I would love to say that I saw him play, or even met him in his coaching days with the Cubs, but I'm not that old. [Not even close. :) ]
I'd love to say that I knew who he was before he was a major part of "Ken Burns' Baseball," but I didn't.
I'd love to say that his appearance in "Baseball" made me appreciate his many contributions to baseball, but I've never even seen all of the miniseries.
Nope, I had barely heard of him when I was at a baseball card show in 1995 in Phoenix where he was signing autographs. I could see that everyone near him was smiling and laughing and was intrigued. [Baseball card show? Yup, it's true. I was, am, and will forever be, a geek. :) ]
He was signing for $5 each, and since I had a few bucks to spare that day, I bought a ticket and stood in a pretty short line.
He was one of the nicest human beings that I have ever met.
He was funny and smart, and he listened to stories from...no...he got the people around him to tell their stories, and he listened to those stories as diligently as we listened to his. And he made us feel that our stories about Little League and high school ball with our friends were just as fascinating as his recollections of playing with and coaching some of the greatest ever.
There have been, and will be, many stories written about his accomplishments in baseball; those accomplishments are secondary to his accomplishments with people.
SI.com's Alex Belth has a great column here.
Funeral services are private, but there will be a public tribute in Kansas City, KS on Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment