My "meeting" was actually by phone. Over in another BB card group, OBC, (yeah, we love beaters, too), I started up the Hall of Mediocrity....guys who had no shot at the real Hall but we liked them anyways. My guy was Billy Hoeft, who I had gotten interested in because of his several variation cards. One day I got an email from his son asking what this was all about, this Billy Hoeft Fan Club. I explained, he liked it, and that was that, until some time later. He contacted me again, explained that his brother was coming back from the Gulf and they were having a family reunion....any chance I would like to get on the phone with his Dad for a bit and ask any questions I might have? (Are you KIDDING me???) It happened, I had lots of off the wall questions, we talked a lot about his career and travels, players from the '50's and '60s', cards, the game, etc. Billy spent two hours on the phone with me, his sons listening, because they didn't know much about Dad's career, they had been too young. Fine gentleman was Billy, and he didn't have to do that. He just liked people and talking BB. I'll close with one of the questions I asked him........the difference between his era and today. He thought about that for just a moment, and said "I hate the way guys grandstand now, posing at home plate after launching one. We never showed anybody up. If anyone had done that to me, the next time I faced him, I'd throw a teaser low and away. I'd put the next one right in his f***ing ear.
Thanks Billy, for my Field of Dreams moment.
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