I met Bob Feller several times when the Buffalo Bisons were an Indians AA team. It was always great to see him, and he has always been a pleasure to talk to. Maybe I'll get lucky and run across him in Cooperstown this weekend.
When I lived in San Antonio, I ran across David Robinson a few times in our local grocery store. It seems that everyone you talk to in San Antonio has met Robinson at least once, and everyone is impressed with how nice and down-to-earth he is.
At the Football HOF Induction Ceremony last year I seemed to constantly run across James Lofton. Everywhere I went he was there signing for anyone who approached him. With both Bruce Smith and Ralph Wilson being inducted, there was a very large Buffalo Bills fan crowd present. There were also many current and former Bills there, and many went out of their way to sign for the fans. One notable exception was Andre Reed who went out of his way to ignore the fans. I saw him several times, always with a phone up to his ear, and he had the largest "security detail" with him that I saw. He had more than any of the actual HOFers.
My uncle worked for the Buffalo Sabres, and I've met quite a few. I'll agree with what others have already, and hockey players are generally the nicest to meet. One big exception was Sabre great Gilbert Perreault. Always a jerk. Of course this was over 20 years ago, and I've talked to some folks who have met him in local establishments recently, and he seems to have mellowed quite a bit since his retirement.
|