Willie Mays at Philly

[Archive]

Posted By: DJ

I gotta rant here and I'm glad this thread opened up. As a person who has NOT had the pleasure of meeting the surly, rude Mays on three occasions, I really need him on one item. When I saw $269, I could not believe it, especially since McCovey and Robinson will be at the same show and will be charging around $80. You have to look at it one of two ways. First, if you want a signature of him, you can buy them for far less. You can buy a signed 8x10 (authenticated) for around $50-75. Second, do you want to meet the s***head? Do you want your hero to not even look up or acknowledge you?

The last time I met him was Anaheim, CA show in 1994. $20 per signature. I asked him to sign a dozen Mickey/Willie/Duke balls in blue pen in a specific area of the ball. He grabbed a black pen and signed it under Snider (NOOOO!) and then he signed the last six, UPSIDE DOWN on the sweet spot above Mantle. Are you kidding me? He then grabbed my silver sharpie and began signing "The Catch" when the silver marker EXPLODED all over his hands. He didn't look up at me, didn't react, but kept trying to sign the photo with the busted pen. He finally grabbed a blue sharpie and signed over the mess he created.

I have heard from several since, he hasn't changed, but his price mostly certainly has...as, he WILL NOT sign it "Say Hey Kid", but will for extra funds sign it "Say Hey". He ain't getting my $269 and I think I will simply enjoy my free Marty Bystrom and move on.

DJ