#291 John Wathan
Here is a card that my dad got signed for me at Fanfest a week and a half ago. We were standing in line waiting for the players to come out for the next to last autograph session when I noticed that Billy Butler had just appeared in the other line across the room. He was with a Royals alumni that I couldn't identify from that far away. About that time, the guy in front of me got a call from his wife who said that it was Billy and John Wathan. Then the players came out for our station and it was Royals prospects Derrick Robinson and Mike Moustakas. I had gotten a couple of cards signed by Mike earlier in the day and I had a few autographs from both of them from visits to Royals minor league games. At that point, I thought I only had one unsigned card from each prospect, so my dad joked that there was no point for him to be in the line. I told him that he was right and he could go sit down for a bit if he wanted. He then got the idea that he would head over to the Butler line and try to get into it before it was closed off. I thought that was a great idea, though I didn't think that he would get there in time, and I dug out two cards for him to get signed. To my amazement, he got in the line with time to spare since there were about twenty people behind him.
I gave him this card for John and a jersey card of Billy and my dad got them both signed. I asked him if either guy said anything about the cards and he said no, but added that he doesn't really talk to them besides telling them thanks. He did say that another collector that he was line with noticed the cards and he pointed out to my dad that this card was a Desert Shield card. So, I am glad someone noticed and thought that it was a neat card.
This is the only Desert Shield card that I own and I picked it up from checkoutmycards.com for less than a dollar. My memory about these cards are a little fuzzy, so somebody correct me if I am wrong. But, I believe that these cards were only issued to American troops in Saudi Arabia before they ousted the Iraqi soldiers out of Kuwait.
I think that this is the eighth John Wathan card that I have posted on here. But, out of the eight, this one is by far my favorite.
4 comments:
I think I remember hearing that some of the cards went to U.S. bases, which makes a little bit of sense considering the number of Desert Shield cards that made it into the card collecting world.
Its a very neat card to get signed.
To me, 1991 Desert Shield cards are up there with 1993 Finest Refractors and 1991 Donruss Elite Series. They seem like cards that should be whispered about and shown in locked cases or back rooms. I can't believe you got this for less than a dollar.
Thanks for the feedback guys. I was pretty happy with the price and even happier that I was able to get it signed. It would not have happened without my dad's help.
The Desert Shield cards are awesome. My dad was involved with that conflict so brought home a few of these cards for me.
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