General Forum

I remember one time I was trying to get autographs after a game at Camden Yards in Baltimore.  I was standing with others by the player's parking lot.  Sometimes a player would drive up and stop to sign autographs.  Well, on this night one of the players that stopped was B.J. Surhoff.  He stops and all these kids rush up to his driver's window to get him to sign.  I patiently waited for all the kids to get their autographs and then I approached his window.  When I did, I handed him two cards.  He said something to me but I couldnt understand him.  I asked him to say it again.  Then he goes, "Pick one.  This ain't no card show."  So I handed him the one card and he signed it and drove off.  I will never forget that as I still think it's pretty funny.  

It was during the Dallas Cowboys heyday in the '70s that I waited around after a game and was able to secure several autographs in a game program, including Hall of Famer Randy White, called the Manster by his teammates for being half man half monster. His was the last one I got that night. 

I went up to him and he towered over me. I handed him my program opened to the picture page when I hear him tell me in an angry tone, "It's on the wrong damn page!" He then smiled and winked to help ease my anxiety over my faux pas, and signed on the wrong page's border. 

Unfortunately, the program ended up in a chest at my grandparent's house that eventually disappeared along with my card collection from my youth. 

Honestly, the best stories I have are from autographs I didn't get, including this past spring when Boog Powell straight-faced lied to me and said he wasn't Boog Powell!

A couple of years ago, I was with my father-in-law and friend on a Spring Training trip, and we stop at the old Washington Nationals training camp at Space Coast Stadium.  We had just parked and was about to make our way to the stadium when we noticed the ESPN broadcast truck. A technician was setting up for an obvious on-the-scene spot and there was no one else around, so we walked up to him and asked who the on-air personality was. It was Ron Darling, and the technician even said Darling was a friendly guy and would probably have a few moments to sign if we hung around. So we did. Ron Darling came out and we approached him. He was awesome, very friendly. He signed our baseballs and we even got to take a group picture with him (which for some reason he specifically requested we not post on social media). I have picture and ball together on a shelf right now.

A few years back I attended a celebrity gold tournament aboard Camp Lejeune.  I ended up getting 100 cards signed during the two days.  Anyways, one of the players there was Gregg Olson.  I approached him and asked if he would sign a few cards.  This is while I'm holding a stack of cards.  He then asks me how many I have of him.  I told him 28.  He then says that he doesnt mind signing all of them.  So, he stood there and signed all 28 cards.  That was cool. 

As a side note, Willie Wilson signed 17 cards combined on the two days.  I even gave him a Sportflics card of him as he said he had never seen it before.   

I used to give my son an autographed baseball every year for Christmas. As he got older he would choose whose autograph to get. Since we live in St. Louis, there were/are often card shows or events which made this possible. He would usually try have a question to ask the player while they were signing the baseball. I have several stories about how nice many former players were including Johnny Bench, Tony Gwynn, Reggie Jackson, Red Schoendienst and others. My favorite was Steve Carlton. (Micah got his autograph probably 15+ years ago.)

My son told him that he knew when he had begun his pitching career times were different and pitchers often would purposely try and hit a batter. He asked Mr Carlton if he ever hit batters if they had hit a homerun off him previously or for other reasons. There was a long pause and then Steve Carlton spent over 10 minutes explaining to Micah that for the first couple years in their career a pitcher didn't throw at a batter unless he was instructed to from the dugout. After he had some experience, some pitchers made it a point to hit a batter, or almost hit a batter from time to time just to keep them from feeling comfortable at the plate. (I imagine he was remembering his teammate, Bob Gibson.) He claimed that he very rarely threw at, or hit batters on purpose, unless the dugout or his catcher wanted him to. He explained to Micah that his friend Tim McCarver caught many of the games he pitched and that Tim kept track of the players that needed a brush back or a plunking. He then described the different signs they had for each occasion. As I recall he hit sign involved patting the inside of the leg/ calf, then adjusting the opposite shin guard then another pat of the leg, this time thigh area. Carlton then had an acknowledgment sign to give. He described this then actually got up from the table and demonstrated it for Micah.  He told him that he thought that was the first time he had ever told anyone about the sign he had with McCarver. 

There was a lengthy line waiting for his (paid) autograph but Mr. Carlton was in no hurry to stop chatting with my son. He signed the baseball and added HOF 1994. I mentioned to Micah that hadn't he wanted to get Carlton's CY Young years on the baseball. Carlton was immediately apologetic and said he was so used to writing HOF and hadn't asked what inscription Micah had wanted. He added the years he won the Cy Young and asked if there was anything else Micah would like to have added. Micah was embarrassed and said that he was happy to chat with him and appreciated his time. Carlton stood up, shook his hand and then told him, "Don't forget" and when through the signs again for him.  A very classy guy for taking the time to talk and interact with a young fan.

If this thread stays around for awhile I'll try to "tell" about another experience or two we've had when getting a player's autograph.

Love reading these stories.  Stories like these are why I created this thread.  Thanks.  

Went to Spring Training workout as a teenager in 2002.  Was homeschooled so there weren't as many kids there on a weekday, which helped with getting autographs.  I had just pulled a 2002 Topps Craig Counsell from a pack on my way to the workout.  He came over and was signing and grabbed the card from me.  He gave it a long, funny look and said, "It's not me, but I'll sign it."  He signed and went back to his drills.  I was confused, but didn't think much about it at the time.  On the drive home I looked at the card and realized that Topps had made an error and used Greg Colbrunn's photo on Counsell's card.

Early 70's when I used to live in Louisville and went to all the ABA Kentucky Colonels home games.  Erving and the Nets were in town and after the game a buddy and myself went to the hotel where the Nets were playing which was next to Freedom Hall.  We had walked into the restaurant and Erving was sitting at one of the tables and I thought to myself "I have to get an autograph".  I had nothing to put it on, or write with, so I went to the gift shop and bought a pen and to my luck there was a Sport magazine with Erving on the front so I bought that.  Walked back into the restaurant and asked if I could get his autograph.  He told the two of us to pull up a chair and he would be happy to.  He not only signed the front of the magazine but also each of the 3 other pictures in the story.  I still have this magazine and doubt I will ever sell it.

A lot of the best stories I have are from obscure players or coaches, for some reason they tend to have the best interactions.  Former Richmond and DePaul coach Jerry Wainwright had been an assistant on Marquette's staff under Buzz Williams, then left and wound up at Fresno State, and the Bulldogs came back for a game at MU.  Jerry was never the most classically handsome guy and was self-depricating.  After the FSU-MU game, I went near the tunnel as he was walking off to see if he'd autograph a card from his time at MU.  He sees the card and says "Ah, from the old days."  Then as he signs it and hands it back, he says "Hang this on your bathroom wall, and you'll never be irregular."  The implication being his image would scare the #2 out of you.  We all laughed and he proceeded down the tunnel.

Keep em coming.......