Dale, you are most welcome, my friend. Glad, and relieved, you liked my post and the ideas. With the Toronto show coming up, perhaps prepare a small paper with your objective of convincing PSA to grade ALL Bee Hives. Carefully word your plea for help to reach out to this American company. Provide your contact information so that you can develop a cadre of committed collectors and knowledgeable enthusiasts to build "the case for grading all Bee Hives".
Initially, contact PSA and ask to speak to someone who will give you a definitive answer on exacting WHY PSA does not grade the Type 1s and 2s. Don't sound argumentative; it will put up walls. No doubt they have a good reason in their own mind (the photo could become loose and re-glued many years after the Bee Hive was originally made---this thought just came to mind).
By finding out why they won't grade them, this then is the objective of your treatise---to persuade PSA by educating them that their fears are groundless because...... You then present the reason(s) PSA won't grade the Bee Hives to your cadre of experts, asking them: OK, mates, this is why PSA won't grade Bee Hives---how can we convince them and reassure them that their fears are unwarranted and that their reputation will not be soiled, and so forth.
Naturally, meeting Wayne Gretzky would have been amazing. As I said, I really wanted to interview him about his own experiences collecting the 1968-69 Shirriff Coins. Honestly, I think Wayne would have been delighted. We would not be talking about Wayne the hockey player, but as a kid who loved collecting those coins, and then finally got the chance to get a banzai set in the early 90s. Now, Dale, the latter event I wrote about in my book, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN. It was a beautiful story that I used to conclude my introduction. The T-206 guys will hate me for it, but it was the truth about how Wayne regarded those beautiful Shirriff Hockey Coins.
Two last things.
If you really love baseball items from 1947 - 1971, by all means buy my book. You will love it! I really feel you will. If you wish to proceed, send me a $30 US money order, or if you reside in Canada, ask your banker what they can give you, that won't cost me money in order my bank to cash it. My mailing address is:
Brian Powell
P. O. Box 743
New Carlisle, Indiana 46552 USA
Second, before the year is over, write up "twenty questions" you would like to ask your Dad about his experiences as a boy of collecting his BEE HIVES. Think it through, Dale. Things like:
How did you first find out about the Bee Hive hockey photos?
Did your friends have any?
Were they popular with the other kids in your home town?
Did your mother and father help you get the label, token, box top, whatever, off the container, and help you send away for the Bee Hive photos? Any remembrances?
Who were your favorite three players? WHY?
What did you do with your Bee Hive photos once you got them?
And so on...
Figure out how will be best for your Dad to answer the questions. Will he be able to answer right off the top of his head? Or will he need the questions, with a lot of space to write answers!, on a sheet of paper?
Could you tape or video the questions and answers? If you pull this off, what a deeply personal and treasured heirloom for you, Dale! You could write a free lance article, and market it to various newspapers. Bee Hives were big stuff in Canada for a long time.
Gotta eat and head off to work, Bro.
No time to read and edit my long post to you---rats!
Take care, my friend. ---Brian Powell at
bfpowell2003@yahoo.com