OT Avatar User ID genisis of your collection

[71buc]

I am fascinated by what drives us to collect. I'm curious as to why you choose your Avatar and user ID as well. My own are fairly obvious. I collect primarily the 1971 Pirates. I grew up in the military in a family where Spanish was spoken. My mother's friends were all Mexican, Panamanian, Puerto Rican, Chilean, Venezuelan, and Dominican. Our home was a nexus of culture, food, and ethnicity. In1971 I was eight and realized what was occurring in my home was not necessarily happening in my friends homes. My father was blonde and blue eyed and from Pennsylvania. He was and remains a passionate Bucs fan. The 1971 Pirates reflected what was happening in my home at that time. At eight I fell in love with baseball because of that team and I learned from watching them that it was alright, if not a bit cool, to be different. As they say it is best to stay with who brought you to the dance so I have remained loyal to Roberto, Willie, Dock, Scoop, and Digger. Anyone know where I might locate a September 1, 1971 Pittsburgh Pirate ticket?

[Lordstan]

Mike,
Great story. It's the type of emotional connection we all have to this stuff. Those are the memories we all cherish.

Many think my name is Stan, but my screen name comes from the Stanley Cup. "Lord Stan" When I grew up my connection to sports was forged, like most I assume, through my father. He was a NY Giants fan that became a Mets Fan in 1962. He was an equally passionate NY football Giants and NY Knicks fan, but I think deep down, the thing that really got him going was the Rangers. He was at one of the Sc final games in 1940(the last time they won the cup prior to 1994) In a sports sense seeing them win the cup in 1994 made his life complete. Later that year, my wife and I got our first dog together. I named him, in keeping with all the fru-fru hoidy-toidy purebread German Shepherd naming tradition, Lord Stanley of The Rangers. Ever since then my internet screen name on every board has been Lordstan. Unfortunately, my father passed away in 1995 and Stanley, as we called him, passed away in 2004. In a sense the name keeps me connected with both.

My avatar is my daughter. It shows her doing a dance/gymnastics move called a ring leap.

Interestingly, neither my screen name nor my avatar connect directly to what I collect. I collect Lou Gehrig items mostly. I connected with him as a young man because he seemed like someone who really lived up to what a hero should be, professionally and personally.

Mark

[mcgwirecom]

My avatar is obviously Joe DiMaggio and I.

I started collecting after my first divorce in 1993. I always wanted to get a DiMaggio autograph, but at that time the price was $300+ for a real one. I found out Joe was signing in AC for $350. So I made the trip so I could meet him. At that time he was the connection between the old days and modern baseball. He played with Gehrig and Mantle both.

At the show I was near the end of the line and I watched as person after person would take a photo of Joe as he signed their items. People were talking about how you had to watch what you say to him and that he wouldn't sign this or that. It seemed like everyone was afraid of him, or that they were meeting God himself. I wanted to be in the photo with him so I asked the guy behind me to wait until I got to lean across the table so I could get in the picture with him. After he signed my ball I said "hey Joe, can I get a picture with you?" He stopped signing, looked up at me and kind of gave me a once over look. Then he said " sure, come around." I didn't even know what to do. The table was set up so it was really long, but I found my way around it finally and got this picture. I think I may have been the only one to get to pose with him. It's not that I collect DiMaggio, I actually collect McGwire mostly, but he was one of the few living legends I got to meet.

[parker1b2]

My Avatar is a lithograph of Crosley Field.

I collect a broad range of Baseball Memorabilia, with no real true focus. The main part of the auto side is around HOFers, but try to collect a little of everything. Thanks to this board, I have been really getting into a lot more of the earlier stuff then I have in the past.

The reason I chose my avatar was to in a way honor my grandfather and father, who really got me into collecting. I grew up in NJ and a Yankees fan, while my father grew up in Indiana and him and my grandfather were huge Reds fans. This lithograph used to hang in my grandfathers house, and we would visit him every summer and I remember just always looking at it as he would tell me stories about Crosley field and the old days of baseball and the players. When he passed in 1994, my father took it off his wall and said that my grandfather wanted me to have it. So that is why I chose it.

[Leon]

I moved this thread to the front page to get some more views as it's an interesting topic for everyone. My avatar changes over time and is solely cards I like. No rhyme or reason.

[almostdone]

Great idea for a thread. I often wonder some of the stories behind names as well as aviators.

A while ago I was completing a near ten year journey to have a card of every Hall Of Famer from the 1909 on. I did this by wheeling and dealing on an extremly tight budget. I was down to one player left, Honus Wagner. I did most of my findings on eBay but couldn't come up with a card in my budget. Finally one popped up, a 1914 Polo Grounds. I contacted the seller to get some more info about the card. Through our messaging he mentioned he had tried for a month to "sell on Net54" but had no takers. I had never heard of this site so while the auction was still on I checked out the site, was blown away and joined. When I needed a user name I sat in front of my computer and all I could think of was "I'm almost done". I used it, won the card and completed my quest.

My aviator is of a display case I made to house part of my HOF collection. Making custom cases is another of my hobbies.

Btw, last year I sold all of my prewar HOFers except 7 to surprise my wife on her 40th birthday with a second honeymoon trip which we took about two months ago. I had realized that the journey to completion was much more fun than actually being completed. I still have the Wagner though as well as Ruth, Gerhig, Cobb, Speaker, Young and Johnson.

Great thread. Hope this catches on. I'd love to hear more.

Drew

[kmac32]

My avitar is actually my great great uncle Elmer Miller. Played for the 1921 Yankees and was the first yankee to ever get a hit in a World Series and he later scored that inning becoming the first Yankee to ever score a run in a World Series. This lead to my E 121 yankees and giants collection

As to the name, at Cubs camp, they started calling me Kenny Mac or shortened to Kmac and the 32 was my jersey number which was the same as Rich Nye's jersey number who was a left handed pitcher for the 1969 Cubs who later went on to become a veterinarian. I am a veterinarinan, left handed, and went on to become a catcher. Kind of Rich Nye in reverse.

[Jeffrompa]

Great idea for a thread !

Mine is a RPPC someone made from a Billy Sunday Cabinet card . I am not really sure of the age but it combines the two things I really like . The 1880's baseball players and Postcards .

[itjclarke]

Great story '71 Buc. My favorite vintage/past player to collect as a kid was Roberto Clemente. I'm not old enough to have seen them play, but those Pirates teams ('79 too) seem like they really appealing and easy to root for.

My username is pretty self explanatory (initials and last name). My avatar is photo I took 7-8 years ago of my safe deposit box (visible- a couple Goudey Ruths, '54 Aaron, Cobb bat off, '53 Mantle, etc). At that time my collection was 99% raw and everything fit pretty easily in top loaders. My pick ups since then have been been about 80-90% graded, so I've had to do a lot of swapping within that box. Also have now have many cards locked away elsewhere in a couple safe places.

[Sean]

Great story about the origin of your interest in Baseball.

I chose my username because I lack imagination.
My avatar is my best card. Not my favorite, but it is unique.

[4815162342]

My user ID and avatar are the numbers from the show Lost. This was the greatest tv show ever made... until the final season.

4 8 15 16 23 42

[Section103]

Pretty straight forward - the cards are the center piece of my collection and 103 is where I watched all of my college games.

My avatar is Jimmy Claxton at Roslyn Ball park ca. 1926-31. Self explanatory.

I have a BA in Religious Studies which is where the username "pariah" derives. My religious studies thesis focused on untouchables in the Hindu faith; the origin, expansion, and institutionalization of the term. Probably where my interest in black baseball history is also rooted.

[clydepepper]

My avatar is David Clyde from whom sprung the only nickname I ever had as a player...leastwise, the only one that can be said in mixed company (you know, left-handers and you other folks).

Of more interest, my youngest nephew, who is a genius, is making his mark in Industrial Robotics Design...so, we'll all have a REAL one soon.

[drcy]

Just an image of Greta Garbo I liked, no direct connection to collecting.

[Wite3]

I love the T205 set and the Wilhelm is one of the nicest...simple as that.

Joshua

[Matvoo]

My avatars is my first t206 and my username was used because my friends called me matvoo but my name is Matthew UEDA but my U always looked like V so that became my nickname

[t206fix]

Pawnee Moses Yellowhorse - I'm a member of the Pawnee Nation & have relatives that remember him and would talk about him. I actually just went back to Wyoming to visit my Pawnee grandpa who is 91 years old - born in 1923. When his memory (and hearing) was better, he also had stories about him when he returned to the reservation. These are a few of my favorite images - these newspaper clippings are from 1941 & my grandpa Harold is 4th from the left. I recently picked up a 24 Zeenut from the BST of Moses... can't wait to get it!

[digdugdig]

My user ID goes way back to the early 80's, what my old tavern pool playing partner Hank "Poppy" Pawslawski used to call me ... "digdugdig". Great times and memories, don't mean to "toot" our own horn but we used to kick some butt!!
My avatar is my Conlon photo of Smokey Joe Wood.
1. 'cause he was a Red Sox.
2. Always thought he has been a bit underappreciated.
3. Just a great photo!!

[atx840]

When I was much younger I was sponsored by Giant mountain bikes and the first bike they gave me was an atx840.

I love the T206 blue Chase portrait & scraps.

[wolf441]

My user name is my nickname growing up (Wolf) and the first number combo that I came up that was still available when I joined ebay in the late '90's (i.e. wolf, wolf1, wolf10 were all taken...).

My avatar is my absolute favorite baseball photo. To me, it always symbolized the old warrior looking over his weapons in the "autumn" of his career. I love the Pirates sweater, the weathered face. Just a perfectly captured moment.

[frohme]

Interesting topic!

Mine follows themes already mentioned

• Like Leon, mine changes (or changed) over time.
• Like Joshua, it is set based - T207 - big surprise
• Donnelly was the last card I needed for the set.

Pretty simple, that.

--
Mike

[t206hound]

So my user name came from my self-proclaimed notion that I could "sniff out" good t206 deals on eBay. It's kind of evolved in trying to identify nuances in cards.

My avatar has also changed over time, but has always been a prized card in my collection. Currently it is a miscut Rossman with McBride (full name) at top.

[rainier2004]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

My user ID and avatar are the numbers from the show Lost. This was the greatest tv show ever made... until the final season.

4 8 15 16 23 42

No shit? I have ALWAYS wondered what those numbers meant in your avatar...that last season did suck...Breaking Bad became the new king.

Steve - Couldn't agree more on that Wags photo, ever see the Kreindler done to that?

I love CJs sp they rotate, my name is just my ebay ID as it was a goal to summit Mt Rainier, WA, in 2004 which I did several times...

[gregr2]

I was born in 1961 and grew up in Northern New Jersey as a huge Mets fan. The biggest thrill was the 1969 Mets winning the World Series. Last year I purchased the 1970 cards of each player on the Mets World Series roster since that set had the team picture with "World Champions" above it. My Avatar is the 1970 Sporting News capture "Mets Whoop it Up" after winning the World Series.

[scooter729]

Scooter was an old softball team nickname that I haven't been called in 15 years, but it so happened to be what I went by when I opened my eBay account. So for consistency, I stick with it.

My avatar is the Watertown High logo. I switched it on the day my community had the full day manhunt for the Marathon bombers last year. Scary as hell to be locked in your houses all day with tanks and swat teams going house to house. I have a few high school friends who were cops on that horrible day, so it's my avatar in their honor.

[the 'stache]

An interesting idea for a thread, Mike. Thank you.

For me, the user name came first, and the avatar soon followed. I signed up for another sportscard forum, and when it came time to put in my user name, I just decided to do something different. As I'd just shaved my head for the first time not too long before signing up for that forum, I chose the 'stache to be a bit ironic. It was unexpected in that I not only had no mustache, but no hair on my head at all save for my eyebrows. It also served as an homage to one of my favorite baseball players growing up, Rollie Fingers. I always thought Rollie did his own thing, and besides being one hell of a closer, his mustache was legendary. When he came to the Brewers, my Rollie affinity kicked up into high gear. It shot up even more when one of my long time best friends told me on the phone one night that Rollie Fingers was one of his daughter's baseball coaches (his daughter being 10 or 11 at the time).

So, when I came here, it seemed only natural to use the same combination. I had my Rollie Fingers avatar for a while, but after starting on the T206 set, I switched to the Titus avatar because I felt it was more appropriate for the forum. And the card has really grown on me.

[HalChaseCollector]

Im driven to collect because I love baseball and it is fun to own historical artifacts from America's pastime. My name and avatar is based on my favorite baseball movie! It has no relation to what I collect because I don't collect Willie Mays nor the Cleveland Indians.

[Dave1943]

My avatar is my Grandfather. When I joined Net54 I did not have a T205 card of his - my favorite, very much like the colors. Thought about changing, but so far I have withstood the urge. Dave

[wolf441]

Originally Posted by rainier2004

Steve - Couldn't agree more on that Wags photo, ever see the Kreindler done to that?

Thanks Steve,

I just looked it up (as well as everything else on the Kreindler web-page). His work is absolutely incredible!! What I wouldn't give to have a talent like that....

[39special]

My avatar is a '58Furillo my dad bought me in the late '70's at a local show.I lived in the same area as Furillo,and he signed it for me in his driveway the first of many times I got to meet him.The card will stay with me til the end.
My username is from my other hobby,cars.I build and restore street rods,muscle cars,and just about anything with four wheels.I'm working on my '39 Buick Special that I'm hoping to have done by this spring.It was my dads,and when he passed away its the one I kept out of the four collectable cars he had.We built it together in the '80's,so there are alot of memories
of him.The car will also stay with me til the end.

[refz]

1)My screen name refz came from my secondary gaming handle "ReflectoR" which I named from a transformers character (proud to be a 80s kid) later shortened it to refz^. I hardcore gamed from 1998-2003 playing Quake fortress, and Half-Life mods such as Counterstrike and Team-Fortress.

2)My avatar hasnt changed in awhile. I chose my autographed 52 bowman Piersall for being from the same hometown.

[shernan30]

My username is boring, just my email address. I wasn't very creative at the time I signed up for the forum.

My avatar is my first Columbus Solon OJ outdoor pose I got of James McTamany. This is still one of my favorite OJs in my collection.

[John V]

My username is obvious and easy for me to remember.

As a kid, I have fond memories of living in Pittsburgh in the 50s & 60s. I attended many ball games at Forbes Field. What a great place. I sure miss it.
Thank goodness part of the outfield wall is still there. I took the 457 FT photo several years ago during a visit.

[CobbSpikedMe]

My username means that Ty Cobb hooked me into collecting prewar stuff. He was one of my first attractions to the deadball era and instead of saying I was hooked on prewar, I said he spiked me instead. Stupid I know, but it works for me.

My avatar is an ad really. I'm always looking for T206s with this type of purple number back stamp. I collect all back stamps I can find, but this one is my favorite and I never find the darn things. If you ever see one, please let me know.

Best Regards,

AndyH

[kdixon]

My avatar is Zach Wheat. Zach was born in my hometown and I have collected his items for about 30 years. The picture is a wire photo I have that is one of my favorite images of him. My username is just my first initial and my last name.

[Jantz]

My user name is my first name. I wish now that I would have chose something different because other board members get me confused with the other Jantzs on this site.

My avatar is the Polar Bear tobacco factory.


Jantz

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by 71buc

I am fascinated by what drives us to collect. I'm curious as to why you choose your Avatar and user ID as well.

I got rid of my avatar. If I post something really stupid, now there's one less thing for people to remember me by.

When I chose my general internet/email handle around 15 years ago, I wanted 'runforrest', but due to the movie, I couldn't get it for my email address, so I chose 'runscott' and have stuck with that whenever possible.

[nebboy]

I use this close up of Wagner because it looks so much like my great grandfather they could easy pass for brothers.

[brianp-beme]

My avatar is a random 1921 Zeenut I picked from a dealer's online inventory, because at avatar selecting time my old computer had just taken a dump and I did not have a functioning scanner. I am a longtime collector of Zeenuts, and I love them, but it could have just as easily been from another PCL set like the Obaks, as I have lived in or near (or have relatives in) six of the cities from the old Pacific Coast League. Then again I could have chosen a caramel or tobacco or strip card...I am not a fussy pre-war collector. I was told at one time which player it is, but now have forgotten, and I still do not own an example. Of course over time it has become part of me...I spot this fellow in an old thread and I instantly know "I posted that drivel."

My user name is a grammatically challenged yet rhyme-tastic way of identifying myself:

Brian P be me

[rhettyeakley]

Originally Posted by brianp-beme

My user name is a grammatically challenged yet rhyme-tastic way of identifying myself:

Brian P be me

I am having a hard time saying that without doing so in Yoda voice!

[CW]

ohG]

[ullmandds]

my username is my last name and profession...as I have nothing to hide. my current avatar is one of my favorite cards...cj cobb...mine having been cut, very carefully, from a CJ ad poster back in the day.

[ethicsprof]

my username is my profession.
my avatar indicates my technological savvy. I claim the little circle that shines green beside my username as my avatar.

all the best,
barry

[Jacklitsch]

Back in 1998 when I registered on eBay I chose Jacklitsch. (TyCobb and CyYoung were already taken). Been that way ever since.

Avatar is Fred's e107.

[ZenPop]

AVATAR: A drawing I did of a Coffee Cup Guy. (Coffee fuels me when I'm working on my artwork.)

NAME: ZenPop is the name I came up with for my portfolio / website.
Wasn't crazy about just having my name (John Mavroudis) as a website, so I tried to come up with something unique that meant something to me. Love Indie Pop music and alternative pop culture (books / movies / music etc.) and love the idea of zen... put it all together and... www.zenpop.com

[mybuddyinc]

T210-1 Balenti -- Looks the way a ball player should look, and the Sav. shows well.

mybuddyinc -- My late parent's white male Bull Terrier. His name was Lefty, to me he was the greatest dog that ever lived, and was always "My Buddy." (tearing up just typing this).

S Gross -- My name. Even though I live in GA, I still have my NJ "S GROSS" vanity plate on the front of my car. It's probably illegal.

bl.jpg

[edjs]

My user name is my first name, then my middle and last initial, ed j s. My avatar is Steve Yzerman after he took a puck to the eye, breaking his orbital bone. Greatest captain for a team ever (in my opinion), and captain of my beloved Red Wings. A model leader.

[wolf441]

Originally Posted by edjs

My user name is my first name, then my middle and last initial, ed j s. My avatar is Steve Yzerman after he took a puck to the eye, breaking his orbital bone. Greatest captain for a team ever (in my opinion), and captain of my beloved Red Wings. A model leader.

Thanks for posting Ed. I could never figure out what your avatar was, other than it looked creepy, like something from Terminator!!

[uffda51]

My avatar is my Hastings cabinet of Mike Kelly. For no particular reason. My handle is uffda, a mild Norwegian expletive - what a stoic Norwegian might say after accidentally cutting off his thumb with a saw. The equivalent of "Dagnab it!" 51 was my high score in bowling.