I think that's why she started buying me baseball cards in the first place.
It also explains why I have so many random sports items in my collection. To give light to some of these items and because I like to write about this stuff, I am going to highlight some of my various items of memorabilia every so often.
The first one I'm highlighting is also appropriate for St. Patrick's Day since it's green. It's also my heaviest item of memorabilia:
It is a wood and cast iron seat from Milwaukee County Stadium. I bought it back in 1999, when they were tearing that old, beautiful stadium down. I wax nostalgic about that stadium because that is where I saw my first however many professional baseball games, where I got my first autographs after and before games, where I got a couple of balls during batting practice, and where I truly fell in love with the game of baseball.
This seat has seen better days, but let me be clear -- this is how it looked when I bought it from the Brewers. I am not sure whether I should get it restored in any way -- I'm thinking about it, but I have many other higher priorities for my money. But, it does feature one nice added bonus:
It's autographed by Hall of Famer Paul Molitor. When I bought this seat, I had four options for purchasing:
- Buy an unsigned seat for $200
- Buy a seat signed by Molitor for $300
- Buy a seat signed by Robin Yount for $400, or
- Buy a seat signed by Hank Aaron for $450.
I chose the guy who was not yet in the Hall of Fame and went with the $300 Molitor seat.
It's entirely possible that the paint peeling off this chair is lead. It may be. But I love this for the memories of my childhood.
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UPDATE:
I found this website selling unsigned seats for $425.
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UPDATE:
I found this website selling unsigned seats for $425.
That is pretty neat. I'm not sure I'd shell out that kind of money for a stadium seat. Other than the nostalgic aspect of a signed seat I'm not sure why I'd want to buy one.
ReplyDeleteOh, I didn't say it was a wise purchase! :-) At best, I'd say it would be a 50/50 proposition that I would buy it again today if a similar item came up at the same price. 15 years ago, when I bought it, I was (obviously) younger and had fewer financial responsibilities so it was an easier decision then. It also was a bit of an impulse buy, to be sure.
DeleteThat is pretty cool. I would have no place to put anything like that, though.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the problem I've had since I bought it! I had it displayed for about 2 years in the condo I used to own. I need to figure out what to do with it now.
DeleteI think it is one of those items that will always be hard to display. You need that guy from American Restoration on the History Channel to think of something for you. I'm sure he could make it look new again without compromising the autograph. Let us know what you end up doing with it. It is a really cool piece of memorabilia.
ReplyDeleteAwesome collectible. Maybe when they tear down the Oakland Coliseum, I'll be able to pick up a seat for my collection. If restoration means you can't keep the Molitor signature, I'd keep it as is. Heck I sort of like the vintage worn look anyways and would keep it the same even if they could save the autograph.
ReplyDelete