Showing Off The New Swag

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, what's the best way to digest the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and God knows what else was consumed?  Football? Beer? Leftovers? Nooooo! Picking new goodies for the Sports Room.

I went to the White Plains Sports Card Show on Thanksgiving weekend. Usually, I can find quite a few things to add to my various collections. Unfortunatel, this time around there was not a whole lot I wanted to pick up this time around. I did manage to go home with 2 autographed 8x10's of Former New York Jets

Richard Todd

 

Wesley Walker

 

 

I also bought a DVD of the 1969 and 1973 New York Jets Season Highlight films to go with my 1964-67 Highlight films DVD. I love having these. It facinates me to watch these films as they not only show how the teams played that particular season, but looking at what people wore, how society was back then is a big thrill for me. I watch the Mets highlight films from time to time and when I found the Jets films I pounced on them.

 

I also got some TTM successes as well.

 

Michael Ray Richardson

 

 



For some reason, the pen he originally used didn't come out on the other picture, so he signed the dollar bill I sent for return postage

 

Bill Belichick

 

I originally asked him to sign a pic of him with a Jets helmet and a bookplate for my Jets project, but he didn't reurn either and sent this picture. Nice to add a future Hall Of Fame coach to my collection, but would have loved to got the book plate signed though.

I was also able to add a 2012-13 NBA Hoops Mike Bibby autographed card.

This was an ebay purchase. For less than 6 bucks dlvd, I couldn't pass it up. Another autograph for the Knicks PC.


Thanks for dropping by the Sports Room. Come back soon. Bring beer.

1 TTM Mailday

Today is a one and done mailday. Second mailday where I got a TTM success. Haven't had one in a while.

Kenny "Sky" Walker 11 days signed 2/3

Kenny signed both phots I sent, but did not sign the bookplate I sent for my Knicks book project. That's the third return I got with no signed bookplate in a row. I wonder if someone is trying to tell me something.

Kenny Walker played his college ball at Kentucky where he was a 2 time SEC Player Of The Year. He played 6 seasons with the Knicks and was a NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion in 1989. He also played in Spain, Italy, The Washington Wizards and finished his career in Japan.

I'm very pleased to be able to add another Knick to the collection.

3 Package Mail Day.

The last mail day before Thanksgiving produced some goodies for the Sports Room. 3 packages arrived in the mailbox. 1 ebay and 2 TTM's, one of which I thought I had lost. I was very pleased I got it back. I'm hoping this will lead to some of my older TTM requests to come back as well as my recent batch of requests.

What did I get? Well.....

I was finally able to grab this Kiki Vandeweghe autograph from the 2005-06 Fleer Greats Of The Game. Been wanting to add Kiki's autograph to the Knicks PC for a while now and I was finally able to get this card for a great price. I've been seeing this card go for 10-25 dollars and that wasn't a price I wanted to pay. I waited it out and stole it for under 5.00 delivered.

Vandeweghe is a 2 time All Star who has played for Denver, Portland, The Knicks and finished up his career in Los Angeles with the Clippers. Kiki was an excellent scorer, averaging 19.7 points for his career. He's also coached the then New Jersey Nets and was a GM in Denver and New Jersey.

Fun Fact, his father, Ernie, also played for the Knicks from 1949 to 1956.

Staying with the Knicks, I got 2 photo's signed by Charles Oakley, sent care of his Car Wash in Yonkers, NY.

 

 



These came a lot quicker than I thought. Oak-Man's known for 30-100 day returns. These came back in 9 days. He didn't return the bookplate I sent for my Knicks book project I'm working on. I may resend with just the bookplate and see what happens.

A power forward, Oakley is best known for his time with the Knicks from 1988-1998. Oakley also played with the Bulls, Raptors, Wizards and Rockets. He was a warrior, throwing his body for loose balls and playing hurt. Oakley was the back bone of those 1990's Knicks teams and I'm very pleased to be able to add his autograph to the collection.

The 2nd TTM was a shock that I got it back, since it's was out for over a year.

Jean Beiveau signed 2 custom Immortals Of The Ice Cards

And signed a puck for me for my collection of pucks signed by players who scored 500 goals in the NHL.

Reason why I was shocked to get this back was when I sent these out, Beliveau was a quick signer. Unfortunately, right after I sent my request out I learned he was very sick. I felt terrible for sending out my request and chalked it up as a loss. Even when I got the package, I figured someone was returning it for him unsigned. You can imagine how thrilled I was when I opened the package and saw my stuff signed.

Beliveau is considered one of hockey's all time greats. He played his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens, from 1950-1971. He is a 14 time All Star, He's won 2 Hart Trophies, an Art Ross Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy winner. He's second all time on the Canadiens list in points, assists and games played. He also is third in goals. He's won 10 Stanley Cups as a player and another seven times as an executive with the Canadiens. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1972.

It was a great day at the mail box. Now I can enjoy my turkey tomorrow and hope for more Friday and Saturday.

Hope you all have a great Gobble, Gobble Day. Don't drink and drive, consume mass quanties of food and enjoy football.

Recent Additions To The Sports Room.

To be honest, as of late, my sports pick ups have kind of slowed down. Most of my disposable income has been spent on my pop culture/Spider-Man/Batman/superhero collections. But, that doesn't mean I don't keep my eye open for some sweet deals for my sports collections. The past week, I was able to add a few pieces to my collections. 2 Islander autographs and 1 sports TTM.

The 2 Islander autographs are of players I grew up watching and have wanted to add to my Islanders collection for a long time.

I'm so thrilled to finally have an autograph of the Captain of the Islanders dynasty teams I grew up watching. Denis Potvin was a 3 time James Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the NHL's top defenseman. He won 4 Stanley Cups with the Islanders and was elected into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1991. He also won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie Of The Year for the 1973-74 season and was the 1st overall pick in the 1973 NHL Draft. When he retired, he was the NHL leader in goals and points by a defenseman, both has been since surpassed. I have fond memories of watching Denis Potvin play, but even fonder memories of watching him hoist the Stanley Cup over his head four straight years.

Pat LaFontaine was the only player to have ever spent his entire career playing for New York based teams, having played for the Islanders, The Buffalo Saberes and The New York Rangers. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Islanders in the 1983 NHL Draft. His 1.17 points per game is the best average for an American born player. Unfortunately, he suffered from concussions, which would end his career a bit too early. I remember when he scored the winning goal in the 4th overtime in Game 7 of the 1987 playoffs against the Washington Capitals which is now known as the Easter Epic as it started Saturday night and ended at 2am Easter morning. LaFontaine was a hard auto to get as he doesn't make apperances or sign TTM. He's only started signing certified cards, so I grabbed this one as soon as I could.

I got my first TTM in the mail in a few months. TTM, for those who don't know means Through The Mail. When I found out that Hall Of Fame QB Y.A. Tittle was signing ttm, I gave it a shot. I had a 5x7 printed out of this Sports Illustrated cover and sent it in along with a book plate for my Sports Illustrated Football book project and he signed both for me in a few months time. Tittle played for the Colts, 49'ers and Giants. He made 7 Pro Bowls, was a 2 Time MVP and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame in 1971. Very happy to add his autograph to my collection.

I still have one more item coming to me. I hope to have it by Wednesday. Keep your eyes peeled for it.

Showing Off My 5 Favorite Knicks Pieces



Yesterday was an awesome day. The Knicks opened the 2012-13 by steamrolling over the Miami Heat 104-84. Carmello Anthony..ahem, excuse me, Melo Anthony scored 30 points and grabbed 10 boards, Steve Novak Discount Double Checked 17 points off the bench, Raymond Felton scored 14 points and had 9 assists and Jason Kidd scored 12 points in his first game as a Knick. Heck, even Rasheed Wallace got into the act by taking the floor late in the game, per the fans request, and draining a three. It was a great way to open up the season by winning a game against the defending champions. Tomorrow, the Knicks will host the Sixers at the Garden with a Noon time tip off.

I have been a Knicks fan since about 1981-82. When I started watching the team, they were coached by Red Holtzman, in what would be his final season as Knicks Head Coach. They players like Michael Ray Richardson, Marvin Webster and Bill Cartwright. The next season, Hubie Brown took over and Bernard King joined the team and they made the playoffs and I was hooked. I watched Bernard King have back to back 50 point games, I watched Dave DeBusschere pound his fist as the Knicks got the first pick of the 1985 NBA Draft and used it to pick my all time favorite Knick, Patrick Ewing. I watched as players such as Charles Oakley, John Starks, Anthony Mason and later Larry Johnson, Latrell Spreewell and Alan Houston would be coached by Pat Riley and later Jeff Van Gundy would coach successful seasons in NY, making the finals twice. I watched the 4 point play against Indiana, The Dunk against Chicago and becoming the first NBA team to be the 8th seed in the playoffs and make it to the Finals. I lived through the Isiah Thomas mess, the regression of Stephon Marbury and the fire Isiah chants. I am tremendously excited about the upcoming season and hope to see the Knicks make another step toward an NBA Championship.

I have been collecting Knicks stuff since I got back into collecting sports cards. I have been able to add cards, autographs, posters, apparel and even a piece of the Garden floor. I'm going to now show off my 5 favorite pieces of my Knicks collection, which wasn't easy to narrow down.


5-Multi Signed Knicks Picture

I picked up this multi signed piece from a noted autographer. This piece is signed by Stephon Marbury, David Lee, Eddie Curry, Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph. I have matched the signatures up with certified autographs I have and I am confident that these are the real deal.

4-Walt "Clyde" Frazier McFarlane

I love collecting action figures, bobbleheads and figurines. Having a classic Knick like Walt Frazier in my McFarlane collection is pretty awesome. I picked this figure up in Philadelphia, of all places. That might explain the price tag on it.

3-Harry Gallatin Autographed photo

Again, I just love the classics. Harry "The Horse" Gallatin is a NBA Hall Of Famer who played for the Knicks from 1948 to 1957. He is a 7 time All Star who once pulled down a Knicks record 33 rebounds in a game. Mr. Gallatin signed this photo through the mail for me. I would love to get a mini basketball out to him very soon as I already have his permission to send him one.

2-Willis Reed Certified Autograph

To have an autograph of the Captain of the championship teams is a thrill. I wasn't born when the Knicks won their first NBA Championship and was only 2 years old when they won their 2nd and last one, so I haven't been able to enjoy a Knicks championship. I do own the History Of The Knicks DVD set that has Game 7 of the 1969 NBA Championship in it's entirety so I can watch Reed limp down the tunnel as much as I want as well as the Knicks beating the Lakers for the title.

1-Carmello Anthony Signed Basketball

Thanks to a friend alerting me to a free signing, I was able to meet Carmello Anthony in October of 2011 at Modells in Time Square. I was shocked that it wasn't packed and was able to have Melo sign this basketball for me. It's my favorite piece in my Knicks collection and I am so very glad to have it.

With a new Knicks season, The Nets opening up the Barclays Center and becoming the first professional sports franchise to play in Brooklyn since the Dodgers left, basketball is hot in NY. Merchandise is flying off the shelves as fans are choosing sides; black and white for Brooklyn or a new blue and orange uniform for New York. As you can see, I have chosen my side along time ago and I am looking forward to 2012-13 season.