Exits

I’ve been lucky to meet a number of athletes over the years, including Luke Appling, Bob Feller and Dick Butkus.  Appling told me how he an umpire robbed him of a hit that would have broken up Feller’s Opening Day no-hitter in 1940; Feller thought Appling’s memory was playing tricks on him; and Butkus just smiled when I asked him to autograph a picture to someone whose last name ended in –czyk with “It takes one to know one.”  Indeed, it does.

Two of my favorite encounters involved Clare as well. The summer she was five, I took her to a minor-league game where Walt Williams was managing; Williams was and is my favorite White Sox player of all time.  I have a picture of the three of us.  Then, thirteen years later, my daughter met ex-Cubs’ closer Lee Smith at a memorabilia store, where the two of them got into a good-natured argument about hitting, pitching and 12-inch softball; this went on for at least ten minutes.  When it ended, Smith autographed a ball, including the number of career saves (478) and the comment, “To Clare: you can’t hit me.”  All athletes should be so good-natured in their interactions with fans.

We also met Bill Skowron at a Sox fan convention when Clare was in college, and “Moose” advised my daughter always to take the ball up the middle and not to worry if she took “the f*****g pitcher’s head off.”  After imparting that advice, Moose showed us the World Series ring he was wearing, from 1956, I think.  A short time after that, I happened upon Minnie Minoso, and it was like the Pope had made a surprise appearance.  If Minnie was treated with reverence by the White Sox faithful, he had long ago earned that honor.  His autograph went on a baseball that includes Appling’s, Skowron’s, Billy Pierece’s and a number of other Sox heroes of mine.  Oh, and Walt Williams’, too.

As a fan, I want Butkus and Smith to go on forever in a way the others didn’t.  A reporter’s death this week after an accident on the Lakefront trail has gotten me to thinking about mortality.  Where’s a good prefix like im- when you need it most?