I recently read a story about a collector who while on this very Forum eventually met the same athlete he was trying to trade for. The collector was searching for items featuring the athlete when lo and behold, the same athlete responded to his trade requests. To make a long story short, the collector ended up getting several signed items free of charge directly from the athlete himself. While the chance encounter was exactly that, great stories recalling interaction between collectors and athletes happen all the time but don't always get noticed by the rest of those in the hobby. Well, as editor of Tuff Stuff magazine, I'd like to change that.

If anybody has a story about meeting an athlete that was more than just waiting in an autograph line at a show but actually interaction, conversation, exchange of memorabilia, I'd love to hear about so we can share it with other collectors both in Tuff Stuff magazine and on our website www.tuffstuff.com.

So if you or any other collectors you know have a story about meeting an athlete and sharing an experience with that athlete I'd love to hear about it. Please contact me at [email protected] and give me the details. The best stories will make the magazine and will also receive an authentic signed 8-by-10 color photo of stars such as LaDainian Tomlinson or Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes among others.

Thanks
Scott Fragale
Editor Tuff Stuff's Sports Collectors Monthly
[email protected]