Autograph Tales:The Keough Family

A few weeks ago, I highlighted a baseball I had signed by the LaRoche family (Dave, Andy and Adam). Today, I am happy to feature another baseball signed by another family.
Marty Keough was the first Keough to make the majors, debuting in 1956.  The outfielder-first baseman played for six teams during the course of his eleven year career.  He finished with the Chicago Cubs in 1966.
Marty's brother Joe Keough debuted in 1968 with the Oakland A's.  Mostly an outfielder, Joe played six seasons, ending his career with the Chicago White Sox.
Marty's son Matt Keough made his debut in 1977 as a pitcher with the Oakland A's.  He pitched mostly for the A's, although he also pitched for the Yankees Cardinals, Cubs and Astros.  He deserved better than his record of 58-84 would indicate.
Several years ago, I sent a baseball to Marty Keough, asking him to sign it.  I mentioned that I planned on sending it to Joe and Matt in the future in an effort to have all three on the ball.  Much to my surprise, Marty did the work for me, getting Joe and Matt to sign the ball before he returned it to me.  How very cool of all of them.
I always take special interest in family ties within sports.  Much like with the LaRoche family, I was very happy to add the Keough family ball to my collection.

 Matt Keough

Marty Keough

Joe Keough

Autograph Tales:The LaRoche Family

One of the first baseball cards I ever remember was a 1973 Dave LaRoche, who also happened to be one of the first baseball players I ever remember seeing play.  LaRoche's card depicted him in an airbrushed Cubs hat, although I didn't realize that at the time.  The next year, he appeared in a full Cubs uniform on his card.
LaRoche had an excellent career.  He pitched for five teams during his fourteen seasons, compiling a record of 65-58 with 126 saves.  He pitched in two All-Star games and one World Series (in 1981 with the Yankees).
Several years back, I sent LaRoche a baseball and asked him to sign it for me.  I also asked for him to have his sons sign it, if at all possible.  Adam LaRoche and Andy LaRoche were both young prospects, not yet in the majors.  I really didn't expect Dave to go through the trouble of getting both sons to sign my ball, but I figure it was worth a shot.
A few weeks later, I was surprised to see the ball returned so quickly.  I figured there was no way all three had signed it, but I was surprised once again when I saw three LaRoche signatures gracing my baseball.  I got the LaRoche trifecta!
I really appreciate Dave putting in the effort and I appreciate all three signing.  This is one of my favorite signed baseballs.

Dave LaRoche

Andy LaRoche

Adam LaRoche

Autograph Tales:Robin Earl

David Spada, of Spada Law Offices, is a familiar name in Chicago.  He sometimes uses his Facebook page to give out magnet schedules and autographed photos of former Chicago Bears, like Robin Earl. 
Earl joined the Bears as a fullback in 1977.  He played 7 seasons with the Bears, although morphed into a tight end about halfway through his stint.  He played two seasons with the Birmingham Stallions in the USFL before retiring.  He has remained in the Chicago area, where his two youngest sons are enjoying prep careers.
I have met Earl a few times at various charity events and he is awesome every time.  He has some great stories and he happily will tell them.
I have no idea how far the two young Earl boys will go in football.  However, if they make it to the NFL 9or even if they don't) would this be considered their rookie card?

Autograph Tales:

One of my earliest through the mail autograph requests was to Len Rohde, a former offensive tackle for the San Francisco 49'ers.  Rohde had an excellent 15 year career, but had moved into the restaurant business. I found out he owned a couple Burger King restaurants and I sent him a note to one of them.

Rohde responded very quickly, returning my card signed.  He also included a business card which entitled me to have a Whopper on him at one of his BK locations.  I thought that was the coolest thing.  Of course, I never would have cashed in that coupon, because it was worth more to me than the price of a Whopper.

Also notable is the card I sent was pretty badly off center, as you can see from the picture below.  This was in the days before the internet and before I knew about AU Sports.  The only singles cards I had were ones I bought from packs over the years.  Now, I would have gotten a better card to send, but no big deal.  As a teen age novice autograph collector, I was very happy with the outcome.

Autograph Tales:Ozzie Canseco

I always have cheered for the underdog.  If there is a star athlete and he has a less successful athlete brother, odds are that I will be cheering for that less successful brother.  I liked Wayne Gretzky, but I cheered more for Brent and Keith.  Dick Allen could be in the Hall of Fame (especially according to Dick Allen Hall of Fame), but I cheered for Hank.
When I found out Jose Canseco had a twin brother who was in the minors, my interest was piqued.  Ozzie Canseco was drafted in 1983 as a pitcher by the New York Yankees.  Ozzie did not make it to the majors until 1990 where he joined Jose as an outfielder for the Oakland A's.  Ozzie hit .105 in his brief time there.  He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1992 and 1993.  His career average was .200 with 0 home runs and 4 rbi's.
For parts of 1986-1988, Ozzie played for the Madison Muskies.  I found the card below as an insert in some baseball card magazine and sent it to Ozzie hoping for a signature.  It came back signed about 2 weeks later!
We have all heard horror stories about Jose (and I even experienced one at a book signing), but I also heard a few bad stories about Ozzie.  Fortunately for me, my experience with Ozzie was all good.

Autograph Tales:Diversity 5

The Nitro Girls were an unexpected success.  Under the reign of Eric Bischoff, Kim Page formed the Nitro Girls in WCW in 1997 as a dance group to entertain the fans during commercial breaks.  They became hugely popular.
Like a lot of things in WCW at the time, success brought on greed and lead to overexposure.  The Nitro Girls were given storylines or brought into other storylines.  They feuded amongst themselves, too.
In 2001, five of the Nitro Girls (Chae An, Melissa Bellin, Sharmell Sullivan, Teri Byrne and Vanessa Sanchez) released a one cd single under the group name Diversity 5.
The group was not well received outside of the wrestling world.  Their lowlight was being voted off a reality tv show in late 2002.  I believe this was the last anyone heard of Diversity 5.
I got the cd single from Teri Byrne (aka Fyre) at some point during their time together.  I was happier about getting the five autographs than I was about getting the music.  I must admit though, the song wasn't bad.

Autograph Tales

Many years ago, I wrote letters requesting autographs from several cartoonists.  Most replied with a signed index card.  Greg Evans, the creator of Luann, surprised me with the biggest response.
Evans sent me a hand-written note on Luann letterhead.  He also included a signed copy of a Luann panel.
Evans has been producing Luann since 1985.  The strip follows the adventures of a teenager (Luann) and her family and friends.  Like some other more recent comic strips, Luann has aged since her debut.  She isn't aging day for day, but her and her friends have grown a lot since their debut.
It's always extra special when you get more than expected with a through-the-mail autograph request.  Evans certainly went above and beyond.

Autograph Tales:Jeff Conine

I spent a lot of time sending out cards to players hoping for their autographs. In the 90's, card companies started to make my life a little easier.
The Signature Series produced by Donruss was a beautiful collection of legitimately signed cards. I am not sure how it was decided who would get cards in these sets. There were stars, average players, hot prospects and some players who didn't do much.
I didn't get many of these cards, but I got the ones I wanted. I did not want any card more than I wanted Jeff Conine. Of the many autographed items I have, Conine was not part of my collection until I landed this beauty.  Until I meet this mancrush and get an autograph inperson, this will remain the best.

Jeff Conine's 1998 Donruss Signature Series card.

Autograph Tales:Philadelphia 76'ers

Billy Cunningham's card was in the first pack of basketball cards I ever bought. I followed his career from that point. A couple seasons after he retired, Cunningham became coach of the Philadelphia 76'ers.
Cunningham's Sixers were the Eastern Conference champs three times and won the NBA championship for the 1982-83 season. During Cunningham's tenure as coach, the Sixers never finished below 2nd place.
For the 1981-82 season, the Sixers lost in the finals to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Sixers were led by future Hall of Famer Julius Erving. Other stars included Darryl Dawkins, Maurice Cheeks, Bobby Jones, Andrew Toney, Lionel Hollins and Caldwell Jones. Supporting players included Earl Cureton, Mike Bantom, Ollie Johnson, Clint Richardson and Franklin Edwards.
Early in the 1982-83 season, I sent a couple cards for Cunningham to sign. A few weeks later, a big envelope appeared in my mailbox. The envelope contained Cunningham's signed cards and an extra bonus...a signed 8x10 of the team!
This was before the massive glut of through-the-mail autograph requests that have been happening over the last twenty years, but even back then this was a wonderful surprise. I would never imagine a coach (or a team staffer) going through the trouble to do this. This remains one of the coolest items in my collection.

A signed photo from the 1981-82 Philadelphia 76'ers-1982.

Autograph Tales:Joe Nathan

A few years ago, my friends and I went to Minneapolis to see the Twins play. I couldn't get press creds for the game, but I wanted to talk to a couple Twins. One of them was Joe Nathan.
Nathan is a friend of one of my softball teammates, Pete Z. When I saw Nathan playing long toss in the outfield before the game, my friend Chuck and I called out to him.
This was well before game time and the crowd was minimal. We were standing (in the seating section) along the left field line and nobody was around us.
Nathan came over and talked to us a bit. Within two minutes, Chuck and I were practically crushed by the rushing mob of fans trying to get Nathan's autograph.
We apologized to Nathan for causing the chaos and we left. To his credit, Nathan stayed there and signed a ton of autographs.
The Twins beat the Oakland A's 4-3 in a comeback victory. Nathan did not pitch. I wonder if he was too tired.

Joe Nathan at the MetroDome in Minneapolis, MN-July 2007.

Autograph Tales:Joanie "Chyna" Laurer

Joanie Laurer is perhaps better known by the name Chyna, which she used during her time with the WWE. Laurer achieved a lot of success in wrestling and even some mainstream popularity. Unfortunately, she had some well-publicized troubles in her personal life.
I am happy to give Laurer some praise. Back when I ran an education program at Lerner Newspapers, I solicited memorabilia donations from many celebrities. Laurer responded quickly and generously.
Laurer sent a bunch of 8x10 autographed photos and a stack of various signed wrestling cards featuring her. It was one of the largest item donations we ever got for the program. The students loved getting "Chyna" stuff as awards.
I know Laurer has had her share of problems (some of which are self-inflicted), but I will always remember this gesture. Laurer really went above and beyond!

One of the signed cards Joanie Laurer donated in 2004.

Autograph Tales:Bob Windsor

Bob Windsor was a tight end for nine years in the NFL (five with the San Francisco 49'ers and 4 with the New England Patriots). He played in 117 games and racked up 2300 receiving yards.
Several years ago, I sent Windsor a couple cards for him to sign. He sent back the signed cards and included a hand-written note.
Windsor told the story behind his 1974 Topps card (pictured far below). Windsor said that Sam Cunningham (#39) had fumbled the ball and #57 picked up the fumble. Windsor is seen tackling #57.
Windsor goes on, explaining what happened after the picture on the card. After Windsor tackled #57, he fumbled the ball. Cunningham picked up the fumble and ran for a 40 yard touchdown.
That's a lot of story behind one football card. The story of the card doesn't end there though.
Another interesting tidbit appears in the upper right corner. There is a big sign from a fan who proclaimed Windsor to be the #1 tight end in the NFL. How cool is it that the sign is included on Windsor's card? This is certainly a first and probably the only time it ever happened on a card.
Another bit of info on that card is that it had a double card of sorts. In 1974, Parker Brothers produced a game called Pro Draft which was sort of like a roto-league game. Pro Draft included 50 real Topps 1974 football cards. The interesting part was that a few of these cards were different from their regular issued Topps 1974 counterparts.
Windsor's card is one of the different ones. One card shows the action shot described above. The other is a standard chest-up frontal pose. Just to be clear, this also isn't a case of Topps doing "in-action" cards along with regular cards.
I am not sure, but I think the horizontal card is the one from Pro Draft and the one above it is the standard issued Topps card.
That is a lot of back story on one simple football card. I love this hobby at times.

Bob Windsor's non-matching Topps 1974 football cards.

Autograph Tales:Kevin Fagan

Kevin Fagan is the creative genius behind the Drabble comic strip. Fagan became the youngest syndicated cartoonist ever when at 22, his Drabble went nationwide
I sent a note to Fagan asking him for an autograph. He sent back a signed index card with a sketch of Norman Drabble, the main character of his strip.
In the autograph world, this is about as cool as it gets. It's almost like signed game-used equipment in sports.

An index card signed by Kevin Fagan-early 1990's.

Autograph Tales:Stuart Scott

Stuart Scott is "cooler than the other side of the pillow". Scott has been on ESPN since the debut of ESPN2 in 1993. Scott is also a native Chicagoan.
After sending him a card to sign, Scott's reply was a pleasant surprise. Not only did he give me a big "Boo Yah", he also commented on "Johngy".
It's always an added treat when a celebrity puts a little extra effort into making an autograph special. Scott's autograph is one of those special ones. So to Stuart Scott, a big fat "BooYah" and an extra "Yep" from your boy Johngy.

A signed index card from Stuart Scott-mid 1990's.

Autograph Tales:Van Halen

When I was a kid, Hegewisch Records was paradise. Hegewisch Records was a small record store located on South Torrence Ave. in Calumet City, IL. They had rows and rows of awesome albums and many cool tshirts, too. It was the place to go for your music needs or just to wander.
One Saturday, I was in Hegewisch Records when the manager announced that a band would be there soon to sign their debut album. The band was Van Halen and their album sold out quickly. I did manage to get a promocard and waited for the band.
None of us really knew Van Halen. We knew they were a new band and we liked the sound, but we had no idea how big they would become.
They arrived to a jam-packed Hegewisch Records. For Hegewisch Records, that probably meant about 150 people. They tried to limit everyone to one signature, but the logistics made it a little bit chaotic. You were basically forced to walk by each member anyway, so most of us got multiple signatures. I only missed getting Eddie Van Halen, but 3 out of 4 isn't bad!

A card signed by 3/4 of Van Halen in Calumet City, IL-October 1977.

Autograph Tales:Tim Schulz

The Chicago Sting got me interested in soccer. I saw a bunch of their games and enjoyed the sport. When Pacific put out a line of soccer cards in 1987, I bought a bunch hoping to get some signatures from players.
One of the first I sought was Tim Schulz, then playing with the St. Louis Steamers. Schulz played in several US soccer leagues in the 1980's and 90's. He also played for the US in 1983 in the Pan American Games. I had seen Schulz play a few times and he was definitely my favorite player not with the Sting.
I sent a note to him and asked for him to sign his card. A few days later, I got a great response from Schulz. He signed both cards I sent and enclosed a hand-written letter.
He started the letter apologizing for using the backside of my letter for his note. He wrote about how the Steamers weren't doing very well that year. He also said he hoped that I would make it out to see the Steamers play the Sting in the last game of the season.
It's responses like this which make the hobby so awesome. Schulz definitely went above and beyond and I really appreciated it then and look back fondly now.
Schulz is currently President and CEO of the Colorado Rush soccer club. The Rush has been recognized as one of the premier youth soccer organizations in the United States.

A signed card and note from Tim Schulz-Fall 1988.

Autograph Tales:Harry Saferight

Harry Saferight appeared on his only Topps baseball card in the 1980 set. He was pictured with two other players on a "Pirates Future Stars" card. I had followed Saferight's career and was happy to see him on a Topps card. I never knew (or maybe I had forgotten) he actually made it to the majors with the Pirates in September of 1979.
Several years ago, I sent Saferight a couple cards, asking him to sign one and keep the other if he wanted. I also offered to get him a few more of his card if he wanted.
A couple weeks later, I received a nice note from Saferight. He thanked me for the cards and told me that he was in the majors. He had spent September of 1979 with the Pirates. That included a trip to Wrigley Field. Unfortunately, Saferight never officially played in a game though. He was in the on-deck circle four times, but the batter made an out each time. Saferight never appeared in the majors again.
Players who made it to the majors, but never actually played are sometimes called "phantom players". They usually do not appear on baseball stat sites such as Baseball-Reference.com, although there is a movement to change that. Saferight (and any others like him) should be included with the rest of the major leaguers. He was on the roster, on the team, in uniform and ready to appear in a game.
I had followed Saferight's career, including seeing him play in person in Columbus in 1978 and Toledo in 1982. I also was at one of the games in Wrigley when Saferight was with the Pirates.
This is why I believe I just forgot. Everyone here knows I am an encyclopedia for backup catchers. Being that I followed Saferight's career, saw him play twice in the minors and was at one of the games in Wrigley, I just had to have known he was in uniform. It doesn't make sense otherwise.
Either way, I really appreciated Saferight's letter. I had a lot of fun following his career. It's always nice to get a little extra with any autograph request. In a near future post for Taking Care of Business, I will be highlighting Saferight again.

Harry Saferight's autographed 1980 Topps baseball card.

Autograph Tales:Dan Goich

One of the strangest in-person autographs I ever got involved one of my sister's teachers. It happened completely by accident, too! One day, when I was about 12 or so, I was sorting through my shoebox of football cards. I came across a card which I found funny and decided to show my sister Jean. I am not even sure why, since I didn't often show her any of my cards. Jean was a student at St. Francis de Sales High School at the time. She immediately recognized the player as a teacher at school. Okay, what are the odds?
The player on the card and the teacher at her school was Dan Goich, former Defensive Tackle for the Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and New York Giants. Goich played for 5 years in the NFL and had actually retired by the time his 1974 card was printed.
Of course, Jean would never bring my card to school to ask Goich to sign it. I can't blame her for that. I did take matters into my own hands at the next school event. I went up to Goich and asked him myself. He seemed surprised that anyone would have his card. This was funny, because it was only a few years after he retired.
I should have gotten my picture taken with him, but for some reason I didn't. It was a rare miscue on my part in the celeb photo-op department. Oh well. I later learned that Goich is a native Chicagoan. Also, he attended Mt. Carmel High School, my alma mater, about the time I was born.
I am not sure what Goich is doing now. If I find out, I will certainly do an update. Either way, he will always stand out as one of the oddest stories I have about autographs.

Dan Goich's 1974 Topps football card.

Autograph Tales:John Rienstra

John Rienstra played guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns during his seven year NFL career. He was selected in the first round (9th overall) by the Steelers in the 1986 draft
I sent Rienstra a couple cards a few years after he retired. I got the cards back within a couple weeks and was surprised to see two autographs on each card. Technically, I am not sure if one was an autograph, since it was printed.
Included with the signed cards was a short note from Rienstra. He stated that his young daughter had gotten her hands on the cards and was practicing her printing. He also apologized.
I guess here is where I differ from a lot of collectors. I think this is pretty cool. Hey, a John Rienstra autographed card isn't worth a lot of cash anyway (no disrespect to Rienstra), and the daughter's "addition" make it a good story and a unique card. I liked it.
I should keep an eye out for the Rienstra lass. If she ever makes it really big somewhere, I will have one of her first autographs (sort of).

John Rienstra football cards signed by Rienstra and his daughter-mid 90's.

Autograph Tales:Craig Colquitt

Years ago, I sent a couple football cards to Craig Colquitt, who had been a punter in the NFL for 7 seasons (six with the Pittsburgh Steelers and one with the Indianapolis Colts). Colquitt won two Super Bowls with the Steelers. Not bad for a guy who almost didn't even play college football.
Colquitt had an excellent high school career, playing running back and defensive end. He eventually became the punter, too. He received some college offers as a running back, but he declined and started working in a department store. Two years later, his boss told him that Tennessee was holding tryouts for a punter. Colquitt enrolled and became the team's punter in his sophomore year.
After a rough first punt attempt (resulting in a safety), Colquitt went on to rewrite the UT record books. As a Senior, he was second in the nation in punting average.
I wrote to Colquitt long after his career ended. Along with the two cards I sent, I offered him a bunch more free if he wanted any. He signed my cards and accepted my offer. He also explained that he wanted to put all of his cards in a frame to make a nice piece. I thought it was pretty cool that he explained that.
The funnier part was the back of the envelope. He actually drew what he envisioned for his cards. The piece would have two each of his cards, so that both sides could be seen.
It's little different things like this which really make me like the hobby. I know it's nothing awesome, but it is kind of quirky and definitely different.
Colquitt's son Dustin has punted for the Kansas City Chiefs for a few years. Another son Britton signed with the Denver Broncos late last year. It looks like the Colquitt family might be doing some more framing.

Craig Colquitt's rendition of his framed cards-mid 90's.