I told this story a few years back, but it's worth repeating. It's about an accidental meeting with Nellie Fox.
When I was a kid, maybe 13 or 14, my friend Steven and I went to Shea Stadium to see the Mets and Astros. Steven was a huge Astros fan and somehow he got these incredible seats in the front row behind first base. Don't remember how he got them, but they were as good as it gets.
As we were buying food throughout the game, we were accumulating loose change which Steven kept in his top pocket. At one point in the game he leaned forward, and all the change came pouring out onto the field, rolling in different directions. At that point we wrote it off and assumed it was lost.
Nellie Fox was coaching first base, and when the inning ended, to our surprise he ran over, got down on his hands and knees, and picked up every last coin and returned them to Steven. I don't recall him even saying a single word, and when he was done he ran back to the dugout. We said thank you and I know I never forgot that small gesture of kindness from a major league ballplayer. And when he made the Hall of Fame that was the first thing I thought of.
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