Bill Russell, a veteran of 18 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, most of them as the shortstop of their legendary infield of the 1970's that included Ron Cey, Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey, is now refusing autograph requests through the mail.
The following typed note with pre-printed signature from Russell was received a few weeks ago from a reader with his card unsigned requesting that no more mail be sent to his home address.
"Please do NOT send any more items to this address. They will NOT be signed or returned. Thank you for your cooperation." - Bill Russell
According to the website SportsCollectors.net, Russell has not signed autographs sent to his home address since January 2013. Prior to the announcement, the website stated that he had signed close to 95% of requests sent to him via the mail since 2001.
Russell has not commented as to why he had this sudden change of heart fulfilling mailed autograph requests, but his actions serve as a reminder that the players, especially retired ones, are doing fans a courtesy of acknowledging requests sent to their homes. A simple show of gratitude and respect for these veterans goes a long way in keeping the doors open.
Baseball possesses a magical power to connect young and old through the history of the game. Passed down from father to son, these shared tales of the legends of yesteryear keep players from decades past relevant today. With the pictures of their youth immortalized on pieces of cardboard, collecting memorabilia has been one such way for families to share in the baseball tradition.
Chris Potter is a specialist at bridging fans with these cardboard heroes, navigating the back roads of the United States to conduct autograph signings with retired baseball players. Potter’s clients range from those whose careers amounted to a "cup of coffee," to those who have reached the baseball's pinnacle, the Hall of Fame.
His next round of travels begins on May 10, 2013 and will include a special partner in these cross country expeditions, his father.
“My father just retired from being a police officer of 40 years. He’s coming out with me for this trip and I couldn’t be more excited for him to come along. He’s going to spend the next month with me on the road,” said Potter from his offices in Maryland.
Potter believes having his father around for these series of visits are the residue of baseball’s ability to bond father and son.
“The reason why it’s America’s pastime is because it’s been passed down from generation to generation,” he said.
A few of the players Potter will be conducting signings with have made baseball the family business. Bret Boone, a three-time All-Star, was a third generation major leaguer. His father Bob enjoyed a 19-year major league career as a catcher, and grandfather Ray won a World Series with the 1948 Cleveland Indians. Vernon Law, the 1960 Cy Young Award winner, nurtured his son Vance to follow his major league footprint.
With the many names that Potter will be encountering, there is a father somewhere that will have a tale crystallizing the moment they saw one of these ballplayers on a good day. An autograph on a treasured baseball card or photo will further the conversation. Hopefully for Potter, he’ll get a few of these yarns spun his way by his traveling companion on this round of signings.
Dwight “Doc” Gooden, a 2010 inductee into the New York Mets Hall of Fame and member of the of the New York Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi, will be greeting fans and signing autographs from 12:00-1:30 pm on Tuesday, September 25th at the Citibank branch at 16-18 Railroad Avenue in Greenwich, Ct., in support of Citi Tuesdays.
Gooden was the 1984 National League Rookie of the Year, the 1985 National League Cy Young Award winner, and part of the Mets 1986 World Series championship team. He is ranks in the top 3 on the Mets all-time list in various pitching categories, including games won, strikeouts, inning pitched, won-loss percentage, and complete games.
Citi Tuesdays is a program designed to provide added value to Citi customers and Mets fans. For more information and details on all Citi Tuesday offers, please log on to www.Mets.com/CitiTuesdays or visit the Citi Tuesday information booth located by the Shea Bridge at Citi Field on every Citi Tuesday.
The current saga of the New York Mets were on the minds of Felix Millan and Rusty Staub, two key players from their 1973 National League Championship team, as they interacted with fans on Tuesday afternoon as part of the Mets Alumni Association Presented by Citi and the Citi Tuesdays program.
Ed Kranepool holds many distinctions in 50-year association with the New York Mets. At 17, he was the youngest member of the inaugural 1962 team, and when he finished his career in 1979, he left as their all-time leader in hits, at-bats and games played. Tuesday afternoon, Kranepool spread some good will as part of the Mets Citi Tuesdays program at Citbank in Huntington Station.
Ed Kranepool signs an autograph at Citibank in Huntington Square
“I’ve been representing the Mets for 50 years," Kranepool said. "I signed in 1962, so it’s been a long association and most of it has been good. Representing here with Citibank has been great. They support the alumni program [and] they create the programs we participate in. I enjoy meeting all of the bankers and their customers and it’s a great support level that Citibank has offered the Mets and got behind them with sponsorship; they’re doing a lot of good things for the community.”
With David Wright on the heels of Kranepool’s all-time franchise hits record, the third baseman’s snub by the fans for the starting nod for the All-Star Game did not sit well with Kranepool.
“First of all, you want to get the fans involved, but I think they have too much of a say right now. I think it is a disgrace that David Wright is not the starting third baseman for the National League,” he said. “He’s hitting .360, driving in runs, [and] playing every day. He’s made a tremendous comeback. The other gentleman is having a good season, but not a David Wright season. All you have to do is check the record, check the book. There is no reason [that he shouldn’t be starting].”
Kranepool suggested that the current voting system should undergo a facelift.
“He loses by so many votes, c’mon," he said. "I think the fans should be involved, it’s their game, but I don’t think their vote should carry [the whole thing]. They should have a portion of it. Let the coaches and managers vote and the sportswriters vote. Two out of three wins and you mark it up.”
The discussion of Wright’s oversight by the fans roused up memories of Kranepool’s selection to the 1965 All-Star Game. Only 20 years old, Kranepool found himself surrounded by the likes of Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente and Sandy Koufax on the National League squad.
“That was a tremendous feat for myself, I was only 20 when I made the All-Star team,” Kranepool recalled.
As excited that Kranepool was to be representing the Mets in Minnesota, he would have enjoyed it more if Philadelphia Phillies manager Gene Mauch would have called Kranepool’s number off of the bench.
“I didn’t play in the game," he said. "I was disappointed … It’s kind of frustrating because I never made it again. You want to play. … What’s the sense of sending a guy to the All-Star Game, if he’s not going to play? Not that you want the three days off, you’d rather be in the All-Star Game, but if you’re going there, I want to say I played in the game. Let the country see you play the game.”
While he acknowledged that the All-Star team managers have been more aware of getting everyone involved in the mid-summer classic; however, he still thinks the game can stand a few minor adjustments.
“They do a better job of managing the players today in the game; they get everybody in, but I think they should have free substitution with a couple of players," he said. "They ought to mark before the game, two-to-three guys who play a lot of positions and keep them around. If you put them in the game, you’re allowed to remove them, [to] get everybody in the game. … They should change certain rules. Baseball in certain ways is trying to make changes and other ways, they’re antiquated in their positioning.”
Crisscrossing the country connecting baseball fans and their cardboard heroes, Chris Potter has continued to make his mark by delivering excellent service to those looking to enhance their autograph collections. With a week left before his next round of coast-to-coast travel, which includes signings with 80 former major league baseball players including Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Bobby Doerr, as well as NBA Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, Potter is busy keeping up with the demand of his faithful.
“Right now, to be honest, we’re up to our eyeballs in mail,” said Potter in a phone interview.
His last round of signings included the notoriously difficult Dr. Mike Marshall, who has evaded collectors for a long time, even proving to be a reluctant signer while he was playing. Potter, after taking the time to break the ice with Dr. Marshall, was able to help collectors land one who has kept his signature in great demand.
“It’s definitely a scavenger hunt. A lot were able to cross Dr. Mike Marshall off of their lists,” he said.
So how exactly did Potter break down a guy like Marshall?
“It’s just getting to know somebody. It took me a few years just to build a relationship with him. He took a liking to me and it kind of went from there,” he said.
For a player who doesn’t like to sign autographs, Potter was impressed with the amount of care Marshall put in to his signature. “He took pride in his signature. He definitely wanted to make things look good. There were situations where he didn’t think things were up to par and he didn’t let me have it. He was very particular about what he let out in to the market. He had a lot of pride in it, which I don’t see a lot of the players have now today.”
It is through these relationships that Potter has been given a window into the lives of these great men who have helped to build America’s pastime. One of those legends he will be visiting is the aforementioned 94-year-old Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr.
“Bobby is of the classiest men I’ve ever met. It’s always a pleasure to see and work with him. I had a great time hearing his stories and talking baseball with him. [He is] one of the best ambassadors of baseball.”
With his June 22nd deadline approaching, Potter is excited to get back on the road to visit the players. One of the things he most looks forward to are the reactions of the players to the wide variety of items he reigns in from his customers. Despite the fact that many of these players have been signing their names for over a half-century, they still get a big kick of what Potter brings their way.
“They really enjoy seeing the stuff I bring them. They say, ‘I haven’t seen this.’ ‘Where can I find this?’ They haven’t seen these things in 40 years in some cases,” said Potter. “Sometimes they want to keep it, but I have to tell them they aren’t mine.”
Edgardo Alfonzo, the All-Star infielder for the New York Mets from 1995-2001, will be appearing as part of the New York Mets Alumni Association presented by Citi at the Citibank branch at 1155 Avenue of the Americas (between 44th and 45th streets) on Tuesday, April 10th from 12:00 to 1:30 pm.
The verstaile infielder played flawless defense at third base, second base and shortstop during his tenure with the Mets, earning a feature on the September 6th, 1999 cover of Sports Illustrated alongside teammates John Olerud, Rey Ordonez, and Robin Ventura with the title of, The Best Infield Ever. Alfonzo won a silver slugger award in 1999 and was named to the National League All-Star team in 2000.
Fresh off of his appearance at the New York Yankees Old Timers' Day, Yogi Berra made his annual appearance at Yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair, home of the New Jersey Jackals of the independent Can-Am League. Adjacent to the Museum and Learning Center that bears his name, Berra signed autographs for the few hundred fans who lined up since 8am to meet the Yankee Hall of Famer.
BaseballHappenings.net is proud to present a private signing with former Negro Leaguer Clyde Parris. He is the last living alum of the legendary Baltimore Elite Giants, having played with them in 1946. All items are due by March 5, 2011.
Affectionately known as "The Dude", the Panamania-born Parris entered pro ball in the United States with the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues in 1946. Later that season he signed with the New York Black Yankees and played with them until 1948. He spent part of the 1949 season with the Cleveland / Louisville Buckeyes. He is currently one of less than 20 living Negro Leaguers to have entered the Negro Leagues before Jackie Robinson made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers.
He would eventually be signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers farm system, reaching the Triple-A level for six seasons, earning MVP honors at Class-A Elmira and winning the Triple-A batting title in 1956.
Parris has never done a public or private signing. He appears in the 2009 Topps Allen and Ginter set.
The prices for the signing are as follows:
Cards / Photos / Flats / Index Cards - $10
Your Baseball - $12
Our 8x10 Photos - $15 (includes autograph)
Inscriptions - $5
Shipping costs are as follows:
You can send a SASE with your items, however, you assume all risk for the SASE.
$2 Baseball Cards / Index Cards / Photos Smaller Than 5x7
$4 Photos 5x7 or Larger
$5 Baseballs
If you are located outside of the United States, please email for a shipping quotation.
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