Bob came up to the majors in the 1930's and played until the mid 1950's which was interrupted by four years he served in the military during World War II. He was a multiple time All-Star, World Series Champion and won the pitcher's version of the triple crown. 1940 was the year when he pitched his Opening Day no hitter which to this day has never been duplicated. He was dominant during his prime and the service he gave this country cost him personal accomplishments but he never regrets his decision to volunteer for the military. He played his entire career with the Indians.
In July of 2010 it was announced that Bob was going to do an appearance and autograph signing at Fanfest in Anaheim. I knew some of his history but not enough so I educated myself on him and after learning what he did on the field and more importantly what he did for our country I knew I needed an autograph from him. Got to the convention center and looked at his appearance time which was the second on my list which I thought would be doable to acquire. So after I acquired the first autograph of the day ( more on that tomorrow ) I ran over to Bob's line and it was already about 50 deep. It was scheduled for a hour so I wasn't worried. Bob arrived on time and promptly started signing. What I found odd and somewhat irritating was when you arrived at the table you had to give your item to a handler who then handed it to Bob and once Bob was done he handed to another handler which gave the item back to you. All this and I wasn't able to give him my pen of choice which worried me. Bob did acknowledge fans and was cordial which was nice. Thankfully the signature came out good as there was no way I could get back in line as it grew in size as time progressed. Sadly Bob died a few months later. I'm glad I got to meet the man prior to his passing. Thank you for the autograph and thank you for serving for our country. R.I.P.
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