Before the world turned digital, physical collectibles were king. As mentioned in a prior post, during childhood, to embody my baseball monomania to perfection, I gathered as much MLB-related possessions as possible. From team hats, trading cards, books, magazines, to posters, action figures, and bobbleheads, if the entity represented baseball in any fashion, you bet I had it.
This blog is an homage to a specific kind of tangible keepsake. A relic that, unlike the one’s referenced above, has faded out of society like standalone GPS devices. Which is a shame because, when you get ahold on one of these trinkets, it feels as though their texture can guide you to your destination point in life, as they have the power to help you spot the road to travel along.
Since I provided zero context clues, let me reveal what I’m even referring to. I’m talking about pins. Not Olympic pins, or Disney Pins, though I did receive a shimmering Mickey Mouse-featured pin after completing my first year at ESPN (Disney-owned company). No, I’m writing this to honor sports pins as collector items.
(Mickey Mouse as Steamboat Willie)
Like trading cards, sports pins give pastime enthusiasts a stronger connection to their treasured league. Though small in stature, and light in weight, a well-fastened, elegantly-designed, secure pin has voluminous value in the heart of the right owner. Each day, I thank the stars that I fall under the ‘right owner’ category.
In 2004, the Boston Globe, an American daily newspaper that I would often find wrapped up tight at the front porch step of my childhood home, released a set of Red Sox themed pins. Since I was just 8 years old at the time, I couldn’t tell if you this was an annual thing, or the inauguration of a fun giveaway. To be honest, I don’t even know their intent behind it, but being the baseball-obsessed, youngster I was, I couldn’t have cared less about the specifics. In my eyes, it was yet another occurrence in which the universe responded to my love for something by endowing me with physical substances to further enhance my joy. I haven’t mastered all of the universal laws, but it appears that when you love and appreciate something to the highest degree, the world, no matter what your current circumstances are, will honor your unwavering devotion in unique fashion.
Anyways, given where and when I spawned into this place, I was able to catch this constellation of Boston ballplayer pins at the perfect time. At this point, you couldn’t tell me that someone else on the planet cherished MLB-based collectibles more than me. I wouldn’t have believed you, and I would have been right in my decision to not even hear your stance on the subject. That’s how much I brooded over baseball (And still do).
This collection was great for many reasons. Number one, the newspaper provided everyone with a snazzy book to store the pins. As you can see in the photo below, the covering contained the perfect amount of spots to place the player pins, and had miniature write-ups on each member of the team.
Number two, the pins flat-out rocked. Identical in design, they were well put together, and I loved their diamond shape. Not to mention the fact that, aside from the player collectibles, the set also came with a gleaming gold, picturesque pin of Fenway Park.
The best part was that, when the team won the World Series in October, the newspaper released a tribute book (see above), and sent along some of the players that weren’t on the squad for the original release. This one came with an epic World Series pin, which featured the Red Sox logo placed on the Commissioner’s Trophy (See below).
Once I received them all, since I had already placed the pins in the first book, I had to move all the members of the World Series team out, and add them to the new one. Sadly, guys like Nomar Garciappara (traded at the deadline in ’04) and Ellis Burks (didn’t make the postseason roster) got left behind, in favor for players like Doug Mientkiewicz and Orlando Cabrera.
As you can see, the final product is a beautiful one. Now, getting back to my analogy with the pins and GPS’s. To a young me, physical pins had the ability to steer me towards my purpose, as I was able to get a concrete feel for what I loved. These pins showed me firsthand that I appreciated sports + greatness. They helped me find me, and it was discoveries like this as a kid that has fueled me as a professional in the sports content realm. For that, I am ever so grateful.
In my opinion, digital art strips this magical sensation that I was lucky enough to feel with these pins, and that’s a shame. We should get off the screens, and go back to the real world.
Jeremy’s Journal is Jeremy’s way of expressing his gratitude to the world. At the end of each 500-1,000 word post, he will include a ‘Life Lesson’ of some kind. His goal is to remind himself, and his readers, how awesome everyone’s journey can be when perceived through the proper lens.