Talkin' BB with our heroes....tell us of your experiences ?

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I was impressed at the nice responses I received for posting this story in another thread. So,
I will reprise it here for anyone that missed it......and, hopefully spark an interesting series of
Net54er's posting their personal conversations with BB players.

The following is a pretty accurate recollection of my conversation with Ted Williams in 1984.
We talked for about 45 minutes and I would like to share with you this part of it........

I recognized Ted Williams in Cooperstown. I started the conversation by telling him that......

ME.....Ted, although I was an avid Yankees fan as a kid in the 1950's, I always rooted for you
to hit a HR at Yankee Stadium.
..........and sure enough, many times I saw him hit a HR....way up into the RF upper deck.

TED....If you're a Yankees fan, why did you root for me to hit a HR ?
ME.....Because your name is Ted; and besides, I always expected the Yankees would win the
AL Pennant, anyways.

TED....(he smiled) why are you a Yankees fan ?
ME.....because Phil Rizzuto was my nearby neighbor in Hillside, NJ

TED....if the Scooter was on the Red Sox all those years, we would have been the Champs.

Then I turned the conversation to his BB cards. He was like a little kid.....I still remember how
enthusiastic he was "talkin' BB cards".

ME.....are you aware of how rare your 1954 Bowman card is ?
TED....no, but I signed a contract with Sy Berger of Topps in 1954 and no other Gum Co. was
allowed to portray me.

Then, without me asking him, Ted went on this long dissertation telling me how Sy Berger was
annoyed with him in 1959, when Fleer approached his agent to do a series of cards depicting
Ted. Fleer offered Ted $500 to do this series of 80 cards. Sy Berger offered Ted $1000 to stay
with Topps. Ted started laughing, as he told me that a bidding war between Fleer and Topps
ensued.
When Fleer upped the ante to $5000, Topps relented. And that people, is the real story behind
the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set....straight from Ted, himself.

TED....Just think about it, that was a lot of money back then for having your pictures on a set
of gum cards.
ME.....Ted, you ain't kidding, that was my Dad's annual salary in 1959.

We talked some more as we walked, and then Ted had to meet some dignitaries.


TED Z

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Posted By: barrysloate

Now that's a cool story.

I met Joe DiMaggio in the 1980's, at a Bowery Savings Bank, and the amazing thing is that although he was there to sign autographs (it was in Brooklyn and I was able to walk to it), there was nobody there but me. Somebody finished up and when it was my turn I had his full attention.

After he signed my Bowery Savings Bank card I asked him why he appeared on so few baseball cards, particularly why he never appeared on a Bowman or Topps card. He seemed confused, because he replied he was pretty certain he was on a Bowman one. I'm sure he was thinking of Leaf. We chatted for another minute or two, and he was very polite. But I will never forget that at that moment I was the only person there and had his undivided attention.

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Posted By: Richard Simon

In the late 1980's a friend of mine who had talked to and befriended Ted Williams at a card show told me he just received a phone call. It came from Ted's agent at the time the infamous Vince Antonucci. Vince had just obtained a large collection of autographs. He invited my friend and I down to Fla. to view and purchase items. Vince at the time owned a large card store not far from where Ted Williams lived. Vince was also the agent for Monte Irvin. I have a nice collection of NY Giants wirephotos including many of Monte and a few Ted Williams wirephotos. I brought them with me to Fla. We took a quick flight down and drove over to Vince's store. We walked in and there sat Monte Irvin (Vince was also his agent). Vince introduced us to Monte. The autograph collection was spread all over the many showcases in his store. Monte graciously signed all my wire photos and told me the "inside story" behind each one. I relished every moment.

Vince did not want to discuss business that day, so my friend and I took Monte to lunch and dinner, all the while being regaled with stories by Monte. He went back to our hotel and continued. What a wonderful day and what a gracious man he is. One of the nicest days I have ever experienced.

But the most exciting time was still to come.

The next morning we went back to Vince's store.

I started to look at the collection, and my friend turns to Vince and says, why don't you call Ted and tell him that I am here. My friend was an ex Marine and that was a common bond with Ted and how Ted remembered him. Vince calls Ted, says John from NY is here, come on over.

Vince then says to me,,, "don't bother Ted when he gets here, he does not like to talk much." About 15 mins later driving up to the front door in a jeep comes Ted. I get introduced and Ted then, with me trailing behind, marches up and down the store looking at all the autographed items. Every player he knew something about, he would tell me a story about that guy. He tells me how Billy Hoeft once struck him out, ("I had two strikes on me, he kept throwing me curveballs and I kept fouling them off, then he snuck a fastball by me") in the 9th inning of a 1 run game and the bases were loaded, and the papers in Boston creamed him the next day "Ted Fails in Clutch" were the headlines. This after he had won the first two games of that series single handed. It was one of the best 90 minutes of my life.

====

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.

Unknown author

--

We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.

No retreat baby, no surrender.

The Boss

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Posted By: Kenneth A. Cohen

Having grown up in the DC area, I went to the 1962 All-Star game and I still have the program. When a game participant is signing in the area I usually buy a ticket to get them to sign the program. A year or so ago Ernie Banks was signing so I purchased a ticket. We chatted a bit and I finally said, "Ernie, before we part company I have to hear you say, Let's play two.'" He asks, "Do you want me to write it?" I tell him that that would be great. So he signs my program on his picture - "Let's play two! Ernie Banks"



I walked away feeling like a 10-year old kid.

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Back in the 1980's, I was set up at the BB card show in Valley Forge, PA. Ernie Banks entered
the showroom (he was the signing guest that day). He went around to every dealer table and
shook hands with everyone and talked with them.
Then, later in the day, Ernie went around to each dealer asking for various types of cards and
memorabilia.

A really fine gentleman, and what an enthusiastic person.


TED Z

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Posted By: barrysloate

Ted- I was once at a baseball card show and saw Ernie Banks coming towards me. I didn't want to bother him so I didn't approach. But he actually volunteered to shake hands and say hello. I was very impressed.

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Posted By: Matt Hart

I had the pleasure of going to Phil Rizzuto's house a few months before he passed. I had a photo of him sitting in the bullpen at Yankee Stadium that he never saw. He smiled and kind of chuckled. It was nice to see that he enjoyed the photo. He said he never saw that photo. He chatted and signed some items. He was an all around good guy.

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Posted By: phil bornstein

My dad took me to Cooperstown during induction weekend in the mid 1970s. We stayed in some crappy motel. Induction weekend was not the big deal it is today and while there were plenty of people milling about there was not much security. On our way into town we passed the Otesaga Hotel (the grand old hotel where the players stayed). Dad figured we oughtta go in and look around and maybe get lucky getting an autograph or two. He sat me down on a couch in the lobby while he went to "look around" and check things out. I was maybe 12.

A few minutes later a few random people sat down on the couch with me and the chairs across from me. They start chatting and included me in the conversation a little. It was an odd group of people but all very nice to me. Before they all walked off one guy said- we should all sign that kid's hall of fame pamphlet (i must have been holding it) so he remembers who he talked to today. That guy signed on top (famed new york sports writer Dick Young) - followed by Cool Papa Bell, Bob Lemon, Mrs.Willie (Mae) Mays and Stan Coveleski. One of the oddest group of autographs you can imagine- but always brings a smile to my face. Cool Papa Bell stayed and talked to me and Dad for about a half hour after that- sure wish I remembered what about.................

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Posted By: boxingcardman

I posted this back then but this thread seemed like a good place to reprise:

I had a really great experience yesterday.

A friend invited me to Dodger Stadium to have lunch with Don Newcombe and to meet the current team, as part of a charity thing he'd won at a golf tournament. It was amazing. We met Newk at 2:00 sharp and spent the next hour and a half on the field at Dodgers Stadium. I met Shawn Green, Paul Lo Duca, Manny Mota, Maury Wills (who gave me tips on teaching my daughter to field), Jose Hernandez, David Ross and Alex Cora. Jose Lima was really cool; gave my nephew his batting gloves. My nephew, who is 5, also got to meet Eric Gagne and got a single-signed ball. I had the players sign my hat and had Green sign a 2001 Upper Deck Vintage card (the ones that look like 1971 Topps cards). I also took a bunch of pictures and an hour or so of video. Best of all, I was able to get Don Newcombe to tape a greeting for my Dad, who was a Brooklyn Dodgers hardcore fan, and sign a nice personalized team photo for him.

The field is like the nicest golf green you have ever seen. The players are all a heck of a lot bigger and stronger than they look on tv. Most are about my size (6'3") but built a heck of a lot differently. They also have a lot of fun that you never see. The pitchers were taking bunting practice and playing games with it, and the regulars were playing home run derby. Honest to God, they were putting the ball into the bleachers and giving different points for the closer orange seats and the farther away blue seats. Green even smashed one into the scoreboard, which must have won him something. You cannot believe how hard these guys can hit until you are ten feet away in an empty stadium listening to the ball explode off the bat.

Lunch was great. Newcombe played 2 years in the Negro Leagues and then 3 in the minors and 10 in the majors, so he saw it all and did it all. Since my friend and I are baseball history nuts (me much more so than him, which is why he wanted me there to talk with Newcombe), we had a hell of a 2+ hour discussion about what it was really like back then. Among the more interesting things we learned:
--The best pitcher he ever saw: short term, Koufax. For a career, Spahn and Roberts.
--The toughest hitter: Stan Musial. I asked him about Williams. He said that he faced Williams a couple of times in an all-star game. Teddy Ballgame hit the hell out of the ball all four at bats. Two were caught over the fence, the others were long hits. I said I guessed he was pretty tough too; Newcombe sighed and shook his head.
--Beanballs: He was adamant about the lack of quality of today's pitching because of the reluctance to go inside. He said that his era had pitchers who dominated the plate (which is why Clemens is the pitcher he likes most today) and there were never the fights that break out today. It was just part of hard, tough play. He said that once at Wrigley, Duke Snider had a home run and the Cubs hit Rocky Nelson, the next batter. Robinson asked him to do something about it. Newk threw at the next 7 Cubs. The ump came over and told him to stop, as did Alston. Alston said if he did not stop, he'd have to come out. Newk told him to take him out after the next two because he still had two batters to throw at. Alston yanked him. He also said that no one threw at him because the pitchers all knew that they'd have to stand in against him later on.
--Minnie Minoso: I asked him if he'd played with Minoso in the Negro Leagues because I'd heard the guy was a character. Newcombe said no, he wasn't a character, just crazy. He said that there was only 1 restaurant in Tampa Bay that would serve the black players, so all of them ate there. Minoso liked their chicken and would order it every time. The others would come over to talk with him and steal the chicken to eat. Finally, Minoso got so mad that he spit on all the chicken and dared the others to take it. Of course, he had to eat spit covered chicken afterwards.
--Racism: I asked whether he felt he had been held back because of his race when he was signed. He said absolutely, that he was 54 and 9 in the minors over 3 seasons, but Rickey was reluctant to promote too many black players at once.
--Chuck Connors: the Rifleman was a teammate of his in the minors. He said that the only time someone charged the mound against him was when a redneck came at him. he ducked out and Connors "beat the hell out of him." Connors said that he (Newcombe) wasn't allowed to fight, but he (Connors) was allowed to fight. Afterwards, he was approached by an elderly black man who said that he had done the right thing not to fight. It was Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.
--Jackie Robinson: I asked whether it was true that Robinson told the black players to get out and mingle with white teammates. He said they were very careful to do that. In fact, the clubhouse man had put all 3 guys (Robinson, Campy and Newk) lockers side by side by side and they insisted that they be spread out instead.
--Josh Gibson: He pitched to Gibson and says that he was every bit as good as any major leaguer, and then some.
--Batting Practice: He used to throw BP instead of throwing on the side between starts, which he said was great for him and for the batters because he could work on live batters and they could hit live pitching. He claims that the Dodgers started using a screen at his request because he was tired of ducking liners. They used to try to hit it through the box at him and he would always threaten to knock them down. Carl Furillo was the "best" at hitting back through the box in BP.
--No pepper: he has no idea what the reason is why pepper was banned. He said that he and Furillo played it constantly as a means of improving their control.
--Drysdale: Whenever Drysdale had a batter who liked to dig in, he'd yell: "Keep digging, because you are going into the hole!" and then throw at them.
--Cheating: Lew Burdette taught him to throw a spitter. He in turn taught a number of players on other teams. I asked him if it was a feeling of pitchers against hitters and he agreed that there was a cameraderie among pitchers that extended beyond teams to the point where they would share information and techniques. He also told me how pitchers load it up today. You can go to the mouth off the mound and there is no way to force the pitcher to dry off afterwards. I asked him how a spitter worked (I already knew from physics, but I wanted to hear what a pitcher thought about it). Sure ehough, he had a practical explanation of what the ball does that fits right in with the physics explanation: the ball is thrown straight as a fastball and it dives. (The scientific explanation is that a spitter works by changing the wind resistance on a ball, causing a straight looking pitch to dive). What I did not realize is that water and sweat don't work. It takes spit.

Anyhow, it was an awesome experience to talk baseball for hours with a ROY-MVP-Cy Young winner.

Oh, I had him sign all 3 of his Exhibit cards, a 1956 Brooklyn team card and a 1955 Bowman card.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

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Posted By: Stephen Mitchell

Since Ted Z. started this thread and Ted W. has been mentioned a few times, I'll continue with the theme.

It was 1982 (I think) or '83. Ted Williams was appearing at a Connecticut show. (I think it was his first formal show signing.) There were 50 or so tables in the room with hardly a customer at any of them but a long line snaking around the room waiting for Ted's autograph.

The show was a two day event and we were doing just awful in terms of sales. But the second day was the best and made the show a real winner for us. Before the show opened to the public Ted came in and walked the room, shaking hands and posing for pictures. Longtime Maine collector Bob Thing had his camera handy and Ted willingly posed for a picture with me. As a kid from Maine and, of course, longtime Red Sox fan, it was a highlight!

As an aside, one of the vistors to see Ted was Duke Snider who drove up from New York where he was calling ballgames for the Expos (I think).

And, to top things off, Bob Wood brought his dad, Smoky Joe down to see Ted.

In the end, sales were rather poor but it was one unforgettable show!

Steve Mitchell

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Posted By: Jeff Lichtman

Adam, thanks for that. I'm a huge Dodgers fan....and those stories are priceless. I can't think of too many current players, however, that I'd want to spend all that much time with today. Newcombe is a very interesting guy.

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Posted By: Scot

Ted Z.,

Thanks for the great BB card story!

Scot

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Posted By: Gary Cieradkowski

I was always interested in the Negro Leagues since I was a boy and my Grandpa used to tell me about seeing the Newark Eagles at Ruppert Satdium back in the 30's and 40's. Back in the late 80's when I was in college in Baltimore I got to meet Leon Day, the great pitcher of the Eagles who lived near by my apartment. A mutual friend, and great guy, Dr. Bob Hieronemus introduced us. I spent a bunch of spare afternoons in his house, up in his baseball room talking about his times in the game. He answered any questions I had and really gave me an insight into the Negro Leagues from a guy who was there. Little things stand out in my mind... how he though pitching today was so soft, no bean-balls to keep a batter honest... how each team always had a singing group made up of the players to entertain on the bus rides (Leon liked Louis Jordan tunes)... how the players were just picked up by teams either through word of mouth or playing against small teams on off days. Those afternoons were so much fun for me and Leon and Dr. Hieronemus later would invite me to private Negro league reunions where I got to talk ball with a never ending group of old players. Their happiness and willingness to talk about their time as professionals was infectuous! One thing I that really stuck with me was that 99% of those guys didn't regret that they didn't play in the white leagues. They had a pride in theirown league and felt it was just as good as the majors. To them, it WAS the majors. The guys that were bitter were fellas that played out in the west or the Negro American League, particularly guys from the Monarchs. I guess they had to deal with more rascist crap than the Eastern guys. Anyway, a few years later I was the lead graphic designer on Oriole Park and through that got to meet all the current major leaguers. Some were nice. Most were bland. Some, including the O's biggest star at the time was a real scum bag. But those Negro League guys, especially Leon, were why I love baseball so darn much.

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Posted By: PC

In the late 90s I was at a Yankees game with a few friends. Great seats, just off the third base dugout near the on-deck circle. About 10 rows up from the field. In that area one would sometimes find "The Shaker". The Shaker was an overweight guy with long frizzy hair, balding, who wore sleeveless t-shirts that showed off more body hair than anyone really needed or wanted to see. Periodically, he would rise from his seat and do this Elvis-like dance, with his arms raised up, shaking. A real character, who you'd see from time to time on Yankees broadcasts coming back from a commercial break. I haven't seen him in years (maybe he's still around, I don't know).

At one point in the game David Justice, who was then on the Indians and pretty well paid, struck out (badly). On his long, slow walk back to the dugout, I yelled to him "Justice -- next time, hit it with your wallet". I remember that sounding a lot louder than I expected it to, and Justice glared over at our seats. Of course, that elicited a half dozen "what are you looking at" responses from fellow Yankees fans, at which point The Shaker rose from his chair, pointed at Justice (who was still walking and looking), and went into convulsions.

I just about laughed my beer through my nose.



Oh, and I met Gil McDougald in Spring Lake NJ once at a friend's house. I was 11 and didn't have much to say.

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Posted By: Ken McMillan

I got to meet Ernie Banks at Cubs fantasy camp a couple of years ago. Very nice person!!! I specifically remember having beers in the photographers room with Mr. Cub himself. He asked me who my boss was and I told him my wife is my boss. He had me call her up and he chatted with her on the phone for about 5 minutes or so. Definitely gave her a thrill getting a personal phone call from Ernie. Also got some great pics and autographs at the same time. Doesn't get much better than that.

Kmac

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Posted By: Ken McMillan

Another camp story was during the banquet on Saturday night, Fergie Jenkins and his wife came to the table where my wife and I were sitting and asked if he and Lydia could sit and have dinner with us. Was an honor to have a Hall of Famer ask if he could have dinner with you when there were many other seats in the room. I definitely said "YES". It was a wonderful evening. Also interesting to see Joe Pepitone and his wife for the evening after you had just seen his head minus the wig he wears a few hours earlier.

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Posted By: Mark L

I think it was in 1969, when I was about nine, that I got to talk with my hero. I was ordering a hot dog at a concession stand at Forbes Field when I struck up a conversation with two very nice women who turned out to be Mrs. Manny Mota and Mrs. Roberto Clemente. We talked for a while, and I remember that they were smiling a lot and very gracious. After the game, when I was waiting for autographs by the clubhouse door, I spoke again to Mrs. Clemente. She very kindly offered me a chance to talk with my absolute hero of all time, the great Roberto. When he came out of the clubhouse, he was surrounded by fans. She said something to him, and he led me over to where his El Dorado was waiting, opened the door on the passenger rear side and told me to wait there. The driver, who I now figure was Phil Dorsey, gave me a menacing look but didnt say anything. Anyway, Roberto eventually came back and I got out, and we talked about baseball for some time but since my head was spinning I dont really remember for how long or exactly what he said. I remember him asking me about what position I played and me telling him. I remember asking him about the Pirates and about hitting and him telling me something about the importance the wrists. At one point, he said my English is not so good, but I thought he was eloquent. Thinking like a nine-year old, I asked him if he dreamed in Spanish, and after pausing for a few seconds he said that he did. He kept talking and gave me a very beautiful autograph. When it was over, my head was spinning. Having grown up a bit, I now appreciate his patience and generosity in taking time to talk with me while his beautiful wife and Cadillac sat there waiting to take him home at the end of a long night.

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Posted By: Michael Steele

Great stories. Thanks for starting this Ted.

I really do not have an adult story of meeting a hero but I was a lucky kid as I got to meet and spend time with Carl Yaztremski in Novemeber 1967 at a Sportsman Show in Boston. This was of course, right after the impossible Dream season and Triple Crown year for Yaz so he was ultra popular in Boston.

The lucky part is that I have an Uncle who went to Merrimack College outside Boston and Yaz was taking classes also at Merrimack in the early 60's to finish his degree after leaving Notre Dame early to play pro. My Uncle and Yaz were friends during that time and socialized.

So here I was with my Dad and Uncle at the show and Yaz is the guest star of the show and my Uncle arranges for us to hang out with Yaz during a break in the show. Just myself, my Dad, Uncle and Yaz in a back stage room just talking for probably 20 minutes. I was pretty awestruck but I remember Yaz asking me my life ambitions showing me how to swing a bat, telling me to never give up in life and signing a couple of personalized photos. A nice memory of my childhood hero.

Michael

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Posted By: Dan McCarthy

One of the best memories of my childhood was when the All-Star game was in Boston in '99 and my dad took me to the FanFest. As a nine year old, I was completely awestruck by the vast amount of baseball things going on in a single place. Even then I was an avid baseball card collector (with a cache of 1999 Topps cards squirreled away somewhere in my room), and there was a free autograph signing that I knew I wanted to go to. The newspaper had published who was going to be there during the FanFest but not when they were appearing, so in order to be prepared for all circumstances I had my mom bring me to the (now out of business) baseball card store and I bought whatever cheap cards I could conjure of the players slated to be there. Though the line was very long, I had some packs to open and was thrilled when the Topps rep started handing out preview cards of the brand new 1999 Topps Tek cards (the ultimate in "shiny stuff!!!"), so I kept busy. When we finally got to the front of the line, we got autographs from:

Enos Slaughter
Carl Yastrzemski
Don Larsen
Don Schwall
And a few others that I forget (all the signed stuff is at home and I'm at school so I can't check).

Despite the Hall of Famers, the best ballplayer we met was Maury Wills. I handed him his 1981 Fleer managerial card and he burst out laughing; admittedly, it isn't the most flattering photo. We talked about his card for a moment and he joked about his poor managerial record, and then we talked about his stolen bases a little and he offered to take a picture with me -- I think he was amazed that a little kid knew who he was. He struck me as an incredibly kind and genuine man, and the photo of us is still on my shelf of baseball memorabilia.

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Posted By: barry arnold

great stories!!
as far as pre-war-- when i was in grad. school in '75, I got to see
Jo Dimaggio and Johnny vander meer play in an old timers game.
When Jo rounded the bases upon hitting a homerun, he waved at me in the stands,knowingly, or at the other 500 behind me.
a bit more personal,but not pre-war--
in 1980 i had the privilege of teaching Hank Aaron's daughter in a prep school in Atlanta and got a hand shake and baseball signed Best Wishes to
Barry Arnold from the Home Run King himself.
His daughter did really well in my class.

all the best,
barry

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Posted By: macboube

Thank you for sharing re. Big Newk. I had the pleasure of meeting with him over lunch at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. Truly a gentle man whose passion for life, baseball...the Dodgers, was overwhelming. A throwback by every sense of the word.

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Posted By: Mark Evans

In 1973 or 1974, I had occasion to interview for a job with an Atlanta law firm. [I didn't get it.] The firm arranged for me (and the other candidates) to interview on the same day that Hank Aaron was scheduled for an appointment. [As I recall, the firm represented Aaron with regard to a promotional contract with Magnavox.] I met Hank and his wife in the firm's lobby. My memory is vague but I recall the Hammer as pretty reserved. His wife, on the other hand, a tv personality, was downright effervescent. Perhaps she saw the awe on my face.

In the late 70s, I shared an office (Washington, D.C.) with a fellow who was related by marriage to Dick Howser's wife. My colleague arranged for me and several other buddies to get tickets to a Yankee game in Baltimore. We sat behind home plate with those Yankee wives who had made the trip. Howser's wife, as I recall, was very friendly and pretty. "Stormy" Dent made quite an impression as well. After the game, we were invited to join the Yanks in their clubhouse. Again, my memory is vague, but I recall chatting with Dick Tidrow over a beer. The highlight of the trip was dinner with Howser (then third base coach) and his wife at a seafood restaurant the Yanks frequented in Baltimore. I can't remember too much (a theme of this post, I'm afraid) but I do recall my surprise at how candid Howser was in speaking to us strangers about the Yankee ballplayers. In particular, I recall him stating that Reggie was a total jerk, pretty much despised by the rest of the team, in part for his propensity to flash a wad of 100's whenever he got the chance.

Mark

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Posted By: Richard Simon

In the winter of 1953 my dad had to go into the hospital for minor surgery. He was in a semi private room and the guy in the next bed was Hank Thompson, 3rd baseman for the NY Giants. We were Giants fans.
The reason for Thompson's hospitalization is a rather interesting one. He was in a fender bender with a taxi cab. He gets out of his car and approaches the cab to see if the driver is ok. The driver sees this husky black guy coming towards him, fears for his safety, takes out the bat he kept in his cab for protection and whacks Hank Thompson over the head with it.
The first game we went to in 1954 my dad marches my brother and I down to the area behind the Giants dugout. He signals to the security guard who comes over. Then my dad says to the guard "tell Hank Thompson that Ben Simon is here to see him." The guard tries to wave us away but my dad insists that he go into the dugout and get Hank Thompson. The guard eventually goes into the dugout and out pops Hank Thompson. Too many years have gone by for me to remember what was said, but I do remember shaking hands with him.
For an eight year old, that was quite a thrill.
On my first ever trip to the HOF I went down to the file room and asked for the Hank Thompson file. One of the wire photos in the file is one of Hank Thompson in bed at home, with his wife changing the dressing on his head. The caption explained the story.
==

I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent.
Unknown author
--
We made a promise. We swore we'd always remember.
No retreat baby, no surrender.
The Boss

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Some of you have heard this before....but, for many of you that haven't....I'd like to share it with you.

Growing up in Hillside, NJ (1945-1960), I was lucky to live only 2 blocks away from Phil Rizzuto. Monday
nights (usually an off day for the Yankees) Phil would visit us kids at the Catholic Youth Organization
at St. Catherine's Church school. Many of us kids would gather around Phil, as he held court with us.

In the Spring of 1954, Phil bought a Nash Metropolitan (2-seater) car. It was a "cuddly" little vehicle
that initially was the subject of ridicule. We always knew when Phil was on his way to Yankee Stadium,
for when he came down our street his little car had a distinct engine roar (similar to a lawn mower).


Now we advance time to early April 1984....Newark (NJ) Airport. I get into the line at the United ticket
counter. And, Phil is in front of me.

ME......Phil do you still have your little Nash Metropolitan ?
PHIL....(he started laughing) No, no, but I wish I did. It was the most economical car that I ever had.

ME......Where are you heading ?
PHIL....Chicago....Comiskey to do the game.
ME......Me too, to Aurora (IL) to the Western Electric plant.

We go to the Terminal lounge and Phil buys us several coffees. We were there talkin' Baseball and rem-
iniscing about the old neighborhood for 2 hours (due to a snow delay at Newark).

We boarded the plane. Phil goes to 1st class and I'm in "back class". Phil came to the back of the plane
and invited me to be with him in 1st class. The next 2 hours on our flight to O'Hare, Phil and I "covered
all the bases" from Joe DiMaggio to Yogi Berra to Reggie Jackson to Donald Mattingly.

The most interesting part of our conversation centered on the 1949-1953 seasons. He related to me of
many events and insight into the ballplayers that made those 5 seasons so successful for the Yankees.


GOD Bless the "Scooter".


TED Z

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Posted By: Steve

This has got to be one of the best threads I have read in forever. Thank you all for sharing your stories, they have all been a joy to read.

I've not had the luck of hanging with any HOF'ers, I do have a close friend who played ball, Carl Willey. He was never a superstar by most standards, but he did pitch against the Yankees in the 1958 World Series and spent 8 years in the major leagues. I've never been to a World Series game, never mind pitched in one, so to me that is pretty impressive.

I've had the pleasure of spending countless hours at Carltons house talking baseball. To sit and listen to stories about playing with Aaron, Spahn, Burdette and facing guys like Clemente, Mays and Musial has been so much fun to an old time baseball fan like myself. One of my favorite stories of his is the first time he faced Stan Musial. Carlton said the first pitch he threw him, his foot slipped off the rubber and he threw the "greatest changeup I ever threw" which Stan swung and missed. He said that he thought to himself, "This Musial guy ain't so bad, I got him figured out already!" Well the next pitch he threw Stan was another change up that "is still probably flying today!" He has story upon story like that which he has shared with me, I just wish I could tell them like he does, because there are some great ones.

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

Back in 1994 (I think), Billy Williams was signing autographs for free at a small show at a community college near my house. I was 12 years old, and had been collecting cards for around 3 years at the time. This was in midwestern IL, so I knew a little about Billy Williams from the local card shop and card shows that I attended with my father. I was a huge Ken Griffey Jr fan at the time, but did not really have a favorite team at the time. It just so happened that my father was a White Sox fan, so I had a White Sox jacket and a Frank Thomas "Big Hurt #35" hat on. In all my pre-teen genius, I decided it would be a good idea to wear all of this White Sox clothing while I was meeting a former Cubs player.

When I walked up to the booth, Billy just looked up and smiled at me. He introduced himself, and I told him that I was a fan of his and pleased to meet him. He signed my item (a program from a recent National Convention in Chicago) and asked if I wanted a picture. I walked around the table, and he proceeded to cover up the White Sox logo before we took the picture. I laughed, was a little embarrased, but it was all in good fun.

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Posted By: Tom Hufford

I've met several hundred players over the years, but a couple of experiences stand out.

I made my first trip to Cooperstown in 1971, for the induction ceremony and for the Founding Meeting of SABR. Someone told me the place to go was the Otesago Hotel, where the players stayed. So I went over there and found a chair in the lobby - there is absolutely no way you could do that now! An old fellow walked by, and someway I figured out it was Rube Marquard, there for his HOF induction. I asked him if he would sign my copy of "Glory of Their Times," and he said he would be glad to, if he could sit down first. So, he sat down, signed my book, and then we chatted for a while. Then he said "Do you mind sitting here for a few minutes? I'll go up to my room and get something to show you." Of course, I said yes.

After a few minutes, Marquard came back with a large scrapbook that he (or someone in the family?) had kept during his career. He sat down and went through every page of that scrapbook with me, it must have taken a couple of hours. I sure wish now that I had had a tape recorder! When I got home, I wrote Marquard and thanked him, and we exchanged Holiday cards for several years after that. I've always wondered what happened to that scrapbook.

I also met Harry Hooper, Zach Wheat, Larry Gardner, Ernie Shore, Bullet Joe Bush, and several other oldtimers on that trip.

On a more recent note, I grew up in Virginia, about 15 miles from the home of Jim Archer, pitcher with the 1961-62 KC A's, although I really didn't know who he was back then. I was just getting started in collecting.

Jim was on one of the Post Cereals cards in 1962. My mother actually took my checklist to the grocery store, and bought cereal based on what cards I needed. I remember going through the checkout line with her one Friday night in 1962, and the checkout clerk saw the box of cereal with Jim Archer's card on it. She exclaimed "There's Jim Archer's picture! I grew up with him, and have known him for all my life." So, Mother promptly opened the box, pulled out the bag of cereal, and gave the clerk the box (with the baseball cards) to take home! Not to worry, she said, she'd get another box with Jim's picture on it next week. Naturally, there wasn't another box next week, and remember, that was before Ebay. It took me over 20 years to finally get a 1962 Post Jim Archer card!

About a month ago, I was going to be in the Tampa area. I hunted up Jim Archer's phone number, gave him a call, and he agreed to meet me for breakfast. We had planned to meet for about an hour, but ended up going through lunch. I told him the story about my 1962 Post Cereals card. He didn't know who the grocery clerk was, but said "I probably did know her. There were 17 people in my high school class, everyone knew everyone else." Then he said "Guess how much we got for appearing on those cards?" I guessed "about $100." Jim laughed and said "No. They brought a big truck to the ballpark, filled with cartons full of cereal, and told us to take as much as we wanted. If you had a big car or a station wagon, you could take more cartons than the guys who had sports cars. I don't remember exactly how much cereal I got, but that was it."

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Posted By: Joseph

Not talkin' BB, but a memorable encounter with a sports star:

Early 1980s, the Mudd Club, a legendary downtown NYC nightspot. I spotted NY Rangers great Rod Gilbert with, as I recall, a couple of fine female accompanists. I'd respected his privacy until I found myself standing next to him at a urinal and, shortly thereafter, washing our respective hands at adjacent sinks in the men's room:

Looking at him, I said, "Aren't you Wayne Gretzky?"

He shot right back, "Aren't you Yvan Cournoyer?"

I couldn't believe I'd elicited such a cool response from Rod Gilbert! I told him he was one of my heroes. He said that nobody ever recognized him in places like that and was glad that I did. He then got very emotional and talked about how he was ruining his life--burning the candle at both ends, so to speak--and really shouldn't be hanging out like he was. This all happened in the time it took us to dry our hands. I went to shake his hand, but in lieu of that, he reached up with both his hands and pinched my cheeks and said goodbye.

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Posted By: Stephen Mitchell

Tom Hufford
(Login tomboy13) Not so much my heroes, but great memories anyway March 9 2009, 9:02 PM wrote:

I've met several hundred players over the years, but a couple of experiences stand out.

I made my first trip to Cooperstown in 1971, for the induction ceremony and for the Founding Meeting of SABR. Someone told me the place to go was the Otesago Hotel, where the players stayed. So I went over there and found a chair in the lobby - there is absolutely no way you could do that now! An old fellow walked by, and someway I figured out it was Rube Marquard, there for his HOF induction. I asked him if he would sign my copy of "Glory of Their Times," and he said he would be glad to, if he could sit down first. So, he sat down, signed my book, and then we chatted for a while. Then he said "Do you mind sitting here for a few minutes? I'll go up to my room and get something to show you." Of course, I said yes.

After a few minutes, Marquard came back with a large scrapbook that he (or someone in the family?) had kept during his career. He sat down and went through every page of that scrapbook with me, it must have taken a couple of hours. I sure wish now that I had had a tape recorder! When I got home, I wrote Marquard and thanked him, and we exchanged Holiday cards for several years after that. I've always wondered what happened to that scrapbook.

I also met Harry Hooper, Zach Wheat, Larry Gardner, Ernie Shore, Bullet Joe Bush, and several other oldtimers on that trip.
---------------------------
Comment: Tom's fond recollection of a couple of hours with Rube Marquard at Cooperstown in 1971 reminded me of my meeting him in '75 - also Induction Weekend. There he was (literally) waltzing the ballroom in his pink suit!

That weekend a few of us had the opportunity to also speak with a couple of opinionated fellows: Bill Terry and Edd Roush. I'm sure "Big Edd" had been asked questions about the 1919 World Series a million times before, but his animation showed no dimming of enthusiasm with the passage of time.

Steve Mitchell

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Posted By: Brandon Brown

February last year, I had the opportunity to attend a local show where Stan "The Man' Musial would be signing autographs. Being a lifelong Cardinal's fan, I opted to pay the seemingly signifigantly high $80 for the auto ticket. I decided that since I was only 32 at the time, way too young to have seen him play, this would be a unique opportunity to meet a true baseball legend in person, who let's face it, is getting up there in age.
Well, I got there about 1 hour early to make sure I got a good spot at the front of the line. When Stan finally arrived,we were let in to the room he was signing in. As each person approached the table, he would smile and sign the item(s) and his assistant would shuffle each person along. When it was my time to go up, he stopped and smiled, and looked at the July 1950 Sport magazine cover with his photo on it. He looked at me and jokingly asked if I got the magazine when it was originally on the newsstands. I explained that it was just one piece of my extensive Cardinals hall of famer collection, and he began asking about the other things I collect, and we discussed some of the othe not so well known players he had played with, and was impressed with, along with many other sports related issues. Before I knew it, 5 minutes had passed, and his assistant was nudging him to hurry. We said our goodbyes and as I left I got an opportunity to shake hands with one of my all time favorite Cardinals!
The people behind me werent too happy, but hey, I was thrilled!

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Posted By: J Levine

In the early and mid 1990s, every spring, I would drive to the University of Arizona in Tuscon and stay with friends who were attending college there. I would always try to catch a few games at Edison Park (home of the Whitesox Spring Training facility until this year, I think). I would usually just walk up the day of the game and buy a single seat behind home plate. Super cheap too.

One time, I bought my seat and went and sat down. I was sitting just behind home plate, behind a slew of people with radar guns, scorecards and notebooks. The person directly in front of me was a former major leaguer and it took me a moment to recognize Chico Carrasquel. Great guy and we chatted for a moment between innings. Around the third inning, an older gentleman sat down to my left and leaned over and said hello to Chico. As he leaned over I finally noticed him...it was Feller.

We chatted for an inning before he had to go. Before he left he signed my program and ticket (he offered to sign, I just wanted to shake his hand). He was wonderful to anyone who came up to him and was super knowledgeable. Asked me about my job, school, family, etc. Great chat.

Flash forward about 3 months and I was at a show he was signing at. I never do autographs and was just walking by the table on my way to see a dealer friend when I hear my name called. Turn around and Feller is waving! I wave back and walk over and we say hi and shake hands and chat for a moment. I was in baseball heaven. A Hall of Famer calling my name to come over! It was so great.

Still a fan of his to this day.

I have met many many former and current baseball players since then and have a few actual friendships with them, but that moment of Feller recognizing me and calling me over still stays with me.

Joshua

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Posted By: Fred Y

I had mentioned this in one of Ted's threads some time ago, but it is appropriate for this one as well.

Back in the late '80's-early '90's I was set up at one of Mike Riccio's weekend card shows in Stratford CT--Tommy Henrich & Mickey Owen were there to sign.

After the show I went to the motel lounge and sidled up to the bar for a couple of cold ones--Tommy had the seat right next to me & for the next 2 hours I had the greatest conversation w/ a ballplayer a fan could ever hope for! No matter what question or player I brought up, from Ruth to Mantle, Tommy had a fascinating story to tell!

I'll never forget that experience or Tommy's graciousness EVER!

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Posted By: LenK

met Harmon Killebrew (childhood hero..all-time favorite player) at his 1st California card show appearance in 1983...small show..not many in attendance, which surprised me....i brought my whole Killebrew card collection (almost everything at that time including proofs, test issues etc.) just to show him i was a big fan....he was super-nice and a kind, unassuming person...i nervously approached, said hi, shook his hand, took some pics and offered to show him my collection...we sat down at a little table and he started going through the pages..people were crowding around..i was really nervous...then he asked me: "How much do you want for it?"...i was surprised, but politely declined...took a few pics with the Killer...had him sign a bunch of cards and a book...a great memory...he didn't dissapoint

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Posted By: Rhys

Tom

All the cool stories you have told me in e mails over the years and some of the ones I have read on here, I hope someday YOU write a book about YOUR encounters with players and experiences around the game. Some of the players you have met and tracked down as well as some of the things you have heard are priceless and I hope you have them recorded somewhere. You can put me on the list as the first person who would buy the book.

Rhys

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Your experience with Tommy Henrich is very similar to mine. About 10 years ago he was the guest at a NJ BB
card show. After the show Tommy mingled with some of us dealers. Tommy and I talked for about a 1/2 hour.
I had to ask him about the events of the 1941 World Series.

Tommy was called "Old Reliable" by his teammates because he was one of the game's best clutch hitters.
Ironically, one of his most famous "clutch" moments at bat was "striking out" in the 4th game of the 1941 World
Series vs the Dodgers.

Dig this scenario......
Tommy was at bat with 2 outs and a 3-2 count on him in the 9th inning with Brooklyn ahead 4-3. Hugh Casey
pitches a dipping curve ball to Mickey Owen......Tommy swings and misses it, but so does Owen in catching it.
Tommy ends up at 1st base; subsequently, DiMaggio, Keller, and Joe Gordon rally the Yankees to a 7-4 victory.
And , go on to win this World Series.

This set the stage, arguably, for the greatest October rivalry Baseball has ever known. The NY Yankees and
Brooklyn Dodgers were to compete again for the World Championship crown in 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955,
and 1956. I have seen all 6 of these World Series; and, in my opinion, they were the greatest I've ever seen.

We had a great conversation, reminiscing over the "good ole days". I found it quite amazing how clearly he
recalled the events of that day in October 1941. He alluded to the fact that it wasn't all Mickey Owen's
fault....and, that Owen was expecting to see a fast ball....but, Hugh Casey threw him a curve that fooled
both Owen and Tommy.

Tommy, at age 96, is now the oldest living Yankee.







TED Z

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Posted By: Anonymous

Double post

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I told my Mom that I had a bad stomach ache. I wanted to stay home and watch the World Series game.
And, what a game it was....Don Larsen's perfect game vs the Brooklyn Dodgers. During the top of the 9th,
when Furillo, Campy and Dale Mitchell came to bat, I was praying for Don to get them out.
Needless to say, it was the greatest BB game that I ever saw.

About 48 years later, I ran into Don Larsen in Cooperstown on HOF weekend. As I approached him, I said
to him...."guess what was the only day I ever played hooky from school back in the 1950's ?"

He looked at me with a skeptical expression on his face. So we talked for quite a while about that day's
events, while he signed a few items for me.
We talked about the two great defensive plays that saved the no-hitter. You could see a sparkle in Don's
eyes when he recalled the head's up play by Gil McDougald getting the ball off Andy Carey's miscue of a
line drive off the bat of Jackie Robinson; and, rifled it to 1st base to get Jackie out by a split-second.
We talked about Mickey Mantle's great running catch of Gil Hodges long drive into "death valley" (left-center
field).
I found Don to be a very humble guy. He said "The Dodgers made it easy for me, I only threw 97 pitches".

Then as I was leaving, Don said...."I don't believe you ?"
I stopped and asked him about what ?
Don said...."I don't believe that Oct 8th 1956 was the only day you played hooky from school".

We parted laughing.


TED Z

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Posted By: John K

. . . I was in New York to visit my friend Bruno who was living in a hotel in Manhattan while he was boss of an insurance office there. I was very impressed with my friend, as he was a just a young man. We were going out and took the elevator down from around the 20th floor. After a few floors passed by, the doors swung open and in walks Mohammed Ali holding his infant daughter in his arms. Someone said, "Hello, Champ." And Ali remarked that his infant daughter was the true Champ of his household. He stood right in front of me facing the elevator door. His neck was as big as my waist and his fist as big as my head. Or so it seemed. Sometime mid-seventies.

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Posted By: LenK

John K......your Mohammed Ali story reminds me of one i have.....in the early 2000's my dad (who was about 72 at the time)met the great Ali at a wedding here in California....there was a crowd of people around him.....my dad approached, stuck out his hand and said: "Hi, i'm from the Joe Louis era"....and Ali (shaking pretty badly at this point in his life) looked down at dad and said: "You look like you're from the Jack Johnson era"

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Posted By: John K

Nice to see Ali's wit was not affected.

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Posted By: chris

Working at Toronto's SkyDome Hotel in the 1990's I was fortunate to meet a lot of players from teh Jays and visiting teams, as well as players from other eras. I got to know the skipper of the Jays in 1998, Tim Johnson and wife and mentioned that I was heading to Cooperstown to watch the HOF game to be contested btw the Jays and the O's.

Tim hooked my buddy up with tix for the game and HOF "team" passes, whcih was amazing! As I waited in the admin office at the HOF I noticed a gent sitting on the bench just down from me. It was Warren Spahn. We had a great chat and he was extrmely interested to talk about hockey - mentioning that he might have got into the game if it weren't for his talents as a picher (I'll say!).

Our discussion ended and he was lead off for a private meeting and I was left to wait for my freebies. About 20 mins later, upon exiting the bbuilding I ran right into an on-air TV interview with Warren as the focus. I acutally stumbled my way through a doorway, bumping into the HOF'er and almost teetering him off the "porch" were he stood. He righted himself, but I had reuined the interview and the camera man, reporter and producer were furious. Spahn was just the opposite - he remarked "it's my Canadian pal!" and went on to introduce me to the group and said jokingly "good thing he wan't Gordie Howe or he would have given me a hockey elbow right there!"

chris

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Posted By: Richard Cline - RC

It must have been the summer of 1974 when a local businessman took me to Chicago to see the Reds play the Cubs. He arranged (through Youth for Christ) for us to meet Don Kessinger. We arrived at Wrigley Field and made our way down the under stadium walkway to the Cubs dugout and eventually met Kessinger on the field. It was quite a memory to actually stand on the field as players were warming up and to meet one of the stars of the '70's. I remember Don being very cordial and pleasant but really don't remember any particulars.

Unfortunately, my strongest memory of the moment was the smell of the walk to the dugout, it smelled like a roadside reststop restroom.... but heck, that's a small price to pay for the experience.

RC

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

I meant to ask you if Joe DiMaggio gave you one of his Bowery Savings Bank BB cards ?








TED Z

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Posted By: Dan P.

Back in the early to mid 60's my father took me to a Sunday afternoon game here at Connie Mack Stadium for a Phillie/Cardinal game (I was still in school at the time). We were sitting in left field about 5 rows back. Bill White (then of the Cards) hit a homer right behind where we were sitting and we got on tv. In 1974 I had to go to downtown Philly (by this time I was already working). I went in by train and on the way home I wound up sitting near White (this was right after he started broadcasting Yankee games and he lived in suburban Philly). We were talking for a while and I told him how he got me on tv. Then in the mid-90's Ted Z and I shared a table at the card show in Cooperstown on Induction Weekend. White's 2 daughters were customers of ours (they were in town with their father who was N.L. President at the time).