My Collecting Story: Roy Halladay Game Issued Hat
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| Roy Halladay celebrating Cliff Lee's win 7/4/12 |
My parents came over last week for a Christmas morning breakfast, and it gave me an opportunity to share some of the newest additions to my Phillies collection with my Dad. While I get a thrill in buying something cool, and get a sense of enjoyment from regularly looking at it, the real fun is showing it off and talking about it with other people. My collection started many years ago with my Dad's yard sale and flea market finds, so giving him the rundown on the collection is uniquely enjoyable.
This trip around my 8'x8' Phillies room featured some stuff I have mentioned here, like the buys from the Holiday Sale and Frank Thomas' Christmas card as well as a few other things I have picked up in between. One of the best recent additions is Roy Halladay's game hat from the July 4th game last season. Halladay, despite being on the DL at the time, was traveling with the team - in fact, he threw a publicized bullpen session earlier that day. The hat has MLB authentication and shows "typical" Halladay usage - removal of the headband and cut side-seams. Instantly, upon purchase, it was one of the best pieces of Phillies memorabilia I have (And, it's not just a museum piece, the hat is fun to wear, too).
Before leaving, Dad and I were reflective about how far the collection has come over the past 20 years or so. Back when I was hoarding SGAs in my bedroom it was only a dream to own a piece of equipment from a real Phillie, let alone one of the best pitchers in baseball history. Now I have at least one! It's a cool journey to have shared...
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| Halladay July 4th Hat |
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| Notice cut headband and side-seams |