Cooperstown: Part 3

So, now it's Sunday morning. I'm up again at 5:45am, ready to hit the golf course in hopes of getting some autographs. I've probably slept about 9 hours since Thursday night. i haven't showered or shaved since Thursday AM, and I'm looking pretty haggard, though I have finally changed my undies and I've worn new clothes daily. I've spent 3 nights in the car and I've definitely overused the body-spray and deodorant. Thankfully, I'm not the only one going through this.
I got up to the spot at the golf course around 6am. today was the day that just the HOFers were golfing, no family and friends. The crowd was a little lighter today as well, as most feel it's not as worth it since it's a little more rushed then the previous day. The HOFers play in twosomes and they need to move things along so they can get all set for the inductions that afternoon. Today, they started at 8am, which meant one less hour standing in the dead sun.
To make a long story short, it went much like Saturday. But I did do a little better with the autographs. At the spot I got signed balls from Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski, and Carlton Fisk. If anyone remembers my last Cooperstown post, the way to Fisk's heart is by bribing him with a stoagie. I positioned myself next to a guy with one and was lucky enough to get a signature. Unfortunately for me, i was again out of position to get Wade Boggs and Ozzie Smith. I was 0-4 on Boggs and 0-3 on Ozzie for the weekend. Maybe next year.
After the last pairing went through my hole, I decided to call it a weekend. i went to my car and began to make the drive home. As I was leaving, I noticed that people were still waiting at another spot on the course. I thought I'd double back and try my luck at whoever it might be. So I made a u-turn, parked the car, and made my way to the new spot. As I was walking there, Whitey Ford and Yogi were coming across the street. There are 2 holes on one side of the street and the other 16 are on the other. I was originally on the side with 2 holes, which is where they were just coming from. They stopped their carts, Whitey was first, Yogi was second. Whitey pulled through back on the course, but yogi stopped to sign for the 3 people that were standing there. Yogi doesn't like to sign unless he can sign for everyone which is why he never signs when it's crowded. I was only about 20 yards from Yogi so I could easily have gotten there to get his autograph. i was digging a ball out of my bag and I dropped it. I began rolling toward his cart and it kicked off the tire. By the time I grabbed it and got around to the side the people were on, he finished and drove away. Had i not dropped the ball, I would have gotten it. Butterfingers. It's not all bad though, as I already have a Yogi autograph.
I walked down to the spot where the crowd was and noticed that Rollie Fingers and Gary Carter were on the green. Gary sank his put and said to Rollie that since they were done with their round he was going to sign for the fans. So I got a Gary Carter autograph as well. After that, there was really no point in sticking around.
I would have stayed for the inductions, but I was pretty beat. I wanted to get back to Buffalo and get some good rest, because we were leaving for Boston that next morning. Next year, I'll probably stick around to see Cal and Tony make their speeches.
If I can remember, I walked away with signed balls from: Willie Mays, Bobby Doerr, George Kell, Ralph Kiner, Billy Williams, Don Sutton, Al Kaline, Bill Mazeroski, Carlton Fisk, Gary Carter, George Brett, Robin Roberts, Whitey Ford, Joe Morgan, Monte Irvin, Ryne Sandberg, Rob Dibble and Buck Martinez. Not a bad haul. I'm up to 34 of the 61 living HOFers.
They estimated that about 15,000 people were in Cooperstown that weekend. Next year, when Ripken and Gwynn get inducted (and maybe McGwire but hopefully not), they are estimating 75,000. I'll be one of 'em. And I'll probably do it in the same manner as I did this weekend. It was a blast.
Here's to next year........
J-Boogie