Memorabilia
Memorabilia: Objects kept or collected because of their historical interest, especially those associated with memorable people or events.
The coolest thing for any kid in the 60’s was to have one of these Schwinn Sting Ray bikes with the banana seat and high handlebars. What a lucky kid I was…I had one! It was even the color of the one in this 1965 ad. And my parents paid $49.95 in 60’s money for it! Even Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years TV show had one. Is it me or do I even look like the kid in the ad with the red hair?
This is my Schwinn Varsity 10 speed bike that my parents bought me in late 60’s. Having 10 speeds was cool, it had the skinny tires and drop handlebars. The seat was terribly uncomfortable…we bought a better seat as you can see. I put the carrier on the back when I took this bike to Colorado in 1973 and I had camping gear with me. My son Eric used this bike at Michigan State University for four years. We figured no one would want to steal a vintage bike like this one…it worked, no one stole it. We bought new Trek bikes a few years ago so my Varsity was just taking up space so I donated it to charity in 2018.
I wanted a Super Bee but my Dad bought me a 1965 Corvair to drive while I was in high school. It had a stick shift, engine in the back, trunk in the front and a silver hood. A book written about Corvairs was entitled Unsafe at Any Speed.
The engine on the Corvair is in the rear. On my birthday one year, my girlfriend filled the car with balloons…fun prank!
This is a model of the car I dreamed of driving but never did…a 1969 Dodge Super Bee. Mopar rules!
This is my RCA Victor portable transistor radio I got in the 60’s. It had AM only and just one earbud. Tuned to the Big 8!
This is a 1953 Zenith AM radio my friend Randy Carr got for me. It works, uses tubes (not solid state). It’s as old as me, also a 1953 model…which is doing better, the radio or me?
The three rings I wear left to right: My Dad’s ring which I wear right now as my wedding ring because my wedding ring (center) won’t fit over the knuckle of my ring finger anymore. My wedding ring can be worn on my little finger if I want to wear it. George Poy made my wedding ring and made it bigger once already. It’s engraved on the inside of the ring, our initials and the wedding date 8-11-78. The third ring is similar to my Dad’s ring (intended)…it’s a star sapphire which makes a star when the light hits it just right. I wear that on my right hand ring finger…I call it my Dad ring in remembrance of being a Dad to two great kids!
All my important rings, left to right: Wedding ring, my Dad’s ring, my star sapphire ring, my DAD ring. Top row: my BHAHS class of ‘71 ring, my CMU class of ‘75 ring, my brother Tom’s Oakland University ring, Claudia’s high school class of ‘72 ring, my Dad’s Pontiac High School class of 1936 ring and my Mom’s ring with birthstones of her three sons (pearl, emerald and diamond).
$2 bills which you don’t see very often…one is from 1953 (my birth year) and one from 1976 (year I got my dream job). Also a broken bank note from Oakland County Bank in Pontiac Michigan, 1843.
Four leaf clovers my Dad found and were passed down to me…good luck!
Etch-a-sketch…had one!
Story to tell. When I went on a study abroad trip to France and Italy in the summer of 1968, I wanted to bring home a cool souvenir. I decided on a watch, but not just any watch. I bought a Swiss Made Omega Seamaster Cosmic Automatic Waterproof watch. Omega watches are very well known around the world and worn by astronauts heading to the Moon. Automatic means you don’t have to wind it, it winds itself just by the motion of wearing it. I think my parents were surprised when I got home and showed it to them. I still have it and wear it on special occasions…it works like a Swiss Made watch!
My current watch is a Fitbit Charge 4. Keeps track of my daily mileage as well as many other things.
My grandfather Frank Bowers watch…an Omega. My Mom’s watch she wore all the time(x)…A “Rolex” watch my son Eric bought off some street vendor in New York City.
First video game called Pong, two paddles and a ball…had one!
My Al Kaline bobblehead was a K-Mart promotion. The Tiger bobblehead is an antique from the 50’s or 60’s.
Autographed photo…personalized to me…priceless!
My Al Kaline card collection, starting in 1959 when I was six years old.
Other Kaline memorabilia including a 33 1/3 record (rare), bobblehead and Al Kaline Day button.
My Little League bat was an Al Kaline autograph model. He was MLB batting champion in 1955 when he was only 20 years old!
Six A Salute to Al Kaline
Al Kaline Day at Tiger Stadium, August 2, 1970. Heck ya, I was there!
I sold most of my baseball cards to a professional sports card company in 2018 but I did keep some for my sports card collection. Of interest, I have two Mickey Mantle and two Roger Maris, the second one is from 1961 when he hit 61 home runs breaking Babe Ruth’s season record. Also, in 1960, the biggest trade ever had Harvey Kuenn going to Cleveland for Rocky Colavito, straight player for player. You’ll see I made one of the Colavito cards into a Detroit Tiger by cutting out the Tiger logo and gluing it on to the card. That totally ruins the value of the card but hey, I was only 7 years old at the time and wasn’t thinking about the resale value of the card. I had to keep a Hank Aaron card, had to! I don’t have a Lou Gehrig card but I do have that one with him and Babe Ruth. I never saw Gehrig play but I admire him greatly for his play on the field and his play off the field.
Collection of baseball cards I kept. Two Mark “the Bird” Fidrych cards I see. Two Frank Tanana cards also. Story to tell: When I was a senior in high school, our basketball coach arranged a scrimmage with the team from Detroit Catholic Central. We drove to their gym. It was over the Christmas break so the school turned off the heat during the break. It was freezing in the gym, you could see your breath. The star player on DCC’s team was Frank Tanana who was All-State in basketball and baseball. I guarded him in the scrimmage game and got smoked by him. In baseball, he had a 32-1 record in his high school career. The California Angels made him their first-round draft pick in 1971. He spent 20 years in MLB with six teams, pitching for the Tigers 1985-1992.
This is my Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Double R Bar Ranch lunchbox and thermos that I used when I was in elementary school. My Mom used nail polish to put my name on the box. At auction, the name could lower it’s value.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American spy-fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC, airing from 1964-1968. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret international counterespionage and law-enforcement agency called U.N.C.L.E. Here is my ID card.
I made a UNCLE communications device complete with reel-to-reel tape recorder just like the one used by Napoleon Solo.
My Biff lunchbox which I used the last few years of my career when I started to bring my lunch everyday instead of buying a lunch everyday.
Important PB teaching props: Actual antique school bell (to start class), yellow/red cards (yellow is caution, red after two yellows issued…you’re out!), mono-scope (used for exploring electronic media), yellow flag (for penalties in class…10 yard penalty for cussing).
My Little League baseball glove circa 1963…looks like it has seen better days. Wrote my name on it just so I know it’s mine.
Pinewood Derby car made when I was in the Cub Scouts early 60’s. No, I don’t think it won any races but the flames are cool!
G.I. Joe was an action soldier and the craze for a short time in the 60’s. My friend Jon Schwanz bought one which lead to me and others in our group to buy one. Can’t say that I played with it that much and I still have it hoping it will be worth more than the three bucks I paid for it.
G. I. Joe accessories. I see a holster but I don’t have the gun…or the field telephone. My Mom made a sleeping bag for him using her sewing machine (strapped to knapsack).
My favorite toy as a little kid! I used to push it around the house making siren sounds, driving my mother crazy, I’m sure. Tonka toys were the best and pretty rugged. You can tell I played with it a lot, the paint wore off!
I played with it so much, a wheel broke off…not sure where it is.
My first and only teddy bear when I was a real little kid, my buddy through thick and thin…still have it. It’s a Cubbigund bear made by Gund company.
Say kids, what time is it? Kids in the Peanut Gallery would yell “It’s Howdy Doody time! Howdy Doody was a children’s TV show that aired from 1947 (the year my brother Jim was born) to 1960 (when I was 7 years old). Found this scarf in my stuff.
Having fun with the minibike on our Franklin property with my cousins Mark, Don (with helmet) and Doug Heathman (Aug. ‘67). It was great for younger kids because there was no shifting involved. Drove it around the back 10 acres of property.
My first camera, a Kodak Brownie. Switch on the bottom was there to select either color film or Black & White film. Need a flash, put a flash bulb in the bulb receptacle.
My Kodak Super 8 movie camera…the one I used to make two movies in high school and one in college. Notice “Made in U.S.A.”!!
This is the camera I bought when I was in high school taking photos for the yearbook. It’s a single lens reflex camera called a Nikkormat, made by Nikon in Japan. I wanted a Nikon F but I couldn’t afford it. It came with a 50 mm lens, I bought two telephoto lens, a 135 mm and a 200 mm. Built my own darkroom in the basement at Franklin where I could develop film and print black and white photos.
Had one…loved to get it to go down the stairs.
On December 19, 1988 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission introduced an outright ban on lawn darts in the U.S. In the previous eight years, 6,100 Americans had visited hospital emergency rooms and one person died as the result of lawn-dart accidents. Jarts are also banned in Canada. I still have the original game in the original box. Collector’s item?
My beloved backpack, an Alpenlite, made in California. Bought it in the mid 70’s, used and abused it on my trips to Colorado and the two backpacking trips with Adam’s Boy Scout troop. I liked it because it would stand up on the frame. I don’t backpack anymore, so I said goodbye to it and sold it at our garage sale.
My beloved soccer shoes from my days at Central Michigan University. Super Lights by Adidas ROCK! Scored 70 goals at CMU with these puppies…if they could talk, the stories they would tell! Wore them when coaching my son’s youth soccer teams years ago. Took this photo before I threw them away.
My Happy Days lunchbox. Not sure when I bought it. Used to take my lunch in it to day camp every day in the summer. It got pretty beat up…a long ways from being mint condition. I could relate to Richie…I was like him in high school, even had the same hair color, but I never had a sweater like that as far as I know.
My favorite coffee mug given to me by my son Eric. My favorite cereal bowl…breakfast with my buddies Snap, Crackle and Pop!
Two of my favorite mugs and my Seattle Sounders FC glass. I’m a huge fan of loons and bought this loon mug at a store in Mackinac City. Rocky Mountain National Park is my favorite national park and I treasure the mug given to me by my Colorado buddy Jim McCormick. The Sounders are (or were) my favorite MLS soccer team mostly because Clint Dempsey was on that team. Somebody I know said I looked like Clint when I played soccer at Central…he became my favorite MLS player after that.
TV tray featuring cartoon characters from the 60’s.
Cap collection #1 left to right: PB (Pebble Beach), Spring Lake MI (where I live now), West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers Class A affiliate team…home field is 5th 3rd Ballpark in Comstock Park, a suburb of Grand Rapids), Central Michigan (Alma mater), Michigan State University DAD (Eric is State grad), St. Andrews Old Course (given to me by Adam who bought it in Scotland…St. Andrews is where the game of golf originated), Tiger cap #1, Tiger cap #2 with orange detailing, BHHS Radio The Biff (the newest Biff cap), Under the Radar Michigan (PBS TV show I watch whenever it’s on), Detroit Lions cap, Colorado cap (bought on our trip there Sept. 2019), Buick Open (PGA event that was held at Warwick Hills in Grand Blanc (not any more)…I would attend when I could), WBFH Biff cap (older edition), U.S. Open (PGA event held at Oakland Hills in 1996).
Cap collection #2: No Doubt winter hat, Michigan football National Champions 1997, Pistons 89/90 World Champions, Tiger cap (one I wore in high school and college…flat brim), CMU cap (one I wore at Central as a student), Red Wings Stanley Cup Champs 2008, Tiger cap (World Series 2006 edition), Lindsey Hunter autographed Piston cap, Nassau Bahamas hat from high school senior trip 1971.
‘84 World Champion Tigers; Peachtree Road Race 10K run in Atlanta (with friend Bruce Byrne); ‘89 and 2004 World Champion Pistons.
Tiger hat autographed by Hall of Fame Tiger broadcaster Ernie Harwell.
Barry Goldwater was a five-term Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for president of the United States in 1964. I was only 11 in 1964 so my parents must have acquired it somehow. Ebay?
My Abraham Lincoln bust. Not sure where I got it but it was in the 60’s. I read a book about him and always admired him. Tried to memorize the Gettysburg Address for school once.
Pete belt buckle, Nametag, Boy Scout nametag, John F. Kennedy money clip, Gwen Stefani LAMB jewelry, bracelet engraved with “Dr. Jock” (one of my radio air names) and a bracelet with my Dad’s initials “CLB”.
Pin collection: Red Wings goalie, Bloomfield Hills Schools pins (2), BHHS Athlete of The Year 1971, 71 pin, Try God pin (gift from my Aunt Bev to Adam), two Central Michigan University Chippewa Club (Alumni Club), Michigan Sesquicentennial 1837-1987 150 years, Free Press International Marathon (1983), March of Dimes Walk America 25 Year Anniversary, Detroit Tigers, Buy Nearby, Chris Webber NBA pin, World Cup Soccer at Pontiac Silverdome 1994 (4 pins), The Biff, I Love Bloomfield Hills, Hard Rock Cafe, two guitar pins, one from Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland), two USA ribbon pins and Mickey Lolich World Series MVP 1968.
Golf stuff: 1996 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills, 2002 U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills, 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills (Europeans destroyed the US team), 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, Ford Senior Players Championship (TPC of Michigan,Dearborn), Old Course St. Andrews ball marker (given to me by Adam who bought it in Scotland).
Tigers 1984 Champs pin, vintage Robert F. Kennedy for President pin (1968), vintage Official Beatles Fan pin (1964), John Lennon, Super Bowl XL played at Ford Field in Detroit 2006 guitar pin…Steelers beat Seahawks 21-10, halftime show featured the Rolling Stones.
Five different crosses, one regular angel, one soccer angel, Cub Scoutmaster tie, Boy Scout tie and peace sign necklace.
Rare Beatles hangers from the Yellow Submarine era (ala Andy Warhol)
Beatle memorabilia: patches, buttons and Beatle cards. I was 11 years old when Beatlemania swept America in 1964. The one button is rare, I hope, has Ringo’s nickname as “Rings”.
I’m fan of the Toy Story movies and as you know a big fan of Tim Allen. Probably got these for the boyz, don’t have the heart to toss them.
Three photos of the briefcase I used early in my career as WBFH Station Manager. The WCHP sticker is my CMU college station sticker. The Biff sticker on top is a real early one, early 80’s I would say. I was a Madonna fan, hence the Madonna sticker.
Three more Biff stickers, all in the 80’s I do believe. The one that says The Hills Are Alive… was designed by Joan Dodge. I also tried to be fair and incorporate Andover’s colors (blue) with Lahser’s colors (yellow or gold). People thought the colors were picked because they were University of Michigan colors…not true. The Free Press Marathon sticker was acquired in 1983 when I ran that marathon.
Stickers on inside of show that I was a fan of Dick Purtan, Olivia Newton John, Alan Almond and his Pillow Talk show, Central Michigan, Kermit the Frog and Apple Computor.
My VW microbus. Bought it so I could haul radio station equipment around but…what was I thinking? Sold the rust bucket for less than I paid for it but, oh well, live and learn.
Michigan license plates 1953 (my birth year) and 1954 (Claudia’s birth year). I bought these in an antique store. Notice they added Water Wonderland to the ‘54 plate? Easy to remember ‘54 plate: JC (Jesus Christ), 71 (year I graduated high school), 90 (year Eric was born).
1989…a good year for basketball in Michigan with the Wolverines winning the NCAA Championship and the Pistons winning the NBA Championship.
Do I have Prince Albert in a can? Yes indeed…two of them!
Bowers Candy Company was out of Moorestown New Jersey. Unfortunately, we are not related to the Bowers family that owns the company. Here’s some tin canisters we collected just for the name.
Bought this Macintosh SE when I was taking courses at Madonna University going for a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, 1992. I felt pretty high tech at the time. We used floppy discs. Served me well when I needed it.
My 1999 Ford Conversion van which I bought new. The high top had the TV up so everyone could see it better. The boyz hooked up video game systems to the TV which gave them something to do on our trips besides watching movies. Many trips in all directions: East to Princeton NJ, South to Atlanta, West to Colorado, North to Upper Peninsula. If this guy could talk, the stories it could tell! Great memories! Had 150,000 miles on it when I donated it to charity in 2016.
My car flag collection.
My pennant collection. That Detroit Tigers pennant showing Briggs Stadium is a real antique!
Mostly Tiger stuff…autographed baseballs from ‘80s done by machine, not actual autographs. Baseball on right from a foul ball at Tiger Stadium. Shot glass from ‘97 U of M National Champions; Steve Yzerman puck; Pistons World Champions mug (Bad Boys).
My Cub Scout scrapbook covered the 1961 season of the Tigers and Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs, breaking Babe Ruth’s record. I was 8.
Sports Illustrated cover when Denny McLain won his 30th. He went on to win one more so his record was 31-6.
Sports Illustrated from August of 1955.
Sports cups/glasses: Lions (Ford Field), NBA Champion Pistons, CMU can holder, MSU Rose Bowl Champions, Detroit Pistons glass, University of Michigan football cups.
Attended Camp Chickagami when I was a kid. Sponsored by the Episcopal Church, the Camp was located just north of Alpena MI. Camp would last one week. My brother Tom actually worked at the camp at least one summer.
Left to right: Pebble Beach PB, Spring Lake (where I live now), West Michigan Whitecaps (high-A minor league baseball team out of Grand Rapids…affiliate of the Detroit Tigers), Central Michigan U., MSU Spartan DAD, St. Andrews Old Course (golf course in Scotland, hat given to me by my son Adam who bought it in Scotland), Tiger hat #1, Tiger hat #2, BHHS Radio The Biff, Under the Radar Michigan (TV show on public television), Detroit Lions, Colorado, Buick Open Warwick Hills (PGA Tour tournament in Grand Blanc from ‘58-2009), WBFH Game hat, US Open (bought hat at Oakland Hills in 1996…same hat Tiger Woods wore in tournament, playing as an amateur)
No Doubt winter hat, UM National Champions 1997, Pistons Back to Back World Champions ‘89-’90, Tiger hat I had in high school/college (notice no curve in bill), CMU hat (bought in college, old school style), Red Wings Stanley Cup Champions 2008, New Era official Tiger hat 2006 World Series (unfortunately, they came in 2nd place), Pistons hat signed by guard Lindsey Hunter, Nassau Bahamas hat bought on my high school senior trip…and it survived the trip back.
Chef Pierre hat (when I’m cooking), Sergei Fedorov (Adam’s hat), Stanley Cup Champs, Pistons, three Stanley Cup Champs (two are Adam’s), Red Wings.
Pistons World Champion hats, ‘89 and 2004; Tiger World Series Champion 1984; Peachtree 10K Road Race in Atlanta, a race I ran with my friend Bruce Byrne (Bruce died nine years ago of cancer…so sad).
Mini Lions helmet, Lions hardhat signed by quarterback Greg Landry, Wing Nut hat.
Lions hardhat signed by quarterback Greg Landry, #11, on Lions team 1968-1978, First team All-Pro (Pro Bowl) 1971. NFL Comeback Player of the Year 1976.
Autographed Grant Hill jersey. Hill played for the Pistons from 1994-2000. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
I also have, but did not photograph, a Ben Wallace #3 Pistons jersey and an Allen Iverson #3 Philadelphia 76’ers jersey.
Autographed Detroit Vipers jersey. The Vipers were in the International Hockey League from 1994-2001. They played in the Palace of Auburn Hills and won the Turner Cup in 1997 (the IHL Championship). They were the affiliate to the Tampa Bay Lightning. 18 Vipers signed this jersey.
Autographed Joe Dumars jersey. Joe played for the Pistons from 1985-1999. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Interesting side note…Dumars lived two houses down from our house on Franklin Rd. in Bloomfield Hills. His mansion had a full size indoor basketball court and tennis courts in the back yard. He doesn’t live there anymore.
Autographed by Red Wings players Kris Draper and Darren McCarty, this 1998 Stanley Cup shirt is pretty cool!
Michael Jordan jersey, front.
Michael Jordan jersey back.
Shirt I bought to commemorate running this marathon, the only marathon I ever ran.
Story to tell. So I’m walking down the hallway at Andover High School and a student passes me wearing this t-shirt. It got my attention immediately! So I stopped the young man and told him that was my name on the shirt. I then asked him where he got the shirt. Resale store, he says. I told him I would love to have a shirt like that and he said, if I give him more money that he paid for it, he would sell it to me. Deal!
Rare collector’s item…the last time the Lions won anything.
Vintage Red Wings sweatshirt bought when I was in high school, some 50 years ago.
Vintage, rare Fonz t-shirt…also a collector’s item.
I was a huge fan of Fonzie (played by Henry Winkler). Who wasn’t?
W4 was the logo for the radio station 106.7 WWWW (W4…get it?), a Detroit station that hired Howard Stern to do a morning show in 1980. He wore a shirt like this in the movie Private Parts. After a year there, the struggling station switched from rock to country music overnight and Howard couldn’t handle it and left two weeks after the format change. The “QUAD” was a failed attempt at broadcasting in four channels instead of the traditional two channel stereo signal (left and right channels). Thanks to the McKinlay brothers (Scott and Stewart) for giving me this shirt!
Stony Lake was near the Bogard’s property on Michigan’s West side. No, there wasn’t a nude beach…wishful thinking.
Bowers Harbor is on the Old Mission Peninsula, north of Traverse City. No connection with our family but cool t-shirt. There is a vineyard in the area and we buy the Bowers Harbor brand wine all the time. We also like to eat at the restaurant on Bowers Harbor.
Vintage Biff shirt I had made up for our new studios dedication.
My Biff manager polo shirt.
My Nike US Soccer shirt given to me by my son Eric…love it!
Three Wheaties boxes I collected. Love the ‘89 Pistons box! 1996 Olympic Women’s gymnastic team and Michael Johnson who won both the 200m and 400m at the Olympics in 1996 in Atlanta. Must admit I bought the boxes for the covers not for the cereal.
My Linda Ronstadt/Stone Poneys record collection.
My Linda Ronstadt photo disc of her album Living in the USA. Pretty cool!
An original painting of Linda Ronstadt painted by Joan Dodge and given to me as a gift.