Cooperstown: Part 2

So it's 5:30am Saturday morning. I'm feeling fresh despite another night's sleep in the passenger seat of my Toyota Corolla. I was a little tired, but the excitement of my first year hounding for autographs at the golf course totally out weighed any tiredness I was feeling. The ground was soaking wet and it was pretty slick. Where we'd be standing was on a slight incline, so it'd be easy to slip and fall. Lucky for me, I had my cleats in my trunk. I threw those bad boys on and had no problem in the traction department. There was already 10 or so people sitting in their lawn chairs at "the spot" when I arrived. They had the key spots staked out. Being a rookie, I didn't know that a chair would be so handy. 3 hours of standing couldn't be so bad, could it. As the hours passed, more people joined the party. Come 8:30, there were probably 40 people or so. They had moved the tee boxes forward so i actually ended up being in a good spot. We all had to stand behind this make-shift fence/barrier. It was just netting that was being held up by metal stakes. I didn't think it would hold when it came time for everyone to push forward if a guy signed. The sun was out and it was pointed directly at us. I figured this tournament was going to last 4 hours, so I had quite a while to stand in the direct sunlight. It's a good thing I brought a pocket-sized deodorant/body-spray thing-a-mah-jigger because I'd need it. Fast forward to 8:30.
There were about 13 groups on the course. Each group maybe had 2-3 HOFers on average. The only opportunity to get an autograph would be if the guy took the time to sign in between tee shots. One everyone teed off, he was gone. The first group included Dave Winfield. He signed, but I was out of position. I ended up being out of position by most of the guys. They would go to different points along the fence and I always seemed to be juts out of reach. I missed out on guys like Wade Boggs, Ozzie Smith, Ryne Sandberg, Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski and others. I was lucky enough to get a signed ball from Billy Williams and later Don Sutton. Those were my 2 successes that morning. Here's a tip for anyone wanting a Carlton Fisk autograph: bribe him with a cigar. He'll sign everytime. He prefers "Romeo and Julieta's." They cost about $7. Not a bad price to pay for an HOFers autograph. If you're interested in getting Mike Schmidt's autograph for free, don't waste your time. He didn't acknowledge anyone and he even went as far to drive his cart in between the green and the tee box, as opposed to using the paved road. It kept him further away from everyone. I did have the opportunity to get other signatures, but i already had them and I didn't feel the need to duplicate. And some guys, just didn't sign. Yogi Berra, Joe Morgan, Eddie Murray, and Whitey Ford were a few. So I left with the 2 balls added to my collection. I left the course around noon-thirty, and made my way into town.
Parking was a lot harder on Saturday. I ended up paying $10 to park in a guy's driveway. It really was the best way to go. I went and knocked out my paid autographs for the day: Bobby Doerr and the legendary Willie Mays. I had heard the day before that Mays was signing in a blue Sharpie, which is a no-no in the world of a signed ball. I figured for $125, he should sign it how I want it signed. I asked the guy before I bought my ticket what he was signing with and they said a Sharpie. I asked if he'd sign in ball-point and they had to check with his manager. Ball point would be fine. Now I don't know how many of you have ever had the pleasure/displeasure of meeting Willie, but he doesn't have the best rep in the collector's world. He'll sign over other signatures. He'll smear his signature with his thumb. Things like that. So, I was a little nervous. When he was done signing the ball, he looked at it, and said he messed up the "Y" in Mays. He kind of did, but I left it alone as i didn't want him smearing the ball. He said the same thing to the guy before me. Did he do it on purpose? Probably, but who knows? After that, I went down to the XM booth and got Buck Martinez to sign my official WBC ball. He added the words "Team USA" which was cool. After that, I didn't really have anything to do. It was about 2:30.
The HOF has a "red-carpet" ceremony every Saturday of Induction Weekend. It's kind of like a Hollywood premiere. The players get announced and dropped off by trolley and there are throngs of people taking pictures and screaming their names. That was set to start at 7:00pm, with the HOFers arriving at 9pm. I had nothing else to do but wait. I positioned myself at the front of the Hall, and I was quickly joined by a few others who would wait it out as well. They were telling me stories of how this event had gone in the past and it sounding promising for signatures. I felt good. And then it rained, and it rained hard. The worst rain the area had ever experienced on Induction Weekend. I stood on the street under the umbrella i bought before I left for Cooperstown. That was a smart move. They made an announcement that if the rain stayed that the ceremony would go on, but they'd skip the introductions and the players would go right into the Hall. It rained until about 10 minutes to 9. The arrivals would be delayed 20 minutes and the ceremony would go off as normal. We were in business.
The trolleys came and dropped off the HOFers. The entire thing took about 15-20 minutes. As a guy was announced people would go nuts. There'd be name chants, and you'd basically yell anything you could to try and entice a guy to come over. The only one who signed on the way in was Wade Boggs. There were 3 places you could watch the arrivals from: both sides of the Hall and across the street. Boggs signed on each side. Unfortunately, I was about 3 feet to far over to get him to sign. He was actually kind of funny. He would put his hands to his ears a la Hulk Hogan and then would point to the side he was going to. When he finished, he would blow kissed to the crowd. He looked like he was feeling "pretty good." After they all went in, they would exit shortly thereafter. Anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. Whenever a guy came out, each side would chant his name. Lucky for me, i was on the louder side and it attracted more people. If memory serves me correctly, the following guys signed on their way out: Wade Boggs, Brooks Robinson, Ryne Sandberg, George Brett, Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Joe Morgan, and I probably missed one or two. Everyone with the exception of Eckersley signed on my side. Of the signers, I only needed Boggs, Sandberg, Eckersley, and Morgan. I walked away with Sandberg and Morgan. Not bad considering. When all was said and done it was about midnight.
I went back to my car, the only one left in the driveway. I thought I'd take a quick drive into a neighboring town to try and find a cigar to bribe Carlton Fisk with at the golf course the next day. All I could find was the cheap stuff, so I didn't buy anything. I did get a root beer and a bag of beef jerky. It was delicious. I made my way back to the same lot I slept in the night before and turned in around 1am. The alarm was set for 5:45. I zonked right out once my head hit the Yankee pillow. I slept well. Then the alarm went off......
To be continued........
J-Boogie