Potter continues to deliver with his next round of baseball signings

Chris Potter with Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr

Crisscrossing the country connecting baseball fans and their cardboard heroes, Chris Potter has continued to make his mark by delivering excellent service to those looking to enhance their autograph collections. With a week left before his next round of coast-to-coast travel, which includes signings with 80 former major league baseball players including Hall of Famers Yogi Berra and Bobby Doerr, as well as NBA Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, Potter is busy keeping up with the demand of his faithful.

“Right now, to be honest, we’re up to our eyeballs in mail,” said Potter in a phone interview.

His last round of signings included the notoriously difficult Dr. Mike Marshall, who has evaded collectors for a long time, even proving to be a reluctant signer while he was playing. Potter, after taking the time to break the ice with Dr. Marshall, was able to help collectors land one who has kept his signature in great demand. “It’s definitely a scavenger hunt. A lot were able to cross Dr. Mike Marshall off of their lists,” he said.

So how exactly did Potter break down a guy like Marshall?

“It’s just getting to know somebody. It took me a few years just to build a relationship with him. He took a liking to me and it kind of went from there,” he said. For a player who doesn’t like to sign autographs, Potter was impressed with the amount of care Marshall put in to his signature. “He took pride in his signature. He definitely wanted to make things look good. There were situations where he didn’t think things were up to par and he didn’t let me have it. He was very particular about what he let out in to the market. He had a lot of pride in it, which I don’t see a lot of the players have now today.”

It is through these relationships that Potter has been given a window into the lives of these great men who have helped to build America’s pastime. One of those legends he will be visiting is the aforementioned 94-year-old Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr. “Bobby is of the classiest men I’ve ever met. It’s always a pleasure to see and work with him. I had a great time hearing his stories and talking baseball with him. [He is] one of the best ambassadors of baseball.”

With his June 22nd deadline approaching, Potter is excited to get back on the road to visit the players. One of the things he most looks forward to are the reactions of the players to the wide variety of items he reigns in from his customers. Despite the fact that many of these players have been signing their names for over a half-century, they still get a big kick of what Potter brings their way.

“They really enjoy seeing the stuff I bring them. They say, ‘I haven’t seen this.’ ‘Where can I find this?’ They haven’t seen these things in 40 years in some cases,” said Potter. “Sometimes they want to keep it, but I have to tell them they aren’t mine.”

- Click here to view the 80 players that Potter has available for his June 22nd signings, which includes three Hall of Famers, three MVP's, four Rookies of the Year and a host of other World Series champions and other award winners.

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Chris Potter reels in Dr. Mike Marshall for his March 22nd signings

Chris Potter, who was profiled earlier this year for his tremendous work traveling the country, tracking down retired players to offer autograph signings for fans and collectors, is about to embark on his next round of signings on March 22nd.

Potter's catch this trip is the reclusive Cy Young Award winner, Dr. Mike Marshall. While Marshall has made himself readily available to spread his knowledge about preventing pitching injuries, he has remained one of the most reluctant autograph signers in baseball.

This dates back to his playing days, as Marshall's his anti-autograph stance was detailed in a 1974 Sports Illustrated Article. "Marshall explained that he would willingly sign if the boys could show him that their autograph books also contained the signatures of their teachers and others who 'were really meaningful in their lives.'" Marshall defended his position by stating, "As an athlete, I am no one to be idolized. ... I will not perpetuate that hoax.  They say I don't like kids.  I think that refusing to sign autographs, I am giving the strongest demonstration that I really do like them.  I am looking beyond mere expediency to what is truly valuable in their lives." 

Whatever magic the leprechaun on Potter's site contains must have rubbed off of Dr. Marshall, as Potter has been able to get Marshall to agree to a signing fee, while pricey ($185 for baseball cards), is less than when Marshall did a rare signing with promoter Bill Cocoran a few years ago. For the hardcore collector, this is an opportunity to nab one of the toughest living signers in professional sports.


Potter's next signing trip also includes another tough autograph in former Milwaukee Brave Joey Jay, brothers Gaylord and Jim Perry, Choo Choo Coleman, Cy Young Award Winners Dean Chance, LaMarr Hoyt, Mike McCormick, Rookie of the Year Award Winners Alvin Dark, Ron Hansen, Gary Peters and Stan Bahnsen. He is offering signings with over 50 former players in total. 


Click here to view all of Potter's signings for his March trip. Items are due by March 22nd, 2012.

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