Player Collectors: What's the Oddest Oddball Item You Have?

CON40

I got this idea when I saw Scott Jeanblanc's Nolan Ryan Good Humor Ice Cream stick on the Nolan Ryan Thread. It got me thinking that there are lots of really weird oddball collectibles out there for many players. Mine might be Miller Lite in a special Nolan Ryan commemorative can, or a jar of Pedro Martinez Hot Salsa.

What are the oddest oddballs you have?

mikeschmidt

I like how Gaylord Perry sells autographed jars of Vaseline.

jackstraw

when i meet gretzky at franks in hartford my friend and i actually took the soup bowl,napkin,beer bottles and spoon that he used? yes we are insane and we have no proof except a picture and dna!

AlanAllen

I have unopened juice box from 1991 with Marcus Allen on the front. It's the only one I've ever seen, and might be the only unopened one around. I wonder how long the cardboard can hold the juice in?

Joe

PlayBall

My wife.

jimtb

I have a copy of Alan Trammell's little league team photo. it's amazing what you come across over the years.
Jim

qualitycards

I picked up a handful of these a few years ago. There pretty neat, it shows Aaron, Dimaggio, Ted Williams etc... They were sold at Carvel Ice Cream stores in '76 There are mini in size for a comic book, a little smaller then a post card...jay

Kid4hof03

I guess my oddest is a letter that Gary Carter sent to the Barnings of Baseball Hobby News asking that collectors not send autograph requests to his home but rather to the stadium and that he would sign them all there. The note was cordial but firm. I bought it from the Barning's a couple of years ago.

BugOnTheRug

Anybody remember the Iron City beer cans?

I have a bunch but can't find them now.

BOTR

67standup

The Wade Boggs chicken recipe cookbook comes to mind.

jrdolan

I'd pay a lot for the uniform pants Steve "Psycho" Lyons dropped on national TV in Fenway park.

Or the gob of gum Kurt Bevacqua blew into a record-size bubble for that 1976 Topps card.

Lacking those treasures, I do have "One Stop Along the Way: The Ballad of Johhny Bench," a 1983 LP narrated (and sung!) by Terry Cashman. I always thought it was pretty oddball.

speeder

i have never seen another one, it is from a board game that was called "the great american pastime" 1992
the game was test marketed, did not sell well, and was never seen again.

Ruthfan

I am a big Pee Wee Reese collector. I have his actual signed 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers Players Contract where he was paid $15,000 for the 1955 season. It's one-of-a-kind and in awsome shape and it's from the same year they won the World Series. It's funny reading the terms and conditions of his contract. Can you believe they made the players back then put down a $30 deposit for their uniforms and was held until the uniforms were turned in at the end of the season.

Just imagine asking the players today to put down a deposit for uniforms.

Todd

bobsbbcards

I got an autograph from Pete Rose's wife back in 1978. I was working at McDonald's and she came into the store with their daughter Fawn. I recognized her and asked for her autograph (on a hamburger wrapper). She wrote "Keep on cooking those fish! Karolyn Rose". I guess she liked fish.

I vote that hamburger wrapper autographs by ex-wives should be part of the Pete Rose Master Set list. Does PSA grade these (same size as a T3)?

WinPitcher

1988 Smokey the bear set w/ al and nl allstars. post card size cards.

SoFLPhillyFan

RCA Records - Pete Rose "Charlie Hustle" picture disc - circa 1979

helionaut

I've got a couple Micro Machines Frank Thomas pieces. Micro Machines were little tiny cars, about a quarter the size of a Hot Wheels car. What good they were, I don't know, but about a 7-8 years ago they made sports "action figures" that are about one-half inch high. There was Thomas, Griffey, Juan Gonzalez and Barry Bonds I think, and a couple others, all in one or two boxed sets. And a rather cool little bronze plastic bust of Frank Thomas that I think is a Micro Machine thing, too.

Those and my Bake McBride items: an RC cola can (empty), an "I -heart- Bake McBride" 1980 Phillies Championship pinback button, and a Bake McBride little league bat.

Bighurt4

I used to have an autographed bag of Kirby Puckett pancake mix. I gave it to a female I liked, big mistake, 'nuff said.

Brent

Ruthfan

One of the oddest items I have ever owned was in my Pete Rose collection that I sold in 1989 right after everything went down with him. I had a pack of Pete Rose cigarettes that had his picture on the pack. I took it to a show back in 1987 to have him sign it and he about freaked out when he saw it. He signed it but I don't think he was too pleased about being on a pack of cigarettes.

Todd

67standup

Just thought of a few more:

In my Yaz collecting days I had the actual picture slide used during 1970's NBCs Game of the Week. For those who can recall, NBC would display three square-sized pictures of the batters who were due up next inning after the commercial.

Also still have the following which I've showed before:

goodriddance189

Jacques Plante's severed head!

actually, it's a 1971 Colgate plastic "head"

Tipem

I traded a few baseball cards at a flea market back in 1988 for a scrapbook that some guy had put together of original newspaper clippings from Babe Ruth's playing days.The newspaper is the New York Times and these articles are the actual articles covering the Babes playing days as well as his retirement and death.The book is actually a drawing scratch book with puppies on the cover.Really cool to read the articles and imagine having actually been there.Some of the articles even have the dates cut out with them.



Vic

speeder

goodriddance189,

I love it !! you got my vote on that one !! oddball sweet !!

uh, did they do a johnny bench head too ?? just kidding <<< nice <<<

your friend, lee

sjeanblanc

Here's a Nolan Ryan post card.



Scott Jeanblanc
jeanblanc@iconnect.net
Ebay UserId: sjeanblanc
-------------------------------------------------
Collecting Nolan Ryan cards (68-94)

NickM

I have a few of the display posters that card companies have used to advertise their special promotional wrapper redemption sets at major card shows (Topps from 2002 NHL Fantasy, Fleer from 2004 NBA Jam Session).

As for an oddball item of a player I collect, I'd have to go with the card show display poster advertising Steve Garvey and Bill Russell as autograph guests, signed by both.

Nick

Ironmanfan

I have an original Visa Credit Card receipt that Cal Ripken Jr. used at a Chili's Restaurant (Kansas City) in 1987. I bought it directly from the manager (who never submitted it to Visa). And for those who wondered, Cal is a good tipper (25% in this instance). Also have a couple USAir Boarding Passes of his from the late 1990's. The odder, the better!!!

MorrellMan

Several oddball items: a Harmon Killebrew business card when he was a car salesman in Washington (I got it somewhere, I just don't know where) - here's a piece of LA Dodger memorabilia: a kid's card wallet from '59 or '60 - it has an accordion style clear picture holder to hold a starting line-up, with a slot in each inner sleeve to hold "Bench" player cards and "Traders" player cards.

peterredshoes

Since I usually stay away from items that aren't cards or at least cardlike I can't offer anything quite as odd as many of the examples here. The oddest thing in my Trammell collection, though, is probably a newspaper clipping from the Wichita Eagle-Beacon designed to be cut out and collected like a baseball card:



Odd items that I've run across but passed on include a Trammell light switch cover and the Barb Trammell card from the "Tiger Wives" set put out sometime in the late '80s (Jim--do you have this one?)--I forget exactly when.

Peter G.

roastedcat

I have a uncut sheet of 1939 Centenial Baseball Poster stamps w/ HOF'ers

DirtyHarry

I don't know where it is, but I have Zenith TV booklet from the 50's with Bob Feller on the cover, autographed. I know distinctly that it was used as a coaster one time (ring) and my father needed to do some quick math about something and used the cover to add up some numbers (probably the same day he put the Ballantine beer can on it).

BackwardsMan

I think the most oddball thing i have is a Wayne Gretzky/Theo Fleury 1989-90 un-cut dual piece #'d 3202/10,000. I remember buying it but I don't recall how much I paid for it.

gregm13

Being a huge Marino fan, I couldn't resist buying a record (45 I guess) from Marino's record breaking season (1985). I have NEVER seen another for sale.

Regards,

Greg M.

Marino Record_2.jpg

NickM

I have a new most oddball item for my collection.
I've decided to put a little effort into collecting Luis Aparicio, who I think is one of the lowest priced HOFers ever, and I just got my 1972 Venezuelan stamps #175 (En Accion Luis Aparicio). It's a mess - PSA 1, and questionable whether it would be a GAI or SGC 1.5, but it's a legitimate set (PSA has graded 1 card from it when I last looked, a Kaline that was a PSA 1 or 2) that Beckett doesn't list at all (but the SCD Standard Catalog does).

Nick