for Joe Gibbs/Kyle Busch Racing Xfinity Series and Red Horse Racing. Also our daughter got to meet the 2007 U.S. Women's National Team during a practice in Zarephath NJ, she had her picture taken with each player that signed a US National Soccer Jersey for her

Thanks for posting that. Racers are almost universally awesome when it comes to interacting with fans.

I know this is a bit obscure, but one experience that really stands out to me was meeting Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah at a local mall when I was about 10 years old. Nehemiah was playing for the 49ers at the time, and there was no real reason to think he would draw a crowd at a mall in Pennsylvania. Almost predictably, only four or five people showed up to meet him/get an autograph. Even as a 10 year old, I knew it was a pitiful, uncomfortable turnout of fans.

But Nehemiah could not have been nicer. He asked me what sports I liked to play, spent quite a bit of time talking to me and was not outwardly angry at all about the tiny turnout.

[clydepepper]

I met Whitlow Wyatt, Joe Sambito and Russell Branyan. All three were great guys!



-

[drcy]

Thanks for posting that. Racers are almost universally awesome when it comes to interacting with fans.

I know this is a bit obscure, but one experience that really stands out to me was meeting Renaldo "Skeets" Nehemiah at a local mall when I was about 10 years old. Nehemiah was playing for the 49ers at the time, and there was no real reason to think he would draw a crowd at a mall in Pennsylvania. Almost predictably, only four or five people showed up to meet him/get an autograph. Even as a 10 year old, I knew it was a pitiful, uncomfortable turnout of fans.

But Nehemiah could not have been nicer. He asked me what sports I liked to play, spent a quite a bit of time talking to me and was not outwardly angry at all about the tiny turnout.

Nehemiah was a legend in track.

[btcarfagno]

I remember Nehimiah from the times he would appear on the show The Superstars.

For all you youngins, that was a TV show in the 1970's (maybe into the early 80's?) where they would bring together a bunch of current sports figures who would compete in different events like track and field, rowing etc. Then there would be a winner at the end of the show when all the points for each event we're tallied. Sometimes it would be whole teams, like the Cowboys against the Steelers.

Anyway, whenever Nehimiah was there and doing any of the track events he just absolutely wiped the floor with everyone else. As soon as you saw he was going you just wondered who would finish second and just how far behind he would be.

[Bored5000]

Nehemiah was a legend in track.

I know. :) He is originally from New Jersey, but I just meant that he didn't really have any kind of natural fan following in the Philadelphia area based on him playing football on the other side of the country, His appearance at a Pennsylvania mall had all the making of a flop crowd wise, but he could not have been nicer.

[Jayworld]

I posted this originally in another thread on this forum back in 2014, but my "worst" without a doubt is Willie Mays:

I met him at an Equitable Old Timers game in the 1980s at old Arlington Stadium. He was the ONLY old time player that did not attend the pre-game meet/greet at the hotel, and the only one before the game that would not acknowledge anyone at the batting cages, take photos, or sign autographs. I was told by my friend who was an Equitable rep that Mays would not be invited back.

The best in-person experience I've ever had was meeting Terry Kennedy, one of my favorite Padres players, a few years back when he was the manager of AA San Antonio Missions. Got to meet him prior to the game with my son (I was wearing one of my vintage game-used Padres jerseys), and he signed a Padres yearbook, four cards, and posed for pictures, and chatted for about 2-3 minutes. Really nice guy. Also, meeting my other Padres favorite, Randy Jones, was a cool experience, as my wife and I met him at old Jack Murphy at his barbecue "restaurant" area behind the left field stands while on our honeymoon. He signed a program, ball, and posed for pictures. At the time, he was in full uniform (navy and orange pinstripes, back in 1994) and told me he much preferred the brown-gold uniforms to the then current navy and orange.

[Yoda]

Back in the 1950's, when I was a wee sprite, my father, who was an executive at GE, had a report who had been an All American at Northwestern and had roomed with the NY football Giants center, Ray Witeka. A plot for a surprise birthday present for yours truly was hatched and I soon found myself at the old Polo Grounds cheering the Giants on against the 49'ers. About 5 minutes before the game ended and the Giants pulled out a cliff hanger, my Dad suggested we move down to the sidelines. In a blur, I did so, and soon I was standing next to giant men, trying not to breath. The game ended and we moved towards the center of the field to meet Ray. He asked me if I wanted to carry his helmet to the locker room. I could only nod in gratitude.
The locker room was a scene of happy chaos. Moving among these titans, I quietly went around seeking autographs. All were very pleasant and encouraging, and I snagged autographs of my gridiron heroes, Frank Gifford, Kyle Rote, Charley Connerly et al. I was doing pretty well until Rosy Greer came out of the shower in all his glory. I had never seen a naked man so large and powerful, but he happily signed my program and gave me a wet pat on the head.
The program is long gone, but I still have the vivid memory of that surreal experience logged forever.

'Say hey, what Willie? I once set up near the autograph tables and heard Mays berate a young boy for daring to ask a question. The lad's dad turned purple and I thought was going to pop Willie one. 'Nuff said.

[Jenx34]

Check my post on page 3. It may give you a little insight into Willie and why he is standoffish.

I posted this originally in another thread on this forum back in 2014, but my "worst" without a doubt is Willie Mays:

I met him at an Equitable Old Timers game in the 1980s at old Arlington Stadium. He was the ONLY old time player that did not attend the pre-game meet/greet at the hotel, and the only one before the game that would not acknowledge anyone at the batting cages, take photos, or sign autographs. I was told by my friend who was an Equitable rep that Mays would not be invited back.

The best in-person experience I've ever had was meeting Terry Kennedy, one of my favorite Padres players, a few years back when he was the manager of AA San Antonio Missions. Got to meet him prior to the game with my son (I was wearing one of my vintage game-used Padres jerseys), and he signed a Padres yearbook, four cards, and posed for pictures, and chatted for about 2-3 minutes. Really nice guy. Also, meeting my other Padres favorite, Randy Jones, was a cool experience, as my wife and I met him at old Jack Murphy at his barbecue "restaurant" area behind the left field stands while on our honeymoon. He signed a program, ball, and posed for pictures. At the time, he was in full uniform (navy and orange pinstripes, back in 1994) and told me he much preferred the brown-gold uniforms to the then current navy and orange.

[skelly]

So what's the deal with Mays? Was he always unfriendly, or did that develop over time? I just remember being younger and hearing how he would play stickball in the street, etc... Not being into the autograph scene, I would have guessed he was a decent guy based on the pictures / stories I heard when I was little.

[Jayworld]

Check my post on page 3. It may give you a little insight into Willie and why he is standoffish.

Chris, yes- I re-read your post, and that would explain Mays stand-offish attitude, yet it does not explain that when a promoter (in my real-life scenario, The Insurance Company The Equitable) is paying former players to show up at an old-timers game, and part of the agreement is that the players will attend a pre-game meeting at the hotel with special guests (meet, greet, sign autographs, etc.), then attend the old-timers game, then attend a post game get-together and dinner, and Mays didn't do anything but show up at the game. In other words, he took Equitable's money and did not fulfill his end of the contract. That's why my friend who worked for the Equitable said he would not be invited back.

Conversely, every other old-timer showed up at the pre-game, game, and post-game events and signed plenty of autos, posed for pics, etc. Ernie Banks was an incredible gentleman at the post-game dinner.

[Tennis13]

Some nice people:

Alvaro Espinosa's wife. I met her at a Yankees game when I was like 10, and she said if I gave her my Don Mattingly card, she'd get it autographed. She sent one in the mail to me, autographed. Now that I think about it, maybe I should have it authenticated to see if she was who she said she was! ha.

When we were like 6 years old, I had a friend who's dad played for the Dodgers. He always thought Steve Welch was the nicest guy on the team to him.

Andre Dawson -- met him in an elevator at a Cubs-Mets series in NYC when i was like 10. I had an 8.5 x 11 ready for him to sign, but it was in my room. He told me he'd get me later, but I begged him, and he gave me his room number and signed my photo which I hung on my wall my entire childhood.

Lenny Dykstra: I still don't have his autograph, but EFF him and his gold Mercedes. Never has a man been so beloved by the fans but been such a selfish unlikable guy to his public. I don't think I ever saw him sign an autograph in Clearwater during spring training. EVER.

[darwinbulldog]

I don't really have any baseball celebrity stories, though I think Alice Cooper's a pretty solid softball player, and I got to meet him in Albuquerque one time as part of VIP package I won through a radio contest. I've met lots of football players, especially Saints and Dolphins, and they've all been pretty friendly. I ran out of my school one day in about 5th grade to chase Archie Manning down the street and get his autograph, like in the middle of the day, so I could have gotten in trouble for that, but everyone let it slide. It was Archie Manning after all. I have an in-law who played in the NFL for many years, and he's always been nice to us, so count him too if we're allowed to use family. I'm almost certain I was on a flight with O.J. Simpson back in '91. He's always seemed like a sweet guy. Anybody know what he's been up to these past 27 years?

I met Heisman Trophy winners Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams on separate occasions as a UT student in the late 90s. Ricky and I lived in the same dorm, and one night when my friends and I were sneaking a dog into my room, Ricky was on the lobby phone (I guess those probably don't exist anymore), and the dog went up to him and started jumping up and licking his hand. He just said "Hi" and smiled and petted the dog for a moment. We didn't really have a conversation, because he was still on the phone, and he's very shy anyway, but that was a cool moment.

I was an usher at the basketball arena in college (Erwin Center) and had to ask anyone seated in this particular private room in the building to move to a different area before a meeting started. Earl Campbell was sitting in there, all by himself, and watching TV. (It was the basketball game that was being played live like 100 feet away). So I just said, "I'm sorry; I have to ask if you can move over to this other area." And he gave me a look like, "Are you joking? Do you know who I am?" and then just shrugged his shoulders and moved like I asked him to.

I saw plenty of other athletes and musicians when I was working at that arena. My coolest assignment was being stationed as the security guy for Elton John's dressing room before the concert. I just hung out there for a couple of hours before the show, chatted with his bodyguard, listened to his rehearsal with the band, and met him (very) briefly when he came back to the dressing room -- to take a nap. Ricky Williams told me "Hi", but Elton John gave me a full "Hello."

[KingFisk]

Kelsey Grammer is two tables over from me right now...what should I do? ;)

(Of course I am going to leave him alone)

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[Fred]

Here's a fun one -

Anaheim Stadium at an Angels game. Got great seats for the game. Field level by third base.

Before the game there are quite a few people milling around the field. Andre Agassi is part of that crowd. Everybody is trying to get Andre to come to the railing and sign. He signs a few and then heads back towards the field. I figure if Andre is there then Steffi Graf might be there. Sure enough there she was and NOBODY recognized her. I wasn't too far from the railing and asked her to sign a baseball. She smiled, signed the auto and then said, "do you want the old man's too"? I said no thank you, I just wanted hers. She smiled and walked over to Andre and had him sign it too. Such a great memory.

[howard38]

.

[Throttlesteer]

Best in order:

Tony Gwynn
Brooks Robinson
Bob Feller
Stan Musial
Duke Snider

Worst in order:

Jose Canseco
Steve Young
Rickey Henderson

[Collectorsince62]

Curt Flood was my favorite player growing up. I met him at a card show and he was wearing a WS ring. I asked if it was '64 or '67 and he takes it off and hands it to me to hold. He also addressed the crowd before he began signing and thanked the fans for supporting him throughout his career. Class Act all the way.

Stan Musial. Growing up in St. Louis, of course I idolized The Man. I went to his STM offices one day to drop off the two scorecards from his 5 HR doubleheader to be signed. He happened to be there at the time and his staff asked me if I would like to meet him and get the autographs in person. Uh, yeah. Not only did he cheerfully sign the scorecards, he wrote "5 home runs" on each one and started telling me about that day. He laughed and said "I should have had 6 - Mays caught one at the centerfield wall!" We opened the scorecard and sure enough there it was. He said he never tried to hit homers but he really wanted one in his final at bat and popped out to first. Again, there it was. Such a genuinely nice man who made this lifelong Cardinal fan feel like we were old friends.

[Vintagecatcher]

I grew up just west of Worcester, MA and was a huge Bruins fan.

Bobby Orr was my favorite player.

When I was about 13, Bobby Orr and some of the Bruins did a benefit game in my home town of Auburn, Ma, but unfortunately, I had to go to CCD.

On the way home from CCD, my dad spotted a limo going to the banquet center near our house. He followed the limo into the parking lot, and sure enough several bruins players including Orr were heading into the Yankee Drummer Inn to eat.

My dad, my twin brother, and I waited for what seemed like an eternity for the Bruins to come out. Our patience was rewarded when Bobby Orr stopped and talked to my brother and I for what seemed like 10 minutes.

He couldn't have been any nicer. We were awestruck! Just wished we had had something for him to sign.

Feel fortunate that my childhood hero lived up to his reputation.

Patrick

[rocketman]

No bad experiences, but several really good ones:

Met Wayne Gretzky 5 times - signed every time, more than one photo a few times. Once while working as an intern for the NY Islanders, I sat and talked to him for 15 minutes and then sat next to him while he was interviewed by the NY times. The only thing he ever said no to was when I asked him for a game used stick.

Basically every hockey player I've ever met has been great - and I've met hundreds. Every single Islander from the glory days (80-83) would sign for anyone at the practice rink or in the parking lot after the game.

played golf with Colton Orr 3 times - nice but soft spoken.

If you haven't met and hung out with Denny McClain you're missing something. he is a regular at card shows and he is the nicest funniest guys you would ever want to meet. one time I spent over an hour with him.

Met OJ in parking lot at Shea Stadium in 1974. Still have the card signed in ball point pen. Super nice even though he had to catch the bus - took the time.

Met Dr. J in vegas - did not ask for autograph or picture but spoke to him for several minutes - drunk but friendly.

Pete Rose was great - talk forever. This was at memorabilia shop in Vegas.

Derek Jeter - Was in Vegas for fight right after 2009 WS. Lucky enough to get into HBO pre fight party. Jeter walks in with his parents. Sudden hush in the room like Jesus just appeared. Everybody was intimidated and no one approached him - except me. I used my favorite line which basically nobody can turn down -"Hi Derek, my name is Rich and I really appreciate the opportunity to say hello." He had been keeping his head down and was giving off the stay away vibe, but I got him to stop. He shook my hand, perked up and genuinely became very friendly. I told him I am a die hard Met fan but always admired him and the way he played. We chatted for a few more minutes, I thanked him again, shook hands, and let him on his way. No one else approached him. the Yankee fans I was with were, and still are, in awe.

At that same party I met both Mayweathers - both great, Sr. was bombed but spoke to everybody. Also Jerome Bettis, CC Sabbathia, and the cast of Entourage. All as friendly as could be. only DB at that party was Will Farrell - too cool for everybody.

Bobby valentine - several times, remembers your name and will talk baseball all day.

Omar Minaya - super nice and will talk baseball all day.

Have more stories but you get the idea - I think it's all about being polite.

[KCRfan1]

My best experience was with Steve Garvey.

Very personable and friendly.

As a side story, he had accidentally left his drivers license where I worked. I was able to track down his mailing address and take the license to his PO box. I told the manager what happened and said they would make sure his license went to his box. I left a note with the license so Garvey would know where he left it and what happened.

About a week later his assistant showed up at my place of work with a signed ball complete with inscriptions of stats.

I personally met him shortly thereafter, and found him to be a class act.


I have worked with Bench directly, and he is all business. No disappointment as that is what I was expecting. During a book signing, he did interact with a 10 year old who was a catcher for a little league team. Bench asked the boy to get in a crouch so he could see the form. After signing a book and coaching the boy for a moment the childs dad was elated.

During the book signing, with clear guidlines, people would still want balls and bats and things signed by Bench. For those items, he has a website for obtaining a signature.

My wife worked with Jabbar previously and he is a total jerk.

[BruceinGa]

The best:
Joe DiMaggio
He was on a tour of Air Force bases (something to do with promoting commissaries) and visited our little league. He signed two objects for all that wanted autographs. After that he was going to take a swing. His first swing was a ground ball and then his next was a hr over our 220' fence.
John Smoltz
My younger son, 14 at the time recognized John and his family eating at a Steak and Shake in Smyrna, Ga. We went to our car and my son ran back in to see John. John apologized to my son that the Braves had done so poorly that season and promised they would do better in 1990. He then signed a napkin for my son.

The worst:
When my oldest son was 15 my sister was able to get him into the Super Show in Atlanta. He returned home with about 20 posters signed by baseball, football and basketball stars. He told me that he saw Reggie Jackson in the hallway and when asked for an autograph and he refused, saying the he wasn't on the clock. Boo!

[Jenx34]

I'm not trying to excuse what he didn't do at that event. He really shouldn't have agreed to do it. That type of event is not in his comfort zone for sure. Who know's he could have had an agent agree to the deal and tell him to just show up? Still, not an excuse.

I just noticed that his body language changes when people approach him. In fact, after the 3rd day with him as I was dropping him off at his hotel, I asked him if he would be kind enough to sign two things for me, a 1962 issue of Sport Magazine and an 8 x10' of him in a Birmingham Black Barons uniform. I asked him without even getting the items out so as not to put pressure on him. He immediately started to grumble. Renee, his PR woman, said "Willie sign the stuff for him. He's been nothing but nice to you!" As soon as she said that, he relaxed, smiled and said give them to me. He signed them, shook my hand and said thank you and that he enjoyed meeting me and went on his way.

For whatever reason, something or someone has made him that way. He signs because he is knows he should, but he is not comfortable doing so. Not sure if it goes back to the days he grew up in Birmingham and its racial tensions and now inside he's perturbed that white people love him and want his autograph now that he got famous? Or if someone took advantage of him financially along the way? Or if he's bitter the players "today" make so much more than he ever did? Or something else? But in your situation, I would have been very disappointed as well.

Chris, yes- I re-read your post, and that would explain Mays stand-offish attitude, yet it does not explain that when a promoter (in my real-life scenario, The Insurance Company The Equitable) is paying former players to show up at an old-timers game, and part of the agreement is that the players will attend a pre-game meeting at the hotel with special guests (meet, greet, sign autographs, etc.), then attend the old-timers game, then attend a post game get-together and dinner, and Mays didn't do anything but show up at the game. In other words, he took Equitable's money and did not fulfill his end of the contract. That's why my friend who worked for the Equitable said he would not be invited back.

Conversely, every other old-timer showed up at the pre-game, game, and post-game events and signed plenty of autos, posed for pics, etc. Ernie Banks was an incredible gentleman at the post-game dinner.

[tedzan]

In 1984, I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. Ted and I had a really interesting conversation "talking baseball" and baseball cards.
The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted. We talked for about 45 minutes.
I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME....."Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium."

And sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....usually up into the RF upper deck.

TED...."If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?"


ME....."Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the AL Pennant, anyways."

TED....(he smiled) and asked me...."so, why then are you a Yankees fan ?"

ME....."because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ"

TED...."if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs."


http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/bowmangumcotedwilliams.jpg

Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid....I still remember how enthusiastic he was "talking BB cards".

ME....."are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?" ......and, I showed Ted this card.

TED...."No, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954, and no other Gum Co. was allowed to portray me."

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was annoyed with him in 1959. Fleer had
approached Ted's agent to do a series of 80 cards depicting Ted's life. Fleer offered Ted $500 for the Rights. Sy Berger countered it
with $1000 for Ted to stay with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps ensued.
Finally, when Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. There it is folks, the real story behind the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....
straight from Ted, himself.

TED...."Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then just for having your pictures on a set of gum cards."

ME....."Ted, you ain't kidding, $5000 was my Dad's annual salary in 1959."

We talked some more as we walked. Then Ted ran into some dignitaries. He offered his hand to me, telling me that he really enjoyed
our conversation.



http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/large/1959FleerTedSignsPanel.jpg



TED Z

T206 Reference (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=237816)
.

[Kawika]

My buddy and I ran out onto the field at RFK to "help" roll out the tarp during a rain delay. Never forget the stink eye bestowed upon me by Manager Williams as we sprinted past the Senators' dugout, cops in pursuit. The babooze at the left doing a "rain dance" was me.

Best experience: Met Hank Greenberg outside Yankee Stadium in 1956 for a minute to get his autograph. He was kind and courtly. Worst: Met Don Larsen at a Barnes & Noble in Honolulu about ten years ago. About as charismatic as a desiccated turd.

https://photos.imageevent.com/kawika_o_ka_pakipika/sportscardsetc/mischidden/miscellanybaseball/YD%20at%20DC%20Stadium1.jpg

[bnorth]

In 1984, I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. Ted and I had a really interesting conversation "talking baseball" and baseball cards.
The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted. We talked for about 45 minutes.
I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME....."Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium."

And sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....usually up into the RF upper deck.

TED...."If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?"


ME....."Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the AL Pennant, anyways."

TED....(he smiled) and asked me...."so, why then are you a Yankees fan ?"

ME....."because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ"

TED...."if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs."


http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/bowmangumcotedwilliams.jpg

Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid....I still remember how enthusiastic he was "talking BB cards".

ME....."are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?" ......and, I showed Ted this card.

TED...."No, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954, and no other Gum Co. was allowed to portray me."

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was annoyed with him in 1959. Fleer had
approached Ted's agent to do a series of 80 cards depicting Ted's life. Fleer offered Ted $500 for the Rights. Sy Berger countered it
with $1000 for Ted to stay with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps ensued.
Finally, when Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. There it is folks, the real story behind the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....
straight from Ted, himself.

TED...."Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then just for having your pictures on a set of gum cards."

ME....."Ted, you ain't kidding, $5000 was my Dad's annual salary in 1959."

We talked some more as we walked. Then Ted ran into some dignitaries. He offered his hand to me, telling me that he really enjoyed
our conversation.



http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/large/1959FleerTedSignsPanel.jpg



TED Z

T206 Reference (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=237816)
.

Great story Ted, thanks for sharing. The 59 Fleer Ted Williams set is by far my favorite set. I have a NrMint(avg.) SGC graded set, I bought it raw from a fellow member.:D

[tachyonbb]

My wife is a physician and is involved in a number of health initiatives. In the late 80's or early 90's she asked me to pick up a guest speaker for a diabetes awareness dinner (read fund raiser). I told her I only had my F350 truck and she said it was OK since he was a farmer from the Carolinas named Hunter.

He came in on an evening flight. I did my best impersonation of a limo driver with a sign for Mr. Hunter. He walked up to me and introduced himself as Jim Hunter. My knees buckled as I realized that it was Catfish Hunter. I stammered a little and told him he was my second favorite pitcher of all time after Bob Gibson. I told him my wife said to pick up a farmer from the Carolinas.

We talked about upland bird hunting and deer hunting all the way to the hotel. It was a great conversation. I did not think to ask him for an autograph. I had to leave the next morning for Denver so my wife picked him up for the dinner the next day. She came home with an autographed baseball for me.

[Rookiemonster]

Ottis Anderson- I seen him a a local fair in NJ. He was walking around so I approach him and said hi. ( with a bag of zeppolis) I said as you otttis Anderson and he said yes. I told him I was a fan and that I liked to use in in a video game ( super techmo bowl). He said he thought that Bo Jackson was the best player to use. I told him that I also like Bo Jackson. I offered him a zeppoli and he declined. I said by and started to walk away he stopped me and asked if I wanted a autograph. I said I do but I don’t have anything for him to sign.
Then I went back to my friends and they were all like who the hell were you just talking to? Lol

Kenyon Martin ( basketball) I worked a Macy’s as a stick boy back in the day. I was told to bring a big cart to the kids section. When I did there was a towering man and a few people picking out cloths for him. He didn’t like what they were giving him. He asked me if I thought kids would wear this stuff I said no.he smiled and ask me to help him pick some stuff out. He talked a lot . He told me about his kids. He was just going to the nuggets and they didn’t have Macy’s out there. I spent a lot of time with him and he paid with the biggest wad of money I ever seen. Then I help him to his ruck help load it, and he says is that all of it?
I said yes he said OK ! Wait do you want a autograph? I said I don’t have anything for him to sign and he took a piece of paper from my clip board and said here. Not gonna lie I wasupset at the time because he didn’t tip me. Even old ladies would give me 5 buck for taking a microwave to the car. This was a pallet and I carried it around for hours with him.

[ls7plus]

Best: Hank Aaron, Harmon Killebrew and Frank Howard. All very congenial, down to earth people willing to engage in at least brief conversation. I told Killebrew that I was pleased to meet him at an autograph show, even if he had been instrumental in beating my Tigers so many times. He replied, "Well, I'm very glad to meet you," and appeared to be very sincere in saying so. One of his neighbors said when he died that he was the kind of person that made the whole neighborhood feel safer! Treating people with respect until they prove themselves unworthy of it goes a long, long way. See Ted Z's story above with regard to meeting Ted Williams.

Worst: Derek Jeter and Reggie Jackson. The former was rude to the point of being insulting upon being very politely asked to autograph a baseball bearing the signatures from as many all-stars as I could get to sign at the hotel where they were staying for the 1999 game in Boston. He strongly insinuated that because I was an adult (then 46) I only wanted his autograph to sell it and make money. He stated he only signed for the kids, and indeed he was--signing for a number of kids who were repeatedly being fed balls for that purpose by a couple of dealers just a few yards away. What a jerk! His shabby treatment of Giancarlo Stanton recently with regard to waiving the latter's no-trade clause only serves to underscore that assessment. Stanton, notably, had the good grace not to sink to his level. I should add that Tony Gwynn and Joe Torre were extremely gracious in signing and even conversing a bit at the same time and place.

With Reggie, his act upon being asked for an autograph in even the most polite manner possible, when he was only standing all alone in the hotel lobby, was to treat you as if you weren't even there--completely invisible and inaudible, and unworthy of having your presence acknowledged in any way! Guess I didn't realize how special he still was at age 52 or 53.

Compare the latter two with Babe Ruth, who was known to sign until every person who wanted his autograph got one!

Best regards,

Larry

[oldjudge]

I’ve met a lot of athletes, but there are three that I remember not liking. At the top of the list, far away in the lead, is that pompous Reggie Jackson. I didn’t like Ralph Terry or Lynn Swann either, but they are not even in the same zip code as Reggie.

[Chuck9788]

Good : I've met many boxers. Tommy "The Hitman" Hearns and "The Flushing Flash Kevin Kelly are among the long list of many nice pugilists that I've encountered. Baseball wise Yankees pitcher "Steady" Eddie Lopat was very nice to me when I was a young kid at a signing. Football : Jets Linebacker Joe Klecko was really cool when we met and in hockey Rod Langway from the Washington Capitals stands out. Everyone tells me that Brooks Robinson is the nicest guy.



Bad : I really don't have any. Mainly because rather than strike up a conversation about their sports careers, I tend to talk about other subjects. Example ; Talking about boxing for 10 minutes with the "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas at the Las Vegas airport. There was not one mention of his baseball career. I legitimately was more interested in his opinions on the fight game, And I feel he respected that.

[Bestdj777]

I live in DC, so my "celebrity" encounters primarily involve politic figures, who are pretty accommodating. Two that stood out were Scalia and McCain. I met Scalia at a mixer. He was incredibly friendly and willingly signed for anyone that wanted autographs (there were a few 9th Circuit judges there that were similarly accommodating). Scalia had an interesting approach though. He didn't want to interrupt his conversation with the group to pose for pictures, but would let you take photos of him or near him. It made sense but would have loved a better photo with him.

McCain was also really friendly. I ran into him on the street and shook his hand and spoke for a second. After I left, I saw someone take a photo with him and instantly regretted not asking. I turned around and he gave my phone to his assistant so she could take one. Understanding how busy he is, I kept the interaction to a minimum. But he left me with a very favorable impression.

[Buythatcard]

In 1984, I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. Ted and I had a really interesting conversation "talking baseball" and baseball cards.
The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted. We talked for about 45 minutes.
I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME....."Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium."

And sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....usually up into the RF upper deck.

TED...."If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?"


ME....."Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the AL Pennant, anyways."

TED....(he smiled) and asked me...."so, why then are you a Yankees fan ?"

ME....."because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ"

TED...."if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs."


http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/bowmangumcotedwilliams.jpg

Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid....I still remember how enthusiastic he was "talking BB cards".

ME....."are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?" ......and, I showed Ted this card.

TED...."No, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954, and no other Gum Co. was allowed to portray me."

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was annoyed with him in 1959. Fleer had
approached Ted's agent to do a series of 80 cards depicting Ted's life. Fleer offered Ted $500 for the Rights. Sy Berger countered it
with $1000 for Ted to stay with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps ensued.
Finally, when Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. There it is folks, the real story behind the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....
straight from Ted, himself.

TED...."Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then just for having your pictures on a set of gum cards."

ME....."Ted, you ain't kidding, $5000 was my Dad's annual salary in 1959."

We talked some more as we walked. Then Ted ran into some dignitaries. He offered his hand to me, telling me that he really enjoyed
our conversation.



http://photos.imageevent.com/tedzan77/images/large/1959FleerTedSignsPanel.jpg



TED Z

T206 Reference (http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=237816)
.


Ted, this story should be in the Hall of Fame. When I met you at one of the shows, you told me part of the story. One of my favorite stories. I love the story behind the 59 Fleer set.

[Buythatcard]

Some of my encounters.

Best: Bob Feller
Met him at a card show during a signing. He took time to shake everyboody's hand. He then took time out to tell some stories about his pitching days.

Worst: Keith Hernandez
Stood on line for over an hour to get a ball signed for my nephew's birthday. When it was my turn, I asked him to personalize it to my nephew. He whispered in the ear of someone next to him who then made an announcement that Keith will not personalize any items. He never looked up and had the unfriendliest look.

Biggest disappointment: Mickey Mantle
Back in the mid 80's, I worked in NYC. I went for a walk and passed a sports card store which had a sign saying Mickey Mantle will be signing his new book. I went into the store and there was a table at the end of one of the aisles. Sitting at this table was Mickey Mantle. There was nobody in the store except Mickey, the store owner and myself. I had to purchase his book in order to receive an autograph. I purchased the book and walked up to the table. I didn't know what to say because I was standing in front of an icon. The only thing I came up was, "Is that your World Series Ring?". He looked at me and barked back "No, it's my Hall of Fame Ring". Gave me the meanest look. I walked out of there feeling pretty disappointed.

Almost Dumbest Encounter: Stan Musial
I was at a card show where Stan Musial was signing. Took my preteen nephew to the show. We both had to go to the bathroom. When we went up to the urinals, there was Stan Musial pissing. My nephew turned to me and said, "Should I ask him for his autograph?". I shook my head no.

[Gary Dunaier]

[Derek Jeter] stated he only signed for the kids

I don't understand the "I only sign for kids" mentality. For the sake of discussion, let's presume each and every kid is pure of heart and wants the autograph for themselves, and don't fall into the category of...

kids who were repeatedly being fed balls [for Jeter to sign] by a couple of dealers just a few yards away.

Do the "I only sign for kids" people expect those kids to suddenly lose their interest in autographs the moment they turn 18?

[ronniehatesjazz]

I don't understand the "I only sign for kids" mentality. For the sake of discussion, let's presume each and every kid is pure of heart and wants the autograph for themselves, and don't fall into the category of...



Do the "I only sign for kids" people expect those kids to suddenly lose their interest in autographs the moment they turn 18?

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's unfair to serious collectors and fans who truly are in it for the love of collecting. On the other hand, I can think of two different experiences that would cause me to think like Jeter does (god knows how many experiences he has). When I was in high school I went to an Indians/Angels game. I wasn't a big collector at that time (typical young guy who leaves the hobby for girls, sports, etc.) but I was always a huge fan of Tim Salmon growing up and there he was pre game signing some autographs for some young Cleveland fans. I was a little embarrassed but I decided to go among the crowd of 10 year olds for an autograph of one of my childhood heroes. Keep in mind I was 17 (looked older though because of my height). I saw a guy who was mid 50's pushing through the crowd of kids with an album that full of cards. Kept going back to the same players time after time. The guy must have got 10 auto cards from each player. This guy didn't even appear to be that much of a fan and he was not being courteous to others trying to get autographs as well (5-12 year old kids). I actually saw him nudge (being polite; it was more like a light shove) a kid out of the way so he could capture a $3 auto of Benji Molina. I haven't asked for an autograph since watching all this happen. Another time I watched a middle aged man curse at Frank Thomas for not signing pre-game... The guy said things that would have likely caused a fight outside of the stadium... totally classless. If I were a pro, I'd sign for these fools just to get them out of the way but I can't fault some of them for focusing on signing for kids.

[Tabe]

A couple more, all from the same night:

In the late 90s, I was a teacher and coach at the high school in Craig, CO. The used car dealer in town knew several Denver Broncos and arranged for them to come into town for a "faculty vs Broncos" fundraiser basketball game for the school's sports teams.

Good:

Glyn Milburn - first of all, Milburn was an incredible athlete. Unbelievably fast and, at 5'7" or whatever, could touch the top of the backboard. Couldn't play basketball though - must have missed half a dozen dunks. Anyway, at the after party, I got a chance to talk to him. Told him I was a Lions fan and that I hoped the rumored trade of him to Detroit would happen. He smiled and said he was just glad someone wanted him. Super nice guy.

Bad:

Unknown Broncos lineman: he decided the game should be full contact and would run into me away from the ball every chance he got. Very annoying.

Other: Ed McCaffrey played in the game and was great. I had a wide open 3 when he was standing under the basket. He seemingly took one step and somehow blocked my shot. I swear he was 11-feet tall with arms a mile long.

[bigfanNY]

In defense of Reggie Jackson in the past 5 years I have been in a room with Reggie about the same number of times. Every spring the Yankees put on an event for the Boys and Girls club in Tampa. Reggie is in no way obligated to show up but dose every year. I also saw him signing at a show in New Jersey a couple years ago. Entire crowd chanted Reg-Gie!!. And he was very nice to everybody. Just my experiance.. As I said earlier A big part of getting in person autographs is getting told no.. Nobody owes me as a fan a signature I consider each one a gift.

[johnmh71]

I don't want to dwell on bad experiences as the worst happened with my favorite player as a kid, so I'll focus on the positive. Rico Petrocelli was way beyond nice when I met him at a card show. I had him sign the 1968 Topps Game 6 World Series card that shows him hitting a homer with Tim McCarver behind the plate. He said that over the years he had never signed one that had been signed already by McCarver and advised me to get it signed by him after he signed it. He was very nice and engaging with everyone. A class act.

[Bored5000]

Worst: Keith Hernandez
Stood on line for over an hour to get a ball signed for my nephew's birthday. When it was my turn, I asked him to personalize it to my nephew. He whispered in the ear of someone next to him who then made an announcement that Keith will not personalize any items. He never looked up and had the unfriendliest look.



Not at all surprising. There was a documentary a while back that exposed Hernandez as a "pretty boy." ;)

Furthermore, it was his crucial error on June 14, 1987, that led to a five-run Phillies ninth and ruined the beautiful afternoon for the fans in the right-field stands.

https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/06/14/seinfeld-keith-hernandez-second-spitter

[Cmount76]

I've had lots of great experiences. These were some of the most memorable.

In no random order:
Brooks Robinson
Ernie Banks (surprised nobody mentioned him. He was GREAT!!!)
Yogi Berra
Ralph Kiner
Mike Tyson

Some more unforgettable encounters, just not for good reasons:
Tom Seaver
Willie Mays
Reggie Jackson
Orlando Cedepda

[71buc]

While father was serving in Vietnam my mother and I remained in Ft. Devens. One day Tony Conigliaro sat in the stands and watched my little league team play a game. He was in fatigues and it was hard to believe it was actually him. He stayed and signed autographs for all of us and asked many of us about our fathers who were serving in Vietnam. I remember how proud I was when he called our fathers heros.

When I was kid my father took me to countless AAA games in Tacoma. My friends and I would wait in the parking lot chasing foul balls and playing wiffle ball. One day Lyman Bostock left the game early. He encountered us in the parking lot and asked to join us. He played with us for about 20 minutes before a crowd began to gather. When the crowd grew he thanked us and said he had to go. He signed autographs and complimented us on our swings. I was devastated when I learned of his tragic death a few years later. What an amazingly classy man.

Speaking of classy, My son was fortunate enough to have Ali invite him to sit next to him during a spring training game in 2002. He was 12 at the time. It was a surreal experience. He sat with Ali for two innings. They talked and shared a large oatmeal cookie. My son was an amateur boxer at that age and was thrilled to have such a story to share when he returned home. Ali signed his spring training program, thanked him for keeping him company, and threw a couple of jabs his way when my son left his side. My son is 27 now and when people talk about celebrity encounters he shares his, "I shared a cookie with Muhammad Ali" story. Hard to beat that one. Ali was as close to American royalty as it gets. The world is a lesser place without him

[Runscott]

Best: watching Bobby Valentine during his rookie season, jog along the outfield fence and smile and wave at all the fans when they acknowledged him. Things changed with him, but he had that time when things were good.

Throwing a program out to Juan Marichal, over the outfield fence, and having him sign it and throw it back up in the stands. Actually, any exchange with Juan Marichal - great guy.

Meeting Roger Bannister - one of the truly great gentleman athletes of all time.

Worst: Pete Rose and Willie McCovey. No one came close to either of these for bad experiences.

[CMIZ5290]

Best: watching Bobby Valentine during his rookie season, jog along the outfield fence and smile and wave at all the fans when they acknowledged him. Things changed with him, but he had that time when things were good.

Throwing a program out to Juan Marichal, over the outfield fence, and having him sign it and throw it back up in the stands. Actually, any exchange with Juan Marichal - great guy.

Meeting Roger Bannister - one of the truly great gentleman athletes of all time.

Worst: Pete Rose and Willie McCovey. No one came close to either of these for bad experiences.

Reggie Jackson and Greg Maddux, pricks big time....

[gemmint77]

Meet Craig Biggio, Nolan Ryan, Jeff Bagwell, Stan Musial and Lou Brock back in the late 80's at card shows. I can remember all being great to a 10 year old.

[GasHouseGang]

Best, Musial and Duke Snider. Both treated you with respect and would just talk to you like they knew you.

Worst, probably Don Sutton. He signed for me, but I made the mistake of having him sign his rookie card. He said "I always hated that card!", and signed boldly right across his face with a black sharpie. I found this card offered on ebay, so I guess I'm not the only one.

[CurtisFlood]

Curt Flood was my favorite player growing up. I met him at a card show and he was wearing a WS ring. I asked if it was '64 or '67 and he takes it off and hands it to me to hold. He also addressed the crowd before he began signing and thanked the fans for supporting him throughout his career. Class Act all the way.

Stan Musial. Growing up in St. Louis, of course I idolized The Man. I went to his STM offices one day to drop off the two scorecards from his 5 HR doubleheader to be signed. He happened to be there at the time and his staff asked me if I would like to meet him and get the autographs in person. Uh, yeah. Not only did he cheerfully sign the scorecards, he wrote "5 home runs" on each one and started telling me about that day. He laughed and said "I should have had 6 - Mays caught one at the centerfield wall!" We opened the scorecard and sure enough there it was. He said he never tried to hit homers but he really wanted one in his final at bat and popped out to first. Again, there it was. Such a genuinely nice man who made this lifelong Cardinal fan feel like we were old friends.

Exactly what Flood said to me when I met him in Palma Majorca, Spain in summer of 1972. After drinking rum and coke and chain smoking with Curt for about 3 hours he asked me if I wanted his autograph since we were "old friends". Almost 46 years ago and I remember that clear as yesterday. What an amazing guy to talk with and being a Cardinal fan made it even better. Only autograph I have that is not for sale.

[Yoda]

In defense of Reggie Jackson in the past 5 years I have been in a room with Reggie about the same number of times. Every spring the Yankees put on an event for the Boys and Girls club in Tampa. Reggie is in no way obligated to show up but dose every year. I also saw him signing at a show in New Jersey a couple years ago. Entire crowd chanted Reg-Gie!!. And he was very nice to everybody. Just my experiance.. As I said earlier A big part of getting in person autographs is getting told no.. Nobody owes me as a fan a signature I consider each one a gift.

Reggie got a dose in Tampa!

[Fballguy]

Best: Kurt Warner and the 1999 St. Louis Rams. It was the last week of the season in Philadelphia. They had home field throughout the playoffs wrapped up. The game meant nothing for them except to avoid injuries. I stayed at the team hotel and staked out the bar in the restaurant...Shula's Steakhouse. It was the Saturday before the game and the bar went from empty one minute to what seemed like a private St. Louis Rams party the next. The whole team filed in eventually...Warner, Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Orlando Pace, Az Hakim, London Fletcher, Kevin Carter, Rickey Proehl, etc. All the coaches Vermeil, Mike Martz, Jim Hanifan, Frank Gansz, Wilbert Montgomery. Ron Jaworkski was there too. I spent hours drinking beer and talking to everyone. The mood was light. They were in the midst of a dream season. Warner was like a rookie. Gracious to everyone. Posed for pictures. Signed everything. It was a really, really, good time. I have dozens of signed polaroid pictures from that night.

Though there was one experience I cherish even more than that. 2008 NFL season. Rams staying around Hoboken to play the Jets...can't remember the name of the hotel, but it was by far the least special hotel I'd ever seen them stay at. They were in the midst of a "least special" season and that weekend would be their "least special" performance of that "least special" season, trailing the Jets 40-0 at halftime in a game that was never a contest. Anyway, rewind 18 hours earlier. Saturday afternoon around 5:00 or so...who walks into the bar but none other than Jim Hanifan, who was retired from coaching at this point but working as the color commentator on Rams broadcasts. He sat on the bar stool next to me and we talked football and watched college football to nearly midnight. He told story after story after story. I love that guy. It was a night I'll never forget.

Post script...The access to the team changed dramatically after the 1999 season. Once they won the Super Bowl, security was much tighter. The team more secluded. I had a connection so I always knew what hotel they'd be at and because I was a paying customer, the hotel let me do what I wanted. I still got to meet and talk to many players, coaches and TV guys but it wasn't the same. From 1999 to 2001, Warner (and many other Rams) went from regular guys with easy access to Armani wearing celebrities you had to hope to get a glimpse off. By the Super Bowl season of 2001, Warner was no longer signing in person. He was handing out prayer cards that he had signed in advance and you could only get one if you happened to be at the hotel when the team arrived. Otherwise you never saw him again.

Worst experience...I don't have many but one stands out. 2001 Season...Rams are in Newark to play the Giants. I'm in my usual spot in the hotel bar waiting with my trooper of a wife. No one in the place at about 2:00 PM on Saturday. Sitting a few seats away from is none other than Lawrence McCutcheon, the one time Rams all time leading rusher. By himself. Drinking a beer. Watching college football. Against my better judgement, I thought it would be ok to go over and chat. I introduced myself. Told him I was a Rams fan since the mid-seventies. It was nice to meet him. He looked at me like I just farted. Never said a word. Then turned around, grabbed his beer and continued to watch college football. I felt like a tool. i was always very cautious and smart around the team. Never wanted to seem like a fanatic. If someone seemed approachable...you know the queues...I'd talk to them. If someone's body language indicated it was a bad idea, I wouldn't. Totally misread this one and never made that mistake again.

But my experience was mild compare to some I've witnessed. I used to work security at the Greater Hartford Open. The celebrity pro-am day was always a lot fun...especially if you got to work the after party that night. One year, at the party they stationed me at the end of the tent which happened to be right next to the porta potties. Ken Howard...aka The White Shadow...went to take a leak and as he approached he said "hi" then asked if I was guarding the "shitters". LOL I thought it was funny. Another time, I got my picture taken standing next to Bob Hope...unintentionally...was just doing my job as he walked by...and unbeknownst to me until the picture appeared on the cover of the Hartford Courant the next day. But as for bad experiences...One year I was working by the putting green and a father made the mistake of lifting his small son...couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 over the fence so the boy could go up to Lawrence Taylor and ask for an autograph. When the boy approached, Taylor told him to get the "F" away from him. The father had to be held back from climbing over the fence. Taylor then started to berate the father and the two stood nose to nose screaming at each other as we tried to diffuse the situation. That was a bad scene...

Another that comes to mind. As a Rams fan, it pains me to say it, but Marshall Faulk was an absolute jerk to fans. Never to me. I knew better than to even try to talk to him. But my wife and I would watch as others went down in flames. One guy in particular comes to mind. A middle aged guy, wearing a Rams jersey...Approached Faulk as he was chatting with two smoking hot girls in the bar of the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City. The guy professed his love of the Rams and told Faulk how great a football player he was. Faulk just stood there and said one word...emotionless...expressionless...he said "ok"...in a tone that easily could've translated to "get lost" or worse. A long, awkward pause ensued. Faulk said nothing. The girls acted like it was the most humorous thing they'd ever seen, while unsuccessfully acting like they didn't want to show it. The guy, undoubtedly feeling very embarrassed just skulked away. Faulk and the girls then proceeded to make fun of him. I was sitting about five feet away and was disgusted. I stopped being a Faulk fan at that point.

[Bigdaddy]

One of the best encounters I've had (outside of paid appearances) was with John Wetteland at the ballpark when he was a pitching coach for the Mariners.

John came over and signed autographs before the game for all the fans and really engaged them in conversation, asking questions about them. He seemed genuinely interested. John signed a couple of cards for me and left a big impression.

[Orioles1954]

Best: Brooks Robinson. Although in line at an event, he treated me like an old friend and asked to have his picture with me. What then ensued was a 10-minute conversation of our love for University of Arkansas Football, the state of Arkansas in general and our histories there. Native Arkansans tend to get along great with each other.

Other Best: Eddie Murray. Gets a horrible rap. However, one summer day in 1985 when I was 9 years old, I met him at a car dealership in Catonsville, Maryland. We talked baseball for an 1-1/2 hours and signed 10-15 items for me. He promised a home run ball from one of his teammate and delivered. Kind and amazing to me.


Worst: Frank Robinson and Mike Heath. I won't expand on this.

[ceast]

Best: Warren Spahn at a small local card show in the 90s. He was very personable and chatted with me for several minutes. Auburn Heisman Trophy winners Bo Jackson, Cam Newton and Pat Sullivan...all three took the time to interact with my kids at the photo op. I also had about a 30 minute conversation with Sullivan at a civic event a few years earlier. About 5 years ago Dale Murphy at a small meet and greet took the time to visit individually with everyone there (going to see him at another event tonight).

Virtually everyone at AA Montgomery Buscuits games from 2004-2011. My kids got tons of pictures, balls and bats from Evan Longoria, James Shields, David Price, Wade Davis, Stephen Vogt, and a ton of other current/former players.

Worst: Mike Mussina after an exhibition game. Completely blew everyone off, including me even though he had told a mutual friend he would take a minute to speak to me and sign a jersey.

[Michael B]

I had been pondering this for a while as I had several long responses to the question. To me the best overall are Olympians. I have met hundreds of Olympians over the last 35 years and, as a rule, they can be some of the nicest and most accommodating athletes. Unlike pro athletes it is even better when you are familiar with their careers or saw them perform at some small event where few people attended. I have also befriended quite a few Olympians. Hilary Smart, who won a gold medal in sailing in 1948 with his father as his crew, was a member of my Olympic collectors group. Whenever he saw me at one of our shows he would say 'Let me sign some autographs for you to sell and make some money". He also sent me signatures of his long deceased father for my collection. I collect original photos of Olympians and have a very large archive of over 8,000 images. When I am going to meet someone I usually have photos to sign. I always make copies for them as they usually have not seen the photos before. They are very grateful that I can share with them. There are a few that can be cranky - Cheryl Miller and Mia Hamm come to mind, but they are in the minority.

One interesting aspect of getting autographs of Olympians is the reaction of professional athletes who were also Olympians. When you tell someone you want their signature because they competed in the Olympics it usually catches them off guard. Hockey players Jim Nill and Mats Naslund both signed better than usual signatures and added their teams; Team Canada 1980 for Nill and Tre Kronor with three crowns for Naslund. World Champion boxer Amir Khan is another. I met him at the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016. He was just signing his name, which was fairly illegible. I told him that I wanted his signature because he was an Olympian he signed his name, spelled it below and added '2004 Silver Medal 2004 Athens Olympics'. One last one is Kurt Angle. He was doing a book signing for his first book. You never know how a book signing is going to go, but I brought along some Olympic items - ticket, photo and poster. He signed the book, photo and ticket rather easily. When he saw the poster, a 1996 Olympic logo poster already signed by about 60 or so 1996 Olympians, he asked if I really wanted him to sign it. I told his sure since he was a gold medalist at those games. He was quite humbled.

I will add one or two more stories, probably tomorrow, including one about a player that many people so far have said is one of the worst.

[btcarfagno]

I had been pondering this for a while as I had several long responses to the question. To me the best overall are Olympians. I have met hundreds of Olympians over the last 35 years and, as a rule, they can be some of the nicest and most accommodating athletes. Unlike pro athletes it is even better when you are familiar with their careers or saw them perform at some small event where few people attended. I have also befriended quite a few Olympians. Hilary Smart, who won a gold medal in sailing in 1948 with his father as his crew, was a member of my Olympic collectors group. Whenever he saw me at one of our shows he would say 'Let me sign some autographs for you to sell and make some money". He also sent me signatures of his long deceased father for my collection. I collect original photos of Olympians and have a very large archive of over 8,000 images. When I am going to meet someone I usually have photos to sign. I always make copies for them as they usually have not seen the photos before. They are very grateful that I can share with them. There are a few that can be cranky - Cheryl Miller and Mia Hamm come to mind, but they are in the minority.

One interesting aspect of getting autographs of Olympians is the reaction of professional athletes who were also Olympians. When you tell someone you want their signature because they competed in the Olympics it usually catches them off guard. Hockey players Jim Nill and Mats Naslund both signed better than usual signatures and added their teams; Team Canada 1980 for Nill and Tre Kronor with three crowns for Naslund. World Champion boxer Amir Khan is another. I met him at the Boxing Hall of Fame in 2016. He was just signing his name, which was fairly illegible. I told him that I wanted his signature because he was an Olympian he signed his name, spelled it below and added '2004 Silver Medal 2004 Athens Olympics'. One last one is Kurt Angle. He was doing a book signing for his first book. You never know how a book signing is going to go, but I brought along some Olympic items - ticket, photo and poster. He signed the book, photo and ticket rather easily. When he saw the poster, a 1996 Olympic logo poster already signed by about 60 or so 1996 Olympians, he asked if I really wanted him to sign it. I told his sure since he was a gold medalist at those games. He was quite humbled.

I will add one or two more stories, probably tomorrow, including one about a player that many people so far have said is one of the worst.

Speaking of Mia Hamm, I have a feeling that she may be one of those Willie Mays type of personalities. She had a fundraiser for youth soccer in New Jersey where she held a dinner for those who raised money and then went on an indoor field to play a pickup game with the ones who raised the most. My daughter was one who raised in the top ten in the state so she and my wife got to sit at Mia's table to eat. Now...Mia was also like seven or eight months pregnant at this point as well so I'm sure that had to add to the grouchiness as well for sure. She was nice enough during dinner but seemed very shy and "to herself", like she had to force speaking with those around her, even the kids. Not unfriendly just pretty uncomfortable.

Then it was time for the pickup game and she stepped on to the field like a completely different person. She completely changed and was talking and engaging and high fiving and laughing and even talking some minor smack with some of them. Even as pregnant as she was when she was on the soccer field she was wonderful with the kids. It was like she stepped over that line and was in her element again.

So I completely understand the Mia Hamm cranky thing. But we saw a different side of her in the same day.

[Baseballcrazy62]

I was at the airport standing in line at the gate and Bob Feller was in front of me. After he checked in at the counter I asked the young lady if she had any idea who Bob Feller was. She had no clue and I told her about his career. Our flight was delayed and he was by himself and I went and sat next to him in the terminal. We talked about his career and the all star games he appeared in here in Detroit. The stories were incredible.When we were done he told me his son was picking him up and asked me if I needed a ride to the resort I was staying at. I politely declined and we went our separate ways. One of the greatest conversations I ever had with an athlete. What an incredibly humble guy. I was so wrapped up in the conversation I forgot to ask him to sign a couple of the baseballs I had with me. Thanks Bob!!

[whitehse]

It's funny how stuff stays in your head from when we were kids. I was hanging by the wall at Wrigley Field and Kurt Bevaqua was warming up in front of me and two other kids. To me he was pretty cool as he was immortalized on that 1976 Topps baseball card after winning the bubble gum blowing competition with Joe Garagiola and I really wanted his autograph. He kept promising to sign when he was done warming up and when he was done he said he would be right back to sign for the three of us and disappeared in the dugout. I was disappointed but hey, what was I going to do?

Fast forward to last year when I spotted him on Facebook as we had a mutual friend and I made a comment that I knew he would see about stiffing me on the autograph forty years ago. His response?

"Andrew, I've been looking for you and those other 2 boys for 30 years.message me and we will figure that autograph thing out."

True to his word he sent me an awesome autographed 8x10. We are now connected on Facebook and speak occasionally. He is certainly a pretty cool guy, just as I thought he would be when I was so much younger.

[joshuanip]

Went to a card show back in the 90's that featured free autographs, from Ali to Campy to Namath. My father was getting M Ali's autograph and he asked if he "can write a little bigger" when Ali was signing his glove. Ali retorted "did you call me a ni---?" Ali paused and my dad's eyes popped out of his head. Ali paused and my dad profusely apologized, then Ali let out a little grin..... At the same show, I would also have him sign my glove and without asking, Ali pointed his finger at the other glove in my hand so he can sign as well, without asking!

Ali was a class act and funny one to boot!

[cool-vintage]

I've never had a bad experience meeting an athlete then again I've only met athletes as a young teen and child so maybe there aren't many athletes who are going to be a jerk to a kid. In my life I've meet a few Royals minor leaguers from years ago at a signing before a Royals game, Jason Ruff when he played for the Kansas City Outlaws a former minor league hockey team, and my favorite one with a great story was meeting football hall of famer Bobby Bell at the post office.

This was in mid-December of 2010 I was 14 at the time, and I was at the post office shipping a package. Behind me there is an older man so he decides to talk to me he asks what a want for Christmas, so I'm thinking this is just going to be a normal conversation with someone. (Anything to pass the time waiting in line.) I reply with the first thing that came to mind which was some CD's he then asks how much that would cost, so I panic and just say $20. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out $20 and tries to give it to me. I of course was unaware of who he was at this time, so I didn't feel okay taking money from a stranger. After the bill was passed to each other for a few minutes he finally gives up, however he gave me something before he left. As I am paying he hands me a (new) tube of chapstick with a picture of a Chiefs player and the name Bobby Bell on it. He told me not to sell the chapstick on ebay. (Since I still didn't know who it was I was like why would I sell this?) When I got home I finally connected the dots... A football hall of famer tried to give me money. I still have the chapstick to this day.

I would like to know though what was his limit? What if I wanted something that was $100?

[JollyElm]

Two that come to mind as being extremely friendly were both sort of local heroes on Long Island, so they won't matter much to most people outside of NYC, but they are both quite memorable to me.

Gerry Cooney, 'The Huntington Heavyweight,' ambled into the gym I use to train at, making a huge splash as everyone ate it up. A couple of us 'sparred' a bit with him and, man, did we look out for that left. A monster of a human being. What a great attitude he had, and this was really at the pinnacle of his (pretty short-lived) fame, so he was very much in demand as millions of New Yorkers were rooting for him like crazy. He left a great impression on everyone.

Over the years I ran into Jets RB legend Freeman McNeil a whole bunch of different times at a local 7-11 (which, strangely enough, was way off the beaten path, but it was near his home). He would be standing there sipping his coffee with a slight smile on his face, just sort of minding his own business, like he was in no hurry to go anywhere. So once I said, "What the heck?" and went up to him and introduced myself and said what an honor it was to meet him. He whipped out a huge smile and we got to talking football for a long while. An absolutely incredibly friendly and nice guy, but it was sad in a way, because it was late in the afternoon and he told me that due to all of the injuries he suffered playing football his entire life, every day it took until the afternoon for him to feel like he had any sort of 'normal' mobility at all. He didn't say it in any way like it was a complaint, just a fact of life for him. After that day, each time I'd see him he would give me a smile and a knowing nod and sometimes we'd chat for a bit. I frickin' love that guy!!!!!!

[BruceinGa]

I should add another good experience. About 10 years ago while playing in a local softball tournament I was surprised to see former Atlanta Braves pitcher, Terrell Wade, pitching for the opposition. He was friendly and after the game even stopped by out dugout to speak to everyone. Btw, I believe I went 4 for 4 against him :p.
A year or two later he played on our league team.
He seemed like a "good" guy.

[slipk1068]

Great experience. These folks were so nice I would give them the shirt off my back:

Lou Brock
Phil Rizzuto
Mickey Rivers

Neutral:

Johnny Mize. I asked him a question. He ignored me, so I repeated my question. Still no response. In hindsight he was 80 years old and maybe hard of hearing and didn't hear me.

Yogi Berra. Almost bit my head off for asking which World Series ring he was wearing. I guess I was supposed to know he always wears 1953. Maybe it was just the tone of his voice, but he didn't seem happy with the question.

Not nice. I wouldn't give any of these players 2 bits for their autograph:

Hank Aaron. Not nice to any of the fans. Didn't seem happy to be collecting $30 each to scribble his name on 4 my baseballs. If you don't like the fans, do only private signings. people can send in their stuff and you don't even have to acknowledge them.

Whitey Ford. A kid asked if he could take his picture. Whitey said sure and didn't even look up for the photo. Just kept signing stuff. Same as above, stick to private signings.

John Franco. Signed my card in water soluble ink. It was a Mets Booster Club Banquet. He was introduced and came out signing for folks with his own marker. I handed him card and tried to force my sharpie on him but he refused it. I went to my table dipped my finger in water glass and erased the signature. Then my wife took the card and sharpie and grabbed his marker as he was about to use it again and forced him to use my sharpie. Hundreds of autos he signed that night that are junk today. I don't believe for 2 seconds that this was anything but intentional.

Lee Mazzilli and Ralph Branca. Both smudged the autograph. I believe it was intentional. Branca even went as far as to say I am gonna hate him. Hate is too strong a word.

[dodgerfanjohn]

Best - Steve Garvey. Sat directly behind him at a Dodgers game about 20 years ago. Understand that I was 7 in 1979 when I attended my first Dodgers game, so Steve Garvey was a real big deal to me. Through the first 5 innings, Mr. Garvey must have signed 100 autographs from fans approaching him. Even though I was seated directly behind him, I was iffy about asking for an auto just because he was there with his family and dealing with so many people asking for auto's. I eventually ran to the souvenir stand and got one of those cheapo team logo balls and waited until the inning finished. Mr. Garvey was extremely nice and we were able to talk for a short bit. Still have the ball displayed:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4653/39093243095_daf844456b.jpg

In person I always address the signer as Mr..... Even though I'm mid 40's and some of the signers are younger than me, I've found being polite and a bit formal goes a long way. My other really positive experiences were Pee Wee Reese, Ernie Banks, Orel Herschiser

Shawn Green, who was extremely nice and has a very distinctive and elaborate signature:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/39907018152_353452e53c.jpg

And even 90 year old Tommy Lasorda who was a surprise replacement for Scott Alexander at Fanfest this past Saturday. A boisterous "Good afternoon Mr. Lasorda!" worked wonders. FWIW, his time was supposed to be 2:50pm to 3:40pm, but he stayed until 4:30 until he had signed for everyone in line:

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4770/28159474879_edcdfe1e21.jpg

Worst ever was Dave Winfield. I was still a kid...around 22 when I got his autograph at a show. Wouldn't look up or acknowledge me at all. Signed off center badly on the ball...just not a pleasant person.

[oldjudge]

In the early-1990s I took my older son to a show in Central Connecticut. When we got there I found that Whitey Ford was signing. When we entered the room there was literally no one near Whitey. He was sitting alone at a table looking bored. We walked over and I started a conversation with him. He was great. He told us a story of his time as a spring training pitching coach working with Al Leiter. Apparently Al was having difficulty throwing first pitch strikes. To help him along Ford made a bet with him—every time he threw a first pitch strike in a pre-season game Ford owed him a beer. A first pitch ball meant he owed Ford a beer. We chatted for about ten minutes. I think my son got his autograph (I did not, but I’m sorry I didn’t), but I’m not positive of it. All I remember is that the greatest starting pitcher in Yankee history was a real gentleman.

[whitey19thcentury]

I am fortunate to have met many celebrities and athletes because of our business and business contacts. Certainly, my interaction with athletes are a bit different than 20-25 years ago when I was in my teens and before when I was pumped just to get an autograph.

The nicest that I can remember when I was younger was:

Enos Slaughter at then 1994 ASG Fan Fest. I got a photo with him and I remember him saying something like "Don't be shy, sonny."

Al Kaline and Brooks Robinson were awesome. They were at the Robert Morris show while I was a student there and I got their autographs and also made small talk.

I remember Warren Spahn and Eddie Mathews both being polite, but kind of curt.

Off the top of my head, the Pittsburgh athletes that I have met or had interactions with that really stand out as being good guys are: Steve Blass, John Wehner, Freddy Sanchez, Sid Bream, Manny Sanguillen (of course!), Pirates President Frank Coonelly, Gerrit Cole, Clint Barmes, really there are too many.

As far as the bad interactions:

I saw Billy Ripken being a jerk to fans after a game while I was traveling with Fox Sports.

My wife and I were at a GOP fundraiser right before Lynn Swann announced he was running for governor. We were the first people there, and in the room was literally us, Swann, a waitress and the bartender. Mr. Swann came over to us and introduced himself (!) and was awesome to talk to. He obliged us with a photo and I knew his reputation as a notorious non-signer, so I dared not ask. The poor waitress came over and asked for his autograph. He said: "If I sign for you, I have to sign for everyone." Granted, other than us four, just the bartender was there, and he was clear across the banquet room.

On another note for Swann: We ran into him a few years later at a charity function, we got a photo again, and before we got it take, he told me wife to put her glass of wine down. LOL

As for me personally with the negatives: This may be a shock given his reputation, but Andrew McCutchen. I won't go into details. Both times were at charity events. I gave him a pass on the first time thinking he may have been having a bad day, but this past summer, his actions made it seem like the first time was the norm.

The coolest former athletes that I have met that I would hang out with anytime are Steve Blass and John Wehner. What awesome guys.

[jsq]

since most of the above are focused on baseball players i will list a few pleasant experiences (wife was with me on all of these so that certainly helped) mainly with other sport athletes:

enjoyed hanging out with Edmund Hillary at his house on remuera dr in auckland, walked his den on the lower level with him, literally history on the walls! he used a small amount of oxygen to climb everest but most of his other adventures were oxygen free, and those other adventures were and still are legendary in climbing and exploration circles - now thats a pair of lungs. he was strong as a bull also.

Edmund was very quiet and humble guy. especially so for someone whose picture was, at that time, adorning his countries currency in circulation. the 5 pound note as i recall, i still have several notes somewhere which he autographed for me (it was me who asked for the autograph, he was embarassed to be asked).

-------------

peggy fleming was most gracious and very pleasant, we were at a party after a tv skating show which she was a commentator on. she has a vineyard and we discussed that a bit.

----------------------

mickey mantle, excellent and treated both my wife and me excellent. he was totally sober. i was a bit tongue tied on this one, one of the rare times in my life. (along with gehrig, mickey is my favorite ball player. after hearing some tales about his treatment of fans when drunk.... very glad he was sober!!)

------------

joe dimaggio, met him in atlantic city and made small talk about how the tables were treating him. lots of smiles and quite gracious.

------------

bob feller, another favorite of mine. good experience. what an arm!!, can you imagine playing pro ball and THEN going back for your high school graduation ceremony! what a life.

-----------

we stayed with the new england patriots at their hotel in scottsdale for the 2008 super bowl. after the loss the hotel was like a morgue. we had expected to be up all night. lots of us went to bed early.

on a plus side we met up with reggie bush who had been a big noise with his heisman win a few years before and was about to have a super bowl appearance the next season, and his high school teammate alex smith. both were quite pleasant and we listened to them for quite a while and had a good time in spite of the patriots loss.

i am not a small guy, but you really get perspective on large humans when you get into an elevator with a few of the patriots linemen.

--------------

a group of 30 of us had the owners suite (kfc - yum brands suite) at the kentucky derby the year the queen of england was attending. we had by far the best seats in the house. brown and forman suite is the only thing that compares. richard petty had an all access pass and as a result could get up to our floor. he came in and was a hoot. he told us he wished he had as good a seats as us and generally made us all feel ten feet tall.

speaking of ten feet tall we met a several of the jockeys the days leading up to the race. they were short of stature but tall in graciousness and courtesy explaining stuff to us.

---------------

on the friday before the indy 500 we were guests of mari hulman george in her owners suite for the friday races.

the next day wife and i took a hot lap with one of the friday race drivers, the friday race is kinda the minor league to get to be a indy 500 driver, its called the "indy light series" or ILS.

sebastian saavedra, who some years later did drive in the big race, was our driver. a very nice young man from colombia. with hot laps they take you for a ride in a genuine race car from the ILS series, we did 130 mph on the wall going into the curve, pretty cool. you are literally about 2 or 3 feet from the wall on the curve with him - coming out of the curve we were still doing 100 mph. i am a former gearhead and i've done 120 straight away on public highways with my 1960's street car and wife is cool so it was very unique and a lot of fun going into a curve on the wall at 130 mph. we talked to sebastian for a while afterwards, he was driving for the andretti team and had big hopes for the future. great guy.

we had an all access pass for indy day and got to walk the track and the pits right up to about an hour or so before race time. about an hour before the race started we were talking to one of the pit crews and i noticed them handling the tires like they were nothing, the tires are much larger then street tires. i was perplexed at how strong they must be?? much to my surprise he handed me one, this is a tire to be used shortly in the race mind you, it weighed nothing. they are filled with a special chemical which helps make the tire very light. either that or i was suddenly very strong for just that day.

****also too a person we never met so many nice people as at that race in terms of race day drivers and pit crews. they totally understand it is the fans that pay for all the hoopla. nicest group of professional athletes you could hope to meet. *****

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while surfing met some former low level pro surfers, they were ok, which considering what you hear about surfers was a major surprise.

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played a pickup basketball game with former chicago bulls center bill wennington. patrick kane of the blackhawks was training at the facility and joined us along with patricks sister who was a college athlete as i recall. patrick and bill were very nice and it was a fun game.

a different time we got to ride the zamboni during the blackhawks game and meet the team - good people.

----------------

many others but these were some of my favorites.

------------------------

one oddity i will mention, but not the name. wife and i were at the after party for the american music awards. a former minor league baseball player and long time espn sports guy, with a show on espn, and his wife, were sharing a standup table with us having drinks. she was great, a real good looking lady and an extremely pleasant and conversant person. the espn guy couldn't say much of anything. for a guy that talks for a living we found that kinda funny.

[baseball tourist]

The absolute best:

1) Mike Myers of Austin Powers movies etc. fame. Met him in Toronto bar on a quiet night in April and - as I was hanging out with other SkyDome Hotel (now Rogers Centre) colleagues and a now infamous hotel guest and Blue Jays trainer
and alledged steriod go-between for Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee - a few hours of drinks and amazing interaction and laughs turned into a pick up game of baseball at 2am, on the field at the stadium with borrowed Blue Jays bats and gloves. A night I will never forget. Fast forward 2 years and I share the same subway car with Mike who looks at me and immediately places me - saying with a wink that “I was the worst shortstop he ever played on a MLB field with”. Total
Class Act. Truly.

2) Wayne Gretzky:managed his named restaurant in Toronto for 2 years in mid-90’s and met him and his family several times (Wally is the best too!). Had the pleasure of backing Wayne up on the bar a few times as he attempted his best impression of Tom Cruise in “Cocktail” - bottles flying and crashing everywhere!

3) Hank Aaron - multiple interactions over 2 days as he was a guest in the Hotel and as I was the Concierge on duty. Shared advice, stories, rode a golf cart together to the Jays clubhouse, gave me his biz card (VP with Braves) and said to contact him when in town. Amazing!

Very positive, lengthy interactions (mostly during private tours of the SkyDome/Rogers Centre and/or Hotel events or check ins): Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Warren Spahn (at the HOF in Cooperstown), Dave Winfield, Carlos Delgado, Robbie Alomar, Shawn Green, Paul Beeston, Joe Carter, Paul Konerko, Shaq, Vince Carter, Roger Clemens, Pinball Clemons, Doug Flutie, Tracy McGrady, Kobe, Chauncey Billups, Dr. J., Hakeem, David Stern, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, John Travolta and Kelly Preston, Pat Tabler, Ed Sprague, Lloyd Moseby, Cito Gaston, George Bell, Tom Henke, Kelly Gruber, Sugar Ray Leonard (in Vegas), Jack Black (drinks at the an airport bar the day before my stag night in Vegas).

[sycks22]

I've had some good experiences in the past couple days with NFL stars in down for the Superbowl. Ladainian Tomlinson / Drew Brees were super nice guys to have a quick chat with and get their autos. Terrell Davis said "I respect the perseverance you guys have for autographs" He went on to ask "What do you guys do with these autos?" It was also awesome seeing Rodgers / Montana within 30 minutes of each other. Last night Jim Brown walked by and his handler wouldn't let him sign anything, but we shook his hand. Best part of the night was having two older guys from Boston take a picture with a guy who was a sleep on the lobby couch.

[Snapolit1]

Met my childhood hero Darryl Strawberry and both times he was down to earth and just a nice guy. And once was on a 630 am flight. Ouch.

[luciobar1980]

I only have a best. David Wright. Around 2011 I was sitting eating my lunch on a stoop in Manhattan and what do I know, here comes David Wright walking down the sidewalk. I am a Mets fan and a David Wright fan so this was particularly surreal. He saw me coming and he could just tell I was about to get up and say something to him and he just kinda got a good-natured but embarrassed look on his face. Walked up, told him I was a fan, shook his hand, and he was all teeth. Seems like a great guy.

[mr2686]

For the most part, baseball players I have met have at least been cordial, but a few have gone above and beyond to either be really nice, or a complete ass.
Let me preface the list with the fact that I am always polite, always say please and thank you to them, and never ask questions of them unless they engage me first.

Beyond Great: Brooks Robinson, Gary Carter, Carlton Fisk, Sparky Anderson, Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray
Brooks was the nicest for many years until I met Carter and Fisk. Both players talked to me for like 10 minutes and were genuinely "baseball fans" not just players.

Funny: Warren Spahn, Tony Gwynn.
Tony was pretty reserved and gave a WTF look when my wife went total fan girl on him, but after I explained she was a San Diego State Alum, he started laughing and loosend up.
A show promoter tried to rush Spahn along because he was taking too long talking to one of the kids. Spahn told him "go to hell, I'm teaching this kid how to pitch". Still makes me laugh thinking about that.

Bad: Hank Aaron, Dave Winfield - Just kinda unfriendly in general.

Total Dicks: This category is reserved for Pete Rose and Willie Mays
This was not a situation (for either player) that they were having a bad day or are just reserved around strangers. I've met them at multiple shows each, and each time they were the biggest dicks you'd ever want to meet. If it wasn't for the fact that I needed certain things signed, I would never have put myself through the experience. A collector friend went with me for his first meeting of Mays. My friend was very polite but came away with the same opinion of him. Oh well.

[esd10]

I have meet a couple baseball player one being derek jeter when he played for the clippers at a big bear on brice rd in columbus and it was free he signed a xerox black and white photo and he was a nice guy. I met ozzie smith back in the late 80's at my grandfathers rax restraunt in st Louis and he talked to my brother and i for a few min and was super nice.

[Exhibitman]

Can't do a thread like this w/o mentioning boxers. Some of the absolute friendliest, nicest down to earth guys you will ever hope to meet. I've been to a few HOF related events and some other times too, so I've met quite a few. Some highlights:

--Ali: always good stories about the GOAT. I met him before his diagnosis but it was clear he wasn't well. He didn't say much but he stayed at a show for hours beyond his scheduled appearance to make sure everyone got a signature. Really impressed me; only other athlete of his stature I've ever heard of doing that was Babe Ruth.

--Emile Griffith: Multi-division champ and HOFer. I met him several times at various events. A really nice man. Towards the end he was at a point where he enjoyed meeting fans but really had very little recollection of his career or much else. 339 championship rounds--the most in history--will do that to you, I guess.

--Gaspar Ortega: a great 1960s battler from L.A. I asked him to sign a striking pad for me. He did so, then pulled out his own photo and signed it to me.

--Carlos Ortiz: another HOFer. Absolutely cracked me up. I saw him signing for people at a HOF show and said "I have a card of you but I didn't bring it." He put his hand on my shoulder and said "Face it my friend: you f***ed up." Then signed my glove.

--Jeff Chandler: another HOFer, Joltin' Jeff came to my table at a HOF show. We had a nice conversation and he signed a card for me. Actually thanked me for remembering who he was afterwards. This is a multi-division champion and HOFer who thought people might not remember him.

--Terry Norris: Terrible Terry was a 4 time champ and HOFer. I see him around town--he has a gym near my office. Not only is he nice to fans, he is nice to clerks and so on. I was behind him at the grocery store and the clerk had no idea who he was; she was really surprised when I told her because she said he is always so nice.

--Ken Norton: I met him once at a HOF show. The show itself was pretty much over and he was coming in for the banquet afterwards but he took the time to come into the show and greet and sign for all of the people who were still there.

[drcy]

Not a famous person-- I don't recall meeting anyone famous--, but have a worthy related story.

I've for a good number of years volunteered and house managed plays at a neighborhood non-profit playhouse/art gallery, and there is this maybe 70 year old lady who's always at the functions and ALWAYS donates money, buys stuff and otherwise supports the place. Has always been the nicest, most down to earth person who is friendly and humble with everyone there, whether you're the executive director or a volunteer usher. I've always known her by name (everyone there does), and I finally decided I'd google her to see what she did and so to determine how she could afford to always donate money. Turned out she is a member of the 38th richest family in the country. Her family founded and still privately owns the Fortune 500 truck manufacturer, Paccar.

[darwinbulldog]

Not a famous person-- I don't recall meeting anyone famous--, but have a worthy related story.

I've for a good number of years volunteered and house managed plays at a neighborhood non-profit playhouse/art gallery, and there is this maybe 70 year old lady who's always at the functions and ALWAYS donates money, buys stuff and otherwise supports the place. Has always been the nicest, most down to earth person who is friendly and humble with everyone there, whether you're the executive director or a volunteer usher. I've always known her by name (everyone there does), and I finally decided I'd google her to see what she did and so to determine how she could afford to always donate money. Turned out she is a member of the 38th richest family in the country. Her family founded and still privately owns the Fortune 500 truck manufacturer, Paccar.

That's cool. Sounds like she's living a good life.

And I'll have you all know I'm a member of the 38th richest family in my subdivision.

[howard38]

.

[jsq]

as a huge fan of the yankees it is said to hear that slick was a "*ick!

ironically i saw a dick cavett interview of mickey and mickey was laughing about billy martin being traded because he was identified as "the" bad influence. micky laughed and basically said it was whitey who was the influence.

glad you had some good experiences with some of the others




Whitey Ford. A kid asked if he could take his picture. Whitey said sure and didn't even look up for the photo. Just kept signing stuff. Same as above, stick to private signings.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

When I promoted my show in Jim Thorpe in 2016 I had 3 guests, Al
Oliver, Ron Greschner, and Nick Fotiu. Attendance was pretty sparse, and autograph seekers were non-existent. Well Ron and Nick talked Hockey with my dad and anyone else who was interested and even walked around chatting with dealers. They kept asking if I had anything else for them to sign. Al was awesome. I was very busy that day, but he and I managed to trade baseball trivia back and forth. None of them were watching the clock and I can't imagine nicer guys. They almost made the financial beating I took worth it!

[Exhibitman]

The ones who are rude at paid events piss me off. I may be off for thinking this way but if you are an athlete trading on your celebrity to make a good living the least you can do is be polite to the paying customer. Reminds me of a Judge who was a real bastard on the bench. Just needlessly cruel. He called s friend of mine a gutter drunk because his collar was turned up. Stuff like that. There was at least one cringeworthy moment every session. When he retired he tried to get into mediation and arbitration and he started to make the rounds of Bar events to glad hand the attorneys. He came up to me and tried and I just laughed at him. I said “you were such an a***ole on the bench there is no way I would hire you.” I can’t figure bothering with players who treat you like crap.

[Sophiedog]

The ones who are rude at paid events piss me off. I may be off for thinking this way but if you are an athlete trading on your celebrity to make a good living the least you can do is be polite to the paying customer. Reminds me of a Judge who was a real bastard on the bench. Just needlessly cruel. He called s friend of mine a gutter drunk because his collar was turned up. Stuff like that. There was at least one cringeworthy moment every session. When he retired he tried to get into mediation and arbitration and he started to make the rounds of Bar events to glad hand the attorneys. He came up to me and tried and I just laughed at him. I said “you were such an a***ole on the bench there is no way I would hire you.” I can’t figure bothering with players who treat you like crap.

Great Post! I feel the same way.

[Bored5000]

Can't do a thread like this w/o mentioning boxers. Some of the absolute friendliest, nicest down to earth guys you will ever hope to meet. I've been to a few HOF related events and some other times too, so I've met quite a few. Some highlights:

--Ali: always good stories about the GOAT. I met him before his diagnosis but it was clear he wasn't well. He didn't say much but he stayed at a show for hours beyond his scheduled appearance to make sure everyone got a signature. Really impressed me; only other athlete of his stature I've ever heard of doing that was Babe Ruth.



While perhaps not as big a name overall as Ali and Ruth, Richard Petty was known for decades for how willing he was to sign. Racers on the whole are much like boxers for how down to earth and fan friendly they are, but so much of Petty's reputation was that he wasn't just the best driver; he was also amazing when it came to signing autographs for hours and hours.

[Bored5000]

Can't do a thread like this w/o mentioning boxers. Some of the absolute friendliest, nicest down to earth guys you will ever hope to meet. I've been to a few HOF related events and some other times too, so I've met quite a few. Some highlights:

--Jeff Chandler: another HOFer, Joltin' Jeff came to my table at a HOF show. We had a nice conversation and he signed a card for me. Actually thanked me for remembering who he was afterwards. This is a multi-division champion and HOFer who thought people might not remember him.



Adam, one of the best books I have read in recent years was Tris Dixon's amazing book "The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing's Wastelands." The premise of the book is that Dixon spent several months criss-crossing the country on Greyhound buses and staying in bus terminals/fleabag motels in search of as many forgotten boxing champions or cult heroes as he could find. The premise is pretty much "Glory of Their Times" for boxers instead of baseball players.

https://www.amazon.com/Road-Nowhere-Journey-Through-Wastelands/dp/190962652X

Dixon tracked down over 40 former boxers, many of whom have since passed away. He saw lots of really sad sights; boxers who now suffered from dementia and had nothing left to show for their careers. He phoned Jake LaMotta and told LaMotta that he wanted to talk about his career. When LaMotta asked how much he was going to pay, Dixon stated nothing. The phone line then went dead.

Iran Barkley shook down Dixon for $10 after a photo was taken. But Dixon was not upset, since it clearly appeared that Barkley could use the $10. Dixon bought a $20 t-shirt for Matthew Saad Muhammad, only to have Muhammad literally sell the shirt off his back for $15 because "you can't eat a t-shirt."

Some of the boxers were moved to tears that anyone even remembered their career or wanted to talked about it. Jeff Chandler could not believe a white guy walked though one of North Philadelphia's most violent ghettos and knocked on his door to talk about his boxing career.

Dixon found a listing for a "Dwight Qawi" in the Camden, N.J., phone book and called the number. Qawi answered the phone and said he would be "right there" when Dixon told him he wanted to talk about his boxing career. Qawi then became agitated when Dixon asked too many questions and snapped "We ain't doing my life story."

Dixon called former light-heavyweight champion Harold Johnson to set up a meeting. Johnson said on the phone that he would be thrilled to talk about his career, then forgot he had ever talked to Dixon in the 45-minute span it took Dixon to arrive at Johnson's apartment. Dixon stayed in contact with Johnson several times after that initial meeting, and the boxer never remembered any of the prior conversations. Dixon would then tell Johnson that he was just a fan who wanted to know how one of his favorite boxers was doing these days.

[Exhibitman]

Read it some time ago. It was as you reported. Try "In This Corner" by Peter Heller. The real boxing analog to The Glory of Their Times because he interviews guys who were fighting in the teens through the 1970s

[Pat R]

I've been to a lot of nascar races but I'm not an autograph person
especially when it requires waiting in a long line.

It was 2001 at Dover Delaware the first nascar race after 9/11
my wife and I were walking through the area where all the souvenir
trailers are and Rusty Wallace was signing autographs at his so I stopped
to take a couple of pictures.

There was a long line and some how he found out that a woman in the
back of the line was the wife of a New York City firefighter so he had
someone go get her and bring her into the trailer. He gave her a hug and
thanked her and if I remember correctly I think he signed a few things
from the trailer that he gave her besides whatever she brought to get
signed.

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[Bored5000]

Read it some time ago. It was as you reported. Try "In This Corner" by Peter Heller. The real boxing analog to The Glory of Their Times because he interviews guys who were fighting in the teens through the 1970s

I am familiar with the "in This Corner...," book, but have not pulled the trigger on buying it. :)

[Taxman]

Now I know the rest of the story behind these figures. Also check out the BBB press pin.
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