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KeyMan
Collectibles |
NEWSLETTER |
March 2021 |
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SGA - Stadium Giveaway Promotion
Memorabilia |
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Steven KeyMan |
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By Steven KeyMan |
Founder of
Keymancollectibles.com,
and a long time
collector, Steven
KeyMan has more than 30
years of experience in
researching, and
cataloging information
on Baseball
Memorabilia.
Researching his own personal
collection, and helping others find
information on their
collectibles, the
website grew into the
largest online resource
for baseball
memorabilia |
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Ask
Steven: Direct your questions or feedback,
about Baseball Memorabilia to Steven KeyMan
Steve@keymancollectibles.com You can also Send
KeyMan pictures of your personal Memorabilia Display,
and get your own Free
Collectors Showcase Room featured on the website.. |
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The SGA -
"Stadium Give Away" is a promotion
to draw fans to the ballgame. In
1965 the New York Yankees had an
average game attendance of 14,621.
The "Bat Day" promotion held on
June 20th, had a paid attendance of
71,245. Given that the bats cost
the Yankees 70 cents apiece, and
the price of admission for the
lucky kid was $1.50, the giveaway
generated a great profit. In later
years, teams added corporate
sponsors to pick up the cost of
SGA's
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The
Bat Day SGA - The King Of Stadium Giveaways. The greatest game a kid
under the age of 14 could attend. It
could be named a holiday. A notch on
the list below Christmas, or Birthday.
Many of us have great memories
receiving one of these prized
possessions. As adults the feel of one
of these bats in our hands brings us
back in time. The correct dating of
these bats could help us recapture a
part of our youth
Perhaps
the most historic SGA was this
Mothers Day Pendant given away by
the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium
on "Charm Day" May 14, 1967, the day
Mickey Mantle hit his 500 Home Run.
"Children can see to it that Mom is the
recipient of a Yankee Stadium gift."
The Charm day pendants were "Packed in
gift boxes and are sure to prove
popular for charm bracelets and jewelry
use." Made by the L.G. Balfour Co.,
Attleboro, Mass. Jewelers., every
Mother attending received "this
attractive little gift."
Another Yankee Stadium SGA with historic significance... Roger Maris Hit
61 home runs but isn't in the Baseball
Hall Of Fame. Valentino the Beanie Baby
Is.
Ty Valentino was given away
on Beanie Babies Day, May 17 1998. The
stuffed teddy bear and 10,000
recipients saw David wells pitched his
Perfect game, and is sitting in the
Hall, snuggled up next to David Wells'
glove. |
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As a 'measure' of appreciation, the
New York Mets handed out these
Rulers
on Fan Appreciation Day, September 27,
1964, to close out their home schedule.
All fans that attended the double
header received this souvenir one foot
ruler. In between games fans were
treated to picnic events such as
egg-tossing and cow-milking. There's no
'Rule' to what can be given away.
July 26, 2007 the Hudson Valley
Renegades, a single-A Minor League
Baseball team, and affiliate of the
Tampa Bay Rays, held Toilet Seat Night.
The first 3,000 fans to enter Dutchess
Stadium, received stadium seat cushions
in the shape of toilet seats.
The previous season, the Renegades also had a toilet plunger giveaway,
sponsored by the same company. I'm
surprised the N.Y. Mets didn't pick up
on this idea being that they play in
Flushing.
These
"Favorite Player Monogram" Stickers
were part of a 1965 promotion for the
"High Point Chamber of Commerce Night"
held at Finch Field, home to the High
Point-Thomasville HiToms baseball team.
The HiToms were a Class A affiliate of
the Minnesota Twins, in the Western
Carolinas League.
The Hunter Publishing Co., of Winston-Salem, N.C. donated 4,000 sticker
sets to the club for use in connection
with the game. Every youngster that
passed through the gates, accompanied
by an adult received a set as a gift.
The reported attendance for the gamewas
4,021. Additional stickers were made
available as the sticker card reads
"ask at the concession stand for more
players."
This
"Special Nights"
baseball was given away on May 27, 1972
at Memorial Stadium. The ball features
the signatures of the Baltimore Orioles
four 20 game winners of 1971, Jim
Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and
Pat Dobson.
The box lists special nights promotions, ticket prices, and features a
1972 Oriole schedule from June to
September. A crowd of 39,714 saw Terry
Crowley's eighth-inning homer give the
O's a 4-2 win over Cleveland. Earl
Weaver was
ejected for piling dirt on second base
following an argument with umpire John
Flaherty.
In 1976 Detroit Tigers
phenom Mark "The Bird" Fidrych took the
baseball world by storm. He finished
with a 19-9 record, 2.34 ERA, and won
the AL Rookie of the year award.
Fidrych became an instant national
celebrity beating the Yankees 5-1 on
National television on June 28, 1976
with his antics on the field. It didn't
take long for vendors to capitalize on
the pitchers popularity, and began
marketing T-shirts, bird whistles, and
other souvenirs.
Before the 52nd All-Star game in Cleveland, on August 9, 1981, Paul
Meagher, the director of the American
Baseball Fans Association passed out
10,000
"The Bird" whistles to
fans as they entered Cleveland Stadium.
Meagher wanted fans to blow their
whistle after the ceremonial first
pitch and after the first pitch of
every inning to protest the recent
50-day strike.
Often mistaken for a "Mike Schmidt
Mask", the Phillies celebrated
"Halloween Night At The Vet" on July
26, 1985, handing out Larry Andersen
masks to all children 14 and under. On
September 13, 1987 The Phillies
Halloween Night giveaway was a Phillie
Phanatic mask.
The promotion did not do that well, despite a pregame Halloween Day
costume party, the Phillies only had a
paid attendance of 12,610. The next day
the Philadelphia Daily News reported
"The Phillies got into the costume
spirit by showing up disguised as the
Titanic." In 2001, a Randy Wolf Mask
was given away.
The SGA that started a Phenomenon. On
May 9, 1999, the first 25,000 fans that
entered Candlestick Park received a
free
Willie Mays bobblehead. The San
Francisco Giants became the first
baseball team to offer a bobblehead
giveaway, and revitalized the
bobblehead craze.
Sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle 25,000, 7 inch tall Willie Mays
Bobblehead, made by Alexander
Global Promotions Inc. were given away,
to commemorate the 40th anniversary of
Candlestick Park, which was the last
year of the Giants playing at that
stadium.
Roberto Clemente bronze bust given away
to all fans attending the game against
the Arizona Diamondbacks at Pittsburgh
Pirates, PNC Park on September 17,
2010. Produced by Bensussen Deutsch &
Associates, Inc. the bronze bust
encased in Styrofoam, came in a Roberto
Clemente picture box.
The bust depicts Clement in a Pittsburgh Pirates jersey, above a base that
reads; "Roberto Clemente" flanked by
the Pirates "P" logo on each side. The
back has uniform number 21, while the
base reads, "Pirates.com"
This
Vin Scully Commemorative microphone was
given away to the first 40,000 fans at
Dodger Stadium on May 3, 2017, Vin
Scully Night. Scully the voice of the
Dodgers was added to Dodger Stadium's
Ring of Honor before the game.
The Ring of Honor is a circular plaque baring the retired uniform numbers
of Dodger players, which are displayed
in numerical order along the base of
the club level down the left field
line. Vin is the first non-player and
non-manager to receive this
distinction. Scully's Ring of Honor,
features a microphone and his name at
the top.
On June 17, 2017 the Pete Rose bronze statue was dedicated at Great
American Ball Park, which honors Rose's
head-first sliding. The pregame
ceremony featured several of the Hit
King's legendary Big Red Machine
teammates. The first 30,000 fans in
attendance received a replica of the
statue at the gate. The Stadium
giveaway was presented by Dinsmore, and
sponsored by PNC Bank. |
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This
Pete Rose replica statue is made
from molds produced from statue's
prototype design to ensure the accuracy
of this collectible item, and slides
head first to join those of Big Red
Machine teammates Johnny Bench, Joe
Morgan and Tony Perez at the entrance
to Great American Ball Park.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of
the 1993 movie "The Sandlot" the
Wilkes-Barre RailRiders held a
promotional give away at PNC Field. The
first 2,500 fans through the gates
received a
Hamilton Ham Porter bobblehead. Patrick Renna, who played
Porter in the film was at the game to
sign autographs, as was David Mickey
Evans, the Wilkes-Barre native who
directed and co-wrote the movie.
The open jersey on the bobblehead features the New York Yankees minor
league AAA affiliate RailRiders, SWB
jersey logo, worn over the "Hamibo's"
shirt which he wore in the movie. Other
Major and minor league teams across the
country had a 'Ham' Porter bobblehead
stadium giveaway in 2018. The
bobbleheads featured each teams jersey.
Teams that held SGA promotions
included: Philadelphia Phillies,
Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, St.
Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Salt
lake Bees, Eugene Emeralds, and
Louisville Bats. |
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On Sunday, August 19, 2018 the
St. Louis Cardinals handed out this
Dizzy Dean commemorative watch to
the first 30,000 fans ages 16 and
older, that entered Busch Stadium.
Presented By AT&T the watch is a
reproduction of a 1935, Dizzy Dean
wrist watch that was sold in department
and Jewelry stores for the price of
$2.95. The box that the AT&T-SGA came
in is also designed after the original
gift box for the Dizzy Dean watch. |
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