Karl Ehrhardt, 83, Sign Man and Shea Stadium Fixture, Is Dead - New York Times

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News: Original Sign Man Dies
Published 2/9/2008 by Regis Courtemanche at MetsBlog.com
... The New York Times is reporting that the original Shea Stadium sign man, Karl Ehrhardt, died Tuesday at his home in Glen Oaks, Queens. He was 83. ...

N.Y. Times: Karl Ehrhardt, 83, Sign Man and Shea Stadium Fixture Is Dead (RR)
Published 2/9/2008 at BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog
N.Y. Times: Karl Ehrhardt, 83, Sign Man and Shea Stadium Fixture Is Dead (RR) Even Wild Bill Hagy would bOw… Karl Ehrhardt, who through championship seasons and woeful ones and grand slams and botched plays let the Mets know what he thought of them by raising block-lettered signs from his box seat behind third base at Shea Stadium, died Tuesday at his home in Glen Oaks, Queens. He was 83. His death was confirmed by his grandson, Brian Troester. Known as the Sign Man of Shea, Mr. Ehrhardt brought his big bag of 20-by-26-inch placards to dozens of games each year, from 1964 ...

The Griddle: SIGN MAN PASSES
Published 2/9/2008 at Baseball Toaster
Karl Erhardt, who from 1964 through 1981, was a fixture at Shea Stadium with a seemingly unending supply of signs to describe plays during Mets games passed away at his home in Glen Oaks, New York at age 83. From the New York Times obituary : Known as the Sign Man of Shea, Mr. Ehrhardt brought his big bag of 20-by-26-inch placards to dozens of games each year, from 1964 through 1981. Like Hilda Chester, the cowbell clanger who roamed the aisles of Ebbets Field in the heyday of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1950s, Mr. Ehrhardt became a stadium fixture. Cameras zeroed in and fans ...

The Sign Man Lives
Published 2/9/2008 by Matthew Artus at NJ.com: Always Amazin'
... ), there's mention that Karl Ehrhardt, 83, passed away on Tuesday at his home in Glen Oaks, Queens. To some, Karl is remembered as a beloved father, grandfather, and Army veteran. To others, he was simply known as "the Sign Man of Shea." NY Times writer Dennis Hevesi recalls some of Karl's finest work: On a summer day in 1979, when a slow grounder defied the grip of shortstop Frank Taveras, Mr. Ehrhardt quickly checked the color-coded tabs in his portfolio and unfurled, "Look Ma, No Hands." Whenever outfielder Jose Cardenal struck out, the sign said, "Jose, Can You See?" ...

Look Both Ways
Published 2/9/2008 by Greg at Faith and Fear in Flushing
... gadgets any more exotic than a transistor radio, you had two sources of information to enhance your Sheagoing experience. You had the biggest scoreboard in baseball over the right-centerfield fence and you had Karl Ehrhardt the Sign Man, in that one-of-a-kind derby of his, sitting behind third. The Manufacturers HanovEr sign would tell you it was an E. The Sign Man would make it clear the ball should have been caught. The most famous images of Karl Ehrhardt, who died this past week at 83, relate to the Mets in triumph, which is as it should be. Karl was ...

TIME TO PURGE
Published 2/10/2008 by kranepool at Kranepool Society :: A New York Mets Blog
... SIGNING OFF-R.I.P. Karl Ehrhardt a/k/a THE SIGN MAN. This guy was a fixture at Shea during the 60’s and 70’s but when the team went from bad to awful in the late 70’s early 80’s SIGN MAN wasn’t to be found. The guy did get a lot of TV exposure though as Ch9 always had their cameras on him.  ...

Shea Sign Man Dies at Age 83
Published 2/10/2008 by Mark Williams, Jr. at The Jaunt
... celebration of the Mets organization, Ehrhardt was invited to help honor the team and held up a sign that read "The Sign Man Lives." I think it would be a great honor for the New York Mets to confiscate that sign or replicate one to hang proudly within the confines of the new stadium in honor of one of their greatest fans. Related: Karl Ehrhardt, 83, Sign Man and Shea Stadium Fixture, Is Dead [The New York Times]