Stickers? I Went Ga Ga For Them

Over on one of my new favorite blogs, Mark's Ephemera, Mark showed off a haul of 1972 Sunoco NFL Stickers. These were stickers you could only get from the gas station, Sunoco. I was way too young to be able to collect these stickers, so I was never able to get them. I have always wanted to collect the Jets set, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet.

Now, about 9 years later, Topps released a set of stickers that I and every baseball fan I knew my age not only collected, but went absolutely nuts over.

I remember when the album and the stickers first hit the stands. I was in my third year of collecting baseball cards and I loved it. In fact, I remember how much I was enjoying picking up packs of cards and gnawing on the gum that came with the packs. One day, my mom and I went to the local newspaper stand. While my mom was picking up some lottery tickets, I wandered over the comics section. I was, as I still am to this day, a fanatical Spider-Man and Batman fan, so I was looking for the new issues. I remember spinning the rack one half spin when I saw a large yellow book. There was a picture of George Brett on the cover and it read Topps Baseball Sticker Album. Intrigued, I picked up the album and bought it to my mom. Knowing my obsession with baseball, she was more than happy to pick up the album for me. That and I'm sure the 25 cents cover price had something to do with it. Plus, a pack of 4 stickers were 15 cents and that pretty much sealed the deal. I remember walking out with the album and about 2.00 worth of stickers.

One of 262 stickers in that inaugural set. 

That summer, I bought pack after pack after pack of the stickers, trying to complete the Yankees page, then the set of 262 stickers. I would buy the packs, trade the stickers and even got some as gifts, but I don't think I ever completed the set. But it started me on a love affair with sports stickers that would last the next few seasons.

Later that year, I picked up Topps released 1 more sticker album that I picked up and also attempted to complete my team first, then the set.

The football album, Jets first, of course.

The obsession continued over the next few years. I even added a new sport to collect in 1982.

The 1982 Baseball Album with Gary Carter on the cover

Football

And Hockey. See Mike Bossy on the lower right hand corner? I didn't rest until I had a Bossy sticker and I did get him. I only wish I didn't stick it on the Islanders page. It would look pretty sweet in my Bossy Binder right now.

Fleer got into the sticker album biz as well.

I did not collect the Fleer stickers as passionately as I did the Topps stickers though. I don't even know how long Fleer lasted with them.

My sister even got into the sticker album craze.

I continued to collect the stickers and the albums for the next few years, but eventually, my passion for stickers and albums waned and I stopped completely.

A couple of years ago, I saw that Topps and Panini (who made the stickers for Topps in the 80's) started to produce stickers and albums again. I looked them over and they seem nice. But they did not reignite the interest I had for them that I once had in 1981. I may start to pick up the stickers again. Heck, I may even go on eBay and pick up the old albums and sticker sets. But even if I never get back into the sticker game, I will never forget the feeling if excitement I had when I first saw that yellow album on that spinner rack.

Autographs. What Do I Need?

One of my main goals for 2014 is to get back into the autographing game. I used to love going to the old Yankee Stadium and just wait outside the players entrance and try to get some baseball cards, baseballs or pictures signed by various Yankees and other players.

As I got older and the hobby grew, I got tired of having to deal with pushy collectors and dealers for autographs, so I stopped hanging outside the ballpark. A lot of collectors will push an old lady out of their way for a signature. It's disgusting.

 I started attending signings were it's more of a controlled environment (sometimes), even if I sometimes had to pay for the privilege of having my item signed or picking up what the player will sign. Then the prices started going up and I stopped going to those as well.

To fill my autograph needs I started buying certified autographed cards. I filled a lot of holes this way and I will still continue to pick up autographs as long as the price is right. I also sent a lot of requests through the mail, or TTM as we call it in the autograph community. Due to lack of time, the letters stopped going out and I completely stopped collecting autographs.

Being able to attend the NFL festivities this past week not only got me wanting to get back into the hobby but also got me thinking about what autographs I want to add to my collection. Now, I have a lot of nice certified signed cards, players like Derek Jeter, Joe Namath, Walt Frazier, Martin Brodeur and even a Babe Ruth.

What I want to add is more signed baseballs, photos, magazines, etc. I also started thinking about which players I want to add. I would like to also one day get a few jerseys signed, but I have a hard time buying jerseys for me to wear, much less buy them for autographing purposes.

So, I kind of came up with a "wish list" of players I want to have something other than a card signed. Meaning, I may already have a card signed by the player, I just want something I can display on a shelf or on my wall. Something that will grab anyone's attention as they enter wherever I ultimately display my stuff. Hopefully in my home.

I also narrowed the list down to players who are still living. Kind of hard to get a someone who's passed on to sign a ball for you. That being said, here's the list

1-Derek Jeter 

Jeter is one of the most expensive autographs you can buy (Thanks a lot Brandon Steiner for that.). A legit signed Jeter can run you anywhere from $150.00 to about $500.00. Jeter is also a tough signature to get. Listening to various collectors, Jeter may only sign for children and women or not at all. Then there was the report that came out a couple of years ago where collectors would be lined up outside the Yankees complex in Tampa when Jeter was rehabbing, waiting for him to come out. He would either pull up his car and sign a handful or none at all leaving collectors who waited as early as 4am to walk away empty handed. Jeter might be one of those I may have to save my pennies and buy.

I'd either love to have a ball

Or a framed signed photo

2-Wayne Gretzky

As a hockey fan, I feel it's imperative to own an autograph of the greatest player to ever skate. Gretzky can be a pricy autograph as well, with signed pucks going for about $200 dollars, but sometimes you can find a signed puck in the $75 dollar range if you look hard enough. I have heard that Gretzky is accommodating when approached. That said, I will be keeping an eye out for appearances by The Great One this year.

I would like to have a signed puck for my 500 goal scorers PC

 
And maybe a photo

I would get some Kings stuff signed as well. Just no Rangers Gretzky.

3-Mike Bossy

As one of my all time favorite hockey players, you would think I would already have Bossy in my collection, and you would be right. I have a few certified cards in my Bossy PC, but I don't have any signed memorabilia of his. That should change come March when Bossy does a card show not too far from the Nassau Coliseum where he played during is career. I am of mind that I don't care what it will cost to have him sign for me. Bossy signed pucks are among the most relatively inexpensive for a NHL Hall Of Famers and of the all time great snipers in the history of the game and I could have picked one up a few times. Reason why I haven't is because I really want to meet one of my childhood heroes and I just may have that opportunity next month.

I really want a signed puck to put on my Bossy shelf when I put one up.

I hope to also add a signed photo and McFarlane figure at some point.

4-Jason Giambi

Now, admittedly, Giambi's Yankee career was not what we expected him to ultimately have. Plus there was PED allegations, the gold thong and that horrible porn stache he rocked at the very end, but he was still a Yankee and I want to add one particular piece to my collection. Yes, I would get a baseball, as I want a signed ball from as many Yankees as I can get, but I want Giambi to sign one of his Sports Illustrated covers. His Yankee cover was very cool and I think it would look fantastic on my wall.

With Giambi signing to play with the Indians this upcoming season, I may have my shot at getting him to sign one. I just have to find this issue.

5-Patrick Ewing

Ewing is my all time favorite Knick. I do have a PC of Ewing and nothing would be better if I could add a Ewing signed basketball to my Knicks signed ball collection. Ewing is a tough autograph to get. I did hear rumors that while he worked for the Knicks MSG playoff games in studio he would sign a couple after leaving, so I missed out on him. His autographs are pretty expensive, going for anywhere from $200 dollars for a certified card to $700 dollars for a signed basketball. I will have to be lucky to add Ewing to my collection.

I would love to add a signed basketball

Or this image that remains one of my favorites in Knicks history

6-Gordie Howe

Howe is another autograph that any hockey fan needs in his collection. Gordie was considered the greatest player until number 99 donned the ice and broke all of Howe's records. Howe used to sign through the mail for free, but once the hobby boomed that stopped. Howe is one of those missed opportunities that I kick myself for and will be another that I will have to purchase as at his age appearances are very rare. Howe is pretty inexpensive for someone of his stature, averaging about $75 dollars.

I would love to add a Howe signed puck for my 500 goal scorers PC

7-Mariano Rivera

One of my all time favorite Yankees. With all due respect to Mr. Jeter, the Yankees do not win all those World Series if it wasn't for Mariano. With his retirement, I actually expect Rivera to be around making appearances. I missed out on a few last summer, but I will not do so again if I can help it. Like Jeter, Rivera's autograph has become pricey (Thanks again Brandon Steiner), but I am confident that I can get Rivera at an appearance.

I do want a Rivera signed ball pretty badly

But this signed photo makes me drool every time I see it.

8-Martin Broduer

I don't care what anyone says. Martin Broduer is the greatest goalie that ever played the game. End of story. Save the arguments for Roy, Sawchuck, Belfour or Parent. The numbers back up my claim. All time wins leader, check. All time shutouts leader, check. 3 Stanley Cups, 4 Vezina Trophys and 2 Olympic gold medals support my argument. I have had the pleasure of meeting Broduer a few years ago when he made an appearance at the NHL Store here in NYC and got a 5x7 signed photo the store gave out. I have also acquired a couple of signed photos, but what I don't have is a signed puck and I would like to add one this year. I have a Broduer PC of cards, figures, pucks and other stuff. Would like that signed puck for the PC.

9-Joe Klecko

When I first started watching football, Joe Klecko was a player I really liked. He was a hard nosed player who made All Pro at 3 different positions. How is this man not in the Pro Football Hall Of Fame? It's a joke that he is not enshrined in Canton. I haven't really seen Klecko making any apperances, but he does work at SNY doing the Jets post game shows and the studio is in NYC, so I could have waited outside the studio for him to come out, but because Sunday is Jets day and I am usually home or it's cold, I never went.

I would love to add a Klecko signed mini helmet to my Jets PC

10-Tino Martinez

My favorite all time Yankee. Tino was intense, a fantastic glove and a great bat on those World Series clubs during the 90's and early 2000's. Another player who I have a PC of as well as a few signed certified cards and a mini helmet, I don't have a signed baseball from him. He's been my Moby Dick, very elusive. Each time he is scheduled to make an appearance I ether miss out for one reason or he winds up cancelling. My last chance was when I was in Los Angeles and he was still coaching the Marlins. I waited after the game for him to come out and sign but after about a half hour I wound u leaving with my girlfriend, who was a heck of a trooper for waiting. The next day, my buddy Dodger Bobble tells me he came out 10 minutes after I left and signed. I just can't win.

I want a signed ball to add to my Tino PC

There are a lot of other players I would love to add to my collection. Hall of Fame players like Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripkin Jr or Sandy Koufax. Legends like Vin Scully, Teemu Selanne and Terry Bradshaw as well as players from my favorite teams like Bernie Williams, Walt Frazier, John Tavares and John Starks. I hope I can add all of these players to my collection at some point. I know it will take a lot of work and probably money, but  believe that if you work hard enough and want it bad enough, you can have anything you want in life. Lucky for me, my dreams are pretty simple. If I can get all of these signatures, I'll be a pretty happy guy.

Graphing NFL Players During Super Bowl Week Days 2 and 3

Since I had a great time during day one of the Super Bowl festivities, I made sure I went back for day 2. Thankfully, it wasn't as cold as it was on Tuesday. Wednesday's high temperature was 25 as opposed to 17 the day before. I cannot wait until Spring.

Day 2:

My day started later than the previous day. I learned that Brian Cushing and Mo Wilkerson was signing at Body Armour's exhibit in Grand Cenral Station. It was a football lesson for some kids with Play 90. LaVarr Arrington was the "moderator" of the event and was the main instructor. Arrington needs to get a TV job. He has personality and quick wit.

The Trio discussing football

The autograph signing was scheduled for 12 noon, but as the time got closer, the lessons weren't slowing down. Then around 12:20, someone came by and told one of the workers that Cushing had to leave. Once Cushing left, so did Wilkerson. I thought my chance to get Mo to sign my Jets book had come and gone until I saw Cushing standing around and talking to a few gentlemen, so I hung around and waited. Sure enough, Wilkerson came out and I got him to sign my Jets book.

Wish the book had a picture of Wilkerson

While we were waiting, someone told us that Victor Cruz would be signing at Footlocker, so we headed there after lunch. When we got there, the line was pretty long. Having gone to previous signings at Footlocker, I had a feeling that the line would move quickly once Cruz arrived and we would get to meet him.

As you can see, the line was long. I dig that guy's Vintage Jets winter cap

As I suspected, once Cruz arrived, the line moved pretty quick and within 25 minutes we were inside meeting Cruz. Btw, never let a store employee take your picture while your meeting with an athlete. The picture always comes out wrong. For the sake of my very small ego, I will resist showing you the picture that was taken. I will show off the picture I got signed.

Got a nice signature from Cruz also

 After this signing, we went to get in line for Jim Brown at Macy's and the day went downhill from there. Once we got there, we were told that Brown would only sign merchandise that was bought at Macy's and you had to spend $50.00 to get the signature. OK, I wasn't going to argue it. So, I bought an NFL mini helmet for Brown to sign and a Jets mini for later use.

Then we got on the line and waited... and waited.... and waited. Then we were moved to the other side of the store. And waited... and waited some more. We got our tickets for the signing at 5pm for the 6pm signing. Then, we went back to waiting. Lucky, I once again made use of Macy's free wi-fi and surfed the web on my tablet. Finally, at about 6:15pm, Brown arrived and the line started moving.

Jim Brown greets the masses

As I got to the front of the line, I started getting the mini helmet ready to be signed. As I did this, a Macy's rep came up to me and told me that Brown will not be signing anything other than the pictures that were provided up front. This infuriated me. I spent $60.00 on overpriced mini helmets to get this guys autograph because I was told by Macy's that I had to spend over $50.00 to get the signature. What was worse was when I got upfront Brown didn't even look at me. His representative handed me the photo. That made me even more angry. If your going to tic off the fans who waited 3 and a half hours for you, have the courtesy to look up, say hi and shake a hand or two.

Once I left the signing area, I made a beeline for the register to return the helmets. I wasn't the only one as the lines at the registers grew to amazing proportions. Once I got to the register, a rep from the NFL Team Store told me that it wasn't Macy's nor was it Jim Brown that ixnayed the signing of merchandise. It was his representative that me the signed photo with Macy's all over it. She saw how ticked I was. Couldn't have explained why she wouldn't allow Brown to sign merchandise that was bought specifically for this event? I still blame Macy's for allowing that to happen. He was paid to be there. Macy's should have enforced that rule. They just wanted 100 fans to spend $50.00 and more at their store.

What's worse, even after being lied to, a Macy's representative tried to take back the signed photo. I refused to give it back since three people where in front of me and walked off with their photos after returning their merchandise. The rep let me go, but told the guy at the register I was the last one. Morel of this story, Macy's sucks and I won't go back for another signing again.

And here's the photo we got from Macy's

 Because the Brown debacle took forever, we got to Modell's for the Jamal Charles signing too late. The line was too long and we were told by a Modell's employee that the first 100 were guaranteed an autograph. I was willing to stay to attempt to get the taste of that Brown signing out of my mouth, but my friend wanted to go, so we left and the day ended on a sour note.

Day 3

I started Friday at an early hour. I was going for just 2 autographs. Dee Milner was signing at Modell's at 12 noon and I wanted to add the Jets CB to my Jets collection. But the reason I got to Manhattan so early was because I had heard that Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia was going to be appearing on an ESPN show, so I got to Bryant Park around 10am. CC arrived around 10:15am and was walked in by security pretty far away from where the graphers were standing. I waited around and saw Cam Newton being led out the same way CC was led in; far away from us. CC came out around 11am and when I saw he was walking in the same direction I bolted from my area up front. I ran from one corner to another and slowed down to a brisk walk so that I didn't have a cop jump in front of CC thinking I was a wack job, but also because I left my lung on the sidewalk behind me. I'm too old to be running as fast as I did.

Once I got to where CC was, I saw that there was no graphers around. Just CC, a cop, his entourage and little ole me. I politely asked CC if he could sign my ball and he said sure and took my baseball. As he waited for me to give him a pen and I went into my bag to get one, I realized after fumbling around that I forgot my Bick pen at home. I embarrassingly asked one of his people if they had one and thankfully, someone had one. I shook CC's hand and wished him luck this upcoming season. Thanks to my almost killing myself, I was able to walk off with this gem:

After that, I headed over to Modell's, hoping that the line wasn't too long. When I got there, I saw there was no line. "Lucky Me", I thought. I went inside and asked an employee when the line would start and was told that the Milner signing was cancelled. As disappointed as I was, getting CC to sign the baseball for me was enough for me and decided to end the day.

I did walk along Super Bowl Blvd and took some pictures for you guys to check out.

ESPN temporary studio

Rush Zone for the kiddies

Xbox Station where you can play some Madden

Papa Johns for free samples

Come out of the tunnel like a true NFL player

Put your head on the mannequin and take a picture 

Fox's temporary studio

Kick a field goal? Not me.

The Lombardi Trophy and the crazy line to get in

Where First Take was filmed this morning

Well, I had a great time running around getting some autographs for my collection and experiencing all the hoopla surrounding the week leading up to the Super Bowl. I realize that this might have been a once in a lifetime event here in NYC and I made sure I made the most of it. My only complaint was that this should have been held in doors. I don't understand why it wasn't held at the Javitz Convention Center. With the weather as cold as it was, it should have been held indoors. That said, I'm glad I was able to attend this event and I hope that I can do so again one day. If you have the chance to attend when the Super Bowl is in your town, I urge you to go out and attend it. You won't regret it.

Graphing NFL Players During Super Bowl Week Day 1

One of my New Years resolutions was to go out and graph more this coming year. The fact that the Super Bowl is here in NYC and there would be a ton of appearances by former and current players was the perfect time for me to go back out and hunt some autographs. I was mainly looking to add autographs to my Jets collection and add some players I might not have otherwise had the chance to get any other time. In my first two days, I had some ups and downs, but so far it has been a good time.

Day 1:

On Wednesday, I arrived at Super Bowl Blvd (which in actuality is Broadway between 34th and 47th streets) at about 10:00 am. I initially was tired when I left my apartment, but the excitement of the day's events woke me up pretty quick. That and the 15 degree temperature that morning did the trick.

I waited for my friend to arrive at 11:00 am and we quickly got in line for the autograph stage. That day's scheduled guests really didn't thrill either one of us, but we wanted to see how the autograph lines worked and what to expect for future appearances that week.

While we waited for the first autograph guest, the Jets Flight Crew came out and did a few dance numbers for the crowd. After, we were told that the first guest would be up shortly and to have our items ready. If you didn't have an item, there were autograph cards that the player would sign. I had bought a huge Sports Illustrated Football book with me for players to sign, so this was the perfect opportunity for me to get a signature in it.

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Derrick Brooks was the first player to sign that day and I had my book ready. I flipped through the book quickly and couldn't find a picture Brooks was in so I decided to have him sign the inside cover. The pages are grey with Sports Illustrated printed across it, so when I got up front, I asked the handler to ask Mr. Brooks to sign the page in black.

Instead of the black Sharpie I asked for, he used silver. At first I was a little ticked, but now that I look at it I see it looks fine, so I have no problem with it.

After we left the line, we decided to walk up and down the Blvd and I took a couple of pictures.

Here is the very tall toboggan slide. The one that you couldn't get me to go up if Joe Namath was calling for me to slide down with him.

Temporary home of the NFL Network during the festivities.

That is pretty much all the pictures I took of the Blvd as my hands were numb from just taking those pictures. I will be back tomorrow, so I will get some more pictures of the Blvd and post them then.

While walking back up, we noticed a line outside a Duane Reede and asked what it was for. We were told Justin Tuck was doing a signing inside, so we got on the line. We were pretty far back, but the line was moving pretty quickly. A half an hour later, we were inside.

Justin was only signing photographs that were provided by the store.

The photo is not bad. Just seems like it's a very good printed picture rather than an 8x10.  But, it's a free autograph, so I'll take it.

After, we went up to Macy's for the main event of the day (at least for me), Wayne Chrebet. He's my all time favorite Jet, so there was no way I was missing out on him. I was originally going to have him sign his page in my Jets book, but opted to stop at Modell's and use my 20.00 credit on a Jets mini helmet. Unfortunately, Jets mini helmets have been hard to find this particular week, so I grabbed a football instead.

We got to Macy's a couple of hours early, but there was a line starting to form already, so we jumped on the back. I had my tablet, so I helped myself to Macy's free wi-fi and killed some time looking at Facebook and other sites while chatting with my friend.

When Chrebet showed up, the woman who introduced him to the crowd accidentally introduced him as a former member of the New York Giants which got a hearty Bronx cheer from most of the crowd until she corrected herself. When Chrebet got up to the table he posed for pictures and then started signing.

When I got to meet Chrebet, I told him how big a fan I was and about my Chrebet card collection. He seemed genuinely happy to hear about it and thanked me for being such a big fan. As he signed my ball he noticed my Yankees sweatshirt and commented that he knew I was a smart guy. He shook my hand and off I went with my new prize.

I really like how nice the ball came out with the silver Deco paint pen he used. I need to get me a few of them in different colors.

Macy's and NFL Auctions were auctioning off this really sweet full sized Jets helmet signed by Marty Lyons, Mark Gastineau, Joe Klecko and Abdul Salaam, otherwise known as the New York Sack Exchange. I really wish I could afford to bid on it. Owning a New York Sack Exchange signed item is on my "Must Have" list.

After, we decided to end the day by hitting Modell's for the Maurice Jones-Drew signing. When we got there, there was a line outside and we got to the back of it and waited. The line started to move in no time and we were inside. This time, I decided to take the picture the store provided instead of buying anything. We were allowed to take pictures, but since my battery was running low, I decided not to take any.

When I met Jones-Drew, I told him how I enjoyed watching him play and then told him I hope he signs with the Jets this off season. He appreciated it the remark, signed my photo and off I went.

When the day ended, I was out hunting autographs for a total of 9 hours. I was tired, my feet hurt and I was hungry. But I was thrilled at the autographs I was able to add to my collection. 1 possible Hall Of Fame Player, A former Super Bowl winner, a really good running back and my all time favorite player. Not a bad way to get back into the autograph hunting game.