It began during the 1974 baseball season. I was a 20-year-old kid and attended maybe 15 or 20 Dodger games that year – the same year that Steve Garvey was a write-in candidate for the All-Star Game. Garvey would not only be named MVP of that All-Star Game but would go on to become the National League’s MVP that season as well.

You would think that with all that, Steve Garvey would have been my favorite Dodger that season, but he wasn’t. That distinction belonged to, of all people, a relief pitcher by the name of Mike Marshall. I mean, I did the whole nine yards – I bought a number 28 Dodgers T-shirt (I couldn’t afford a jersey back then), I bought one of those cheap plastic batting helmets – the ones that came with a warning label inside telling you not to use it as a real batting helmet – and hand-painted the number 28 on the back of it (in white house paint). I was as big of an “Iron” Mike Marshall fan as they came.

Why Mike Marshall over Steve Garvey, you ask? Because I was so incredibly impressed when Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully would tell his listeners that Marshall had a degree in kinesiology – the scientific study of human movement. I had never even heard of this in biology classes, let alone on a baseball field. But whatever it was it worked because Iron Mike appeared in 106 games that year… one hundred and six! At one point he appeared in 13 consecutive games and finished the 1974 season having pitched 208.1 innings (more than most starters) – all three of which set National League records that still stand today. He also won 15 games and saved an NL-best 21 – this long before saves were even considered a thing. Marshall is also the guy who convinced teammate Tommy John to undergo a radical new surgery procedure on his injured left elbow – a procedure that would eventually bear John’s name. Marshall would go on to win the 1974 NL Cy Young award – the first ever for a relief pitcher.

Even though 1974 NL Cy Young award winner “Iron” Mike Marshall was arguably the most durable reliever in baseball history, few (if any) baseball executives or trainers bought into his theory on how to reduce or even prevent arm injuries. (AP Photo)

Back in those days getting autographs from players was difficult in and of itself, but getting an autograph from Mike Marshall was virtually impossible. In fact, the then 31-year-old Adrian, Michigan native wouldn’t even sign autographs for his own teammates. He felt that baseball players were not heroes by any stretch of (his) imagination and that signing autographs was nonsense. As such, a Mike Marshall autograph of any type (on a ball, a baseball card, a photograph, etc.) is still to this day extremely rare.

Over the course of the next 35+ years, I was blessed to get baseballs autographed by Dodgers Cy Young award winners Don Newcombe (1956), Don Drysdale (1962), Sandy Koufax (1963, 1965, 1966), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Orel Hershiser (1988) and Clayton Kershaw (2011, 2013, 2014). Noticeably missing from my collection were Marshall and fellow reliever Eric Gagne (2003).

Some time around 2008 or 2009, I came across an interesting on-line article by Yahoo Sports writer Jeff Passan about Marshall’s controversial Pitching Research and Training Center in Zephyrhills, FL, (twenty-five miles northeast of Tampa). The article included a link to Dr. Mike Marshall’s Pitching Coach Services. With nothing to lose and possibly an autographed baseball to gain, I sent an email to Marshall – now officially known as Dr. Mike Marshall because of his PhD in Exercise Physiology – asking if he would autograph a baseball for me if I made a donation to his Training Center. I emphatically said that this was for my personal collection and not for resale. Although Dr. Mike declined my request, he was kind enough to at least reply to my email politely telling me no.

Fast forward to 2013.

While taking in batting practice one day during the 2013 season, I noticed a Dodger fan calling out to Clayton Kershaw saying that he had a baseball signed by every Dodgers Cy Young award winner except him. Intrigued by this claim, Kershaw walked over to this fan to take a look at his prized baseball. After examining the ball and showing it to several of his teammates, Clayton signed it for the fan, thus completing his extremely rare and unique autograph collection. It was the only autograph that Kershaw signed that day.

As the fan was leaving I asked him if I could see the ball, which he proudly showed me. I asked him how on earth was he able to get Mike Marshall’s and Eric Gagne’s autographs, not to mention the late Don Drysdale. He said that he bought a single-signed Drysdale ball on eBay a number of years ago and later went to a paid signing by Mike Marshall in Tampa, Florida in May of 2007. He added that he paid $200 for the Marshall autograph but said that it was well worth it because he simply doesn’t do any signings. As for the Gagne autograph, he said that he got it during spring training at Vero Beach several years ago when Gagne was still with the Dodgers. The rest he got during subsequent spring trainings, at Dodger games and at paid signings.

I was jealous.

Like Marshall, Gagne is also an extremely difficult autograph to get. It’s not that he’s a jerk about signing, he just never does public signings. Oh sure, you can find Gagne-signed baseballs on eBay every now and then, but with so much autograph fraud going on, the risk is enormous.

Lo and behold, Hall of Fame Sports announced that Eric Gagne would be part of their annual Dodgers Spring Open House at their huge exhibition hall in the City of Industry on April 4, 2015. Needless to say, I jumped at this opportunity to finally add Gagne to my Dodgers Cy Young award collection of autographed baseballs and purchased a ticket for the event. As luck would have it (and through the courtesy of Hall of Fame Sports owner Chris Weber), I was also given an opportunity to interview Gagne – something else that he rarely does.

With Eric Gagne’s autographed baseball added to my collection, there was only one left to get – and it would be the toughed one of all. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

As it turned out, the Hall of Fame Sports event wasn’t the only reason Gagne was in town that weekend. He was also there to join fellow Dodgers Cy Young award winners Don Newcombe and Fernando Valenzuela on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on April 6 to throw out the ceremonial first pitches, which was absolutely awesome to see.

When 2003 NL Cy Young award winner Eric Gagne made his entry to ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ on Opening Day 2015, it sent chills down my spine. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With my Dodgers Cy Young award collection now missing only Mike Marshall, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I would never get that elusive eighth and final autographed baseball.

And then one day last week and for reasons that I cannot explain, I decided to check out eBay to see if there were any Mike Marshall autographed baseballs up for auction or for sale as a “Buy It Now” (BIN) listing. Although there were a handful of BINs, most were going for upwards of $400, which was way out of my price range. There was one, however, that was a “New Listing” for about half that amount that appeared to be in perfect condition. Ironically (and unbelievably), the Certificate of Authenticity (COA) indicated that the ball had been autographed at a paid signing by Mike Marshall in Tampa, Florida in May of 2007 – a signing that was hosted by noted sports memorabilia dealer Bill Corcoran. Sure enough, this was the same paid signing that the guy with the baseball at Dodger Stadium had gone to and had been arranged by Corcoran to help Marshall raise money for his nearby Pitching Research and Training Center. Marshall had agreed to the signing only if all signatures included “Dr.” in them. I now felt that the ball listed on eBay was legit but I wanted one more level of confirmation.

Fortunately, I have a friend who owns one of the largest sports authentication companies in the business and I emailed him digital photos of the ball and the COA. Within minutes my friend replied to my email.

“That ball is an excellent example of Dr. Mike Marshall! Buy with confidence!”

…and I did.

The ball arrived three days later and it is, indeed, in perfect condition.

After 41 years my Dodgers Cy Young award autograph collection was now complete and there was only one thing left to do – photograph it.

The eight Dodgers Cy Young award winners: Don Newcombe, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Mike Marshall, Fernando Valenzuela, Orel Hershiser, Eric Gagne and Clayton Kershaw. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Mission accomplished.