Posted By:
Paul MuchinskyHi Mike,
Thank you for your kind words about my book. I fully share your opinion that "they" are out there somewhere. For you, it is Detroit. For me, it was NYC. In addition to being the home of three MLB teams, these teams were often in the WS. The NY area was also the home to many metal works companies that made pins. Whitehead and Hoag was located in nearby Newark, NJ. The 3 teams drew fans from what is known as "the tri-state area" (NY, NJ, CT). I grew up in southern CT. Back in the day, ballplayers lived among "the common people". Perhaps you read the wonderful book, "The Boys of Summer". Although the book was limited to the Dodgers, it describes how the players were part of the local community in their personal lives. The author (Roger Kahn, I believe) talked about how Carl Furillo was regarded as somewhat of a "social outsider" because he lived in a different borough (Queens). Can you imagine how many bats, balls, (worn out)gloves, autographs, cards, pins, etc. these players gave to their neighbors just because they themselves were "good neighbors"? All of these itmes can't possibly have made their way into the market. I have to believe that tucked away in some attic are some surviving souvenirs of the three teams of that era. My fantasy is to somehow find where an old pin vendor lived. In some back closet is a box of all the pins he never sold on the sidewalk outside the stadium (in NY, some team was always playing a home game). The box probably (in my dream) contains pins of players that were traded away soon after the pins were made, and thus were never popular with the fans (Bob Cerv would be an example, the roommate of M&M in 1961). If all this sounds like fanciful nonsense, it isn't. It actually happened to me (sort of, and indirectly). The city was not NY, but Philadelphia. It wasn't me who found the old stash of pins from a former vendor, but someone else, who in turn sold them to a dealer. By the dumbest of luck I find the dealer at an outdoor antique show that I NEVER previously attended. I just happened to be in the neighborhood on business. He had these incredible PM10 pins of Phillies players. They weren't even "out" for display, but were in a paper bag. He knew they were special, knew what they were worth, and I paid full retail for them. But I got them. They are the most of the "large" PM10 Phillies pins in my book. He had more than one of all or most of them, so other collectors got to share in them as well.
Life is also filled with missed opportunities, of all kinds. I grew up playing in the same Little League as Jackie Robinson, Jr. We were on different teams, but same league. Jackie Sr. would sit in the stands and watch the games. This would have been right after he retired, late 1950s. My parents told me who he was, but as a 12-year old boy I didn't really understand his role in society and in the history of baseball. I see where a cancelled signed check by Robinson now sells for about $2,000. I think if I had asked him for them, I could have gotten all he had. They were just useless pieces of paper with his signature on it. A few years later I had a summer job where I made home deliveries by truck. One of my customers was Mel Allen. He would soon be fired by the Yankees as their long-time voice. He was always very nice, and I'm sure would have provided me with all manner of small mementoes if I had asked for them. A few years back some auction house sold off a bunch of stuff from "The Mel Allen Estate". I was thinking when I saw the lot, "Hell, I could have had half this lot 40 years ago if I had just asked him for it".
As to BPB-II, I am getting asked this question with increasing frequency. First, as part of this network I am willing and flattered to share stories about pins and any other matters about the hobby. As far as a "super book" of the top 5 collections in the hobby, I doubt if that would be logistically possible. You would have a tough time coordinating the combined effort, and if the end product is a single volume, I would guess you would be in the neighborhood of a 800 - 1,000 page book. If you want "selectivity" over "comprehensiveness", someone will have to play the role or arbiter in determining what is most desired. Finally, don't bet the mortgage everyone would be willing to participate. As for me, there is a 10% chance there will be a Volume II. It is a vast amount of work, and there is always a "drop dead date" in publishing a book--the final date when the file is closed, and you go to press with what you have. If two weeks later you pick up a crown jewel, it is too late. That pin (and subsequent additions) now become the fodder for Volume III. It never ends. If I "update" my baseball book, most likely it would be electronically. The quality of the photographic images would be superior, and there is no drop dead date. As they come in, they could go straight online to be downloaded and placed in a looseleaf notebook, highly revisable. The images would be free. However, I tend to be an old-fashioned "book guy", not a new-age electronic guy. I can barely send email. While it makes the most sense to go the electronic route, it is simply a medium I'm not very comfortable with. In any event, most likely my next book will be "Football Pinback Buttons", and while baseball is still my first love, I don't see the "update" happening in the immediate future. I sure hope there are no word limits on these posts.
Paul