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| Journalist/Collector Lilburn, Georgia USA I look upon this autobiographical home page as a challenge to refrain from making this journey a trip to the Planet Ego. In other words, as a great American (John Wayne, maybe), once said, "No brag, just fact." This page is not intended to be a complete profile of my life -- just a few observations from the point of view of a journalist (for over 25 years) and a collector (for almost 50 years). JOURNALIST: My involvement in sports, both as a participant and as a spectator, has always played a big part in my life, so it was natural that my first journalism position was in that particular field. Serving as sports editor for The Valley Times-News in Lanett, Ala. was my initiation into the wild, wild world of journalism (1973). Although my main function at The Valley Times-News was sports editor, I did get the opportunity in 1973 to do some news assignments, such as the time I rode with a "revenoooer," otherwise known as an Alabama federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent, to destroy a moonshine still deep in the woods. We found the still without any problem, the experts set the charges, and BLOOEY the still was wiped off the face of the Earth. I remember taking before and after photographs of the still, and when we went in afterwards, you could see and feel and moonshine dripping off the trees. How do people drink that stuff? After being in that job for only a year, I got lucky and was able to cover the sports event of a lifetime, namely the major league baseball game (April 8, 1974) in which Henry (Hank) Aaron his his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth's long-standing record for th emost career home runs. I was fortunate enough to be in the first-base photographer's booth at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium and was able, with the help of my Minolta camera and trusty telephoto lens, to snap a photograph of Aaron as he hit his 715th HR. Aaron, wearing the uniform of the Atlanta Braves, blasted the record-breaker over the left-field fance, against Los Angeles Dogers' pitcher Al Downing in what was the Braves' first home gaem of the season. In fact, it was the only Braves game I covered that year. Everything after that seemed to be a letdown, and besides, it was a 90-mile drive to Atlanta from Alabama (and that was before I-85 was finished). When Aaron finished circling around the bases, some of the reporters and all of the photographers, myself included, poured onto the field to take part in sports history in the making. I took photographs of the aftermath to go with the action and pre-liminary shots I took that night. The biggest thrill for me was talking to Aaron after he hit the homerun and shaking his hand. "Congratulations, sir," I told hem. "Thank you," Aaron replied. The next day my Aaron photograph appeared on the front page of The Times-News, and my story and additional photographs of that night were on the sports pages. Note: I scooped the much-bigger circulation Opelika-Auburn (Ala.) News on this event. The News didn't even bother to send a photographer or reporter to the game. This actually was the second time I met Hank Aaron, the first time being after the Braves' games in which he hit his 600th homer in Atlanta in 1971. I was covering the game in the press box as part of a journalism class I was taking at Georgia State University. I subsequently wrote a story on the game for the school's newspaper, the "Signal," which published it in that week's edition. After the game, I got the "Hammer's" autograph. In my opinion, Hank Aaron was one of the greatest pure hitters to play the game. I didn't have to work in journalism long before I was able to cover my first, genuine team championship. The sport was high schol baseball and t he team was West Point, Ga. High School. The Red Raiders won the Class B Baseball Championship in 1974, having to go all the way to Hahira, Ga. in south Georgia to take the crown. The paper's general manager ferried my film back to the paper, and I called in my stories from the Holiday Inn at night. I didn't even mind getting thrown into the pool after it was all over. Hank Aaron and a State Championship all in one year -- not bad! Tennis was popular in the mid-70s, as evidenced by the publicity that ladies champion Billie Jean King received when she defeated 55-year-old Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes" match at the Houston Astrodome. Before that match took place, a young lady named Margaret Court lost to Riggs in a similar match. A few months later, in 1974, Ms Court was in Auburn, Ala. for a demonstration match, and I covered the event for the Times-News. After the demo, Ms. Court held "court" with reporters and sports editors like myself as we asked her questions about her game. My question: "Do yuo think you will ever want a rematch against Bobby Riggs?" Her answer: "Life is much too short to worry about Bobby Riggs." An interesting lady who on another day probably could have beaten the boisterous Riggs. Having decided to leave the Times-News in 1976, I took a job with WDNG Radio ("24-Hour Power") in Anniston, Ala., launching not only my radio career, but also my new life as a married man. As one-half of the two-man radio news staff, we found it difficult to scoop the large-circulation, respected Anniston Str afternoon paper. But I did it in 1976, as I found out that the Anniston City Police Chief Herman Dickerson planned to resign his position since new Public Safety Director C.T. Clark had been appointed, basically usurping Dickerson's power. I found out about it one morning, put it on the 12:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. newscasts, scooping the Star because they went to press that morning. Of course, it might have helped that Mr. Clark lived in the same apartment building where my wife, Hetty, and I lived because I was able to talk to him on a daily basis. Not being especially happy with the rigors of providing copy for three newscasts a day, announcing on two of them, and working at night, I next tried my hand at working for the Selma Times-Journal in Selma, Ala., where I was a sports reporter and then the area news editor. In that latter position, I covered the murder of a former commission chairman at this home near Selma. The victim was murdered on a Sunday morning while working in his garden, and my editor sent a photographer, Phil Scarsborough, and myself to cover the event (1976). This was a particularly gruesome crime, and it involved one of the leading citizens of the area. One of the victim's employees was charged with the crime. Oftentimes a journalist goes through one or two or more times when his job runs out or is abolished for one reason or another. I've had that done twice. The first time was at the aforementioned Times-Journal in Selma when the newspaper abolished two jobs n the newsroom. My job as Area News Editor and other other reporter's job was cut, allegedly because the U.S. Air Force closed nearby Craig AFB, and the paper's management panicked and started cutbacks. It wasn't that bad because my Mother, Dahlia Sorrell Cox, saw an ad in the Decatur-DeKalb (Ga.) News, which needed a reporter for its Clayton Sun (College Park, Ga.) weekly paper. I got the job and we were back in Georgia were I wanted to be. And, despite being laid off, I didn't miss a paycheck. In fact, in 28 years in journalism I've never missed a paycheck. In my three years at the Clayton Sun, there were a few highlights: In 1978 I covered an airplane hijacking at the Hartsfield International Airport in Atlanta. Again my telephoto lens came in handy, as I was able to get a good picture of the airplane on the ground as negotiations with the hijacker were taking place. A lot of reporters and photographers form the Atlanta Area were there for that one. Everything turned out okay afer a four- or five-hour ordeal. In 1978, my wife and I went on a vacation to Williamsburg, Va. As we were coming home to Atlanta on I-85, we passed a vehicle that looked like a giant roller skate. It turned out the owner of the skate car also was the proprietor of the roller skating rink in Cedartown, Ga., and this was a moving advertisement for his business. The "skate" was black, open air like a convertible, and cruised along at about 50 to 60 miles per hour. I found out later it ran on a Volkswagen engine. We waved at the driver and his passenger, they waved back, and we took their photo. I was shooting black-and-white film, so I got the idea to submit the photos to some national magazines. The National Examiner published the photo in one of their weekly issues, while the National Enquirer sent me a refusal and dispatched their own photographer to snap a photo of the car, and didn't bother to pay me for the lead. A big thrill came to me from the response I got from Life Magazine after submitting them a skate car picture. Their editor wanted me to re-shoot the car in color for the bacfk page "Miscellany" humorous section. I contacted the car's owner, and went with my wife to Cedartown, Ga., to shoot the color slides of the vehicle. On my editor's suggestions, we got the Cedartown Fire Department to hoist me to the top of a ladder on one of their trucks to shoot the photos while the skate car's owner drove back and forth down below, my wife leading the way in our 1973 Volkswaven Bug. I must have shot 20 rolls for Life Magazine that day. We had a lot of fun, and those folks paid real well, including expenses. The editor decided not to use the photo in the magazine (that's the breaks in Journalism), but we had a good time doing it, and I saved a photocopy of the check from Life Magazine for posterity. In 1979, along with a couple of other reporters, I had the privilege of interviewing Arthur Schlesinger, former advisor to President John F. Kennedy. Being a Kennedy assassination buff, I was interested in hearing what Schlesinger had to say. That interview took place at Clayton Junior College in Morrow, Ga. And, my biggest scoop at the Clayton Sun came when I got a tip (I recollect the tip came from my wife) that the commander of Fort Gillem (where my wife works) in Forest Park was resigning. This occurred in 1979, and I had a front-page story which scooped the local daily newspaper, the News Daily (Jonesboro, Ga.). It wasn't easy for a weekly newspaper to scoop a daily paper because of the inherent deadlines. Leaving the Clayton sun, I moved on to "greener" pastures, namely the Georgia Department of Agriculture (get it -- green -- pastures -- agriculture, oh, never mind). While working at the Atlanta State Farmers Market in Forest Park, Ga. as the Public Relations and Information Specialist, I had the opportunity to meet the late former Navy Ensign George Gay, who spoke at the Atlanta Produce Dealers Association Meeting in 1983. Gay was the only survivor of his Navy torpedo plane squadron which attacked the Japanese carrier fleet in the June, 1942 Battle of Midway during World War II. Gay's plan was show down, but managed to bail out and watched the remainder of the battle from a life raft before being rescued. One of the great things about being in journalism is your opportunity to meet famous or near-famous people. In 1984, I had the chance to meet the sone of one of the most famous Americans in the 20th Century. I met Patrick Wayne, son of John Wayne, at the July 4 Salute to America parade in downtown Atlanta. Dressed in overalls, I rode on the float sponsored by the Atlanta market and Patrick rode as an honorary guest in an automobile. I only had a short time to speak to Patrick before the parade got started, but it was very exciting. Patrick appeared in many of his Dad's movies, such as "The Alamo," "The Comancheros," and "Big Jake," to name a few. Those just happened to by my favorite John Wayne movies, along with "The Searchers," "Red River," and "The High and the Mighty," among others. It was sad to see Duke pass away in 1979. He will always be remembered. By the way, the Department of Agriculture's float won the Governor's Award in the parade that year. In 1991, due to the state's reduction in force, I was transferred from the Atlanta Market to the downtown office of the Georgia Department of Agriculture, where I took over as assistant editor of the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin, a 220,000-subscriber weekly farm newspaper published by the Department. I photographed my horse-loving daughter, Heather, in 1992, sitting on top of a beautiful Hanoverian horse, Mr. X. Heather had been taking horse-riding lessons for a couple of years then and she still loves to ride. This photograph was published on the front page of the Farmers and Consumers Market Bulletin that year, and I entered the picture in the photography contest sponsored by the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga., that same year. It captured sixth place in the black-and-white photography division. In 1996, my wife, Hetty, daughter, Heather, and I attended many events of teh Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Heather and I covered the equestrian events for the Bulletin taking photographs which appeared on the front page of the Bulletin for several weeks. This was an exciting time in Atlanta, and an experience I will always remember. In 1998, I was named Managing Editor of the Market Bulletin, responsible for editorial content and supervisor of the advertising staff. COLLECTOR: Journalism is my profession, but I guess you could say that collecting is my obsession. In this section, I will try to relate some of the collecting highlights of my life. Today many collectors will pay big money not only for baseball cards and collectibles, but for autographs of the big-name star players. Thirty yeares ago, players use to sign autographs as a good-will gesture to fans. Wow, has that changed! Now, it's difficult, but not impossible, to get a free autograph. I have never paid for an autograph, and never plant to, mainly because I already have some great signatures that I wouldn't sell for anything: Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron (twice), Brooks Robinson, Dale Murphy, Phil Niekro, and so on. Through the years, Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees was may perennial favorite player, although I favored the Milwaukee Braves (later the Atlanta Braves) team as a whole. I hardly knew who to root for when the Yankees played the Braves in the 1957 World Series, but I finally settled on the Braves. But don't you think I was excited when, in 1967, it was announced that there was to be a Mickey Mantle Clothing Store scheduled to open at North DeKalb Shopping Center in my home town, Decatur, Ga. And, as part of that Grand Opening, the Mick would give away signed photographs of himself. Entering the store, I expected to see some clothing-store type accost me at the door, give me a photograph and ask if I wanted to buy a suit. Well, that didn't happen. What did occur was this: I walked in the establishment, turned the corner past a rack of suits, and who was that sitting at a table all by himself? None other than my hero, MM, ready to autograph a photo in my presence. "Who shall I sign this for?" he asked. "Make it out to Randy" was all I could get out, still in shock. Mickey handed me the photo, I thanked him and was on my way. In this day and time, it's unbelievable that nobody else was in the store. Baseball stars today are inundated by fans everywhere they go if they even look like they're ready to hand out a free autograph. However, many of today's stars also seem to think it's a perk to get $50 a head for their signature. In 1958, as an eight-year-old avid reader, I began collecting comic books, mostly Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc., then moved on to collecting superhero comics, mainly Superman-DC comics in 1960 and beyond until about 1963 when my Mother persuaded me to trade all my comics except one for a Big Business game to a comic book dealer who had a business in an old movie theatre in the West End of Atlanta. (Note: That surviving comic, by the way, is the Classics Illustrated comic, "To the Stars." It survived because I had it tucked safely away in my filing cabinet.) In 1980, I started back collecting comic books -- for the second time in my life. I bought new and old books, and even went so far as to purchase back-issue collections of comics from people and re-sell them at comic book and antique and collectibles shows. One time, in 1982, my wife and I visited the home of a coin collector near Piedmont Park in Atlanta. He wasn't much interested in comic books, but had a few that he wanted to get rid of. Most of the books were coverless comics from the 1940s, not worth too much, but certainly good for reading. However, his stack did contain several front covers of comics from the Golden Age of Comics (1940s). One such cover, lo and behold, was the cover from Marvel Comics No. 1, the November, 1939 issue. The whole comic itself, in any condition, is worth several thousand dollars, if you can find it. I, of course, purchased his entire stack, and took them home. Naturally, when I got home, I looked real hard in the stack of coverless comics to see if I could match the cover with the rest of the book, but to no avail. There are aonly about eight known copies in existence. I don't have the entire book, of course, but I do have the cover, and it's in good condition. I have the cover in a frame and wouldn't part with it because you just don't see this book in any form very often. |
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