Kicking off this week’s edition of Collector’s Corner with this Baltimore Colts item. It’s well known that in March of 1984, the Colts snuck out of Baltimore in the middle of an overnight snowstorm, headed for Indy.
Well, it seems that Indianapolis wasn’t the first city interested in hosting the Colts. This bumper sticker says, “Don’t Tampa (‘Tamper’) With Our Colts.” The eBay seller says, “Up for sale is a very unusual Baltimore Colts bumper sticker, that I have never seen before. This must have been made by the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Council after some rumors that Robert Irsay was looking to move the team out of Baltimore to Tampa prior to his move to Indianapolis. I have never seen this one before. It is professionally matted and framed.”
So this must be from the early 1970s, prior to Tampa getting the Bucs, right? Now for the rest of this week’s picks:
• This 1970s 12″ Pittsburgh Pirates plush doll is wearing Converse cleats.
• Almost time to head back to school- so take a look at these late 1970s-early 1980s
MLB pencils! Twenty six in all with team names and colors; “Collect ’em! Swap ’em! Use ’em!”
• This kid’s size Philadelphia Phillies jacket says “1980 World Champions” on the back.
• Here’s a lot of six pieces of Topps gum in MLB wrappers, from 1979. Might break a tooth chewing on 43 year old gum!
• Lake County Federal Savings & Loan (Painesville, OH) sponsored this “All Time Football Greats” promo item. I think it’s a card that you slide back and forth to see statistics- and that’s Bart Starr for sure on the front.
• Are you a New York Giants fan? Swap out your front plate for this Disco Giants license plate.
• This 1988 Detroit Tigers thermal cup was sponsored by Kmart, the Saving Place. Kmart was also a proud sponsor of the 1988 Olympic Team!
• Check out the cover of this 1955 Chicago White Sox score book – just 10 cents!
• Ellis Valentine is The Human Howitzer! That’s the title of this comic book that Valentine signed. Note the football face mask top left. On the cover, he says “He was already out when he decided to run on me.”
• From an anonymous reader in Brooklyn: this is a 1986 NFL digital watch salesman catalog from a company called “Bradley.” (In 1986, I don’t think they’d gone to “salesperson” yet.) Look at these beauties- they add, subtract, multiply, divide- heck, they even tell time, complete with your fave NFL insignia! With that, who needs an iPhone?
• “Stick with the NFL!” That’s what the packaging of these 1980s NFL Puffy Stickers says. You get a set of nine here.
That’ll do it for this edition of CC. See you back here next week!
I know from (horrible) experience that decades old topps gum turns to dust in your mouth. Also kids, don’t take food dares no matter how innocent they seem.
It was actually Carroll Rosenbloom who was interested in moving the Colts to Tampa – in fact, he scheduled all of the Colts’ 1972 preseason “home” games for Tampa Stadium (before trading the Colts to Robert Irsay in exchange for the Rams). There’s a bit about it on this site: link
Upper left hand corner of the Ellis Valentine cover, it show his football face mask! Someone make sure Paul sees that, he will love it.
Yep.
I think Ellis had to wear a facemark back in the day – broken jaw.
That gum would have chipped your tooth when it was brand new!
Also, I had the New York Jets version of that Phils jacket. Nothing on the back of it though.
Reading about the Colts, it would be interesting to know when this happened. The Bucs were awarded to Tampa on 4/241974, the Colts Rams Franchise was swapped 7/14/1972. So its possible that it wasn’t Irsay but Rosenbloom.
There is a guy on YT and other social media named ‘Junk Wax Sal’ who opens old 80s era baseball card packs and regularly chomps on the Topps gum. I cringe every time. I’d bet he’d give those 79′ babies a shot if asked.