How I Lost Thousands of Dollars and Other Baseball Stories......

Today is Opening Day of the Baseball season. I always thought it should be a national holiday. Baseball may be a summer game, but when the season starts it's a symbol that winter is officially over. It still may be chilly out there, but it's safe to put the snow shovels away. We're playing Baseball!

It's a special day!

When I was a kid, I would usually figure out a way to go to the Indians home opener. I'm not really sure how I managed that. because the home opener was usually a school day. In the 60's and 70's the Indians had terrible teams, and attendance was low. However, on Opening Day everybody would come like it was their civic duty. Imagine 70,000 people streaming down to the lakefront to jam into old Cleveland Municipal Stadium.

I can still remember walking down W 3rd St., bundled up and walking past the grey urban landscape. The vendors under the Shoreway bridge would be selling peanuts, 4 bags for a quarter.You would enter the giant stadium at the gate and be enveloped in the cavernous walkways . It was dark, damp, and odor filled. (Both good and bad.) When you walked up the ramp to the seating area, a bright green playing field would be revealed. It was sort of a magical sight for a kid. Maybe grownups too.



One Opening Day I remember was in 1975. The Indians had hired Frank Robinson to be a player-manager for the club. Robinson was a fading 39 year old star at

Robinson on Opening Day. Colorful unis.

the time, having already won MVP awards in both leagues. But he would now become the first black manager in Major League Baseball. The crowd was roaring in anticipation as Robinson approached the plate for his first at bat in the first inning. As fate would have it, Robinson hit a home run. It was something that would happen in a storybook or the movies. The Indians went on to beat the Yankees that day 5-3. The Indians are unveiling a statue to Robinson at Progressive Field this summer.

One of the reasons I enjoyed Baseball so much as a kid was because I collected Baseball cards. Remember, there was no internet, and no ESPN. Baseball cards were a great way to learn about the players. Pictures and basic info on the front. Detailed statistics on the back. When I would listen to a game on the radio I would lay out cards of the players that were playing. It was sort of like an instant graphics department before that was invented.

One time an older kid from my neighborhood was moving and he gave me a box of his older cards. Who knew these would become collectable? I still have a number of those cards today. But one card I was not impressed with. It was titled "Ted Signs for '59". It showed Ted Williams in a suit signing his contract for 1959. I had heard of Ted Williams, but he was slightly before my time. Besides, he was wearing a suit. Not very cool. So I took it, along with other cards I might have doubles or triples of, and clothespinned them against the spokes on my bike. This would make a cool motorcycle type sound as you rode your bike. Very cool thing to do back in the day. However, it would also destroy the cards in a couple of miles.

I still think it's an ugly card.

Decades later card collecting had become a popular hobby. It turns out that "Ted Signs for '59" is one of the most valuable cards of all time. Williams had signed an exclusive contract with the Fleer Gum Company. Sort of like Lebron signing with Nike these days. Fleer released a set detailing the history of Ted Williams career. However, on that particular card appeared the teams GM that was not under contract to Fleer. The card had to be pulled from production and remains very scarce to this day. During the heyday of Baseball card collecting this card in mint condition would be worth tens of thousands of dollars. It was so valuable that counterfeits were discovered. Even today, a real one is listed on Ebay asking for $1,275.00.

Am I mad about loosing out on a potentially valuable card? Not really. I doubt I would've sold it anyway. Instead I've got a story to tell when I'm watching Baseball Opening Day. Play ball!