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| Ned still has a gorgeous autograph! |
Ned Garver is a wonder.
Now age 88 (born Christmas Day, 1925), he was a fearless pitcher whose 129 wins may have neared 200 with more contending teams.
Despite many hard-luck losses, he’s remained undefeated as a hobby all-star. A recent check at www.sportscollectors.net confirmed that Ned Garver was perfect. Of 415 recorded contacts by collectors, Garver responded EVERY TIME.
I wrote to him, simply to ask about his history as a superstar signer of fan mail. He responded:
“When I was pitching well — late ’40s and early ’50s, I got lots of mail. Come back from road trip and there would be perhaps a thousand in my locker. The club assigned a person to deal with the mail.
I bought 3-by-5 pictures to send — no envelopes [SASE] mailed in. When I had knee surgery, I got thousands — needed help.
That’s has always been my policy.”
What about fan mail today? Does he ever get a donation of thanks?
“I support a few charities and my church — never asked for help. RARELY does anyone send donation — even if they request much.
I am old — it has become more difficult — but I enjoy mail.
Ned”
Coming Monday: A review of Ned’s fine new book “Catch 20…too! How One pitcher won 20 games on a team that lost over 100.”
I remember reading that Mickey Mantle named Ned Garver as the toughest pitcher he ever faced either in his book “The Mick”, or one of the many books I’ve read about the Yankees of that era.
Ned Garver.Super guy. Ist book great, ordered the second one too. Once sent a card and donation and he responded with extra stuff, even a Christmas card.