Who: Pitcher
Steve Stone Team: Chicago White Sox
Card: 1974 Topps
Acquired: In Person, Soxfest 2010
Comments: I've got a ton of stuff coming up for the blog over the next few weeks, including a load of autographs from my trip to Soxfest. Had a great time and got a lot of cards signed.
So let's kick off my string of Soxfest autographs with the one I'm disappointed in the most - this 1974 Topps Steve Stone. This is the only card I've ever had signed at a fanfest in ballpoint pen. Seriously, what the heck? When I went though Steve's line at Soxfest, I noticed that he was signing things with ballpoint pen. My buddy in front of me handed him a Sharpie to sign his card, and Steve did. But, when I asked if he wouldn't mind signing my card with my Sharpie, Steve took my card and absolutely obliterated it with his pen. He mentioned something about him knowing that I "Won't sell this on eBay" and that "It's perfectly fine." All with a smile, of course. Really, the pen was literally scraaaaaaaped across the card. The ink is flaking up and you can feel the pen indentation on the back of the card.
Ugh.
You go to these things and there is an understanding on both sides (player and fan) that guys sign baseball cards with a marker and baseballs with a pen. I've received dozens of autographs from many players - stars, hall of famers, journeymen, etc. at fanfests. They all used a Sharpie on my baseball card.
You know, it's really not that big of a deal. I'm actually not too upset about it. I guess if it were a Reds player that I had really admired as a kid I would probably be a little crushed. But, this good ol' Steve Stone autoscrape will live happily in my binder as a funny reminder to what was a really fun weekend.
I've got some nice looking autographs coming up soon. Stay tuned.
Labels: 1974, Baseball, In Person, SoxFest, Stone, Topps, White Sox
