So, as always, I have too much to say. (go figure?)
Here's a pic:
So, the unusual (and, I think, really cool) Phillies cap is not mine. I bought it for my daughter, and she got it autographed at Greg Luzinski's "Bull's BBQ" spot at the ballpark.
I loved Bull (Luzinski) in the 70's... playing at the old Vet. I kinda love that mesh style Phillies cap, and the colors work for me too. My goal was to get my daughter to love baseball the way I loved it... and that didn't happen. This cap remains kinda cool. But it's stored in my garage, and no one (but me) cares about it.
The ball... thats from the Vet. Thats just mine. I was a (partial) season ticket holder then. I'd show up early, to watch batting practice. Always show up early for the big time BP sluggers. That ball was smoked by Mike Piazza. And I mean SMOKED. It hit a metal guard rail (which is where the blaqck marks show up)... jumped up... and rattled around the seats. I saw it settle near me... I kinda hip checked a kid, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that. But I did what I needed to do to claim that ball.!!!!
When I was a kid, my dad and I went to a swap meet and an old lady had a binder full of T-206 tobacco cards. I was like 😲, Dad, we gotta get those!! We bought a bunch of them and my dad then proceeded to find a replica Honus Wagner card, insert it into the pile, then show everyone at his work... good for some laughs I'm sure!
@ksimone911 They were the precursor to baseball cards & came with tobacco products. They were really rare when I was a kid, like we'd go to a bunch of baseball card shows and it was just something you'd never see. I think the reason the Honus Wagner card got to be worth millions is because he refused to be associated with tobacco products and they either were destroyed/pulled from production. Probably fits the category of collectible more than memorabilia, but the closest thing I came to having anything cool!
I have Charles Barkley's autogragh... somewhere. The year Target Center opened (1990), the 76ers were in town for a pre-season game against the T-wolves. The next morning I was at the airport at 6am. While waiting at the gait the 76ers walked by, Sir Charles was talking with someone (probably a team official). When the guy walked away, Charles was standing alone, so I went up to him and he obliged by signing the envelope my ticket was in. I asked him how he liked playing at Target Center? He responded, "Ah dunno, its just like every other arena." He could have been playing in Chicago, New Orleans, or LA and they would have all been the same. I know when I played in high school, they fudged heights a little in the program. Charles is always listed as 6'6", I'm 6'3" and as I remember it (it was a long time ago), as I was talking with Chuck, I wasn't looking up at him much.
My most prized "memorabilia" was seeing my son get an autograph from Todd Helton (during spring training) and then having Todd ask me if I wanted to take his and my son's picture together. He put his arm around my son and posed for a few pictures like he had all the time in the world. I never forgot that kind gesture and that's what stands out the most to me.
Another special memory is when I got an opportunity to hold the Stanley Cup and kiss it after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. in 2011
Back in '81 when the Stars were playing the Islanders in the finals. The Isles won the first three. The Stars obviously weren't going to come back and win the series. So I decided I wanted the Islanders to win Game 4 , just so we could see the cup, even if it would be watching the other team skate around Met Center with it. Of course, the North Stars played a solid game and beat the Isles, delaying the inevitable for one game. So, never have gotten to see the cup!
I once got Gordie Howe's autograph. It was Opening Night, 1980. North Stars were playing the Hartford Whalers. This was back in the days when I had season tickets. Stars won in a romp,9-3. We hung around a bit after the game to let the traffic thin out. I was standing next to the ramp where the visitors team bus was parked. A group of Whalers players came out, one of them being Howe. Seeing an opportunity, I asked him for his autograph and he obliged. I was in my early twenties, but I was so excited, I felt like I did when I was a little kid chasing down Twins after a game at the old Met.
@El Dorado So here's the long story: Nowadays, there's a huge 3-day winter event in MN called TwinsFest, with players, media, obnoxious collectors and 150,000 8-year-olds. But before it became an actual "thing" the Twins held a smaller one-day event in the Metrodome with players mingling about in a random, unscheduled sort of way. It was held the week after the Bears won the 1985 (86?) Super Bowl, and I was in attendance with Commissioner Jeff and a couple other friends. One of our friends won a garbage Jim McMahon card at a Spin-the-wheel. (Kellogg's or Mom's Bakery...something like that.) As the event was winding down, we hit up the free buffet and I grabbed a turkey sandwich, wrapped in cellophane, and were immediately encountered by Hrbek. Friend only had the McMahon card for signing but Hrbek refused, saying he hated the Bears and would rather sign the turkey sandwich I was holding. So he did. I had it in my office until the fun police interceded after many months, saying it was a health and safety violation, which was undoubtedly true. The blue Sharpie signature had started to bleed anyway, and the whole thing was a mess, but I enjoyed the short shelf life. If you're a serious collector, do NOT have players sign on cellophane.
So, as always, I have too much to say. (go figure?)
Here's a pic:
So, the unusual (and, I think, really cool) Phillies cap is not mine. I bought it for my daughter, and she got it autographed at Greg Luzinski's "Bull's BBQ" spot at the ballpark.
I loved Bull (Luzinski) in the 70's... playing at the old Vet. I kinda love that mesh style Phillies cap, and the colors work for me too. My goal was to get my daughter to love baseball the way I loved it... and that didn't happen. This cap remains kinda cool. But it's stored in my garage, and no one (but me) cares about it.
The ball... thats from the Vet. Thats just mine. I was a (partial) season ticket holder then. I'd show up early, to watch batting practice. Always show up early for the big time BP sluggers. That ball was smoked by Mike Piazza. And I mean SMOKED. It hit a metal guard rail (which is where the blaqck marks show up)... jumped up... and rattled around the seats. I saw it settle near me... I kinda hip checked a kid, and I'm a little ashamed to admit that. But I did what I needed to do to claim that ball.!!!!
The truth behind my favorite "sports" collectible is actually my Brooke Shields signed baseball. I met her maybe a year after the Hrbek sandwich.
When I was a kid, my dad and I went to a swap meet and an old lady had a binder full of T-206 tobacco cards. I was like 😲, Dad, we gotta get those!! We bought a bunch of them and my dad then proceeded to find a replica Honus Wagner card, insert it into the pile, then show everyone at his work... good for some laughs I'm sure!
I have Charles Barkley's autogragh... somewhere. The year Target Center opened (1990), the 76ers were in town for a pre-season game against the T-wolves. The next morning I was at the airport at 6am. While waiting at the gait the 76ers walked by, Sir Charles was talking with someone (probably a team official). When the guy walked away, Charles was standing alone, so I went up to him and he obliged by signing the envelope my ticket was in. I asked him how he liked playing at Target Center? He responded, "Ah dunno, its just like every other arena." He could have been playing in Chicago, New Orleans, or LA and they would have all been the same. I know when I played in high school, they fudged heights a little in the program. Charles is always listed as 6'6", I'm 6'3" and as I remember it (it was a long time ago), as I was talking with Chuck, I wasn't looking up at him much.
My most prized "memorabilia" was seeing my son get an autograph from Todd Helton (during spring training) and then having Todd ask me if I wanted to take his and my son's picture together. He put his arm around my son and posed for a few pictures like he had all the time in the world. I never forgot that kind gesture and that's what stands out the most to me.
Another special memory is when I got an opportunity to hold the Stanley Cup and kiss it after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup. in 2011
I once got Gordie Howe's autograph. It was Opening Night, 1980. North Stars were playing the Hartford Whalers. This was back in the days when I had season tickets. Stars won in a romp,9-3. We hung around a bit after the game to let the traffic thin out. I was standing next to the ramp where the visitors team bus was parked. A group of Whalers players came out, one of them being Howe. Seeing an opportunity, I asked him for his autograph and he obliged. I was in my early twenties, but I was so excited, I felt like I did when I was a little kid chasing down Twins after a game at the old Met.
And to think I was thinking my signed Harmon Killebrew baseball was pretty cool - but a Hrbek signed sandwich - that's pretty special
Although I had to get rid of it after 8-9 months, I once owned a turkey sandwich signed by Kent Hrbek.