Ft Wayne Komets 2007/08 Schedule Pen

Back on June 2, 2007, I posted about the 1953-54 Ft Wayne Komets Spinning Schedule, which was by far the most innovative and unusual team schedule I had ever seen. It seems the Komets like to produce schedules that stand out from the pack, so this year they produced a schedule pen. But not just any old schedule pen. I have seen other teams print their schedule on a pen (last one I can remember was two seasons ago when the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL produced a large blue pen with their home schedule printed on it.
Taking the idea of a schedule pen to the next level, the Ft Wayne Komets of the IHL have produced a very unusual schedule pen for the 2007/08 season. As seen in the photo above, this looks like a regular 'click' pen, but it has a small metal strip on the side of the pen, which can be pulled out to reveal the full Komets home and away schedule. When you let go, the schedule springs back inside the pen.
Very cool schedule for my collection, and a great idea for all kinds of businesses etc that want an unusual way to advertise!

1953-54 Ft Wayne Komets Spinning Schedule

I have been collecting pocket schedules for over 10 years now and have seen many different size schedules, team schedules with multiple (different) covers, odd shaped schedules, schedules on bookmarks & coasters, etc. But today I found a team schedule unlike any I have ever seen before. Its a home schedule for the 1953-54 Fort Wayne Komets of the International Hockey League. This unique schedule has a spinning front ring that allows you to chose the team or the month, and then it displays the game dates for the team or month you have chosen. As well as teams and months, it also has the category "Special"... not sure that that is for?
As a big fan of hockey radio broadcasts and a some time listener of Koemts games over the internet, I found it interesting that one of the sponsors on this schedule is Wowo radio. Pretty amazing that more than 50 years later they are still broadcasting Komets games on the same radio station in Ft. Wayne!

Pocket Schedules

As I said last post, I love collecting pocket schedules. And since I am a huge fan of minor league hockey, my favorites are hockey skeds. I have been collecting them for about 10 years now. I started collecting them because I liked the artwork on them, but then when I found there were others who also collected them, I got hooked on collecting & trading them! Each hockey season, I attempt to get 1 sked from each team in each league; NHL, AHL, ECHL, CHL, UHL, SPHL, WHL, OHL, QMJHL etc. For those of you who collected hockey cards as a kid, this is kinda like that, except that these are free and hockey cards are now $6+ for a package miscellaneous cards.
Here are a few pocket schedules from my collection:

First we have the Lubbock Cotton Kings of the CHL. It's hard to see their logo on this one, but it's a giant angry cotton ball chewing on a hockey stick! Gotta love the graphic of a hockey player pressed up against the glass. Next we have the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. I'm not sure what their logo/mascot is supposed to be, but it looks like a crazed white monkey to me. Next up we have the Fayetteville Fire Antz of the SPHL. I like the use of fire in a logo for a hockey team. Next we have the Louisiana Ice Gators of the ECHL. I was a big fan of this team until they folded a season ago. I liked their name and logo. Something kinda funny about a hockey team playing in the bayou don't you think?

Here we have the Winston Salem Polar Twins of the SPHL. An OK logo, but Polar Twins... what kind of a name for a hockey team is that? Another favorite of mine, is the Muskegon Fury of the UHL. I liked this logo so much I bough a Fury jersey. While I was wearing it at a local hockey game someone came up to me and asked, "is that supposed to be an angry toilet bowl?" Ever since then, I have a hard time seeing anything else. Next up is the Danbury Trashers also of the UHL. Their name and logo are a hockey playing trash can. Is that Oscar the Grouch I see in there? Turns out the team is owned by a guy who owns the largest trash removal company in the Danbury area. Lastly in this bunch we have the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. Another logo I always liked. It is a goalie mask with a puck rebounding off of it. And check out those hockey players on the front of their sked. What's up with the guy second to the left? Apparently he wasn't wearing a goalie mask when a puck rebounded off his head.

There are the AHL Texas Wildcatters. I always found their name sort of funny. Nice logo though. There is the Indianapolis Ice of the CHL. I love their 03/04 promotional campain "Are You Tough Enough?" with a grandma in her pink hat and shawl, with two black eyes and a few missing teeth. And going with the same theme, we have the Roanoke Express of the ECHL with a tough looking guy on the front, who looks like he could use a doctor. Lastly we have the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL. This is by far my favorite logo of all time. What's not to love about an angry Christmas tree holding a hockey stick and being chased by a giant saw blade!
Check out my web site Ronn's Minor League Hockey Blog to see many more pocket schedules and other minor league hockey memorabilia.

CFL Memorial Day Classic

Yesterday was Labour Day in Canada, and that means the CFL Labour Day Classic on CBC. The First game was Edmonton Eskimos @ Calgary Stampeders, and the second game was the Toronto Argonauts @ Hamilton Tigercats. Unfortunately this year, neither game was truly a classic, as the Eskimos won 44 to 23 and the Argos won 40 to 6.
As well as watching the Canadian Football League, I also collect CFL pocket schedules. You know, those little fold out schedules you can pick up for your local teams at info booths, gas stations etc. Here is the complete CFL sked collection for the 2006 season.