30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Flea Market Finds #15: Huge PC Addition

When: Saturday, December 31st
Where: Capitol Flea Market
What: A Hockey Stick & Some Baseball Cards
How Much: $3

This is the first time I've purchased anything sports memorabilia related at the flea market in close to two months... an I ended up only spending $3. But, it might have been the best three bucks I spent all year.

Purchase #1: Game Used/Practice Used Autographed Hockey Stick $1


At first glance, it looks like it's a Todd Gill stick, because his name is written (in Sharpie) on the shaft and his signature is signed boldly on the blade.


But after closer inspection, I saw some faint lettering (IAFR) printed on the shaft under Gill's name. I decided to look at some older Sharks cards from the mid 90's and noticed that Gill used Bauer hockey sticks, while Al Iafrate used the same Koho Revolution.


The guy who sold it to me didn't know anything about the stick other than the fact that it belonged to his son. So unfortunately, I don't have any proof that it was used by Iafrate in a game or practice... but my buddy who owns several game used sticks says this stick is legit... which is good enough for me.

By the way... the stick also has autographs of:


Ed Belfour: This guy is my least favorite Shark of All-Time.


Greg Hawgood: Hawgood was one of my favorite players in the mid 90's, because his son attended the preschool I taught at.


Purchase #2: 1992 Topps Gold Winners Lot & a 1991 Topps Magazine Card Sheet $2

This guy had boxes of cards for sale, so I dug through his stuff and found a couple of things for my collection. The first thing was a plastic box filled with 1992 Topps Gold Winners, that included two of my favorite players: Greg Maddux & Rickey Henderson.


The other item that caught my attention was this card sheet from an issue of Topps Magazine:


If you know me... than it's obvious why I picked it up. However, just in case you don't know... I collect Tony Gwynn and needed this card for my collection.



I'm a sucker for oddballs, especially 80's & 90's oddballs. The cards on the left are the original 1986 issues, while the ones on the right are the "replicas".

It's your turn...

Outside of cards, do you own any "game used" or "practice used" memorabilia?

Happy Wednesday everyone... enjoy the rest of your week. Sayonara!

19 comments:

Justin G. said...

At one point in my collection I did own a "game used" Jai Alai jersey. When Tampa Jai Alai went out of business they sold off a bunch of equipment. I picked up the jersey for $5. It's since disappeared, but was cool while I had it....

Spiegel83 said...

I got a game used baseball that was hit foul during a Clayton Kershaw complete game last year. It hit my Dad's wrist and we then got it. I got it signed by Kershaw a few months later. The ball was once pitched by Kershaw in an actual MLB game. I have proof because I saw it happen

hockey kazi said...

what a steal on the stick--I would have paid $2.00 for it--and it cost less than the cards--I have a few sticks, bats and jerseys but nothing great

Chris P said...

I really got in to game used a couple years ago, I'm sure you've seen a few of my posts of game used. I have 8 game used bats, 3 game used baseball jerseys, 7 game used basketball jerseys, 1 pair of Carmelo Anthony game used shoes, and a few game used baseballs as well. I've really been focusing on that more than my card collection.

Captain Canuck said...

I've got a game used jersey from Andruw Jones of the Braves, and a game used sweater from Flyer Jimmy Watson of the Broad Street Bullies

SpastikMooss said...

Wow, crazy steal on the stick!

I don't personally have any memorabilia here, but my parents have a few nice pieces. My mom has a hockey stick signed by most of the 1973-74 Bruins. Her Dad bought it at a "Channel 2 auction" in the 70's for $100. The stick was game used by Carol Vadnais and it has tons of autos including Bobby Orr and Johnny Bucyk. So that's a nice piece lol.

My Dad has a MLS Championshop Banner singed by every member of the 2008 New England Revolution. They won the championship and he won the banner as part of a raffle. He's a season ticket holder.

Anonymous said...

holy crap, dude! nice score. i dont get out to capital flea market much. keep an eye out for the nexy beckett sports card monthly. you'll see my big thrift/flea market game used find. ;)

Hackenbush said...

I have a Ryan Dempster "game used"? bat. I bought it on Ebay. It looks legit. It's from his days with the Florida Marlins. I should put it in a post one day.

bamlinden said...

What fantastic pickups for $3. Congrats!

I have a Trevor Linden game used stick (in my eyes it's game used....I have no official proof though).

Play at the Plate said...

Nice score. Back in my crazy days when I was spending money like I was printing it, I was after a complete game used Rusty Greer (Texas Rangers) uniform. I had the pants and shoes and had a bead on a jersey and cap when my life imploded (in a bad, but good way). I sold the shoes and pants and that's that.

Fuji said...

justin - i recently watched a cool youtube video on the sport, but have never seen it played in real life. i hope you and your jersey cross paths again in the near future.

spiegel83 - that's an awesome piece of memorablilia... especially, because it's a keepsake both you and your dad share.

kazi - lol... i was willing to pay $10... so was stoked when he said a buck.

chris - wow... just saw your pierce & aldridge jersey + the pujols bat... pretty insane. makes my stick look feel like an oversized toothpick.

captain - holy smokes that watson jersey is a piece of history... can't be many of those floating around. nice score.

spastik - damn, like the captain your mom's stick is something that should be in a museum. your dad's banner is pretty cool too.

cardboardicons - i'll keep my eyes peeled for your article... love reading about flea market finds.

hackenbush - post it up... we'd love to read about it.

bamlinden - great piece... i'm a fan of linden myself. looks like we're in the same boat in terms of authenticity. either way, the stick is going to look sweet on my office wall.

play at the plate - sorry you had to sell your greer pieces... but glad to hear things ended in a "good" way.

Ryan G said...

I have a few dozen balls, mostly BP and minor league. There are at least two MLB game used balls though! I also have about a dozen game-used bats, all minor league except for a Todd Pratt MLB bat. I'd love to have a game-used jersey and/or some other stuff.

If you want to talk concert-used memorabilia, I have water bottles and a beer bottle, several drum sticks and guitar picks, set lists, a DEVO worn shirt, and even an artist's hair... all from various concerts I attended. All grabbed by myself at the events! And I have a few movie-worn pieces. I think I have pictures somewhere, which means I can show them off sometime!

Fuji said...

ryan - damn bro, your collection isn't a joke. please do a few write ups on these items... especially the devo shirt... huge fan of them.

Offy said...

I came really close to pulling the trigger on a game-used Dwight Evans bat. The price was right, but the bat looked terrible. I would have paid more for a better looking bat. After all, purchasing something like that is for it to be a display piece of your collection and this wasn't anything that I'd want to display.

Fuji said...

offy - best of luck on your hunt for the evans bat... that would be a sweet centerpiece.

Offy said...

I don't know if I'll ever pick up a game used bat. It would be cool, but I don't really have anywhere to put it. This one just happened to be brought in to my local shop, but I couldn't pull the trigger.

Fuji said...

offy - i'd love to own a kurt suzuki game used bat (assuming they're not that expensive). but outside of finding one for a dollar at the local flea market... i probably wouldn't buy one unless it was directly from the oakland a's.

Ryan G said...

Fuji: if you have the ability, you should go to the A's fanfest event this year. It was held before one of the preseason games last year but that might change. Get there early and head straight for the memorabilia tent. There's no telling what you'll find. I saw some batting helmets and catching equipment along with jerseys, hats, etc. I have no idea if it was Suzuki's or not. If I had been there early enough I would have bought the chest protector and a helmet at the least.

Fuji said...

ryan - thanks for the heads up... i'll definitely look into it. getting some game used catchers equipment worn by kurt would be the centerpiece of my collection.