Old shows crazy things

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi GUYS AND jULIE,
I attended a ton of shows in the late 80's early 90's and did a lot of crazy things while I was there. One time I got paid 500.00 to ask Denny McClain to sign his prison number under his name. After Denny signed the ball he laughted loudly and gave me a big hug. Several years later I was offered 1200.00 to do the same to Pete Rose, and let us just say I didn't get the 1200.00 or the hug. I did receive 500.00 for my effort, but I thought Pete was going to kill me. If a bat had been handy he probably would have. Was I rude? Yes, absolutely, but I have to admit it was fun...........



Brian

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Posted By: Scott Forrest

I think the big difference is that Denny McLain always was willing to admit he had gambling and drug problems, and he knew it was ruining his life. True - he couldn't seem to get past it, but he kept trying and he didn't either blame the world for his problems, or live in a fantasy world like Pete Rose, thinking his behavior was correct.

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Alot of people might not get this story but it was crazy so ill tell it.

I was at a show and there were 2 ECW wrestlers there,one was Taz who is built like brick s-house.Hes the same height as me but had about 60 lbs of muscle on me and on a dare where i didnt get anything for doing it,i went up to him and asked him to Tazplex me into a display case off to the side[a version of a suplex,basically getting someone in a bear hug and then throwing them in the air over your shoulder]....anyway i kept asking him and he wouldnt do it,and he started to ignore me so i started calling him a punk,and said what are you too good to throw me into a display case.All he said was do you want an autographed picture or not,and i walked away and said,nah,not if youre gonna be like that.

I did that for free Brian,imagine what i wouldve done for money

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Posted By: Julie Vognar

BETTER...
\
Brian, I can't think of a better illustration of the two guy's personalities...

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Posted By: jamie

is this the message board equivalent of dumb and dumber?

regardless of the athlete, i would hope that they be treated with a modicum of respect. youd be amazed at some of the great stories these guys will share, the knowledge they can impart, and they can be very generous with their time (and autographs) with the right amount of decency. i dont know what playing the part of the drunken hillbilly on a friday night will do except significantly lower others' opinions of you on the messageboard

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Posted By: BRIANKW

Jamie,
I attended hundreds of shows from the ages of 15-25, and have heard more stories, and had more fun with Hof players than most people could even imagine. I've drank Beers with Mickey Mantle, had buffalo wings with Ernie Banks and walked the steel pier in Atlantic city with Ted Williams in 20 degree weather, so I;ve been around the block. I have always treated everyone with respect until they proved to be such a holes that I chose not too. Pete Rose is a self absorbed jerk, who only cares about himself , so I don't give a damn about pissing him off. In fact the only player worse than Rose was Willie Mays, another amazing player who turned into a bitter jerk. The only dumb and dumber are people who make assumptions about things they Know nothing about. Be well Brian

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Posted By: john/z28jd

Jamie
Unlike Brian I have no good excuse except that friends dared me to do it and i was in my early 20s at the time.The sad part was at the time i really wanted his autograph and waited in line for it for about 20 minutes,with the last 2 minutes approx. being my friends talking me into doing what i did.I think wrestling is a little different than baseball tho in that 'bad guys' are used to being heckled,while in other sports a guy has to do something to become hated,wrestlers dont.I was the only one i saw there with enough stupidity to say something to him tho

I learned a valuable lesson that day tho,dont tempt fate twice.Usually when i see a famous baseball player at a show,im more awe struck than outgoing towards them.The few autographs ive gotten in person i didnt say much more than hi and thank you,if that much.My cousins husband played 6 years in the minors and sometimes during family dinners ill sit there and say to myself of course,wow he was 1 level away from making it to the majors

I can share a story of what someone else did at a show that fits this mold.Shawn Abner who was a first pick in the ML draft one year was doing a show around 1992 and a guy came up to him with a big binder book full of just Abner cards,the guy flipped thru the pages showing him all the cards,then picked up the book and said thanks for nothing,and walked away. Now that was rude,blaming a guy who im sure gave it his all on the field,because he didnt become a superstar and make your rich off his cards.

Thanks to Elliot for finding my mistakes in this post so i can correct them and look like im [to quote Homer Simpson] S-M-R-T ,i mean S-M-A-R-T

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Posted By: Anonymous

Brian,
No assumptions were made- you behaved poorly, plain and simple. At least John was man enough to admit it. It's you who are making the assumptions- that you seem to know an athlete based on his limited public behavior. Guests at a show should be treated like guests at a home. You'd never make it to a dinner party at my house.

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Posted By: Charles E. Moore

At a show Mays was casually signing as he chatted with his "handlers" without the any acknowledgement of the fanss or their autograph items. Though it is not my nature, I wrapped the table to get his attention and told him he was the best player I'd ever seen play (near truth). He stood up, shook my hand, thanked me three times, and signed my item very carefully. I think I was the only one that had a positive experience with him that day.

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Posted By: rick

I too had a good experience with Mays, but have never heard of anyone else who has. Glad to see someone else say something positive about him.
I handed him a ball, we made small talk for a minute or so and kidded with my young son. We thanked him, and he said "No, thank you."
These guys have good and bad days too.

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Posted By: jay behrens

We aren't allowed to have some fun with these people? Some of them have a sense of humor about it, others don't, just like in real life. It's not that big a deal. Now if he ahd ask McLain if he wanted to go out in the alley and get high or drunk, that's more crossing the line since the guy has a known problem that he is trying to or has dealt with. But who really knows where that imaginery line is that we shouldn't cross.

On a side note, I always had pleasant dealings with Mays. That may have been aided by the fact that a good friend was very friendly with Mays and always had a smile on his face for my friend when we saw him at shows.

Jay

Wow upside down is Mom. Mom upside down is what dad wants to see.

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Posted By: splinter_65

My dad, in his mid-60s, ran into Wilie Mays in a casino in Atlatnic City 3 years ago. Never shy, he walked up to him, began a conversation about baseball and the Red Sox (his favorite subject), and spoke to Willie for about 10 minutes. As they were parting, Willie asked if he wanted an autograph, and the only thing my dad had to write on was a ticket stub to a show. It was signed Best Wishes, Willie Mays, and is now a part of my collection. My dad still has great things to say about how he was treated by Willie. I'm sorry to hear about other bad experiences.

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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.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

When my dad was a freshman in college, he went to see a lecture by Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr. By the time my dad got there, the lecture hall was packed and the only only seat left row next to some strange old guy. Killing time before the lecture, my dad and the old guy chatted for about 15 minutes, about what they had for lunch and my dad's new shoes. Finally, the college Dean at the podium gave an introductary speach and said what an honor it was to have Bohr visit the school to give a lecture. The old man next to my dad stood up and walked to the podium.

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Posted By: Mike

Me and my buddies used to take the reprints from the Baseball Card magazines of the 1980's and put them in screw down holders. We would then drop the card when nobody was looking on the floor. It was priceless watching people pick it up, thinking they had found a Willie Mays or Hank Aaron rookie card, turning it over and seeing REPRINT, then droping it back on the ground. Classic.

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Posted By: jay behrens

I got to go to dinner with Dimaggio. The only requirement was that I was not allowed to ask any questions about Marilyn. I told my friend who was bringing me along, why would I ask about her, I want to talk baseball. He was very pleasant and got to hear a few baseball stories.

Jay

Wow upside down is Mom. Mom upside down is what dad wants to see.

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Jamie,
If you read my original post, I admitted It was rude gesture to ask Rose to sign his #. So I don't know what your talking about me, "being man enough to admit I was wrong." Secondly I have been around hundreds of athletes over the years and formed my own opinions over several meeting or encounters with each,not a single episode. Believe me I have more positve stories than you can ever imagine, and will be happy to share a few in the future.
Your assumption that I created poor treatment from the athletes with my behavior is absurd, since Rose is the only one it ever happened too, and he had treated me poorly on other occasions.
I'm glad to hear others have had better experiences with Mays, as I have seen him treat kids like crap in the past. Everybody should understand that athletes have good days and bad days, but some tend to have a lot more bad days than good, and Rose falls into the category for me.
I also feel as though the person purchasing the autograph is the "guest"
or the customer, and the athlete is an employee of the host, so he should be the one on his best behavior.
Personally Jamie, If you choose to assume that I am a rude person you wouldn't want in your house, that's fine, but anyone who knows me would laugh harder than Denny McClain. Hopefully you will hang around the board and get to know people before jumping to conclusions about them.

Be well Brian

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Posted By: Robert A

Actually, I think this post was about having some fun.
In my eyes, it lowers my opinion of you when you start calling people dumb.
And, by the way, Pete Rose doesn't deserve any respect.
robert a

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Jay,
Nice.... I met Joe several times when he was working for Mr. Coffee at the Chicago CES show. He was always willing to talk baseball and sign anything I was able to bring with me. He happily posed for photos with almost everyone, and never seemed to have a bad moment.
I do know he was not as nice in his later years at several card shows, but I believe his health was declining and he hated the long hours of sitting and signing.

I know many of you have had bad experiences with Mickey Mantle, but he is by far one of my favorites. We used to have him to shows in Charlotte in the late 80's early 90's and he was a fantastic signer and story teller. We would pre sell dozens of Baseballs to each dealer and Mickey would sign them at night in his suite. Luckily I was one of the Ball handlers who kept Mickey signing all night. He drank an occasional Beer, signed hundreds of balls and told more stories than I can remmeber. Boy, do I wish I had had a video camera. Be well Brian

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Posted By: jay behrens

I met Mantle and had a chance to talk with him several times, and had bad experiences with him every time. It's a big reason I really dislike the guy. Plus, my view of him isn't tainted by having watched him as a player, so all I know is the drunken, arrogant ass I met shows and after shows.

Jay

Wow upside down is Mom. Mom upside down is what dad wants to see.

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Posted By: jackgoodman

for a long time in the 70's and 80's, appearing at shows with autograph prices I wish I'd taken more advantage of at the time.

But I really remember getting his autograph at the '87 National. I always try to get players to sign their full name (first, middle, last) as I think a George Herman Ruth ball would be worth more than one signed Babe Ruth. So I mustered the courage to ask Joe to sign his full name. He looked at me for a moment and asked my name. I told him. He then started writing something on the ball that I couldn't see. When he handed me the ball, he said "that's the way I sign my checks, it'll have to do." He had signed the ball "To Jack, best wishes, Jos. P. DiMaggio." I was one happy camper.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

My family doctor told me that his Aunt had her marriage reception at a Philadelphia hotel where Ty Cobb was visiting or staying. Ty danced with the bride and signed a wedding program that the family still owns. My doctor wasn't there, but says that those who were said Ty was a gentleman.