I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Dany Heatley Bust)

There was a time back in 2011-2012 that I was trying to make up for lost time. I hadn't collected a lot in the early 2000s and my collection severely lacked in that time frame. While purchasing newer product that year, I would also try to track down some different items from the first 3-4 years of the century to add to my collection. One such trip down that path took me to the 2002-03 Upper Deck Classic Portraits set.  I did a write-up on this set and the box that opened quite a while ago.  You can check that out here if you are so inclined.  

While I'm not going to get into the particulars here, I will mention the significance of this set being that Upper Deck basically stopped production on this after a lackluster pre-order from hobby dealers.  This made boxes themselves fairly rare, for lack of a better word. While the set is made up of 100 base cards and 38 rookies, it's the subject of today's feature that garners all the attention. That's right. We are talking about the Upper Deck Mini-Bust Collection. 

With an extensive checklist that features 17 different players in home, away and alternate sweaters, these collectible marvels also featured autographed versions, real marble versions, and ones made of glass.  The mini-bust I was able to procure from my box back then was an autograph version of Dany Heatley (home jersey).  

For those not familiar, the busts are a waist-up representation of the player perched atop a small marble column, which in turn is resting on a display slab. Since mine is the autograph version, you can see that the front plate of the display has a sticker autograph of the Atlanta Thrasher's legend.  

The side of the marble column features the Upper Deck logo, which also appears to be a sticker or at least some type of decal.  The back goes into further detail of the player's jersey with number and name. 

On the bottom of the statue, there is an Upper Deck seal which explains..."You have received a bust personally autographed by Dany Heatley. This label was signed and sent to Upper Deck directly from Dany Heatley, then permanently affixed to the bust. This certificate expressly warrants the authenticity of the depicted athlete's signature."

You can see by mine, it's been loved a bit. Heatley's stick blade was snapped at some point. I don't remember if I did that or if it came that way, probably the later.  Also, the permanent label on the front is kind of peeling up on the corner. You'll also notice some scratching to the back of the jersey and a few spots of chipped paint. But, with all that said, it's a piece that I have out on display and show proudly along with my other collectibles.

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Cereal Poster)

Long gone are the days when the best part of pouring a bowl of cereal was seeing what treasure would fall from the box. But it felt good the time I was perusing some Steelers cards at my LCS years ago and came upon this little gem. Those morning memories came rushing back.  

This is the 1982 Kellogg's Raisin Bran NFL Super Bowl Sweepstakes Poster for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  There were 28 total posters that were inserted in "specially marked" boxes of Raisin Bran. Definitely not the cereal of choice in my household but my grandparents always had the anti-sugary likes of Raisin Bran, Wheaties, or Rice Krispies.

The poster's are all 8x10 in size and are printed on a really thin stock paper, not quite tissue paper but very light weight.  If you look at the design, there is a black border around the picture, which features a colored painting of various team scenes. The paintings/sketches were done by artist K. Akin, but I have no idea anything about them.  On the Steelers painting, we have Terry Bradshaw on the left dropping back to pass, Jack Lambert in his stance ready to attack at the top left, Lynn Swann turning into his full stride after catching a pass on the middle/right side, and a punter (Craig Colquitt I assume). Interestingly enough, I'm guessing these were never licensed by the players but only the NFL, hence why the logos, colors and representation are there but all the numbers are sort of blocked out or masked and the faces are off from the real players (we know who they are though). The team name is printed along the bottom of the painting and the fine print at the very bottom has the Kellogg's copyright on the left and the NFL copyright on the right.  

I didn't show it because I have mine framed and hung on the wall, but the back of the poster has all of the official contest rules and the entry form for the "Sweepstakes".  Essentially, if the team that was on the picture you received ended up winning the 1983 Super Bowl, you filled out the entry form and mailed in the poster. Kellogg's would take all the winners and randomly draw 500 entries to receive a Spalding leather football (a real one not a knockoff), and four Grand Prize winners received a trip to the 1984 Super Bowl.  

Unfortunately, I didn't win since by the time I picked this up, it was probably 30+ years later. I wouldn't have won anyway either since the champ's that year were the Washington Redskins. 

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Pirates Juice Cards)

There are a lot of Pirates collectors out there, despite the decades of futility. I grew up outside Pittsburgh and spent many hours at Three Rivers Stadium cheering for my team. In 1989, Very Fine juices put out a set of commemorative trading cards for the Pirates team in the form of a foldout, calendar-esque style, with perforated cards that could be punched out.  I know these are technically cardboard but the item itself, fully intact, is a little different. 

I had these when I was about 12 but they were pretty well loved and had been torn from their original state, most likely right after I received them.

Fast forward about 24 years and I found a fully intact fold out with all the cards AND the VeryFine coupon on the bottom at a card show I had attended. I was stoked since most of the cards are a buck or two and getting them all again is difficult, especially in decent shape and not trimmed.  The best part about the full sheet...It cost less than $5.  

The full sheet features 30 cards of the players on the roster as well as coaches. The lineup includes such Pirates greats as Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Doug Drabek, and Dorn Taylor (yeah, look him up). The fronts feature a pinstriped backing with the player photo in a baseball diamond shape. The Pirates logo is predominantly featured across the tops of the cards and the player names are displayed ribbon-style on the bottom.  The backs feature a set of stats, just like a normal card. 

I have the entire sheet displayed on the wall in my office/hobby room/mancave as a reminder of a better time of being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan. 

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Clemente Print)

I really don't remember where I picked up this print but I have had it in my collection for quite a long time. Only recently have I thrown it in a frame because having moved it a dozen or so times in my life, it's taken some beatings on the edges of the backer board. What is it, you ask? Its a print (or maybe lithograph) by Prosport Creations of Roberto Clemente.

Apparently this is part of a series of prints featuring artwork of the famous San Diego sports artist and illustrator, Christopher Paluso.  I tried to find more information about this back when I got it but couldn't find much because most of these that I have seen are 5x7 in size  This one is at least 11x17 in size, not including the matting on the back.  The design has the artist work paired with a photo of the player, as well as the image of a commemorative stamp that was done in 1984 to commemorate Clemente's 50th birthday.  The drawing was also done in 1988 but the copyright on the print is 1990.  

If you notice on the bottom, the print is numbered #/5000. Also, you'll see that the original artwork is signed by Paluso, which is part of the print. However, there is a second signature of Paluso in the center that appears to be actually signed. Again, I don't know enough about this one so if anyone out there has the story behind this, by all means let me know.  

Is it real? I don't know. Is it a print? Again, I don't know. What I do know is that its an awesome piece that's part of my collection and adorns one of the walls in my office/hobby room/mancave.  

_________________________ Like what you read? Have a comment? Be sure to leave one below. Check out TheRealDFG on Twitter @therealdfg. Be sure to check out the latest #PuckJunkPodcast. Just search and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox, Castro, Overcast, TuneIn or SoundCloud.

I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Pens Cups)

In this weeks installment of Not Cardboard, I have a collection of drinking cups that were a cross promotion between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pizza Hut restaurants.

In March of 2010, Pizza Hut began selling commemorative player cups over a six week period. There were different players featured on the cup each week. They cost $2.99 at the time or you could order the "Penguins Power Pak" which was 2 medium pizzas and four of the collector cups.

As you can see here, I still have the Sidney Crosby which came out on March 1st, Jordan Staal, Sergei Gonchar, and Evgeni Malkin.  There are two that I'm missing, one being Max Talbot and the other is Marc-Andre Fleury. 

Souvenir cups are nothing new to promotions. Just look at every sporting event you go to and you will find some sort of commemorative drinking vessel available for you to take home at a slightly inflated price. But I had never seen one like this with the "magic motion" technology, otherwise known as lenticular. 

These reside on a shelf high atop my office/hobby room/man cave, and sometimes it looks like Crosby is watching you as you walk across the room.

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Table Hockey Figure)

One of the coolest gifts that people get every year for Christmas or a birthday is a table hockey game. Don't believe me? Check out the Puck Junk Podcast from this past Christmas where there was a lot of discussion of the various table hockey games over the years. One of the cool pieces I have in my collection is from the 1969-70 Coleco/Eagle game set.

While I was never lucky enough to have one of the cooler old sets or even the awesome Gretzky hockey set from the early 90s, I did have a few rod hockey sets over the years. However, nothing I ever had used the outstanding tin figures like the sets from the late 60s. I believe the set this goes to was the one that featured the overhead metal gondola with red light indicators on the nets and probably the most realistic depictions of the uniforms. 

After the 1960s, manufacturers started making the figures out of plastic as a cost cutting measure but citing safety reasons.  The tin figures are much more sought after and this one, the only one I own, resides on a display shelf in my hobby room/office. 

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Zamboni Die-Cast)

So I guess this is only partially correct because technically, there is cardboard here. But that's not the real reason for sharing as the focal point of this collectible is the vehicle.  Back in 2008, the NHL teamed up with Upper Deck and Zamboni to produce the Team Zamboni die-cast collectible. 

Featuring 31 different players and their respective team logo emblazoned Zamboni ice resurfacer, Upper Deck was able to give card collectors and toy car collectors both something to chase. But you are probably thinking, "31 teams? In 2008?". Well no. There were 31 players. Only 30 teams. Penguins fans were lucky enough to have both Crosby and Malkin available. 

As you can see here, I have the Calgary Flames issue featuring Hall of Famer, Jerome Iginla.  I also have one for the Canucks with Henrik Sedin and one for the Maple Leafs with Vesa Toskala. I was never able to find the Penguins one back then and really never chased them since.  All three of the ones I have adorn the wall in the Card Garage.

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Comrie Bobble)

Back in 2002-03 it was a weird time in hockey card collecting. Companies were prevalent with Upper Deck, Topps, In The Game, and Pacific all manufacturing sets and competing for the almighty hobby dollar. But when it came to gimmicks, no one could touch Pacific Trading Cards.

Randomly "inserted" in hobby boxes and made available as redemptions in retail boxes, Pacific gave the literal treatment to its' Head's Up release with ceramic bobble head dolls. With a checklist of 14 players available (12 the previous year), the dolls feature the player in their various team uniforms atop a bluish colored base. The bases have the Pacific logo as well as the player last name. These are supposedly limited to 1,000 dolls of each player.

As you can see, I was fortunate enough to pick up a hobby box of this back in 2011 at a show in Chicago from the Atlanta Sportscards guys. My pull was then Oiler, and pre-Mr. Duff, Mike Comrie. Interestingly enough, Comrie was on the checklist the prior year but never was produced.  If anyone pulled the redemption card for him, it was redeemable for another random bobble head replacement. So despite the checklist designation, this Comrie was really his first Pacific bobble head (and last).

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Crosby Blade)

This is a different piece than some that I have in my collection because it's a non-game used hockey stick blade. But not just any stick blade mind you. This belonged (or so my research tells me) to none other than Pittsburgh Penguin and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby.

Back during Crosby's rookie campaign, he used Sher-Wood Momentum sticks and would frequently test out different blades to get the right feel. You can see on this one, there was a bit of tape on the blade at one point which leads me to believe it was either marked to be disposed of or it was used, at least temporarily. You'll notice the rest of the tape has been removed and judging by the condition of the logo on the reverse side, it was never fully taped. You can photo match the make, model, and style of the sticks and blades with most photos from the 2005-06 season or beginning of 2006-07. 

However, I do know that it wasn't used in a game because those get pulled and generally find their way elsewhere. Crosby is notoriously picky about his sticks and uses virtually no curve to the blade. The blade is also stamped with Crosby's name and is considerably scuffed, indicating it did get attached to a shaft at one point or another, most likely in a warm up, practice, or test run. 

Regardless, it's a cool piece I picked up at a show a few years back. It now resides above the doorway to the Card Garage and will one day be framed and mounted.  

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Mean Joe Bobble)

What Pittsburgh Steeler fan's collection would be complete without something referencing the classic Coke commercial featuring "Mean" Joe Greene? The answer? None. 

Back in 2003, FunKo Toys teamed up with Coca-Cola to commemorate the iconic TV commercial that featured Mean Joe with their Wacky Wobbler Bobblehead.  The figure features the likeness of Mean Joe in his #75 Steeler's jersey and he is holding a bottle of Coke in his left hand.  I don't have the box for this, nor did I ever. This was given to me many years ago just like you see it here. It lives on a shelf of other Steelers trinkets in my hobby room/office. 

If I did have the box though, you could read the story on the back. It says:

"On October 1, 1979, The Coca-Cola Company released an ad that captivated audiences. "Mean Joe Greene" featured the defensive lineman from the Pittsburgh Steelers, a professional football team, and 12-year-old Tommy Okon.

The ad was filmed at a stadium in New Rochelle, New York. Joe and Tommy performed countless retakes over the three days of filming, with Greene consuming 18 16-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola the final day alone.

The ad was immensely popular, sparking a surge of letters to The Coca-Cola Company. The ad won that year's CLIO advertising awards competition and Greene took home the award for best actor.  The Coca-Cola Company followed the ad up with a promotion to "Win the Shirt off My Back", distributing thousands of replica jerseys to winning entrants.

The Coca-Cola Company repeated the ad's concept in various parts of the world. Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand all produced versions of the commercial following the same plot line but featuring renowned football (soccer) players from each country. 

"Mean Joe Greene" then continued its life as a made-for-TV movie airing in 1981. Joe Greene starred in the movie recreating the ad and telling the story of what happened after the ad ended.

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I Can't Believe It's Not Cardboard - Highlighting Other Personal Collectibles (Pens Cup Wheaties)

Well this is actually cardboard but not the kind we usually discuss. The first item for this feature is this 1991 NHL Stanley Cup Champions Wheaties box of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  I have had this item in my collection since 1991 when my grandmother gave the box to me. My grandparents were actually the only people I ever knew that bought Wheaties for anything other than to collect the boxes. It was one of my grandma's favorite cereals and I spent many a breakfast growing up eating the Breakfast of Champions. 

At one point, I still had the cereal in the box but about 20 years ago, I decided to dump the cereal after we had a bit of a rodent problem in the house I lived in at the time. However, the box is intact otherwise and is a nice piece in my collection. It resides on a shelf, high atop my office wall.  

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