Well the KOH event has come and gone and so now I’d like to put down the low down on getting autographs from the pros and provide tips based on my experiences with them.
First I’d like to say that common courtesy and respect go a long way for ANY autograph hound, as anyone who’s been collecting live autographs will attest to. Basically, approach them as you would any other human being. If they’re in the middle of a conversation, WAIT. Come back later if you have to. If they’re doing something, WAIT. If they’re in the middle of a match, don’t even think about it. Would you approach Brett Favre in the middle of a huddle for a sign? Common sense and the golden rule apply. Also, wait till they win a match. Everybody loves to sign when they're happy.
Second, be aware that some pro athletes have contractual agreements that prohibit signing on certain things. Some pro football players can’t sign on a football without a fee. Some baseball players can’t sign a baseball without a fee. In out beloved sport, there are those that can’t sign pool balls without a fee. Expect it and understand where they’re coming from. A contract is a contract. Period.
Third, sometimes a pro may ask your name. Sometimes to personalize the autograph and sometimes to just know whom they’re talking to. Be aware that if you want nonpersonalized autographs, you may have to specify. Personally, I don’t care either way cause I’m not selling them, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Lastly, have fun and don’t be nervous. We are so lucky. The folks at the professional level of cue sports have always been so very friendly and anyone who has been to a major event can back me up when I say that the pros make themselves extremely accessible to the fans whether for an autograph or just a handshake so go for it!
Now for Orlando. I was staying with a top ten pro all week long and I had to drop him off for the players meeting the day before at the convention center. I kind of wanted to get a feel for the place because I had never been to the Orange County Convention Center and neither had he. I wish I could have snuck into the players meeting. Oh well. At least I got the free CD. I could tell this was going to be a gold mine for me on the first day. After dropping him off up front, I went around to park and before I got out of the parking lot, I saw Diana Hoppe. I thought to myself, “Oh yeah, this is event is going to be good.” I walked in and turned the last corner to get to the common area of the plaza and was stunned to see about half of the BCA Hall of Famers and about 15 or 20 high level pros just milling around waiting for the players meeting to start. Holy crap! No time to get celebrityitis. This convinced me that this was going to be the best vacation ever. Keep in mind that I’ve collected autographs for a long time; however, this was pool!
Over the next few days I collected a ton of autographs from IPT members, road players, Hall of Famers and others that I didn’t really recognize. Some of the folks were pointed out to me via my pro friend I came with. The following is a list of the names that I collected in no particular order.
Buddy Hall (To Todd), F. Bustamante (he signed for me twice and after the finals, he gave me his all access pass and signed it too!), Thorsten Hohmann “THE HITMAN GERMANY”, Grady Mathews “Professor”, John Schmidt, Mika Immonen, Ray Martin, Jeremy Jones, Danny Basavich “Kid Delicious”, Nick Van Den Berg, Reid Pierce, Jimmy Wetch, Nick Varner, Kim Shaw “Good Luck”, Allison Fisher, Gerta Hofstetter “Good Luck”, Kelly Fisher “Best Wishes” and “-x-“, Helena Thorfeldt, Monica Webb, Julie Kelly, Karen Corr, Ewa Lawrence, Loree Jon Jones, Vivian Villareal, Robin Dodson, Tony Robles, Niels Feijen, Tony Chohan “T-REX”, Shawn Putnam, Allen Hopkins “2005”, Charlie Bryant “Hillbilly 05 and God Bless”, Gabe Owen, Raj Hundal “UK”, Lou Butera “Best Wishes”, Eddie Kelly “Champagne”, Dallas West “Best Wishes To Todd From Dallas West H.O.F.”, Deno Andrews, Mike Massey “Jesus Loves Us”, Mike Davis, Bill Incardona “To Todd Thanks For The Interest”, Jim Rempe, Earl Strickland, Mike Sigel, Kim Davenport, Efren Reyes “BATA”, Jose Parica “Best Regards and Amang”, Bobby Hunter, Fabio Petroni “ITALY”, Shannon Daulton “The Cannon”, Ralf Souquet “GER”, Johnny Archer, Marcus Chamat “SWEDEN”, Charlie Williams, Corey Deuel, Marlon Manalo “12/1/05”, Rodney Morris “Rocket”, Max Eberle, Keith McCready, John Macias “Lil Jon 05”, Ike Runnels (he turned the card sideways like he was signing a check), and Leil Gay. I also got Ewa to sign my copy of "Idiots guide to Pool and Billiards." I also got Archer and Strickland to sign a cue ball for me. Earl sure does like to talk. God bless him.
I also had all the Hall of Famers in attendance sign a cue ball. Mr. Butera insisted he sign above Mrs. Lawrence as that was the only way he could ever get on top of her. Very funny. At the finals, I saw Mr. Mizerak, but I didn't approach him as I was under the impression that he had just had a stroke and was having trouble. God bless you Steve. By the way, there are only 17 living HOFers and only four didn't attend. Mr. Cueleman, Ms. Balukas, Mr. Byrne, and The Miz.
In summary, I think I did pretty well. I saw the poster that the IPT was selling but it only had the 43 players on it and I knew that wasn’t going to suffice. There were several names that I didn’t get. Maybe next time. So many of the names I wanted, I just couldn’t put a face with the name. Maybe the pro friend will help me out in February. The only person I ran across at this event that charged was Mr. Rempe. I was collecting all the HOFers on a cue ball and he explained that he would sign paper all day, but that a ball would cost a fee due to a contractual obligation. I paid and he added “King James” to the ball. Very nice. I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully it will inspire you to collect billiard autographs.
First I’d like to say that common courtesy and respect go a long way for ANY autograph hound, as anyone who’s been collecting live autographs will attest to. Basically, approach them as you would any other human being. If they’re in the middle of a conversation, WAIT. Come back later if you have to. If they’re doing something, WAIT. If they’re in the middle of a match, don’t even think about it. Would you approach Brett Favre in the middle of a huddle for a sign? Common sense and the golden rule apply. Also, wait till they win a match. Everybody loves to sign when they're happy.
Second, be aware that some pro athletes have contractual agreements that prohibit signing on certain things. Some pro football players can’t sign on a football without a fee. Some baseball players can’t sign a baseball without a fee. In out beloved sport, there are those that can’t sign pool balls without a fee. Expect it and understand where they’re coming from. A contract is a contract. Period.
Third, sometimes a pro may ask your name. Sometimes to personalize the autograph and sometimes to just know whom they’re talking to. Be aware that if you want nonpersonalized autographs, you may have to specify. Personally, I don’t care either way cause I’m not selling them, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Lastly, have fun and don’t be nervous. We are so lucky. The folks at the professional level of cue sports have always been so very friendly and anyone who has been to a major event can back me up when I say that the pros make themselves extremely accessible to the fans whether for an autograph or just a handshake so go for it!
Now for Orlando. I was staying with a top ten pro all week long and I had to drop him off for the players meeting the day before at the convention center. I kind of wanted to get a feel for the place because I had never been to the Orange County Convention Center and neither had he. I wish I could have snuck into the players meeting. Oh well. At least I got the free CD. I could tell this was going to be a gold mine for me on the first day. After dropping him off up front, I went around to park and before I got out of the parking lot, I saw Diana Hoppe. I thought to myself, “Oh yeah, this is event is going to be good.” I walked in and turned the last corner to get to the common area of the plaza and was stunned to see about half of the BCA Hall of Famers and about 15 or 20 high level pros just milling around waiting for the players meeting to start. Holy crap! No time to get celebrityitis. This convinced me that this was going to be the best vacation ever. Keep in mind that I’ve collected autographs for a long time; however, this was pool!
Over the next few days I collected a ton of autographs from IPT members, road players, Hall of Famers and others that I didn’t really recognize. Some of the folks were pointed out to me via my pro friend I came with. The following is a list of the names that I collected in no particular order.
Buddy Hall (To Todd), F. Bustamante (he signed for me twice and after the finals, he gave me his all access pass and signed it too!), Thorsten Hohmann “THE HITMAN GERMANY”, Grady Mathews “Professor”, John Schmidt, Mika Immonen, Ray Martin, Jeremy Jones, Danny Basavich “Kid Delicious”, Nick Van Den Berg, Reid Pierce, Jimmy Wetch, Nick Varner, Kim Shaw “Good Luck”, Allison Fisher, Gerta Hofstetter “Good Luck”, Kelly Fisher “Best Wishes” and “-x-“, Helena Thorfeldt, Monica Webb, Julie Kelly, Karen Corr, Ewa Lawrence, Loree Jon Jones, Vivian Villareal, Robin Dodson, Tony Robles, Niels Feijen, Tony Chohan “T-REX”, Shawn Putnam, Allen Hopkins “2005”, Charlie Bryant “Hillbilly 05 and God Bless”, Gabe Owen, Raj Hundal “UK”, Lou Butera “Best Wishes”, Eddie Kelly “Champagne”, Dallas West “Best Wishes To Todd From Dallas West H.O.F.”, Deno Andrews, Mike Massey “Jesus Loves Us”, Mike Davis, Bill Incardona “To Todd Thanks For The Interest”, Jim Rempe, Earl Strickland, Mike Sigel, Kim Davenport, Efren Reyes “BATA”, Jose Parica “Best Regards and Amang”, Bobby Hunter, Fabio Petroni “ITALY”, Shannon Daulton “The Cannon”, Ralf Souquet “GER”, Johnny Archer, Marcus Chamat “SWEDEN”, Charlie Williams, Corey Deuel, Marlon Manalo “12/1/05”, Rodney Morris “Rocket”, Max Eberle, Keith McCready, John Macias “Lil Jon 05”, Ike Runnels (he turned the card sideways like he was signing a check), and Leil Gay. I also got Ewa to sign my copy of "Idiots guide to Pool and Billiards." I also got Archer and Strickland to sign a cue ball for me. Earl sure does like to talk. God bless him.
I also had all the Hall of Famers in attendance sign a cue ball. Mr. Butera insisted he sign above Mrs. Lawrence as that was the only way he could ever get on top of her. Very funny. At the finals, I saw Mr. Mizerak, but I didn't approach him as I was under the impression that he had just had a stroke and was having trouble. God bless you Steve. By the way, there are only 17 living HOFers and only four didn't attend. Mr. Cueleman, Ms. Balukas, Mr. Byrne, and The Miz.
In summary, I think I did pretty well. I saw the poster that the IPT was selling but it only had the 43 players on it and I knew that wasn’t going to suffice. There were several names that I didn’t get. Maybe next time. So many of the names I wanted, I just couldn’t put a face with the name. Maybe the pro friend will help me out in February. The only person I ran across at this event that charged was Mr. Rempe. I was collecting all the HOFers on a cue ball and he explained that he would sign paper all day, but that a ball would cost a fee due to a contractual obligation. I paid and he added “King James” to the ball. Very nice. I hope you enjoyed reading this and hopefully it will inspire you to collect billiard autographs.
Did he get yours Bernie?