Go For It! Roadshow – Rediscovered Relic With Mystery Signature

When I was in 6^th grade at Cedar Crest Middle School my class went on a field trip to Hershey, PA to see the Go For It! Roadshow.  This was around 1997 or 1998.  The Go For It! Roadshow was an interactive educational health event for kids and was operated by the HealthSouth Corporation.  It was meant to promote healthy living and exercise.  The show ran from 1995 to 2003.  In 2003, a major accounting scandal unfolded at the HealthSouth Corporation and the show was canceled.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I found out we were going.  All I knew was that I didn’t have to sit in the class room for a good portion of the day.  When the show started, I quickly discovered that professional athletes were involved in it.  During the show, Bo Jackson walked by where I was sitting and handed me a t-shirt signed by all the athletes involved with this particular show.

Recently I rediscovered this shirt hanging in my closet.  It’s been in there for the last ten years.  I recognize three signatures – Bo Jackson, Matt Bahr, and Jennifer Chandler.  Bahr was a kicker for Penn State, played professional soccer, and went on to play with numerous NFL teams such as the Steelers, 49ers, Browns, Giants, Eagles, and Patriots.  Chandler received a gold medal in the 1976 Olympics for diving.  As for Jackson, well if you don’t know who Bo Jackson is stop reading this and go open a box of ’87 Topps in hopes of pulling an autograph 🙂

Here are a couple of photos.  Does anyone have an idea whose signature that is next to Bo Jackson?  I’ve never known.

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Bo Jackson / ???

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Matt Bahr / Jennifer Chandler

**Update**

The mystery signature is of former NY Giants linebacker Steve DeOssie.

Back From Baltimore!

Yesterday I took a trip down to Baltimore to scope things out for this year’s National.  While I was there I visited the Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards and the Babe Ruth Birthplace & Museum too.

The Baltimore Convention Center takes up three city blocks and looks really nice.  I think there was a pet industry trade show going on yesterday because they had banners all over the place.  But overall I think it will be a nice place to have The National in August.  I didn’t have trouble at all finding a parking space.  In August we plan to park the car at the hotel and walk to the Convention Center each day.  I’m staying at the Hampton Inn at Camden Yards, which is right across from the stadium.

The Sports Legends Museum sits right next to Camden Yards.  It was once an old train station and was the site of an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln.  Inside you can sit on the exact bench Lincoln sat on while he was on his way to Washington D.C.  There are three floors of historical artifacts that were really great to learn about.  After the museum, I made my way over to Babe Ruth’s birthplace.  Check out some of the photos.  Click on each to enlarge.

1895 Baltimore Championship Banner

1983 World Series Trophy

Babe Ruth has been traded!  On the bottom right-hand side is the transfer order.

Championship pins and buttons – extremely old

1895 Wilbert Robinson Mayo’s Cut Plug #33

The biggest ’87 Donruss card I’ve ever seen!

Kimono presented to Babe Ruth while over in Japan and a Jimmie Foxx All-American jersey.

Frank “Home Run” Baker Yankees sweater

Samari helmet presented to the Orioles while playing in Japan

Colts General Manager Don Kellet made his famous $0.85 phone call and was able to obtain Johnny Unitas from the Steelers using this phone.  For $0.85 he got two Championships.

Unitas’s many awards

Johnny Unitas’s uniform

Babe Ruth statue outside of Camden Yards

Cal Ripken, Jr’s retired number

Outside the Sports Legends Museum you’ll find these baseballs painted on the sidewalk.  If you follow them you should end up at Ruth’s birthplace.

Look!  I made it!  The birthplace of the greatest baseball player of all time – Babe Ruth.  Unfortunately, I was unable to go inside because its not wheelchair accessible.  Being a historic building, I guess it doesn’t have to be.  I wonder how Ruth would feel about that?  The sign out front said “See Ruth’s Rookie Card”.