By Kate Irish Collins
kcollins@keepmecurrent.com
At the age of 12, Scarborough resident Ralph Zieff found the courage to ask for an autograph from baseball player Roberto “Bobby” Avila, who played for the Cleveland Indians from 1949-1958.
Now, more than 60 years later, Zieff has hundreds of autographs from many well-known sports legends, actors and other celebrities.
“I spent a lot of time during my high school years at Fenway Park, the Boston Garden, sneaking into celebrity press conferences and standing outside stage doors at Boston area theaters. In later years (I also stood) outside many stage doors on Broadway in New York City,” he said.
Born in Massachusetts, Zieff attended Harvard University and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He came to Maine in 1971 to head the community psychiatry program at Maine Medical Center.
Twice divorced, Zieff has three grown children and seven grandchildren, ranging in age from 7 to 17. Following his time at
Maine Medical Center, Zieff was a practicing psychotherapist for more than 35 years.
Zieff, who is nearly 75, retired two years ago and this week spoke with the Current about his incredible autograph collection.
Q: When did you first become interested in collecting autographs?
A: My autograph collection, which includes not only hundreds from all the major sports, but also many from the worlds of entertainment and politics, began at age 12 in a Chinese restaurant in Boston.
That’s where I recognized a man sitting at a table with three other men, and with a nervousness almost to the point of being numb, I got my very first autograph from Roberto “Bobby” Avila, the Cleveland Indian shortstop.
Q: Are you a sports fan? If so, what is your favorite sport or team?
A: I have always been a Celtics and Patriots fan, but in my youth I was not a Red Sox fan. I was a New York Yankees fan simply because my father was an avid Red Sox fan and I had to try to outdo him.
My father was a professional boxer, who competed under the name, “Kid Donovan,” so I also became a huge boxing fan, watching the Pabst Blue Ribbon/Gillette Friday night fights with my dad as a kid.
While fathers and sons traditionally have not talked much about their feelings, there is still a powerful need for connection that will often be achieved through “guy things” like sports or fixing cars, etc.
Q: Is there an autograph you’ve always wanted to get your hands on, but haven’t yet?
A: The sports autographs I would most like to get at this point are Floyd Mayweather Jr., who is the best boxer in the world right now, and Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player ever.
Q: What are some of your fondest memories of getting autographs?
A: My two greatest experiences getting sports autographs involve Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, where all us kids would stand and wait for players to pass. One involved an Old Timers Hall of Fame Day in 1955, when I got autographs from the likes of Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Nap Lajoie and Rogers Hornsby, all-time greats.
The other involved the day I sneaked into the lobby of the Kenmore Hotel, where the entire New York Yankee team was waiting out a rain delay. I was again almost numb as I made the rounds of my heroes, like Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Mickey Mantle.
I’ve also gotten autographs from the likes of Jayne Mansfield, Danny Kaye, Eleanor Roosevelt, Catherine Zeta Jones and James Earl Jones, and those stories are detailed in my new book, entitled “Reaching for the Stars: Impressions, Obsessions and Confessions of An Old Autograph Hound.” The book is now available at Books-A-Million in South Portland.
Such in-person encounters are much more difficult to have these days, and so many people now buy autographs, which I have also done. However, I advise them to be wary of counterfeits.
Q: Why is this activity special to you?
A: There’s certainly an element of hero worship involved, but for me it’s been much more about the personal interaction I have with the stars I’ve approached.
An autograph represents an exchange of feelings, with you expressing admiration of that star for their achievements, and the star expressing appreciation of your admiration by signing their name. And, sometimes, if you’re lucky, you get to see a little of the real person inside the celebrity.
Ralph ZieffSend questions/comments to the editors.
