One of my favorite hobbies when I was a kid was writing to retired athletes for autographs. I had a book that listed addresses for thousands of ex players. I wrote to Ashburn twice in care of the Phillies and he sent me an autographed postcard each time.
I probably had about 200 successes overall before I outgrew the hobby. The stories the last couple posters shared about meeting Ashburn reminded me of those letters. I had not thought about them in several years, but I am pretty sure they are still at my parents' house.
I don't know if you guys are familiar with this book, but one of the books on my bucket list to read is "Richie Ashburn: Why the Hall Not: The Amazing Journey to Cooperstown." I just have not had time to order the book and give it a read as yet. The book centers around Ashburn being kind to fan Jim Donahue when Donahue was a child and met the player during Ashburn's active career. Donahue subsequently got to know Ashburn later in life and started a grass roots campaign to get Ashburn elected to the Hall of Fame.
http://www.amazon.com/Richie-Ashburn...pr_product_top