1971 Topps, Marty Pattin

#579 Marty Pattin

Here is a quick pre-home run derby post about Marty Pattin. This signature was obtained at Royals Fanfest this past winter. I took three cards of Marty that I wanted to get signed there and this was the last of the three that I got signed. In fact, I didn't get this card signed. I had already gone through Marty's line twice and, since Jeff Montgomery recognised me as a Sean O'Sullivan look alike, I didn't feel like going through the line again. So, I waited for my dad to get out of the Billy Butler line and get into the Pattin line to get this card signed. By the time that happened, it was about time for Marty's line to close. My dad got about halfway through the line when they started to shut it down.

Lucky for my dad (and me), Marty asked what was going on. When he was told that they were closing down his station, Marty said "but I want to sign some more autographs". The two ladies running the booth gave each other a confused look and then said OK. They didn't let any one else in the line, but they did allow everyone that was already in it to go through.

I thought that was fantastic. How often do you see a player complain about his autograph station shutting down? It just doesn't happen very often. Most guys will pop smoke and disappear the first chance they get. But, not Marty Pattin. The guy is a class act.

This card was provided to me by the Night Owl. It took me over a year to get it signed, but it was well worth the wait. Thanks, Greg!