One of the great sports collectibles of all-time is the hockey puck. They're cheap (well, not always) and small (well, not always), and come in more varieties than you can imagine, which is why the Virtual Puck Museum is such an awesome website.As UniWatch notes:
The puck museum, which was recently brought to my attention by reader Jeff Pudlo, is pretty much what it sounds like: a huge collection of hockey pucks, nearly 20,000 in all, each with a unique design. And while it’s fun to see the familiar NHL logos, the site’s real value is in its documentation of other leagues — minor, junior, collegiate, European, recreational, women’s, and more. Plus there are pucks made for weddings and other special occasions, coporate pucks, puck printing stamps and boxes, and lots of historical background. Frankly, I hadn’t given much thought to puck design until now, but it turns out to be an extraordinarily deep rabbit hole. There are even certified goal pucks!The site itself could be a little better organized, but is a great time waster. For Caps fans, in addition to team logo pucks, you'll find individual player biscuits ranging from Clint Malarchuk to Olie Kolzig, from John Druce to Peter Bondra and many, many more (Al Iafrate or Dino Ciccarelli, anyone?).
Inspired by the VPM, then, here are a trio of favorites from my own collection (Rod Langway-, Kolzig-, and Alex Ovechkin-signed, respectively):
If you've got any special pucks, let's hear about (or see) 'em in the comments - winner gets an OFB mug.
10 comments:
I have an old Caps puck which I "recovered" from a Piney Orchard practice, which I later got my hero Dino Ciccarelli to sign.
Man I miss Dino. I later mounted that puck on the dashboard of my car.
I have sat in the lower bowl twice, yet I have managed to get a game puck there. Before the nets went up I was sitting down low, and a puck bounced off a woman's face, splitting (and probably breaking) her nose. Blood was pouring out all over her shirt and she was wailing like a banshee. Staff descended on her, and people all around were trying to find something to staunch the bloody geyser. I watched with pity and concern, and as they led her away I felt something under my feet and there was the puck. I asked the usher where she was so I could give the puck to her, but he responded that he would "get it to her". Years of observing the commitment to excellence and service by, then MCI now Verizon ushers led me to the conclusion that giving him this puck would lead to it appropriation, so I kept it, but have always felt I didn't deserve it. It has no signature and no, there is no stain of genetic material on it, but it seems special to me.
A very dirty "1989-90 Patrick Division Playoff Champions" commemorative puck makes the finest paperweight on my office desk.
As a graduation gift, one of my neighbors gave me a game puck that he caught in the Caps' inaugural season. I've since gotten Langway to sign it. I know that Langway didn't play here in 1974, but it's still a pretty damn cool puck.
@ Pepper: It isn't, by chance, this one, is it? I love that puck.
My brother used to work at the arena in Tampa. I have a puck that he claims was fired over the glass by Dino Ciccarelli (when he played for the Lightning) and smacked into one of the mounted signs above his head. Nice slice in the sucker.
Definitely not as cool as the rest on this list.
I've got plenty more. Might need to do a Puck of the Week feature.
I always wanted one signed by Dale Hunter but never got the opportunity. So, instead, we named a cat after him. (Hunter)
I don't know if there's a better smell in the world to make me feel giddy and nostalgic. I always wanted pucks and hockey cards, and the puck just...silly, I guess.
Regardless, I've a signed Olie puck, and a signed Jim Carey puck - best part of that story is it was given to me on my birthday by my dad, the same day he was traded to Boston. I still keep the thing.
My Bondra pre-trade signed puck collection which includes his all-star games, Olympics, and the Detroit Vipers.
Also my 1980 Olympics puck.
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