Bobbles, Bobbles and More Bobbles

Well, since my last bobblehead update, I managed to add 7 new bobbleheads to the Growing collection. All, with the exception of one, were ebay purchases. I gotta tell you, I loved going to the post office and having the clerk behind the counter give me a box with my latest treasure securely inside amist the packing popcorn, bubble wrap and newspaper. Let's see what I got:

This is a Bernie Williams retail bobble head made by American Global. This was sold in 2001 and has him decked out in the Yankee home uni on a green base. The likeness was ok on this one. Not as good a likeness as on my next bobble.

Bernie Williams SGA bobble. This was given away in 2002 and it was sponsored by Land O'Lakes. The bat is held with his left hand, as opposed to his right on the retail version. Also, he's holding his batting helmet and his skin color is a more lighter tone. The facial features are more in line to what he actually looks like.

This Martin Brodeur bobble is also a giveaway. It was given out during the 2002/03 season at Continental Airlines Arena and was sponsored by JP Morgan Chase. The visor on the helmet flips up to show his face. I love that this bobble is in the classic pose and has Marty's old style helmet design, which I never thought he should have changed.

This was a SGA bobble of Reggie Jackson. It was given away in 2004 by the Columbus Clippers, who at that time was still the Yankees Triple A affiliate. I love the cheesy grin on Reggie's face here. The glasses are awesome as well. One of my new favorites.

Here's another of my new favorites. Lou Gehrig. No Yankee collection is complete without a Gehrig in it. This is actually one that I feel looks just like him. I seen a few Forever bobbles that didn't capture the facial features that this one does. It was also given out by the Clippers in 2004 and shows him in his classic swing, no doubt knocking in another run. If you haven't seen Pride of The Yankees, I strongly urge you to.

Another classic Yankee in from the 70's got a SGA bobble as well. Catfish Hunter is in his set pose decked in classic Yankee home uni. Another of the Legendary Yankees bobbles that was given away by the Clippers in 2004.

Finally, there's this little guy. This is Scooter, the Holy Cow. He is one of three mascots of the Yankees Single A short season affiliate Staten Island Yankees. This is a mini AGP bobble, which I believe was a SGA. I had wanted the full sized bobble ever since I saw it on display at the ball park. I asked my Ticket rep where I could get one and he showed up at one of the games I attend with Scooter. I have actually seen a diffrent verson of Scooter on ebay with his hands out streached. I placed a bid , but alas was outbided at the last minute. Don't you hate when that happens? I'll keep looking for the other mini, as well as the full sized Scooter.

I have another bobble coming in, as well as 2 possible pick ups within the next few days. I'll post pics when I get them.

Finally Started.....

Not my cards, but I just wanted to give you an idea of the project I'm tackling. See, I have been a member of my team collectors group for about 4 years now. when I first started, I kept up to date on putting base cards in their binders, everything else went into top loaders and penny sleeves. Somewhere along the way, I got lazy and when my treasures arrived, I just put them in boxes and told myself I'd put them away, eventually. Well, eventually came this past weekend.

I read a lot of blogs written by card collectors, like Wrigley Wax, Waxaholic, A Cardboard Problem and Emerald City Diamond Gems. All write terrific blogs and show off their treasures. Well, I want to do the same, so yesterday, I started to go through the boxes of cards. I came up with a game plan. Since I knew I wasn't going to be able to do everything in one day, Why not organize by company. Yesterday, I started with my favorite card company, Topps. I searched through a few boxes for Topps base cards. I haven't finished, but look to do so tonight during the Yankees game tonight. As I go along, I'll show off the goodies here and you all can see what I have.

I'm also hoping to catalouge what I have so as I get my cards, I can know right off if it's a duplicate or it's a need. I dont have an excel program, so I will be looking for a free "excel-like" program on line tonight as well.

I am really looking forward to searching through my boxes and seeing what I come up with. I bet I have some intresting stuff.

Update On The Bobblehead Collection

I was looking over my growing collection this morning before heading out to work when I realized I hadn't posted my more recent adds to the collection. I still have three others to snap pics of and post here as well as three, possibly four on their way.

I really like this Joe Torre bobble. It's cartoony, yet it looks a lot like him. It's an Alexander Global bobble in the classic pose. It's a retail bobble that I was able to pic up off ebay for next to nothing.

This is the Jason Giambi All Star bobble from 2003 when the all star game was held in Chicago. It's made by Forever and it has him in the batting practice jersey. what I really like about this one is it has the chicago skyline behind him on the base. This was one was ridiculosly cheap and I grabbed it as soon as I saw it. I have seen the Alphonso Soriano bobble, so I need to grab that one as well. I'm wondering if Jeter, Rivera or any other Yankees were made in this set.

Sticking with Giambi, this one is a mini bobble from Post Cereal. It was found in specially marked boxes along with other players. It was from 2002, as you can see from the beard he's sporting. If you know the Yankees, you know any chin hair is a no no, so I'm guessing this was made before he played a game with the Yankees.

Here's another bobble I got off the bay for a great price. This one is of Jorge Posada and was a SGA back in 2001. Made by Alexander Global, it has him in the classic pose wearing his cathing gear. The likeness is ok, but the sure got the ears right. I really wish the Yankees would go back to giving away bobbles. I see other teams give away some very nice ones and I, for one, am very jealous.

One of the few baseball bobbles I own that is not a Yankee. This is a 2005 Atlanta Braves SGA bobble of Mark Teixeira. As you know, I collect Tex and when I saw this bobble, I knew I had to have it for the player collection. The giveaway was sponsered by Coke and has him in the Braves red alternate jersey. For now, he's crowded on the Yankees shelf, but when I get some room, I'll seperate him from there.

Last, but not least, is a bobble of the QB that almost took the Jets to the Super Bowl back in '98. Vinny Testeverde. This is one of my favorite bobbles as it has him in the classic pose while he has a football in one arm and his Jets helmet in the other. It was given away back in 2002 when you signed up for the Jets credit card. I really love the Alexander Global classic pose bobbles and wish there was more made today.

In Memory of....

It's been a tough, tough week in the Yankees family. First we lose our voice, then we lose our owner. On sunday, we lost the voice of the original Yankee Stadium, Bob Sheppard at the age of 99, just three months shy of his 100th birthday and just hours before the All Star game we lost George M. Steinbrenner III at the age of 80. My thoughs and prayers go out to both families.

Bob Sheppard was born in 1910 in Queens, NY. He attended St. John's University and is has been inducted into their sports Hall of Fame. He played both football and baseball there as a quarterback and first baseman. After, he would earn his masters at Columbia University. He first started work as a PA announcer for St. John's for basketball and football games before becoming the PA announcer for the old Brooklyn Dodgers football team of the All-America Football Conference. His first game as the Yankees PA announcer came on April 17th, 1951 on opening day against the Red Sox. He stayed with the Yankees until 2007, announcing in over 4,500 baseball games. He also worked with the New York football Giants from 1956 to 2006.

George M. Steinbrenner III was born on July 4th, 1930 in Rocky River, OH. He attended the Culver Military Academy before moving on to Williams College and graduating in 1952. After a stint in the Air force, he earned his Master's Degree in Physical Education from Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, he served as a graduate assistant to football coach Woody Hayes. After graduating, he served as an assistant football coach at Northwestern University and Purdue University before rejoining his family ship building business. With a group of investors, he purchased the Yankees on January 3rd, 1973, vowing to be an absentee owner. We all know how quickly that changed, but true to his word, he had the Yankees in the World Series in three years, losing to the Cincinnnatti Reds. The Yankees then won the next 2 World Series. In all, under Steinbrenner's watch, the Yankees won 7 World Series titles and 11 American League Pennants. That's not too say that his time as owner was without controversy. He was twice suspended from baseball, fired and hired more managers than any owner has and feuded with his star players. He had no qualms about blasting a player in the newspapers or trading young stars for washed up veterans. But through all of that, the man had a heart. He donated to countless charities in the New York and Tampa areas, he kept former players on payroll and helped a lot of people along the way. As we remember Mr. Steinbrenner, we shouldn't forget all of his good deeds to mankind as well as his theatrics as an owner.

For the rest of the season, the Yankees will wear patches on their uniform to honor Steinbrenner and Sheppard

Im sure the Yankees will honor Mr. Steinbrenner on friday before their game against the Rays. Possibly with a plaque in Monumet Park (Sheppard already has his).

The Yankees mean a great deal to me. I have always said if my childhood had a voice, it would be that of Bob Sheppard's. I will miss hearing him welcome us to Yankee Stadium, the House That Ruth Built. Thankfully, Derek Jeter will continue to use a tape of his voice announcing his name as he steps to the plate for the rest of his Yankees career. Jeter showed great class, using the tape of Sheppard announcing him to the plate from the 2008 All Star Game at Yankee Stadium at yesterdays All Star Game and the fans of Anehiem showed their class by giving it a very nice ovation. Mr. Steinbrenner gave me my Yankees. Yes, there were periods when I didn't know what he was thinking as owner and drove me crazy with his bad trades and constant firings of managers, but through it all, there was never a dull moment as long as he owned the Yankees. He bought passion to the table that was not seen in owners at a time when most owners stayed in the background or were seen as ringmasters of their own personal circus's. All he wanted to do was give the people of New York City a winning baseball team. What we got was a lot more. Thanks George for the memories and thank you Bob for the honor of listening to you announce. You both will be greatly missed.

It all ends tonight

Dear LeBron,

Well, you've done it. You have the entire world hanging on where you will be come October. Through all the countless news reports, breaking stories from "reliable sources" and tweets, you have every one guessing and tuning in to your descion tonight on ESPN. If it wasn't for the fact that your donating some of the proceeds from the sponsorship to the Boy and Girls club, this show would have made you look like a prima donna. Well, lets be honest here, it still kinda does. I mean really, does anyone need a whole hour to make a 15 second announcement?

So, the obvious question is before us, where are you haning your size 16 Nikes next season? Are you going to practice that loyalty line you've been feeding us and stay with the Cavs? Are you going to join the dynamic duo of Wade and Bosh in South Beach and make the trio of Allen, Pierce and Garnett look like the Little Rascals in terms of star power. Will you head up to Chicago for some deep dish pizza and live in the shadow of Michael Jordan or will you go to play for the Nets where you can hang out with you buddy Jay-Z and sip Stoli Vodka with the russian billionare owner or will you come to NY and bring the Knicks back to the NBA elite. As you already know Lebron, you have plenty of choices.

As a Knicks fan, I would love to see you wearing the blue and orange and lighting the Garden up on a daily basis. It's been too long since we had a great player. Far too long since we mattered in this league. We were once among the very best in the NBA and now, we're a joke. Too many players that didn't pan out, too many failed draft picks and horrible moves made by incompetent executives (Isiah Thomas anyone?). Scandals, fired head coaches and horrible cap issues plagued this team for far too long. Your arrival would change all that. The Knicks would matter again. add a few pieces here and there and the Knicks could actually contend for an NBA title again. Ask Mark Messier what it's like to bring a once dormant franchise back to championship glory in NY at the Garden. Before his arrival, he was just a part of the Oilers Dynasty, second fiddle to Gretzky. Now, in NYC, he's God. That could be you, times ten Lebron. You go to Chicago and win one, maybe two championships, they will always say, "Well, that's great, but Michael won more. He's no Jordan." Here, the masses would line up and kiss your Nikes if you win even one title. Plus, I hear the marketing is the best in the world. Oh, and we have your favorite baseball team, The Yankees. I'm sure getting you box seats at the Stadium wouldn't be a problem.

I'm sure you've heard all the sales pitches as you sat on your throne. I bet you've tossed and turned in your royal bed and spoken with your leeche....I mean associates. I'm sure you will make the best decision for you and your family. If you decide that you want to stay in Cleveland and try to finish what you started there, then I think that's terrific and would wish you all the luck in the world. Heck, I expect you stay. But if your leaving, then why not come to New York and play in front of the greatest and most knowledgeable fans in the world. Why not be known as the man who made the Garden matter again? I guarentee you, if at 9:15pm tonight you tell the world your becoming a New York Knick, I will elbow Spike Lee aside at the front of the welcoming wagon, give you your Knicks jersey and bow to you and say, Hail King Lebron.