Dream Projects

In the team collector's group I'm a part of, our Pirate collector, Mark, who writes the great blog, Battlin' Bucs (check it out right here http://battlinbucs.blogspot.com/), asked a great question. Is there a project that you have always wanted to start, but never have for whatever reason? As soon as he asked, I knew of a few right off the bat.

1- Start A Collection Of Mascot Bobbleheads

I love mascots. I have been a fan of them for as long as I can remember and whenever one is close by, I try to get a picture with them. When the Yankees hosted the All Star Game in 2008, the mascots were all over the place at the Fan Fest, which was held at the Jacob Javitz Center. I was like a kid at a candy store, getting pictures with Mariner Moose, Southpaw and Slider, to name a few. I was disappointed that Mr. Met wasn't there. I did catch up with him later at Citi Field.

The Mets have a spot in the Kiddie pavilion in the outfield where you can meet Mr. Met and have your picture taken with him before the game. So, I went up and he was very nice to me. Gave me a hug and was ready to put his arm around me for the picture. Then my friend, who loves to stir crap up, decided to yell out "he's a Yankees fan!' Mr. Met looked at me, put his hands up, covering his eyes and shook his head. I told him that despite my allegiance to the Yankees, I still was a fan of his. Apparently, what I said did not appease him.

Despite Mr. Mets opinion of yours truly, I still have a couple of his bobbleheads in my collection as well as one of Mariner Moose. I would love to get a couple others. The Phillie Phanatic. Orbit, and, even though he no longer is a working mascot, The San Diego Chicken come to mind immediately. I was going to collect those Funko POP Vinyl mascots that came out last year, but I couldn't find any. The one I did find, Mr. Met, was at Citi Field and was pretty expensive.

2- Start A Bobblehead Collection Of Baseball Hall Of Fame Players

I live in New York City. I have never been to the Baseball Hall Of Fame. I know, I hang my head in shame over that fact. I plan to go one day soon and I'm hoping it's this year. Regardless, I have always wanted to start a collection of bobbleheads of players who have been inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame. This would give me an excuse to collect bobbleheads of some of the greatest players who ever played the game. Players like Willie Mays, Mike Schmidt, Johnny Bench, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Koufax and Tony Gwynn would all be able to be bought by me and added to a Hall Of Fame shelf or display case.

I do realize that I will have to add players from the Boston Red Sox. Player like Cy Young, Jimmy Foxx, Ted Willams, Yaz and Pedro Martinez would all have to be added to my Hall Of Fame collection. To be honest, I don't have a problem with adding Red Sox players because I plan to have a non biased Hall Of Fame collection. I will admit that I will have a problem with adding Pedro though. I really don't like him, lol.

My only prerequisite would be the bobblehead would have to match the cap the player went into the Hall with. So, even though I would love to have a Yankee Dave Winfield bobblehead in the collection, I would have to pick up his San Diego Padres bobblehead. There are players like Greg Maddux and Catfish Hunter I could take liberties with since they went in with plain caps. I will probably add the managers as well. The announcers may have to wait, depending on room.

3- Customize McFarlane Sports Picks And Bobbleheads

I have long admired those who had the skills to take a figure or figures, rearrange parts, paint them up and create a fantastic figure for their collections. I've seen people do the same with bobbleheads. They will paint the figure into different uniforms, either print out the logo or use clay and have a totally different bobblehad.

My problem is I cannot paint to save my life. I have messed up walls. There is no way I can sit down with something a lot smaller and have something that looks like the awesome customs I've seen on forums like Spawn Boards and Jomo's Customs. I may make an attempt sometime soon. Depending on how good it comes out, it may never see the light of day.

4- Have My McFarlane Sports Picks Autographed

As an autograph collector, I am always looking for different ways to add unique autographs to my collection. A few years ago, I had the idea of paring autographs with McFarlane's Sports Picks figures I collected. I usually only collect Yankees, Jets, Knicks but I would pick up one if I got an autograph of a player who a had figure.

I was having trouble figuring out what to get signed to pair with the figure. I tried baseballs and that didn't work. I tried index cards and I couldn't figure out a nice way to display the two together. Certified cards didn't work for me either.

Then one day, I was at a card show and was looking at a few Salvino statues that I was interested in and it hit me.  I could get a "plaque" of some kind and have it attached to the front of the base of the figure and display it that way. Gosh, I thought I was a genius, strutting around the floor for the card show in a way that would make Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard proud. Then, I got on Jomo's Customs for the first time and saw that others had done it before. And actually figured out how to do it too. My ego deflated pretty darn quick.

Some customizers and collectors have the bases signed or they create special bases with a spot for signatures. For me, I like to have the autograph to be easily seen and if I have the figures on a shelf, you might not be able to see the autograph. The idea I like best is to use these:

These are the name plates (I think that's what they're called) from the old 12 inch McFarlane's. I have seen customizers print out their own stickers for these, with a spot for the player to sign. Usually, the customizer will also customize the figure, but until I have the guts to try one, I will stick with SP's that have already been made. My problems are I don't know the dimensions of the stickers and my photoshop skills aren't the best. I have made some custom cards before, but never a sticker. If I can find out the dimensions of the sticker, I will be in business.

Just that one question got this ole brain of mine thinking. I'm always looking for ways to kill time as the older I get, the more at home I am. I grew up with an arts and crafts bug building model kits, drawing pictures, among other things. I would love to figure out a way to bring that side out of me and start some pretty cool sports related projects. Then maybe I will be able to buy stuff at Michael's and not just wander the aisles, having the employees give me the "he's a shoplifter" eye.

The First Rule Of Fight Club Is You Have To Go To A Car Show To Meet A Knick!

The New York Auto show is in full swing. The event is held at the Jacobs Javitz Convention Center every year and thousands of car enthusiasts visit the show each year to check out the new cars that will be released in the upcoming season and do other car related things. Being that I am not a car guy I have never been to the show. I don't own a car nor have I ever in my life. I have never worked on a car or even cleaned one. I do have a drivers license and can pump my own gas, so I at least have that going for me.

But I did attend the show today. Why, you may ask? None of your business!

OK, I'm just playing with you guys. Walt Frazier of the New York Knicks was appearing at the show today. He of 2 NBA Championship teams. He of the 50 greatest NBA Players of all time. He of awesome fashion and even better grammar was signing autographs from 1-3 at the State Farm booth and I was going to be there. Frazier has been on my want list for a while, so I made sure I was going to be there.

Thanks to New York Transit, I arrived at the convention center a little later than I expected to. For those who do not live in New York City, riding the subways on a weekend is one of the absolute worst things. There is always construction somewhere and it causes delays. So, it took me over an hour to get to my destination today. Thanks MTA.

After having my bag checked at the door and paying my $15.00 ticket for a show I had absolutely no interest in checking out, I made my way to the State Farms booth, which was on the same floor as the entrance, lucky for me. When I got on the line a little after noon, I was pretty close to the front of the line.

The front of the line was just a wrap around the ropes for me. Comfortable with this knowledge, I put my bag down and pulled out a book to read. I am currently re-reading the Last Night Of The Yankees Dynasty. It was a good read the first time I read the book and it is even better the second time around. I highly recommend it if you have not read it yet.

As it was getting nearer to showtime, I noticed the workers pulling out a couple of boxes of photos for Walt to sign. They were nice, except for the State Farm logo on the bottom of them. I had bought a mini basketball and my New York Knicks 50th Anniversary book that I am getting signatures inside. I was hoping to get "Clyde" to sign either one, but when I saw the pictures my heart sank. On one hand, I was thankful I was finally meeting arguably the 2nd greatest Knick after Ewing, but I really wanted Frazier to sign my items. Thankfully, it was announced that Walt would indeed sign what you had, but it was one per person, which I was fine with.

Around 12:55, I looked behind me and was shocked to see the line behind me.

Quite the turn out. I shouldn't be surprised. The man is a Knicks legend and is still very popular with Knicks fans thanks to his contributions to Knicks broadcasts on MSG as a broadcaster. He even opened a restaurant in New York City called Clyde Frazier's Wine And Dine. I've been there before and it's a very nice spot.

Right at 1 PM on the button, Frazier shows up. Check out his jacket. What did I say about his sense of fashion? Pretty sweet.

I was actully expecting him to be a bit late. As of late, whenever I show up for a signing the athletes are usually late. Although Hideki Matsui was on time, I figured it was a fluke and Walt would be a bit late. Nope. He was right on time and got right to work upon sitting down.

The line moved rather smoothly. Walt was interacting with the fans, smiling, posing for pictures and being the man I had heard he was. A very humble and gracious person. When it came to my turn, I decided I was going to take a picture with Walt, even though I rarely take pictures with the athletes. I was not passing that opportunity up.

Before I got up there, I decided to have the mini basketball I bought signed. While he was signing, I told him what it honor it was to meet him and I loved his restaurant, which he told me he was going to after the signing. I probably should have gone to get him to sign my book. Once I left, I took a look at the ball and wasn't thrilled with it.

The signature is not as bold as I would have liked it to be because he used a blasted Sharpie marker. Not Walt's fault. That's all he had up at the table. The day prior, I was looking for Deco paint pens and most places I tried didn't have them. I went to the one place I didn't go to yesterday after I left the show and found a few. I guess I should have gone to the store yesterday after all. Maybe if I had, I would have had a better signature on my ball. Lesson learned. 

After seeing how this ball turned out, I seriously thought about giving up getting signatures on balls. My other efforts, the Bernard King, Larry Johnson, Charles Oakley, Amar'e Stoudmire all came out disastrous. I'm going to try one more time, this time with a Deco. My Carmelo Anthony ball looks great and that's because he used a Deco. Same as Wayne Chrebet on a football. Those give me some hope.If not, it will be photos from here on.

Despite the signature, the day was a pretty cool day. I got to meet one of my all time favorite Knicks and even if the signature isn't the boldest, it will still look good on display when I get one up. A day like today, I'll take it every time. 

Joltin Joe Dimaggio

Normally, I don't buy bobbleheads from other teams. Yes, I have been to a few Mets games solely for the purpose of attending their bobblehead giveaways, but for the most part I stick with Yankee bobbleheads. I would like to one day start a bobblehead collection of players who are in the Hall Of Fame, but that's for when I have the room and most importantly, the money.

However, there was one bobblehead that was given out by a team not located in NY (well, they were at one time) that I really wanted and thanks to a fellow member at the bobbleboard.com, I was able to land this awesome piece.

Back on August 28th, 2010, the San Francisco Giants gave out a Joe Dimaggio boblehead. Now, I know you guys are probably thinking, why would the Giants give out a Joe Dimaggio bobblehead when he never played with the Giants. Well, you are right that he never put on a Giants uniform, New York or San Francisco, but he was a native of San Francisco and the uniform that he is wearing on the bobblehead is that of the San Francisco Seals, a team in the now defunct Pacific Coast League. Dimaggio played with them from 1932 to 1935 until he was acquired by the Yankees for $50,000.00 and 5 players. Dimaggio once hit in 61 consecutive games for the Seals in 1933. It was a great decision by the Giants to give out a Joe Dimaggio/San Francisco Seals bobblehead as it celebrates a San Francisco icon and the city's baseball past.

The front and back of the box looked exactly the same. A picture of the bobblehead with the Giants logo next to it.

Also, both of the side panels had the web address for Joe Dimaggio's official site, the sponsor and the Giants secondary logo.

Out of the box, I can tell you this bobblehead looks brilliant. The bobblehead has him wearing the 1933 Seals home whites with pinstripes. He is captured in his classic follow through as well as his classic over bite.

As you turn the bobblehead so that it's facing forward, you can see that he is smiling as if he knows that no one is going to get the ball he just hit. Also notice that the paint job on the sleeve trim isn't the greatest, but it shouldn't be a deal breaker. The uniform looks exactly how it did from pictures I've seen of it. I always thought there was a logo on the cap, but upon further review I've learned that there wasn't in 1933.

The back of the bobblehead shows Joe wore number 10 with the Seals. As we know, Joe wore 9 when he broke in as a Yankee, then switched to his now famous 5 the next season. Knowing he wore another number with the Seals is very interesting to me as I always thought he wore 9 or 5 with them. I also love the baggy bottoms the players wore back in the day.

The base looks likei t's made of wood and has gold lettering on it stating that you indeed have a Joe Dimaggio of the San Francisco Seals bobblehead.

On the top of the base, right by Dimaggio's feet is the Comcast logo. No, the base isn't dusty or anything. It just looks that way.

I think this is a real fun bobblehead to own. It's a different Dimaggio piece to add to the Yankees collection. I don't own the Columbus Clippers Joe Dimaggio bobblehead they gave out several years back, so this is my first Dimaggio bobblehead. I'm tempted to hunt down the variant, which has the Italian flag painted on, which I think was given out during a Giants Italian Heritage Night. I'm just thrilled that I was able to add this one to my bobblehead collection and will have a permanent spot on my Yankees shelf.

Recent Autograph Additions

I recently had the opportunity to add some new autographs to my Yankees, Knicks and Baseball Hall Of Fame collections and I jumped at the chance to do so. I have been cutting back on adding any new cards to my collection because I want to be able to clean up the mess of cards I have before I go out and add more to my collection. I have about 30 plus boxes filled with cards, so if I can make some room before adding more to my collection, it would be great.

But autographs are different. 

I don't think I could stop collecting autographs. Along with baseball cards, I have been collecting autographs since I was a kid. I remember waiting outside the players entrance at the old Yankee Stadium and getting players like Lou Pinella, Roy White, Bucky Dent to sign. I also had to deal with rejection when my favorite player at the time, Graig Nettles, turned me down flat. I was 12 years old, you mook. No, I harbor no ill will toward Nettles especially since I got him to sign a bunch of times later in life. 

I recently won 2 auctions on eBay and added 2 autographs to my Knicks collection. 

I've been wanting to add an autograph of Steve Novak for a while now. Surprisingly, I had seen some autographs cards of his finish in the 12.00 to 15.00 range and I really didn't want to pay that much for him. I waited until I could grab this one for less than 3.00, shipped. Novak was pretty dangerous from behind the arch and now Novacaine will be bringing his "Discount Double Check" to Toronto. I wish him the best, just not against the Knicks. 

I didn't really need a Dick McGuire autograph since I got him a few times through the mail before his passing. But anytime I can see a Hall Of Fame player's autograph for around the same price that I paid for the Novak, I'm jumping on it. He was a seven time All Star, played in 3 NBA Finals in the 50's and had his number 15 retired by the Knicks. I have been wanting to collect the autographs of some of the early Knicks stars and McGuire was certainly one of them.

I recently made a deal with my good friend and fellow blogger, Dodgerbobble for some autographed baseballs I needed for my Yankees and Baseball Hall Of Fame Collections. Thanks to Josh, I was able to add these two autographs to my collections:

Vernon Wells came over to the Yankees in a trade with the Angels to play left field when Curtis Granderson went down during spring training. Wells, even though he had a good spring, was thought to be nearing the end when the Yankees got him. He's currently platooning in left field with Alfonso Soriano and is hitting .246 with 11 home runs and 42 RBI's. Although his number is not 10 with the Yankees, I'm still glad I could add this autograph to my Yankees collection.

Here is an autograph I didn't think I would have in my collection. Josh was kind enough to trade me this Tommy Lasorda signed ball for my Hall Of Fame collection. It's got a Steiner hologram and Steiner certification to go along with it. Even if it didn't have it, I would have still pulled the trigger on the deal as I trust Josh. Thanks for the deal, buddy. 

This past Saturday, I went to the East Coast National, which was held at the Westchester County Center. Gaylord Perry was doing a free signing at the show, so I went early because I knew that there would be a long line to get a free autograph of a Hall Of Fame pitcher. 

And I was right. Lucky for me, I was closer to the front of the line then the back. And after about a 2 and a half hour wait, I scored Perry's signature on a baseball

He didn't put the HOF inscription on the ball because that wasn't free. I would have had to had paid 10.00 for it. Since it doesn't have the inscription, I am counting this toward the Yankees collection. This is number 35 in the Yankees signed baseball collection.

Being able to add 3 signed baseballs to my collection made me hungry for more. I will be keeping an eye out for player appearances and I may even try to wait outside Yankee Stadium and hope a player may actually come out and sign. I'm sure I have a better chance of Derek Jeter inviting me into the ballpark as his guest than that happening. But if it did, it would take me full circle to when I was a kid, clutching my bag full of baseball cards, hoping for a Yankee to come over and sign his name on my card. 

Welcome To The Collection

Remember last post when I mentioned that I had another autograph coming my way? Well, I finally got it in the other day and I am thrilled to finally say I have a Yogi Berra signed baseball in my Yankees Signed Ball PC.

This was one autograph I have wanted in my collection for a while now. But for some reason, I could never get one. I missed appearances. I didn't want to pay what his kids were charging over on the Yogi web site. There was always a reason why Yogi's autograph never made it into my collection. I mean, I have a couple of certified autographed cards but not the one thing I really wanted.

I finally had a chance to pick up his autograph at a recent card show I went to. I passed by a table that was lined up with autographed baseballs from various players. As I was drooling over some of the plavers I saw on the table, when I saw a signed Yogi ball. I asked the dealer how much he was asking. 90.00 was the reply. Too rich for my blood, I thought. I thanked the dealer and started moving along when he suddenly told me he would let it go for 75.00.

Bingo.

I casually told him I would think it over and calmly walked away for a few feet then ran to the ATM and got the money.

I walked back to the table and  bought the ball. During the transaction, we were discussing some of his autographed hockey pucks, including a clear Washington Capitals puck signed by Alexander Ovechkin. I made a mental note regarding some of the puck he had for future purchases. After a bit, I bid farewell to the dealer and headed home.

Once I got home, I sat down and pulled the ball out of my bag to admire it's Yogi goodness. The ball was wrapped in some sort of clear wrap, which I will remove and as I thought about my score I noticed that Yogi's signature all of a sudden looked a lot like Chuck Knoblauch's. Hey, wait a minute. It was Chuck Knoblauch's autograph. Thankfully, I had the dealer's card and I rushed to call him. Lucky for me, the dealer had realized the mistake and held on to the ball for me. He asked that I send the Knobby to another customer, who bought the ball after I left and he would send me Yogi. True his word, Yogi came in the mail soon after.

Ta-da! Finally, I added a Yogi Berra signed ball to my Yankees PC. This is the one player I felt I needed in my collection and I'm so happy to cross him off the list. Once I get up a display of my signed baseballs, I will put him in between my Whitey Ford and Don Larsen signed baseballs.

So, now that that hunt is over, it's time to start another pursuit for my Yankees signed ball PC. The collection looks kind of empty with out you, Mr. Winfield.