Info about Bill Zekus collection ???

[Tom Hufford]

Bill Zekus was one of my earliest and closest friends when I got started in my autograph hunt, about 1969. I'm not sure how I came to know him, but it was probably through Jim MacAllister.

Bill's collecting interests were in three categories - 1. Every player who had ever played for the Dodgers; 2. Every Hall of Famer; 3. Every player who reached specific statistical levels, like 175 wins, 300 home runs, 2000 hits, etc. I don't remember the specific numbers, but in effect, it was all the players who appeared in The Sporting News' Daguerreotypes (sp??) book. Bill also wanted to acquire 3 items on each player - a signed photo, a signed gum/tobacco card, and a flat item such as a 3x5, signed check, business paper, etc.

So, if Bill happened to run across a tough signature that didn't fit one of his criteria, he was always willing to trade. Thing is, it was hard to find something from his wantlist. I learned that the hard way, though. About 1970, while trying to track down "what ever happened to" players that weren't listed as deceased in the new Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia, I located the son of Wallace Oakes Clement, who played with the 1908-09 Phillies and Dodgers. His son completed a biographical questionnaire on his dad (who, it turns out, had died in 1953) - and he sent me his dad's signed Social Security card. I told Bill about it and he went nuts, knowing that I had a Dodger autograph that he needed. He ended up offering me an album page signed by Jack Picus Quinn in exchange for the Clement SS card, and I did it. After all, Quinn won over 200 games, pitched into his late 40s, etc. Over the years, though, I ran across numerous examples of Jack Quinn, and never another Clement (that stood to reason, his son had given me the only one he had!). Of course, Bill was never interested in trading it back to me - and it took me over 30 years to get the Wally Clement SS card back (after Bill died).

The first autograph collection I ever purchased was a joint deal with Bill in about 1971- we purchased the collection of Roger Christensen, who I didn't know, but Bill told me Roger was going into the military and wanted to sell. Bill said the price was $600 (I believed him - and still do), so I sent Bill $300. I have no idea how I came up with $300 - I was in college, had a job mowing grass at a church for $30 a month - so that was a huge purchase for me. Roger sent the collection to Bill, we agreed to split the HOFers first, then the rest of the collection. Bill split them up, and sent me a box full of stuff - including a 3x5s of Cy Young, Fred Clarke, Bobby Wallace, and cuts of Ban Johnson and Lou Gehrig - the first example I'd had of each. I don't remember exactly what else I got, probably 1,000 -2,000 3x5s. I have no idea what Bill took out before sending me my half - but looking back, I see that I got my money's worth. And, later I got to know Roger Christensen, too.

Bill was a insurance agent in Fishkill, NY, just north of NYC. He had a teenage son who was struck and killed by an auto in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and as you can imagine, that really affected Bill. I sensed that he lost most of his interest in autograph collecting after that. Not long after that, he relocated to New Port Richey, FL, where he lived the rest of his life. We kept in touch up until his death, on June 21, 2001, but really didn't do much autograph-wise during the last 15 years or so.

I think I only met Bill in person three times - at the HOF induction weekend in Cooperstown in 1971, 1972, and 1974. I was surprised several months ago when someone posted an article about Bill Mastro selling a T206 Wagner on this site - and there was an unrelated photo that included Bill Zekus and myself. I'll try to add a link to it here:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=150405

In the second photo from the top, on the left, that's Bill Zekus in the center, I'm on the right, and I have no idea who that is on the left. Someone (I don't know who) must have taken this photo at Cooperstown (I'm guessing its 1974) - obviously we were getting balls signed by the players in attendance, and were comparing our successes.

I miss Bill, and wish everyone on this board could have known him.