Great choice of topic.
I've visited/interviewed about 130 players over the years. All but a handful were pre-WWII debuts. There are simply too many great stories, but here are a few:
-Hoisting a few beers and chain smoking alongside Joe Hauser. The man was nearly 100. There's nothing like having a few with somebody of that age, ballplayer or not! Joe's mind became clearer with once alcohol and tobacco were introduced into the situation! His favorite subject of discussion was his hatred of former teammate Ty Cobb. He spoke fondly of everyone else.
-Being driven around Bellville, Texas in a "Sanford & Son"-style truck by Ernie Koy and his wife. They took me around town to visit friends and family, which was a different experience then the usual two-hour interview process!
-Sitting by Dario Lodigiani's swimming pool, him telling me of how he played on the same high school team as Joe and Dom DiMaggio.
-Visiting Tot Pressnell for the first of many times. I was 12 years old. Tot had an entire room covered in signed type-1 Burke photos and dozens of signed balls. A few bats were in one corner. One was a Gehrig gamer which the Iron Horse gave to Tot during 1938 Spring Training. Tot was a 31 year old rookie with the '38 Dodgers. Ruth was his coach that season and gave Tot the last glove he ever used. I got to try on the glove as Tot tossed a 1938 NL AS team-signed ball in my general direction. That was likely the most expensive game of catch ever played! Sadly, Pressnell sold what was likely a seven-figure collection to a local attorney who I dare say swindled the heck out of him. $6,000 for the good stuff. This was in the mid-1990's. Tot wouldn't listen to me.
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05-09-2010, 10:55 AM
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