Meeting Ballplayers...

[rocket]

Ummmmm, I met Kareem Abdul Jabbar once.

[Mark_R]

I met Muhammad Ali at a Card Show as he was trying to get to his autograph booth but being swarmed by fans trying to get it at that point instead of having to pay for it. I was literally right in front of his face and people were pushing me to try and get to him.

 

Ali looked frightened. It was an absolutely shameful display.

[Garwilly]

It was an absolutely shameful display.

 

So were his in ring antics.

[rynesrevenge0206]

I got Smoltz's autograph at a Denny's when I was like 15. He really is the class act guy people make him out to be.

 

I went to HS with David Greene (UGA QB last 4 years) and he has to be the nicest guy on Earth.

[rawaction]

My sister's boyfriend is in the NFL. I was in the wedding with someone in the NBA. I've met all the IU professional athletes from my era (like all 4 of them). I met Troy Polamalu this summer.

[Andy]

I met Rasheed Wallace and Bonsi Wells at a restaraunt I used to work at.

Bonsi is pretty rude. Wallace didn't hardly talk.

This is very distressing news, considering Bonzi is probably the third most famous Ball State alum in the world behind David Letterman and Papa John. :wink:

 

Well, you guys would probably put him behind Brad Maynard as well for the regional loyalty factor...

 

I briefly met Allen Rossum, Ron Powlus and Bob Davie at a meet the team thing in 1997. Rossum seemed very nice, Powlus seemed gracious, and Davie seemed pretty cool, although I still can't forgive him or Ty for what they did to the Irish over the last decade or so. :wink:

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

I've met a number of players as I've asked for autographs outside the ballpark or at card shows, etc. For the most part, I don't call that meeting them though.

 

I've ridden in a car with Jim Hendry at Spring Training. That was really cool. He was very down to earth and extremely friendly.

 

I also stood in the presence of the divine as I met Kent Mercker in a bar in Houston. He's one of the nicest I've ever met. Barrett is really friendly too.

 

I teach school with two guys that played for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1970's.

 

Oh, and Chuck Finley owns a house down the street from my brother. I've never talked to him, but I saw him working in his yard one day.

[Cubzfan64]

I went to high school with 3 of Tony Kubek's kids. One son was a couple years older, a daughter was a year younger and his other son was in my class.

 

Mr. Kubek ended up coaching (or assistant coaching - I don't recall) our boys basketball team. His son in my class of course was a full time starter (even though he was pathetic).

 

Basically Tony and his 2 sons acted as though they were God's gift and of course they hung with the "jock" crowd throughout school.

 

I was always too shy to ask for autographs when I was a young kid, and now that I'm well past my shyness, I feel like I'm too old to ask for autographs.

 

My trip to Cooperstown for the HOF induction was both wonderful as well as saddening. Seeing some of my idols brush off young kids seeking an autograph or a handshake if they didn't have the $100 it cost to get one left a bad taste in my mouth. I'm sure the majority of the guys were nice, but it only takes seeing a couple bad sights to sour you.

 

I'd love to meet a ball player in a situation where I could just sit down and have a conversation with them one on one for awhile - just to shoot the sh*^.

[adamb0719]

I met Rasheed Wallace and Bonsi Wells at a restaraunt I used to work at.

Bonsi is pretty rude. Wallace didn't hardly talk.

This is very distressing news, considering Bonzi is probably the third most famous Ball State alum in the world behind David Letterman and Papa John. :wink:

 

Well, you guys would probably put him behind Brad Maynard as well for the regional loyalty factor...

 

I briefly met Allen Rossum, Ron Powlus and Bob Davie at a meet the team thing in 1997. Rossum seemed very nice, Powlus seemed gracious, and Davie seemed pretty cool, although I still can't forgive him or Ty for what they did to the Irish over the last decade or so. :wink:

 

I met them both in Muncie. They used to come into where I worked all the time. Well Bonzi did, Wallace was only once. Bonzi has been in a few bars a well when I was there, which I did forget about. He was actually very nice then and bought me quite a few shots. One of my friends played in some Bball tourney with him, so I reaped the rewards of being with him. However he is very demanding and not a good tipper. He leaves autographed pictures.

 

I think the coolest thing anybody in my family has done is my dad went to a quarterback club meeting in 86, at a bar in DC. He did not know it was going on that night, but was in the right place at the right time and was allowed to stay. He spent his whole night sitting next to Jaws at a bar, while Montana, McMahon, Marino, and many other QBs of the year drank there. I believe it is his proudest moment. Makes me feel real good.

[J.R.]

I've met several ballplayers at Harry Caray's over the years. Sandberg was extremely friendly - we made some anti-Sox small talk at the time, I'm sure his latest column on the subject was ghost written or something.

[sandberg23]

I met my idol and that's enough for me. :swoons: :D

[UMFan83]

Ummmmm, I met Kareem Abdul Jabbar once.

 

No that was just a pilot

[Mark Priors Calves]

I met Vance Law.

[HerbalK]

My sister's boyfriend is in the NFL. I was in the wedding with someone in the NBA. I've met all the IU professional athletes from my era (like all 4 of them). I met Troy Polamalu this summer.

 

Drop some names, mang. ;)

[USSoccer]

I've met Alex Brown, got called a "no class punk" by Phil Jackson, met Bill Wennington, Eddie Robinson (douche) and Big Cat Williams. I've talked many times to Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler.

 

Johnny Oates gave me an autographed baseball at a Cubs game, and chatted with me and my father. I also met Kevin Bass (former Astro).

 

I think the nicest was Alex Brown. He's a pretty normal guy.

[bhogg]

In August '89, Joe Girardi thought it was cool that my family and I enjoyed talking to him. . . so much so, that he talked with us for a good 15 minutes or. Rookies are cool.

 

 

I met Boggs and Sandberg in the Albany Airport this past summer.

 

Both were good guys. I got a chance to talk to Ryno for a little bit. . .then he was overwhelmed with stalkers like me.

[Careless]

got called a "no class punk" by Phil Jackson, .

heh

[mhuber92211]

I forgot! (Don't know how!) I worked in Palm Springs one year and my hotel sponsered a celeb golf tourney (during the Bob Hope Classic) and Ernie Banks was playing in the tourney. As the hotel I worked at sat right on the course we all sat on a patio while the Celebs drove by. THe girls I was with were interested in the other "hotties" but I had this sign in my office ("Cub Fan Parking Only) so I brought it down to see if Ernie would be kind and sign.

 

Well once he came around, I got really shy. My boss ended up grabbing the sign and going down to Ernie. She apparently told him that I was a huge fan and had my office adorned with Cubs gear but that I was too shy to come and talk to him. He yelled at me to come to the cart and who could resist? I went down, got my sign signed and he was very genuine and hassled me about being shy. Nice guy.

[Buford T Justice]

I forgot I met Jim Hendry at a Oklahoma Redhawks game right before the Ramirez and Lofton trade went down in '03. He was a super nice guy..He asked a good place to go watch the Cubs play the Dodgers that night.

[Buford T Justice]

Oh and does Ric Flair count??

[Andy]

I bumped fists with Ronnie Woo Woo once when my buddy and I were getting tickets for a Padres game that we went to last year. That man lives and breathes Cubs baseball.

[JStaff17]

Last year, I went to a luncheon where Harmon Kellebrew was being honored in Payette, Idaho, his home town. My buddies and I spent the whole afternoon with him and had some great converstions about baseball. He is a class act. Bill Buckner lives here in Boise as well, and I've ran into him a couple of times. Never really spent much time with him, just a quick hello. I was suppose to go duck hunting with Will Clark once when I was a kid back in California, but he had to back out at the last minute. Very disappointing. This was before he singlehandedly destroyed the Cubs in the NLCS in '89, so I was looking forward to meeting him. After that, my desire waned.