Good Guys

Aphrodite and I often exchange news stories about "the good guys". These are the people, companies, teams, etc. that make the world more livable simply by doing a little bit more than is absolutely necessary. You've seen the stories: athletes who spend time at children's hospitals, police officers who pay for the baby formula that a mother was trying to shoplift, companies who do things that they don't have to do, simply because it's the right thing.

I'm going to include occasional good guy stories, when they're sufficiently interesting/amusing/amazing, because they are part of the symmetry of the multiverse. For every Donald J. Trump, there is a Jill Nobody, who goes out of her way to make the world a less hateful, less bitter, less awful place.

Today's good guys are Topps, the baseball card and bubble gum company.

Back in 1957, they held a contest where kids who sent in a special card, plus three gum labels, and predictions for the scores of two baseball games to be played on 19 July 1957, could win a new baseball glove, if they got the scores right. The material mentioned had to be received by 11 July to be eligible. The company didn't specify the year, though.

Enter Darwin Day, age 65, whose brother died of cancer. Mr. Day, recognizing the inconvenience that his brother's family was going through as they dealt with a lifetime of flotsam and jetsam, decided to clean up his own mess before departing this mortal coil. Eventually, he found three binders of baseball cards from 1956, 1957, and 1958. Included among the cards was one of the special contest cards. Since he and his brother had enjoyed collecting the cards so much and since his brother was a practical joker, Mr. Day decided in his brother's honor to enter the contest.

Not surprisingly, picking the correct scores of 59-year-old baseball games was easy and Mr. Day sent the required materials to Topps.

Tony Jacobs, Vice President of Topps in charge of confectionery (not a bad job, if you can get it), received the package and being a stand-up guy who runs a stand-up company, decided to honor the terms of the contest as written.

Mr. Day is now the proud owner of a brand-new baseball glove and Topps and Mr. Jacobs have the honor of joining the ranks of the good guys.

This story is courtesy of the New York Times.