Another Round, An Even Bigger Goal
Last year’s RAGBRAI fundraising ride for Build Our Ballpark was so successful (and fun) that we decided to do it again (clearly fun has a broad definition here, we’ll admit). So on July 24th, our eight member team will begin a seven-day, 454-mile bicycle ride across the state of Iowa. While we join the thousands of cyclists who ride for the great food, themed atmospheres and adrenaline rush, we have a different drive that we add to this historic bike ride… pedaling to raise money for America’s Great Pastime: Baseball. Last year’s intrepid riders. We will comprise Team BOB, a group organized...
Read MoreAnatomy of an Autograph
This is the third post in the series “The Art of the Autograph.” I’m writing this post by leaning heavily on my graphic design experience, knowledge of the players and their backgrounds, and vivid imagination to make these observations about autographs. No empirical research, no in-depth study of Graphology, no founding in fact … just personal opinions. With an apology to Otto Preminger for taking liberties with his 1959 movie title: “Anatomy of a Murder.” Several years ago I began to notice the difference between the beautiful and carefully written signatures of yesteryear’s players and the...
Read MoreTales of a Misspent Youth
This is the second post in the series “The Art of the Autograph.” I am a kid again when asking for an autograph from anyone wearing a Major League uniform – from the stars to the youngster just brought up from the Minors for a “cup of coffee.” For a half century I’ve been a collector. I’ve watched promising rookies develop into stars, and I’ve watched them retire – some gracefully, some not. But I have their autographs as a part of their history and mine. The collection officially started in 1962 when I met the “Yankee Clipper,” Joe...
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