Picked up a few minor league items from a friend of mine several years ago. I keep packing them away and then I have to go digging for them when I think about them later. There are actually two copies of this particular program, with manager Bob Skinner on the cover. Each of them has a roster sheet for that days game.
The first one is from August 15, 1992 against the Albequerque Dukes and also includes the Toros' promotional schedule for August and September. The second is for September 1 against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox and also includes a bonus sheet - a wedding invitation for outfielder Karl "Tuffy" Rhodes that was held at the ballpark. Both books are intact for the most part except for the untidy removal of a food coupon from one of the ad pages.
The third Toros' program is from just a couple years later, after they repeated as PCL champions. This one was also sold at a game vs. the Sky Sox - this time somewhere between July 25 and 28, according to the roster sheet.
The scoresheet sections of all three programs are clean.
I have another program from around the same era, though this one is for a major league team.
Colorado Rockies Inaugural Spring Training program from 1993. Includes a ticket stub for a game against the Angels on March 14. There is an article on manager Don Baylor that almost makes me want to keep the book for my player collection, but it's a little too far outside the scope of reasonable storage and practicality. So my discipline leads to your benefit.
The bonus with this one is a limited edition baseball from the year after. Only 1000 of these were made for Spring Training in 1994.
And it's signed! After some brief research,...
It turns out to be the signature of catcher and later Cleveland and Seattle manager Eric Wedge. (Autographed card not included). He is now managing at Wichita State University.
I will trade any or all of these for cards on my wantlist, or cash to cover postage. I'm not in them for any significant cost, so don't hesitate to make an offer!
Wedding invitation in a program? That's why I love minor league baseball. And that 1994 Tucson Toros Wheaties box cover is awesome! I inherited a huge Bay Area collection a few years ago (Stanford, SF 49ers, SJ Sharks, etc.) which filled up a few magazine boxes... so I've cut back on collecting these items ever since due to lack of space. But I can definitely see some other collectors swooping in and offering up trades. If not... you should be able to easily flip them on eBay.
ReplyDeleteI was also going to comment on Tuffy Rhodes' wedding invitation. How... unique!
DeleteNice Eric Wedge find. It's cool to find that the ball is signed by someone who had a decent career. I once had an English professor in college who started at catcher for his high school team with Wedge backing him up.
ReplyDeleteIt's not exactly the same, but I have a couple of hundred minor league cards that need a new home, so I can sort of relate to this.
ReplyDeletefun stuff for the right collector! I have some programs and baseballs to part with as well. Perhaps a giveaway later on this year.
ReplyDelete