In late 2009 I was on the sportsgraphing.com forum and happened to come across an idea from a member. He took a patriots edition monopoly board and had it autographed by members of the team. In all honesty I thought this was a great idea for a conversation piece. This was also around the time of the Montreal Canadiens Centennial season, Parker Brothers released a Montreal Canadiens edition board.
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| Canadiens Edition Monopoly |
Criteria-For the project I decided to obtain the most autographs I could on the board by members of the Montreal Canadiens who are also in the hockey hall of fame or Canadiens greats. Ideally I wanted the autograph to contain only the signature itself as well as the number of the player. In that regard I have had some set backs, Jacques Lemaire autographed the piece but did not include his number (really my mistake I was in a rush and forgot to ask) Dickie Moore also added his H.O.F inscription to the piece which I assume he does almost automatically on all the pieces he signs.
Players
Guy Lafleur- Was the first to sign the board at a local free signing in Montreal. As always a great athlete to meet in person. Signed the autograph, small talked about the project wished me luck on the idea.
Yvan Cournoyer- One of the best athletes to meet in person. When I presented him with the monopoly board immediately greeted with laughter asked me where I came up with the idea. He also nudged habs alumni Yvon Lambert (who also was at this particular event) and asked him in french if he's ever seen something like this. Overall a great interaction, he asked me nicely where I'd like him to sign.
Elmer Lach- The oldest living Canadiens alumni. Overall a good experience with Mr.Lach. Had him sign a few items prior to showing him the Monopoly board.When I did he looked at it and looked back at me and asked "I've seen alot in my day but this is new to me!" we shared and laugh and I thanked him for his time. I also forgot to take a picture of him autographing the board. Elmer suggested that he pretended to sign to board to make it seem authentic. Other interesting interaction with a habs legend.
Dickie Moore- Mr.Moore was great in-person autograph. Asked me when I showed him the board "Do you have the pieces too? cause I got time for a quick game!" A great exprience and a terrific autograph. One of my personal favorite all time habs. This being the first time I had a chance to meet Mr.Moore this was truly a great experience.
Jacques Lemaire-To be quite honest this was maybe the only time I've felt intimidated while getting autographs. Mr.Lemaire seemed like a nice guy but very quiet and with a stern look to him. Signed my piece while one of his handlers asked him if this was his first monopoly request. I was holding so many things at once I forgot to ask Mr.Lemaire to add his number to the piece even after he asked me if I wanted him to sign anything else. Truly one of my only regrets of this piece.
Guy Lapointe- Possibly the funniest and interesting interactions I've had while doing this project.
The minute I pulled the board out he told me he played a ton of monopoly as a kid and when on to say "Can I ask you something? Why I am I Kentucky avenue? And another thing why is Robinson's piece worth more then mine?" This was a great experience and I was lucky as I arrived late to the autograph session. I had a good amount of time to talk one on one with Mr.Lapointe. Guy Lapointe truly lives up to his fun loving persona that Ken Dryden depicted in his book.
Jean Beliveau- The man, the myth, the legend! I've had a chance to met Mr.Beliveau a few times over the years and he truly lives up to his class act reputation. He went on to tell me he signs alot of autographs and this was a first for him. Mr. Beliveau took the time to look at the piece and read who had autographed the board prior to him.
Ken Dryden-Clearly the hardest to obtain on this project to date. After meeting him at Mcgill and was turned down. I was told "I will not sign things of monetary value". I tried again the next week at a book signing at Indigo book store. Oddly enough he signed it this time around no issue and did not even personalize the piece! Mr.Dryden overall is a great guy but very committed to his principals when it comes to autographs.
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| Dryden Auto over his mask displayed on the board. |
Serge Savard-Mr.Savard was doing a autograph session locally in Montreal and I took the chance to add him to the board. Unlike most retired players Mr. Savard is heavily involved in variety projects which limit the opportunities to commit to autograph sessions. This unfortunately was one of the worst to come out on the board. The pen I use for this project must have dried out and caused his autograph to be fainter then the others. However I'm still pleased I was able to now complete 2/3's of the "Big Three".
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| Savard's autograph placed above Elmer Lach and Guy Lapointe |
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| Serge Savard signing the board. |
Steve Shutt-For this signing I did break one of my cardinal rules. Local Shop AL collections was doing a private with Steve Shutt at a very reasonable price. Due to the fact that this was local and I could drop off and pick up my project in person and also have them use the same colored pen, I decided to do so. Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome.The board was signed where I wanted and no smears or light spots on his autograph.
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| Steve Shutt's addition to the project. |
Henri Richard-The latest edition to the board was Canadiens legend Henri Richard. As most Montreal old timers Mr. Richard was very approachable and took the time to look over the project before signing. I'm not one to have the players force interest by going on about what I'm making them sign. However Mr.Richard was nice and asked me a few questions on how the idea came about etc. Great experience no issue's with the turn out.
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| Henri Richard signing the board |
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| Myself and Mr. Richard |
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| The newest addition to the project can be seen right above Jean Beliveau's autograph. |
Patrick Roy-Due to the overwhelming cost of having Patrick Roy sign for me at a private or public signing (Price Ranging from 130-179$) I took a chance at getting him in person before a Quebec Remparts game here in Montreal. Now keep in mind going into this I was fairly skeptical given that in-person autograph are usually fairly poor compared to their paid counter parts. I was disappointed to see what looked like "dealers" already waiting at the arena. This could have possibly hurting my chances of obtaining a autograph from Mr. Roy. However things went smooth as can be. Mr. Roy ran with a black sharpie threw a line of 30 or so people waiting for his autograph. As he approached me with the black sharpie I was ready to pull my item away when he was nice enough to switch pens after seeing the previous autographs on the project. I was also the last in the line so this may have helped my chances of having him switch pens for me. Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome and also the experience with such a high profile NHL Legend.
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| Patrick Roy's Auto Circled in blue. |
Here are a few photos of the project in different stages.
