[zimp]

I had known Joe for many years....More as a friend than a collector.....We spent many nights in bars at shows just talking.....He once told me he would love to have Roberto Clemente's autograph....I told him my story of seeing Roberto when he was in the hospital after running into the wall at Forbes Field...I was visiting my grandfather at the hospital and took a chance of seeing if I could get into seeing Roberto....I asked a nurse and she said she would check....to my surprise she came back and said yes.....I went into his room and there was Mrs. Clemente and her mother sitting there and Roberto laying in bed.....I talked to him for about 5 minutes but had a hard time understanding what he was saying because of his accent.....as I was leaving I asked for his autograph but the only thing I could find was a sales slip from the gift shop.....so he sign that.....the next time I saw Joe I gave it to him....He couldn't believe it but never stopped thanking me for it....Sure do miss seeing Joe and just talking about life