Quote:
Originally Posted by IndyDave
Anderson is about 20 miles up the road from me. Erskine is the only autograph I’ve paid for at a show in the last 30 years or so. Had a nice, if brief, interaction
He played the national anthem on his harmonica at a couple of Pacers games in 2013- a game against Brooklyn and a playoff game against Miami
I am pretty sure he played Back Home Again in Indiana at the state basketball finals. Johnny Wilson, mentioned in the story, was the 1946 Indiana Mr Basketball and later played for the Globetrotters.
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Same thing with me with respect to autographs. He did a signing two locally a few years ago with all proceeds benefiting the Special Olympics, and I was more than happy to pay the very reasonable fee he was charging. I also saw him play the National Anthem several times at Pacers games and had the pleasure of interviewing him once and speaking/corresponding with him a number of times. You would be hard-pressed to find a nicer and more humble ex-athlete from any sport. He was content with his accomplishments, and why not? But I always felt bad because his career was cut short by injury---he really played several years with a bad arm, and who knows whether he could have made the HOF. Yet he still excelled; by now I'm sure everyone knows about his W-L record, his 2 no-no's, the WS K record he set, and how he really dominated Mantle in the several times they met. Just as importantly, he is still a gem of a person off the field.