I mentioned a few days back that Randy Stein, among several other players, had died recently Dec 12, 2011 at the young age of 58, from early onset Alzheimer's. Of course this is sad news for anyone, especially those who knew and loved Randy.
Other than my fascination with baseball autographs and the tracking as best I can of player deaths, Randy Stein's passing may have slipped by me with little to no fan fare had he not made a brief appearance in Seattle in the late 70s. However, I recently, as in the last couple of years, decided to chase down all of the older Seattle Mariner cards, signed, and Randy was quite an elusive card from 1980. I was able to find one eventually and it held a proud spot in my collection. I borrowed this ebay scan below, so you can see what the card looks like.
Sporting a moustache on that card that could have given the great Rollie Fingers a run for his money, Stein didn't make quite as great a splash on the field. He started his career in Milwaukee, pitching 1 season before joining the M's. Playing parts of 2 seasons for the M's in 1979 and again in 1981, he appeared on a single Mariner baseball card in 1980. Interestingly, Stein was born William Randolph but choosing to go by Randy, the Mariners had 2 "Bill" Steins on the club in 1979. Utility IF William Allen Stein and William Randolph Stein both made appearances for the Mariners in the 1980 Topps set.
He lasted 1 more year in MLB, with the Cubs, and then his career was over. Apparently he worked in the Title Insurance business after baseball, but I am guessing was either an unwilling autograph signer or just forgotten by most. Finding his signature proved to be harder than I would have expected.
So, to explain the comment in the title, I checked ebay as I often do shortly after a former player passes, seeing what types of signed stuff shows up and the typical bidding frenzy that follows. I was shocked to see that NOTHING had shown up for Stein...not one signed item! That has to be a first!
I dug a little deeper, as deep as you can dig for completed items, and see that 1 signature sold (BIN) on Jan 2. That is it.
Good Luck Brewer, Mariner, Cubs autograph collectors. This could prove to be a toughie! RIP Mr. Stein. You are not forgotten and have a permanent spot in my baseball card collection.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sgvtribune/obituary.aspx?n=randy-stein&pid=155045566
Other than my fascination with baseball autographs and the tracking as best I can of player deaths, Randy Stein's passing may have slipped by me with little to no fan fare had he not made a brief appearance in Seattle in the late 70s. However, I recently, as in the last couple of years, decided to chase down all of the older Seattle Mariner cards, signed, and Randy was quite an elusive card from 1980. I was able to find one eventually and it held a proud spot in my collection. I borrowed this ebay scan below, so you can see what the card looks like.
Sporting a moustache on that card that could have given the great Rollie Fingers a run for his money, Stein didn't make quite as great a splash on the field. He started his career in Milwaukee, pitching 1 season before joining the M's. Playing parts of 2 seasons for the M's in 1979 and again in 1981, he appeared on a single Mariner baseball card in 1980. Interestingly, Stein was born William Randolph but choosing to go by Randy, the Mariners had 2 "Bill" Steins on the club in 1979. Utility IF William Allen Stein and William Randolph Stein both made appearances for the Mariners in the 1980 Topps set.
He lasted 1 more year in MLB, with the Cubs, and then his career was over. Apparently he worked in the Title Insurance business after baseball, but I am guessing was either an unwilling autograph signer or just forgotten by most. Finding his signature proved to be harder than I would have expected.
So, to explain the comment in the title, I checked ebay as I often do shortly after a former player passes, seeing what types of signed stuff shows up and the typical bidding frenzy that follows. I was shocked to see that NOTHING had shown up for Stein...not one signed item! That has to be a first!
I dug a little deeper, as deep as you can dig for completed items, and see that 1 signature sold (BIN) on Jan 2. That is it.
Good Luck Brewer, Mariner, Cubs autograph collectors. This could prove to be a toughie! RIP Mr. Stein. You are not forgotten and have a permanent spot in my baseball card collection.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sgvtribune/obituary.aspx?n=randy-stein&pid=155045566
