Forum Readers-

Back in May, I was contacted by a Producer from the ESPN series Outside the Lines. I was informed by him that the Cardinals had a life size statue of McGwire cast back in 2001, and had planned to add it to the other statues outside the ballpark once he was enshrined into the Hall of Fame in 2007. Jump ahead to today-according to the producer, the statue has been stashed away in some warehouse in St. Louis, and is covered with an old tarp. The Cardinals deny it was ever made, and the chances of it ever seeing the light of day are slim.

The Producer wanted to know, from a fan and collectors standpoint, what is the "mood" surrounding McGwire? Are fans soured? Collectors still buying his items? Specifically, he was aware of my game used McGwire equipment collection, and wanted to get my thoughts.

I agreed to be part of the upcoming episode, and as such, was interviewed at my home and allowed these folks to shoot my collection. Although the majority of the episode will focus on the statue, it's my understanding that the shots of the McGwire jerseys, bats and equipment will be used throughout the piece (we also took a nice shot of my game worn Ripken, Gwynn and McGwire shirts hanging together). Likewise, I understand that I'll have my 15 seconds of fame, too!

I was just informed that the show may air this Sunday @ 9:30 A.M. ET. If it changes time/day, I'll update this site with the new information. Additional info. on this segment can be seen at: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/index

FYI

Howard Wolf
hblakewolf@patmedia.net