Treasure The Memory

[Luke]

When I was 14 or so, my friend's dad took us down to Spring Training in Arizona. One night, in the 5th inning of a Giants game in Scottsdale, we saw a group of people crowding around someone. We went in for a closer look, and it was Willie Mays! He was signing baseballs and scraps of paper, but only for the really little kids. I guess we were too old. So, he gets in the back seat of a Lincoln Town Car and the driver pulls away. We were disappointed he didn't sign our baseballs, but we both just kind of looked at each other and took off running. The streets were deserted, but the lights took forever. We caught up to his car at the first light and then again at the next light. At the third light, he rolls down his window and says, "Alright, get over here." When he was signing my ball, he grumbled that I was blocking the streetlight and he couldn't see the ball. When I looked at it, I saw that he had started again after saying that he couldn't see the ball. I may have the only Willie Willie Mays autographed ball in existence. Definitely my favorite memory from collecting autographs. It still makes me smile that here he was, being really nice and having his driver stop even when the light turned red, but he was still his curmudgeonly self.

[Mark]

When I was ten, my family took me to Forbes Field pretty often. One night, during a pregame round of pepper, Jerry May popped a ball into the stands down the rightfield line. I got the ball and started getting some Pirates autographs. I talked to the bullpen guys, who signed it. One of them took it into the clubhouse and brought it back with a few more. After the game, I waited outside the clubhouse and picked up Willie Stargell's, Bob Veale's, Gene Alley's, Maury Wills' signitures, along with a few others. They all left the top panel empty, so when Roberto came out, he placed a magnificent signiture there in dark black ink. The autographs are still in great shape, and the ball reminds me of a wonderful night in that immense, historical ball park with my dad and mom. There were many other great days at Forbes, and I have autographed programs and baseballs that remind me of them. But that first autographed ball was the most exciting, and I still think it's great.

[tbob]

In 1961 our local Little league in Hamilton, Ohio, right before the State tournament, took us in uniform to a Reds game at Crosley Field. We were paraded on to the field before the game and all of us were being Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson, making imaginary catches up against the fence in the outfield. I wish I could tell you we won the State tournament and went on to the Little League World Series like this year's edition of Hamilton, Ohio did, but after tripling in 3 runs with the bases loaded to win the first game 4-3, I popped up with 2 outs in the bottom of the last inning with the tying and winning runs on base and we lost 7-6. It was the only time in my life I cried after a game. 12 years old and I thought the world had ended. Still, going to the Reds game that day is a memory I will never forget...

[M's_Fan]

It was October 1958 when my dad took me to my first baseball game.

A heck of a first game! And for at least one sentence there, you actually made grammatical sense, and avoided sounding like the type of guy that others have accused you of being. Keep up the progress!

[bbcard1]

A small piece of the goal post from Marshall's first Division IAA National Championship. I lived in the Huntington area and was a 10 year old when the plane crash commemorate by the movie We Are....Marshall happened. I was at my D-team football banquet about 5 miles from the crash. The first national championship was a very significant milestone in the healing of the community.

[margoaepi]

I have a ton of autographs from hall of famers new and old, but one thing I always wanted was a ball signed by Mike Mordecai with a "Happy Purim" inscription (all of you Jews will understand). Near the tail end of his career I was at Marlins spring training and caught him walking to his car. I described my request and he, somewhat confused, consented. By far, my favorite piece in my collection.