Great. Now I Will Have The Fox Sports Theme In My Head Whenever I Watch The Yankees

Ahhhhh, nothing gets me excited about Baseball and my New York Yankees like......Cleatus, The Fox Football Robot??

Bear with me folks. I have not been sipping on the funky wine. Yes, Cleatus is synonymous with football on Fox, but the good folks at Fox allowed a company named ActionHeads to produce figures of Cleatus in different NFL team colors. I do like the Jets figure and have been meaning to pick it up.

So, when I was in California visiting my girlfriend, Gina, we went into Fanzz, a sports shop in Westminster Mall. We were going to the Dodgers game later that night and I wanted to get a Dodger player t shirt to wear to the game. I was able to get a very nice Matt Kemp Brooklyn Dodgers t shirt and Gina bought me a Jackie Robinson Dodgers player t shirt. While we were walking to the register, I saw a boxed figure that warranted a closer inspection.

When I picked it up, I noticed it was a Cleatus figure, but it wasn't painted in any football team colors. It was a Cleatus painted in Yankees colors. I had never seen one before. Figures, I would find this 3,000 miles away from home. It was pretty cool, but after much debate, I decided to put the figure back and save the money for the trip.

So, when I get back to New York, Gina tells me I have a package coming my way. I was wondering what she could have possibly sent my way. Maybe a memento from our trip to Dodger Stadium? A Spider-Man Lucha Libre mask I saw on Olvera Street? When I got the package, it was none of the above. It was the Cleatus Yankees figure I wanted. Does this woman know me or what?

Now, after a year of it sitting on my shelf by my autographed baseballs and being oh so lazy, I finally break him out and review him.

The robot comes in a pretty generic box. Would have been nice if it was at least in team colors.

Side of the box has a picture of Cleatus. At least he's in team colors here.

The back of the box has the supposed specs of Cleatus. Looks like he would be on the Mitchell Report in no time.

I'll tell you what, Cleatus looks pretty bad ass out of the box. I love the colors on him. Perfect combination of Yankee blue and white.

Close up of Cletus. Had that interlocking NY on his chest, which I think is awesome. With the red sunglasses, he kinda looks like Optimus Prime.

Cleatus is wearing a special Fox Sports patch on his right shoulder. Wonder if this will sell for the hundreds of dollars that the Lou Gehrig patch did on eBay.

One of the unfortunate things about the figure is that the fingers don't open or close. Would help holding the bat on both hands if you wanted to pose him that way.

Cleatus has ball joints on the shoulders and a bend at the elbows. There is no bend on the wrists, although they do spin around.

There is a bend at the knees, ankles and at the toes. Unfortunately, since the figure is pretty top heavy, Cleatus is prone to falling over like I am after a few too many adult beverages. Like the wall does for me, I had to hold Cleatus up to show the bends.

Cleatus has a hip swivel and ball joints on top of the legs.

The head can go side to side, but barely goes back and forth. Not going to get a whole lot of movement in the neck area.

The figure has some decent articulation. Once you get the joints loose you will be able to pose Cleatus just about anyway you want to. You will have some limitations, but a collection with a better imagination that I do will be able to get some decent poses out of this figure. Just remember that he is top heavy and is prone to falling over. I will just keep him in the box until I can get a display case and I will put him with my other Yankees statues, bobbleheads and figurines. I really like having this figure and think Cleatus will make a great addition to any baseball collection.

Thank you to my sweet baby for the great addition.

(Bleep) Yeah, I Want This

When McFarlane released the Joe Namath figure earlier this year, I was doing back flips...until my back gave out. When I recovered and saw the actual figure we were getting, I was happy, but disappointed at the same time. Only because it was not the pose I thought we should have gotten.

This was the figure we got. A cool figure, yes. But I felt it didn't capture that Namath "essence". This figure looks like it was modeled after an early 70's Namath, when he was always injured. Don't get me wrong. I like this figure. I have been waiting for a Namath McFarlane forever and I finally got one in my Jets collection. Just not the pose I was hoping for. I think that's why this figure is just sitting on pegs in the Toys R Us stores I go to. I think fans agree with me.

Then McFarlane announced a second Namath figure would be released later this year. I guess the last figure sold enough to warrant a second figure being released. Either that or they wanted make sure they milk that Namath license. This time, I hoped we would get the pose I think he should have gotten in his first release. My luck, we would get a Namath Los Angeles Rams figure. Thankfully, a photo was released of the figure we are getting.

Oh Yeaaaaaaah! This is the figure I felt we should have gotten before. I mean, McFarlane released the last one around the Super Bowl because it was being held here in New York/New Jersey. Why not release one of the NFL's most iconic moments in Super Bowl history? Why release a generic pose? I thought releasing this one during the Super Bowl made more sense, but what do I know? I don't work in this toy industry. I'm just a fan who buys the figures.

Still, I'm finally going to have the figure I've been waiting for. It will be displayed in my Jets cabinet...when I get one. Or I could make a Namath shelf. I have a few Namath items already. This would just look great among them. The figure is due to be released in December, so I will be looking for this in my Christmas stocking.

My Jets may not be any closer to contending to a Super Bowl, but at least with this figure, I can be reminded that the Jets have won a Super Bowl in the greatest upset in the history of the game. And the guy who did it, came from Beaver Falls, PA and had an Alabaman drawl. Players have come and go, but people still remember Broadway Joe Namath.

Things I Want: NFL Action Team Mates

As a New York Jets collector, I think I have some pretty cool stuff in my collection. Cards, autographs, programs, bobbleheads, figures, I have a nice Jets stash and I can't wait until I can display everything either on a shelf or in a cabinet of some kind. One thing that I don't have that I hope I can add to the collection at one point is a New York Jets NFL Action Team Mate.

What's that you say? You don't know what those are? 

Pro Sports Marketing put out a set of 7 1/2 inch plastic figures called NFL Action Team Mates. They came with a display stand, a removable helmet, a football and a playbook. All 28 teams in the league at the time were represented with figures that came in team colors and had stickers on the helmets. I'm not sure they were supposed to represent famous players or not, but I can swear I've seen a Terry Bradshaw and a Fran Tarkenton figures.

Here's an example of what it looked like on the shelves in your Sears or JC Penny's or which ever store your parents bought your toys at. This one is a Philadelphia Eagle player. Looks like they came in a box with a cellophane window and had the helmets of all the teams in the NFL circa 1977. If I squint, I can see the Jets helmet on the box.

Here's a vintage ad that I believe was in a Sears catalog, I remember always looking at the Christmas catalog and checking off what I wanted that year. I remember wanting this, but not a Jets one. I rooted for the Steelers as a kid because I was Bradshaw fan and because my buddy at the time told me I was a Steelers fan, like him. He was a big kid. 

Here are some pictures of the figures themselves:

Houston Oilers

Los Angeles Rams. I for one would love to see the Rams move back to LA.

Kansas City Chiefs

Washington Redskins

Oakland Raiders. As I say their name, I can hear Chris Berman in my head.

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals.

I love these figures. As a child of the 70's,  these toys bring me back to a less articulated youth. You could tell these were made in the 1970's. I love the the uniforms these are sporting as well. I actually remember the stripeless Bengals helmets. I remember when the Rams had yellow in their unis, not the gold they currently trot out. Heck, I remember when the teams in Baltimore and Houston were called the Colts and Oilers. These may not be as good looking as McFarlanes Sports Picks, but I will take these any day of the week. Heck, they look better than Starting Lineups. (Ducks as a Patriots helmet is thrown).

You notice what's not shown? A picture of a Jets Action Team Mate. Want to know why? Because I cannot find one. I don't think I've ever seen one in person or on eBay. They obviously exist, but are hard to find. 

I looked up some eBay auctions and seen that these can go for a pretty penny. I'm seeing auctions for 79.99 to 200.00 for carded figures. Finding a Jets figure at a decent price will be a pretty difficult task, but I'm up to the challenge. There will be a Jets NFL Action Team Mate in my Jets collection one day. If I have to look through every box at every flea market, toy show, yard sale, I will find it or my name isn't Ladamore. And it isn't.

1997 Kenner Starting Lineup Mickey Mantle & Babe Ruth Cooperstown Collection

Before McFarlane's Sports Picks figures came out all of us sports fans were collectors of Kenner's Starting Lineup figures. These 4 inch figures that had no articulation what so ever and questionable likenesses to the players were ultra popular within the collecting community.

Except for me that is.

Let me explain. When Starting Lineup debuted in 1988, I was a junior in high school. I really wasn't doing much collecting at that point. I was too busy writing articles for the school paper, memorizing lines for the school plays and singing for the school choir. Toys? I had no time to collect. Heck, I barely had time for actual classes, but that's another story for another time.

I had friends who had some and I thought they were pretty cool. My buddy had all the Yankee releases and I thought that one day I would start picking them up, but that day never really came. All the money I made working went to other things. CD's, movie tickets, clothes, lunch money. I didn't ever think about spending any of my green backs on action figures. At this point, I had even given up collecting cards.

Fast forward about 15 years later. At this point, I am back into collecting cards and I also had started picking up McFarlane's Sports Picks. I was grabbing as many Yankee players as I could as well as Jets. So, it was just a matter of time before I would look towards the past and look into Starting Lineup figures for my Yankees collection. I would pick up a couple here and there, but I never really got too into them.

At one card show in White Plains, I came a cross a table that was selling various items for $5.00 and under. After looking through it, I came across 2 large Starting Lineup figures that featured Mickey Mantle and Babe Ruth. I was intrigued by them and paid the man 10.00 for the pair and took them home. I then put them away and they have been in my closet for about 7 years. I found them the other day and bought them out, figuring I could put up a blog post about them.

I picked up these figures for a few reasons. I liked that these figures were larger then the usual Starting Lineup figures. I also loved that the bases for the figures was plastic molds of the original Yankee Stadium. That was something I had not seen at that point and that to me was the selling point.

The back of the packages has vintage shots of all the stadiums featured in this series. Only two stadiums that was in this series are still standing today. If you guessed Fenway and Wrigley, then you win absolutely nothing!

Kenner listed the players in this series on one side of the box. All of these players are Hall Of Famers and I would think a must for any Hall Of Fame/team/player collector.

I opened the Mantle first. This would be the first time I would be opening these figures. I wondered at first if I should be doing that, but I'm an opener and a firm believer that toys must be opened in order to truly enjoy them. Once I pulled the Mantle from out of the box, I noticed the backing had a shot of Mantle behind the figure. Then of course, I forgot to take pictures of the backing. Trust me, it was a nice shot of Mickey.

After struggling with the multiple twist ties that held the figure firmly in the box, I was able to pull Mantle off the backing. Looking at it, I was actually impressed with it. The figure itself is pretty simple in it's beauty. The figure is made of hard plastic with everything painted on. The stadium was made of a thinner plastic, but still solid nonetheless.

The paint job on this figure is pretty accurate to how the uniform looked when Mantle played. That was very important to me. Starting Lineup always did a pretty decent job of recreating the uniforms of different eras.

The Yankee Stadium base is very charming. The detail Kenner put into to it is simple, but effective, Not a ton of painting on it except for the green roofs, green grass and blue seats. I'm sure the stadium was molded in the stone color you see and the rest was painted in. Love the tab that let's you know that is indeed Yankee Stadium.

Some other shots of the stadium base it's self.

I think Kenner did an excellent job on the base. I never was able to see the original Yankee Stadium. I became a Yankees fan in 1976 as a 5 year old, the first year the second Yankee Stadium opened. I missed the original by 4 years. Then again, I would have been only 1, so I doubt I would have even remembered going anyway.

A close up of Mantle. Again, Kenner wasn't exactly known for their likenesses, but I think this one is pretty close to the Mick. I am a Mantle fan and I really don't have a lot of Mantle memorabilia so this one is pretty special to me.

Let's take a look at the Babe.

Same concept that the Mantle figure had. Twist tied to the backing board which featured a picture of Babe Ruth at the plate.

Again, Kenner nailed the uniform. Even right down to not having the interlocking NY on his jersey. I have seen a lot of Ruth figures that made the mistake of including it when in fact, Ruth never wore that version of the Yankee uniform, professionally. The team didn't start using the interlocking NY until 1936 and Ruth left the club in 1934. Ruth did wear it once or twice when he returned to Yankee Stadium for appearances after he retired.

That number is iconic. I have never understood why it's not retired throughout baseball. Ruth saved the game single handed after the Black Sox scandal. He bought in unforeseen revenue to both the Yankees and baseball. Crowds from all over would pack their teams stadiums when the Yankees were in town, just to see the Babe. To this day, people talk about Babe Ruth and the name still carries a lot of weight .

I decided not to take pictures of the Yankee Stadium base as it's the exact same one as the Mantle base.

Kenner did a decent job of getting the likeness. I mean, if you saw this figure, you would think it's a Ruth. Not the greatest, but it gets the job done.

I think these are two fun pieces to have in any baseball collection. They were different than most of the other figures Starting Lineup put out. I'm not sure if they were successful or not as I don't see any others made other than the series shown on the side of the box. If you're interested in picking these or any of the others, I have seen them on eBay go for fairly cheap. I do have a few other Starting Lineup figures I'll show from time to time, but I can honestly say that these two are my favorites and I can't wait until I can display them with my Yankees collection.

The Start Of My Roberto Clemente PC

As a Puerto Rican American, I am fully aware of big baseball is in our culture. In Puerto Rico, Baseball is king. The first Puerto Rican born player in the Majors was Hiram Bithorn, who pitched his first game for the Chicago Cubs on April 15th, 1942. Since then, Puerto Ricans have played and flourished in the Majors. Players like Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Ivan Rodriguez, Roberto Alomar, Carlos Beltran, Orlando Cepeda, Edgar Martinez and the catching Molina Brothers. But to me, and most Puerto Rican baseball fans, the man is and will always be Roberto Clemente.

Clemente is widely considered to be the greatest Puerto Rican born baseball player who ever lived. Clemente is the first Hispanic born player to win a World Series as a starter, win a MVP award and a World Series MVP. He was a 15 time All Star, won 12 Gold Gloves and was a 4 time batting champion. He had a rocket for an arm and had 3,000 hits during his 18 year career, all with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With all the accomplishments Clemente has on the baseball field, it's his charity work that I respect more. Clemente was very active in various charities and when he heard that supplies that were intended for the victims of a massive earthquake in Managua, which is the capital city of Nicaragua, never made it to them, he went on a charity mission to personally make sure the supplies would make it to the people who needed it most. Unfortunately, the plane, supplies or Roberto never made it to it's destination as the Douglas-DC7 that was carrying Roberto crashed into the ocean almost immediately after take off on New Years Eve 1972. Roberto's body was never recovered. He gave his life to help others and that is why Clemente deserves all the accolades he gets to this day and I feel his number 21 should be retired around the majors, but that's another discussion for another time.

I grew up idolizing Clemente, despite never seeing him play a baseball game, he died when I was just 1 year old. I read all the books that came I could get my hands on, I watched any documentary about him I saw on TV. At times, I would root for the Pirates when I watched Mets games, just because Roberto played for them. I even traded 10 baseball cards for a 1973 Topps Roberto Clemente card, which mysteriously found it's way into a former friend's baseball card collection, denying any wrong doing of course.

When I got back into collecting cards, one of the things I wanted to collect was Roberto Clemente. Of course, as I always do, I got side tracked building my Yankees, Jets, Knicks collections as well as my various player collections. Plus, prices for Clemente cards are pretty high. But I think I can build a really nice Clemente collection without spending a great deal of money. Here is what I have so far:

I bought this Clemente McFarlane figure when it was released. Unfortunately, the packaging was crushed under a heavy box. Stupid me. But this will be opened and displayed on a Clemente shelf I am planning on building.

Now, the cards. The cards I have are from recent releases, so I don't have anything mind blowing. But, they are very nice cards nonetheless:

I see Topps used the same picture twice. I'm sure that is not the only time they pulled this stunt.

What did I tell you?

This card is my prized possession in my Clemente Collection. I pulled this card myself from a pack of 2005 Donruss Greats. You couldn't get card off me at no price. It's not worth much, monetary. But it's priceless to me.

I hope to one day be able to add the following in the upcoming months:

- A Mitchell & Ness Clemente Jersey
-Some vintage Clemente cards, if I can find them at a good price
-Some of the Clemente SGA bobble-heads and statues. I have seen some nice figurines and bobble-heads that the Pirates have given away over the years that are affordable. I would love to add them to my collection.

That is just the beginning of what I hope to be a wonderful tribute to a man who gave us his all. It's been 41 years since he left us way too soon. Not a day goes by when I hear his name being mentioned by a sports announcer, a player or someone who is just talking sports. Clemente left behind a terrific legacy, both on and off the field. One that lives to this day through the Roberto Clemente Award, through the Hispanic born players who cite Clemente as an influence and through fans like me who knows a great man when they see one.

Five From The Collection: Martin Brodeur

My hockey world was defined by two legends. As a child, Mike Bossy was my favorite hockey player. As an adult, it's been number 30 for the New Jersey Devils, Martin Brodeur. I have been watching Marty play with the Devils since his cup of coffee back in the 1991-92 season. I had started watching hockey again the year before and was looking for the next "Bossy". The next player to capture my imagination like Bossy had.

Brodeur did that for me during his rookie year of 93-94 when he finished 2nd in the NHL in Goals Against Average and 4th in Save Percentage, winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie Of The Year. He led New Jersey to the second best record and almost took them to the Stanley Cup Finals, but lost a heartbreaking (for me at least) Eastern Conference Finals to the New York Rangers (excuse me, I threw up in my mouth a little) 4 games to 3.

From there on, Broduer won 3 Stanley Cups and  4 Vezina Trophy's. He is a 10 time All Star and has won 2 Olympic Gold Medals. He has broken records and still continues to play at a high level even at the age of 40. He hasn't said if he is retiring at the end of this season or if he will play another year.

My favorite Martin Brodeur moment was watching him break Patrick Roy's all time wins record. I took the day, March 17th 2009, off from work and got to the Prudential Center (or The Rock) at 8 am for a 7 PM game. I had to wait on line for the 10 dollar seats. Lucky for me, I was able to score a pair and watch Marty beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2. To watch him cut the net was a thrill for me, one that I will never forget.

So, as you can imagine, I do have a Brodeur collection. It's not as extensive as I would like it to be. Broduer is a very expensive player to collect. Even a lot of his game used cards are usually sold over 10.00 on eBay. I am pretty proud of the stuff I do have. Here are my 5 favorites

This Brodeur McFarlane was the first Sports Pick I owned. I loved this figure when I had it and had it prominently displayed at my desk at work. Unfortunately, someone either liked the figure and stole it or hated the figure and rubbed it out. Either way, it took me a couple of years to replace it. I found it at a comic book convention, of all places. Needless to say, I will not be taking this one to work.

Love this Topps rookie card of Brodeur. Here, his number is not 30, but 29. He's got on an almost all red goalie mask, but most important to me, he's rocking the old school Devils jersey with green in it. I prefer the "Christmas Tree" jersey, which is red and green as opposed to this jersey, which was the home jersey at the time. I would love to see the Devils wear this jersey one more time before Marty retires.

Sometimes, you will see a Brodeur game used jersey for under 10.00. When I do, I usually jump on it. I did with this card, winning it for 4 bucks. Love that its a 2 color swatch, probably taken from either the arm of the jersey or the bottom. Either way, this is a cool card and I'm glad I have it.

I don't own very many Brodeur signed items. Including the card above, I have 3 cards, a 5x7 photo from an apperance at the NHL Store in Manhattan and a huge group picture of the 2002 Stanley Cup team that bears only his signature. The above card was not cheap either. I was rocking my Brodeur home jersey at a card show when a dealer called me over to is table. He took out this card and told me he had just bought it and asked if I was interested in it. I didn't have a Brodeur autograph at that point, so I was extremely intrested until he told me he wanted 100.00 for it. I said no thanks and started to walk away. He called me back and asked me what I was willing to pay. I told him 50.00, still a hefty price for me. He counter offered with 75.00 to which I told him 60.00. He said he wanted the card to go to a Brodeur fan and sold it to me at 60.00.

Probably the coolest card in my Brodeur collection. I really dig this sick triple patch card of Brodeur, Parise and Elias. I traded Malkin autograph card to get this baby. A steep price to pay, but so worth it. It's a trade that made both parties happy as the kid who got the Malkin is a die hard Penguins fan, so I felt good trading it to him for this. What a filthy card. God I love it!

I would love to one day own a game used stick of his. That is the holy grail for my Brodeur collection. I would also love a signed puck and jersey as well. Like I said, he is an expensive player to collect, but I do hope I can be abe to add these items to my collection one day.

It's sad how little attention Brodeur get in this area. He is one of the greatest players to ever play the game and should be revered like Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, Mark Messier and Lawrence Taylor is, but because he played in New Jersey his whole career, he goes largely unnoticed in NYC. It's too bad. When Brodeur retires there will never be another like him. I guess the best way I can pay tribute to him is to continue collecting and watch him play until he skates off the ice for the final time.