zellyanks91
12-21-2008, 10:06 PM
I am a big collector of sports memorabilia and baseball cards. I was on this trading card forum (Beckett Message Boards) where I was looking to obtain some Phil Hughes cards, and this guy sent me a private message. His username was “nyyphily45″ and he told me that he could hook me up with anything Phil Hughes. We exchanged messages for a while and I asked him what he had for me. He told me that he had anything from hats, jerseys, balls, cards, etc. I was interested in all of that stuff, so I asked him what he needed. He told me that he was Phil Hughes. I didn’t believe him when he first said it, but I gave him a chance. The ‘04 Yankees #1 Draft Pick was hanging around on a baseball card message board? I know it’s hard to believe. He was my favorite Yankee youngster at the time, (and he still is now) so it was really cool. I mean..how often do you run into one of your favorite player on the computer? I guess I was the first to know about his identity, because he told me to keep it on the down low. You know how people are..they would attack him, and wouldn’t leave him alone. I offered him money or baseball cards in return, but he refused to accept that. He told me that he would send me some stuff for free. I was like..what do I have to lose? He told me that he would cover shipping and handling.
A couple of weeks later, I received a box from UPS. I noticed the return address had the name Phil Hughes in it. I opened it up and there they were. He sent me three brand new autographed hats, along with a bunch of signed baseball cards, and a small note on the envelope. I was amazed. I later thanked him for everything he sent me. He was very generous, and nice enough to take the time and package this stuff up and send it to me. He later revealed his identity to the message boards, and everyone went wild. Most of them didn’t believe who he was claiming to be, so he had to prove it.
Phil held a contest on the site, shared previews of his upcoming baseball cards, and interacted with many of the fans. He is a very down to earth person. Hughes collects baseball cards just like everybody else. I thought it was awesome that he was willing to interact with his fans. Most pro athletes wouldn’t take the time to do that. I spoke with Phil many times through the forums and through AIM, and he took the time to answer all my questions. I asked about Spring Training, how the baseball season was going, what some of the Yankees players were like, baseball cards, etc. He was a great guy about it.
He couldn’t have been more generous. I still have the UPS box, the original packaging, and the items he sent me. It is something I will never forget.
A couple of weeks later, I received a box from UPS. I noticed the return address had the name Phil Hughes in it. I opened it up and there they were. He sent me three brand new autographed hats, along with a bunch of signed baseball cards, and a small note on the envelope. I was amazed. I later thanked him for everything he sent me. He was very generous, and nice enough to take the time and package this stuff up and send it to me. He later revealed his identity to the message boards, and everyone went wild. Most of them didn’t believe who he was claiming to be, so he had to prove it.
Phil held a contest on the site, shared previews of his upcoming baseball cards, and interacted with many of the fans. He is a very down to earth person. Hughes collects baseball cards just like everybody else. I thought it was awesome that he was willing to interact with his fans. Most pro athletes wouldn’t take the time to do that. I spoke with Phil many times through the forums and through AIM, and he took the time to answer all my questions. I asked about Spring Training, how the baseball season was going, what some of the Yankees players were like, baseball cards, etc. He was a great guy about it.
He couldn’t have been more generous. I still have the UPS box, the original packaging, and the items he sent me. It is something I will never forget.