I grew up going to baseball games and as a kid, one of the things that we would always do was collect autographs from players. I was fortunate to players like Chipper Jones when he was playing in AA baseball & Manny Ramirez when he played for the Kinston Indians in A ball and the list just goes on and on. And yes, these guys were great signers and I was able to really start collecting autographs.
So I am trying to start collecting autographs for my sons. I am trying to do it on two different fronts:
1) Get some of the current members of the Baseball Hall of Fame:
- Cal Ripken, Jr, (Already have)
- Stan Musial
- Reggie Jackson
- Johnny Bench
- Nolan Ryan
- Brooks Robinson
- and the list continues
2) Get some of the current players and prospects that are in the minor leagues:
- Dan Uggla
- Dylan Bundy
- Jonahthan Schoop
- Derek Jeter
- Josh Hamilton
- and the list continues
And then there are Football autographs too that I want to get, Ray Rice, Torry Smith, Ray Lewis, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, etc.
I want teach my sons that these are athletes and that they people, just like everyone else, but that they are exceptional athletes that worked hard to get ahead in their sport. But I also want them to be polite when they meet athletes, say please and thank you, and to most importantly, have fun collecting autographs.
This will be an ongoing and updated list over the course of the next few years.