Favorite Piece of Memorabilia?

[rwilfong86]

To all of the Twins (and baseball) memorabilia collectors, show me your favorite piece, big or small, even if it's value is only sentimental!!

[CRF]

I'm not a big "collector" by any stretch, but I do have a handful of things that I've saved over the years. Some baseball memorabilia and some golf memorabilia too. One of my favorite items is this NY Mets program and yearbook from a game I went to in 1969. The year of the miracle Mets. I went to a double header in 1969 at Shea Stadium where Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman pitched the games. It was against the Phillies and the Mets swept the two games. It was the first baseball game I ever went to. I was a die hard Mets fan growing up. I lived in the NY/NJ area until 1982, and moved to Mn in 1982. I have some Twins items too, but the Mets program and yearbook is pretty special to me. 

[Puckett34]

My signed Morneau baseball right now.

 

I think ultimately once my nearly 5 year old gets older and we get to more stadiums, my MLB ballpark passport will be my best piece of memorabilia.  So glad I found it and it arrived in time for his first game this past Sunday.

 

Link if anyone is interested:  https://www.mlbshop.com/mlb-merchandise/mlb-ballpark-pass-port-book/t-25777685+p-0248145601439+z-9-3902440183

[rwilfong86]

2 hours ago, CRF said:

I'm not a big "collector" by any stretch, but I do have a handful of things that I've saved over the years. Some baseball memorabilia and some golf memorabilia too. One of my favorite items is this NY Mets program and yearbook from a game I went to in 1969. The year of the miracle Mets. I went to a double header in 1969 at Shea Stadium where Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman pitched the games. It was against the Phillies and the Mets swept the two games. It was the first baseball game I ever went to. I was a die hard Mets fan growing up. I lived in the NY/NJ area until 1982, and moved to Mn in 1982. I have some Twins items too, but the Mets program and yearbook is pretty special to me. 

That's so cool and full of memories, thanks for sharing!

[Brock Beauchamp]

I'm not a collector of anything any more but I still have a signed Puckett ball and photo from my childhood.

[bunsen82]

I have a signed Kirby Puckett ball.  I also have a team ball from either 2006 or 2007,  there is a lot of really good players from that time period.  Morneau, Mauer, Santana, Liriano, Nathan, Hunter.   Luis Castillo decided he was really important and put a huge signature.  

[CRF]

Your post kind of reminded me of a few things too. Some good...some bad. The first time I went to a game at the dome was in 1982, I was there with several other people. It was the Twins and KC. I caught a foul ball that Hal McRae hit, and I still have that as well. I'll never forget...the dome was absolutely empty...there might have been a few thousand people there, and the Twins were terrible then. When I caught the ball, there was a little boy over on the other side of the aisle from me, by the runway, not too far away. He must have been with his family, but I don't recall anyone near him. He probably just wandered to the aisle near the runway. He might have been 7 or 8...under 10 for sure. He looked over at me and I could tell he wished he would have gotten the ball. If memory serves, he had an ice cream or cotton candy in his hand. He got a little closer to me and I told him if another one came this way, I'd get it for him. Of course, no other ball did. I always regretted not giving him that ball I caught. It really didn't mean much to me, but it would have meant a lot to him. I get kind of teary eyed now just thinking about it. I've been fortunate enough to catch a few game balls before that, and maybe 5 or 6 more after that first game at the dome, and ever since then...I've always given the ball to a youngster that was nearby. Makes me feel pretty good inside. One thing for sure...the dome was the absolute worst place I've ever been for a MLB game. I just hated the place. 

[cheeseheadgophfan]

My Dad took me to a game at the Metrodome against the Yankees when I was about 10 and we sat in the first row behind the bullpen down the 3rd base line.  Butch Wynegar (playing for the Yanks) hit a pop up down the line that bounced off the turf and my Dad caught it.  For some reason, I was a big Ron Davis fan.  Waited till after the game and asked if he would sign my ball.  He was a total prick, said no and walked away.  We were about to leave and my Dad pointed to a group of people by the Twins dugout.  I walked over and Kirby was standing there signing autographs and talking to fans.  This was before he was a mega-star but I was at the back of the line and thought there was no way he'd stick around till it was my turn.  He stood there for at least 45 minutes and made sure that everyone that had something to sign got it done.  When it was my turn, I dropped the ball down to him.....he asked if I was a player, i told him i was a pitcher.  He asked righty or lefty?  I told him lefty.  He said that gave me a headstart and I'd probably be striking him out in a few years.  Never forget this.  The ball still sits on my office desk today.

[rwilfong86]

2 minutes ago, cheeseheadgophfan said:

My Dad took me to a game at the Metrodome against the Yankees when I was about 10 and we sat in the first row behind the bullpen down the 3rd base line.  Butch Wynegar (playing for the Yanks) hit a pop up down the line that bounced off the turf and my Dad caught it.  For some reason, I was a big Ron Davis fan.  Waited till after the game and asked if he would sign my ball.  He was a total prick, said no and walked away.  We were about to leave and my Dad pointed to a group of people by the Twins dugout.  I walked over and Kirby was standing there signing autographs and talking to fans.  This was before he was a mega-star but I was at the back of the line and thought there was no way he'd stick around till it was my turn.  He stood there for at least 45 minutes and made sure that everyone that had something to sign got it done.  When it was my turn, I dropped the ball down to him.....he asked if I was a player, i told him i was a pitcher.  He asked righty or lefty?  I told him lefty.  He said that gave me a headstart and I'd probably be striking him out in a few years.  Never forget this.  The ball still sits on my office desk today.

I absolutely love that story. I've had this idea for a book, compiling stories from Twins fans on a favorite memory, or a moment that made them a fan and that would be perfect! If I ever get to writing it I'll let you know?

[wsnydes]

I'm not a collector by any means, but my dad gave me a gameday program from a 1976 Cardinals game on Bob Gibson day that he attended.  Which is cool in and of itself, but in it was an unpunched ASG voting ballot.  Reading through the names on that ballot is pretty mindboggling.  This was just in the last 5 or 6 years.  They're both in pretty good shape too.   

[Squirrel]

17 minutes ago, wsnydes said:

I'm not a collector by any means, but my dad gave me a gameday program from a 1976 Cardinals game on Bob Gibson day that he attended.  Which is cool in and of itself, but in it was an unpunched ASG voting ballot.  Reading through the names on that ballot is pretty mindboggling.  They're both in pretty good shape too.   

People would probably go nuts to know I did this but ... my Mom had some ticket stubs from the 1965 All-Star game and 1965 WS ... when we were going through everything at my parent's house when they were getting ready to sell, I just threw those things away. There may have been some kind of a program book in there from that year, too. Eh, they weren't games I attended and I doubt they had all that much value and not worth my time to look it up.

I'm not a collector, either, but I have a few things that I do love ... a signed Escobar ball and a signed Rosario bat ... my two Eddies! ❤️  Those are most definitely in the category of 'most treasured' as they were and still are, favorites and two players I miss still. I have a signed baseball from Tony Oliva that he tossed to me over the fence at a ST practice, and we chatted briefly. He does that quite a lot at ST. In a raffle I got a signed Mitch Garver baseball. In a game drawing from ST one year, I won a batting helmet signed by Hunter, Jones and Stewart. And then I have this baseball I got at a game in 1986. Was sitting over the Twins dugout and when Bert ended the inning with a strikeout, the catcher threw the ball back to him and as he walked into the dugout, tossed it up to me. It's not signed, but I still have that ball.  Oh, and somewhere in my storage room, in a box of stuff labeled 'memories', I have a scorecard from a game, don't remember when, mid-70s, that Rod Carew signed.

I guess for 'not collecting' I have more than a few things. But none of these things I actively sought out myself ... except maybe the autograph from Carew when I was a kid.

[wsnydes]

6 minutes ago, Squirrel said:

People would probably go nuts to know I did this but ... my Mom had some ticket stubs from the 1965 All-Star game and 1965 WS ... when we were going through everything at my parent's house when they were getting ready to sell, I just threw those things away. There may have been some kind of a program book in there from that year, too. Eh, they weren't games I attended and I doubt they had all that much value and not worth my time to look it up.

I'm not a collector, either, but I have a few things that I do love ... a signed Escobar ball and a signed Rosario bat ... my two Eddies! ❤️  Those are most definitely in the category of 'most treasured' as they were and still are, favorites and two players I miss still. I have a signed baseball from Tony Oliva that he tossed to me over the fence at a ST practice, and we chatted briefly. He does that quite a lot at ST. In a raffle I got a signed Mitch Garver baseball. In a game drawing from ST one year, I won a batting helmet signed by Hunter, Jones and Stewart. And then I have this baseball I got at a game in 1986. Was sitting over the Twins dugout and when Bert ended the inning with a strikeout, the catcher threw the ball back to him and as he walked into the dugout, tossed it up to me. It's not signed, but I still have that ball.  Oh, and somewhere in my storage room, in a box of stuff labeled 'memories', I have a scorecard from a game, don't remember when, mid-70s, that Rod Carew signed.

I guess for 'not collecting' I have more than a few things. But none of these things I actively sought out myself ... except maybe the autograph from Carew when I was a kid.

I don't just "hang out" enough when I go to ST.  Perhaps I should!  Not necessarily for the swag, meeting some of these guys would be fun on its own.  I've talked to Tony O a couple of times at TF.  He used to hang out by some of his sandwich kiosks.  

And yes, you don't throw out ASG and WS tickets!!!!

[Musk21]

I still have my ticket stubs both from the 1985 AS Game that I attended with my grandpa and from Game 7 in 1991. 

Another favorite of mine...I came across a photo online about 15 years ago of Killebrew attempting to hit a ball across the Mississippi River during the '85 ASG festivities.  Koufax was supposed to pitch to him, but when they showed up, they both realized that there was no way he was going to hit it across the river.  The image that I had found happened to have me (at 8 years old) and my dad in it (we're right below the ball)! 

[BobAzar]

My grandma's second date with my mom's stepdad was game 2 of the '65 Series. She had the ticket stub, and always told me I could have it when she died, we just needed to find it. Sadly, I never found it or got it. What I think happened to it was, when she was moved from her house to a nursing home and my mom and her siblings were going through things to get the house ready for the market, someone was in a rush and just threw it in the garbage. Not that I'm not still bitter...

 

but my favorite memorabilia that I do have is the large pennants that were flown at TF from 2010-2018 in left field. I have the '65 and '91 pennants. they are huge, 10' x 5'. I was able to get Oliva to autograph the '65 and Hrbek and TK to autograph the '91. I got them folded and framed and hung up on the wall. 

[Bigfork Twins Guy]

I don't have anything real special except 87 & 91 homer hankies, and 87 & 91 Wheaties box covers.  I do have a few special memories though.  I went down to the dome with a friend after the 87 ALCS with the Tigers and it was packed and was a very special atmosphere.  Never forget that!

I also have one as a child.  My Mom worked at a factory and told her boss that she had to go home and lay down.  He said OK and she did just that, for five minutes.  She then got up and took me and my brother to the Twins game at the Met.  They won the game and even turned a triple play.  She went to work the next day and after her boss asked her if she felt better after laying down she of course said yes.  It killed her to not be able to tell her co-workers that she had witnessed the triple play.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

On the left is a stamped 1991 Twins team ball, on the right Kent Hrbek signed.

[rwilfong86]

2 hours ago, BobAzar said:

My grandma's second date with my mom's stepdad was game 2 of the '65 Series. She had the ticket stub, and always told me I could have it when she died, we just needed to find it. Sadly, I never found it or got it. What I think happened to it was, when she was moved from her house to a nursing home and my mom and her siblings were going through things to get the house ready for the market, someone was in a rush and just threw it in the garbage. Not that I'm not still bitter...

 

but my favorite memorabilia that I do have is the large pennants that were flown at TF from 2010-2018 in left field. I have the '65 and '91 pennants. they are huge, 10' x 5'. I was able to get Oliva to autograph the '65 and Hrbek and TK to autograph the '91. I got them folded and framed and hung up on the wall. 

Amazing, love the display, thanks for sharing with us!

[Longdistancetwins]

8 hours ago, CRF said:

Your post kind of reminded me of a few things too. Some good...some bad. The first time I went to a game at the dome was in 1982, I was there with several other people. It was the Twins and KC. I caught a foul ball that Hal McRae hit, and I still have that as well. I'll never forget...the dome was absolutely empty...there might have been a few thousand people there, and the Twins were terrible then. When I caught the ball, there was a little boy over on the other side of the aisle from me, by the runway, not too far away. He must have been with his family, but I don't recall anyone near him. He probably just wandered to the aisle near the runway. He might have been 7 or 8...under 10 for sure. He looked over at me and I could tell he wished he would have gotten the ball. If memory serves, he had an ice cream or cotton candy in his hand. He got a little closer to me and I told him if another one came this way, I'd get it for him. Of course, no other ball did. I always regretted not giving him that ball I caught. It really didn't mean much to me, but it would have meant a lot to him. I get kind of teary eyed now just thinking about it. I've been fortunate enough to catch a few game balls before that, and maybe 5 or 6 more after that first game at the dome, and ever since then...I've always given the ball to a youngster that was nearby. Makes me feel pretty good inside. One thing for sure...the dome was the absolute worst place I've ever been for a MLB game. I just hated the place. 

Should have given the kid the ball:  Hal McRae is my least favorite player of all time!  But really nice of you to give away the other balls.

[bighat]

I have a Frank Viola autographed ball - that I myself, as a young lad, procured. Probably in 1987 or '88. I also have a 1991 Game 7 World Series ticket stub, which I attended. And finally I have an Al Newman broken bat from around 1988.

[Longdistancetwins]

Well, my least favorite piece would be the ticket stub from David Wells’s perfect game against the Twins at Yankee Stadium in 1998.  Probably isn’t worth much anyway because the Beanie Baby giveaway was very well attended.  

[Original_JB]

My wife and niece were HUGE AJ Pierzyski fans so we've got a lot of signed stuff from him. To this day, taking my wife and niece to the HOM store up in the northern suburbs where he was signing one day is etched into my mind; it was like those old films of the Beatles, where the gals are just losing their sh*t; I was going to make sure that we did it right, so we got there early. Good thing, as by the time he rolled in (in a big white Hummer) there were 100's of people in line. They went over the rules, 1 item signed per person, etc., etc.  We were first in line. Since there were 3 of us, we got our three items signed and the gals got their pictures individually with him -- real pictures with arms around him, the whole nine yards. Well, even though we were just doing what we were allotted, it was obvious that if everyone took that kind of time, he'd be there for days, and they had to make it a bit more restrictive.  Got to be honest, I've never seen two girls more swoony in my life. But for me (and I'm at work so I don't have a pic to post) is a limited edition (I think 100 balls) 1991 WS Ball signed by Jack Morris with the 1-0 10 inning complete game Win inscription that the Twins offered shortly after the series.