I first became friends with Jimmy in early May of 2007. I remember the exact date even, as I had just lost out on a Lou Gehrig photo off of eBay. An action shot depicting the man trotting to first after hitting a home run may not have been super rare, but getting that image taken from behind home plate was a different story altogether. I knew from the moment I saw it that it was going to be a perfect image for a painting I had in mind. After contacting the seller and explaining that I wanted to get in touch with the winner in the hopes that he/she would be willing to sell me a scan, I was given Jimmy's contact info. I was still somewhat new in the game of making the kind of paintings I do now, and I was a bit hesitant to write him. Was I gonna sound like a weirdo to him? Would he understand what I was trying to do? He wrote me back with nothing but compliments on my work, and was more than willing to do anything he could to get a scan of the piece for me.
I didn't know that it was then that I gained not only a champion for what I did, but also came to befriend a human with a REALLY good heart. He was always in my corner - heck, he introduced me to this community soon after we met for the first time. We bonded over our appreciation for the images of the past, be it baseball or the beautiful cityscapes of Berenice Abbott. I mean, for those of you who were on this board in the early 2010s (and I'm sure before that as well) know that the man was a true connoisseur. He was also perhaps one of the most honest, square-dealing people out there. Whether you liked him or not (and I know there were plenty on both sides), he'd tell ya how he felt. And if you knew him personally outside of the hobby, you knew he was a character. And he took great pride in being that. But he'd give you the shirt off his back. And he gave the word 'loyal' a new meaning.
I know that the collecting community (be it baseball, photography and/or the Beatles) has a lost a great champion in Jimmy Catanzaro. And I've lost somebody who has definitely had a profound effect on my life. It may sound dramatic, but I really do think this world is a bit of a lesser place without him. I'm just glad that he's finally at peace and free of pain.
I'll miss you, brutha.
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