Autograph

Crowds gathered throughout Cooperstown yesterday, but nowhere were the bodies packed tighter than around booths where baseball greats signed memorabilia. The hunt for Ripken autographs became so intense that when the inductee's golf cart neared a fence bordering a public road yesterday, dozens of people appeared within seconds asking for some Sharpie love. One enterprising homeowner charged $10 a head for anyone who wanted to stand in his yard near the edge of the golf course. Dozens paid the fee happily, perhaps realizing that they would pay five times as much at one of the autograph booths in town.

JUPITER, Fla. -- Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken became the target of a heckler in the second inning of yesterday's 4-0 loss to the Montreal Expos, exchanging angry words with the frustrated fan who was seated in the first row of seats behind home plate at Roger Dean Stadium.The fan apparently was upset because his son had been unsuccessful in several efforts to get Ripken's autograph. He was close enough to be heard easily at home plate, and a clearly agitated Ripken barked back at him on a couple of occasions.

Mary A. Benjamin, 93, one of the country's foremost collectors and dealers of autographs, died Monday in Hunter, N.Y. A cause of death was not given.Nicknamed "The Autograph Lady-USA," she was owner of the country's oldest autograph and manuscript dealership, Walter R. Benjamin Autographs.Anthony Salvatore, 77, a Grammy Award-winning music recording engineer, died Nov. 18 in Hackensack, N.J. He won Grammys for recordings of "Lohengrin" in 1966, "Sweeney Todd" in 1979 and "The Heifetz Collection" in 1995.

He let one get through.But give him time. It was, after all, his first day in his new position. Even newer than third base and even more disorienting: the author on a nationwide book-signing tour.Cal Ripken Jr. began, true to form, smoothly enough. One assistant opened the book to the right page. Another slid the book over, as subtly as a feed that starts a double-play. Cal's right hand, lightly holding a Sharpie marker, was poised, hovering inches above the desk, and ready to complete the play.

IT IS THE BEST OF TIMES, it is the worst of times. It is 1956, and at the tender age of 15, I have discovered girls but, alas, they haven't discovered me. But I still have my beloved baseball. And since the Orioles returned to the American League in 1954 (we stole a team called the Browns from another city -- anybody see a trend here?), my dad, Rube, no longer has to take me to Washington to see big league ball. He and my uncle, Milt, often take me and my cousin, Steve, to Memorial Stadium to see "The Mick" and now, finally, some our own local heroes.

When a famous entertainer shows up in Baltimore, chances are Owen Sweeney isn't far behind.Mr. Sweeney, a resident of Bel Air who attends the University of Baltimore, collects autographs. Not by trading with other collectors or buying from dealers, but by getting them himself.When someone famous breezes into town, he's one of a half-dozen or so young men who can pretty much be counted on to show up with pen in hand."Not to brag, but I think I'm like the main person in Baltimore," he says, bragging anyway.

The Negro League Ballplayers Association is sponsoring its first Charity Baseball Card and Autograph Show to benefit association members. It will be held April 22 and 23 at the Carrolltown Center Mall in Eldersburg, on Liberty Road one mile east of Route 32. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. April 22 and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23.Members of the Negro League Ball Players Association expected to attend are Monte Irvin, Walter "Buck" Leonard, Max Manning, Stanley...

Standing by the golf course pond with a fishing rod in his hand, the man felt foolish.Not that there is anything foolish about dangling a nightcrawler in a golf course pond. It's more relaxing and less costly than hacking a ball into the water, and you can eat what you catch. Who eats a score card?But catching fish wasn't his real reason for being there. He was engaged in what detectives, spies or journalists would call a stakeout.While he appeared to be spending some quiet time in the shade of an old oak tree, pulling out an occasional bluegill or small bass, he really was furtively watching and waiting for a certain person to walk by.When that person appeared, the man would do something that he had never done in his entire life and never thought he would do. He would ask a celebrity for an autograph.

There seems to be some confusion as to the name of Baltimore's next NFL team, but you wouldn't know it by visiting Yorktowne Sports in Bel Air.An entire wall was covered with Cleveland Browns paraphernalia yesterday, the Browns game was on TV and one-time Browns star Leroy Kelly signed hundreds of autographs. Kelly, a Hall of Fame running back, attended Morgan State and scored 90 touchdowns for the Browns from 1964 to 1973."I'd rather see the Browns stay in Cleveland, but I'm happy to see these Baltimore fans finally get a team," Kelly said.

Rafael Palmeiro could have stayed a little longer at an autograph-signing session yesterday, said one of the disappointed fans who was locked out of a chance to get the Orioles infielder's signature.After all, said Catonsville resident Roy Stinebaugh, "It ain't like he's got to work today."Mr. Palmeiro signed autographs for two hours yesterday at Antwerpen Dodge in Randallstown, but left to a chorus of boos from people who were cut off after standing in the line, which was a block long, for an average of about two hours.

NEW YORK - For weeks before a new Broadway production of "Ragtime" began previews, Christopher Cox and Sarah Rosenthal kept coming up with creative excuses to sneak a peek inside the Neil Simon Theatre in Manhattan. Even though Chris and Sarah are child actors in the show, they weren't allowed inside the building while the set was being constructed. But quite often, the backstage door was left open, and Chris could catch glimpses of boxes of props and lighting equipment being hauled inside.

Given the choice of attending a bachelor's party or meeting his Orioles hero, Bryan Erdman didn't blink. "I bailed on the party," Erdman, 28, of Parkville said. Instead, he stood in line Friday night at Camden Yards with several hundred fans to get autographs of four players from the 1989 Orioles, the "Why Not" club that nearly won a pennant. For an hour before the Orioles game, fans hobnobbed with outfielder Mike Devereaux, catcher Mickey Tettleton and pitchers Dave Schmidt and Dave Johnson, reminisced about that glorious summer and gathered autographs.

Counting down the days of summer also means football is just around the corner, and Ravens fans can whet their appetites as early as Tuesday, when quarterbacks, rookies and selected veterans take the practice field at McDaniel College for a pair of sessions. The team's first full-squad practice that is open to the public is Friday. Here are a few ideas on what to do at Ravens training camp. AT CAMP Where to catch practices What's known as the upper fields is where the majority of practices will take place.

Whenever I reflect on all the great experiences I have had in my life that involve professional wrestling, I realize that I have one person to thank for them - my mother, Shirley Eck. My mom and I have always been very close, and pro wrestling played a major role in strengthening our bond. It's not because she was a huge wrestling fan, either. In fact, the only reason she cared at all about it was because she knew I cared about it. Neither of my parents was into wrestling, which is why I still don't know how the World Wide Wrestling Federation's syndicated Championship Wrestling program happened to be on our living room's television one Saturday afternoon in 1973.

The Orioles are selling hope. If the scene at Camden Yards yesterday is any indication, the fans are buying it. But you might not want to use them as an indication - the annual FanFest is a haven for the most hard-core fans. So try using the fans at the 5-35 autograph show, running simultaneously in Towson, drawing from the same fan pool but from the ones who, presumably, bailed on the Orioles and their 10 years of losing and pledged their allegiance to pro football, past and present. They're hanging in there, too. Barely.

Autograph festivals might cater to fans, but athletes can get caught up in the hoopla as well. This weekend's signing event at Towson University - one of the largest ever held - will corral about 80 one-time members of the Baltimore Colts and Ravens, as well as some current Ravens. It has been billed as a multi-generational shindig, a historic treat for fans as well as for the players, many of whom have never met their sidekicks from the "other" pro football team that won the city's heart.

Kevin Everett signed about 300 autographs last night at the Ed Block Courage Awards banquet at Martin's West. Afterward, he waggled his tired right wrist and smiled. It was, he said, a good hurt. "That was a workout - for my hand," said Everett, the Buffalo Bills tight end who fractured his spine in a football game in September - an injury initially believed likely to leave him paralyzed. But Everett is recovering, and though he'll never play football again, he has become a hero to others.

Before we get into the whole business of how I got Tony Danza's autograph, let me say that I've never understood the obsession some people have with getting a celebrity or an athlete to sign something. This came to mind after reading the front-page story in The Sun Monday about all the fans who show up at the Ravens' training camp for players' autographs. Some autograph seekers, the story said, get there at 3 in the morning. Three in the morning! If I'm dragging myself out of bed at that hour, it's for something important like the Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's, not to swat at mosquitoes on some darkened practice field just so I'll be in position to scream at Ray Lewis for his autograph.

Crowds gathered throughout Cooperstown yesterday, but nowhere were the bodies packed tighter than around booths where baseball greats signed memorabilia. The hunt for Ripken autographs became so intense that when the inductee's golf cart neared a fence bordering a public road yesterday, dozens of people appeared within seconds asking for some Sharpie love. One enterprising homeowner charged $10 a head for anyone who wanted to stand in his yard near the edge of the golf course. Dozens paid the fee happily, perhaps realizing that they would pay five times as much at one of the autograph booths in town.

Another summer, another stretch of sauna-like temperatures in the Baltimore region. But it's also another opportunity to watch Ravens training camp at McDaniel College in Westminster. The city of 16,731 (according to the 2000 U.S. census) is not grandiose, but it never tries to be. Main Street is a quaint mix of row houses and mom-and-pop businesses. Here are a few tips for those who decide to visit during training camp. at camp Best places to park The parking lot at Bair Stadium off Main Street can hold about 700 cars and is available to the public free on a first-come, first-served basis, according to Bob Eller, senior director of operations for the Ravens.