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Q and A with Marc Ecko

Posted: Monday, September 17, 2007 9:28 AM by Dan Fleschner
Filed Under:

In a Sotheby's auction, fashion designer Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for Barry Bonds's 756th home run ball. He visited Matt and Ann this morning to talk about it. WATCH VIDEO


Photo by Buck Ennis

Instead of keeping the ball, he has created a website -- vote756.com -- where he has asked people to vote on whether they want him to a) donate the ball to the National Baseball Hall of Fame; b) brand the ball with an asterisk, then send it to the Hall of Fame; or c) send the ball into space.

I think I would vote for "b" myself, since the ball definitely belongs in the Hall of Fame, and branding it with an asterisk would force the curators there to address the performance-enhancing drugs issue when displaying the ball.

After the segment, I chatted with Marc for a few minutes. Here's our conversation:

Q: You obviously know a lot about the Bonds controversy. Are you a baseball fan?

ME: I'm a fan. I'm not part of any baseball or football fantasy leagues, but I'm a fan. I'm more a fan of popular culture, and that's what this is about. This is about the collective debate that we, as a country, have had about what to do with this ball.

Q: You mentioned that you're a "collector of pop culture." What exactly does that mean?

ME: I geek out on all kinds of pop culture things. Star Wars, comic books, video games, art, pop art, I'm fascinated by it. It's a wholly and uniformly American phenomenon.

Q: What in particular interested you about the Bonds ball?

ME: The ferocity of the debate within our collective conscience, and the wide range of opinions. I wanted to bring an Americal Idol-ization format to this, to open it up to the public. It's something that's an interesting convergence of pop culture and hard news. I liked that it could get people to engage and validate what could be done with this.

Q: You said you would do "whatever it took" to win this auction. How high were you willing to go?

ME: I had the resources and the means, and I told my friends I was going to win it. And I did. I wanted the ball, so I didn't put a ceiling on it.

Q: Did you consult your financial adviser before you went into this?

ME: <Laughing> Honestly, no! I didn't consult my wife or my marketing department either.

Q: You went into the auction bidding anonymously. Why not go into with people knowing you were going after the ball?

ME: This wasn't about that. There was no upside to advertising that it was me. This was wholly about the moment, about the right to get people to vote on what should happen to the ball.

Q: You're a self-proclaimed pop culture geek -- did you happen to watch "Curb Your Enthusiasm" last night? Anonymity and a large monetary donation figured into the plot.

ME: No, not yet! I Tivo'd it, so don't tell me what happens.

Q: Is there another pop culture moment out there waiting for you?

ME: Given the moment and the opportunity, yes, there is. If you know me and have followed my biography, you know that this wasn't the first and won't be the last.

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Comments

I agree Marc!  Stamp it with the * and give it to the Hall of Fame.  

Linda, Massachusetts (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 10:10 AM)

I am so happy Marc that you own the ball and  want to see it in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame. My mom has met Babe Ruth and had his autograph, but sold it at the auction. I only hope that also will go to the Hall of Fame. Mom who is 85 now was very happy to hear the story. Thank-you

Lisa Archer, Montana (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 10:59 AM)

marc, you should put the ball in the Cooperstown but with Barry's rookie card and stats...age, weight, shoe size, hat size and then put his current card with his current age, shoe size and hat size.  Those alone speak voulmes and would not require an asterisk to inform the future of what he did to claim the record.

scott p, columbia, mo (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 11:01 AM)

Hey Marc,
A friend from Lakewood NJ thinks you are doing the right thing!
So proud to see you truly were 'most likely to succeed'...

Carolyn Feigin, Toms River, NJ (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 11:07 AM)

Send it to outer space. It's plagued with steroids.

max combined, seattle, wa (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 12:42 PM)

Marc,

I actually work in one of your retail stores. I love your clothes, i love what you stand for, and i love that you are doin this with Barry's ball. You never cease to amaze me.

Kenny, Woodbridge, Va (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 12:58 PM)

Should have donated the money paid for the ball to a worthy charity for children. I guess when you have a lot of money you can get foolish with it.

wayne m., poughkeepsie ny (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 1:21 PM)

put the ball in the hall of fame ! so we all can in joy it !  and than sold me some of urban wear  @ wholesale ,for my small shop in Saluda S.C. it is so hard to buy wholesale in a small town

Fernanda , Saluda / S.C. (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 1:45 PM)

Marc-send the ball to the Hall of Fame without the asterik; it belongs there. Hank was adult and man enough to send Bonds a message, that alone should tell us all how to behave.  Lee, Citrus Heights, CA

Lee, Citrus Heights, CA (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 2:25 PM)

Send it to outer space. That ball has steriods on it!

Max Combined, Seattle, Wa (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 2:39 PM)

Send to outter space...then replay the video of the ship with the ball in the hall of fame.  Longest home run.

Max Rosales, North Bergen, New Jersey (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 3:17 PM)

While I believe that the ball should have an asterisk-or a scarlet letter "s" on it, consider this...on the other side of the ledger, if the average Joe took steroids, would he or she be able to hit nearly 800 homers? Barry Bonds, despite his bahavior,does have talent and then some...

John Doe, Jackson, Michigan (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 3:31 PM)

"ME: This wasn't about that. There was no upside to advertising that it was me. "

yeah, and now just a web blog, a trip to the Today show and a website to vote with your name and picture plastered on all of the above....

transparent and lame.

Bonds is the home run king. Get over yourself.

Phil A. Larkin (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 3:37 PM)

I heard this guy was a philanthropist.  What a waste of money, dude.  Who cares about a stupid ball.

David P, Toronto ON Canada (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 3:53 PM)

no question about it. brand it with a huge red X and send it to cooperstown.

Emilio (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 4:03 PM)

Marc. Thank you for giving fans of you and your clothes a chance to vote.
Blow it up, and sent it into outerspace. My Dad told me this a hundred times growing up, and i will never forget it.
Winners don't Cheat, and Cheaters don't Win!  

Bernard (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 4:04 PM)

Marc,  I respect what you have done in purchasing this ball!  Mr. Bonds has talents of sorts.  Like most pro Sports people in this country they want all the respect and admiration, from the public at large.  They demand to be treated with total respect.  Yet if they cheat or use drugs or break the law they want everyone to look the other way or say  that in the past lets move on.   We as a nation should respect decent people with good morals high standard, in business, sports, and every day life.  Fair is Fair, Right is Right, and Cheating is Cheating and it just weakens business, sports, society as a whole.   Thank you Marc for being a person to respect.

Mark Olejniczak, Madison, WI (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 4:46 PM)

don't think it will matter if an asterist is added or not he will always be remember by the drug scandel.

i voted to let in in.

mike stankevich san jose ca (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 5:00 PM)

Burn an Astertix in the Ball and then it to outer space.
The best of both worlds. :)

Irie Irishman, NorCal, USA (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 5:10 PM)

Marc, I'm happy to know that you don't represent all people with alot of money. I don't support the use of steroids, but I also don't understand your winning bid for the ball, come on, (better use of resources). If this is a publicity stunt, good luck, I for one will not be shopping for any of your products.

Bill Hall, Woburn, MA (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 5:57 PM)

Marc Ecko, why did you pay so much for a ball that means so little? In fact, the ball is worthless. I say worthless because this particular ball that you paid so much for was hit from the bat of a cheeter. I mean, give me some steroids and I will hit it into the next county. Why are they giving all this credence to a cheeter? Hank Aaron, and for that matter, Babe Ruth, each of them hit legitimate homruns. You can't say that about Barry Bonds, nor can you say that about Mark Mcquire and Sammy Sosa and the rest of them. They are all cheeters. And knowing this, they are given all the credence in the world. Barry Bonds is  fake. And don't dirty Cooperstown with a dirty ball. Take this ball and put it in some incinerator until it burns to nothing. Barry Bonds didn't break any homerun records, at least, not legally. Roger Maris hit 61 legal homeruns in 1961, Hank Aaron has hit 755 legal homeruns in his basebaall life time. Barry Bonds dosen't even enter the picture. Because of sevear chemical use in sports, I'm no longer a sports fan. From olympians, to baseball players, to basketball players, to football players, you don't know who is taking what. Because of this, sports, these days, turns me off. These sports figures today are a disgrace to their particulat sport, knowing this, you want to give them credence for showing bad sportmenship.

James Braun. Los Angeles, California (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 7:48 PM)

Anyone who's hit their forties right now and who has saved their driver's license from their twenties would know that we all get bigger as we age. Face becomes puffy, particularly if you're a drinker and not particularly athletic. Bonds has one of the greatest swings in the game:efficient and precise. Go to his personal stats and look at his record. Judge for yourself. Then go year by year to how many home runs he hit from his first year to his current. It's the Bob Costas argument. How can someone who ages hit more home runs per year than in his youth? My answer to that is: Anyone who's played sport at a professional level knows what you can't achieve with your body you make up for with your mind, where you're sharper and more focused and 'seasoned.' Let the Mitchell Commission come out with it's report. Then let's judge the man on the record. After reading some of these postings I'd have to say in a court of law not many would become objective jurors in any trial.

Matt Mitchell, New York, NY (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 8:46 PM)

Mark your line of clothing with your choice. Everyone seems to love what your doing.  My choice would be * and give it back to the fans to enjoy and remember...

Kathy Jo Cherevka (Sent Monday, September 17, 2007 11:10 PM)

Marc, you should donate the ball to Pro Style Sports and let us turn it into a baseball wallet (baseballwallet.com).  That would be a fitting end for Barry's hr ball.  

Michael Austin, Nashville, TN (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 5:41 AM)

Even though it is widely suspected, and highly likely that Barry Bonds knowingly used performance enhancing drugs. He did not do anything to break the rules of baseball as they were at the time of his homerun surge. He is tested regularly and has yet to fail a test for substances banned by the sport. The ball deserves to be enshrined at Cooperstown just like any other major milestone memorabilia.

John Winner, Franklinville, NJ (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 8:11 AM)

Brand It. It is fitting that for once the american public has the ability to carry out what we talk about when watching sports.

Many may question your use of funds for this project: Its your money, do with it as you wish.  And having heard about your significant philanthropy to children in need ( well in excess of what you paid for this ball), I think that your priorities are in order.

Karl Grove, Washington DC (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 10:40 AM)

  Marc, I love your "democratization" of what to do with the Bonds 756 baseball!  
  As a former legislator, I suggest that this ("democratization") should mean that the "the people" can decide what to do with it after a broader debate that includes more than just the three choices from which you are forcing everyone to choose.
  Your opinion, and others (including mine), if well heard in a truly democratic debate, almost certainly will produce a different and better disposition of the ball than any of the three choices that you pose.
    TOM MOORE, Tallahassee, Florida
p.s. I love baseball (and sports generally) and share your concerns about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. I truly believe that you have the opportunity here to decide (unilaterally if you choose to do so) that no matter what the vote totals are between A,B and C at the time of the deadline that you set, it is reasonable for you to extend the deadline for a final decision, after a broader debate, that considers other alternatives too.    

Tom R. Moore (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 5:34 PM)

Marc, how about we brand it and "shrink" it to show kids what happens when you use steroids?

Jon Wilk, Lowell MA (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 7:43 PM)

Marco,
I think it is "fan"tastic that you are letting the people decide. I voted for the asterick and Copperstown, after all many things are questionable in our society these days but I do have to agree with
Matt Mitchell from N.Y. "why can't it be possible that Barry is more focused on his pursuit of breaking the record" inspite of his past failures. We all know politicians have questionable plays but they keep on swinging the bat!! Hey, could you possibly buy my 34 Barry Bond Baseball cards I'm holding, to go with it??

Angela Mooneyham, Wichita, Ks. (Sent Tuesday, September 18, 2007 7:54 PM)

Hey dummie, why not buy something of Babe Ruth's and put an * on it?  You actually think he would have hit 714 home runs if he had to play against the best players of his era... the colored players???  You racist, mental midgets actually think Babe would have taken Satchel Paige, Dan Bankhead, Dave Barnhill, Garnett Blair, Dave Brown, Lefty Cooper, Dizzy Dismukes, John Donaldson, Bill Drake, Willie Foster, Porter “Ankle Ball” Moss, “Cannonball” Dick Redding, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan, Hilton Smith and “Smokey” Joe Williams (to name a few)deep, if da man wasn't afraid of a little competition?  He faced middling talent and should have all of his records cut at least in half!

Terry, St. Louis, MO (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 1:16 PM)

Marc - you paid a lot of money to destroy or deface a piece of history. Please don't do it. Barry Bonds attitude is awful he's a jerk, no doubt. But he has never tested positive for steroids, he is still a great player and still made the record. I have never played baseball in my life, if you gave me steroids that doesn't make me a great baseball player. You should put it in a safe deposit box and just hold on to it, pass it down to one of your kids (if you have any or plan to have any)or family member as part of your will. If you don't want the ball or care what it stands for,  - hold an essay contest on the web for a deserving family to get the ball, there are a lot of human interst stories out there that we have no idea what people go thru in there everyday lives. Make something constructive out of this not a joke

Ayde, Clovis CA (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 1:19 PM)

Marc, make a statement, and give this ball the asterisk. Make an art statement as big as the Sistene Chapel and try to show these athletes that cheating will not be tolerated. Don't pass the buck by allowing voting by morons who will vote 5000 times to influence what you know is right. Asterisk it, and make the strongest statement ever about cheating in sports. You would be rememebered forever for standing up for what is right.

Will (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 2:55 PM)

Should'a kept it to two options: HOF w/ brand; HOF w/out brand.  Now that there's two punitive options and only one non-punitive, the spread between the two punitive actions will negate both.

Way to market one's name and "give the peeps the option" without really giving the peeps the option.

Joe, Seattle, WA (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 5:34 PM)

I think that not only is this a genius marketing stunt but this is awesome for the "little" people who ordinarily have NO say in things of this nature.  Marc, you have allowed us to have a vote.  Each person obviously according to the Constitution has a right to their own opinion but this gives us an opportunity to speak out, which is all a lot of us ask for.  My vote is to brand the ball though in some way that makes me feel as though I am validating it and showing that I still care. It is funny to see Ol' Barry squirm especially in knowing that he no longer has a say even though he is still preaching on and now criticizing Marc. He truly thought that baseball fans had forgotten how he cheated us out of the opportunity of seeing someone honestly break the records.  Not only has he (and others) tainted their careers but he has left a sour taste on all of baseball for years to come.  He is not the only one to blame but that does not justify him of his actions.  Barry, you have a lot of natural talent and could have done really well on your own but YOU made the decision and regardless of ANY other players actions YOU are now being held accountable for those decisions.  I would have more respect for YOU if YOU would have told the truth and gotten on with life.  Remember Pete Rose, it is not always the actions but the way you go about it.... Lying is no better than cheating.

Ashley M, Illinois (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 6:41 PM)

Marc,

Your an idiot. I think you are a pathetic white trash loser with zero sense of perspective or class. Hey, I have an idea you moronic waste-of-space douche bag loser, how about doing something ACTUALLY useful with that money. You know? Something novel like charity? I wish one of the options to vote on is to shove the ball up your ass. Go to hell you pathetic undeserving piece of garbage.

Jason (Sent Wednesday, September 19, 2007 7:31 PM)

Marc,
You have no point or purpose.  Find one.

Frances Spaltro, Chicago, IL` (Sent Thursday, September 20, 2007 12:49 AM)

Congratulations Mr. Ecko for having a creative spectacle to send a powerful democratic message to the rich folks who play professional sports in the U.S.  The big question for me right now is what is the position of the politicians running for president on the fate of the ball you purchased.  Please post the answers in case you find out.

Edgardo Quintanilla, Sherman Oaks, California (Sent Thursday, September 20, 2007 12:58 AM)

you guys are stupid for saying marc is an idiot for doing what he did, but still if you knew what marc had done in the past and knew how much he had helped underprivaliged children and has helped save animals...duh "the world famous rhino brand"..anyways once you are rich and have power off of money you know you would also do something foolish with your money....but the truth is marc is a good guy and evey one does something silly once in a while. marc is respect for who he is and what he has done.....Marc stay up forever!!!! we love your brand and sport it 24/7 sunride to sunset,,,i hope to meet you one day, doing a report on you as i type!,

Josh San Diego CA (Sent Thursday, November 08, 2007 11:10 PM)



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