Poll

Would You Throw Back Barry Bonds Historic Homerun Ball?

Yes
No

Author Topic: Would You Throw Back Barry Bonds Historic Homerun Ball?  (Read 6605 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline tomterp

  • Global Moderator
  • ****
  • Posts: 33783
  • Hell yes!
From today's Post, collected from wire services:

Fan Who Sold Historic Ball Has No Regrets
Sunday, July 8, 2007; Page E07

Catching Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball made Phil Ozersky a rich man. His advice to the lucky fan who snares Barry Bonds's 756th: Take the money.

"Do what's right for you," Ozersky said yesterday while taking in Bonds's chase for Hank Aaron's home run record from the Busch Stadium press box. "But I definitely am happy with what I did.
 
"I benefited financially, but a lot of other people benefited, too."

A lot has changed for Ozersky since he cashed in on a lucky bounce that left the prize ball in his grasp on the final day of the 1998 season. Comic book auteur Todd McFarlane paid $3 million for the ball and Ozersky, then a 26-year-old genetic researcher at Washington University in St. Louis, took home $2.7 million after paying a $300,000 auction commission.

Ozersky is married now with two daughters, ages 4 and 2. He has traveled the world and moved into a larger house in the St. Louis suburbs.

But he is still working the same job at the school and married the woman who accompanied him to the fateful game at old Busch Stadium. Rather than pocket all of the money, he has spread the wealth, donating $250,000 to charities including the Cardinals' own Cardinal Care.

"I think I've done a pretty good job of keeping grounded and not changing life too much of how I expected it to play out," Ozersky said.