Category: friday feature

By David G. Firestone

Like many businesses, race teams often form partnerships to enhance business, or to stay afloat. Technical partnerships are one example, but there are other instances of struggling race teams teaming up to field race cars.

One such example of multiple teams fielding cars is the TMG/Circle Sport/RCR deal in 2017. Circle Sport merged with The Motorsports Group to field #33 for a limited schedule in 2017. RCR was also running the #33 for a limited schedule in 2017, so a deal was in place for all involved. Speaking as a race fan, I can tell you that this whole deal was needlessly confusing. Why not get a different car number than 33, so RCR could do what they want, and Circle Sport/TMG could do what they want.

This pit crew jacket, made by Alliance, and rated SFI-1, was worn by a crew member named J Mays was worn during 2017. Alliance has been around for a few years. They are apparently based in McDonough, Georgia, though their own website states that they are based in Riverton, Illinois. This single-layer jacket shows light use.The blue collar has a Velcro closure, and has no adornment whatsoever.There is a care tag, and a warranty label in the cowl, with J MAYS written in Sharpie on it.The right chest features a MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES logo and a LITTLE JOE’S AUTO logos embroidered.The left chest features a GOODYEAR and CURTIS KEY PLUMBING logos embroidered.There is a hybrid CIRCLE SPORT/TMG THE MOTORSPORTS GROUP logo on the front torso.Unlike some other pit crew jackets, this particular example does not have any comfort straps. There are blue and white stripe designs at the hems. The shoulders are blue, with white outlines, and are unadorned. The right sleeve features SUNOCO, MOOG, WIX FILTERS, and ALLIANCE RACE WEAR logos on the upper sleeve, and nothing in television position. The left sleeve features NASCAR, SHERWIN-WILLIAMS, ZAK, and INCREDIBLE BANK logos on the upper sleeve, and nothing in television position. The back of the suit shows some light wear.The back of the neck features a CHEVROLET logo, and the Twitter and Facebook handles for Circle/Sport and The Motorsports Group, @CSTMG3330 and CSTMG3330.The back torso features the same CIRCLE SPORT/TMG THE MOTORSPORTS GROUP logo as the front torso.Next week, a look at the history of the logos of the three NASCAR national series logos.

By David G. Firestone

G-Force Racing is a company that makes auto racing safety products. They have been around some years now. While they do show up in the big leagues every so often, they are dwarfed by the major racing safety companies. One example of them showing up in the big leagues is an example from FAS Lane Racing.

Go FAS Racing began life as one of Jack Roush’s Cup teams. In 2010, Roush sold Bill Jenkins the equipment, and Latitude 43 Motorsports was born. After the 2010 season, Jenkins decided to sell the team to crew chief Frank Stoddard, who founded FAS Lane Racing in 2011. In 2014, the team merged with Go Green Racing to form Go FAS Racing, which operates to this day.

One of FAS Lane Racing’s sponsors during their first seasons was US Chrome. US Chrome sponsored Mike Bliss, Terry Labonte, and Ken Schrader in 2011. US Chrome also sponsored T.J. Bell, Mike Bliss, Ken Schrader, ans Timmy Hill in 2012. During those seasons, a crew member wore this double layer G-Force pit crew jacket. The jacket shows a decent amount of use, with scuffs and stains.The collar is of the standard variety.The cowl has a warranty label, and has care instructions. The name ABNER is embroidered into the collar. The right chest has a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series logo, and a GOODYEAR logo embroidered into it.The left chest features a FAS LANE RACING logo, and a SOUTHERN PRIDE logo embroidered.The front torso features a U.S. CHROME PERFORMANCE COATINGS logo embroidered in white and blue on the red material.The shoulders feature epaulets in white outlined in blue. A G-FORCE PRO SERIES RACING GEAR patch is present year the arm gusset. The right sleeve features a SUNOCO logo and a FEDERATED AUTO PARTS logo embroidered on the top of the sleeve, but nothing in television position. The left sleeve features a C&J ENERGY SERVICES logo and a NASCAR logo embroidered on the top of the sleeve, but nothing in television position. The back of the suit shows some light wear.The back of the neck is unadorned.The back torso features a U.S. CHROME PERFORMANCE COATINGS logo embroidered in white and blue on the red material.Next week, another pit crew jacket.

By David G. Firestone

Hailing from Arras, France, Frédéric Makowiecki has been a staple on the endurance racing circuit since 2010. He has numerous wins in endurance racing, including winning the 2013 FIA World Endurance Championship. He has raced in a number of racing series, including the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, the Weathertech SportsCar Championship the GT1 World Championship, Super GT, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series featured 5 races. The first three, Monza, Silverstone, and Le Castellet had a duration of three hours. The fourth race, the 2013 24 Hours of Spa, was a 24 hour long race, and the final race, held at the Nürburgring had a distance of 1000 km (621.371 miles). At the Silverstone event, Makowiecki, along with Stefan Mücke, and Darren Turner won the event, driving the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 of Aston Martin Racing 86 laps for a distance of 314 miles. On the podium, Makowiecki wore this cap, which he later signed.  The cap shows light use, having only been worn once. There is a large PIRELLI logo embroidered on the front. Makowiecki has signed the brim in silver Sharpie.The left side features a plant design on the brim, and I have no idea what the name for that is. Otherwise, the left side is unadorned.The back of the cap features a smaller PIRELLI logo embroidered above the Velcro closure.Like the left side, the right side features a leaf design on the brim, and is otherwise unadorned.The top of the cap features a black squatchee.The inside of the cap features a care tag, and there isn’t any wear to speak of.Next week, a pit crew jacket.

By David G. Firestone

For the next few weeks, I will be discussing podium caps. Podium caps are also referred to as victory lane hats, hat dance caps, and race winner hats depending on where in the world they are used. In NASCAR, the driver and their crew wear an event hat, followed by the hat dance, which gives every sponsor a picture of their logo on the hats of the winning drivers. In most other forms of auto racing, the top three drivers will wear hats on the podium.

The NHRA has their own cap protocol. In 2019, In the NHRA, winner, champion and interview hats are all of the same design. For the driver who qualifies #1, they are given a green hat, with a #1 Qualifier patch with their respective class. The drivers who win the event get a yellow cap, with a winner patch to wear, similar in design to the #1 qualifier hat. The cap color is yellow, on the patch, the word WINNER replaces #1. As with the qualifier hat, the race venue is embroidered into the back strap.

Prior to Mello Yellow taking over as the titular sponsor in 2013, the NHRA’s top series was know as the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. It was named after Full Throttle, an energy drink. Not long after switching sponsorships, Full Throttle was sold to Monster Energy. It was around this time that Jason Line began having success in the Pro Stock division.

Jason Line was born in Wright, Minnesota. He began racing at age 16 in Brainerd. In addition to racing, he was also a crew member for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has 48 Pro Stock, two stock eliminator wins and three championships to his name. He currently races for KB Racing, alongside Bo Butner and Greg Anderson.

In 2010, Jason Line had one win, the 2010 Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. He beat Mike Edwards in the finals. During the post-race celebration, one crew member wore this victory lane hat. The hat is in great condition, still containing the cardboard in the front.The left side of the cap has a yellow and black PRO STOCK WINNER patch embroidered.The back of the cap has an NHRA embroidered logo. Unlike more recent victory lane caps, the event location is not on the Velcro strap.The right side of the cap has 2010 embroidered on the brim, but is otherwise unadorned.The top of the cap has a matching gray squatchee, and no other adornment.The inside of the hat doesn’t show use, and still has the cardboard still present in the front.Another cap, this one a black event cap, accompanies the gray victory lane cap. The cap is branded as a victory lane cap, but all the research I’ve done hasn’t led to any proof that this was worn in victory lane. The cap is black, with a TIRE KINGDOM GATORNATIONALS logo on the front, and WINNER’S CIRCLE 2010 on the back. No NHRA or other logos are present. The cap is in great condition, not showing any use.

For this week, I discussed the American version of a podium cap. Next week, an international podium cap.

By David G. Firestone

Ah yes, The Great Light Beer Corn Syrup Debate of 2019 rolls on. For those who have been living under a rock for the last few months, let’s catch up. During the most boring Super Bowl of all time, Bud Light did a commercial where they talked about how Miller Lite and Coors Light use corn syrup in their beer, and made the point that they don’t use it, and are more open about their ingredients. See for yourself:

This seemingly innocuous commercial really got under the skin of MillerCoors, who openly defended their use of corn syrup. This also got the attention of the National Corn Growers Association, who prided MillerCoors for using their product, and blasted Bud Light. Eventually, MillerCoors abandoned a partnership with AB InBev, Bud Light’s parent company. Granted the partnership was shakier than a fault line during an earthquake, but the whole bitterness between MilerCoors and AB InBev based on this commercial is what killed it.

Since I’ve done both the Budweiser and Miller Brewery tours one year apart to the day, I decided that I would decide which of the two is better, Budweiser in St. Louis, or Miller in Milwaukee. I will break my analysis down into three parts: overall cost, tour experience, and other experiences.

We’ll start with overall cost.

Miller has a one-size fits all tour. It’s $10, and I discussed it last week. Budweiser has a number of different tours.

*First is The General Brewery Tour, which features the seven-step process in making beer. It’s 45 minutes, and tickets are free if available, or $5 reserved.

*The second tour is the Day Fresh Tour, which adds 30 minutes worth of additional features, including the canning facility. It also comes with samples, and a free bottle of beer that is freshly bottled. This costs $10.

*The third option is The Beermaster Tour, which I did last year. This is a 2-hour long tour, which, in addition to all of the locations of the Day Fresh Tour, also includes the museum, and a sample from the finishing tank. This costs $35

So based on the values and experiences, I would have to give the nod to Budweiser’s St. Louis tour for overall cost.

Next is tour experience. As I mentioned, I took the Beermaster tour when I was in St. Louis, and the Miller Tour in Milwaukee. Based on what is discussed, and what is shown on both tours, giving Budweiser the nod here is the only way to go. The Miller tour is good, but too short, and doesn’t cover the entire brewing process. Budweiser’s tour is much more inclusive, and goes deeper in the brewing process. Even the General Brewery tour covers more of the brewing process than Miller’s does. Next, we come to other experiences. When I got to Milwaukee, I was stunned to discover that Miller doesn’t have a true bier garden. You can have some growlers filled, but you can get that at any brewery. While the Miller Inn does act as an indoor version, it just seems odd in this respect that there wouldn’t be a true bier garden at a brewery founded by a German immigrant.

Budweiser, on the other hand, has an impressive bier garden. They have a decent brew pub menu, and the food I tries was good. They also have a great selection of beer. You can try what is called “The Underground Menu” which consists of whatever is being worked on in the Research Pilot Brewery. On the day I was there, the choice was Backdraft, a chocolate stout made by the St. Louis Fire department. One could spend an entire day in the bier garden alone…which I did.

Above and beyond that, aside from the general tour, there really isn’t as much to do at Miller. You can go to the gift shop, but that isn’t that great. The one thing I expected was a make your own six pack with Miller products. That doesn’t exist, for reason I can’t understand. So, aside from the tour, Miller really isn’t that fun.

Budweiser also offers some other experiences. The Clydesdales are included in all of the tours. Also, there are some experiences for those who want to educate themselves about brewing. The first is Beer School, which I did last year. It’s a 45 minute class, and you sample several kinds of beer, and learn about the on the ingredients and brewing processes, as well as food pairings. This costs $15 The newest experience is the Where You Brew tour, which takes you through the beer making process, in a hands on experience. You will then have some appetizers, and discuss beer and food pairings. You will then also receive a 32 ounce custom growler full of beer. This costs $50.

The Beer Museum Tour takes you to the Old Lyon Schoolhouse building on the brewery campus. Inside, you will find a complete history of Budweiser, told in the form of over 400 items, ranging from giveaways, to factory equipment, to sports memorabilia, to research examples. This can be accessed with any tour for $5, but if you want to check it out by itself, it will set you back $15. It should be noted that the Old Lyon Schoolhouse building was, for a while, the Anheuser-Busch corporate headquarters. So for other experiences, Budweiser again gets the nod. So all in all, Budweiser provides the better brewery experience for a tourist or local. Miller is good, but it could be a lot better. Beer enthusiasts like myself would enjoy both though, so check them out.

Next week, back to the regularly scheduled podium caps.

By David G. Firestone

I had planned to talk about some winner circle hats this week, but we’re going to put those on the back burner for a bit. My cousin and I had the opportunity last week to go to the Miller Brewing Company and take their brewery tour, so I did. I hadn’t planned on really traveling this year, but when the opportunity arose, I took it.

The drive from Chicago to Milwaukee is not a difficult one, and it gave us a chance to hang out. Once there, we found the visitor center, albeit with a lot of difficulty, as the signage there can be pointlessly confusing at times. The cost is $10, and for that, you get a 1 hour tour, four samples of beer, and a souvenir pint glass.

Aside from Miller, Milwaukee has a great deal of beer history. Brands such as Schlitz, Pabst, Blatz, and Milwaukee’s Best can all trace their history back to 1800’s Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s proximity to Chicago is a major factor in the success of the breweries. Beer is so attached to Milwaukee, that their baseball team is named the Brewers. There are also some well-known craft breweries in Milwaukee, including Sprecher Brewing, Lakefront Brewing, and Milwaukee Brewing.

The brewery was founded in 1855 by Frederick Miller. Miller was a German brewer who moved to Milwaukee with the lessons of German brewing, and a special strand of brewer’s yeast. He moved in to the Plank Road Brewery on Watertown Plank Road, and began producing beer in what is now known as “Miller Valley.” The business was a family one until 1966, when the family sold it to W. R. Grace and Company. One acquisition after another led to MillerCoors, which runs the business today.

The tour starts in the lobby, where there is a history of the brewery on the wall, some artifacts, and the gift shop.  The tour is every half hour, and you start by watching a movie discussing this history of the brewery. You then head down to “the caves.” The caves are a set of man made caves dug into the valley. These were used to store beer in a cold environment. Barrels were stacked into the 600 foot deep caves, and ice was packed around them to keep the beer fresh. With the advent of pasteurization, the caves were not needed. All but one of them were filled in, in order to help the structural integrity of the valley. The next stop on the tour is the Miller Inn. This 1800’s Bavarian inn has a lot of old world charm and a lot of Miller memorabilia. Your stop here includes a sample of beer, I went with Blue Moon Mango Wheat. You don’t have to drink, because for those who choose not to drink, or those under 21 can have some soda. During the first half of the tour, the history of the brewery is the focus. The next half of the tour focuses on the brewing of the beer, You go to the brew house, and you go up to the lauter tun. A mash made of barley, water, barley malt syrup, corn syrup, yeast, and hops is transferred to the lauter tun, which converts the mash to wort. The wort is then transferred to the brew kettle, which separates the liquid from the solid.

The rest of the brewing process is then diagrammed on the wall near the brew kettle.The next stop on the tour is the packaging plant, where you watch a movie about the packaging process and history. You can see the plant in action from the safety of the balcony. As you exit the top balcony, you approach the storage area, and you see what I consider the highlight of the tour: That is a Rusty Wallace Ford Taurus circa 2001, with the Winston Cup, and Busch Pole decals removed. That was a nice surprise. The tour then concludes back at the visitor center, where you get your final sample, and your free pint glass. It’s not long, but it’s fun nonetheless.

By pure coincidence, I had taken the Budweiser tour one year ago to the day I took the Miller tour. I thought next week, I would compare the two tours.

By David G. Firestone

I cover a lot of topics here on The Driver Suit Blog, but one thing I haven’t touched is the category of signed non-race used gloves. I’ve covered race-used gloves and signed race used gloves before. Drivers will sign most things, so a brand new pair of racing gloves isn’t that strange. From my perspective, I’m into race-used memorabilia, instead of replica items, for obvious reasons.

Nicknamed The Rocket Man, Ryan Newman has done a lot in his NASCAR career. He won the 2008 Daytona 500, the 50^th Anniversary of the Daytona 500, the 2013 Brickyard 400,, and the 2002 Winston. He has 18 wins in the Cup Series, 7 wins in the Xfinity Series, and 1 win in the Truck Series. At some point, he autographed a series of Simpson SFI-certified gloves, which are unused, and in great condition, showing no use at all. The right glove has the SFI certification. The glove is signed just below the fingers, and is the duller of the two signatures. The left glove is rather unadorned, but has the brighter of the two signatures. OK, with that done, let’s get to:

TAILGATING TIME

One of my favorite chicken recipes is:

Hasselback Fried Chicken

5 Servings

Ingredients:

5 medium sized chicken breasts

2 cups flour, sifted, in a bowl

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups breadcrumbs

3 liters oil

Directions:

1-Preheat the oil to 160°C/380°F.

2-Take each chicken breasts and cut parallel lines almost all of the way through, around 1/2 a cm apart, down the length of each breast.

3-Dip the breasts in the flour, making sure it gets down all the slits, then shake off the excess.

4-Dip them in the eggs and shake off the excess then roll them thoroughly in breadcrumbs.

5-Pick them up cut side up with a pair of tongs, letting them drape over the sides, then dip them in the hot oil, letting them cook to hold their shape before letting go and letting them cook in the hot oil for around 4 minutes, until brown and cooked through.

For the next couple of weeks, I will examine some victory lane caps. Next week, I will look at a couple of Jason Line caps.

By David G. Firestone

Hailing from Maylene, Alabama, Dave Mader III was a driver who had some success in the lower echelons of auto racing, but on the national level, didn’t really do much. He beat Mark Martin at the 1978 Snowball derby. He also scored four consecutive championships in the All-American Challenge Series win the 1991 Michigan ARCA 200, and had one top 5, and 9 top 10’s in the Xfinity Series, but his career results are otherwise unremarkable.

Coming off a 1992 where he raced 10 races in the Cup and Xfinity Series, it looked like Dave would have a ride for 1993. While he did race in the NASCAR Southeast Series, he didn’t race in the Cup Series again, though he did race in other series. This Simpson custom made double-layer suit was prepared for Mader sometime in the 1990’s. I’ve noticed something odd about the Winston Cup logo, but more on that later. The suit was worn, as it shows decent use, including stains on the yellow stripes.The collar is a Velcro version, and is black outlined with yellow piping.The standard Simpson warranty label is in the cowl.On the right chest, there is a zippered pocket. On that pocket are a couple of Simpson patches, and DAVE MADER embroidered.On the left chest, there is a NASCAR WINSTON CUP patch circa 1993-1996. The patch is covering something on the suit, but I can’t figure out what it is.The front torso is unadorned, except for the quilt pattern.The black belt is unadorned, except for the white stitching.The legs have white and black stripes up the side that extend to the arm pits. They have no logos, and are boot cuffs.The shoulders have black epaulets, outlined in white piping. The right sleeve is unadorned, except for a small Simpson patch near the cuff. The left sleeve is unadorned. The back of the suit is unadorned, and doesn’t show any wear. It’s rare that I’ve encountered a suit where I can clearly tell it has been used for some time, but not been able to find out anything more than that. Simpson stopped adding flag tags indicating when the suits were made around the mid 1990’s. The Winston Cup Series patch would date it 1993-1996, but since it appears the patch was added at a later date, this doesn’t help much. I’m going to go with what I have already, since I’ve hit the wall in terms of what and where I can search.

Next week, a pair of Ryan Newman autographed gloves.

By David G. Firestone

The tradition of giving special rings to teams that win championships in sports in the United States dates back to 1922. After winning the World Series, the New York Giants issued the first championship ring, and the trend has caught on. In the 1990’s a new form of this trend came in to wide spread use in NASCAR, the championship napkin ring.

I’ve talked about NASCAR banquet rings before. They just fascinate me. I’ve understood the significance of championship rings, who doesn’t. But I’ve never seen these kinds of rings before, where they were enlarged, and used at the banquet as napkin rings until I came across these NASCAR example.

These over sized rings were used as napkin rings for team banquets and then the attendees were allowed to keep them. They were awarded for winning a race, and designed in the same style as championship rings.

In 1993, he won the Daytona 500, the race came down to the white flag as Dale Jarrett passed Dale Earnhardt in what became known as “The Dale and Dale Show.” With his father Ned in the broadcast booth calling the race, Dale Jarrett won the race, his second career victory. His first, incidentally, came at Michigan in 1991, while driving by the Wood Brothers. This ring was made for the banquet. It shows some wear on the inside. The top is a traditional design, one side has a picture of Dale Jarrett, his signature and #18. The other side has a picture of the car sandwiched in between INTERSTATE BATTERIES RACING and JOE GIBBS RACE TEAM. The inside shows some wear in the form of spots. In 1994, he won his third race, the Mello Yello 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He won after an engine failure claimed Geoff Bodine and a late crash destroyed the cars of Ricky Rudd and Jeff Gordon. This ring, almost identical in design to the Daytona 500 ring was prepared for the banquet. The only difference is that the #18 in the center of the top of the ring is in yellow, as the race was sponsored by Mello Yello. The small spots on the Daytona 500 ring are present here as well. This next one is from the 1995 Coca Cola 600, which was won by Bobby Labonte. During that race, he started 2nd, led 85 laps, and his brother Terry finish second. It was his first Sprint Cup win, and is done in a gold colored metal, with Labonte’s image, car number and signature on one side, and an image of his car on the other side. It briefly spread to Roush Racing, where, at the 1997 banquet, these rings were issued to Jeff Burton’s crew for his victory in the 1997 Hanes 500 at Martinsville. During that race, he started 10th and led 92 laps. This silver ring with an enameled 99 logo, a Roush Racing logo, car logo and signature on one side, and an Exide Racing Team logo, and crossed checkered flag logo on the other side. In 1997, Texas Motor Speedway hosted their first race, the Interstate Batteries 500. The event saw Dale Jarrett on the pole and Jeff Burton winning the race. This proves my theory that Interstate Batteries was behind the rings. This pewter ring was prepared for the race. I haven’t been able to figure out if this is was used at a banquet, or was sold in the gift shop. But it’s nearly identical design and style is hard to ignore. Since Interstate Batteries was doing this for Joe Gibbs racing before this race, and then this ring was made for that race, there is no doubt in my mind that Interstate Batteries was the driving force behind that.   Above and beyond that, it makes sense that Jeff Burton’s team would do that, since at that time, they were sponsored by Exide Batteries, a competitor to Interstate. Exide had to have found out what Interstate was doing, and once Jeff Burton began winning races, Exide decided to join in the fun. It would also explain why there don’t seem to be any examples of any other teams making these rings besides Joe Gibbs Racing, and Roush Racing. 

Ok, now with that out of the way, let’s stay in 1997, and look at a new design that Bobby Labonte’s team was given. The 1997 Napa 500 at Atlanta was the season finale. Jeff Gordon won the championship over Dale Jarrett by 14 points. Bobby Labonte won the race. It’s the same design as the other rings, except it is made of pewter. The material change is very evident in that it shows scratches and more chips than their brass counterparts.   Pewter didn’t last too long, and they switched back to brass by 1999. By 1999, the rings were redesigned as well. The driver profile hasn’t changed, but on the other side, a new logo design takes over the car logo. The crest of the ring has a bigger #18 and a glaze around it, instead of a cheap enamel.
The silver color returned in 2000, which culminated in Bobby Labonte winning the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship over Dale Earnhardt. One of the four races he won was the 2000 Dura Lube / Kmart 400 at Rockingham. This brand new design was prepared. A new #18 panel was designed, with the sponsor panel unchanged. The crest has been redesigned with car color on the stone area, and bigger lettering on the front. 5 years later, in 2000, Labonte won the won the 2000 Dura Lube / Kmart 400 at Rockingham.  He started third, and led 134 laps.  This napkin ring was made as a response.

Also in 2000, Bobby Labonte UAW-GM Quality 500, again at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He started 2nd, and led 37 laps. This ring was given at the banquet to the attendees, it is silver, with an enameled Interstate Batteries logo on the top, Labonte’s name and car number on one side, and Interstate Batteries and Joe Gibbs Racing logos on the other side.

Next week, a vintage driver suit.

By David G. Firestone

Anyone who plays sports, or competes in competitions does so with one goal in mind…winning. They will say they do it because it is fun, or for the love of the game, but they really just want to win. To the victor go the spoils, and the spoils include pride, bragging rights, and the trophies.

Trophies can come in many shapes and sizes. Many older trophies combine form and function, in that they serve every day functions, such as this tea service from 1911. It consists of a tea pot, creamer, and sugar bowl. It was won by a wrestler for a first place win at an event, and the pot has “1P, alle 83 kg, Hans Van Paini Kilp, V&Us Jyry 1911, 14,15” engraved into it. Kans Val Paini Kilp means Kansainvälinen Paini Kilpailu or international wrestling competition.  The handle of the pot has become detached at the bottom, and evidence of repair work is evident . The pot also shows signs of age, with numerous scratches, scuffs, and chips. The matching sugar bowl is in much the same state, but overall is in good condition.   The creamer has a dent in it, just under the spout, and shows the same age wear that the tea pot and sugar bowl show. The really interesting thing is that I have an original cabinet photo, taken in Helsinki Finland where Hans can be seen with this very tea service.

This vintage tray from 1915 has a very similar inscription as the tea service, and while I believe that they were won by the same person, I have no proof of this.

Albert Elko was the mayor of McKeesport Pennsylvania from 1966-1970, serving only one term. He was not very well liked, having been somewhat corrupt. During his tenure, he gave out these keys to the city. The key is a large heavy brass key, about 4 inches long, and has two black circles, one on each side. One circle has the city seal, the other has a logo with “Greetings Mayor A Elko” etched into it. A key to the city is a unique item to have in any form.

Sometimes a trophy can take an unusual form. Such is the case with this treasure chest from the PYC Regatta in 1973, won by Cotton Blossom II. Measuring 10 inches long by 7 inches wide, by 6 ½ tall, and made out of wood, this black treasure chest has been painted black, had some decorative elements added to them, and has a plaque stating “Davy Jones Locker Regatta Winner Overall PYC 1973.” The inside has been lined with red felt. There is a small chip on the back of the lid. It is a very appropriate design for a sailing trophy. After a long and successful golf career, Arnold Palmer worked with a number of golf courses, owning Bay Hill, and designing others. His group took the Kings Bay Country Club, which has been founded in 1949, and in 1990 redesigned it to form the Deering Bay Country Club. This crystal trophy was awarded to a “Member-Guest” winner in 2001. It is 18 inches tall, is in perfect condition, and is very heavy. The lid can be removed, and is in perfect condition.

Next Week, some NASCAR Napkin Rings.