Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[cubman1941]

The worst experience I had was with Billy Williams at the 2008 Cubs Convention. They sold pictures then stood in line for an autograph. I waited in line for about an hour waiting for the picture to be autographed (which was ok). I noted him signing other things for lots of people besides the photograph and had one of his baseball cards with me. When it was my turn (and he signed a couple of cards for the person in front of me along with the picture) I asked him to please sign the card along with the picture. He blew me off by saying "I don't sign anything but the picture" and then said "Next". I really took offense at that at have never had any respect for him since then.

The best was Hank Sauer. I got to meet him at a show outside Atlanta around 1995. I had a magazine for him to sign. When I got to him I mentioned that I had send a bb card in 1952 to Spring Training for him to sign and it never came back. He seemed surprised and said he always signed and then proceeded to ask me to come up and sit next to him while he signed. In between signings we talked baseball and, to me, that was better than getting the card signed. I was up there talking to him for over two hours. A class act by a class man. Everything I have read about him always said how great a person he was and he proved it to me.