Collector’s Corner for May 22, 2025

[Editor’s note: Welcome back to the return of “Collector’s Corner” to Uni Watch. Although no longer run by Brinke Guthrie, it has been ably resurrected by Chris Weir. Chris approached me about restarting CC, vowing to uphold the old look and style, but with one new twist: he will make each edition timely with what is going on currently in the sports world (i.e. rivalry games, big events, anniversary of events). Enjoy and please give Chris some feedback about the new (old) feature. — PH]

Collector’s Corner
by Chris Weir

Pacers vs. Knicks brings feelings of nostalgia and Timberwolves vs. Thunder brings in a breath of fresh air to the NBA Playoffs.

But first, I found an interesting item in the Huggins and Scott’s Spring Auction, a St. Louis Browns Pennant Featuring Brownie the Elf. I had always assumed Brownie the Elf was unique to the Cleveland Browns but apparently Brownies are from Scottish folklore. The St. Louis Browns were not named after the Scottish folklore but rather in homage to the original St. Louis Cardinals’ name, “Brown Stockings.”

• I could spend hours looking at old ABA stuff so I’ll stick with the era for the Pacers. Might not be difficult to remove, “Rain Gear” from this Pacers Bag but even still the bag is still great.

• Can’t talk ABA without referencing the red, white, and blue ball. This Pacers Ceramic Piggy Bank is a must for any Pacers fan and here is a Ball signed by members of the Pacers’ ABA Championship teams of the early 70s.

• Love 1971-1972 Pacers Media Guide featuring Pacers then coach and Hoosier State legend Bobby “Slick” Leonard and various ABA mascots, coaches, and players.

• Which came first, this Knicks Rally Towel or the And1 Logo? Nice to see that And1 is still around.

• I’ve never heard of Galoob’s Figures until today. My brief research leads me to believe that they were only made in 1997.

• Love the font and photo collage on the album cover for this Knicks 1970 NBA Championship Vinyl LP.

• Clearly these Sneakers commemorating the Knicks 1970 NBA Championship aren’t actually from 1970 because QR codes weren’t invented until the 90s. I couldn’t find much information on them online but there are multiple listings for them on eBay.

• I’ve always loved the timeless simplicity of the Knicks’ Uniforms and Logo.

• Can’t write about the OKC Thunder without a sky point to the SuperSonics. While the original uniforms and Color Scheme harkens back to a simpler time when the NBA Finals were on Tape Delay, I prefer the Mid-90’s Look when red was incorporated into the uniforms.

• I’ll be pulling for the Thunder because Terp Aaron Wiggins comes off of their bench. I’m not surprised he’s had success in the NBA after I witnessed this rather vicious Dunk in person.

• Everything about this Early Timberwolves Pennant is absolute perfection.

• Peruse this Timberwolves Catalog from the franchise’s early days. It was only for a short period of time but there were fans in Minnesota that had great early Timberwolves gear and these Beauties in their closets.

• Pooh Richardson got his nickname from his grandmother who thought he looked like Winnie the Pooh. I wonder if a certain Chinese President’s Grandmother had the same though

• It doesn’t get more early 00s than this Sprewell / Garnett Bobblehead.

• 1997 was around the time the Timberwolves started to put  “Timberwolves” on their jerseys. Prior to that, and Today, they just had “Wolves” on their jerseys.

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