Autographed Balls

I recently made a new Blue Heaven Facebook page and discovered the wonders of its photo albums. I can put up as many pics as I want and anybody can view them without having to be a facebook member. Considering their recent privacy issues they have been having lately- real or imagined- I figured this would probably be the best venue to post some items from my collection.

Last night I had a chance to scan some of the autograph Baseballs I've collected over the years. A vast majority of them were gathered during my visits to Spring Training in Florida a few years back while others came from my days as a Baseball card seller in the late 80's to early 90's. See all of the balls I've scanned so far here.

This Duke Snider is an old one. Not only is the ball oxidizing into a ugly brown, but it is the very first autographed Dodger I've ever gotten. It was early on in my teenage career as a Baseball card entrepreneur and Duke Snider was to be a special guest at one of my earliest shows. As a child we never had the means to go to a lot of games and the thought of getting a players autograph was never planted in my mind. It was just something I never did as a youngster.

When I got older and became a hardcore Baseball hobbyist the means and ability to pursue autos became more of a reality. So, when Snider came into town to sign for fans I made sure to pay for a ticket and stand in line. To this day it reminds me of that afternoon as a 15 year old kid.
I got this Shawn Green in Florida one Spring afternoon at Dodgertown.
How many folks remember that Rick Dempsey was a Dodger on the 1988 World Series team? When I got his signature at Dodgertown he was a coach for Baltimore (I think that's right) and made a off-handed comment to some fans there reminding them that he too was a Dodger. I, of course, remembered since the memories of that season still resonate in my mind.