I procured this Mickey Mantle autograph in-person when I was 12 or 13 years old. The retired baseball legend was scheduled to do an appearance at The Diamond, a great old now-defunct department store in Charleston. Super-exciting! So, Steve, my brother and I took a bus up there and joined the sizable crowd with some items we were hoping to have signed. But… tragedy struck. A woman eventually appeared and told everyone that “Mickey is delayed” and would not be arriving for several hours. Please come back later, she urged. Everybody groaned and grumbled and the place cleared out faster than a post-Starbucks rectum. And it didn’t feel like too many of ’em would be coming back.
But we weren’t taking any chances. We quickly decided we’d just wait. It’s the kind of stoopid shit you do when you’re 12 or 13. Indeed, the woman from The Diamond tried to persuade us to leave and return. Nope, we said. We’re staying right here until he arrives. She just shrugged and walked away.
And as you can tell from the photo, The Mick eventually showed up. As he walked through the door it felt like I was seeing some impossible mythological creature, like Zeus or Mannix. I think he was wearing an outlandish 1970s sport coat, and I believe he removed it before sitting down behind the signin’ table. Needless to say, we were first in line and The Diamond lady told Mickey that the three of us had been “waiting for hours.” He grunted and didn’t seem to find that nugget of information to be the least bit interesting.
He signed our stuff without saying much, which was mildly hurtful. You have the interaction pictured in your mind, and it turns out to be something completely different. He was just fulfilling a contractual obligation. I wanted him to be excited to be there, but he was not. And didn’t really try to hide it. Oh well.
The other thing I remember very clearly: his wrists and forearms were enormous. Almost leg-sized. It was crazy.
And I’d have to say that’s my most-prized autograph. Because of the above story, and because he was Mickey freaking Mantle. I mean, seriously. And because it was received in-person, which makes a big difference. Ya know? I have lots of prized autographs, but I’d pick the one above as my most-prized. Do you have autographs? If so, which one do you like the best? Please tell us about it. Use the comments section.
And I’ll see you guys again soon!
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I received a signed Bukowski book right before he died. Sadly I didn’t get it in person.
I also have a signed Charles Willeford book that was gathering dust in a Florida bookstore for a steal.
I was at the same autograph signing and have been trying to figure out what year it was. Any chance you remember? This is the only article I’ve seen referring to the Diamond building. I’ve passed the autographed pictures on to my stepsons and would like to give them a little more history attached to them.
Nice! Especially the Willeford.
Number 300-something/1000 Hunter and Steadman signed, oversized the Curse of Lono, 2004 Taschen edition that Hunter finished signing with Ralph before he, HST, blew his brains out. I’m sort of glad he pulled the trigger then, in one way. The world recently would’ve finished off his soul gun or no.
Nice, and nicely put. I also have a signed Curse of Lono. It’s not a great piece of writing, but it’s always good to have Doc’s John F. Hancock in the bookshelf. The son of a bitch opened fire on himself on my 55th birthday. I had no idea he had been that important to me my whole adult life, like a crazy uncle or some incurable chronic malady, until he was gone. I always thought I had some small spark of self-awareness, but there were tears in my eyes, and men don’t cry: a surprising sense of loss.
John
I’m not much of an autograph collector, but I’m looking up at the wall of my own bunker at a signed photo I took in 2000 in Seattle at the United States Chess Championships. I wore a khaki vest with an exposed non-functional light meter velcroed on, an empty Leica camera case (borrowed from my Dad) around my neck, my Kodak one-megapixel digicam, and a small dose of chutzpah, and got behind the ropes with the dozen or so accredited photographers from around the world who actually had press credentials, and started my silent clicking. I caught Jennifer Shahade, who was 19 at the time, outside the venue with a half-eaten apple in one hand and a cigarette in the other (during her match, with her clock running) in a nice leaning-on-a-building waiting-for-a-train non-pose.
The next day, I brought a bunch of my spit-printed photos back to the venue, including four or five I gave Jen, and we had a quick chat. I gave her my (non-photographer) business card, and she signed a couple that I still have. I have others signed, hanging on the wall, including Boris Gulco and Yasser Seirawan, both former US Chess champions. After Jen won the US Women’s Championship several days later, I had my photos framed. Then I went on with my life until Smithsonian Magazine called several months later and said that Ms. Shahade, about whom they were doing a long piece, said a guy out in Seattle had some photos of her winning the Championship. I signed a release and sent Smithsonian the digital images, they sent me a surprisingly handsome check, and I got a credited photograph published in the magazine. I think they chose the worst photo, but I suppose they’re the experts.
So I’ve had a signed Jennifer Shahade on my wall for 20 years.
I actually lost the Satchel Paige autograph I got at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, Washington in 1962. I was considerably younger and not very organized. I am left with memories of watching him pitch five scoreless triple-A innings at age 56.
John
John ….I too saw Satchel Page pitch that game in Tacoma…..I was a regular fixture at Cheney Stadium from 1961 on……lots of great memories and tons of autographs…..and I still have 3 team signed baseballs (Tacoma Giants)
Keith Richards (twice) and Charlie Watts (twice). Being a Stones fan since I was an embryo, these are incredibly valuable to me.
Frank McCourt because my mom stood in line to get the signed copy of ‘Tis for my birthday.
Somewhere in a box is a cocktail napkin with Mark Spitz’s autograph . . and another napkin with Bernie Hamilton. My dad worked at El Torito Rest. in Toluca Lake (near Burbank) and celebrities would come by to eat.
I have a Richard Grieco, Chris Isaak, several hockey players. The author, Robert Fulghum signed his books for me at an event. J. A Jance signed a book for me too.
Most Valuable – Martin Brodeur signed my NJ Devils hockey sweater. Woohoo!
I don’t have many autographed items.
Jean Shepherd refused to sign my copy of The Valachi Papers. Hey, I was 12 or something, and didn’t understand how book signings work. But at least Shep called me “kid” in person.
I went to a Tower of Power show on their 40th anniversary tour, bought a CD and got the guys to sign it. Very cool IMO. I also have a signed copy of a book by some guy named Jeff Kay. And a chef’s toque, signed by Mr. Food (“ooh it’s so good!”)
My mom may still have her Songs of the Pogo LP, signed by Walt Kelly.
Walt Kelly was, is, and always will be an American hero. I don’t covet autographs (or my neighbor’s ass) but I’d really enjoy displaying a Walt Kelly, just to remind me that, in the American Century, greatness walked the Earth. As for now: we have met the enemy . . .
John
Stephen King autographed copy of The Dark Tower.
My only celeb autograph was from Ali. I waited in line for an hour plus at Joe Hollands.
Here is a story about Mickey Mantle that I always thought was fake, but the signature on the baseball match the signature on the form he signed, so take it for what its worth
https://deadspin.com/mickey-mantles-outstanding-event-at-yankee-stadium-is-5750485
Sunday, June 8th, 1969. This was a day to remember.
Unless someone is forwarding me a large amount of $$$ I don’t see the value of a signature.
I don’t have many autographs of any kind. But in the early ’90s I attended a craft beer festival in Milwaukee’s famous Rave/Eagles Club. This venerable institution has hosted such varied artists as Bob Dylan, The Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Weezer, Morrissey, The Killers, The Grateful Dead, and (ahem) The Jonas Brothers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rave/Eagles_Club#The_Eagles_Ballroom
On this day the place had no musicians but was stuffed full of the region’s finest small brewers serving their wares, during a time when these yeasty upstarts were first reclaiming the lost art of real beer-making from the huge corporate beverage-industrial complex.
At one point a raffle was held. I never (and I mean NEVER) win anything, not even a second glance. The only trinket of breweriana which interested me was a one-liter (just like in the Olde Country) regulation faceted glass mug emblazoned with the golden crest of my favorite local brew. Wonder of wonders, my six-digit number was called, and I raced forward to happily collect my prize.
But the real reward came an hour later as I wandered the sticky event floor with my buddies, when a distant voice hollered over the noisy crowd, “Hey! You, with the big mug!” I turned to see none other than Kirby Nelson, famously mustachioed brewmaster of said beer, motioning me over to his booth. He promptly snatched the crystalline mug from me, filled it to overflowing with my favorite amber lager, and like the Greek god Dionysus bending down from on high to bestow upon me the elixir of immortality, he returned the foamy flagon to my trembling hands.
He didn’t autograph it (too wet), but I shall never wash it …
To conflate two posts, I did get autographs in my high school yearbook. I even got signatures from some of the bad girls, who were probably the cheerleaders by the time Jeff graduated. I always thought around election time they were inviting more of what they were after the rest of the time; now I understand, maybe, that they weren’t cheering, “Cock us, cock us, cock us.”
Yup, it’s time for Iowa again. We pickin’ the prez. This time we winz. (Americana by Walt Kelly)
jtb
I have a Phillies baseball from around 1978 with the whole team’s autographs… Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Greg Luzinski, Larry Bowa, etc. It’s pretty good!
I’m not a “collector,” but I did win a Major Award one year playing online fantasy baseball.
My award for finishing in the Top 100 Worldwide was an autographed baseball with Official Certificate of Authenticity. I didn’t get to choose whose autographed ball I received, but I think I did okay:
I have a baseball (one of likely millions) signed by Baseball’s All-time Hits Leader Pete Rose
I call it my Major Award because it was delivered on Christmas Eve and for years it was displayed prominently in the center of the fireplace mantle with a spotlight shining on it.
After we moved it found a spot on a high bookshelf in the gameroom, sans spotlight.
John Pople, 1998 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. Door name plate.
In 1997 Northwestern was renovating Technological Institute. I was living there as a 3rd year grad student. Poverty wages, crazy hours. But we had a band that practiced in the main lecture room, and we’d drink a lot of beer and explore parts of the building and campus we weren’t supposed to.
One night after practice and a few strong imports I was wandering around the wing with the computational Chemistry offices and thought it would be funny to pull the nameplates off of the doors and give them to my friends who worked for each of the professors: Pople, Schatz, Rather and maybe one more. Schatz and Ratner were gone by the end of the next day but my buddy working for Pople had just decided to quit grad school and had bugged out in the middle of the night.
FF a few months, Pople wins the Nobel and the department has a reception and invited the whole department including the graduate students. After a few too many beverages I remembered the nameplate sitting in my desk in my office a few doors away so I popped over, grabbed it, and waited for John to finish his talk (he was a great speaker).
Afterwards I congratulated him and asked him to sign the purloined nameplate. He laughed and said, “The newsmen couldn’t find me for interviews because there was no name on the door!” He smiled and signed it anyway 🙂