April 10

Again, no scans to post of someone from todays birthday list. Two days in a row. Maybe a streak in the other direction.

Now the regular season is over and my Leafs are as they say, on hiatus. Which team am I going to follow on their Quest for the Holy Grail. Let's see

1) ABM (anyone but Montreal)--enough said
2) Canadian team--guess it's Vancouver
3) Original Six team--Chicago  -With Fan appreciation day Sunday vs Detroit, they have a drawing, details below from their site: Love to win this

Click on the link below (after the jump) and fill out the entry form, and you will be entered to win a puck signed by either Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa or Brent Seabrook! Contest closes Sunday at noon Central.

Depending on Sunday's outcome, Chicago may play Vancouver and then after the first round, I may only have one favourite left.

As mentioned in a previous post, with three daughters and two grand-daughters, I have no male offspring to take over my collection. The girls are not REALLY interested in this stuff. Just after Christmas, I wanted to see if t here was a market for anything I had.  Would there be any collectors that would appreciate these items?

One of the items was a 63/64 Toronto Maple Leaf information book. A collector/buyer was interested. He also bought some paper back books, programs and advertising pieces. He drove

   63.34 kilometres (39.36 miles) to pick up in person. He was happy to obtain these items and I was happy with his price. I have sold a few other things. Makes me sad as I recall how I obtained these things. There's a good story behind everything. Does anyone else feel the same way? I guess as a collector and not an investor, you develop an attachment that is hard to break. But that being said, I suppose anything that is posted here (and items that have yet to be posted) is available. Let me know if you are interested in anything and see what can be done. Oh, the pain of it all. Maybe I have taken a head shot, have a concussion and don't know what I'm doing.

 

Of course, I still unintentionally acquire cards. I was at a party and one of the guys knew I collected, so he gave me a plain brown paper bag with some cards in it. I'll show a few of them below.

 

 

These were mostly in penny sleeves and top loaders. All told, probably another 50 cards ( Dionne, Lafleur, Bossy etc). You can never tell when the Card Gods will smile on you.

 

 

April 9

Another day, another day without any autographed items for any birthdays. Update on the 2011 Hockeyfest in Brantford. No word on any player appearances. The music festival lineup

Lineup

JUNE 3, COUNTRY

MARTINA MCBRIDE

DOC WALKER

AARON LINES

DRY COUNTY

TARA ORAM

SARAH AND JEFF

JUNE 4, ROCK

THREE DAYS GRACE

FINGER ELEVEN

THE TREWS

BLEEKER RIDGE

FOZZY feat. Chris Jericho

THE ENVY

INAMBUSH

SLOW MOTION VICTORY

JUNE 5, BONUS SHOW

SUBLIME with ROME

TOKYO POLICE CLUB

STREET PHARMACY

THE REASON

HOLLERADO

THE ARTIST LIFE

THE ASCOT ROYALS

SCOTTY JAMES

Another event taking place is Brawl at  the Bush II

 

Championship Wrestling International and its sponsors are proud to announce the signing of Hulk Hogan for Brawl at the Bush II, taking place Saturday, May 14, 2011, in Brantford, Ontario. Hogan, along with CWI champion Scott "Big Poppa Pump" Steiner, Kevin Nash, Native American Tatanka, Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake and many more wrestling superstars, promise to make Brawl at the Bush II the most memorable Canadian wrestling event in decades.

CWI has raised more than $10,000 for charities, including Miles To Go, Big Hair For Little Kids and Arena Restoration Fund. CWI has set a goalto raise $10,000 more during Brawl At The Bush II which will support the Brantford Community Resource Service CWI has raised more than $10,000 for charities, including Miles To Go, Big Hair For Little Kids and Arena Restoration Fund. CWI has set a goal to raise $10,000 more during Brawl At The Bush II which will support the Brantford

BROOKE HOGAN: Performs "About Us"

As a special bonus for all the ringside ticket holders, not only will you get exclusive entry to the CWI after party at jackhammers nightclub, but you will be treated to a live performance, by recording and TV reality star Brooke Hogan, as she will be performing her hit "About Us".

April 8

Again, no signed cards to post for todays birthdays.

Tough and fast, local legend Fred Speck dies

Former Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks forward Fred Speck passed away Feb 10 2011 . Speck was a junior star with the Hamilton Red Wings from 1963 through 1968. Speck would briefly play with Detroit and Vancouver, totalling 28 games played with 1 goal and 2 assists. He also played in 123 games in the WHA with Minnesota, Los Angeles and Michigan.

I remember watching him and the rest of  the Hamilton Red Wings when I was a kid. Pit Martin, Paul Henderson, Bob Wall, Lowell MacDonald. Pretty good team, pretty good hockey. Then watching him again in the 70's with the Brantford Alexanders as I was living in Brantford then.

His 72/73 OPC rookie (and only) card signed in blue ink.

April 7

Bob Armstrong

Robert Richard Armstrong

( April 7, 1931 -  November 6, 1990)

A bruising, hard-hitting defenceman, Armstrong anchored the Boston blueline for every one of his 542 career NHL games after graduating from Stratford in junior hockey. He never rushed the puck, got into plenty of fights, and made it to the Stanley Cup finals twice, losing to Montreal in 1953 and again in 1957.
He played junior in Stratford in the late 1940s until breaking in with the Bruins in 1950-51. The following year was entirely with the farm team in Hershey until the playoffs when he was called up as a stopgap measure and played in five games. Amrstrong spent most on the next dozen years in the NHL.
In 1961-62, he started the season, as usual, in Boston, but was demoted after nine games. Two years later, he retired.
In 1963, he accepted the position of Athletic Director, Teacher, and Coach of the Senior Boys’ Hockey Team at Lakefield College School. His tenure with LCS lasted 26 years. During that time, he coached three hockey teams to the Independent Schools League title.

Signed in black marker in the same upward slant on all cards, consistent with the facsimile auto on the 54/55 Topps.

Here's the letter I sent to him (1984) requesting his autograph and a personlized note at the bottom. After reading the newspaper article, it meant going to the library, getting a phone book for Lakefield (near Peterborough) and finding the college's address. Back in  the day, I didn't know about SASE or any request etiquette. I did receive back a lot of little notes and return envelopes with business or team logos. Makes for  pretty colourful collection. I don't ever recall not getting a reply. Some took longer than others (years) but I did receive something back. Well, time to start the streak again.

April 6

Alas, no autographed cards of any of today's birthdays boys. Twice in a week. Now for the good stuff. If you are a regular reader here, you'll recall my stories of my volunteer stint at the NHL All-Star game in Toronto (2000). Tonight I just got back from an orientation meeting for

2011 Mastercard Memorial Cup.

Yes, I have volunteered my services for this great event.

The 2011 Memorial Cup is a four-team round-robin format tournament to be played from May 20–29, 2011 in Mississauga, Ontario. It will be the 93rd  championship and will determine the champion of the CHL (Canadian Hockey League). The Ontario Hockey League (OHL) announced on May 10, 2010, that the Mississauga St. Michaels Majors were chosen to host the event at the Hershey Centre. Other tournament participants will include the champions of the OHL (Ontario Hockey League), the  QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) and the  WHL (Western Hockey League). I will be a door host/event ambassador aka Security. We had a walk-through of the different check points and volunteer rules. Picture taken for accredtitation and coffee and doughnuts. Talked to some Leaf fans in line. I will share my adventures in late May when it gets started.

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April 5

Doug Favell

Ever wonder who was the first goalie to paint his goalie mask? The answer is Doug Favell.

Now don't get too excited. His paint job was pretty lame compared to today's fancy paint jobs. Playing for the Philadelphia Flyers at the time, Doug painted his completely white mask Flyer Orange for Hallowe'en. I bet Doug had no idea what he started when he did that.

On November 7, 1968, Doug was in goal when St. Louis' Red Berenson scored six goals in a single National Hockey League game.

Doug is the only player to be claimed in both the 1967 expansion draft, and the 1979 expansion draft.

These blue ink signatures received IP. Oddly enough, the only one not  signed is the 72/73 player crest. Don't know why.

Happy birthday.

April 4

Dale Hawerchuk

Inducted HHOF 2001.

Played 16 NHL seasons from 1981 to 1997.

NHL Totals

1188

518

891

1409

730

Selected in first round number one overall by Winnipeg Jets in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft.

Hawerchuk was a joy to watch. He was an excellent though not smooth skater, deceptively fast and blessed with great lateral agility. He had the rare ability to handle the puck and create plays even at top speed. A tremendous one on one player, Hawerchuk learned not to over handle the puck and became a great playmaker as well as a goal scorer, particularly on the power play.

Injuries forced Dale Hawerchuk to retire earlier than anyone wanted him to. His high scoring days were behind him but he was still a joy to watch.

Received these blue ink signatures TTM in the 80's. This was when I went to the library, looked in  the phone book and got his address. Wrote to him and got reply. Envelope is still somewhere around.


When I was scanning the cards, somehow I missed this one. Added.