[irbefan4life]

Today is one of those rare twofer maildays, each with their own stories. Grab a cup o' joe, sit down, and have a nice little read.

The first piece today is a beautiful custom card made for me by the genius card-maker: DNJ_cards. Having seen some of his finest works, I commissioned a grand task for him, one like any other he had been tasked with thus far. I had an autographed index card of my #2 PC guy, Levente Szuper and it really did nothing for me. Also, I have a game-used stick of Levente Szuper which had a little bit of the taping coming off. I put the two predicaments together and BAM, there came my idea for Levente Szuper's first and only ever autograph/game-used memorabilia card. I did not destroy the stick, merely salvaged a tiny piece of tape that had gone loose, almost falling off. So, here is the piece, rather nice if I say so myself. If it looks off, or non-centered, it's because of my scanning and cropping, not the card-makers fault. Huge thanks go to DNJ_cards, he is a beast when it comes to making cards.

I was even the one who did the write-up on the back. My writing has a flair for the dramatic, but I think it hits the mark with regards to this player!



And next up is the one with the story, not just about the jersey itself, but about its acquisition. So let's go!

As you all know, I am an avid collector of game-worn goaltending memorabilia, and am always an opportunistic buyer, taking advantage of any opportunity to add a significant piece from any era to add to my future goaltending museum. Whenever I am between jerseys and not expecting any new ones, I look to the hidden corners of the web, in order to locate these relics.

Last week was one such time. I found that the Calgary Flames no longer dealt with the Meigray Group, but had instead moved onto their own independent distribution via a store called Calgary Flames Fan Attic. I was looking through their catalogue online when I came across an epic piece which I needed for the purposes of the museum.

This piece was a 2012-13 (very recent) game-worn third-set Calgary Flames jersey of Danny Taylor, worn on March 3, 2013 in his first career NHL win against the Vancouver Canucks. In that game, he stopped a total of 29 of 31 shots, outduelling a powerful goaltending veteran by the name of Roberto Luongo. In Taylor's career to date he has only ever played in three NHL games from 2007-08 to now and to add any piece of memorabilia of his into the collection is a plus! Who knows, he might even bud into a star.

Now where the fun begins. I tried to call the customer service line to order the jersey because they did not accept online orders due to the flood they had a few months back. I called many a time over three days to try to cement my purchase, with nothing but a darn answering machine to show for it all. Then, I took the next step and hit the individual Fan Attic store phone numbers. The results were less-than-stellar. One person did not even have a clue what a game-worn jersey was, a sure sign that I was definitely talking to the wrong person. Then, after much dissatisfaction, I contacted the Flames' warehouse directly and asked about the jersey. Within an hour, someone phoned me back and I had the piece paid for.

But...that's not where the story ends. After shipping it out, they sent me the tracking number and I noticed that they had messed up my postal code on the package. Wonderful! The package first went out in Calgary for delivery (where the incorrect postal code was located), and then it was shipped to Edmonton (the right place). Then, for some reason, it was shipped back to Calgary. Then after I complained to Canada Post it was shipped back to Edmonton and finally made it to my house today to show to all of you! Enjoy!

Front:



Front right-sleeve featuring some light wear:



New hem-stamp for 2012-13:



Back:



Letter of authenticity:



And a nice video match from the exact game in which this was worn:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA_zNeY9J8s

Comments are always welcome, I am a junkie for the comments. Love reading them, love occasionally commenting back on them

[dark crawler88]

Very cool story. You collection is always growing.

[irbefan4life]

Thanks for the comment. I am happy that the memorabilia collection is consistently growing. Trying to open up a museum takes a lot of pieces to do...among all sorts of politics which I am steering clear from for now.

[snobles]

Very nice as always. I wish I had something for your museum. Maybe I will come across something someday.

[arrowsg30]

Love the vintage look of the old Flames jerseys. Great addition.

DnJ does an awesome job. What a unique card to add. Sticktape and cut auto. Great combination. Very well done.

[irbefan4life]

Thanks for the comments everyone, they are much appreciated. Like I always feel, the pictures never do any of these justice. To own and hold these pieces of history is really a good feeling.

[stastny26avs]

Great story and a great additions, congrats!