Have you ever met a famous (or semi-famous) sports figure or sports athlete?
What was it like? Do you ever get an autograph or a photo with them?


I've met a few.

Major league baseball:    Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, Steve Garvey, Ron (the penguin) Cey, Davey Lopes, Reggie Smith, Tom Lasorda, Tony Perez, Jim Rice, Al Oliver, Manny Sanguillen just to name a few. Most of these I met in the 1970s and got autographs.

National Hockey League: Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Wendel Clark, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire, Rocket Richard, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne, Bryan Trottier, Peter Forsberg (just to name a few).

The nicest: Gordie Howe, Manny Sanguillen, Al Oliver, Yvan Cournoyer, Willie Stargell and Pete Rose.
The most shy: Mario Lemieux

Manny Sanguillen (1970s catcher with Pittsburgh) actually went out of his way to find and get Willie Stargell for me, and I got to meet him. I was about 10 year-old.
Reggie Smith tried to get me to meet Bob Gibson, but Bob wouldn't talk to anyone on the day he pitched. I learned that later in life but was dissapointed at the time.

I used to catch in Little League and in Senior League (Babe Ruth elsewhere) and I patterned my style after
Manny Sanguillen; and who didn't twirl their bat around ala Willie Stargell?

I was never an autograph hound so anyone I met was by shear accident except Rick Wise, Ron (Po) James and
Ron Porter. They were part of Father-Son night when I was in school.

MLB:
Rick Wise, Larry Anderson and Greg Luzinski.

NHL:
Rick Macleish, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Dave Shultz

NFL:
Ron (Po) James, Ron Porter and Ron Jaworski.
Not counting Mike Rozier and Derek Holloway (USFL), they were before they were stars.

NBA:
Julius Erving, Andrew Toney

Professional Pool Player:
Nick Varner

Edit to add: I don't know how I forgot to mention pool player Eddie Sheehan after all it was in Sheehan's
                  pub that I met Nick Varner.

I used to catch in Little League and in Senior League (Babe Ruth elsewhere) and I patterned my style after
Manny Sanguillen; and who didn't twirl their bat around ala Willie Stargell?

I was never an autograph hound so anyone I met was by shear accident except Rick Wise, Ron (Po) James and
Ron Porter. They were part of Father-Son night when I was in school.

MLB:
Rick Wise, Larry Anderson and Greg Luzinski.

NHL:
Rick Macleish, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Dave Shultz

NFL:
Ron (Po) James, Ron Porter and Ron Jaworski.
Not counting Mike Rozier and Derek Holloway, they were before they were stars.

NBA:
Julius Erving, Andrew Toney

Professional Pool Player:
Nick Varner




Nice list!

You were a catcher, like old #35, Manny Sanguillen.
I have to tell the story about Manny.
This was in 1973. I went to an Expos/Pirates game at Jarry Park (Montreal). We had tickets in the 6th row, behind the visiting club's dugout. (We saw 10 to 15 games a year there, in those seats).
As a 10-year-old, I'd get to the game real early, even before batting practice. On this occasion, I went down and the first guy there was Manny. He was a talker, yapping away at all his teammates. I got his autograph, and I stood there waiting for the other players to show up (I wanted autographs from Dock Ellis, Steve Blass, Stargell, Hebner, Oliver, Robertson, etc..)

Every time Manny came back to the dugout, he'd look at me and say stuff like "Still waiting for other players" or" Do you want my autograph again?"  ;D 

Eventually he said to me "Look kid, who's autograph do you want, I'll get my teammates". The first guy on my list was Stargell (It would have been Clemente, but he died a year earlier  :() . So Manny walked over to left field where Stargell was, tossing a ball to someone (Stargell’s position in 1973 was LF). Manny talked to him, and walked back with Willie, right to me.

Stargell said “You want my autograph?”. I said yes and shook his hand as well. I was on cloud nine!

Then Manny grabbed other players for me as well (Oliver, Hebner & Stennett)
What a great day for a 10-year-old!

That's a great story, if only players today could be that approachable. I am a bit jealous though, The Pirates
were my favorite team back then. It wasn't really because they were good, I just had a thing for black and
gold. I played baseball through Highschool, my number was 3, Phil Garner's number.

That's a great story, if only players today could be that approachable. I am a bit jealous though, The Pirates
were my favorite team back then. It wasn't really because they were good, I just had a thing for black and
gold. I played baseball through Highschool, my number was 3, Phil Garner's number.


Interesting...The Pirates were my favorite team back then too (from about 1970 to 1974).

Forgot to add Gary Carter and Fergie Jenkins to that list, and Cal Ripken Jr too.

There was a long lineup to get autographs from Cal. I was far back in the lineup, but when it was my turn it was as if I was the first person in line. He was kind, gracious and very patient.

I met Jackie Joyner-Kersee once at university.

I met Gary Williams, the deified head coach of the University Maryland basketball team (making him 'semi-famous' as division1 college sport?), because I went to the basketball camp he runs, but I don't recall meeting any professionals ('famous').  I did get an autographed shirt and a picture. 
My parents won a football autographed by some defensive lineman on the Baltimore Ravens from an auction that they gave to me, but I guess that doesn't count. 
Oh, in - was it 5th grade? - our class met somebody from the D.C United soccer team (MLS), but I don't even remember who. 

Lenoard Marshall(former Giants, Redskins, and Jets Defensive End) and Otis Anderson(former running back for the Giants and the Cardinals.)

I met Jackie Joyner-Kersee once at university.


Nice!


I met Gary Williams, the deified head coach of the University Maryland basketball team (making him 'semi-famous' as division1 college sport?), because I went to the basketball camp he runs, but I don't recall meeting any professionals ('famous').  I did get an autographed shirt and a picture. 
My parents won a football autographed by some defensive lineman on the Baltimore Ravens from an auction that they gave to me, but I guess that doesn't count. 
Oh, in - was it 5th grade? - our class met somebody from the D.C United soccer team (MLS), but I don't even remember who. 


I'm sure you will never forget that basketball camp. Nice!


Lenoard Marshall(former Giants, Redskins, and Jets Defensive End) and Otis Anderson(former running back for the Giants and the Cardinals.)



Nice! I think they were both Super Bowl champs with the Giants, way back when.

It's amazing how sometimes you forget the obvious. Joe Flacco is from the next town over, he went
to the same highschool as my daughter, she was a few years ahead of him, and he was often on the
ballfields with my kids. As well as the other neighborhood kids.

I went to the final Montreal Expos game of the year  in 1976, the last game at Jarry Park ever (they moved to the Big O in 1977). After the game, all the fans took the field and every player had his own little area on the field and you could meet al of the players. I met players such as Steve Rogers, Gary Carter, Tim Foli, Larry Parrish. I had my picture taken with 15 or 20 players...but the pictures no longer exist (must have been thrown away by 1 of my parents at some point)

Ah well, still have the memories inside my head.

Nice!

I'm sure you will never forget that basketball camp. Nice!


Nice! I think they were both Super Bowl champs with the Giants, way back when.
Yeah they were both on the 1986 snd 1990 teams Super Bowl Teams. A least Leonard I know was on both the '86 and '90 teams. Otis Anderson was of course the Super Bowl 25 MVP in 1991. He shouldn't have even been playing because Rodney Hampton(a rookie out of Georgia) had won the starting running back job from him late in the 1990 season. Hampton got injured in the Divisional Playoff Game vs the Bears. Otis was so unprepared to come into that playoff game vs the Bears that he had some of his practice gear on. Bill Parcells(the coach of the Giants at that time) had thought Otis wearing that practice gear was sort of some good luck charm after they routed the Bears 31-3. Parcells  let him wear that practice gear and even payed the fine for the rest of the games that they played that season. The next weeks game against the 49ers(the NFC Championship Game) Giants are down 13-12 vs the Niners with a little over 2 minutes to go in the game and Otis is talking to Giants Wide Reciever Mark Ingram on the sideline and he is like its my dystany( to go the Super Bowl and  to win this game.)  Mark is like but Juice(Otis) they(The Niners) have the ball. Otis is like its my dystany. Sure enough 49ers Running Back Roger Craig coughs up the football and Lawrence Taylor recovers. The Giants go down and score the winning field goal after that.

Yeah they were both on the 1986 snd 1990 teams Super Bowl Teams. A least Leonard I know was on both the '86 and '90 teams. Otis Anderson was of course the Super Bowl 25 MVP in 1991. He shouldn't have even been playing because Rodney Hampton(a rookie out of Georgia) had won the starting running back job from him late in the 1990 season. Hampton got injured in the Divisional Playoff Game vs the Bears. Otis was so unprepared to come into that playoff game vs the Bears that he had some of his practice gear on. Bill Parcells(the coach of the Giants at that time) had thought Otis wearing that practice gear was sort of some good luck charm after they routed the Bears 31-3. Parcells  let him wear that practice gear and even payed the fine for the rest of the games that they played that season. The next weeks game against the 49ers(the NFC Championship Game) Giants are down 13-12 vs the Niners with a little over 2 minutes to go in the game and Otis is talking to Giants Wide Reciever Mark Ingram on the sideline and he is like its my dystany( to go the Super Bowl and  to win this game.)  Mark is like but Juice(Otis) they(The Niners) have the ball. Otis is like its my dystany. Sure enough 49ers Running Back Roger Craig coughs up the football and Lawrence Taylor recovers. The Giants go down and score the winning field goal after that.


I'm certain I saw that game, but I don't recall the details as vividly as you do.