“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2016 LLWS “Best Buds” Boomer & Dugout Two-Pin Set

Boomer and Dugout.  Two mascots that rule the town of Williamsport, PA.  Boomer being the mascot of the Williamsport Crosscutters and Dugout the mascot of the Little League World Series.  It only seems natural that both would appear on a pin.

Outside of eBay and the Little League Store’s website, Little League pins for the most part need to be acquired in person.  Even the Little League Store’s website doesn’t sell every pin you’d find in their physical location.  This pin is a perfect example of that.

In August 2016, Little League and the Crosscutters came together and made this two-pin set.  The half with Boomer could only be obtained directly from the Crosscutters, while the Dugout side could be found at the Little League Museum.  (500) Boomer pins were given out to Crosscutters fans on 8/26/16.  I think its safe to say (500) Dugout pins were made too.  Considering they go together, it doesn’t make sense to make less or more of either side.  One set recently sold on the secondary market for $58.  Not too bad considering the cards they come affixed to value each pin at $5.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Chicago Cubs Sports Crate Bringin’ the Heat Pin

In May, collectors who purchased a Sports Crate began to receive their box full of goodies.  For each month of the MLB season, you can have a box of team-oriented items sent straight to your front door.  As of right now, only ten MLB teams are available.  You can pay $39.99 per crate or $179.99 for the whole season.

Given that the people behind Loot Crate are the same ones behind Sports Crate, I think this has a lot of fun potential.  The items inside are exclusive to Sports Crate.  Even Topps has made special cards for them.

This isn’t the first sports-themed subscription box service.  A few years ago, Collector Crate gave it a shot but quickly went out of business.  Some collectors have been a fan of The Loot Locker.  But everything inside a Loot Locker box has been around for a while and isn’t anything new.  In my opinion, you need to put some serious money behind a service like this in order for it to be successful.  Exclusive in-demand items are key.  I look forward to seeing what else they roll out.  Hopefully the Phillies are coming soon.  It would be neat if Sports Crate came to the National Sports Collectors Convention and sold special boxes.

Loot Crate is known for including pins in their boxes.  This seems to have carried over to Sports Crate too.  “Bringin’ the Heat” was the theme for May, so each box came with a team logo pin surrounded in fire.  On the back of the pin’s package it says “The original Bringin’ the Heat pin was designed by your friends at Sports Crate.  It was created to be either worn or displayed.  Since there are a limited number of these in existence be sure to take good care of it.  You never know what it will be worth someday.”  They’ve been selling for $13 on the secondary market.  I highly doubt they’ll ever increase in value, but its nice of them to give you a heads up.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2016 LLWS – The Crazy Tomato Pin

I’m really excited for the Little League World Series this year.  On August 20th, the Pirates and Cardinals will play a regular season game at BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport.  Only Little League players and their families are invited.  It would be great if Topps made a Topps Now card to commemorate this event.

The other great part of the Little League World Series is the endless amount of pins.  One of the wackier pins I own comes from a restaurant located in Williamsport called The Crazy Tomato.  They’ve been in business for 10+ years, but I can only remember their pins first popping-up in 2015.  I like their tomato mascot dude.  It reminds me of a monster the Power Rangers would encounter or Attack of the Killer Tomatos.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2017 NFL Draft Pittsburgh Steelers Dan Rooney Tribute Pin

Owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Dan Rooney, passed away on April 13, 2017.  He was the son of Steelers founder Art Rooney.  Owners typically don’t have that many cards, but Dan Rooney had a few.

His most popular cards include:

• 2000 Goal Line Art Hall of Fame #203
• 2000 Goal Line Art Hall of Fame Auto #203
• 2000 Goal Line Art Hall of Fame Gold Auto #’ed/100
• 2000 Topps Hall of Fame Class of 2000 #4
• 2000 Topps Hall of Fame Class of 2000 Auto

In honor of Dan Rooney’s passing, Steelers staff wore the above pin during the 2017 NFL Draft.  I don’t have a problem with the Steelers wanting to pay tribute to Dan Rooney with this pin.  From a collecting standpoint it could easily cause some problems though.

With Dan Rooney passing away only two weeks prior to the start of the draft, there probably wasn’t enough time to design a new tribute pin from scratch.  Instead they had to improvise with what they had.  The Steelers simply took one of their misty gold lapel pins and pinned it to a green ribbon.

Does anyone else see a potential problem here?  What stops someone from buying a misty gold lapel pin for $4.95 and pinning it to easily accessible green ribbon which can be found at any craft store?  The answer is nothing.  Anyone could do that while attempting to spin a tale that it came from a Steelers staff member during the draft.

The odds of an authentic one showing up for sale are slim.  I highly doubt a large amount were put together.  It would be in poor taste if someone from the Steelers did try and make money off of it.  But it has been known to happen before.  I can imagine an authentic pin would fetch quite a bit more than $5.  The only way I’d trust that one of these Dan Rooney tribute pins is authentic is if I received one directly from a Steelers staff member.  Otherwise you’d never know.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: “Arnie’s Army” April 6, 2017 Masters Commemorative Button

Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus began the 2017 Masters with a ceremonial tee shot.  Many people in attendance received a commemorative “Arnie’s Army” button in honor of Arnold Palmer who passed away last fall.  For decades, Arnold Palmer had legions of fans who would follow him around the golf course.  This large group eventually went on to be known as “Arnie’s Army”.

It wasn’t uncommon to see “Arnie’s Army” members walking around wearing buttons to show their pride.  These buttons are quite collectible today.  As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for people to list this new button for sale.  The going rate is $80+ per button.  That is actually more than what some of the original buttons 50+ years old sell for.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2001 National Sports Collectors Convention – Cleveland Pin

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  The National Sports Collectors Convention needs to have more show-branded merchandise.  Not just promotional cards.  Baltimore is the only location I saw them selling shirts.  I want to see more shirts, pins, hats, figurines, and bobbleheads all made specially for the National.  In 2002, Alan “Mr. Mint” Rosen bobbleheads were floating around the National when it was held in Chicago.  National-themed McFarlane figures popup too, along with OYO minifigures.  They’ve lightly touched on these things in the past, but I think more innovative souvenirs could be made.

Tickets for the 38th National Sports Collectors Convention went on sale this week.  It will be held July 26-30 in Chicago.  I won’t be attending this year.  Things are looking good for Cleveland in 2018 though.  Between Cleveland, Baltimore, and Atlantic City, I enjoy the layout of the I-X Center in Cleveland the most.  By then, I might need some new Sports Card Info pins to handout.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 2017 Little League World Series Logo Pin

Officially this pin doesn’t exist yet, but its coming very soon.  Little League recently showed off what the logo will look like for the World Series this year.  We’re only about six months away until Williamsport is flooded with baseball fans from all over the world.  The 2017 Little League World Series takes place 8/17 to 8/27.

Little League pins are highly sought after.  Its around those ten days when the games are being played that new pins surface.  Local businesses throughout Williamsport produce tons of pins.  They’re either sold or given away.  4th Street was a goldmine last year.

I’ll probably find my way up their again this summer.  If I have anymore Sports Card Info pins left I’ll take them with me.  By then, I might need to order some more from Wilson Trophy.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: 1972 Central Counties Bank 1st Generation “Crush the Orange” Penn State Button

Its funny how the simple looking things can end up having an entire science to them.  That’s the way this hobby works.  Take for example the button pictured above.  Central Counties Bank produced three generations of buttons for Penn State fans in 1972.  This button is one of six from that first generation.  They all have phrases on them such as “Get the Goat”, “Hammer the Hawkeyes”, “Crush the Orange”, “Trip the Terrapins”, “Wallop the Wolfpack”, and “Pulverize the Panthers”.  Central Counties Bank wasn’t sure what type of response they would get from the public, so they only made them for the six home games and left their logo off.

Fans went nuts for these buttons.  Generation 2 consists of a second printing of the last four buttons from generation 1, and the Central Counties Bank logo is at the bottom.  Generation 3 is a third printing of the last two buttons from generations 1 & 2.  The main difference are the metal backs compared to green cardboard found on the first two generations.

Central Counties Bank eventually was taken over by Mellon Bank.  Now Mellon Bank is Citizens Bank.  No matter the name of the bank, they still made buttons.  Its a tradition that continues to this very day.

Many of the early buttons first introduced in 1972 carry a hefty price tag.  A collector recently spent $100 for this generation 1 “Crush the Orange” button.  For all Penn State button collectors, check out this great resource.  The site looks like something from the 90s, but its kept up-to-date.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Clemson Tigers College Football Playoff 2016 National Champions Dangler Pin

Nothing pleases me more than to see a team go the entire season without losing only to watch them choke in the National Championship game.  Especially when it happens to a team like Alabama who has won enough titles over the last few years.  That game was a nail biter right down to the very last second, but Clemson pulled ahead.  Alabama left too much time on the clock and Clemson marched right down the field.  I guess kicking Lane Kiffin to the curb wasn’t such a good idea.

Merchandise for Clemson’s victory immediately followed the game.  It could be seen on the field.  This pin is one of a handful made for retail stores.  You can easily add one to your collection for $8.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Ray Finkle (Fictitious Jersey Collection) Pin

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective is one of my favorite movies.  It centers around the Miami Dolphins mascot Snowflake getting kidnapped.  They go on to hire Ace Ventura (Jim Carrey) to help find him.  I won’t spoil the movie for those who haven’t seen it, but I will say that Ray Finkle is the villain.  Lots of athletes make appearances like Dan Marino, Don Shula, and Randall “Tex” Cobb.  Jim Carrey even gets into a fist fight with the Eagles mascot Swoop.  Its 90 minutes of sophomoric humor with an endless amount of hilarious quotes.

Merchandise based on fictitious characters is really cool.  Especially when that character has next to nothing to collect.  Patti Lapel is a company that makes pins inspired by popular people, places, and things in pop-culture.  Its a blast browsing through their inventory because you literally have no clue what might be coming next.  Their Fictitious Jersey Collection is made up of five different pins – Clark Griswold (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation), Ray Finkle (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective), Bill Murray (Space Jam), Tim Riggins (Friday Night Lights), and Bel-Air Academy (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).  I’m glad they didn’t slap the name of the movie/show on these pins.  Designing them to look like the real thing is way better.