[vthobby]

Thanks for sharing Tim......

I have a funny Gehringer story from the late 1980s.......

I used to roam Cooperstown as a teenager trying for autos on HOF weekend.

My average for free autos was around 12 to 15 over the course of a couple days but I had to really hustle for them.

Gehringer was elusive as he was getting older and was a "toughie"as we all knew. One day I was feeling it and ran up to him and his wife who were finishing a golf game. My friends were hooting and hollering at me as they knew it was futile.

I started telling the married duo all I knew about Charlie how I was impressed with his Batting Championship in 1937, and MVP, and his 6 All Star Games..... after each stat he kept saying "no".......as I was also in between breaths asking him to sign my baseball......finally an exasperated Mrs Gehringer says "dammit Charlie....sign the damn boys baseball so he will shut up and leave us alone!".

He stops walking, signs my baseball, and that was that, my friends were in disbelief! I was laughing all the way back to them with one of the nicest sigs in the history of baseball! His handwriting was impeccable!

Love that memory!

Peace, Mike