Names are slowly trickling out as to who will be in Las Vegas next week! Approximately 50-75 guests are expected to be in attendance according to Doug Verb's interview on Soccer Sam's radio show "Kick This!" in Rochester this past weekend. This is the first time I've heard an actual number attached to it. I don't know if this is just former players, or also includes execs or even fans. But whichever way, it sounds like a pretty nifty turnout.
Confirmed so far?
From Doug Verb: Doug himself, Ed Tepper, Juli Veee, Zoltan Toth, Kai Haaskivi, Guy Newman, Roy Turner, Billy McNicol, David D'Errico, Doc Lawson, and Gerry Gray.
Added by Greg Suttie: Paul Wright, Gus Mokalis, Chico Borja, Alan Mayer.
Added by Sydney Nusinov: Gordon Jago
Brad Smith has also said he will be attending, and there have been comments talking about a meet and greet with Eric Wynalda-- not an indoor player, but still well-known in American outdoor soccer. Wynalda coaches the USL's Las Vegas Lights, and I believe we're attending the Lights vs. LA Galaxy II game at Cashman Field. So even if there's no M&G, I might be able to get him there, and I'll get to see a legendary minor league stadium that also hosted a few Oakland A's regular season games in 1996. Or I may venture down to the strip that night because come on, July 4 in Las Vegas? THAT is the way to do it.
So that's 16 names. I know the schedule talks about a Hall Of Fame get together, and some comments have been made about trying to get all the living Indoor Soccer HOF members as well (in addition to a few already confirmed, that would be Victor Nogueira, Kim Roentved, Tatu, Steve Zungul, Brian Quinn, Mike Stankovic, Dale Mitchell, Erik Rasmussen, Bruce Savage, Daryl Doran, Zoran Karic, Pato Margetic, Hector Marinaro, Shep Messing, Kenny Cooper, Timo Liekoski, and Keith Tozer; Kevin Crow, Branko Segota, and Don Popovic have already said they unfortunately can't make it, and Preki probably can't due to coaching duties with the Seattle Sounders). Hopefully some of these guys will be there.
Who am I hoping to see most? I might do a celebratory dance if I see Waad Hirmez, Dennis Mepham, Steve Kinsey, David Byrne, Kia, George Fernandez, Bernie James, Dale Mitchell, Dale Ervine, Victor Nogueira, Dave Hoggan, Gregg Willin, Bobo Lucic, Claudio De Oliveira, or Chris Hundelt. I either need multiple cards signed by them, or need them on a multi-player card to complete it. Stuart Lee too: I'd like to finish off my 1987-88 Sidekicks game program.
I'll add more names as they're announced...
June 27: Nick Megaloudis has confirmed he will be in attendance.
June 30: Doug added Jim Sinclair, David MacWilliams, David MacKenzie, Godfrey Ingram, and Len Bilous. Said 8 Hall of Famers will be there. By my count, we're at 23 names.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Vegas Prep
Sounds like some fancy-ass private high school, right?
Nah, just getting ready for the trip to MISL40.
It'll be tough limiting my baggage-- I'm flying with Sun Country, so I can carry a personal item for free (17x13x9), or a slightly larger (24x16x11, 35 lbs.) carry-on for a fee. I can get away without checking anything, but I may have to bite the bullet on the carry-on. I have three card boxes and two binders, plus clothes, some photos, a few other autograph-related items (envelopes and stamps in case someone says "Oh, I can get those signed for you," Sharpies, index cards) and basic living stuff so it might not be doable in something the size of a laptop computer case or small backpack.
Positive note, at least the photos aren't 11x14 the way they are when I go to the National Sports Collectors Convention. Of course, if I could find photos that size on a few players, I probably would print them.
I just got a couple new shirts as well-- OldSchoolShirts.com had Cleveland Force and Crunch shirts so I grabbed one of each. For you fans of the other MISL teams out there, they also have Baltimore Blast, NY Arrows, Philly Fever, Pittsburgh Spirit, Chicago Horizons and Sting, St. Louis Storm, Wichita Wings, Hartford Hellions, Phoenix Inferno, L.A. Lazers, Buffalo Stallions, Las Vegas and Memphis Americans, and a MISL logo shirt. And that's not even including the outdoor and non-MISL indoor teams they have, plus several defunct teams and leagues in other sports.
I didn't find it really odd that the active teams don't have shirts (probably some major trademark protection on them), but moreso that the Baltimore Blast DO have one-- the only still-used MISL name to have one. So no Sidekicks, Stars, Sockers, or Comets. But also no St. Louis Steamers or Minnesota Strikers?!
I also grabbed some extra cards on SportLots and eBay to fill in some gaps-- including a 1980s Kansas City Comets team set. I saw a few L.A. Lazers and Memphis Americans sets, but they were more than I was looking to spend. And as alluded to above, I'll put together some 4x6 photos on a few players, done in the style of the 1989-90 Pacific set. Plus an 8x10 of me with Kai Haaskivi from back in October.
I haven't heard any more news on potential players for it. Over on Turf and Boards, Sydney Nusinov makes mentions of a few players that I hope will be there, along with the schedule of events. And Greg Suttie has mentioned a few players in Facebook groups that have he has near-100% confirmation from.
I also grabbed a few cards of Eric Wynalda, as he's head coach of the USL's Las Vegas Lights. They'll be playing against the LA Galaxy II. I'll grab some Pete Rose cards too-- after all, it's Las Vegas AND he was co-owner of the Cincinnati Kids. I also am considering an Aviators-Aces AAA ballgame, but it's looking unlikely.
Hope I'll see some of you out there!
Nah, just getting ready for the trip to MISL40.
It'll be tough limiting my baggage-- I'm flying with Sun Country, so I can carry a personal item for free (17x13x9), or a slightly larger (24x16x11, 35 lbs.) carry-on for a fee. I can get away without checking anything, but I may have to bite the bullet on the carry-on. I have three card boxes and two binders, plus clothes, some photos, a few other autograph-related items (envelopes and stamps in case someone says "Oh, I can get those signed for you," Sharpies, index cards) and basic living stuff so it might not be doable in something the size of a laptop computer case or small backpack.
Positive note, at least the photos aren't 11x14 the way they are when I go to the National Sports Collectors Convention. Of course, if I could find photos that size on a few players, I probably would print them.
I just got a couple new shirts as well-- OldSchoolShirts.com had Cleveland Force and Crunch shirts so I grabbed one of each. For you fans of the other MISL teams out there, they also have Baltimore Blast, NY Arrows, Philly Fever, Pittsburgh Spirit, Chicago Horizons and Sting, St. Louis Storm, Wichita Wings, Hartford Hellions, Phoenix Inferno, L.A. Lazers, Buffalo Stallions, Las Vegas and Memphis Americans, and a MISL logo shirt. And that's not even including the outdoor and non-MISL indoor teams they have, plus several defunct teams and leagues in other sports.
I didn't find it really odd that the active teams don't have shirts (probably some major trademark protection on them), but moreso that the Baltimore Blast DO have one-- the only still-used MISL name to have one. So no Sidekicks, Stars, Sockers, or Comets. But also no St. Louis Steamers or Minnesota Strikers?!
I also grabbed some extra cards on SportLots and eBay to fill in some gaps-- including a 1980s Kansas City Comets team set. I saw a few L.A. Lazers and Memphis Americans sets, but they were more than I was looking to spend. And as alluded to above, I'll put together some 4x6 photos on a few players, done in the style of the 1989-90 Pacific set. Plus an 8x10 of me with Kai Haaskivi from back in October.
I haven't heard any more news on potential players for it. Over on Turf and Boards, Sydney Nusinov makes mentions of a few players that I hope will be there, along with the schedule of events. And Greg Suttie has mentioned a few players in Facebook groups that have he has near-100% confirmation from.
I also grabbed a few cards of Eric Wynalda, as he's head coach of the USL's Las Vegas Lights. They'll be playing against the LA Galaxy II. I'll grab some Pete Rose cards too-- after all, it's Las Vegas AND he was co-owner of the Cincinnati Kids. I also am considering an Aviators-Aces AAA ballgame, but it's looking unlikely.
Hope I'll see some of you out there!
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
MAIL CALL: And then there were nine...
It took a few tries, but I managed to track down Heinz Wirtz.
I had heard of my original address on him getting a RTS, then I found one that got a success and a RTS before I tried it and got RTS'ed.
But after some searching, I found a new one, tried it, and yesterday received two cards signed.
With that, I now have every single error and variation signed from the 1987-88 Pacific set. It puts me down to nine remaining for that set, and down to needing only one on the errors and variations across the entire series (I need Chris Hundelt on his 1989-90 error with Kevin listed). And it's soon to be eight on the 1987-88 set: Brian in Kansas City has a Desmond Armstrong set aside for me. I can also add a 1990-91 soon too as Ray in Baltimore is sending an Angelo Panzetta sig to me.
I went through and did a few updates to the address list. I've been helping out Doug Verb a bit whenever I can for the 40th Anniversary so I figured it was time to do some more digging and correcting.
Speaking of which, I don't have any new additions to the list of people who will be there just yet, but I did get all my cards sorted last night. I'm able to fit everything into three boxes and a binder. I'd like to limit my baggage to a single carry-on if I can. It'll be tough, but I might be able to pull it off. I might even look into seeing if I can grab some old team sets on the cheap somewhere. I know the Kansas City Comets had a Pizza Hut sponsored set, Wichita had their Burger King sets, and the L.A. Lazers had some as well. Cleveland used to do some postcard sized ones with various sponsors-- Oh Henry and Smuckers off the top of my head.
I also bought a couple shirts for it today that should arrive in the next couple of weeks. I'll wait to show them off though...
I had heard of my original address on him getting a RTS, then I found one that got a success and a RTS before I tried it and got RTS'ed.
But after some searching, I found a new one, tried it, and yesterday received two cards signed.
With that, I now have every single error and variation signed from the 1987-88 Pacific set. It puts me down to nine remaining for that set, and down to needing only one on the errors and variations across the entire series (I need Chris Hundelt on his 1989-90 error with Kevin listed). And it's soon to be eight on the 1987-88 set: Brian in Kansas City has a Desmond Armstrong set aside for me. I can also add a 1990-91 soon too as Ray in Baltimore is sending an Angelo Panzetta sig to me.
I went through and did a few updates to the address list. I've been helping out Doug Verb a bit whenever I can for the 40th Anniversary so I figured it was time to do some more digging and correcting.
Speaking of which, I don't have any new additions to the list of people who will be there just yet, but I did get all my cards sorted last night. I'm able to fit everything into three boxes and a binder. I'd like to limit my baggage to a single carry-on if I can. It'll be tough, but I might be able to pull it off. I might even look into seeing if I can grab some old team sets on the cheap somewhere. I know the Kansas City Comets had a Pizza Hut sponsored set, Wichita had their Burger King sets, and the L.A. Lazers had some as well. Cleveland used to do some postcard sized ones with various sponsors-- Oh Henry and Smuckers off the top of my head.
I also bought a couple shirts for it today that should arrive in the next couple of weeks. I'll wait to show them off though...
Monday, June 3, 2019
See you in Vegas!
It's official, I'll be at the MISL 40th Anniversary Reunion celebration in July!
I reserved my hotel spot, along with my ticket for the invite-only events and plane ticket so I'm all set to be there for everything.
I haven't heard any official list of former players who will be there yet, aside from Greg Suttie mentioning that he's gotten Juli Veee, Zoltan Toth, George Katakalidis, and Cha Cha Namdar likely to be there. Alan Mayer has also said he will be there along with Norman Piper, league co-founders Doug Verb and Ed Tepper and the family of legendary coach Ron Newman.
Several historians of the game will be there as well-- I'm seeing the likes of the aforementioned Greg Suttie of the Suttie on Soccer podcast and Sydney Nusinov of the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame.
A few have said they won't be able to attend, including Otto Orf, Branko Segota, Marco Rizi, Paul Dougherty, and Marty Templin.
And it looks like there's at least interest in attending from players Chico Borja, Doc Lawson, Kia Zolgharnain, Dave MacKenzie, Keith Tozer, Hayden Knight, Freddy Garcia, Dave MacWilliams, and Gerry Gray; coaches Joe Machnik, Len Bilous, and Roy Turner; exec Paul Garofolo; and broadcaster Randy Hahn. Hopefully we'll see more added to that list!
Either way, I plan to carry every unsigned card I have with me, especially those I need for my sets. And I may even take the signed collection with me to show off and possibly doubles to trade if there are other collectors in attendance. I know a few have expressed interest.
Doing a little housekeeping on here, I added the 1992-93 NPSL set officially to the project and took down the Soccer Shots set-- a little bit of a tradeoff, making one available as deal bait while adding the other officially to the canon.
I reserved my hotel spot, along with my ticket for the invite-only events and plane ticket so I'm all set to be there for everything.
I haven't heard any official list of former players who will be there yet, aside from Greg Suttie mentioning that he's gotten Juli Veee, Zoltan Toth, George Katakalidis, and Cha Cha Namdar likely to be there. Alan Mayer has also said he will be there along with Norman Piper, league co-founders Doug Verb and Ed Tepper and the family of legendary coach Ron Newman.
Several historians of the game will be there as well-- I'm seeing the likes of the aforementioned Greg Suttie of the Suttie on Soccer podcast and Sydney Nusinov of the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame.
A few have said they won't be able to attend, including Otto Orf, Branko Segota, Marco Rizi, Paul Dougherty, and Marty Templin.
And it looks like there's at least interest in attending from players Chico Borja, Doc Lawson, Kia Zolgharnain, Dave MacKenzie, Keith Tozer, Hayden Knight, Freddy Garcia, Dave MacWilliams, and Gerry Gray; coaches Joe Machnik, Len Bilous, and Roy Turner; exec Paul Garofolo; and broadcaster Randy Hahn. Hopefully we'll see more added to that list!
Either way, I plan to carry every unsigned card I have with me, especially those I need for my sets. And I may even take the signed collection with me to show off and possibly doubles to trade if there are other collectors in attendance. I know a few have expressed interest.
Doing a little housekeeping on here, I added the 1992-93 NPSL set officially to the project and took down the Soccer Shots set-- a little bit of a tradeoff, making one available as deal bait while adding the other officially to the canon.
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