Who's the earliest HOF you met in person?

[Jobu]

I posted this story in the happy 100th birthday Joe D thread but thought a repost here would be appropriate because Joe D is the earliest that I ever met. Bob Feller is the second oldest.


I met Joe D in 199(5?) at the National in Chicago. I think he was charging $150 for an autograph so a teenage Jobu didn’t get one. However, my tale does not end here.

As luck would have it, my brother, father and I all chose to relieve ourselves mere seconds before Joe made the same call. My brother, 13 months younger than me, pissed to my left while Joe D, unbeknownst to me, pissed to my right. My brother started elbowing me and making noises in an effort to get me to look to my right. Thinking this was just typical younger brother harassment intended to cause me to break urinal etiquette and look at the guy next to me, I told him to knock it off and went to wash my hands. When I turned around from the sink I came face to face with Joe, who was stopped and looking right at me while waiting for my sink. My reaction must have been priceless, mouth immediately flying open and eyes wide, because Joe cracked a smile and said “Gotta take a piss, huh kid?” while he tapped me lightly on the arm. I was too shocked to offer much of a response, I think I cracked a half smile and nodded yes. But wait, there is more!

My dad, born in 1943, brother and I then walked out of the restroom grinning like kids who had just been given $50 and were about to be set loose in a candy store. As we slowly walked away, smiling from our encounter, I learned that my father did not share my concern for restroom etiquette, or at least was willing to break the rules if the situation required it. It turns out he was pissing to Joe D’s right and had recognized his neighbor. He broke the silence by uttering a statement that I will never forget “I just saw the unit that was in Marilyn Monroe.”