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Galveston, TX 409.944.3220 | GaryGreeneVacationRentals.com Call us today and let us help you discover stress-free vacation rental management. Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. qual Housing okers. lp you discover l management. 5 Broadway St, ston, TX 77550 409.763.8030 ALL HOME! Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. ©2022 Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. Better Homes and Gardens® is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporation licensed to Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC. Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each Franchise is Independently Owned and Operated. al management.32 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2022 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2022 33 CURRENTS | COLLECTIONS HOME RUN HOBBY Mickey Mantle autograph leads to remarkable sports collection story by BARBARA CANETTI photos by JENNIFER REYNOLDS R ichard Rico always has been a sports fan. Baseball, basketball, football — he loves to watch and follow them all. But about 30 years ago, he took his passion for sports into a new direction when he met with baseball Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle and had the Yankee’s slugger sign a baseball for him. “That started it all,” said Rico, born-on-the- island and retired Galveston Fire Department captain. “This has been my hobby since then.” And has it grown. Besides the now very valuable signed Mantle ball, he has accumu- lated dozens of others from every team in the league — signed in his presence. Sometimes, his wife Lorrie takes a picture of Rico with the athlete signing, but he remembers every sin- gle signature opportunity. Many of the items also have certificates of authenticity. He has autographed balls from Mantle, Ted Williams, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Reggie Jackson and Whitey Ford, among many others. On Rico’s 40th birthday, Cal Ripkin signed a ball as a special birthday gift. And mixed in with the official baseballs are some of Rico’s favorites: balls signed by his now adult children and each grandchild on their ninth birthdays when they were able to write their own name clearly. “It became a tradition,” he said. Richard Rico and his wife, Lorrie, display their autographed sports and music memorabilia, along with items from his years with the fire department, at their home in Galveston.34 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2022 CURRENTS | COLLECTIONS But Rico didn’t stop at collecting signed baseballs. Bats — each autographed and now encased for longevity — hang between dozens of baseball helmets, also signed by players. In fact, he has more than 100 signed helmets from major league baseball and football teams, spanning the perimeter of his man cave on a shelf near the ceiling. One display box containing bats signed by Hall of Famers is lined with mirrors so Rico can see the names on all sides. Nearby are two vertical cabinets with signed footballs, including one signed by Clemson University coaches who were national champs. Rico doesn’t mind paying for the auto- graphs, he said. For some of the “old timers, this is the only income they have,” he said. Once, Rico bumped into former University of Texas and Houston Oiler running back Earl Campbell in a Galveston store. He asked Campbell for an autograph but didn’t have anything to be signed. Rico asked Campbell to give him a few minutes so he could buy a football. Campbell waited for him to get back — even though it took him 30 minutes — and signed it for him. Hanging from under the shelf of helmets are jerseys — basketball and football regula- tion shirts, each signed by a Hall of Famer, MVP, star player or just someone he admired. “Most of the athletes were nice when asked to sign something,” he said, noting there were the occasions when someone de- clined his request. He said he would shrug his shoulders and thanked them anyway. “I get it,” he said. “They don’t want to be bothered.” Perhaps the most valuable collectible in his room is a pair of red boxing gloves, COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2022 35 (Clockwise from top left) Signed baseball bats and balls, along with photos and jerseys, are displayed in Richard Rico’s man cave at his home in Galveston; a baseball signed by Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle was Rico’s first autograph from a major leaguer. Since getting Mantle’s signature about 30 years ago, Rico has collected hundreds of signed balls, bats, jerseys, photos and more; signed jerseys, the most recent additions to Rico’s collection, hang from a curtain rod in his man cave. (Opposite) One of Rico’s favorite pieces of his collection are the boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali and Ken Norton after their 1976 bout at Yankee Stadium.36 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2022 CURRENTS | COLLECTIONS signed by Mohammed Ali and Ken Norton, after their 1976 fight in Yankee Stadium in New York City. The gloves, signed in silver ink, are enclosed in a glass case with a fight ticket mounted on the box. “That’s the best thing here,” he said. His room, which doubles as the family room, has two super-large TV screens and three theater-type chairs and a recliner sofa. Sometimes, he and Lorrie eat meals in the room at the dining table or fix drinks at the nearby wet bar. But Rico claims the room as his. Besides the sports memorabilia, he also gets musicians and performers he likes to sign photos or CD covers, including Peter Frampton, Gloria Estefan, members of For- eigner and Flaco Jiménez. He also has some drum covers from touring bands and sets of baseball cards and posters from the World Series and Super Bowls. Rico favors the Houston teams — Astros, Oilers, Texans and Rockets — and even went to Cooperstown, New York, to the Baseball Hall of Fame when former Houston Astro Craig Biggio was being inducted. “That was a great day,” he said. “So much of my hobby involves traveling to games and events. That’s how I spend my vacations.” But in one corner of his room, he has re- served space for his fire department awards and perhaps one of his most sentimental items: a plaque and photo taken of him with a Ukrainian fire chief when he made a humanitarian trip to Ukraine to deliver some gifts to the department. He also made several trips to Ukraine to work with youth baseball teams from 1995 to 2000. “It was very rewarding,” he said. He also has items from his time in the U.S. Navy, aboard an aircraft carrier where he worked on the flight deck. His focus now is to continue collecting more full-size helmets and getting them signed. Rico’s hobby isn’t a moneymaker for him and he plans to leave his collection to his children and grandchildren. “But I am going to have to slow down, I think,” he said. “I am running out of space!” Along with the signed sports memorabilia, Richard Rico displays his awards from his years with the Galveston Fire Department, including a small ax and photo from a humanitarian trip to Ukraine.The University of Texas Medical Branch is in-network for most major insurance plans. (800) 917-8906 | utmbhealth.com/primarycare Good health starts with Primary Care UTMB Health knows your health starts with primary care . That’s why we have clinics situated throughout the communities where you live and work. Call our 24/7 Access Services team at (800) 917-8906 , visit our website at utmbhealth.com/primarycare or scan the QR code to learn more. • Annual checkups • Minor injuries and illnesses • Asthma and allergies • Routine vaccinations • High blood pressure • Diabetes • Referrals to specialists • and more Your Primary Care Provider can handle: knows Primary Care SCAN TO LEARN MORE38 COASTMONTHLY.COM | JuNe 2022Next >