Show and tell Bob Feller

[Tao_Moko]

Let's talk about a man who broke into the majors as a "kid", essentially played year around, created focused attention on negro league players, gave up 3 years to the USN during WWII and a 18 year HOF career. Share your stories and cards....

[bnorth]

I was lucky enough to visit his museum shortly before it closed.It was a great little museum with a very nice lady working that day.

I have a few Feller items. None of them are the rare unsignd version.

[SteveS]

Feller, as far as I know, was the first person to be a paid guest signer at a card show in Los Angeles. There were a couple I remember before that who bought their own table and sold their own signed cards (Wes Parker and Willie Davis), and other players who signed did so for free at department store promotions or such (I've posted some of my pix from those in another thread). I can't remember the exact year, but at a show sometime in the late-'70s/early-'80s, Rapid Robert was announced as a guest, and the autographs were $4 apiece.

[Exhibitman]

1949 Vis-Ed Viewer premium, common signed version



1948 Thom McAn Shoes:



1940s picture pack:



1946 Trading Post:



https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...w602-and-w603/

[71buc]

I saw him in spring training. I was wearing a bright blue Cruz Azul jersey and Bob looked at me and said, “Look at this clown. No one told me the circus was in town!” Then he laughed and put his arm around me.

[Jobu]

A 10- or 11-year-old Jobu was at a show and didn't know that there was an autograph guest, let alone that it was Bob Feller. I see him walking through the lobby, recognize him, work up the courage to walk over and ask "Mr. Feller, can I please have your autograph?" He looks at me and deadpans "Yeah. Buy a ticket." And turns and walks away. Grown up Jobu realizes that he was there to make money and understands the answer, but the delivery and lack of even a hint of a smile or acknowledgement of the awe young Jobu was clearly showing permanently turned me off to him.

[71buc]

Sorry Jobu! Albert Belle was nicer to my 10 year old son than Rapid Robert was to Jobu.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by Jobu

A 10- or 11-year-old Jobu was at a show and didn't know that there was an autograph guest, let alone that it was Bob Feller. I see him walking through the lobby, recognize him, work up the courage to walk over and ask "Mr. Feller, can I please have your autograph?" He looks at me and deadpans "Yeah. Buy a ticket." And turns and walks away.

That's no way to talk to a Jobu!

[Bill77]

I went to his museum in 2002 and got bought an autographed card.

[Rich Klein]

Originally Posted by 71buc

Sorry Jobu! Albert Belle was nicer to my 10 year old son than Rapid Robert was to Jobu.

The autograph chasers I knew back in the 1990's said that Mr. Belle was almost always unfailingly nice to autograph seekers, especially kids.

He did have anger management issues obviously but in terms of signing, he was almost always extremely graicious

Rich

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Bill77

I went to his museum in 2002 and got bought an autographed card.

nice autographed museum card.

Like the look of it

[Tao_Moko]

That sucks Jobu. Sometimes our hero's turn out not to be a**holes. Mine became a good friend and my daughters namesake - Story Musgrave.

[abothebear]

.

[obiwan1129]

I've heard that Feller could be rather short with folks, however, that was not my experience with meeting him. When I was in high school my grandparents took me on a trip to Cooperstown. We didn't realize it was induction weekend until we got there. I think it was 1990 but it might have been 1989, can't remember now.

We hit the museum and I managed to talk my way into a few card shops. Well, we walked into one small shop and who is in there but Rapid Rob himself signing autographs. My grandparents and I chatted with him for a few minutes. He was very nice. We are shirt tail relations to Dick Wakefield, and asked if he remembered him. He smiled and was like of course he remembered him.

My other grandma used to go down to Tucson every winter to snowbird for a few months. I was very close to her. She met Feller at some function and got his autograph for me. I had it in a scrapbook for a long time and recently reorganized my autographs into new binders. When I pulled the autograph out and looked at the back of it for the first time in probably 30 years, I discovered a note from my grandmother. She's been gone for a long time, so it was quite a moment to see her beautiful cursive writing for the first time in a long time.

[Angyale]

Whats rarer than a signed Feller item?

An unsigned one…..

Angyale

[butchie_t]

I have an autographed OAL ball signed by Bob Feller. I don't even know when or how I came across it. That is it!

Cheers,

[CTDean]

Bob Feller was the first major league player I received a signed photo from. In the mid 1950's our little league team went to a Motorola TV store in Easton, Maryland and Feller was there signing a stack of photos provided by Motorola (for free). I don't know what ever happened to that photo. Then in the early 1980's Feller was set up at a card show that I was doing, maybe one of the New Jersey shows.

[jingram058]

Somewhere I have one of those MCI Ambassadors of Baseball cards signed by him, and a color postcard signed by Johnny Vander Meer. They came aboard USS Independence CV-62 when I served on that aircraft carrier. I met Bob Feller, Johnny Vander Meer, Graig Nettles, Rick Waite, and Bert Campaneris. They were all very, very nice gentlemen, and didn't charge any money for anything. You could also have someone take photos with them if you had a camera. Bob Feller had a stack of those MCI cards pre-signed. We talked a few minutes and shook hands. Johnny Vander Meer personalized a postcard for me, and also wrote "back-to-back no-hitters, 1938". Super nice guy. Nettles, Waite and Campaneris signed a USS Independence photo. I think this was one of our in-ports while the ship was tied up at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.

[steve B]

I've told this before, but not for a while.

In Probably 1974 I lived near Pittsfield, Ma where the rangers had a minor league team. On day dad brought me to a game, a double header and Bob Feller was pitching a home run contest between games.

When the second game started, he came up in the stands with a huge stack of photo sheets, 8 1/2x11, picture on the front and career highlights on the back. Lots of kids looking for autographs, which kept him pretty busy. Being shy I was pretty much the last in line (Or crowd which would be more accurate, he was surrounded.. ) Got one for me, one for dad, and one on paper for dads old autograph book. Lots of kids came back for more, and were making paper planes out of them. I asked if that bothered him and he just said "they're kids, that's what they do" Since I was the only one left, he asked about baseball, I wanted to pitch, but the lowest level league had an upper age limit for pitchers.
he had me sit with him for a couple innings and explained what the pitchers were doing, what pitch, what location and why.
Then he said he had to go keep the grownups happy. He genuinely seemed like he would rather stay talking about baseball.

It wasn't until several years later I realized how cool it was to get a lesson in pitching from one of the best. *

Not that I could ever use it, and my "fastball" probably topped out in the upper 50s

[ocjack]

For a while it seemed like Feller was at every card show in the area, even the smaller motel shows. We always knew the Feller line would move slowly because he would spend 10-15 minutes talking to each person and answering questions. A great guy - but if you wanted to get in and out quick - wasn't going to happen.

[ALR-bishop]

Feller in the Topps Scoops baseball subset, both scratched and unscratched. Plus John Travolta welcoming the Braves to Milwaukee in 1953 :-)

[h2oya311]

Although I never met him and honestly don't know a ton about him, I do have a "connection" to Mr. Feller. As a young kid collecting in the '80s, my grandmother asked me if I had any Bob Feller cards. I probably had some Circle K or other A/T Greats card of Feller, but nothing from his playing days. She was disappointed.

My grandmother then showed me some family photos and told me that Mr. Feller was my third cousin, twice removed. To this day, I still don't even know what that means, but apparently he is "family". I'm happy to say that I do have a few career contemporary cards now.

Here's an un-autographed "rookie" card of his (which, according to this thread, apparently means it's rare):



When I saw the note about him autographing "everything", I remembered having this in my collection...a 1980 Charlotte O's Program (when Cal Ripken was playing for the team) autographed by Mr. Feller:

[MikeGarcia]

..That "Tuffy Leemans" is so rare that if anyone else on the board also has one I shall buy you a hot dog and a Diet Pepsi at next year's National....

..

[tulsaboy]

Feller came to Tulsa, Oklahoma to consider buying a Spartan airplane in the late 1940's. I have a handful of original photos of his buying trip. That is him there on the right, standing in front of one of Spartan's hangars in Tulsa. From some contemporary accounts, he walked through the Spartan offices and gave the ladies there quite the thrill.
kevin

[Collectorsince62]

Bob Feller was probably the first ballplayer I ever viewed as a businessman, because he was such a fixture on the show circuit, but I realized it even more after learning about his barnstorming escapades during his playing days.

I hope he is not forgotten from the American conscience because the Bob Feller story is fascinating and reads like a tall tale.

He began his major league career in 1936, at age 17!!!!!, fresh off his family’s farm in Van Meter, Iowa. He came up in August, striking out 15 in his first start. A month later, he set an American League rookie record fanning 17. Then he went home to finish his senior year of high school. Let all of that sink in for a minute. He was a national sensation – his graduation was covered by NBC Radio.

Aside from his immense talent as a pitching prodigy, he was principled, opinionated, patriotic (gave up four years of his prime) and just interesting as hell.

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by Collectorsince62

Bob Feller was probably the first ballplayer I ever viewed as a businessman, because he was such a fixture on the show circuit, but I realized it even more after learning about his barnstorming escapades during his playing days.

I hope he is not forgotten from the American conscience because the Bob Feller story is fascinating and reads like a tall tale.

He began his major league career in 1936, at age 17!!!!!, fresh off his family’s farm in Van Meter, Iowa. He came up in August, striking out 15 in his first start. A month later, he set an American League rookie record fanning 17. Then he went home to finish his senior year of high school. Let all of that sink in for a minute. He was a national sensation – his graduation was covered by NBC Radio.

Aside from his immense talent as a pitching prodigy, he was principled, opinionated, patriotic (gave up four years of his prime) and just interesting as hell.

The Van Meter Heater. Great post!

[JLange]

I would see Bob Feller at card shows I went to as a kid in the 1980s. I thought it was a joke how cheap his autograph was, and how he would sign almost anything for anybody. I didn't appreciate who he was, what he accomplished, and just how involved he was in baseball. As an adult I found new appreciation for Mr. Feller, and his achievements as a pre-war/post-war pitcher, barnstormer, business man, WWII hero, players union president, and all around ambassador of baseball. I wish I would have met him when I had the chance.

I have various collections focused on Cleveland Baseball history , and my "Bob Feller Cards and Collectibles" collection is one of my primary pursuits. I still find things I've never seen before with some regularity, and there is healthy competition for many of his rare items. Sharing pics of some of my favorites:

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by jingram058

Somewhere I have one of those MCI Ambassadors of Baseball cards signed by him, and a color postcard signed by Johnny Vander Meer. They came aboard USS Independence CV-62 when I served on that aircraft carrier. I met Bob Feller, Johnny Vander Meer, Graig Nettles, Rick Waite, and Bert Campaneris. They were all very, very nice gentlemen, and didn't charge any money for anything. You could also have someone take photos with them if you had a camera. Bob Feller had a stack of those MCI cards pre-signed. We talked a few minutes and shook hands. Johnny Vander Meer personalized a postcard for me, and also wrote "back-to-back no-hitters, 1938". Super nice guy. Nettles, Waite and Campaneris signed a USS Independence photo. I think this was one of our in-ports while the ship was tied up at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego.

Found 'em. Johnny Vander Meer goes with the Bob Feller card.

[egri]

I’ll dig up the pictures later, but I have a PSA-slabbed 1953 Topps Bob Feller that PSA labeled 1954. I like to think it was shoddy QC on their part, and not a lack of knowledge.

[MikeGarcia]

..Printers' Proof/Office Copy from a New Jersey family whose relative worked at the shop where Dixie had their exquisite work done ; this never made it as far as the hole-punch process ; shows handling though ; there are survivors from the salesman's sample portfolios showing up sometimes : those have about 25 little holes across the top from being liberated from the spiral metal coil binding .... P.S. - The Foxx from this set is simply pure art.

..

[vthobby]

Here is my Feller Shrine! Original Municipal Stadium Seat signed by him and a home plate signed also! Surprisingly the seat is as solid as it was 75 years ago!

Peace, Mike

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[IndyDave]

Originally Posted by vtgmsc

Here is my Feller Shrine! Original Municipal Stadium Seat signed by him and a home plate signed also! Surprisingly the seat is as solid as it was 75 years ago!

Peace, Mike

Attachment 480911

Attachment 480912

Attachment 480913

Awesome pieces Mike.

Those seats had to see solid with as much noise as they made

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by MikeGarcia

..Printers' Proof/Office Copy from a New Jersey family whose relative worked at the shop where Dixie had their exquisite work done ; this never made it as far as the hole-punch process ; shows handling though ; there are survivors from the salesman's sample portfolios showing up sometimes : those have about 25 little holes across the top from being liberated from the spiral metal coil binding .... P.S. - The Foxx from this set is simply pure art.

..

Damn fine looking set

[ramram]

I’ve got a 1934-1936 Iowa State Amateur Baseball Tournament scorebook that has all of Feller’s last amateur games before the 16 year old went Pro.

Playing against much older, seasoned ballplayers the 16 year old high schooler dominated. This was the tournament at which Feller was "found" by superscout Cy Slapnicka. He was signed shortly thereafter. The scorebook was the official scorers book kept by the Iowa Amateur Athletic Association's State Chairman Joe Campbell. Feller's team of farm boys ended up winning the tournament against many of the well sponsored city boys. Feller was probably 8 - 10 years younger than most of the participants.

In the tournament, Feller pitched 27 1/3 innings, had 49 strikeouts and gave up 14 hits, 10 walks, 4 runs (1 earned run). The only earned run was on a home run.

Rob M

694C81E2-7448-479D-8ABA-BA95D5750D0F.jpg
Feller Scorebook 3.jpg

[Trublubrucru]

It was around 1981, I was looking through old National Geographics at school from the 40's and 50's and came across this ad. Bob Feller was attending a local card show that week and I had him sign it and a few other things. It was my first "paid" autograph. He was chatty with my mom and me and I left happy to have met my first Hall of Famer. ( how about that new T.V. with the LARGER 17 inch screen!)

[Leon]

Racial Justice Ink Blotter

[Vegas Cards]

I haven't seen a signed one posted in this thread yet so I'll throw mine out there. Nice card my uncle had autographed at a show years ago.

[egri]

Originally Posted by Vegas Cards

I haven't seen a signed one posted in this thread yet so I'll throw mine out there. Nice card my uncle had autographed at a show years ago.

Only the rare, unsigned ones so far.

Here's mine, with the previously-mentioned error on the label.

[IMG]Bob Feller[/IMG]

[Vegas Cards]

Only the rare, unsigned ones so far.

Touché - and I thought mine was special!

[orioles70]

A few Feller items

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Tao_Moko]

Originally Posted by Leon

Racial Justice Ink Blotter

Never seen this. Who issued it/them?

[Angyale]

Nobody has posted one of these yet.

Angyale

[5-Tool Player]

Bob Feller was a VERY smart man, he knew to strike when the iron was hot. A war hero and VERY gifted person with a "GOD" gifted arm. I met him once at a signing in LA and he listed many facts about his legacy.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by Tao_Moko

Never seen this. Who issued it/them?

I think I have seen who issued it but I forget now. Some googling might do it...

[irv]

Originally Posted by Tao_Moko

Never seen this. Who issued it/them?

Originally Posted by Leon

I think I have seen who issued it but I forget now. Some googling might do it...

All I was able to find was this doing a rather quick search.

"It’s a subway poster from 1950, published by the Institute for American Democracy"

https://blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-obse...er/2017/08/20/

[David W]

While this is not vintage, it is kind of cool.

My dad retired from Caterpillar 25 years ago, and being from Northeast Ohio, was an Indians and Bob Feller fan.

Caterpillar put out a set of trading cards featuring their tractors and such, and also included Karl Malone, who had Cat engines in his semi's and Bob Feller, who collected antique tractors, showing off an old Cat machine.

[JLange]

Absolutely thrilled to find this postcard of Bob Feller, "-now Pitching for Popsicle," c1947. The postcard is a real beater with a pinhole, paper loss, a tear, and creases, but I couldn't be happier to finally add this to my Bob Feller collection! The last one I saw for sale was over 10yrs ago, and I've wanted one ever since.

[BabyRuth]

Some Heads Up Fellers

[ruth-gehrig]

We Give A Damn

[puckpaul]

The rare signed 52 Topps!