BONUS STORY:
Ted Williams

The first time Ted Williams stepped in the box against Bill Fischer the lifetime sub-.500 pitcher struck him out. After the game, the young pitcher bravely entered the Red Sox locker room and asked him to sign a game ball. Williams took the ball, didn't say anything, and signed. The next time the two met on the diamond, Williams knocked the ball out of the park. Williams yelled at Fischer, "I'll sign that one for you, too . . . if you can find it." The 77-year-old slugger has signed countless items over the years. Like DiMaggio and Mantle, Williams' celebrity helped create the infrastructure for the autographed sports memorabilia hobby. However, he disliked the weekend show grind, and three strokes in five years made rearranging priorities easy. Williams has dominated the hobby as he did pitchers throughout his career. Maybe he was the toughest out in the lineup. He owns the highest on-base percentage record (.484). Now, among living players, he's the toughest real autograph to acquire.

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