In light of the recent tragic shooting in Auburn, I considered foregoing a War Eagle Relics this week. It seemed far too trivial in the wake of such a traumatic event. But I decided that the therapeutic powers of delving into my ever-growing treasure chest of reader-submitted goodies would be a good thing, and that maybe someone else could use a little nostalgic distraction as well.
Bo Jackson State Farm Figurine
“My mother got this from some State Farm insurance agent in B’ham and gave it to me (it was obviously some type of advertising gimmick for them). It’s nothing fancy — just plastic — but still part of my Auburn shrine!”
– Laura Jones, Class of ’82
We’ve featured Bo figurines of a professional variety in the past — football, baseball — but never one in his Auburn(ish) uniform and never one that featured him playing both sports together. I spotted this particular item of indeterminate age (but likely 1992-1993) on the shelf of Laura’s “Auburn shrine” in another picture she sent and asked her if she could send a close-up. She graciously obliged. State Farm either skimped a bit by not paying Auburn for the rights to use the logo on the helmet or some NCAA rule prohibited it, but I kind of dig the throwback look, especially when coupled with the lack of a facemask. And how many pieces of Bo the Birmingham Baron have you come across lately? Cause yeah, that’s also what this is. (You’ll recall Bo played briefly in the Magic City before taking his artificial hip to Chicago for his comeback). So I’m giving State Farm credit for one of the greatest corporate promotional giveaway items I’ve come across. The best thing I’ve ever gotten from my agent is a magnet calendar.
Uncut Auburn Football Card Set (1989)
“Here is a framed set of uncut Auburn football cards from 1989. Set includes Bo, Pat, Lawyer Tillman, Lionel James, Joe Cribbs, Aundray Bruce, Tracy Rocker, Dick McGowan, James Brooks, Samford tower, Aubie, Heisman trophies, an AU helmet, Jordan Hare Stadium (with only 1 upper deck), and many more. This was my grandfather’s but he passed it on to me when I moved to Auburn 5 years ago. War Eagle.”
– Justin Malone
I’ve seen this set of cards before, but never quite like this. I can’t imagine that there are too many uncut sets left out there, either. That it is artfully framed in a nice orange and blue double matting really puts it over the top.
Gene Chizik Custom White Sideline Jacket (2009)
“Chizik had them made before 2009 and they arrived mid-season. It’s made by Boathouse. Under Armour OK’d it so long as their logo was on it. Boathouse’s logo is nowhere to be found.”
– Josh Black
When Chizik first took to the Auburn sidelines in these white jackets back in his first season as head coach, I remember people scrambling to get their own and complaining that Under Armour didn’t offer them on their site. I heard rumors then that they weren’t Under Armour at all, but never saw any confirmation of that until Josh sent in this picture and accompanying explanation. This has to be one of the rarer pieces we’ve featured as I’m sure only a few were made, and fewer still made it out of Chizik’s closet. On a related custom sideline fashion note, I’ve heard that the large AU logo that Coach Chizik sports on the back of his short sleeve white jacket is also a custom job, albeit a less successfully executed one. I’m personally holding out hope that it was a 2011 season only model, but as long as Chizik keeps representing Auburn with the class and dignity that he has consistently displayed he can wear whatever he wants.
Auburn Hockey T-shirt (early ‘80s)
“Auburn had a club team in the early ‘80’s (Note: The club was reborn in 2010 after a 27 year break, and they have awesome uniforms. I was a kid in Bham and a huge WHA Bham Bulls fan as well as an Auburn fan. My mom wrote me a check and I filled out a form requesting an orange t-shirt. Four to six weeks later this showed up with a note explaining that they were all out of orange, and they hoped blue would do. It did.”
– David Bivin
With the Stanley Cup being awarded to the Los Angeles Kings earlier this week, what better time to feature an item from the Tigers own storied hockey history? As I’ve said before, I fully expect and understand that most of our sports specific relics will be football related, but I never in a million years would have guessed that we’d have a hockey themed submission before a baseball one. I won’t complain, however, as I’m a big fan of the sport and will happily use it as an excuse to promote the current club.
Canvas Schedules (1973-74)
“I’ve attached a pic of my 1973 and 74 Canvas poster schedules.”
– Lonnie (aka 2xTiger)
We’ve featured schedule posters in previous editions, but they were always the traditional paper variety. Here we have schedule posters that were made to last the test of time. We’ve featured wall-hangings of many different varieties (posters, pennants, clocks) but this is almost like finding an Auburn tapestry. Very cool.
Autographed Sporting News (1971)
“This is a framed edition (the complete magazine) of a 1971 The Sporting News, autographed by the Dynamic Duo. Bo, you’re great. Cam, you’re great. To me, this pair is the Greatest!”
– Mitch Crumpler/mitchc
Sullivan and Beasley, together again. This time on a national magazine cover that I had never seen before now. Another well framed piece with autographs to boot. A definite keeper. As for Mitch’s comment about the Dynamic Duo being the greatest, I certainly won’t argue. One of the great things about Auburn football is that you can make a convincing case for who the best Heisman winning player is (or in the case of Sullivan and Beasley, players are – part of that trophy is Terry’s, right?) and not be wrong at all. Who you chose usually depends on your age and the era you most closely associate with, but that’s part of the beauty of it.
Hardin-Simmons Game Program (1959)
“Here’s a scan of the original. Careful what you ask for! War Eagle Forever!”
– Bart Clapp ’95
Well, that didn’t take long. Last week, we featured a reproduction of this program cover in our blurb on the 1959 Season Ticker Poster and I stated that a picture of the real deal would be a Holy Grail of sorts. Looks like we’ll have to come up with something else to pine after, because the original Aubie cover is present and accounted for. I guess we could always heat up our dormant but not forgotten quest for more orange jerseys.
That will do it for this week (for past weeks, go here). Thanks again to all of our great contributors. For anyone who has sent in an item that hasn’t been used yet, it’s coming. The response has been so overwhelmingly great that I’ve built up more of a backlog than I intended. Your patience and continued submissions are always greatly appreciated. Just send it to [email protected] or tweet me @FearlessandTrue.
Related: The Bo Jackson of Bo Jackson collections.
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I want ALL of this stuff….
I noticed the 1974 canvas schedule poster doesn’t include the opener in B’ham – we beat Louisville – that was my fourth AU game
Good eye, col tom. Odd that they wouldn’t include that game. Thought maybe it was because it was in Birmingham, but they include road games so that doesn’t make much sense either.