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Show FRANK K. BAKER TELEGRAM SPOP.TI IDITOB. jpift mm Autographs can become a big problem. In fact, they became so burdensome to Pepper Martin that the Cardinal Cardi-nal ace recently bought himself a rubber stamp of his signature and uses that whenever fans ask him for his autograph. 1 Some of Pepper's teammates kidded him by telling the startled star-tled fans that he couldn't write, but the Wjldhorse of the Sage denied de-nied that emphatically. "What's the difference?" he argued. "This stamp serves as well as my own handwriting. It's always uniform no matter how hurried I am and it certainly is a lot easier for me." In truth the autograph often is a big problem with stardom. As Ellsworth Vines, the tennis star, told me during a luncheon while he arM Tr9A rwry mr hgri. nn thpir tpnnis tour: "It is a big thrill the first time a fellow comes up and asks you to sign the program." "It makes you feel mighty important while it's still a novelty but in time that feeling of flattery wears off. You know that dozens of the autographs are thrown in the ash can a few days, weeks or months hence, and yet as a star depending upon the good will of the public a fellow doesn't dare be rude or hurt the feelings of those interested enough to ask you for your signature." The autograph seeker does overdo the thing on a great many occasions, however. When we visited with Vernon (Lefty) Gomez, the Yankee pitcher, for a few minutes after a game in New York City early this spring, the former Salt Laker asked, "Who does think he Is, anyway?" (And he named local character known to both of us.) "What do you mean," I countered. Whereupon Gomes explained. "You know a great many fans think It is swell to have a big league baseball bearing the signatures of the outstanding players," he said. "Well, . called on me when he was in New York City last summer and I get a few of the boys on the club to autograph auto-graph a ball and wa gave it to him as a present. "A few days ago, that guy wrote me a letter asking ma to get him a dozen balls and autograph them for him. lie's got a lot of nerve I think to ask that just as a favor, what with baseballs worth over $1 apiece." Reason for the request was obvious. Either the fan wanted to fix up all his friends with such a present or ho figured he could sell them at a fancy price. According to Richard McCann of the Newspaper Enterprise Service, some of the stars have run into even more perplexing problems from the autograph hound. Several tricksters have even been known to scrawl "I O U j $500" or tome other amount above the signature and tried to collect it. One wise guy even stuck a blank check in front of Babe Ruth one day when the Bambino Bam-bino was cornered by a group of admirers, and in his haste the Babe put his signature on it without noticing what he was signing. Fortunately, the Babe got out of the thing all right. Then there is the story about Walter Johnson being collared by an autograph seeker in the hotel lobby one day when the Big Train was going so strong with the Senators. After a prolonged siege, Johnson finally, escaped to the company of his friends who had been waiting for him. "What in the world did that guy have to talk about for so long," Walter Was asked. "He was telling me he knew my sister," said Walter, "and he was also telling me what a nice woman she was and how much aha looked like me." "It took him all that time to tell you?" That'f right." . "Well, that's funny, Walter, we never knew you had a sister. And Walter smiled in his easy way. "I haven't" Jack Dempsey has perhaps peeed for mere special pictures pic-tures than any ether sports character In history. Fight bugs, leas brilliant pugs themselves, aspiring promoters, seconds .. and all sorts ef characters connected with the fight game got a peculiar kind ef satisfaction out of being in a picture with the Utah Mauler. And Dempsey was always as gracious about it as Ruth was with his autograph. He would curl his arm about the shoulders ef the petitioners and everybody would smile happily as they "watched for the birdie." As recently as four years age, after Dempsey was definitely out f the fight picture, a 2-year-Id fan mad a special ap-pelatment ap-pelatment with the Mauler while he was visiting at his - mother's heme here, employed a rammer rial photographer and had a dosea prints made all duly autographed at a later data ef himself standing alongside the) Mauler. And ; Dempsey didn't even knew the) hey. Yes, it takes a world of patience) te he a popular sports here. |
