Celebs both well known and obscure that you have met

[quote="gman" post=396932][quote="Beast of the East" post=396928][quote="gman" post=396925]I grew up with Wally Szczerbiak. He is always nice to me, but I have heard others posters have different experiences.

Met Bon Jovi who was super nice.

Frederik from Million Dollar listing was a jerk.

Jon Bernthal is a cool guy.

Met Tony Hawk a few times. Super nice guy.[/quote]

Hey Gman. I knew Wally's family, especially his mom and sister (from AAU where his sister was a teammate of my daughter). I can't imagine his parents raising him to be well mannered and a decent guy. They are a great family, but I can see how his dad could rub some people the wrong way. But all in all his dad is a really good guy. I know you didn't bash him in -the least, but when you know a family and know what they expect of their kids, you feel compelled to dispel negative comments.[/quote]

Our sisters are very close. The difference is his sister is 6 foot and my sister 5 foot. His parents are very nice people.[/quote]

Ask your sister to say hi to Wendy and her parents from Julie's dad from the SIlver Bullets. Wendy is such a nice kid. After a couple of years with the Silver Bullets my daughter moved on to another team that I coached. Once we walked into a gym and Wendy was playing and at the foul line when she saw me. She stopped as she was ready to release the ball, a wide smile broke across her face, and she waved to me. I never forget that although she was very competitive as an athlete (her and Kate Harrison took CSH very deep into the HS state playoffs one year), she was just a flat out very nice kid. I believe a knee injury ended her basketball career while at Lehigh.

About 7 or 8 years ago I got a cold call from Bain Capital, and it was from Wally's brother Will. As he tried to pitch to me, I went on and on about what a great family he is from. After at least 10 minutes of that, Will ended the call and never called back. It was kind of funny.
 
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[quote="MarkRedman" post=396942]I used to collect baseball memorabilia and regularly went to card shows to get autographs. I've met hundreds of former baseball players through the years.

The biggest "dick" has to be Willie Mays, which kills me because I was a huge Giants fan when they played in NY. The Say Hey kid was my idol. Boy, was my bubble burst!! I've met him several times and he never failed to act like a Grade A jerk. For example, I saw him sign a ball for a young fan (for which he was handsomely paid), rolled the ball back to him, saw the signature smudge and smirked at him.[/quote]

I had virtually the same experience with Mays. I told him that when I was a kid I idolized him, even mimicking the basket catch and buying a similar glove with a T-web.. HE scrunched up his face and looked at me like there was something wrong with me. I read that he was completely bitter that Mantle autographs could command so much more when Mays felt he was the better players. He attributed it to racism.

Almost same story with Seaver. In addition, the person in front of me asked Seaver to sign the ball with the inscription "HOF 306 wins". When the person walked away, a girl who I believe was his daughter helping him said "You had 311 wins, why did you sign 306". Seaver said to the girl "Because that's what he asked for", not caring one bit to correct the fan's error., and thinking of it as a little joke. Ass.
 
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[quote="Beast of the East" post=397003][quote="MarkRedman" post=396942]I used to collect baseball memorabilia and regularly went to card shows to get autographs. I've met hundreds of former baseball players through the years.

The biggest "dick" has to be Willie Mays, which kills me because I was a huge Giants fan when they played in NY. The Say Hey kid was my idol. Boy, was my bubble burst!! I've met him several times and he never failed to act like a Grade A jerk. For example, I saw him sign a ball for a young fan (for which he was handsomely paid), rolled the ball back to him, saw the signature smudge and smirked at him.[/quote]

I had virtually the same experience with Mays. I told him that when I was a kid I idolized him, even mimicking the basket catch and buying a similar glove with a T-web.. HE scrunched up his face and looked at me like there was something wrong with me. I read that he was completely bitter that Mantle autographs could command so much more when Mays felt he was the better players. He attributed it to racism.

Almost same story with Seaver. In addition, the person in front of me asked Seaver to sign the ball with the inscription "HOF 306 wins". When the person walked away, a girl who I believe was his daughter helping him said "You had 311 wins, why did you sign 306". Seaver said to the girl "Because that's what he asked for", not caring one bit tom correct the fan's error. Ass.[/quote]

My Dad worked at Shea Stadium for a number of years. Tom(also my Dad's name coincidentally) was a complete jerk from all the stories I've heard.
 
[quote="Monte" post=397004][quote="Beast of the East" post=397003][quote="MarkRedman" post=396942]I used to collect baseball memorabilia and regularly went to card shows to get autographs. I've met hundreds of former baseball players through the years.

The biggest "dick" has to be Willie Mays, which kills me because I was a huge Giants fan when they played in NY. The Say Hey kid was my idol. Boy, was my bubble burst!! I've met him several times and he never failed to act like a Grade A jerk. For example, I saw him sign a ball for a young fan (for which he was handsomely paid), rolled the ball back to him, saw the signature smudge and smirked at him.[/quote]

I had virtually the same experience with Mays. I told him that when I was a kid I idolized him, even mimicking the basket catch and buying a similar glove with a T-web.. HE scrunched up his face and looked at me like there was something wrong with me. I read that he was completely bitter that Mantle autographs could command so much more when Mays felt he was the better players. He attributed it to racism.

Almost same story with Seaver. In addition, the person in front of me asked Seaver to sign the ball with the inscription "HOF 306 wins". When the person walked away, a girl who I believe was his daughter helping him said "You had 311 wins, why did you sign 306". Seaver said to the girl "Because that's what he asked for", not caring one bit tom correct the fan's error. Ass.[/quote]

My Dad worked at Shea Stadium for a number of years. Tom(also my Dad's name coincidentally) was a complete jerk from all the stories I've heard.[/quote]

I've heard a similar story from a guy who worked in a supermarket near the Seaver's Greenwich CT home about both him and Nancy . Seaver never really returned the love that fans showed him. I guess Mantle never did either, but the affection for Mantle transcended sports. His public persona and athletic success was simply what every kid in America aspired to.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=397005][quote="Monte" post=397004][quote="Beast of the East" post=397003][quote="MarkRedman" post=396942]I used to collect baseball memorabilia and regularly went to card shows to get autographs. I've met hundreds of former baseball players through the years.

The biggest "dick" has to be Willie Mays, which kills me because I was a huge Giants fan when they played in NY. The Say Hey kid was my idol. Boy, was my bubble burst!! I've met him several times and he never failed to act like a Grade A jerk. For example, I saw him sign a ball for a young fan (for which he was handsomely paid), rolled the ball back to him, saw the signature smudge and smirked at him.[/quote]

I had virtually the same experience with Mays. I told him that when I was a kid I idolized him, even mimicking the basket catch and buying a similar glove with a T-web.. HE scrunched up his face and looked at me like there was something wrong with me. I read that he was completely bitter that Mantle autographs could command so much more when Mays felt he was the better players. He attributed it to racism.

Almost same story with Seaver. In addition, the person in front of me asked Seaver to sign the ball with the inscription "HOF 306 wins". When the person walked away, a girl who I believe was his daughter helping him said "You had 311 wins, why did you sign 306". Seaver said to the girl "Because that's what he asked for", not caring one bit tom correct the fan's error. Ass.[/quote]

My Dad worked at Shea Stadium for a number of years. Tom(also my Dad's name coincidentally) was a complete jerk from all the stories I've heard.[/quote]

I've heard a similar story from a guy who worked in a supermarket near the Seaver's Greenwich CT home about both him and Nancy . Seaver never really returned the love that fans showed him. I guess Mantle never did either, but the affection for Mantle transcended sports. His public persona and athletic success was simply what every kid in America aspired to.[/quote]

Ted Williams not exactly a warm and fuzzy guy either. Mantle had that infectious smile. That helped a lot.
 
[quote="Beast of the East" post=397002][quote="gman" post=396932][quote="Beast of the East" post=396928][quote="gman" post=396925]I grew up with Wally Szczerbiak. He is always nice to me, but I have heard others posters have different experiences.

Met Bon Jovi who was super nice.

Frederik from Million Dollar listing was a jerk.

Jon Bernthal is a cool guy.

Met Tony Hawk a few times. Super nice guy.[/quote]

Hey Gman. I knew Wally's family, especially his mom and sister (from AAU where his sister was a teammate of my daughter). I can't imagine his parents raising him to be well mannered and a decent guy. They are a great family, but I can see how his dad could rub some people the wrong way. But all in all his dad is a really good guy. I know you didn't bash him in -the least, but when you know a family and know what they expect of their kids, you feel compelled to dispel negative comments.[/quote]

Our sisters are very close. The difference is his sister is 6 foot and my sister 5 foot. His parents are very nice people.[/quote]

Ask your sister to say hi to Wendy and her parents from Julie's dad from the SIlver Bullets. Wendy is such a nice kid. After a couple of years with the Silver Bullets my daughter moved on to another team that I coached. Once we walked into a gym and Wendy was playing and at the foul line when she saw me. She stopped as she was ready to release the ball, a wide smile broke across her face, and she waved to me. I never forget that although she was very competitive as an athlete (her and Kate Harrison took CSH very deep into the HS state playoffs one year), she was just a flat out very nice kid. I believe a knee injury ended her basketball career while at Lehigh.

About 7 or 8 years ago I got a cold call from Bain Capital, and it was from Wally's brother Will. As he tried to pitch to me, I went on and on about what a great family he is from. After at least 10 minutes of that, Will ended the call and never called back. It was kind of funny.[/quote]

Small world. I know Kate very well too. Wendy had multiple knee surgeries and retired while at Lehigh. They were a good duo in HS.
 
[quote="gman" post=397024][quote="Beast of the East" post=397002][quote="gman" post=396932][quote="Beast of the East" post=396928][quote="gman" post=396925]I grew up with Wally Szczerbiak. He is always nice to me, but I have heard others posters have different experiences.

Met Bon Jovi who was super nice.

Frederik from Million Dollar listing was a jerk.

Jon Bernthal is a cool guy.

Met Tony Hawk a few times. Super nice guy.[/quote]

Hey Gman. I knew Wally's family, especially his mom and sister (from AAU where his sister was a teammate of my daughter). I can't imagine his parents raising him to be well mannered and a decent guy. They are a great family, but I can see how his dad could rub some people the wrong way. But all in all his dad is a really good guy. I know you didn't bash him in -the least, but when you know a family and know what they expect of their kids, you feel compelled to dispel negative comments.[/quote]

Our sisters are very close. The difference is his sister is 6 foot and my sister 5 foot. His parents are very nice people.[/quote]

Ask your sister to say hi to Wendy and her parents from Julie's dad from the SIlver Bullets. Wendy is such a nice kid. After a couple of years with the Silver Bullets my daughter moved on to another team that I coached. Once we walked into a gym and Wendy was playing and at the foul line when she saw me. She stopped as she was ready to release the ball, a wide smile broke across her face, and she waved to me. I never forget that although she was very competitive as an athlete (her and Kate Harrison took CSH very deep into the HS state playoffs one year), she was just a flat out very nice kid. I believe a knee injury ended her basketball career while at Lehigh.

About 7 or 8 years ago I got a cold call from Bain Capital, and it was from Wally's brother Will. As he tried to pitch to me, I went on and on about what a great family he is from. After at least 10 minutes of that, Will ended the call and never called back. It was kind of funny.[/quote]

Small world. I know Kate very well too. Wendy had multiple knee surgeries and retired while at Lehigh. They were a good duo in HS.[/quote]

Kate is a very nice girl, and I knew her mom very well. Kate was a fundamentally sound ballplayer who I think went to Gettysburg to play bball - not the best student. I was at her brothers wake which was a horrible thing a family never gets over.
 
John Denver- very nice, but this was way before he was "discovered"

Paul Newman-in the National Review building as he was going to meet with William F. Buckley, Jr. (Paul Newman had the greatest eyes I have ever seen; call them "cool" blue, I guess), striking.

Alice Cooper- on an airplane, all I know he was very into golfing if you can believe that

Jerry Grote's wife Sharon Grote, as they were pulling out of the Mets' parking lot, pretty and friendly, handed us pre-printed autographs.

Cassius Clay (at the time) later Muhamed Ali, super friendly, signed every kid an autograph, about 30 of us on a class trip into "the City"and Sister Mary Augustine too, lots of fun talk, gave us the time of our lives

Mickey Mantle drunk unfortunately, Spenser Ross had a sporting goods store in my town once, and Mick came and got paid for meet, greet and autographs, towards the end of his life, he was sending over a runner to the Glen Rock Inn to get sent back and forth with vodka in soft drink cups, so he could drink it while at the store, sad to witness

Rudy Guilianni, arrogant.

Looie C., best of the best, on an elevator at the Garden and a few other times, made you feel great.

David Gregory, former newscaster NBC, nice guy

Tim Russert- great funny guy

Frank Peligrino half owner of Rao's/Actor/singer-stuck up
 
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[quote="BrookJersey Redmen" post=397033]John Denver- very nice, but this was way before he was "discovered"

Paul Newman-in the National Review building as he was going to meet with William F. Buckley, Jr. (Paul Newman had the greatest eyes I have ever seen; call them "cool" blue, I guess), striking.

Alice Cooper- on an airplane, all I know he was very into golfing if you can believe that

Jerry Grote's wife Sharon Grote, as they were pulling out of the Mets' parking lot, pretty and friendly, handed us pre-printed autographs.

Cassius Clay (at the time) later Muhamed Ali, super friendly, signed every kid an autograph, about 30 of us on a class trip into "the City"and Sister Mary Augustine too, lots of fun talk, gave us the time of our lives

Mickey Mantle drunk unfortunately, Spenser Ross had a sporting goods store in my town once, and Mick came and got paid for meet, greet and autographs, towards the end of his life, he was sending over a runner to the Glen Rock Inn to get sent back and forth with vodka in soft drink cups, so he could drink it while at the store, sad to witness

Rudy Guilianni, arrogant.

Looie C., best of the best, on an elevator at the Garden and a few other times, made you feel great.

David Gregory, former newscaster NBC, nice guy

Tim Russert- great funny guy

Frank Peligrino half owner of Rao's/Actor/singer-stuck up[/quote] your Cassius Clay one just moved to #1 on my favorite list. Very cool !!
 
[quote="BrookJersey Redmen" post=397033]

Alice Cooper- on an airplane, all I know he was very into golfing if you can believe that

[/quote]

I had the great honor to know Cooper a bit in the 90’s through a mutual friend and he is one interesting character on many levels. He was/is great friends with the Beatles, Ringo was a charter member of the Hollywood Vampires, Cooper’s LA “drinking club”, and Lennon also periodically participated and imbibed. He was also very close with Groucho Marx, frequently visiting Groucho in the middle of the night to watch old movies as both were insomniacs. Coincidentally, Cooper was recently interviewed on the Beatles Sirius station and told the story about Groucho giving Cooper a round bed he owned since the 30’s and Cooper in turn gifting it later to McCartney who to this day uses it in a meditation room he has in one of his homes in Scotland. Cooper is one genuine, intelligent, well spoken, down to earth good guy.
 
I had forgotten to post that I had worked in the men's locker room while in college at the US Open tennis tournament.

The list is very long but there were dozens

John Newcombe - was announcing by then, very engaging
Arthur Ashe - soft spoken gentleman
Jimmy Connors - friendly with all the kids who worked at the club and always friendly towards me.
Borg - very low key
Nastase - I saw some outrageous things he said or did, nothing horrible but still over the line.
Stan Smith - Gentleman
Manuel Orantes - We were friendly and I was especially friendly with a tennic magazine write from Spain who hardly spoke any English but still gave me his address if I ever visited Spain.
Alan King - was up there every day - club member - sponsored a tennis tournament named after him. pompous blowhard
Spiro Agnew - former VP at the time
Howard Cosell
John Lloyd - was the nicest guy and most generous to locker room boys
Harold Solomon - very friendly guy, insanely attracted to Chris Evert
Guillermo Vilas - girls would call the locker room all the time , just fans who wanted to be groupies
Vitas Gerulaitis - was off the wall funny, and told really funny stories. Big partier
John McEnroe - stuck up even as a 17 year old but I dismiss that as being a kid. His friends on the tour told me he was extremely generous and a loyal friend.
Bill Cosby
Roscoe Tanner - very nice guy. big serve, his left forearm was twice the size of his right one
Ken Rosewall - at 42 still seeded
Pancho Segura - Connors coach
Eddie Dibbs
Marty Reissen - very early one morning badgered me to hit with him because no one else was around. I didn't want to tell him I didn't play tennis. Vitas overheard him and told a great story about being a teen and hitting with Rosewall
NEal Fraser - he won the open twice but on day 1 of year one wouldnt let him into the locker room because i didn't know who he was and he didn't have a players badge


Rod Laver
 
[quote="Logen" post=397039][quote="BrookJersey Redmen" post=397033]

Alice Cooper- on an airplane, all I know he was very into golfing if you can believe that

[/quote]

I had the great honor to know Cooper a bit in the 90’s through a mutual friend and he is one interesting character on many levels. He was/is great friends with the Beatles, Ringo was a charter member of the Hollywood Vampires, Cooper’s LA “drinking club”, and Lennon also periodically participated and imbibed. He was also very close with Groucho Marx, frequently visiting Groucho in the middle of the night to watch old movies as both were insomniacs. Coincidentally, Cooper was recently interviewed on the Beatles Sirius station and told the story about Groucho giving Cooper a round bed he owned since the 30’s and Cooper in turn gifting it later to McCartney who to this day uses it in a meditation room he has in one of his homes in Scotland. Cooper is one genuine, intelligent, well spoken, down to earth good guy.[/quote]

Cooper was also recently featured in the Laurel Canyon doc on Epix hanging out with a diverse group that included a lot of the early Cali rockers like the doors, byrds, joni, etc.... and the Monkees. A pretty diverse group.

Re the golf think, I believe he is a single digit handicapper and has been featured on Callaway Golf ads for years.
 
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Cooper also into Baseball. Detroit/Phoenix fan. He had a restaurant/sports bar in Phoenix called "Cooper’stown" It was around for a long time but closed a few years ago I think.
 
EXPANDING ON ME GETTING TO MEET CLAY/ALI:

So we are in the Eightth Grade at St. Jerome's in Flatbush and Sr. Mary Augustine (A sister of Mercy (No Mercy) a battle-ax who believed in corporal punishment) takes us into Manhattan for a class trip. Got out of the Subway having taken the IRT (old-timers know those designations) and there nearby walking alone on the street was Cassius Clay, well before he changed his name. He had no entourage.

Well the good sister was a giant Mickey Mantle fan and claimed to be Mick's cousin (she wasn't), and she was a real right winger. So us kids thought she would ignore Clay as she was pro-Viet Nam War and all that was going on at the time.

I guess his celebrity status got to her.

A few of the class started chanting " CASSIUS CLAY/ALL THE WAY", over and over, he loved it. He came over to us (all white kids/one hispanic) and was the nicest guy in the world. Mocking to box with a few kids; sing songing, "Float like a butterfly/sting like a bee". Making up rhymes with our names. Meeting lasted about 15 minutes. He gave every single one of us his autograph and kissed the nun goodbye when we left.

I carried around that autograph in my little wallet with my G.O. card (to get into the Garden back in the late 60's for .50 cents). I have no idea how much it might be worth as I know nothing about collectibles. Sadly, I lost it somehow someway over the years, so did my two closest friends at the time who are still my friends. None know where the autograph is today. I wonder if anyone in the group kept better care of theirs.

This is totally true and anecdotal, so I do not know if Clay/Ali really was as nice as he was to us that day. I hope so.
 
[quote="BrookJersey Redmen" post=397089]EXPANDING ON ME GETTING TO MEET CLAY/ALI:

So we are in the Eightth Grade at St. Jerome's in Flatbush and Sr. Mary Augustine (A sister of Mercy (No Mercy) a battle-ax who believed in corporal punishment) takes us into Manhattan for a class trip. Got out of the Subway having taken the IRT (old-timers know those designations) and there nearby walking alone on the street was Cassius Clay, well before he changed his name. He had no entourage.

Well the good sister was a giant Mickey Mantle fan and claimed to be Mick's cousin (she wasn't), and she was a real right winger. So us kids thought she would ignore Clay as she was pro-Viet Nam War and all that was going on at the time.

I guess his celebrity status got to her.

A few of the class started chanting " CASSIUS CLAY/ALL THE WAY", over and over, he loved it. He came over to us (all white kids/one hispanic) and was the nicest guy in the world. Mocking to box with a few kids; sing songing, "Float like a butterfly/sting like a bee". Making up rhymes with our names. Meeting lasted about 15 minutes. He gave every single one of us his autograph and kissed the nun goodbye when we left.

I carried around that autograph in my little wallet with my G.O. card (to get into the Garden back in the late 60's for .50 cents). I have no idea how much it might be worth as I know nothing about collectibles. Sadly, I lost it somehow someway over the years, so did my two closest friends at the time who are still my friends. None know where the autograph is today. I wonder if anyone in the group kept better care of theirs.

This is totally true and anecdotal, so I do not know if Clay/Ali really was as nice as he was to us that day. I hope so.[/quote] autographs mean literally nothing to me. Never been an autograph guy. But oh man that experience you had meeting him is the best story ever and something that lasts a lifetime. That’s worth more than anything
 
[quote="Andrew" post=396997][quote="otis" post=396919]OK .... let me attempt to lighten things up a bit during the COVID down time.

Another Big East basketball message board I peek at from time to time has a lengthy thread where posters posted about their meetings or brushes with celebrities which provided a number of interesting stories.

So, let me ask you; have you ever met or crossed paths with a celeb and was the celeb nice or an a-hole ? Thanks.[/quote]

Great topic - thanks for posting. Had to rack my brain a little. I am only 50 but there have been some hazy days.[/quote]

Andrew, if you're 50 and have some hazy days, I have some bad news for you
I am 20 years older than you and can tell you that it doesn't get better with time :(
 
[quote="BrookJersey Redmen" post=397089]EXPANDING ON ME GETTING TO MEET CLAY/ALI:

So we are in the Eightth Grade at St. Jerome's in Flatbush and Sr. Mary Augustine (A sister of Mercy (No Mercy) a battle-ax who believed in corporal punishment) takes us into Manhattan for a class trip. Got out of the Subway having taken the IRT (old-timers know those designations) and there nearby walking alone on the street was Cassius Clay, well before he changed his name. He had no entourage.

Well the good sister was a giant Mickey Mantle fan and claimed to be Mick's cousin (she wasn't), and she was a real right winger. So us kids thought she would ignore Clay as she was pro-Viet Nam War and all that was going on at the time.

I guess his celebrity status got to her.

A few of the class started chanting " CASSIUS CLAY/ALL THE WAY", over and over, he loved it. He came over to us (all white kids/one hispanic) and was the nicest guy in the world. Mocking to box with a few kids; sing songing, "Float like a butterfly/sting like a bee". Making up rhymes with our names. Meeting lasted about 15 minutes. He gave every single one of us his autograph and kissed the nun goodbye when we left.

I carried around that autograph in my little wallet with my G.O. card (to get into the Garden back in the late 60's for .50 cents). I have no idea how much it might be worth as I know nothing about collectibles. Sadly, I lost it somehow someway over the years, so did my two closest friends at the time who are still my friends. None know where the autograph is today. I wonder if anyone in the group kept better care of theirs.

This is totally true and anecdotal, so I do not know if Clay/Ali really was as nice as he was to us that day. I hope so.[/quote]
By almost all accounts Ali was definitely a people person and also a great humanitarian. My favorite athlete of all time. Would definitely be on my list of 3 dinner guests (question asked by Steve Serby of the Post when he does lengthly personal interviews of sports figures).
 
Speaking of "Cooper", in a previous life I did some
work for comedian Pat Cooper in his west village apartment. Same personality off stage as on stage. Same for Jackie Mason. Lewis Black a bit more subdued but a very nice guy. Rupaul as well, very nice and very reserved. I did work for a fair amount of celebrities over the years, most of whom were wonderful to work with. Also Tony Sopranos wife, I forget her name but she was very nice to everyone. The only one that wasn't was actor Rob Morrow. Not nasty, just basically
ignored everyone. I've heard wonderful stories about Ali over the years, so not like surprised by what's been said about him on this thread.
 
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Got Rudy to come up to Cardinal Hayes a number of years ago to speak with the student body.

It was the day before West Point played ND at Yankee Stadium.

The Army captain was a Hayes grad.

Rudy was a very nice guy. Could not be friendlier.
 
Omar Minaya - met and spoke to him at a PC Changs. He actually played for one of my friends in Flushing.
Robert Morse - Actor.
Dennis Franz - NYYPD Blue.
Larry Bearnarth - a good friend. Played with me and for me in the Queens Alliance.
Lou Carnesecca - scouted for him and Lapchick.
Jack Kaiser - my varsity baseball coach.
Jarvis - met at a pre game before the Johnnies - Hoya game. Not a friendly sort.
Chris Mullin - met at the Orlando, FL Tournament dinner.
Jay Williams - was in Louie's office when Jayson came in and wanted to show us his brand new BMW that he had bought after signing with an NBA team.
John Franco = at MSG. He signed my youngest son's hat twice, once under the cap. After my friend yelled," Hey Franco don't you know where to sign?"He signed again.
Pete Reiser and Joe Medwick - after a Bklyn Dodger game. Medwick had his head wrapped after banging against the outfield wall.
Lenny Wilkens - coached him at the famous Flushing Tournament at the Flushing Armory.
Vince Skully - while waiting for autographs before the Braves - Dodger game he asked me to help carry the umpires trunk up to their dressing room.
Teddy Schreiber - played for me in the Queens Alliance before signing with the Mets.
Charlie Schilling - was one of my assistant coaches in the Smithtown Baseball League, Also one of my neighbors in Hillside Terrace. After his stint with the Boston Redsox I got him a teaching job in a junior high. One of the nicest and easy going guys.
Memorbilia meetings
Chpper Jones - easy to talk to.
Brooks Robinson = great guy.
Willie Mays - surly, unfriendly. Woulldn't sign anything but his name.
Mickey Mantle - at the same show as Mays glady posed for pictures after sighning an autograph.
Dick Schmidt - a real dick. After a gentleman asked him to sign his homerun numbers he yelled, 'put it down yourself.'
Alex Rodriques - talk about dicks. Asked him to put his shirt number, doesn't answer me then rolls the ball ack to me. His heper explains he doesn't sign anything other then his name. So I leaed over and said ,do you talk/ He gave me the dirtiest look.
Stan the man Musial - What a guy. He tells me he will sign anything I want. So he puts Stan The Man, 3630 hits and his HOF 69'.After I compliment him regarding his many home runs over that right field wall at Ebbets Field.he tells me that it was at Ebbets Field he first played first base and never left. Meanwhile the line was way, way back at St Francis Prep h.s.
Sandy Koufax - he signed a picture with his 4 no hitters.
Joe DiMaggio -signed a baseball, couldn't sign bats due to his arthritis.
Ken Griffey - great guy. Went along the third baseline seats to the outfield prior to the game signing autographs.
Tony Gwynn - a sweetheart of a guy.
Emmit Smith - another dick.
Jeff Kent - quiet, not surprising.
Greg Maddux - very personable.
Hank Aaron and Ed Matthews = had them sign a picture together. Both put their HOF # and home run totals.
Bob Feller - good guy.
Pete Rose - he and Feller probably signed the most memorbilia of all sports fiqures. Kind of weakens their value.
That's all folks!
 
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