I Love The Chicago Bears

I love the Chicago Bears, it’s as simple as that. Ever since I can remember, back to the days of Butkus and Sayers, I have had a fascination with professional football, particularly, The Bears. I have read numerous books that detail the storied history of the team, in addition to several player and coach autobiographies. This whole NFL frenzy today had its roots with Papa Bear and many early Bear players. It should be rewarding to Chicago fans to know that current year end trophies that award excellence for teams and individuals carry the names of George S. Halas and Walter Payton...
I love the Chicago Bears. I have been fortunate to attend many home games at Soldier Field...some I recall better than others. I’ve been drunk by 10:00 A.M. sharing food and drink with countless others, in tailgating experiences that were seemingly out of this world. Everybody dressed in Bear colors stampeding en masse into the stadium to cheer relentlessly for da Bears. It is those times that I cherish dearly. I’ve been to Platteville and recently Bourbonnaisse. I have attended every Bear Fan Convention, through which I have met and received autographs from Bear players, old and new. Yeah, the conversations were limited to brief small talk, but I shook every person’s hand, and remember each and every one. I have attended luncheons where the guest speakers were some of my all time Bear idols. Through these meetings I have individually met Mike Ditka, Walter Payton and Mike Singletary...I will treasure the firmness of grip from Walter’s angelic hand, and the joy of his tender, yet domineering smile...
I love the Chicago Bears. For years now, I have been a huge collector of Bears' trinkets and memorabilia. It started out as a keychain collection and now encompasses cards, glassware, magazines, books, photographs, posters, stuffed animals, Christmas ornaments, Zippo lighters, matchbox trucks, die cast cars, trucks, airplanes...etc. dozens of starting lineup figurines, Danburry mint figurines, McFarlanes, a bunch of Bobbleheads......basically anything that has "BEARS" stamped on it. My Bear Den is a shrine....a museum to me...
I love the Chicago Bear players......if they wear the uniform, I cheer them on. I envy their life of football and the opportunity of wearing the Bears blue and orange. I respect their athletic toughness and dedication toward training. Rags to Riches. This is America, where a poor boy from Mississippi can become a multi-millionaire and become the idol and role model of thousands. The lowest paid NFL player makes as much money as many CEO’s running successful businesses. I love the Coaches and Staff. What a dream job. What a difficult job. Hours and hours of preparation in hopes of putting the best product on the field that you can. These guys are heroes and goats, but should always be respected and commended...
I love the Bears, so let’s get to the conclusion and point of this essay. There are many different types of fans in this world, at family gatherings, at the office, on internet message board, and even many, many bloggers. Some, as of late, are continual naysayers. This frustrates me. Whether the season is just beginning or has just ended certain fans are always writing them off. That’s BS. Where is your expertise? I know, we get the occasional genius of some high school X’s and O’s guy, or some guy that played in college. Neither of these has any idea what it takes. I am sick of "this guy sucks", "this coach needs to be fired".....blah, blah, blah. It’s a TEAM and an ORGANIZATION that builds champions. Please, let them try and do so. Support them. You don’t have to support them monetarily if you chose not to. That is your right. But, you could at least look for the positives and approach your fandom that way...
I love the Bears. Every year I predict 16-0. If we lose a game, I’ll change my prediction to 15-1, then 14-2.....you get the point. With the parity in the NFL, the Bears can win any game they play. If they win, I am ecstatic. If they lose, I am disappointed, but not explicitly angry or upset. I just prepare myself to get ready to watch the next game. I am a Bear Fan whether they win or lose. Winning is extremely fun, yet losing can at least offers an upside. I am confident that the Bears will return to glory days, and I will be on top of the world. And, I will be extremely proud knowing that I never griped and moaned and said the Bears sucked. Those of you that did, will have bandwagon issues.
Good or Bad......I LOVE THE BEARS !!!!!

I'm a Huge Chicago Bears Collector

I hope to utilize this blog forum to come in contact with more collectors, such as myself. I started off around 1990 collecting Chicago Bears' key chains and my hobby has escalated beyond normalcy.

I LOVED going to Sports Memorabilia Shows....sports card shows (I have a sizeable collection of NFL rookie cards, as well)...flea markets, garage sales, retail stores,etc. The early Chicago Bear Fan conventions caused me to bring home bags full of stuff....

And then there's Ebay, my addiction for the last few years.

I went from key chains to ERTL Die Cast car&truck banks, matchbox (now White Rose) trucks, starting lineup action figures, zippo lighters, bobbleheads,anything and everything Memory Company, Danburry Mint...Die cast airplanes, games-checkers,chess...posters, wheaties boxes, books, videos.....christmas ornaments...I probably have a dozen neckties....stuffed animals....musical toys...LP vinyl record albums....pennants....a TON of old glassware

I could go on and on, and I will, I am sure, at a later date....

Don't even ask me about my 360 card (all rookie year) collection of Cade McNown !!! I learned a big lesson from that. That's why I only have a few Rex Grossman Rookie
Cards....

My Collection

HERE ARE A FEW... pictures of my Bears den. Actually these pictures are about 2 years old, and a LOT of other items have been added since then. The room is covered floor to ceiling and it is getting quite difficult to add stuff. Now, If I aquire something that needs to hang on the wall, something else has to come down. I have future plans to take over another room someday, sometime after my wife divorces me (Just Kidding). It really is getting out of hand, though.












Wow....I've got to get better pictures....sorry

Figures, Figurines and Collector's Plates

The American Football Chess Set



This is one of the gems in my entire collection. It was a 25th Wedding Anniversary Gift that was purchased to somehow balance the X-tra Large Diamond received by my Bride. I mean EXTRA LARGE! The Chess Set players, which include the 49ers as the opponent, are hand made from Old English Soldier metal castings and hand finished and painted at Studio Anne Carlton in Hull, England. The tallest piece is about 3 1/2" and the set has considerable weight to it. Chess Sets like these range in value from $800-$1,000.


Hartland Statue



There are certain items that I see on Ebay every once in awhile that I really think that I should have, but I refuse to pay the price that eventually wins. One item in particular was a Hartland Plastics Chicago Bear Statue...It stands about 8-9" tall, made of all plastic (of course) and mounted on a plastic stand. It was manfactured somewhere between 1959-1963, and two versions were made for the 14 NFL teams at the time: Running Back and Lineman. I believe that sticker decals were provided originally, so one could use the number of their choice.

These rare figures command anywhere from $200 -$400,that's provided everyone knows that it is a "Hartland", and the last Chicago Bear sold on Ebay for $400. The one I bought last year was listed by a consignment seller and was listed as "an old Chicago Bear plastic doll"...NOT ONE WORD SAYING IT WAS A HARTLAND! Some guy thought he was going to sneakily buy it at $25.00, but I sniped him at the end for $40.00......$40.000....Wow!




I had never seen one of these before and I should have known that they existed...but in 1977 I was studying girls and beer in College...It's a 1977 Action Team Mate. Action Team Mates were made well before Kenner's popular Starting Lineup Figures. They were first manufactured in 1977 by Pro Sports Marketing and continued until the early 80's. They are 7 1/2 inches tall with movable limbs held together by rubber bands.
The Team Mates were only available through Sears and J.C. Penny's toy catalogs which means there aren't a lot of them floating around. All 28 teams were available in both black and white figures. There was also a field and benches that were produced that went with the figures.


In 1987 GI Joe introduced it's 2nd 3 1/2" doll based on a real life person: William Perry from the Chicago Bears. Hasbro originally intended the issue to feature Sylvester Stallone as Rocky, but Rocky toys became licensed under a Rambo toy line name. Anyway,Here's the scoop on Fridge's "file" card:


The Fridge

mail-order
Physical Training Instructor
E-5 (Army sergeant)
File Name: Sgt. William Perry
Primary MOS: Physical Training Instructor
POB: Aiken, SC
Secondary MOS: Special Services
Appearance: African-American; black hair and moustache; gap in teeth; sleeveless blue football shirt with white "72" on front; red, white, and blue wristbands; green pants with brown belt, red pockets, and white boots with grey kneepads
Accessories: black football attached to a chain.
Filecard Information: G. I. Joe training procedures are tough to the max and no expense is spared in insuring [sic] that G. I. Joe personnel are prepared to deal with the worst possible scenario. Regular troops tackle standard obstacle courses like fences, crawl pipes, and water traps. The G. I. Joe obstacle course consists of only one obstacle–The Fridge.""If lacrosse is the little brother of war, football must be the rich uncle. Note the similarities: Strategy (offensive and defensive), teamwork, violence, camaraderie, television coverage, parades for the victors, and humiliation for the defeated. Using The Fridge to train the Joes is logical and practical . . . Besides, The Fridge likes to see the looks on their faces when they look up from the mud and see who they have to get past–to pass the course!"


I also have Sports Impression figures from 1992 and 1993 of Walter Payton, Gale Sayers and Jim Harbaugh. These are porcelain figures and are the shorter 6 " versions. I also have 8-9" Collector Plates for those three players, and a small 3" plate for Payton.





Other action figures of lower value include a 1996 Rashaan Salaam Headliner, a 1998 Curtis Conway headliner, and 1 998 Curtis Enis XL Headliner (large). In addition I have 2 Series 5 McFarlanes of Anthony Thomas, both 'Variants', one all white uniform, and one white mouthpiece figure.





Check some of other posts for more figures and figurines...all of my Urlacher stuff is together, there's a couple of figures in the Payton post, and the Starting Lineup post is loaded with figures.

Here's an add on that I have: Old Soldier Field replica, serial #'d:

Brian Urlacher Collection

Certainly, if one is to be a purveyor of Bears' collectibles, the current player of choice has to be Brian Urlacher. In fact, he has always been (I believe) a top 5 money maker for NFL Properties. Apparently people everywhere buy his stuff. Jerseys are very popular and unfortunately, I don't have any of those. Now that I think about it, I only have one decent trading card of his.....Wait....Two....


One is a 2000 Sage autograph
and the other is
a PSA 10 SP Authentic Rookie. The card pictured here is not my actual card, but trust me, it was easier to find a similar card online than trying to used my stone aged scanner.

I am also a big figurine collector, or "dolls" as my wife calls them...... I have action figures, figurines and (as far as I know or have seen, EVERY Urlacher Bobblehead). Yes, it is true that many of my collectibles are classified as "toys", so what? Maybe I missed out on childhood.

McFarlane Figures replaced the defunct Kenner/Hasbro Starting Lineup figures in 2000. I have a Series 2 Urlacher, plus a dark Jersey Variant ($120). The series had about 4 variants all together.
In 2003 McFarlane made a 2 pack with Brett Favre and Urlacher and a 12 inch figure hit the market in 2004. There was also a 3 inch figure in 2004 and the regular Series 9 issue. Series 9 had another Variant figure wearing all blue. Needless to say, I own all of these issues.

and I have a lot more. Most everything I have remains in the packaging. To me that makes a collection more valuable. I have a 2002 Memory Company figurine, an Upper Deck Game Breaker , EXtreme Action figures (blue and white)a small pewter figure, Gracelyn Re-Plays, Forever Collectibles Rock 'em, a Bendable Bobble, Memory Company ornaments, a miniature bobble magnet, a little pocket pro..(to be continued)oh yeah, a snow globe...To be cont.

3 inch Pewter

Mezzco

Upper Deck Figurine

Memory Company

Forever Collectibles

And then, like I believe I mentioned earlier....I have Brian Urlacher Bobbleheads...I have basically purchased every single one I have ever seen, so I believe that I have ALL of them so far. There MAY be some other rare ones some where, who knows? I'm not going to guarantee my statement 100%. Of course I am aware of the 18" and 36" dolls and I do not have any of those...Yet (smile)

Here are some of them:

The Bobbleheads

The following are a collection of my Bobblehead dolls that are NOT Brian Urlacher (he has an entire section dedicated to himself)...I really never intended to get into collecting Bears' Bobbleheads, it just happened. I found a rare one fairly cheap, and then I find a unique one, and then the next thing you know, I NEED MORE!

I've got Dick Butkus Dolls from the special issue Hall of Fame to the Monical's Pizza Butkus...a 2003Santa Bobble, Mickey, Goofy and Donald Duck, McDonald's of A-Train and Urlacher that were recalled due to lead paint, a weird looking Canadian, man-faced Bobblehead...

Here's a pic of the group and then I will show a few individually. If you look closely you can see the likes of Dick Jauron, R.W. McQuarters, Jim Miller, Marty Booker...I think for awhile, the minute a bobblehead doll came out for a Chicago Bear, the player (coach) changed teams.



The oldest I have is a 1962 square "wood base" (if you every become an expert on NFL Nodders, you will find that they are categorized as square base, round base, gold base, toes up, etc. etc.) and I also have a 1968 "Merger Series" which is the year both NFL AND AFL dolls were made.....all were hand painted:



Here's a Dan Hampton Hall of Fame, a regular Butkus and one from the National Sports Convention, and one of Ditka:



I have a ceramic player doll made by SAM, Inc. in 1995, fairly rare. Rumor has it that the paint wasn't dry when they shipped and most were recalled. Only 1,000 have supposedly made it into the seconday market. I will also show you a 2002 Pacific "Heads Up" bobble of Anthony Thomas and a 2002 Sports Illustrated piece. Pacific sent out bobbleheads with cases of their card products.


And of course, we have THIS young man....Rex Grossman. This is a Draft Day Bobble that stands about 10-12 inches tall.

Starting Lineups - SLUs - Action Figures

The Kenner company began making NFL action figures in 1988 and stopped doing it around 2000. These small 5 inch figures became a huge success in the secondary collector's market.

I have recently acquired the 1991 Neal Anderson (one that slipped through the cracks and I failed to realize that I was missing it). That brings my collection up to a total of 36. I am still missing some regionally issued pieces such as the 1988 Steve McMichael ($185.00) and the rare and much sought after, 1989 Jimbo Covert ($300).

UPDATE !!!! He has arrived! Steve McMichael is "on the wall"...37 SLUs with only Jimbo Covert missing now...Hip Hip Hooray!




Here is a list of what I own...all are unopened:

1988 SLU Football 2 Neal Anderson
1988 SLU Football 37 Richard Dent
1988 SLU Football 51 Willie Gault
1988 SLU Football 90 Jim McMahon
1988 SLU Football 113 Mike Singletary
1989 SLU Football 2 Neal Anderson
1989 SLU Football 28 Richard Dent
1989 SLU Football 32 Dave Duerson
1989 SLU Football 74 Dennis McKinnon
1989 SLU Football 75 Jim McMahon
1989 SLU Football 101 Mike Singletary
1989 SLU Legends Series * 3 Mike Ditka
1989 SLU Legends Series * 8 G.Sayers w/must
1989 SLU One-On-One * 12 M.Singletary/M.Quick
1990 SLU Football 2A Neal Anderson Blue
1990 SLU Football 17 Dennis Gentry FP
1990 SLU Football 18 Dan Hampton FP
1990 SLU Football 19 Jim Harbaugh FP
1990 SLU Football 50A Mike Singletary Blue
1990 SLU Football 56 Mike Tomczak FP
1990 SLU Football 64 Donnell Woolford FP
1990-99 SLU Kenner Club Pieces * 12C Cade McNown
1991 SLU Football 3 Neal Anderson
1991 SLU Football 6 Mark Carrier FP
1991 SLU Football 11 Jim Harbaugh
1995 SLU Football 33 Chris Zorich FP
1995 SLU Timeless Legends * 10 W.Payton B/W Shoes
1996 SLU Football 29 Rashaan Salaam
1997 SLU Football 13 Brian Cox FP
1997 SLU Football Classic Doubles 7 W.Payton/B.Sanders
1998 SLU Football 23 Raymont Harris FP
1998 SLU Football Classic Doubles 7 J.Seau/D.Butkus
1998 SLU Football Hall of Fame 1 Dick Butkus
1998 SLU Football Hall of Fame 8 Gale Sayers
1999 SLU Football 14 Curtis Enis FP
1999 SLU Football Gridiron Greats 1 Dick Butkus


The value of this collection based on Beckett prices (Jan 2006) is $1,568..."FP" stands for "First Piece" which is similar to a "rookie" in trading cards. The 1988 Willie Gault and the 1991 Dan Hampton have values of $100.00 or more each, as does the 1997 Classic Double w/ Walter Payton and Barry Sanders...THAT baby is in gem mint condition too. Let us not forget the newly aquired Steve McMichael valued at $185.00 for a grand total of $1,753.00