Mike Marshall signing

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by jgmp123

I guess I am unfamiliar with his story...why is he so hesitant to sign? Any specific reasons or just doesn't want to be bothered?

According to Marshall autograph collecting is a miss directed form of "hero worship" he believes that athletes are not heros and that instead the REAL heros should be teachers, parents etc. ,

Its probably a little more complicated than that but thats the gist of it. This goes all the way back to his playing days. In his defense he was always very nice to kids and fans and his refusals to sign were always polite in contrast to Thurman Munson (and others) who would shout expletives, shove kids to the ground, throw their baseball cards in the mud etc. depending on his mood.
At least Marshall was consistent...
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jim@stinsonsports.com

[JimStinson]

That reminded me of an amusing thing that happened when Bill and I met with him. Someone had sent in an 8x10 color photo to be signed of Mike Marshall , a man and his son and others all seated at a picnic bench having lunch.
Marshall looked at it and smiled , I asked him about it and he said it was his friends family and was taken at a bar-b-q they had about a year prior. His friend had asked him numerous times to sign it for him and he wouldn't.
His words were "I guess I HAVE to sign it now"

Tom H. a member of this board has a couple amusing Mike Marshall stories of his own but I'll let him tell them if he wants to...
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jim@stinsonsports.com

[jgmp123]

Thanks Jim...I still think it sounds so outlandish to think that. Hero worship.maybe, but the guys has got to understand what that autograph would mean to a kid.

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by jgmp123

Thanks Jim...I still think it sounds so outlandish to think that. Hero worship.maybe, but the guys has got to understand what that autograph would mean to a kid.

I can't even begin to try and guess his philosophy regarding autographs, My point was that in all of the interaction I ever saw him have with kids and fans in general he was pleasant , would shake hands and often even pose for pictures. And talk baseball. Compared to many horror stories from my youth in which the player would not only refuse to sign but would go out of their way to be insulting, Leon Wagner, Jerry Grote, Thurman Munson, George Foster etc.

From my personal experiences at Yankee Stadium we were kids the Yankees were awful, Late 60's no one was in the stands and Mickey Mantle was taking fielding practice at 1st base he was our idol and we yelled our lungs out just to have "The Mick" turn in our direction and "WAVE" would have been nice but he went out of his way to ignore us and even poked fun at us with the other players.
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jim@stinsonsports.com

[HexsHeroes]

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. . . considering the number of collectors who consider Munson one of the "great" Yankee catchers, and who are willing to pay several hundreds of dollars for a Munson signed item (to be a treasured part of their collection). I know of afew collectors who fit this mold. And I realize that a good part of the demand is from the very limited number of autographs he signed over the years, and that certainly influences the higher prices for authentic Munson signed items. But it still sounds alittle like misplaced hero-worship to me; wanting and valuing a signed items from someone who treated the fans poorly, on more than the rare occasion.

[drc]

Reading his bio, Marshall was not your normal baseball guy. He got a Ph.d. from Michigan State while he was still playing in the bigs and went on to teach at several colleges.

[jgmp123]

Originally Posted by HexsHeroes

.

. . . considering the number of collectors who consider Munson one of the "great" Yankee catchers, and who are willing to pay several hundreds of dollars for a Munson signed item (to be a treasured part of their collection). I know of afew collectors who fit this mold. And I realize that a good part of the demand is from the very limited number of autographs he signed over the years, and that certainly influences the higher prices for authentic Munson signed items. But it still sounds alittle like misplaced hero-worship to me; wanting and valuing a signed items from someone who treated the fans poorly, on more than the rare occasion.

I think it could also due with "Completion". I know I would only want a Munson if it pertained to a certain collection I was trying to build....

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by HexsHeroes

.

. . . considering the number of collectors who consider Munson one of the "great" Yankee catchers, and who are willing to pay several hundreds of dollars for a Munson signed item (to be a treasured part of their collection). I know of afew collectors who fit this mold. And I realize that a good part of the demand is from the very limited number of autographs he signed over the years, and that certainly influences the higher prices for authentic Munson signed items. But it still sounds alittle like misplaced hero-worship to me; wanting and valuing a signed items from someone who treated the fans poorly, on more than the rare occasion.

I didn't mean to degrade Thurman Munson in any way , in fact ON THE FIELD he played his heart out ! A true competitor ! He owed the fans that and he DELIVERED ! How he or any other athlete interacts with fans off the field is their choice. Some are A joy to meet , some are "quirky" and some are downright SOB's...., I prefer either of the first two over the latter.
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jim@stinsonsports.com

[byrone]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

According to Marshall autograph collecting is a miss directed form of "hero worship" he believes that athletes are not heros and that instead the REAL heros should be teachers, parents etc. ,

Its probably a little more complicated than that but thats the gist of it. This goes all the way back to his playing days. In his defense he was always very nice to kids and fans and his refusals to sign were always polite in contrast to Thurman Munson (and others) who would shout expletives, shove kids to the ground, throw their baseball cards in the mud etc. depending on his mood.
At least Marshall was consistent...
_________________________
jim@stinsonsports.com

That's too bad about Munson. A little kindness and politeness goes a long way.