I can't say anything better than what Marcus over at All The Way to the Backstop said, as he is a Padres fan and has had a first hand experience growing up and listening to the Coleman broadcast since the '70s. From what I know of Coleman, he was a pure and total class act right until the last day. He missed significant big league playing time due to military service time, and never sounded bitter or remorseful. I just can't imagine what that would be like today, seeing guys in their prime leave to serve in the armed forces. In a way, this no longer needs to happen because of guys like Coleman, and what they gave up for our freedoms today.
Over the course of my collecting life, I sent Coleman two TTM requests, with two cards each time. Both times, he signed the cards for me and returned them promptly. I'm sure there is a lot he would have rather been doing, but taking time to respond and connect to fans is just the type of guy he was. I'm especially honored to have Coleman bat leadoff in my Topps Yankees Project, as his 1951 Topps card is the first I have signed in my collection.
I wish his family the best during this difficult time.
I will never get tired of people talking/writing about Jerry Coleman. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI wished I'd have sent him something Tom Owens had a nice write up on his blog Baseball by the Letters. Mike Hegan also just passed away on Christmas day.
ReplyDelete