In Memoriam: The Sign Man of Shea (1924-2008)

Choosing from roughly 1,200 block-lettered, color-coded, tabbed signs, Karl Ehrhardt, dubbed the “Sign Man of Shea,” celebrated and ballyhooed the plays of his beloved Mets from his box seat behind third base at Shea Stadium. Ehrhardt died February 5 at his home in Glen Oaks, Queens, New York. He was 83.

Ehrhardt brought his bag of 20 x 26-in. placards to games, from 1964 to 1981. He would quickly sift through his color-coded signs for such signs as “Look Ma, No Hands” for errors or “Can You Believe It” for home runs.

Ehrahrdt was born on November 26, 1924, in Unterweissbach, Germany. When he was six, the family left for the United States and settled in Queens. He served in the Army during World War II as a translator in a prison-of-war camp. After the war, he graduated from Pratt Institute with a degree is design. He later designed advertisements for American Home Foods.

In 2002, the New York Times reported, the Mets invited Ehrhardt to help celebrate the franchise’s 40th anniversary. At a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, he held high, “The Sign Man Lives.”

Advertisement