the Autograph Corner
STEVE BARTMAN GOT BACK TO ME
Well, this is the doldrums for
me as far as sports are concerned. I'm not into basketball,
hockey or NASCAR. The football playoffs are interesting,
but they lose a little excitement for me since I have no
fantasy team to cheer for anymore, and the "pick the
winners" pool that I participate in every season has ended.
I did well on that one, taking first place out of the 78
players participating. I used my winnings to buy six Civil
War General biographies that I'd been wanting. Union
Generals Daniel Butterfield and Charles Russell Lowell are
additions to my collection as are Confederate Generals Tom
Green, Louis Wigfall, Robert Toombs and Leroy Pope Walker.
So I'll have some enjoyable reading for a while.
My fantasy
team, the Anarchist Bombers, bombed out on me in the
playoffs. I took first place in our league, but I lost both
playoff games so I ended up finishing fourth. I lost the
first game 124 to 121. If Darryl Jackson would have caught
that pass in the end zone at the end of the Seahawks game in
week 16, Matt Hasselbeck would have had 1 more touchdown
pass and won it for me. How bad was my luck? I cut Rudy
Johnson because Dillon was getting the bulk of the carries,
and my opponent picked him up on waivers. He scored 20
points for my opponent. Still I had a 14 point lead and he
only had 1 more player left to play. In an Eagles offense
that rotates 3 running backs, you wouldn't think Brian
Westbrook would score 2 touchdowns and finish with 17
points, but that's what happened. Ouch! In the battle for
third place my entire team just rolled over and played
dead. Sort of like Denver did today against Indianapolis in
the playoffs. Regarding my football autograph requests,
they've straggled in slowly, very slowly. I remember now
why I ceased sending out football requests about four years
ago.
BARTMAN'S RESPONSE
Remember when I told you that I
wrote to Steve Bartman? I got a real nice response from
him, but no autograph. Here is what he sent to me: "Thank
you for your letter and for your inspirationally kind
words. I must compliment you on the nice collage that you
put together. Unfortunately, I must respectfully decline
your request for an autograph on your collage. I have
declined all similarly related requests in the spirit of
not promoting my name, image, or likeness anymore as a
result of that fateful night. This experience has truly
been life changing, and I am hopeful to find the meaning to
it all soon.
Moreover, I am so deeply moved
by the overwhelming outpouring of support that I have
received via e-mail and letters all across the world. You
were one of the thousands of caring people that took the
time to write a few positive words to me when I needed them
most. I appreciate each and every letter, and just you felt
compelled to write to me so I feel compelled to respond and
personally thank you.
Furthermore, some of the many
positives from this experience have already been the
strengthening of my family and friends, the renewal of lost
friendships, and the creation of new relationships, all the
while simultaneously donating all gift offers to the
Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in the name of Ron Santo.
There is simply no better feeling in the word than helping
others."
As you can see, as much as I
would have enjoyed having Steve Bartman's autograph to add
to my Cubs Scrapbook, he's handled this in a very classy
way. Perhaps we can contrast this with the lawyer sitting
near him who came up with the infamous baseball, and who
made a killing on e-bay by selling it for $106,000. I
wonder if the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation got any of that
money?
MORE ADVICE ON GETTING READY FOR
THE 2004 SEASON.
This is the time of year where
we autographers are laying cards in for the upcoming
season. One set that I think has really outdone itself this
year is the Upper Deck Prospect Premieres. This is the
nicest looking set of that series yet. They've dispensed
with the useless logo cards of the 128 minor league teams
that they used as filler last year and have put out a 90
card set of most of the top first and second year minor
league prospects. You'll find names like Ryan Sleeth,
Anthony Gwynn Jr., Ian Stewart, and Chris Lubanski, and
Delmon Young among others. In each box you'll find 2
autographed cards and a jersey card as well. Upper Deck,
with this set, and with their Team USA set, has really done
an outstanding job of giving us cards of the top young
prospects in the game (no, I don't own stock in Upper
Deck). Topps Bowman Draft Pick set is a nice collection of
prospects, too. Their Bowman Heritage, though, I was
disappointed in. We people in the Class A markets won't
find many cards of players we'll see this season in that
set.
KNOW YOUR LOCAL BASEBALL HISTORY
Looking for something
interesting to do during the off season? It never hurts to
browse the local antique stores and flea markets looking for
paper and autograph items. A friend of mine recently found
a signed Cubs program from the late '30s I believe. One of
the signatures on it was Kiki Cuyler. I've never been that
fortunate, but if you know your baseball history you might
be. I've acquired a couple signed cards of Gene Baker, who
along with Ernie Banks was one of the first two black men to
play for the Cubs. Being that he was a Quad City resident
and an obliging signer, I may find more down the road. The
most elusive baseball celebrity in the area would probably
be Baby Doll Jacobson. He played in the early years of the
twentieth century, and earned his nickname because the
players heard a woman exclaim "he's as beautiful as a baby
doll." He retired to a farm southeast of the Quad Cities
after his playing days. His signature has got to be out
there. I just haven't found one yet. Other players that
played in the Quad City area, (and I no doubt am forgetting
some names that I should remember), are Gene Oliver, Dean
Stone, Chris Eddy, Steve Decker and R. C. Stevens and Jeff
Schneider. Poor Jeff, if he wants to buy his rookie card
(his only major league card) as a keepsake for a friend or
relative, he has to shell out some major bucks. He's one of
the other two players pictured on Cal Ripken Jr.'s rookie
card.
Well, I've rambled on long
enough. Time to call it a letter. Take care and have fun
with the hobby. I sure try to.
~Rich Hanson
