Other Frank Collectibles

These cover a surprising number of non-card items. Particularly after Frank won back-to-back AL MVP Awards (1993 & 1994) - there was a tremendous surge of manufacturers that wanted the Big Hurt on everything from cups and banners, stickers to pins, magnets to jewelry, and just about everything you can imagine inbetween.

The prices for these items can vary widely. The most important thing to consider is whether or not it's a licensed product.

I think, among this wide cornucopia of collectibles, the most fascinating and fun are those created by Frank's own company: Big Hurt Enterprises. It's no longer in operation, but for a time there were some really awesome collectibles that were produced under Frank's personal direction. You can click here to see some of what I received when I joined the Big Hurt Club. (some great stuff huh?) :-)

Based on my experiences, one of the most difficult items to obtain are the two (2) versions of The Big Hurt Candy Bar. It was sold in and around Chicago with very little exposure outside of Illinois. I'm still looking for anything related to this amazing product including any advertising, boxes, packaging or flyers. Anything at all. I was fortunate to meet a food item specialist who parted with an example of the charity wrapper. And I consider myself even more fortunate to have located a pair of the retail versions soon afterward.

For a list of the 13 Toughest Non-Card Collectibles (in my opinion) please click here.

Besides the standard baseball collectibles such as cards, jerseys, caps/helmets and other on-field equipment, a wealth of other Frank material can be found across a wide spectrum of collectibles. Such as:

• Columbus High School (GA) Yearbooks, 1983-1986. Difficult to obtain. Since they're kept by the graduates of Columbus High they almost never reach the open market. But I came across one recently (1985 edition) so it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility. Same thing for Auburn University Yearbooks, 1987-89.

• Uncut Sheets. This is a crossover collectible since technically they're cards, but finding them in uncut production sheets can be (for the most part) unusual. Still, they're surprisingly easy on the wallet as I've purchased sheets for as little as fifteen bucks. While not terribly expensive, they can be a difficult item to display and costs for large framing is prohibitive. But when properly done these sheets make an impressive collectible display. Collector's Note: If you're purchasing an uncut sheet that's already framed, you should request to have the glass (if its glass) to have the glass removed before shipping. Two reasons: 1) Glass frames, even when properly packaged, can break. And broken razor-sharp pieces of glass can damage the sheet, negating the collectible and display value. 2) Glass is very heavy, which adds to ever-increasing shipping costs. Ask to have it removed and when it arrives, go to a frame shop and have them insert a new piece.

• Promotional Sheets. These unusual giveaways are mostly associated with Upper Deck. However, I include Dealer Sell Sheets into this category. These are sheets printed up by the manufacturer to showcase upcoming products and promote sales. The most rare of these are likely the ones issued for Pinnacle Brands' 1998 product line just prior to their forced bankruptcy. I scanned a pair for you here. Note that some of the cards actually escaped the bankruptcy court.

• Point-Of-Purchase Displays. aka "P.O.P." or "P.O.P.s" by many hobby insiders. Difficult to obtain since only dealers were given the displays to encourage sales of the products. Doubly so given the likelihood that many displays were discarded once the sales promotion period was over. True story: I actually found an Upper Deck POP Display (showcasing Ken Griffey Jr.) inside a trash bag outside of a hobby shop. I don't normally go through other people's trash, but it was on the outside part of the trash bag and could be clearly seen. So I took it out and happily discovered that no liquid or food had touched it; and other than being slightly dinged, it was in very good condition. It eventually found its way to a Junior collector in Alaska who was so pleased that he paid extra to get it for his collection. I'm not encouraging you to search through trash. I just wanted to illustrate that POPs are fairly rare items that you should keep an eye out for.

• Media Kits. Issued primarily to the media and key hobby dealers, these kits are produced for the specific purpose of generating interest in a product line. One example that's really interesting is from 1994 Donruss. Click here to see it and why I note the interest.

• Any Chicago-only collectible. Rarely seen outside of Chicago itself were items like: city bus posters, city banners, city advertisements, taxicab displays, etc. Most common: City newspapers which featured Big Frank. More difficult: Material related to his endorsement deal with Chicago haberdashers Bigsby & Kruthers.

NOTE: I'm not sure how many of these I can "activate". Because, as of this writing (6/22/06), I've nearly reached the 50MB limit of the space allotted to this account. I will endeavour to save space by cutting elements where possible and adding active links as space opens up.
Your input helps determine what goes and what stays.


1998 Donruss Preferred Large Gold Tin
Individually #'d to 199, random inserts in cases of Donruss Preferred. My example above is: #025/199.