Meeting John Olerud
I'm a lifelong fan of the Toronto Blue Jays, and have been a fan of John Olerud since his rookie season with the Jays in 1990. I followed his career and collected his baseball cards even after he was traded to the New York Mets in 1996, through his subsequent days with the Mariners, Yankees, and Red Sox.
I grew up on Canada's east coast and moved to Toronto in 1998, so I missed is playing days with the Jays but I did get to see him play in person when he came back with the Mariners in 2003 and with the Red Sox in 2005. Neither time was I able to get his autograph.
For 2006, the Blue Jays marked their 30th season by having "Flashback Fridays", during which a Blue Jays alumnus was honoured at every Friday home game and had a pre-game autograph session. June 30 against the Philadelphia Phillies was John Olerud Flashback Friday.
Signing was scheduled to be 5:45pm until 6:30pm before the game, so me, my wife Mary-Ann, my wife's cousin Jason, and his wife Maureen lined up outside the Roger's Centre at 5:00pm. (Due to everyone's work schedules it was the earliest we could get there.) At 5:30 the doors were opened and we waited another hour inside. As we got closer to the table and it got closer to 6:30, Mary-Ann, Jason, and Maureen made sure I stayed in front of them so that if only one of us got an autograph it would be me. In what can only be described as the worst case scenario, I got to the table and as I held out a ball to have signed, Rogers Centre staff ushered him away! I said, "Could you do one more?" but he shrugged and replied, "Sorry" and was escorted away. Everyone I was with felt horrible for me. Myself and dozens of others who came away empty handed were able to return our unsigned items to the kiosks where we bought for a full refund. Small consolation.
We went to our seats on the third base line and enjoyed the game. As it happened, Olerud was sitting in a section of VIP seats a few sections away from us. When the game ended, we noticed a bit of a crowd growing around him. Maureen told me, "He's signing! Get down there!" I handed her my camera and went down. After a few minutes I got to the low wall at the edge of the field and got the autograph I had waited so long for! As he handed my card back I asked, "Can I get a picture?" and he said, "Sure". So I leaned over the fence a bit and Maureen snapped a shot. It seemed like he wasn't going to leave any time soon (he stayed for almost an hour signing), so Mary-Ann got in line and got her ticket stub signed. A happy ending to what looked initially to be a disappointing day!
I was truly impressed by the fact that he stayed for so long after the game to sign autographs. He must have signed dozens while standing there by the third base wall, but the one he signed for me will always remind me of what a class act John Olerud is.
Some pictures from that day:
I grew up on Canada's east coast and moved to Toronto in 1998, so I missed is playing days with the Jays but I did get to see him play in person when he came back with the Mariners in 2003 and with the Red Sox in 2005. Neither time was I able to get his autograph.
For 2006, the Blue Jays marked their 30th season by having "Flashback Fridays", during which a Blue Jays alumnus was honoured at every Friday home game and had a pre-game autograph session. June 30 against the Philadelphia Phillies was John Olerud Flashback Friday.
Signing was scheduled to be 5:45pm until 6:30pm before the game, so me, my wife Mary-Ann, my wife's cousin Jason, and his wife Maureen lined up outside the Roger's Centre at 5:00pm. (Due to everyone's work schedules it was the earliest we could get there.) At 5:30 the doors were opened and we waited another hour inside. As we got closer to the table and it got closer to 6:30, Mary-Ann, Jason, and Maureen made sure I stayed in front of them so that if only one of us got an autograph it would be me. In what can only be described as the worst case scenario, I got to the table and as I held out a ball to have signed, Rogers Centre staff ushered him away! I said, "Could you do one more?" but he shrugged and replied, "Sorry" and was escorted away. Everyone I was with felt horrible for me. Myself and dozens of others who came away empty handed were able to return our unsigned items to the kiosks where we bought for a full refund. Small consolation.
We went to our seats on the third base line and enjoyed the game. As it happened, Olerud was sitting in a section of VIP seats a few sections away from us. When the game ended, we noticed a bit of a crowd growing around him. Maureen told me, "He's signing! Get down there!" I handed her my camera and went down. After a few minutes I got to the low wall at the edge of the field and got the autograph I had waited so long for! As he handed my card back I asked, "Can I get a picture?" and he said, "Sure". So I leaned over the fence a bit and Maureen snapped a shot. It seemed like he wasn't going to leave any time soon (he stayed for almost an hour signing), so Mary-Ann got in line and got her ticket stub signed. A happy ending to what looked initially to be a disappointing day!
I was truly impressed by the fact that he stayed for so long after the game to sign autographs. He must have signed dozens while standing there by the third base wall, but the one he signed for me will always remind me of what a class act John Olerud is.
Some pictures from that day:
Olerud hands me back my card after signing it.
Leaning in for a picture with my all-time favorite player.
My wife (in the light blue baseball cap) gets her ticket stub autographed.
My autographed 1991 Fleer Ultra card.
Autographed ticket stub from the day.