Pickups in thrift stores?

[topekabob]

Krazy3's threat about finding minor league jerseys in a thrift shop reminds me of what I've found in various thrift shops:
- Arizona Rattlers game used jersey
- Danny Ainge game worn and autographed softball jersey from a charity game
- Nets jersey (not game worn) autographed by Jason Kidd
- T-shirt autographed by 25 members from both MISL all star squads from 2004 MISL all star game in St. Louis (anyone want this? $20 and its yours!)
- A bunch of game and coach worn hats from the collection of former major leaguer Ken Berry

Anyone else find good stuff in thrift shops?

[KrAzY3]

- Arizona Rattlers game used jersey
- Danny Ainge game worn and autographed softball jersey from a charity game
- Nets jersey (not game worn) autographed by Jason Kidd
- T-shirt autographed by 25 members from both MISL all star squads from 2004 MISL all star game in St. Louis (anyone want this? $20 and its yours!)
- A bunch of game and coach worn hats from the collection of former major leaguer Ken Berry

Nice list of stuff, love the variety. I was torn between thinking I had used up my entire lifetime of luck and I'd never find anything again (obviously my haul was a one time thing but I did find another two separately) and thinking thrift stores need to be regular stops if I'm around one.

I wonder how stuff like that ends up there, but it reminds me of what my niece one said. She likes Slipknot, so I showed her my mask signed by the members of the group. She looks at it, scrunches up her nose and says "there's writing on it"...

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing what other people have found as well.

[Dewey2007]

I have a friend who played minor league baseball in the early 90's. When I ran into him recently and asked if he had any jerseys he'd like to lend to our sports exhibit he said unfortunately he had cleaned out his closets and took everything to Goodwill last year. He sounded a little bummed and said "Man, I wish I would have kept it now".

That's how stuff ends up there!

[godwulf]

I was poking around a local thrift shop a few years ago, and saw what was obviously somebody's slightly cracked game bat lying amid the "sports" stuff - old bike helmets, kids' gloves, golf clubs, etc. It was a brown Hoosier bat, with the name "Brant Brown" on it, and a $3.99 price tag. I had no idea at the time who Brant Brown was - turns out he played for the Cubs in the late '90s - but I just felt that it was wrong and disrespectful for it to be where it was, so of course I brought it home.

A couple of years ago, I stopped into a Goodwill store on my way to work and found - among the toys - a very beat-up kid's Padres souvenir batting helmet, with Garth Brooks' autograph on the bill, for a few dollars. I remembered that he'd worked out with the Padres at ST here one year, and I figure that's almost certainly when it was signed. I keep meaning to list it on eBay, but I'll probably never get around to it. (Hey, Padres and/or Garth fans, it's yours for five bucks, shipped.)

Stuff I didn't find, myself, in thrift shops, but bought from folks who did: three of Matt Williams' golf bags, probably from charity tournaments, all different, near mint and nicely personalized...and the infamous Kelly Stinnett DBacks shower wrap.

[ndevlin]

Krazy3's threat about finding minor league jerseys in a thrift shop reminds me of what I've found in various thrift shops:
- Arizona Rattlers game used jersey
- Danny Ainge game worn and autographed softball jersey from a charity game
- Nets jersey (not game worn) autographed by Jason Kidd
- T-shirt autographed by 25 members from both MISL all star squads from 2004 MISL all star game in St. Louis (anyone want this? $20 and its yours!)
- A bunch of game and coach worn hats from the collection of former major leaguer Ken Berry

Anyone else find good stuff in thrift shops?


Hey Bob, are these Topeka thriftshops?? I never find a dang thing in thriftshops or garage sales of any kind in Topeka. You would think you would find some old minor league stuff like Topeka Hawks items, but you just dont.

Ive never met Ken Berry, but Ive written to him a couple of times and hes responded. I actually just bought a gamer of his a couple months ago. Im afraid to ask him about it or sign it. Not sure how he'll react.

[jwasserman]

While not game used, I did make what turned out to be a rather significant find in a Thrift Store about a year ago. I found two old sports scrapbook tucked away with the books. They contained dozens of newspaper articles, photographs, and award certificates all about a high school football player named Pierre Marchando. Ultimately, he made a failed attempt at joining the Patriots and joined a now defunct league. He suffered some injuries but never lost hope in his future in football. He seemed like a genuinely likeable person. The last page of the scrapbook contained his obituary- a car accident took his life in his mid-late twenties. The bulk of the articles came from the mid 70’s so I figured there was a good chance his family was still alive. I managed to track down his mother through a remembrance page on a church website. From there I learned that his brother Rene was still living and found him in a simple Yahoo phonebook search. His son, Pierre’s nephew whom he never met, now plays football for the same high school. Pierre apparently made such an impact in his town that they named a yearly athletic award for him. Ultimately, I was able to return both books to the family and got to talk to Rene for some time. Monetarily, I was out actually out money between shipping and the original cost of the books but it’s still my best find.

[GarkoCollector]

A couple of years ago, I stopped into a Goodwill store on my way to work and found - among the toys - a very beat-up kid's Padres souvenir batting helmet, with Garth Brooks' autograph on the bill, for a few dollars. I remembered that he'd worked out with the Padres at ST here one year, and I figure that's almost certainly when it was signed. I keep meaning to list it on eBay, but I'll probably never get around to it. [b](Hey, Padres and/or Garth fans, it's yours for five bucks, shipped.)[/b[



Email me a scan. I know a little girl that loves Garth Brooks. She isnt old enough to know where San Diego is or who the Padres are, but she knows 99% of Garth's songs by heart.
Thanks,
Tom

[GarkoCollector]

A couple of years ago, I stopped into a Goodwill store on my way to work and found - among the toys - a very beat-up kid's Padres souvenir batting helmet, with Garth Brooks' autograph on the bill, for a few dollars. I remembered that he'd worked out with the Padres at ST here one year, and I figure that's almost certainly when it was signed. I keep meaning to list it on eBay, but I'll probably never get around to it. (Hey, Padres and/or Garth fans, it's yours for five bucks, shipped.)



Email me a scan. I know a little girl that loves Garth Brooks. She isnt old enough to know where San Diego is or who the Padres are, but she knows 99% of Garth's songs by heart.
Thanks,
Tom

[godwulf]

Email me a scan. I know a little girl that loves Garth Brooks. She isnt old enough to know where San Diego is or who the Padres are, but she knows 99% of Garth's songs by heart.
Thanks,
Tom

I'll do that tonight when I get home.

[sox83cubs84]

My two best (and two of only a few...the deals don't appear in my area):

Late 1980s Bears home Jim McMahon pro-issue (not used) jersey;

Lansing Lugnuts Minor League home gamer.

Dave M.
Chicago area

[TAFKADixie]

I found a Clemson game issued jersey from the mid 90s about a year ago for $4 at a Goodwill. The surprising thing was that according to the tag, it had been sitting there for over a week.

[richpick]

I have a friend who owns a thrift store in Newport Beach, CA. He gets almost all his stuff from unclaimed storage units. It is very likely collectors store there stuff (even game used stuff) and then can't pay the bill or die. Then it is auctioned off.

Richpick

[topekabob]

Nate - The first two were thriftshops in Arizona, the Kidd auto and MISL shirt were from the thrift shop in Topeka on 29th. And the Ken Berry stuff too.
I've met Ken Berry several times and every time he's been very nice. He even showed up for my son's fundraiser at a local restaurant as he's friends with some of the parents. I don't think he'd mind signing your jersey.
Which brings me to my famous garage sale story. I was driving to work and drove by a garage sale, and who was sitting in a chair manning the sales table but Ken Berry. So I stop and chat with him and notice he has a table of baseball stuff. What look to be some jerseys and pants. I end up with a bunch of jerseys and tons of pants. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to sell these jerseys and he said, "Sure, they're just taking up space." I left him with my business card just in case he changed his mind (I'm not hard to find in any event) but I guess he really didn't want them.
So you just never know what you'll find and where you'll find it!

[ndevlin]

Nate - The first two were thriftshops in Arizona, the Kidd auto and MISL shirt were from the thrift shop in Topeka on 29th. And the Ken Berry stuff too.
I've met Ken Berry several times and every time he's been very nice. He even showed up for my son's fundraiser at a local restaurant as he's friends with some of the parents. I don't think he'd mind signing your jersey.
Which brings me to my famous garage sale story. I was driving to work and drove by a garage sale, and who was sitting in a chair manning the sales table but Ken Berry. So I stop and chat with him and notice he has a table of baseball stuff. What look to be some jerseys and pants. I end up with a bunch of jerseys and tons of pants. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to sell these jerseys and he said, "Sure, they're just taking up space." I left him with my business card just in case he changed his mind (I'm not hard to find in any event) but I guess he really didn't want them.
So you just never know what you'll find and where you'll find it!

Oh nice! Were these his actual gamers, or jerseys from other events? He didnt have his gold glove award out there did he? :-)

Let me know if you ever want to part with any of them. I may be interested.

[nyjetsfan14]

While not game used, I did make what turned out to be a rather significant find in a Thrift Store about a year ago. I found two old sports scrapbook tucked away with the books. They contained dozens of newspaper articles, photographs, and award certificates all about a high school football player named Pierre Marchando. Ultimately, he made a failed attempt at joining the Patriots and joined a now defunct league. He suffered some injuries but never lost hope in his future in football. He seemed like a genuinely likeable person. The last page of the scrapbook contained his obituary- a car accident took his life in his mid-late twenties. The bulk of the articles came from the mid 70’s so I figured there was a good chance his family was still alive. I managed to track down his mother through a remembrance page on a church website. From there I learned that his brother Rene was still living and found him in a simple Yahoo phonebook search. His son, Pierre’s nephew whom he never met, now plays football for the same high school. Pierre apparently made such an impact in his town that they named a yearly athletic award for him. Ultimately, I was able to return both books to the family and got to talk to Rene for some time. Monetarily, I was out actually out money between shipping and the original cost of the books but it’s still my best find.

Now that is not only a GREAT story and enjoyable read but an inspiration to put forth a lil effort to assist and bring a smile to someone else. Well done jwasserman! I tip my cap to you and say thanks for doing that and sharing the story, awesome stuff.

[topekabob]

In response to Nate: These were all game worn coaches jerseys and pants - from the Royals, Padres, Mets and White Sox. I'll probably keep the jerseys for now, but if you are interested in any of the pants, let me know. One pair of pants is powder blue Royals!

[InterstellarHenderson]

I will try to revive this thread. I'm a huge fan of the thrift and finding game worn or autographed stuff.
I have found a Houston Astros gamer (Spring Training jersey).
New Orleans Zyphers gamer for New Orleans Hornets night (autographed)
And more recently a lot that included Odell Beckham Jr.'s LSU track jacket and pants (Nike Storm Fit) that was worn the week of the 2011 National Title as well as one of his National Title tshirt and his Chick Fil A Bowl Nike Track Jacket.