Last week we took you on an Iron Bowl-themed stroll through Auburn antiquities, complete with ticket stubs and score taunting. To make sure I don’t force myself into a theme each time, I’m completely random once again. Hope you enjoy.
Auburn Heismans Painting (1986)
“I bought this painting back in the 90’s at an antique store. The caption reads “AUBURN HEISMANS 1895-1985” One of the more unique items in my collection. Apparently it was painted by Booth Malone in 1986. Now we just need to add in The Blessed Individual.”
– Bradford H. Boney
And you thought Auburn only had three Heisman trophy winners. Well, we do, but we have many more “Heismans” as this lovely portrait can attest. Everyone knows that John Heisman coached on the Plains for four years (1895-1899), and this painting does a great job of showcasing (in color) the old uniforms of that era. Seeing them alongside our first two winners, Pat and Bo, all just hanging out on the Samford lawn is like seeing an Auburn Field of Dreams. I can’t tell if Heisman himself is portrayed in this picture as I don’t see anyone with the mustache he sported at the time, but I could just be missing him. Either way, this is one of the coolest Heisman related pieces I’ve ever seen. [Ed. Note: I believe the flat-capped gent behind Bo’s left shoulder wearing supposed to be Heisman. The painting appears based on Auburn’s 1897 team photo].
Where Tradition Began: The Centennial History of Auburn Football (1991)
“My dad bought this book for me prior to the 92 season. I was 12, read it cover to cover a handful of times and became one of the youngest experts on AU football history.”
-Aaron Seay
We go from a portrait of Auburn football history to a book on the subject. While it is currently out of print, if you’d like to become an expert like the 12-year-old Aaron, there is actually one new copy and some used available on Amazon that could be yours for under $10. I’m guessing you couldn’t get Aaron to sell his copy for ten times that,
Vintage Auburn License Plate (1970’s)
“Saw this license plate in Seaside, FL this past weekend. Asked around to some people who could date the amazing tag and the consensus is that it’s from the 70’s.”
– @jamiecolbert1
I can’t recall ever seeing this variation of our logo, but something about this plate just works for me. I dig the Major League Baseball-ish tri-color design and the way the “U” just seems to be hanging from the serifs on the bottom of the “A.” Very cool.
Auburn UNO (late ‘90s/early ‘00s)
“A deck of Auburn UNO cards… I am pretty sure these came in a Christmas stocking one year.”
– Dean Flynn
Based on that Auburn word mark and the Tiger Eyes logo, this looks to be a late ‘90s/early ‘00s era Auburn UNO set. Love the “War Eagle” wild card and would be really interested to see what other images are used in the set. Are they all campus landmarks and general football images or are former players and coaches featured? As it looks like this set was never opened, it remains a mystery.
Auburn Stadium Cups (Late 1970’s)
“Last two of a set of four home tailgating cups. You can’t see the AU or the diagonal block Auburn on the other sides. Four great logos all on one cup.”
-Allen Jeffers
Like the Auburn rug from a previous Relics, these cups feature my two all-time favorite alternate logos in one place (plus the interlocking AU and block Auburn – bonus). The condition of these cups after so many years is fantastic. I have old stadium cups from the mid-2000s with their print almost completely worn off and some from my first game at Auburn that are almost solid white now. The discipline it must have taken to not pull these out at tailgates year after year is to be commended.
Auburn Man Sticker (1960’s)
– Jeremy Henderson
Our own Jeremy Henderson sent me a couple goodies this week. This old decal is one of my favorites. I can just hear Jeremy himself, in his smooth Southern drawl, say that line thanks entirely to the hours I’ve spent listening to It’s Pronounced Jordan (listen for yourself here). J&M used to have similar old style stickers and decals when I was in school (maybe they still do), but I don’t think you could get them for a dime.
And with that, we’ll put a nice orange and blue bow on this edition (check previous editions here) of War Eagle Relics. As always, we are indebted to our contributors, and we are always looking for more contributions (it says nothing of greed in the Creed)—Keep’em coming! (aufearlessandtrue@gmail.com or @FearlessandTrue).
P.S. If you have an orange jersey, now would be a great time to snap a pic and send it in.
Jeremy, thanks for the assist on the Heisman pic. I thought that might be him in the cap, but couldn’t be sure and hadn’t seen that team photo.
You can still get those UNO cards lots of places.
The “Auburn Man Needs No Introduction” decal dates back to at least the 50’s. My dad placed one on my baby crib when I was born.
I have that same license plate on my car right now. Got it from my grandad a while back. He also has another one that says War Eagle with an eagle on it. I’ll see if I can get a pic of it and send it in. I love seeing the old vanity plates.