Rants Mulliniks
Registered User
- Jun 22, 2008
- 23,071
- 6,136
So I rarely start threads and won't post much here originally but in coming weeks as I have time, figured I would post some of this here for the diehard collector types.
My father passed away a month ago today. He was as big a Leaf fan as you could get and the reason I became a Leaf fan. My first great joy as a young boy was being allowed to stay up and watch Hockey Night in Canada with him. For decades after I left home, we had a ritual of always calling each other after the Saturday games to discuss. The last 9 months cancer took him. For the playoffs I would leave work, drive two hours, watch the game with him then get up at 5 AM to make the 2 hour drive home to work knowing this would be the last hockey we had together. Game 7 killed me, not for the loss but the fact that was the end of it for us. I think it will hit me most on the first Saturday night next year.
This weekend I was down sorting some of his stuff and that is what I will share over the next few weeks. He was an insane collector. Way ahead of his time in terms of hockey card collecting (decades before grading existed he was selecting all his cards on the 4 categories that would eventually go into grading). Some of the other neat stuff I found was a bunch of letters he received from letters he had penned to Harold Ballard, King Clancy, Roger Nielsen, Jim Gregory, Daryl Sittler, etc. He has every NHL schedule from 1952-53 onward. A bunch of autographs - many of which I collected when we used to go watch the Baby Leafs any time they were in town as well as pucks we had caught when they flew over the glass (with names of who shot them written on them). Tons of old photos clipped from newspapers going back to the 50's.
I think the most impressive thing was his journals. He always kept notes during the games. He tracked the stats but more impressive was he often wrote down every line combo they used. Remember this dates back to the 50's so a lot of this was done listening to a radio! What I was completely unaware of was he also recorded game summaries. Basically a complete summation of the game including personal observations and takes as well as referencing how it ties into previous games or happenings. Some of it was really fun to read but I have only tackled a small bit so far.
Anyhow, when I get a chance, will try to share. Some of the die hards and collectors out there will probably enjoy!
My father passed away a month ago today. He was as big a Leaf fan as you could get and the reason I became a Leaf fan. My first great joy as a young boy was being allowed to stay up and watch Hockey Night in Canada with him. For decades after I left home, we had a ritual of always calling each other after the Saturday games to discuss. The last 9 months cancer took him. For the playoffs I would leave work, drive two hours, watch the game with him then get up at 5 AM to make the 2 hour drive home to work knowing this would be the last hockey we had together. Game 7 killed me, not for the loss but the fact that was the end of it for us. I think it will hit me most on the first Saturday night next year.
This weekend I was down sorting some of his stuff and that is what I will share over the next few weeks. He was an insane collector. Way ahead of his time in terms of hockey card collecting (decades before grading existed he was selecting all his cards on the 4 categories that would eventually go into grading). Some of the other neat stuff I found was a bunch of letters he received from letters he had penned to Harold Ballard, King Clancy, Roger Nielsen, Jim Gregory, Daryl Sittler, etc. He has every NHL schedule from 1952-53 onward. A bunch of autographs - many of which I collected when we used to go watch the Baby Leafs any time they were in town as well as pucks we had caught when they flew over the glass (with names of who shot them written on them). Tons of old photos clipped from newspapers going back to the 50's.
I think the most impressive thing was his journals. He always kept notes during the games. He tracked the stats but more impressive was he often wrote down every line combo they used. Remember this dates back to the 50's so a lot of this was done listening to a radio! What I was completely unaware of was he also recorded game summaries. Basically a complete summation of the game including personal observations and takes as well as referencing how it ties into previous games or happenings. Some of it was really fun to read but I have only tackled a small bit so far.
Anyhow, when I get a chance, will try to share. Some of the die hards and collectors out there will probably enjoy!