My bedroom walls were wallpapered with posters of sports heroes. Music and movie posters as decor came much later, as I developed a level of sophistication that can only arrive upon entering college. But as a youth it was sports posters. Walter Payton, Don Mattingly, and Tony Gwynn.
One of the other thoughts that raced through my mind the other day was a poster of Tony Gwynn called Hard Work In The RF. I'm pretty sure that was it. It may have been a give-away at a game but regardless of its origins I think it celebrated Tony Gwynn's 1987 Gold Glove. It showcased the RF wall of a dimly lit Jack Murphy Stadium. There on the warning track stood a pinstriped Gwynn looking down at the ball in his glove. The poster was awesome. Alas, I cannot find an image of it anywhere.
So my good buddy Rob (mentioned in the previous post) also had this poster but with a slight difference -- it was autographed and personalized with a metallic silver Sharpie pen.
Rob was Tony Gwynn's neighbor and for a Christmas present his parents had walked over to Tony's house and had him sign it. I coveted that poster and made no allusions otherwise. Rob said he would try to get my poster autographed too but the day never came. In hindsight I would have done well to have just knocked on Tony's door myself -- who can refuse a kid*?
*This strategy worked with Ed Whitson. Ed answered the door fully clothed and with nary a hint of craziness in his eyes he gladly obliged my brother and I.
Absent an image of that epic poster here's another one I had on my wall:
I think this spring I'll round up a poster and sharpie and head over to an Aztec game, pretend I'm a kid again.
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