AUTOGRAPH STORIES
On this page you will find stories about mine and other collectors autograph experiences. If you'd like to be added, just email me. Hope you enjoy!
Mark
On April 15, I went to see the Buffalo Sabres take on the New Jersey Devils. I didn't go early to get any autographs, but I did get to the game on time for warm-ups. As usual, I went down to see the visitor's warm up and I ended watching them from a camera hole in the glass. This turned out to be great because I was able to talk to the players while they were standing there. I kept asking Bobby Holik for a puck, but he didn't give me one. Petr Sykora must have noticed this because he came over and gave me a puck which was really nice of him. Anyways, the Devils ended up winning the game and I headed out to the back to get some graphs when the players would come out. There were about 10 collector's out there waiting for some sigs which wasn't too bad. Darryl Shannon was the first to come out and he stopped and signed for everyone. I got one card signed by him. Then the rest of the players began to file out in their cars. Sanderson, Hasek, Zhitnik and Holzinger just ignored everyone and sped off, but many players stopped to sign. All together, I the signed cards I got were 2 from Curtis Brown, 1 from Stu Barnes, 1 from Darryl Shannon, 3 from Mike Peca, 1 from Dwayne Roloson, 2 from Richard Smehlik, 1 from Wayne Primeau, 2 from Miroslav Satan, 3 from Erik Rasmussen, 1 from Jay Mckee, and 1 from Jason Woolley. I got ticket stubs signed by Jean-Luc Grande-Pierre and another from I think Randy Cunneyworth. I got a puck signed by James Patrick and a photo signed by Dwayne Roloson. All in all, I got 22 sigs which isn't bad for my first time getting autographs after a game. It was well worth my time!
BUFFALO VS. OTTAWA IN FIRST ROUND, GAME 4 (04/27/99)
This night started off great. I got to the Marine Midland Arena about 20 minutes before the warm-ups started and I made my way down to the glass with a sign in my hand that said "Mr. Rhodes, can I please have your stick?". When the Sens came out, I held up the sign to the glass, but Damian didn't seem to see the sign, so with about 5 minutes left in warm-up, I made my way to the visiting players bench, which is forbidden to those who don't have tickets there, but noone saw me, so what the heck. Then the buzzer went to end the warm-ups and Rhodes walked up to me and gave me his stick. This is my very first NHL player stick and I was very excited. After the game, I headed out to the back to wait for some players. I got there a little late because I had waited in line for a while for tickets to the next round, so I think I missed a few players. I did end up getting quite a bit though. I got autographed cards from Mike Peca (2), Michal Grosek (2), Stu Barnes (2), Curtis Brown (1), Brian Holzinger (2), James Patrick (2), Dixon Ward (2), and Dominik Hasek (1). I got a signed program from Dominik Hasek and a signed puck by Dean Sylvestor. All in all, I got 16 autographs which isn't too shabby. I did end up waiting for Hasek for 2 hours though, but it was worth the wait. I was very surprised that he stopped and signed, but some people were saying that Hasek only stops when his wife is in the car, and lucky for me, she attended the game. Hopefully she does that more often. But Hasek ended up signed atleast 70 autographs. And this stupid jerk in a transport truck was behind Hasek's vehicle and Hasek stopped to sign and this guy came withing inches of Hasek's car and kept pressing the gas. What an idiot. Come on, Hasek is finnally signing and you want to rush him? Anyways, it was another great outing and hopefully this good luck continues onto the next round.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. BOSTON BRUINS IN ROUND 2, GAME #3
The Sabres ended up winning this game 3-2, to take a 2-1 series lead. After the game, I made my way out to the back to get some autographs. I got most of my autographs early on, but the more popular players always take their time to come out of the dressing rooms, so I decided to wait. At the end of the night, I got autographed cards from: James Patrick (2), Miroslav Satan (2), Vaclav Varada (1), Dixon Ward (1), Alexei Zhitnik (1), Michal Grosek (2), Brian Holzinger (2), Mike Peca (1), Erik Rasmussen (1), Geoff Sanderson (1), Dwayne Roloson (1), and Darryl Shannon (2). All in all, it was a great night.
BUFFALO SABRES VS. BOSTON BRUINS ROUND 2, GAME #4
The Sabres completely dominated the Bruins from the opening face-off. I think they got 16 or 17 shots on Byron Dafoe in the first period. Anyways, they won the game 3-0 and are now going back to Boston leading the series 3-1. After the game, once again (surprise, surprise), I went out back to get some autographs. At the end of the night, I ended up with some great auto's. I got autographed cards from: Stu Barnes (1), Michal Grosek (2), Brian Holzinger (2), Wayne Primeau (2), Geoff Sanderson (1), Miroslav Satan (1), and Alexei Zhitnik (2). I got a signed 8x10 photo from Mike Peca, and autographed pucks from Dwayne Roloson, Brian Holzinger and Erik Rasmussen. I also got a few autographs on my Sabres jersey, one of which was most surprising to me and other collector's waiting for some auto's. We were all just sitting there waiting for someone and all of sudden, someone asks, "Is that Donald Audette?" It turns out it was. He drove all the way from Los Angeles to see his old team play. What a great guy. I didn't have any cards for him to sign, because I didn't expect him to be there, but I did get him to sign my jersey along with Dixon Ward, Paul Kruse, James Patrick, Rhett Warrener and Jean-Luc Grande-Pierre. I wish Audette still played for Buffalo, hopefully they re-acquire him. That'd be soooooo awesome.
JULY 18-23, 1999 HOCKEY CAMP
During this week, I went to Christian Athletic Hockey Camp in Toronto, Canada. During the week, we would have 3 hours of ice time a day where we would work with some pro's which was pretty cool. The pro's that were there were: Mike Gartner, Mark Osborne, Dean Prentice, and Mike Fisher. As everyone knows, Mike Gartner scored 700 + goals in his career and is definitely a future hall of famer. Mark Osborne played for the Jets, Rangers and Leafs in a great career that led him to 3 conference finals. Dean Prentice, who played in the 50's and 60's, was considered one of the best, if not the best 2 way player of his time. He played on the same line as Gordie Howe for a short time and it is a shame he is not in the Hall of Fame right now. Mike Fisher, who isn't even 20 years old yet, is the captain for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL and was drafted in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators in the second round. All of these guys are awesome hockey players. But anyways, during the week, I did get some autographs. I got a small photo signed and personalized by Mark Osborne, I got a card signed by Dean Prentice and another signed by Mike Gartner, and I got a Toronto Maple Leafs Away Jersey signed by Mark Osborne and Mike Gartner. All in all, it was a great learning experience and I managed to get some autographs from some of the games great players.
RAY BOURQUE AUTOGRAPH SESSION - AUGUST 20, 1999
Ray Bourque was signing autographs at a store in Amherst, NY and I decided to head down there to get a few sigs from him. When I got down there, it was raining very hard, but I decided this was a once in a life time oppurtunity, so I stuck it out in the rain. When I got in line, I was told Ray was only gonna sign 1 autograph per person. But luckily, my Dad waited in line with me and he got an autograph for me. When I got up to Ray, he was very nice. He signed a card for me and another for my Dad. I was very happy with the quality of his sig. I thought it was going to be really bad, but it is very nice in opinion. Anyways, today was a day I will never forget.