Chris Potter, more than a friend to collectors

Chris Potter with Rocky Colavito

Chris Potter has spent months on the road, traveling the country far and wide to have retired baseball players put their signatures on cherished baseball memorabilia for fellow collectors. What started out as an innocent meeting with Cy Young Award winner Dean Chance, has turned into a full-time business for Potter.

“It started with Dean Chance. I got to know him by going to a show and he just kind of took a liking to me,” said Potter. “Dean being Dean, he’s a business man. He asked if I had friends that collected autographs. He asked for me to get things for him to sign and he would give the money to his church. I got maybe 15-20 of my friends and we were able to raise about $1,000 for his church.”

Potter is set to embark on another round of signings with over 30 retired major leaguers that include the reclusive Rocky Colavito, All-Stars Jimmy “Toy Cannon” Wynn, George “Boomer” Scott, Don Kessinger and Steve Sax.

Using these signings to fund his road trips and the full-scale services of his business Chris Potter Sports, he was also able to bring some much needed financial support to players that baseball had left behind.

“These guys are remembered in baseball history, but baseball doesn’t want to remember them. A guy like [95-year-old] Danny Litwhiler wasn’t able to travel, but I traveled to him. When I handed him the money, there were tears in his eyes. He was in an assisted living facility and really needed the money.”

As Potter started to befriend more players, they became the referral system that enabled him to expand his network. As his reach lengthened, he was able to link teammates that haven’t spoken in decades.

“I found out it was a tight knit circle. … It’s been really nice, because I’ve been able to put these guys back in touch. I get their number from a friend of a friend and they tell me they haven’t spoken in 50 years. It’s heartwarming for me that I’m putting these guys back in touch. They’re rekindling relationships,” said Potter.

Collectors that are under the guise that Potter is doing easy work while exploiting these players need to think again. Traversing the United States to provide his service doesn’t come cheaply.

“We bought our car in April and since then there are 37,000 miles on it. Our expenses are ungodly amounts. Hotels, gas, food … it’s not like you can go to the grocery store and cook meals at home; you are constantly eating out,” said Potter.

The hectic pace of visiting multiple players per day has Potter on a similar schedule as a touring artist.

“The time we have on the road, we’re lucky if we get something small at the hotel in the morning and then getting back at 8-9pm and it is McDonalds or something fast. We’re always on the go,” he said.

Potter has even said that he’s been approached by a few television producers who have wanted to document his travels ala a reality TV show, but so far nothing has materialized.

For those skeptical about the reliability of Potter's service, one of his customers has entrusted him to handle an autograph book so valuable that it is flown across the country for his signings. 

“We have a book that we handle for a customer who lives in Las Vegas. He flies out to us to hand deliver this book to me. It has over 7,000 signatures in it. It has Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams several times over, Stan Musial, etc. It is priceless. It can’t be sent in the mail,” said Potter.

Collectors can rest easily knowing that their items are being taken care of in a manner as if they were handling it themselves.

“With us, you know your item is going to be handled correctly. People are picky about the type of pens they want used and they want their cards signed in the right spot,” said Potter. “If it is an expensive item, then I would definitely let it be handled by a professional. That’s what we offer, a service to the collectors.”

For the full list of signings offered by Potter, please check his website. All items are due by Monday, December 9^th, 2012.

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Remembering Bob Feller

With the news of Bob Feller's death at the age of 92, his appearance at the 2009 MLBPAA Legends for Youth Dinner in New York City became lucid once again in my mind.

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

When Feller grabbed the microphone that evening, everyone was on the edge of their seats, eager to find something to grasp in Feller's words. After he finished addressing the crowd, he was showered with a rousing ovation; a sure sign of respect and reverence for baseball's longest tenured Hall of Famer. The then 91-year-old Feller excitedly vowed to return to New York City to join next year's festivities. Sadly, he never returned.

During his talk, Feller made it clear that he respected the rare fraternity of major league ballplayers, and took every chance to represent the history and integrity of the game. Driven by the industrious values of growing up on a farm in Iowa through the depression, Feller insisted in his speech that his success in baseball directly resulted from the spirit he developed as a young kid laboring in the fields.

Always eager to speak, the vigorous Feller answered questions all night from seemingly every fan in attendance, deftly fielding a constant stream of visitors to his table trying to get a glimpse into the legend's vaults. Stopping his interactions only to take small bites from his plate, Feller simultaneously signed countless autographs and held court with whomever wanted to listen. In a gentleman's fashion, he thanked just about everyone who asked him for an autograph.

Watching Feller operate that evening with his guard down, it was difficult to tell that he was the most accomplished player in the room. His display of humility and sincerity while greeting his fans was an attitude that seemed to be lacking from the current generation of players.

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Prospect Garrett Broshuis Give Tips on Autograph Ettiquite

In his ongoing blog for Baseball America, Giants pitching prospect Garrett Broshuis gives autograph seekers a tutorial on how to respectfully go about obtaining signatures at the park. With fans, collectors and dealers becoming more aggressive in their quest to obtain autographs from the stars of tomorrow, Broshuis offers some common sense tips about patience and manners. Next time you are at a game, follow the advice offered by Broshuis and you should have some success in your quest to obtain an autograph from a player in uniform.

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June 27, 2009 All-American Girls Professional Baseball League To Be Honored in Horsham, PA

On Saturday, June 27, 2009, the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society will honor 8 living former players from the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) at the Days Inn at 245 Easton Rd (Route 611) in Horsham, PA from 10am-1pm. Come and meet the women that inspired the movie "A League of Their Own" and hear their stories of playing baseball in the 1940's and 50's.

Attendees will include the following players:
Gert Alderfer
Gloria Cordes
Ruth Kramer
Mary Moore
Joanne McComb
Ruth Richard
Sarah Jane Sands
Norma Whitney

Special Show Autograph Price - $5 each

Mail Order Prices:
Your item $6 + Proper return postage

Our photo $10
Our FIRST LADIES BASEBALL $15
Our Special 34 inch ring BAT $ $25
Our items please add s&h $6.00

For more information on the appearance, please contact the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society or call 800-318-0483.

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Are Citi Field and Yankee Stadium's Autograph Policies Attempts To Force The Fans Into The Expensive Seating?

Now that fans have had a few months to feel out the surroundings of both Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, reports are that both venues aren't friendly to the autograph seeker. Autographs and baseball games have gone hand in hand, as children and adults have attempted to get their scraps of paper, programs, baseballs and gum cards signed as mementos of a brief encounter with one of their heroes. These chance encounters are part of the attraction of attending a live game, and part of the culture surrounding the national pastime.
A recent New York Times article entitled "New Yankee Stadium is Tough for Autograph Hounds", details some of the difficulties surrounding the quest for signatures at the new Yankee Stadium. Some of the roadblocks encountered include: a parking lot for the players that is out of the reach and view of the fans, and no access to pregame batting practice near the $1,250 dugout level seats (this was the entire field level until last month when fans were allowed to view batting practice from the field level box seats in the outfield).

The situation at Citi Field isn't much better. According to the Mets website, "Fans on the field level are permitted to seek autographs along the Field Level railings where permitted during batting practice from 2½ hours before game time ... until approximately 1 hour before game time." These permitted areas are also farther down the outfield lines, and if you are lucky enough to be inside of those areas, you will have to deal with the extended press boxes and the handrails in between every 2-3 rows if you are trying to move laterally. There is also private seating behind home plate that is gated off. In regards to attempting to access the players entering and exiting the players parking lot at Citi Field, one fan said, "It is as if they were protecting government officials instead of baseball players. The parking lot security guards are quick to barricade the area once they spot fans attempting to get autographs, six hours before game time!"

With both teams facing large payrolls, is this a ploy by both New York MLB teams to force the fans to the expensive parts of the stadium, for the increased chance of getting an autograph? Is this even a valid strategy in the midst of one of the worst economic situations in United States history, with thousands of empty seats in both stadiums each night? Will fans that are shut out from the autograph experience outside of the ballpark go inside, or not show up at all? Will we see an increased presence of autograph seekers at the hotel because the players are inaccessible at the ballpark? I have heard that alot of players are telling fans that they will only sign at the ballpark and not the hotel. Is this another tactic that has been passed down by management to lure seekers to games which they cannot afford?

Is begs the question, "Who are the teams catering to?" The chosen few that can afford the luxury seating, or the blue-collar workers who fill the majority of the stadium? I hope that the front offices of both teams recognize the importance of this autograph connection at the ballpark, because it is a component of what makes the fans more than just casual followers.

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