[Archive]

Posted By: barrysloate

I actually had a very pleasant experience with Joe DiMaggio, another legend of the autograph circuit who was known for his prickly behavior. At the time, about 1987, he was making appearances at numerous Bowery Savings Banks and he was appearing for the day at the one in my Brooklyn neighborhood. I took a walk over in the afternoon, expecting to see a line snaking around the block. To my utter surprise, there was only one other person there getting an autograph; it thus became my turn, and I had his undivided attention as the only person present! I figured I needed to take advantage of this opportunity to talk to him, so I had to quickly come up with a question to ask him. I first told him I was baseball card dealer (probably a stupid remark in my nervousness, but he took it well) and then asked him why he appeared on so few baseball cards in his career. His response was odd; he thought for a moment, and then said to me: "I'm pretty sure I appeared on a Bowman baseball card." Which of course was wrong, but who was I to tell him otherwise. Anyway, having Joe's undivided attention for a couple of moments was a special memory.