How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

[Canseco44]

I was just wondering how many of you have have actually got to meet the athlete that you collect. Obviously, I collect Canseco, but have never actually met him face to face. I had a meeting set up once in Denton, Tx, but it was cancelled due to a bomb threat. Lets hear from you that have, and maybe see some pics if you have them.


Todd

[kylehess10]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

Well I may not have a MAIN interest in collecting (besides Braves) but there are a few player's that I have pieces from (that I want more from so technically I "collect" them):


Andruw Jones - Haven't met him yet. I arrived at the 2007 Braves fanfest 2 hours early in the freezing cold to meet him, where he was scheduled to appear. Then all of the sudden news came out that he decided to go to the Super Bowl instead and he didn't show up


Edgar Renteria - Met him twice. First time was at the 2006 Braves Fanfest, and the second time was before a game at the dugout


Chipper Jones - Met him twice. First time was at the 2004 Braves Fanfest. Got him to sign a game used bat and OML baseball. Second time was at the 2006 Braves Fanfest. Got him to sign my team-signed banner which needed his signature.

[metsbats]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I first met Ed Hearn at a card show in the early 90's in NY. Just a regular meeting where he signed a bat and ball. Then in 1998 I arranged for him to come by to meet me at my job at the time (Bear Stearns) to sign some items for me. I had emailed him months prior to the meeting to see if I can mail him some bats to sign and he told me he was going to be in the NYC area for some business and offered to swing by my work and would sign anything for me and anyone else at the job.

We've kept in touch ever since and he been over the house to view his stuff several times over the years.

-David

[sylbry]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

Met Jack Morris 5 times.

Met Bert Blyleven 3 times.

Met Dick Stigman once and have corresponded by mail.

Met Dick Such once and have corresponded by mail.

[mvandor]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

Honestly, my appreciation for the people I collect has to do with their on field athletic skills, accomplishments, abilities - little to do really with them as individuals. I really have little interest in meeting most of them, in fact, there's a bit of a fear they'll be jerks, it'll negatively color my fond memories of their athletic prowess ala the O.J. Simpson events. As much of a fan as I was of his, watching his entire career from USC through the pros, I could not collect his stuff and feel positive about it after the murders. Tried, felt guilty, and dumped the stuff.

Having said that, the next major show in SoCal, I'll likely attend as I've gotten bored simply buying things and there are a few I'd actually like to meet and maybe get a pic with, like Joe Montana...

Exception to the rule.

[mvandor]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

Should mention when I was in high school I worked in a carwash in Orange County when the Rams were there during the 70's. Some great Rams used to come through all the time, Fred Dryer & Jack Youngblood, among them. Not really starstruck by athletes as a result of those early experiences.

[Dewey2007]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I collect stuff of guys from my hometown and there are a couple of them in my age group that I am friends with:

Erik Schullstrom (Twins)
Isaiah Rider (T-Wolves, Blazers, Lakers)
Junior Tautalatasi (Eagles, Cowboys)

I have known them for years and we run into each other every now and then. There are a number of others who I am hoping to meet in the future.

[AWA85]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I collect all Cincinnati Reds items but only have met a few here and there for a quick autograph. Two guys that would cause me to stray off the Reds search would be Mike Sweeney and Deivi Cruz. Both were great guys to talk to when they made stops in my town for single A baseball.

[33bird]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I've met and shook hands with Bill Russell (celtics), Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Magic Johnson, and Mchale and Ainge. But, the one I haven't met is Larry Bird. Someday maybe.
Greg
biggamebird@yahoo.com

[Dewey2007]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

Greg, funny anecdote about the only time I had an interaction with Bill Russell as a kid. As you know he's famous for not signing autographs, well unless there's lots of money involved. He was at a Warriors game and I asked him for his autograph. He said he didn't sign autos and gave me this story of how it made him feel like he was better then other people and so on. So I told him I'd trade him my autograph for his. He got a good chuckle out of this offer but still politely refused to sign.

Dewey

[skipcareyisfat]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

By far the best one for me has been Dale Murphy, and no one's really a close second. He was my hero growing up so I guess I'm a little biased. But all of those great things people always talk about with him are completely true. He's as good as it gets to meet in person.

[bigtruck260]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I used to get to the games at Busch early - and had my spot in left field where I would talk to several guys in the 90's. When they remodeled things, it got trickier.

Had some really nice converstions with Ray Lankford, Brian Jordan and Dimitri Young in 1996. I sat next to Ron Gant's wife at a game twice in the 90's - and he was a nice guy.

Edmonds is a class act. I ran into him at Guns and Hoses (Firefighters vs. Cops) fights last Thanksgiving eve. His wife/girlfriend was easily the best looking woman there.

Willie Mcgee was exactly the way I thought he would be. Humble and happy.

Eric Davis and I were in the same elevator by ourselves at a Rams game in 1999. He was dressed like Huggy Bear - lots of silk..., a fedora and a cigar.

I live in O'Fallon,MO - and though I don't collect Darryl Strawberry, I ran into him at a gas station. I remember thinking..."Damn! That dude looks just like Darryl Strawberry." When we were inside, I told him just that. He started laughing and said.."it's me, I live here"...who would have thought?

A NY hero living in the country. I never would have guessed. He still looks good - and way bigger than I thought he was.

Dave

[jake33]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

collecting D-rays is pretty easy, I live less than a mile from the spring traiing stadium and see most the players a 7:00 am by myself going into the stadium and got a ton of autographs on practice used balls...


Meet these guys and they are just awesome

Percival
Baldelli
James Shields
Jonny Gomes
Ben Zobrist
Evan Longoria

Kazmir is fine when there is no one else around, he clearly doesn't like getting bombarded though

[Kid4hof03]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I used to collect Graig Nettles stuff, until I met him. That meeting was so sour that I sold it all.

I met Ron Gant when he was with the Phillies. He was great, took time to chat, took a picture with me. My wife was pregnant at the time with our first child, he asked her questions about the due date, how she was feeling, etc. I thought that was pretty thoughtful since it was just an autograph signing.

I met Bernie Williams in 1996, he was also very gracious. I've met Gary Carter numerous times, he's always fun and likes to chat. Howard Johnson and Bobby Murcer are two guys that I don't collect but they stand out as being the most pleasant autograph show experiences I've ever had. Both guys were interested in the items I had signed and really very gracious.

The best experience ever was just a few months ago. My 7 year old son loves Darryl Dawkins. He plays a PS2 game that has Dawkins on it and is now fascinated with the guy. I took him to a show in North Jersey to get Dawkins' autograph in December. At the time we were the only ones in line for him. Dawkins chatted with my son, teased him a bit while trying to give him a high five, personalized his photos for free (there was a $10 fee) and took pictures with him. My son's response on the ride home was "this was the greatest day of my life." That one is now by far my favorite experience.

I've had some e-mail correspondence with Willie Mcgee, as Dave said, he was exactly as I expected, such a humble guy. I also exchanged several e-mails with Darrell Porter a few months before he passed away. Again, he was a very nice guy, his passing was quite sad.

Abe

[mvandor]

Re: How many of you have met the athlete you collect?

I used to collect Graig Nettles stuff, until I met him. That meeting was so sour that I sold it all.

Yup, that's my fear. LT for example, last few shows you see pics of him hiding behind shades like he doesn't want to deal with people (seen same thing with Merriman, that's rude behavior IMHO when people are paying a premium to meet you). If I had a bad experience with him it would be SO disappointing plus I know I'd dump some of my fav items.