This Is What Happens When You Talk To Your Bud For Too Long

This blog post spurned from a conversation I had with my buddy, Kerry. Kerry and I have been friends for about a year now. He saw a TTM success and hit me up on Facebook asking me where he can find the addresses. I turned him on to sportscollectors.net and he was so appreciative that he sent me a package of Jets goodies and we have been tight ever since. Kerry is one of those guys that you talk to once and you feel like you've known him forever and I am quite thankful I can call him my friend.

He and I was talking about Jets football and collecting Jets stuff, as we are both die hard Jets fans when I was suddenly hit with an idea about a Jets related project to start working on. Why not start collecting signed mini helmets of the top 10 all time players in New York Jets history? The more I thought about it, the more I thought I could totally pull it off.

I then realized that I may have gotten a few of the players in the top 10 players already. That would make things a lot easier on me I thought. So, I looked today at some lists and based on all the ones I read, here is the ten players who wore the Jets green and white I will go after in my Jets mini helmet collection, starting with

10-Wesley Walker

When I first started watching the Jets, Walker was the number one receiver. He played with the Jets from 1977 to 1989. He lead the league in receiving in 1978 and was named to 2 Pro Bowls in his career. My favorite memory of Walker was his 4 touchdown performance against the Miami Dolphins, one of them being the game winner, as the Jets beat Miami 51 to 45 in a wild game during the 1986 season. That's a game I wish NFL Films would release on DVD. I don't ever see Walker making any public apperances, so this might be a toughie to track down.

9-Mark Gastineau

Although he will always be known for a late hit on Bernie Kosar during the 1986 Playoffs (we won't be discussing that.), this guy was a beast and quite entertaining after he sacked the quarterback. A member of the New York Jets from 1979-1988, after sacking the QB, he would do a dance that would either have him spinning around or waving his arms about and running in place emphatically. I dug this crazy cat the moment I saw him, although he wasn't exactly Mr. Popular among his teammates for crossing the line during the first NFL Players strike in 1987. A member of the famed New York Sack Exchange he was voted to 5 Pro Bowls, 5 All-Pros, 5 All AFC, was the 1984 AFC Player Of The Year and was the NFL Defensive Player Of The Year in 1982.

I managed to get Mark to sign a Jets throwback mini helmet for me during an in store appearance at a Staples in the Bronx back in 2006, I think. Yet, for some strange reason, I do not have a picture of it. Trust me, I do have one.

8-Winston Hill

Winston Hill played with the Jets from 1963-1976. In that time he had the 10th longest string of starts in Pro Football History with 174. He played on a line that protected Joe Namath and opened holes for Emerson Boozer, Matt Snell and John Riggins. He was a 4 time AFL All Star and played in 4 Pro Bowls. Despite having his number retired by the Jets and being a member of the Jets Ring Of Honor, Winston Hill is not a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Hill will be another toughie to get on a mini as he doesn't make any appearances. However, he has signed in the past care of his restaurant, so I may try my luck the TTM route.

7-Freeman McNeil

Another former Jet I hold close to my heart. He was the Jets running back from 1981-1992. He led the league in rushing in 1982, which was the first time a Jet led the league in rushing. He is second in rushing on the Jets all time list behind Curtis Martin. He was a 3 time Pro Bowl and a 3 time All Pro selection. He and Johnny Hector were part of a tandem that was among the best in the NFL through out the 80's. How good was Freeman? The Dolphins were playing the Jets in the 1983 AFC Championship game. Miami was flooded with rain leading up to the game. So, in an effort to slow down McNeil, the Dolphins didn't cover the field and the field was a wreck. It worked as the Dolphins beat the Jets and forever earned my hatred.

Of all the players, McNeil may be the toughest to get a mini helmet signed. I have never seen him make any appearances here in NY nor does he sign through the mail. My only hope is getting a signed helmet through the secondary market. I just have to be careful I'm not buying a fake.

6-Larry Grantham

An original Jet. Grantham is only one of 2 men on this list to play for both the Titans Of New York and the Jets. Grantham was an outside linebacker and was always among the Jets leading tacklers. He played with the Jets from 1960-1972. He was voted to 5 AFL All Star teams and is a member of the AFL All Time Second Team. One of the lasting images I have of Grantham, since I never seen him play, was after the Jets won Super Bowl III, he went and grabbed the football from the referee, ran and jumped in the air in celebration.

Grantham has not been in the best of health these past few years. He's another who will be a tough autograph. My one time asking through the mail, he asked for 50.00 for the signature. I haven't as of yet sent it out, but if I am serious about completing this project I may have to.

5-Joe Klecko

If it's a crime not having Winston Hill in the Hall Of Fame, then not having Joe Klecko in is insanity. This guy was an All Pro at three different positions. He was a 4 time Pro Bowl selection, two of them being All-Pro. He was the 1981 NFL, AFC and PFWA Defensive Player Of The Year. How the heck is this dude not in the Hall Of Fame?? The Hall Of Fame committee must have something against a player who gave his heart and soul to the Jets. No one was more feared in that Sack Exchange more than Joe Klecko. I have read countless interviews from players that said this. Get Joe In The Hall Of Fame!!!

Klecko is an in studio commentator for SNY during the Jets regular season games. I may wait one Sunday outside SNY and try to get Joe to sign a helmet for me.

4-Darrell Revis

OK. Either this guy is hated by Jets fans or loved by Jets fans. I fall kind of in the middle. I disliked that he held out for so long and was threatening to do it again and as traded because of this threat, but dammit, I loved knowing that if any opposing QB was throwing in his direction, it was probably getting intercepted. Revis is arguably the best defensive player the Jets ever had. And he wanted to come back this season. Woody Johnson, in his infinate wisdom, decided not to bring Revis back. Big mistake. Our secondary is horrible. We could have used Revis, who only is a 5 time Pro Bowl player, 3 of them being All-Pro and 4 appearances was as a New York Jet.

I'm not even waiting to try and get Revis to sign. I will be shopping for a signed Revis helmet as soon as I am able to.

3-Don Maynard

My buddy, Kerry's all time favorite Jet. With good reason. This man is the Jets All Time Leader in receiving yards, catches and touchdowns. He, along with Larry Grantham, is the only Jet on this list to have played with the Titans, but the only Jet on this list to have also played with the New York Giants. In fact, he played in the Championship game against the Baltimore Colts, which is now known as the Greatest Game Ever Played.

The Tandem of Namath to Maynard was the AFL's most feared. They shredded defenses on their way to a Super Bowl title. Maynard was named to 4 AFL All Star Teams, AFL All Team and was inducted into the Footbal Hall Of Fame.

I was able to get Maynard to sign a Jets mini helmet at the Long Island Card Show back in 2005.

2-Curtis Martin

The one thing I love about the Jets getting Curtis Martin was we got him off the Patriots. One of the greatest running backs I ever seen, Curtis was a Jet from 1998 to 2005, was a three selection to the Pro Bowl as a Jet. He was the oldest player to win the NFL Rushing title at age 31. He had his number 28 retired by the Jets and was inducted into he Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 2012. I would say that Curtis Martin was the best free agent signing the Jets ever made.

I was able to get Martin to sign a mini helmet for me at Jets camp back in 2005. There was a surge of fans who made their way to C-Mart when he started signing. Lucky for me, I stuck out my arm and he saw the mini helmet and signed it.

1-Joe Namath

What, did you think I would say Quincy Carter? No, Quincy is a fine NFL player, but he's no Broadway Joe.

Then again, who is? Joe was the first quarterback to ever pass for over 4,000 yards in a season. He was the AFL Rookie Of The Year in 1965, he was a 4 time AFL All Star, He was also selected to a Pro Bowl in 1972. a 2 time AP AFL MVP, an AP AFL First Team All Star, a 3 time AP AFL Second Team All Star, a PFW NFL Comeback Player Of The Year, a member for the All AFL team and was inducted to the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1985. Of course, he led the Jets to their only Super Bowl Appearance and Championship.

Bottom line, Namath is the greatest player in Jets history.

I was extremely lucky to get Namath to sign a mini helmet for me at an in store signing for Sprint in Manhattan back in 2007.

So as I start this project, I already have four of the top 10 Jets signatures on mini helmets. My one rule as I go about this is that the helmets I get the players to sign are the same helmets the players wore during their careers as Jets.

This is a project that I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with. To be able to get helmets signed by some of the greatest players in Jets history will be a thrill for me. A lot of these players were guys I watched when I first started watching the Jets back in 1980. The others, I've seen on film or read about have left an impression on me nonetheless and it would be an honor if I could add their autographs to my Jets collection. Who knows, maybe after I'm done, I can start on the next ten great Jets players.

Thanks for the idea, Kerry.

(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.

A Super Jet Addition

Anytime I go to a flea market, I always find at least one item to come home with me. The flea market I attended this past weekend, I found two things. The Yankees Baseline Bopper I showed in my last post and I managed to find something I've wanted for a long time that is related to the New York Jets Super Bowl III team. It's not in the best shape, but I actually really don't care, since I didn't pay all that much for it. In fact, I bought it from the same table I bought the Bopper from.

This is the record album chronicling the 1968 New York Jets season, a season in which they upset the Baltimore Colts 17-6 to win the franchise's only Super Bowl, which happened two years before I was born. Figures they would win a Super Bowl when I'm not even alive to see it. I just hope they win another before God tells me my table is ready.

Now, I don't own a turntable, but I am guessing this record has play by play highlights of the 1968 Jets season from their radio broadcast team from WABC radio.It has the voices of Merle Harmon, who was the Jets main radio voice at the time and also narrated their season highlights videos, and Sam DeLuca, who played three seasons with the Jets and was on the IR during the championship season and would provide color commentary for years after his playing days were over.  It was pretty cool to know what radio station was the Jets broadcast home during that championship season. I'm a nerd for details like that.

The back of the album cover has a brief synopsis of the 1968 season as well as the 1968 schedule and results. It also has a picture of the championship team as well as a picture of the coach, Weeb Ewbank. Now, as I said before, the album cover is not in the best shape and if you look at the lower left corner you can see some crinkling of that corner as well as a chip p that same side of the album. It gets much worse on top though.

As you can see, the top of the album cover is split all the way across it. Too be honest, I didn't even realize that until after I walked out of the flea market and got into my buddy's car. If I had noticed it, I may have haggled a bit or not even bought it at all. I am a bit disappointed in myself. I always look carefully at a piece before buying it and I failed to do so with this. I guess I was too excited that I actually found this record at a great deal and didn't even give it once over.

The record itself looks like it's in pretty decent condition. I did look it over once I got home and I could not find a scratch on the record at all. Now, I come from an age where I actually used to play records before CD's became the norm. I know from experience that just because you don't see a scratch doesn't mean it's not there. Since I don't have a turntable, I doubt I will even play this record.

Even though the cover is in worse shape than I initially thought, I am still really happy to own it. I was going to put it on my Jets shelf, next to my Joe Namath puzzle, I think I will take my buddy Kerry's advice and frame this and hang it up when I get things situated. Hopefully, I can locate a CD copy of this record as I would love to listen to the radio broadcast highlights of the '68 season. Hopefully, us Jets fans don't have to wait much longer for the Lombardi Trophy to come back to the Green and White and maybe we can get another highlight CD to listen to over and over again.

Vintage New York Jets Mailday

If there is one team that rivals the Yankees for my affections, it's the New York Jets. While most of the people I know are Giants fans, I have loved Gang Green since I first watched them play at Shea Stadium back in 1980. I have gone through my ups and downs with this team (mostly down), but I have never rooted for any other football team save the 2 years when I followed my then best friend and rooted for the Steelers.

When I restarted collecting cards, I knew I wanted to have a Jets collection as well and started to hunt down different cards to fill my binder with. My Jets collection is not as large as my Yankees one is, but I am very pleased with the collection have amassed thus far. I grabbed cards through trades, eBay, card shows and from the kindness of strangers.

My collection is not just cards. I have figures, bobbleheads, autographs, books, pins and a vintage pennant in my Jets collection. As long as it has the Jets logo on it, I will always try to find a way to add it to my collection. There are things I would love to add to my Jets collection like vintage yearbooks, programs and cards, but I know I will have the opportunity to add them to my collection at some point.

Thanks to Mark over at Mark's Ephemera, I was able to add two pieces to my Jets collection, and they were two pieces I have been wanting to pick up for quite some time.

Mark's Ephemera has quickly become one of my favorite blogs to read and I never miss a post of his. One particular blog post was about the old Sunoco football stamps. I mentioned in the comments section that I have been wanting to pick up the Jets stamps from those sets. Mark reached out to me via email and offered me a packet of Jets stamps and another vintage item I have been wanting for a while. After a few emails, I got a package from him in the mail. When I opened the package, I saw this first:

A packet of the 1972 Sunoco NFL Stamps. I just love, love the lithography on the envelope. As tempted as I am to tear it open and check out the stamps, I made a decision to keep it as is. I do not want to ruin the packet, thus ruin the lithography. It will stay as is for me to admire whenever I want.

Then I saw this tucked in behind it:

A 1971 Topps Pin Up of Joe Willie Namath! I knew Mark was sending this over, but I was still floored when I saw it. Namath is one of my all time favorites, despite my never seeing him actually play. But I have seen enough video to know that the man had an absolute cannon for an arm. I love this mini pin up. It just screams 1970's with the color scheme to the fact that Topps couldn't show the players in their helmets. It's a thing of beauty.

After watching that awesome Namath HBO special I have started a Namath PC (like I need another player to collect). It's pretty small at this point, mostly recent product. Namath's cards can get pretty pricey, so for now I will add what I can here and there and anything helps. I also have the new Namath McFarlane and a couple Namath books, even a vintage Namath picture book that I assume a 5 year old read back in the day. I will look to add more Namath to my PC and show off what I do add right here.

I want to thank Mark for the awesome mailday. I have to return the favor and I hope to soon. In the meantime, if you haven't had the chance to read Mark's Ephemera, do so right here: http://marksephemera.blogspot.com/. Check it out, it's a great read.

What Would I Spend $1,600.00 On?

One thing I love to do is to search the internet and find new blogs to read. I came across a blog called Drop The Gloves. There is a bat around blog where you are asked one question: How Would You Spend $1,600 For Cards On eBay? Here is the link to the blog: http://www.fightstrap.com/blog/2013/04/19/marathon-bombers-boston-and-a-contest/

 Admittedly, I had a hard whittling down the list I came up with. I came up with so many cool cards. Cards I have always wanted to add to my PC's, but after playing around with the list a bit, I was able to come up with 3 cards I would kill to have in my collections. They cover teams and players I collect, both vintage and modern. Here are the three cards I chose

1-2010-11 Mike Bossy UD The Cup Base Patch Parallel # 1/10-Buy It Now-149.99

I have autographs and game used cards in my Bossy PC. But I do not have a patch card in my collection. The one I chose has a gorgeous three color patch from what was the home uniform. Back when I first started watching hockey many, many moons ago, the whites were the home and the colored were the road unis. I miss those days.

2-2008 UD Premier Bat Barrel Mark Texieira-Buy It Now $449.99

I know. For that price, I could probably own a whole Teixeira game used bat. But since we are just spending our theoretical $1,600.00 on cards, this would be one card I would absolutely love to own. I'm betting this was a piece of a bat used from his days as a Texas Ranger, but I do not care. I have always wanted to own a bat barrel card and the chance to own one from one of my favorite players would be too good to pass up.

3-1965 Topps Joe Namath Rookie PSA 4.5-Buy It Now $990.00 

The number one card I have to buy before any other would be a 1965 Topps Joe Namath rookie card, the card to own from the 1960's. Originally, I was looking for a raw card as I generally do not collect slabbed cards. But the ones I saw were not in great shape, not that a grade 4.5 is. But this one looks better than the others and at the Buy It Now price, I could still pick up the other 2 cards for my collection. This card would be the centerpiece of my New York Jets PC.

So, there you have it. the 3 cards I would pick up if I could spend $1,600.00 on cards on eBay. I'm sure I probably could have gotten more if I played around some more, but if we are talking quality, then I don't think I could have picked a better 3 cards to add to my collection. Maybe one day, I will be able to. But for now, I will drool over these pictures.