Olympic Stadium Seat (1981 Montreal Expos Edition)

April 17th 1976, the first day of the Montreal landmark known as the Olympic Stadium was born. Its original purpose was to be the main stadium in which competitions would take place for the 1976 Olympics.  Overtime this has served as the home for many Montreal based sports franchises including the Expos, Alouettes and Impact.

For most Montrealers born after the Olympics this was a symbol of our baseball team. The place where the expos at times celebrated some of there most historic moments. However this was also where the expos sadly had there darkest days and eventually became the grave for the first MLB franchise outside of the United States.

Earlier this year while listening to the Team 990 (another fabric of Montreal sports culture that we may lose) I heard Warren Cromartie explain that he would be bringing back the 1981 Expos! This was in part of a Montreal Baseball Awareness campaign (www.mpb2012.com for more info) set up by "Cro" himself.

The collector in me thought "What would be the best item I could get signed by the only pennant winning Expos squad?" After a little bit of thinking I thought a seat back from the Stadium would be something really great. For those who have been to the stadium remember the unconventional styling of the seats. This to me would truly be something linked to the Expos history.

A month prior to the event I made my way down to the stadium in order to see if getting a seat back was a possibility. Well as it turns out the official answer is no. However the first man who worked at the stadium that I asked explained that there were many seat backs in storage at the stadium however did not think I would be able to obtain one. Prior to sending me off with the name of a manager, he told me to leave him my number and see if he could help me out.

A week later (After my own failed attempts at contacting someone at the stadium) the gentleman I spoke to originally called me and explained not only could he get me a seat back but the entire seat.
Needless to say I was ecstatic at the thought.

After picking up the seat I was pleased but did notice the seat needed some work as it had a rusty stand in a awful color that would not be very nice to look at. The other hiccup with the seat was that it was impossible to remove the seat back for the signing taking place with the 1981 squad.

Seat in its original none restored form

Now the photo of the seat as I received it does not exactly depict the condition it was actually in. the stand in which the plastic of the seat sits on was grey and faded and included cobwebs, dirt, filth and was sitting on this greyish stand which was rusty and discolored. 

Lucky for me my friend owns a construction business not far from where I live and was able to help me strip the paint from the stand and cut off a rusty piece from the front of the stand.

My friend stripping the old paint off/ Cutting the rusty pieces off

Bracket holding the seat after 10+ layers of old paint were sawed off

After the initial paint removal and cutting of the frame it was ready to be painted and placed back on the seat. Now keep in mind aside from the cleaning of the actual seat nothing was painted or cut from the original seat only the makeshift stand it came with.

Different cleaning products used to clean up actual seat.

After completing the painting of the stand I was also able to purchase a vinyl sticker which I then placed on the chair. Also the seat's number plate was also removed. In order not to leave an empty spot in the seat I had my framer make me a custom plate to fit in the place of the number. Overall I was very pleased with the completed look.

New and Improved stand with decal and custom plate that reads "Montreal Expos 1969-2004"

Once arriving at the event the seat garnered much attention and was a big success with the overall crowd. The only disappointed was my spot in the line. Being approximately 200 people back in the line, my concerns were that I might not be able to get to the signing table prior to the event ending.

Overall the event could not have gone any better, at the start of the event not all the players were signing as they were also running a youth camp. By the time I arrived at the table all the players were now signing with the exception of Warren Cromartie and Bill Lee. The players really seemed to enjoy the seat, I was getting various questions on how I was able to obtain it. The highlight however came from Expos former manager Jim Fanning who offered me 200$ for the seat. I laughed it off initially only to realized Mr.Fanning was serious.

Bill Lee and Warren Cromarite were still on the field taking photos and answering questions from the press. Luckily a photographer spotted me in the crowd and got me direclty one on one with both athletes not only getting their autographs but taking pictures and getting me a real one on one chance with them.

"The Spaceman" Bill Lee and I

This event was a huge success as I was able to obtain what now has become my favorite item. Also given the circumstances I'd like to think this is truely a 1/1 item and something I can pass down in my family.

To Recap the following members of the 1981 Expos autographed this seat:

-Andre Dawson
-Tim Raines
-Bill 'The Spaceman' Lee
-Warren Cromartie
-Jim Fanning
-Ellis Valentine
-Rodney Scott
-Larry Parrish
-Wallace Johnson
-Bryn Smith

Olympic Stadium Seat With Auto 1

Olympic Stadium Seat With Auto2

Special Thanks to my girlfriend and sister for helping me complete this.

A memorable birthday! (featuring Nick Swisher)

This July I celebrated my 25th birthday which makes me entirely to old to be so excited about birthdays. However this was clearly one of the most memorable to date.

On the day of my actual birthday I got what I consider to be one of the greatest pieces in my collection. My mother in law works in a spectrum that allows here to deal directly with a few members of the Montreal Canadiens. Now most of the people who read this blog can conclude that I am a huge fan. When she handed me the gift I had a good idea what I was looking at and luckily for me my assumptions were confirmed with a Game Used Erik Cole Autographed stick!

She explained to me that she was on the hunt for this stick for months and was able to seal the deal with Erik Cole just days before he left back to South Carolina for the off season. Nothing can make this stick more legitmate then having Mr.Cole himself hand her the stick to have it passed on to me.

Erik Cole Signed stick on the blade

Stick shaft with Player edition name.

Needless to say I was speechless. Game used memorabilia is harder and much more expensive to come by then most of the pieces I collect. A great gift by both of my parents in law who were so considerate of my interest and exceeded my wildest dreams with this gift! Thanks again Kelly & Jay!

The night of memorable gifts was not quite over there. I was also given a pair of tickets for the Yankees Vs. Blue Jays in Toronto! Being a big Yankees fan since the departure of my beloved expos this was a great gift also. Thanks Nick & Sheena!

Prior to going to the game I decided to make jumbo Nick Swisher heads for the game which I thought would be fun. Not only was the idea fun for the event but ended being the key ingredient in one of the greatest sports events I have ever been to.

Nick Swisher Jumbo Head

When the ball park opened I presented myself to the 3rd baseline gates. I waited around during the whole session coming up empty on the autograph front. However highlights included Derek Jeter asking me why the jumbo head was not made of him and Yankees catcher Russell Martin explaining that the sign was "fucking awesome".

Batting practice was now over and no autographs or any sign of Nick Swisher. The security guard started kicking people out for the start of the game. I was lucky enough just to sit and have no one tell me to move. Two minutes prior to the National anthem out came Nick Swisher and walked towards my sign. As expected Nick was awesome, he signed autographs and the whole nine yards. I was also lucky enough to capture the whole Nick Swisher event on tape!

Nick Swisher and I

Also in between innings I was told by a Yankees fan that this photo had made it onto the Yankee's Official facebook page and had over 17 000 Likes! To say this was a good time was an understatement.

Screen shots of my internet stardom!

 To recap Curtis Granderson was also nice enough to stop and sign my ticket stub which I turned into a cut for a mcfarlane base. Here is a look at everything I was able to obtain that day.