Mr Tree
Straight Flush
So I've been trying to sit on this one until it's done, but I am not great at keeping secrets.
When GOCC had their summer sale a few months ago I decided to pull the trigger on an idea that had been percolating in my head for a while.
Anyone who has ever been to my room knows the walls are covered in jerseys from my and my wife's favorite players. One wall has a very different display though.
If you take the time to peruse this one you will realize it is an homage to my father's career as a stock drag racer. The frame includes his 1963 Florida state champion jacket, a magazine article about him...
And an ABC Wide World of Sports poster for the NHRA Nationals with his car featured on the front.
My father had a very short but extremely successful racing career in the early 1960s. He raced a very early version of the Hemi head engine which he had modified. At the time his numbers were blowing away Chrysler's specs for the engine so they sent a team of engineers to look at what he had done and adjusted their assembly of the engine to match it. He won the Florida state championship both years he raced and was a finalist at the Indianapolis Nationals. When I was a child on a trip to Washington DC I remember my father getting riled up that there was an exhibit for Big Daddy Don Garlitz in the Smithsonian. My father had raced Big Daddy several times and won all of them. My sister reminded him that he raced for two years and Big Daddy raced for decades.
My father's racing career was cut short by an accident he had that he probably should not have survived but managed to walk away from unscathed. Very shortly after one of his good friends had the exact same accident on the exact same track and was killed. My father never raced again.
Those who have read the Hitching Post history know the mule on the logo is a nod to my mother. I always felt like some kind of tribute to my father who passed away eight months after her was due as well. A seed for a cash set was planted in my head and took hold.
The concept for the set is 1960s racing. I want nostalgic kitsch factor and 1960s colors. I want the chips to be flashy and lively. The set is named Paymaster after my father's 1964 Plymouth Belvedere. These were always going to be ceramic chips because I wanted each to be a cover to cover piece of retro racing art. There will also be a related dealer button.
Currently I am still in the J5 backlog. I communicated my ideas to John and am trying (with mixed results) to be patient while he works through the swell of sets in line in front of me.
A note too that I felt there was some serendipity in making a poker set about my father as his name was actually Buddy (or Bud) Jones.
Anyway I will share more info as this project progresses.
When GOCC had their summer sale a few months ago I decided to pull the trigger on an idea that had been percolating in my head for a while.
Anyone who has ever been to my room knows the walls are covered in jerseys from my and my wife's favorite players. One wall has a very different display though.
If you take the time to peruse this one you will realize it is an homage to my father's career as a stock drag racer. The frame includes his 1963 Florida state champion jacket, a magazine article about him...
And an ABC Wide World of Sports poster for the NHRA Nationals with his car featured on the front.
My father had a very short but extremely successful racing career in the early 1960s. He raced a very early version of the Hemi head engine which he had modified. At the time his numbers were blowing away Chrysler's specs for the engine so they sent a team of engineers to look at what he had done and adjusted their assembly of the engine to match it. He won the Florida state championship both years he raced and was a finalist at the Indianapolis Nationals. When I was a child on a trip to Washington DC I remember my father getting riled up that there was an exhibit for Big Daddy Don Garlitz in the Smithsonian. My father had raced Big Daddy several times and won all of them. My sister reminded him that he raced for two years and Big Daddy raced for decades.
My father's racing career was cut short by an accident he had that he probably should not have survived but managed to walk away from unscathed. Very shortly after one of his good friends had the exact same accident on the exact same track and was killed. My father never raced again.
Those who have read the Hitching Post history know the mule on the logo is a nod to my mother. I always felt like some kind of tribute to my father who passed away eight months after her was due as well. A seed for a cash set was planted in my head and took hold.
The concept for the set is 1960s racing. I want nostalgic kitsch factor and 1960s colors. I want the chips to be flashy and lively. The set is named Paymaster after my father's 1964 Plymouth Belvedere. These were always going to be ceramic chips because I wanted each to be a cover to cover piece of retro racing art. There will also be a related dealer button.
Currently I am still in the J5 backlog. I communicated my ideas to John and am trying (with mixed results) to be patient while he works through the swell of sets in line in front of me.
A note too that I felt there was some serendipity in making a poker set about my father as his name was actually Buddy (or Bud) Jones.
Anyway I will share more info as this project progresses.
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