Tell us about your brush (or brushes) with greatness.

[rsdsharp]

39. I early 1966 I encountered the reigning American League MVP, Zoilo Versailles, in a barbershop.

We were both getting our haircut before his appearance at the local Elks club that night. The barbers had no idea who he was, but 11 year old me was thrilled to be in the chair next to his.

I literally ran into former Yankee shortstop. and NBC broadcaster after a Blue Jays Royals game he has broadcast. I turned to talk to my wife, didn’t see him, and walked right into him. I was surprised that he was 6’5”.

Ted Williams appeared at the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa. He was recovering from a stroke, and they announced he wouldn’t sign baseballs, only pictures they provided. I wanted him to sign my copy of his book, The Science of Hitting.

I asked his son, John Henry if he thought his father would sign it. He pointed to Williams and Bob Feller who were signing at a table and said, “Ask them. Those two old guys are running this show.” When I got to the table, he said he’d sign it, and I spread it out on the table so it wouldn’t move. He tried to sign a couple of times, and finally said, “I’ll sign if you let go if it, dear.” (I’m a very large man.)

That same day, I got Feller’s autograph. He was not in a good mood because he had run over something in I80 with his Jaguar XJ6, and torn the guts out of it. He limped back to the museum, and it was leaking coolant, oil, and transmission fluid. He was not a happy camper because he had a thousand dollar deductible, but finally said, “Oh well, I’ll just do another card show.”

I’ve also gotten autographs from Rod Carew, Ozzie Smith, Whitey Ford and Andre Dawson.