I was "8, going on 9". And you know how I get folks annoyed with me without me realizing it until after I did it? And you know how Brooks was/is the nicest guy who ever lived? Well, I was just 8 year old... and I managed to get him annoyed with little ole me...
Now, AFAIK he was only *slightly* annoyed... but he's Brooks... so it felt like way worse than it would have felt from anybody else yelling at me...
After the game, he'd come out of the gate and direct us to follow him to his car where he'd sign autographs. He always did this and stayed until everybody got theirs. Just moments before, I'd spent my allowance on the '61 Orioles Yearbook, I went with others over to his car (a maroon Buick non-huge convertible). He got in, rolled down the window, and he'd sign whatever we passed into him. So I got him to sign the cover of the yearbook... and then I got back in the line at the rear, and when I came up the 2nd time, I had it folded to his page inside the yearbook. Well, somehow he knew it was my 2nd time. I still don't know how, he never looked up to see who was who. By then it had been a few years since I realized Mom didn't really have eyes in the back of her head, so I knew it wasn't that. Maybe he recognized my shirt in his side-view mirror or something like that, beats me. Anyway, when I handed it in, he said, "Come on, man...". Then he signed it and passed it back.
I was absolutely crushed for weeks. Of all the people I might have accidentally annoyed, it was Brooks Robinson. I would much rather have pissed off the dang Pope. I still wince every time I think about it.
p.s. Jim Gentile's pic showed him doing an amazing split to reach out for a throw at 1B. His crotch was about 8" off the ground. Well, *somebody* (not me) drew a little turd dropping from his britches. I still don't know who did it. My little brother was too little to do it, my sister who was 5 would not have done it, and my other sister wasn't even born yet. So, I'm guessing it was Robert Irsay...
That was a creative and clever move Shack.
Brooks still signed your yearbook twice.
