Collection not necessarily valuable

If you were to technically define it, I’m a collector. I see something special, I collect it.

The problem is my idea of special normally doesn’t fit what prevailing common sense has determined is valuable.

My living room wall contains a framed comic book of “Groo the Wanderer,” and not something valuable like “The Amazing Spider-Man.” I liked Spider-Man just fine as a kid and still do, but I always told myself someday I’d have the first issue of the comic from Mad Magazine’s Sergio Aragonés. That mattered more to me than the financial incentive of a better-known comic book hero.

That same philosophy was put into play again on Thursday. I won’t say where it happened, but you’ll probably figure it out on your own from the details. Coworkers told me a sports memorabilia place was having an estate sale, and there might be some good deals.

I already have my Pat LaFontaine rookie card ($23) and my Groo No. 1 ($11.50). Who needs more? But still, I figured it was worth a browse.

The first place I went was the poster selection. Most of my childhood sports memories are of the Costaco Brothers posters with great action photos, creative photo shoots and some phrasing that was unique to the athlete or athletes featured.

I made sure from dorm to dorm during my college life, the most prominent thing stapled on my wall was my “Nolan Ryan Express” poster. It was a major conversation piece with one girl who visited, but it never went beyond that. She was in a pretty serious relationship, and I was more interested in her friend at the time.

I found another Rangers poster when the store behind this particular estate sale was still open. It was around 2011 that I discovered a Ruben Sierra “Texas Terror” poster that still hangs on a wall at home. When I met Sierra at a Rangers game a year later, I mentioned that poster was framed on my wall. His blank face told me this would not be a major conversation piece.

I found another Texas Rangers poster on Thursday, and it might be the best conversation piece for the worst reasons. “Jose Canseco: Lone Star Great.”

Because I’m too cheap for a therapist, I’ve written before in this column space about my childhood excitement when Canseco was first traded to the Rangers. That’s clearly all they need for a World Series title, 1993 Kevin thought.

Little did I know of the misery that would follow. The ball that bounced off of his head for a home run. The time he came in as a pitcher when the Rangers were getting blown out. The shoulder injury from that pitching appearance. His career that took him to six teams over his final eight seasons. His tell-all steroid book in 2005. His failed cooking show in 2007. His celebrity boxing appearances in 2008 and 2009. The time he shot himself while cleaning a gun in 2014. His now-delayed tour to try and find Bigfoot. Guess which one I made up.

And now I have the poster from that very brief time with the Rangers. I’m debating if I should buy an $18 frame for my $3 poster or just use staples.

Move over, Groo, you’ve got some company.

Kevin Wilson is editor of the Eastern New Mexico News. He can be contacted at 575-763-3431, ext. 320, or by email:

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