Remembering Bob Feller

Bob Feller regales the crowd during the 2009 MLBPAA Legends for Youth dinner

With the news of the passing of baseball's longest tenured living Hall of Famer, Bob Feller,  his appearance at the 2009 MLBPAA Legends for Youth Dinner in New York City became lucid in my mind.

When Feller grabbed the microphone that evening, everyone was on the edge of their seats, including the other Hall of Famers. Receiving a standing ovation after he addressed the crowd, a then 91-year old Feller vowed to return to New York City the following year to be a part of the celebration for the alumni association that he was so deeply involved with.

Feller understood the fraternity of the rare few who shared the title of major league ballplayer and took every chance to represent the history and integrity of the game. Driven by the industrious values of growing up on the farm in Iowa through the depression, Feller insisted that succeeding in baseball was a result of the spirit he developed as a young kid laboring on the farm.

Always eager to speak, the vigorous Feller answered questions all night from seemingly every fan in attendance, all of whom were trying to get a glimpse into the vaults of the legend. Stopping only to take small bites, Feller simultaneously signed countless autographs and fielded questions from the eager crowd. He thanked just about everyone who asked him for an autograph. For a player who had accomplished so much in his career and is regarded as one of the best pitchers ever in baseball, Feller displayed a great deal of humility and sincerity, something that seems to be lacking from the current generation of players.