[sanjosefuji]

Are you ever embarrassed to tell people you're a sports memorabilia collector?

The fact is... it's a huge part of my life and most of my loved ones know about my hobby. However, I don't tell everyone... mainly because I don't want to be labeled the Japanese version of the:

Anyways... I recently hung out with a friend, who is completely out of the loop when it comes to sports collectibles. And he asked me about my interest in the hobby... which eventually led him to showing me the sweet trophy at the top of the post.


It's a Hockey Hall of Fame statue given to George Al Leader when he was inducted in 1969. The average hockey fan has probably never heard of Mr. Leader, because he was inducted as a "builder" instead of a "player".


He organized the Defense Hockey League in 1940 and a few years later, he was elected secretary-manager of the Pacific Coast League (PCHL). In the early 50's, Leader was the president of the PCHL, which is now called the Western Hockey League (WHL). His contributions helped the expansion of hockey into Western North America. If interested, you can read more HERE.


In addition to the trophy, my buddy also has this framed patch:

And this silver plate:

Some may be wondering... how do you acquire such unique hockey memorabilia? Well... my buddy was really good friends with Mr. Leader's son, who left it to him when he passed away a few years ago.


He didn't seem interested in selling any of the items, but he asked me what I thought they'd be worth (sort of reminded me of one of those Antique Roadshow episodes). Of course, I had no idea. But I'm assuming their one of a kind pieces, so I'm sure they're worth something to someone.


Happy Black Friday everyone! Sayonara.

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[Dave Crum]

Super cool thread. Your buddy has a very nice peice of Hockey history.

[sanjosefuji]

Thanks Dave Crum!