Met Jim Hart!

[[email protected]]

OK guys, I'm new to this board, but have been a Cardinals fan since 1979, and just wanted to share a story with those of you who are interested. Went to a Sports Memorabilia show and Autograph session the other day to meet Jim Hart. We got there about a half hour before he was to start signing, and was walking around killing time, when I spotted Mr. Hart sitting on a bench behind a sportscard booth, kind of out of the way of the main stream of people. He was talking to a HOF DB for the Vikings(sorry bad with names), when I approached him and introduced myself. At that time someone called for the ex Viking, and left Jim with me, and we had a one-on-one conversation for about 25 minutes. He let me ask him anything about his career I could think of,who his favorite receiver was, what his best game was, his coldest game,(1969 at Packers) who he hated to play the most(he said Washington). He also posed for pictures with me and my wife, and autographed a helmet for us. After I introduced myself he could of made up some excuse and left, but he did'nt, he spent 25 minutes out of his day to make a lifelong Cardinals fan one more memory. This guy is a class act, and is very interested in his fans, and answering questions. Just thought some of you cards fans would get a kick out of my story

 

[BW52]

minnesota vikings HOF DB- Paul Krause maybe?

 

[[email protected]]

yep thats him, Paul Krause, he was a nice guy too!

 

[40yearfan]

Originally posted by [email protected]
OK guys, I'm new to this board, but have been a Cardinals fan since 1979, and just wanted to share a story with those of you who are interested. Went to a Sports Memorabilia show and Autograph session the other day to meet Jim Hart. We got there about a half hour before he was to start signing, and was walking around killing time, when I spotted Mr. Hart sitting on a bench behind a sportscard booth, kind of out of the way of the main stream of people. He was talking to a HOF DB for the Vikings(sorry bad with names), when I approached him and introduced myself. At that time someone called for the ex Viking, and left Jim with me, and we had a one-on-one conversation for about 25 minutes. He let me ask him anything about his career I could think of,who his favorite receiver was, what his best game was, his coldest game,(1969 at Packers) who he hated to play the most(he said Washington). He also posed for pictures with me and my wife, and autographed a helmet for us. After I introduced myself he could of made up some excuse and left, but he did'nt, he spent 25 minutes out of his day to make a lifelong Cardinals fan one more memory. This guy is a class act, and is very interested in his fans, and answering questions. Just thought some of you cards fans would get a kick out of my story

<p>Jim Hart has always been one of my favorite players of all times and I envy you the time you got to spend with him. He has always been a class act and I'm glad to see that that hasn't changed.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Very cool story. I think some of the older athletes have a better understanding of how to interact with fans.

 

[CardsRep03]

That's too cool. When I was 13 years old a bunch of Cardinal players came to our high school and signed a team postcard that they gave out. There were so many players that I got autographs from that I don't really remember meeting anyone specifically but I ended up with about 15 autographs including Jim Hart. A few years back I met Jackie Smith and Tim Van Gelder (Hart's backup for a year or two, I think) They were really cool. Got Jackie to sign that same postcard. That's my brush with Cardinal fame!

 

[TMcgoni]

That's a good story. A few years ago when I was living back in Bozeman, Montana, Jan Stenerud held his annual celebrity golf classic. I was working as a sports director at a local tv station and doing a weekly sports show for Montana State University. The executive producer of the show was the assitant athletic director at MSU and got me a gig as a caddy for Jim Hart in the golf tournament. There were other big names I could have caddied for like Dick Butkus, George Brett, even Dennis Quaid but I chose my childhood football hero, Jim Hart. What a great guy. I asked him if he still followed the Cardinals and he said no, he followed the Washington Redskins, the team he finsihed his career with. He said the Cardinals let a lot of St. Louisans down by moving to Phoenix. He also told me that he thought Roger Wehrli should be in the hall of fame. He said the reason he wasn't was because he was such a good corner that opposing teams wouldn't throw his way. He also had an interesting Dan Dierdorf story. When the two of them were working for KMOX radio in St. Louis, he said the station manager was talking to Hart one day and said he had a great future in the busines, but that Dierdorf guy didn't show much promise. Hart laughed when he told me this story and said it was ironic that Dierdorf was enjoying a successful brioadcasting career. A couple years later I got to caddy for Neil Lomax at the same tournament. He was pretty cool, but not as cool as Hart, and he didn't tip me $20 like Hart did. I've since moved on to being a news director in Helena, Montana and now Kirksville, Mo. In the tv business you get to meet a lot of cool people both famous, and not famous. Tom Browkaw is a great guy and Brent Musberger was surprisingly nice. A couple of years ago I met David Bloom. He was a great guy and I was really saddened to find out about his death in Iraq the other day. My heart really goes out to his family. Anyway, go Cards in '03! We're gonna be better than a lot of people think!

 

[RedRob]

I met Jim Hart when I was 13 (18 yrs ago). He autographed a poster I have of him and Roy with the St Louis Arch in the background. I've had that poster since I was 7. Nice guy. He ended up becoming the athletic director at the university I attended, SIU.

 

[cardsfan473]

I met him a few times as well... Of course, I was 6 years old.

I played baseball with his son. His son was on my team, in Ellisville, Mo. ( a suberb of St. Louis for all you non-Missouri residents) , back circa 1979-ish

He was a great guy, and always helped out with the stuff around the Athletic Association we played for. I recall we had an Association picnic one weekend, and he helped my dad build a portable soda stand. Of course, My dad was a Die-hard Cardinals Fan (I wonder where I got that from? ) so metting him was a real thrill for my dad. Of course at the time, it was all about the kids, etc. But was still a great time for my dad.

He is indeed a class act. Your lucky to have gotten some time with a great Cardinal hero of the past.

My dad was cheesed, when a guy by the name of Neil Lomax took his job. He turned out to a be a pretty good player, though...

 

[Buckybird]

I was very fortunate to get to carry Jim's helmet at training camp
back in '79 in St. Charles. Also got my picture made with Ottis Anderson at camp (his rookie season) he was one big running back.

 

[Mel Gray TD]

It really is sad that a guy like Hart does not follow the Cardinals. It was a sad day for me when the Cardinals left St. Louis. A bunch of great guys played for the Cardinals when they were in St. Louis but I think they felt helpless playing for an owner like Bill Bidwill. Hart has always been one of my favorite players and the site of him throwing the long ball to Mel Gray will always be with me.