What is your White Whale?

[gingi79]

A friend of mine who is not into game worns but is intrigued by my collection asked me recently "So Captain Ahab, what's your white whale?" I thought it was a great question, and I think it will produce some diverse and fascinating answers on this board. (If you are lost, I apologize. Without the cute Moby Dick reference, what is the one item you will search forever for until you find it and when you do, you will work incredibly hard to obtain it.) To be fair, please mention only 3 or less. Stories as to why would be really appreciated to. I like to know why we do what we do, it makes me a better all around collector

For me, Barry Meisel owns my penultimate Holy Grail. Pavel Bure's 1994 Stanley Cup Finals game worn Black jersey. It's photomatched many times. He is a Rangers fan, so it's insult to injury. Every year at the MeiGray expo he brings it. I get to touch it and talk to him about it but he won't sell it. I consider myself lucky to be able to see and touch it every year. Many people never get to be so close to their grail. One day, hopefully he will let it go and I'll get it. Short story as to why is because I was a Canucks fan in New York and Bure was my hero. I wore #10 when I played deck hockey and he was responsible for some of the greatest sports moments I've ever experienced. Plus no one else knew him around Long Island so I felt like he was MY player. His successes were almost claimed by me as his sole fan on Long Island. When the Canucks made the Finals, teachers and students in my High School congratulated me as if I had something to do with it.

Two would be Sami Salo's Purple Detroit Vipers Jersey. He played 5 games for them and I own the white version. Sami is the Defenseman I always wanted to be, he seems to stop at least 2 goals a game and he is just a lunchbox guy. Shows up, does his job, gets no respect and dives, checks and stops everything he can 100% heart and effort. It's his rarest jersey and looks wicked sweet as well.

Last would be the jersey Shawn Camp wore against the Toronto Blue Jays in September 2006. I took my wife to her first pro game in Toronto against the (then) lowly Devil Rays. We sat behind the Rays bullpen and were really early to the game. We got to watch Batting Practice and I yelled to Shawn "Good Luck today Camp! They miss you in K.C." He came over and started talking to us. We chatted for awhile and I told him I had been coming to games for like 25 years and I never got a ball. He says "This is the ball I used last night to get the last out of the inning. Now you have a game used ball bro." I was shocked and amazed at how awesome he was to a fan in a rival ballpark (I was even wearing a Jays jersey) When Carl Crawford hit one into the bullpen during B.P., he yelled up "Hey Jennie!" When she looked down, he threw the ball to my wife. Just an amazing day and made her so happy and both of us lifelong Shawn Camp fans.

So, tell me Ahab, what's your Moby Dick........?

[iceman13]

Great topic...first choice would be the black jersey worn by Tony Gabriel in the 1976 Grey Cup between Ottawa and Saskatchewan. Honestly, any Gabriel at this point would be fine with me.

Second choice would be a Dan Marino from the 1984 season with great provenance and decent wear.

Third choice would be a Kent Nilsson Edmonton Oilers jersey from the 1986-87 season.

[stlgroundskeeper]

My white whales are probably nothing compared to what other people like but they are:

1. A Yadier Molina game used #41 Jersey. Any kind, of course i would liek the 04 world series jersey but any of his gam eused #41 jerseys will do because I started to like him right about the time he got into Manny ramirez's face at the world series

2. Yadier Molina catcher's gear. Any piece or all of it. a chest protector will be awesome. I really like how he plays defense and he is a gamer.

3. The Yadier Molina cleats that were auctioned off on mlb auctions a while back. I really wanted them and comcast internet was down in my area when I was going to bid. I learned my lesson but I wish I would have won them.

These are the three items I would really want right now. I use to want a batting helmet but I won the batting helmet on the mlb auction this past weekend of Yadi's. I love it.

If anyone can help me with my wishlist please poitn me in the right direction.

Andrew Edgerley
cardinalbats@yahoo.com

[xpress34]

This is an easy list for me...

3) Nolan Ryan GU Rangers Home White Jersey - Preferably from his final season in 1993. Obviously from my board name, I'm a HUGE Ryan fan.

2) Matt Holliday's GU jersey he was wearing for 'The Slide' in the 163rd game of the 2007 MLB Season (Yes, for those who don't know, the 'Play-In' or 'Tie Breaker' game is considered a Regular Season Game - # 163) Outside of Ryan, I probably have more Matt Holliday stuff than any other player in my collection - Matt has always been great to me (he knows what all I have) and I'm really hoping to re-connect at ST...

1) Nolan's famous 'bloody' gamer from the chopper back to the mound off Bo Jackson's bat.

Funny story about my #1... I was at that game and saw the event unfold 1st hand. Well a friend of mine knew one of the Ranger's club house guys at the time who told us that in between innings when Nolan took his 7 stitches to his lip and changed jerseys, he grabbed another jersey from his locker and wrote on it, "Bo - I owe you one. - Nolan" and had the clubhouse guys take it to the visitor's dugout for Bo.

I've retold this story for years because I though it was a great story and I wanted THAT jersey as well... except that jersey doesn't exist - I had been keeping a GREAT sports 'Urban Leagend' alive for the past 20 + years...

See, I got to see Nolan 4 times in the 1st 3 months of 2008... he was here in Denver, CO as Grand Marshall of the National Western Stock Show in January (I went down and saw him and got to talk to him for about 1/2 an hour)... then he was here in February in Greeley, CO (about 45 mi NW of Denver) for the Weld County Friends of Baseball Breakfast as their keynote speaker... finally I saw him a couple of times at Surprise Field for Ranger's ST...

During our conversations, I brought up the 'Legend'...Nolan smiles, kind of chuckles and then tells me that while he had never heard that story, he thought it was funny - but not true. In fact he said he and Bo are still good friends and get together to go hunting fairly often - for those who don't know, Bo is a very serious and very accomplished Bow Hunter (no pun intended).

That's my three...

[Vintagedeputy]

There's a few things that I've seen here lately that I want, but nothing that I'd sell the farm for.

I would always like some Yankee bats from my youth - Munson, Reggie, Mattingly

[godwulf]

The Ryan jersey story reminded me of something that actually did happen a few years ago. A rookie player for the Diamondbacks accidentally hit the opposing team's catcher with his bat, on a swing, giving him a concussion. The next night, the catcher sent over his cracked helmet, signed, with the inscription, "Your first major league hit."

My "white whale" may sound fairly modest...but I would really like to own one of the field jackets Bob Brenly wore while he managed the DBacks.

A Matt Williams DBacks batting helmet would be really nice, too.

[zookerman182]

alcides escobar game used glove followed by his brevard county game used jersey followed by his nashville sounds jersey that he will be wearing this season.

[Fnazxc0114]

nolan ever tell you about how he single handedly controlled the snow monkey population in south texas.

[xpress34]

nolan ever tell you about how he single handedly controlled the snow monkey population in south texas.

No, but do tell... if I get a chance to get close to him again in March (my annual Mecca to ST in AZ) I'll ask him about it...

- Chris

[MJB14]

Dan Fouts Game Worn Chargers Jersey (Home or Away)

or

Dan Fouts Game Worn Chargers Helmet