Best & Worst Experience Meeting An Athlete

[GrayGhost]

Worst: Easily the legendary grouch Willie Mays

Best: Brooks Robinson, treated u like an old friend and was seemingly humbled that people wanted his signature.

Also, Earl Weaver and Dennis Eckersley, who was incredibly nice to a kid in front of me too

Carl Erskine, Phil Rizzuto and NFL Hofer Bob Lilly were super also.

[PowderedH2O]

Best - Jose Canseco. I was at an A's game in 1990. Jose was the biggest star in baseball, and after the game there were about 100 of us lined up at a fence near player parking, with another hundred or so at another fence nearby. One by one, the A's players ignored us. Last guy out is Jose accompanied by his wife Esther. He comes to the fence and starts signing. Midway through he asks Esther to go to the other fence to let them know he will be over shortly. He signed for every one of us, then walked over to the other fence for everyone else.

Also best - Bob Feller and Lou Burdette. It is the Summer of 1988 and there is a major convention in Arlington Texas. I live there and I am broke. I can't believe Mantle and Mays are in a building blocks from me and I can't even afford entrance. My wife and I go to the mall to kill some time. In the center, I see a giant baseball and 2 older guys sitting. As I get closer, I see it is Bob Feller and Lou Burdette. Nobody is near them. I go up and we talk for about a half hour. I go to Woolworths and buy a pack of index cards and a baseball and they sign multiple things for free. Bob Feller takes my 2 year old daughter and rocks her to sleep while singing her lullabies. Better than the convention any day!

Worst - Bo Jackson. Spring training, 1987 with the Royals. George Brett was signing for everyone. So was Frank White, Jorge Orta, and more. Bo comes out and kids flock to him. He drops a few F bombs and tells the kids to get lost. I couldn't believe it.

Honorable mentions - Had very positive experiences with Dale Murphy, Willie Stargell, Billy Kilmer, Lou Brock, and Lester Hayes.

[ArchStanton]

I was never an autograph person. I lived near Sparky Lyle's parents as a kid in the late 70s to early 80s. He was always friendly with us when he was around.

Rickey Henderson was my favorite non-Pirate growing up. I finally got to meet him in the mid-late 90s before a game at Three Rivers. A friend got us press passes. He told me I had to be professional. I met Rickey on the field before the game. He blew me off on his way out to the outfield to warm up. Flash forward a few years. I was sitting with a few friends at a strip club in Pittsburgh when Rickey walked in by himself. As he walked by, I yelled, "Hey Rickey." He came over an hung out for a few minutes and chatted. It was great.

I used to hit the same place every morning for breakfast on the North Side of Pittsburgh. One morning I walked in to find Franco Harris was in my seat surrounded by some guys in suits. I decided it was best to leave him alone and sit elsewhere. I used to leave flowers at his house on the North Ave every December 23rd. Never saw him there.

[ibuysportsephemera]

Best- I played video pong (pre Nintendo days for those who aren't old enough to remember) with Bobby Nystrom (NY Islanders) when I was 13. He let me score 20 points before he scored 21 straight to beat me.

Worst- By far- Willie Mays. He purposely signed something for my brother in a shaded area so you could not see the autograph (that we paid for).

Jeff

[DerekD]

Best - Luke Appling - Appling asked my friend and I to sit down a chat when you saw us walking around the back fields in West Palm during spring training. We pulled up some folding chairs and spoke with him for about 15 minutes. I wish I knew what I do know at the time (teen), so I would have appreciated more then.

Best #2 - Roger Maris - At a Yankees legends golf tourney in Ft. Lauderdale, I was getting autos on a ball and had a cast on my arm. When I asked Roger Maris to sign my ball, he noticed the cast with my friends signatures on it and asked if he could sign it too. Of course I said yes. He really couldn't have been nicer. Shortly after, I ran into Joe Dimaggio to get the ball signed. I asked if he would sign the cast too. As you can imagine, the look he gave me was priceless. He signed it though. 6th grade at the time, so I also didn't appreciate how big these guys were.

Worst - Hank Aaron - While I was sitting on a bench with no one else around, out comes Hank. He was meeting a couple of people, who I guess were his friends. He calls me over and asks to borrow a pen so he could sign something for them. I give it to him and wait closely by as he signed and talked with them another 5 minutes or so. He finishes up with them and gives me my pen back. I ask if he can sign one for me and he just walks away. No one else around. Never got him once. *&%$

[quinnsryche]

Sat with many famous athletes when my dad did autograph/card shows in the 80's and 90's. Many great experiences, a few clunkers.

Best: Stan Musial (HE bought ME lunch) we sat behind the curtains, just me and him and it was like talking to your grandpa. Eddie Mathews, Steve Garvey, Duke Snider, Don Drysdale were all super nice and treated everyone respectfully.

Middle: Bob Gibson, nice to me, jerk to everyone else.

Worst: Pete Rose. By far the biggest a-hole I've ever met. Didn't recognize it for what it was back then, but was placing bets the entire time he was signing autographs. Had a crew of track suit wearing clowns giving him odds the entire 2 hours while he was telling them how many thousands of dollars to bet on each one. Not to mentioned treated all the people who paid to get his signature like crap.I hope he never makes the Hall, doesn't deserve the pleasure.

[smellthegum]

Best - Patrick Roy - A couple of times my buddy and I drove into Boston to the hotel where visiting teams usually stayed (baseball and hockey at least). Roy came down to the lobby and was engulfed by other autograph hounds. While he graciously obliged everyone we stayed away to be on the lookout for other players who might come down and try to slip by while the crowd was occupied. We were both working on signed 1990-91 Upper Deck sets and knew there were tougher sigs than his that we needed. I'm sure we got someone but don't remember who. But I knew I was gambling that I might miss out by not standing in line for one of my idols, Roy. Anyway, about an hour later he returned, carrying a bag with several boxes of golf balls from a local golf store. As he approached, I politely asked if he would sign a few cards for my set and held out the cards and a Sharpie. He said sure, and had me hold the golf balls while he signed. While he signed I joked about him coming all the way from Canada to Mass. just to buy golf balls. We chatted a bit about golf. When the cards were dry I put them back into the stack I was carrying and he spotted some more of his cards that I'd brought. Having seen how many he'd signed on his way out I didn't want to look greedy and so had only dared ask about the ones I needed for my set. He said "Are those more of me? I'll sign them." I had about 12 more cards and told him so. He replied that that was OK and he signed them all! A great experience I remember vividly to this day. I haven't collected autographs in like 20 years but hockey players were usually FAR more gracious than baseball players regrading fan appreciation.

Best - Dwight Evans - My favorite Sox player. A diehard fan since about 1977. While he was a player he didn't make many show appearances, but did do one locally in the late 1980s, the only chance I've ever had to meet him. I brought with me a game used bat and a portrait I'd done of him. I'd met several players before but for some reason I was really nervous meeting him. When I presented the drawing I thought for sure he'd love it. He hesitated, looking at it for a minute. Then he asked, "did you do this?". I answered yes, I had. "There's too much gray in my hair." I nearly crapped my pants thinking he was being critical but then I looked up from the drawing and saw he was smiling and only joking with me, which put me right at ease. I replied that it must have been just the way the light was hitting his hair. He complimented me on the likeness and then even asked where I'd like him to sign it. Said he felt bad signing over the actual drawing. Shook my hand and thanked ME! Still have the drawing.

Worst - Ted Williams - A has been well documented he was a pompous curmudgeon. Gigantic letdown.