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Permalink Reply by Kyle M. on May 11, 2011 at 12:39am

$600?  Whewww!  I wouldn't pay that at all.  I think she was impressed that I had all of her albums.  There is a great record store by me.  I didn't know she even cranked out that many LPs.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on May 11, 2011 at 12:35am

I like the Roy Orbison story better than Link Wray. But I do have two bathroom stories.

 

My friend and I went for Kris Kristofferson. He turned him down in LA saying he had a sore hand. But in SD, he signed EVERYTHING for us, and 20 fans. He kept saying "Come on guys, just a few items a piece." Took photos, and was a great man.

 

That night at the show, my friend says "I'm hitting the bathroom." Kris had taken a 20 minute break. He said he's washing his hands, and notices a guitar, on the side of the wall...with security next to it. Kris comes out of the bathroom, buckling up, and washes hands at sink. Since we had gotten him early, my friend just said "First half of the show rocked!" He thanked him, and they left the head together.

 

The best bathroom story, is at a movie screening I was at with Gibson. Dude brought two 12-packs, finished them all. It was first movie he directed (man with two faces, or some title like that). We're all upstairs, and he tells me about two different times, being asked to autograph while he's in the bathroom. He said "Uhhh...let me get to the sink, and you got it."

 

Well, he's telling me this, because he was getting read to go to the bathroom. We had 10 people there, and one of them was the carpentar for the movie theatre. He said "I've been wanting to talk to him all night .  I'm going in." We begged him not to go into the bathroom to buck him, and he didn't. So...Mad Mel comes out, and is buckling his pants, and stumbling a little bit. This carpentar says "I have to ask you...in Lethal Weapon 2...when you used a staple gun on that guys face. Was it a Makita 3-12 edition? I'm sure it was." Gibson looks at him confused, and says..."Uh...you'd have to ask the prop department. I just use what they hand me." As Gibson starts to wipe his hands on his pants, the guy pats him on the shoulder and says "Trust me, it was a Makita 3-12B. I know it was. If anybody ever asks, you can tell them." Gibson smiles and says "Uh, okay, thanks for letting me know."

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Permalink Reply by Sidney Fields on May 11, 2011 at 2:06am

A Makita 3-12B?????

They don't make staple guns like that any more.

 

Josh, you mention that you love The Doors.  I see that Ray Manzarek is on tour with slide guitarist Roy Rogers. 

That should be a pretty good show.

 

And since I can't find the boxing site here any more...I'll mention here an upcoming opportunity for people to have a number of blown autograph opportunities.  The International Boxing Hall of Fame inductions next month should be a bonanza.  Inductees this year include Mike Tyson, Julio Caesar Chavez, Sylvester Stallone and Kostya Tszyu.  And of course dozens of other boxers and boxing people will be around.

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Permalink Reply by Steve on May 11, 2011 at 10:31am

Back in the 90's I decided to get Hall of Fame baseball signatures on an official home plate.  I took it with me on airplanes to several shows in different cities.  At the time, I had Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Joe Dimaggio, Stan Musial, Bob Gibson, Al Kaline, Yogi Berra, etc.  I ended up with 44 players on it.  I brought the plate to a show in Las Vegas at the Riviera Hotel where Mickey Mantle was signing.  He was signing just about anything, but for some reason, not home plates.  Nobody could give me  reason why.  I got a few items signed, 16x20, baseball.  I then went into the restroom and I find myself standing next to his agent.  I asked him how much it would take for the signature on the home plate and he told me "not today".  Mickey was only signing certain items including homeplates just for his family members so that they would be worth more since there would be so few.  Then he gives me his card and says that he promises me that at his next show in Vegas he will sign it for me if I am there.  Of course Mantle then gets sick and passes away before the next show.  I was that close!

 

At another show, I went to get Tom Seaver, Catfish Hunter, Rollie Fingers, and Lou Brock on the plate.  Brock was the only person who was charging more for a piece of equipment/oversized item to be signed.  I had purchased a regular price ticket not knowing that he charged more.  I put down the home plate in front of him and his wife was sitting next to him at the table.  She grabs my ticket and tells him, hey, this is for a regular item not for equipment and that I needed to go and pay extra for the signature.  Lou then pushes his wife out of the way, and tells his wife "Be quiet, I want my name on that"!  Everybody was laughing except for her.

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Permalink Reply by 2ro69jm8dyt5i on May 11, 2011 at 10:34am

Steve, always wanted to meet Joe Dimaggio but never did.

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Permalink Reply by David Thimesch on May 11, 2011 at 10:43am

That's such a cool story Steve!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on May 13, 2011 at 9:14pm

Nice to hear Lou Brock did that. Did you read my story about what he did to my cousins friend? I included it in one of my Beatles stories in Autograph.

 

He basically kept 1,000 tickets he bought, for him to sign and they could sell (for a record breaking game of his).

 

I've had a few die, where I could've gotten their signatures a month earlier. Stevie Ray Vaughn (had backstage, just didn't care about him enough)...The RIghteous Brothers, yeah...I always cringe!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on May 13, 2011 at 9:16pm

Are you ready for the biggest of all-time?

 

My daughters mom (we never got married) -- her grandfather was great friends with Babe Ruth.

 

They played baseball as kids together.

 

She told me in new york, in his attic, he has signed baseball bats, photos, and balls by Babe Ruth. She said when he dies, they'll give me one. She said all the items are personalized. Bats said things like "I hit 2 home runs with this bat," and he dated it, made it out to the grandfather, everything. And a uniform, I believe.

 

When he died, 3 years after she told me this, her dad found none of that stuff in the attic ... and things his brother and his sons stole it years earlier!

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Permalink Reply by Pablo Abilez on June 1, 2011 at 10:46pm

I would sometimes miss in-person(s) autograph opportunities because of working overtime on Saturdays.  I need the money but, I rather not work on Saturdays so I can get that rare opportunity to get free or paid in-person(s) autographs at CJ's Sportcards and Memorabilia (no longer in business), American Icon Autographs, Padres FanFest, San Diego and/or Anaheim Comic-Con, Cox Celebrity Golf, or any other signing event.  Work can really piss me off sometimes, and it just gets in the way of having fun.  Life is just too short to be working so much.  Thank God for vacation time!

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on June 6, 2011 at 5:30pm

Pablo -- NEVER turn down work for autographs.

I always think of a time I could've made $75 helping somebody write a radio commercial -- and I turned it down -- because I wanted Tom Petty.

I waited 4 hours for Petty. He showed up in a white van. Entire band gets out. I'm wearing a Damn the Torpedoes Petty shirt -- that I've owned for 25 years! There are 5 fans total. He smiles at us, seems stoned out of his mind, and didn't sign. The guitarist got out of the van. At the last minute -- his name came to me. I said it (can't remember it now), and he looked over and scowled, but didn't sign. A drummer, some black guy I wasn't familiar with -- came over because this fan was going nuts over him. I believe he said he also drummed for the Average White Band, can't remember. So -- not only did I turn down $75 -- for a job that IS FUN (writing) ... but ... 4 hours of my time! Sure, great conversation with other collectors (and no eBay idiots), but still...just a job paying $20 an hour, at four hours....oh, don't even get me started.

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Permalink Reply by Pablo Abilez on June 7, 2011 at 2:39am

Yeah, I guess you are right, Josh.  I was working 2 jobs (1 full-time, and 1 part time working 6 days out of the week), however, for 6 years but, now only work 1 full-time job.  And no, I've never had a fun job; work is called work for a reason.  Yes, there are too many missed autograph opportunities for me or anyone else to mention.  Especially if the celebrity or athlete can't sign cause he or she is sick, drunk, late, got lost in traffic, in the hospital, drugged up, can't make it, or is just a plain jerk.  

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Permalink Reply by John C. Block on July 9, 2011 at 7:50am

My best blown opportunity came on October 30, 1976. I was part of the commissioning crew for the USS Roanoke (AOR-7). The ceremony was held in Long Beach, CA. About a month before commissioning, we were told that the VIP Guest would not be announced. Everyone thought it was going to be some big name politician. Well, the day came without the identity being leaked. After all the pliticians were introduced, the Emcee asked everyone to rise for the introduction of our Guest of Honor. It was General of the Army, Omar Bradley. He got a 5 minute ovation from the crowd. Then he stood up and saluted and the applause went on.  For some of you this is probably not a big deal. In fact some probably don't know who he is. After the ceremony he stayed around for photos and autographs. By the time I got down to where he was, it was time for him to leave. He was old and frail and in a wheelchair so I did not push it. I just wish I had been a little earlier.

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