Curling: A Cool Sport for Collectors

by: Mary Dessoie

With prices for sports memorabilia on the rise, this is the time for collectors to do a bit of trend spotting. The key to smart collecting is finding today’s overlooked sports-related souvenirs that might very well become tomorrow’s hot collectible. You are a winner if you spot a trend in collecting before prices skyrocket. The average American may not be familiar with curling, but savvy sports collectors know all about it. Since it debuted as a full-medal sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, its colorful buttons, stylish pins and embroidered badges are starting to appear at sports shows and flea markets everywhere.

Curling developed in 16^th century Scotland where it was played outdoors on frozen ponds or lochs. Simple equipment for the game included curling stones formed by Mother Nature, and primitive brooms. When slid across the ice by a player, the stone would quite often curve, or curl, as it traveled toward its target, a large bulls-eye. Brooms were used to brush snow and particles from the path of oncoming stones.

When Scottish immigrants came to North America they brought the sport of curling with them. It soon spread across Canada and the northern part of the United States. By the mid-19th century curling clubs prospered in the states surrounding the Great Lakes, and in New York City. This sport that was popularized by the Victorians continues today and is equally enjoyed by ladies and gentlemen, children as young as ten and seniors toward ninety.

During the curling season, October through March, it is estimated that over one million people participate in Canada (where it is the second most popular sport next to ice-hockey), Australia, New Zealand, Japan and many European countries and 25 of the United States.

Although the game has undergone modernization with uniform equipment and modern facilities, with refrigerated ice, the traditions of good will and fair play continue. The author of The Spirit of Curling wrote, "Curlers play to win but never to humble their opponents. A true curler would rather lose than win unfairly."

Many folks are attracted to curling for the social aspects imbued with the spirit of camaraderie. Players are filled with anticipation at the advent of tournaments, known as bonspiels, where players from other states and countries meet and often form lasting friendships. During the closing bonspiel ceremonies, curlers gladly exchange their club buttons, embroidered badges or pins for coveted hardware from opposing team members. Each club’s piece is unique in shape, size, color and design. Some curlers like to display bonspiel souvenirs on their tam-o’-shanters or on other styles of traditional Scottish caps, while others create impressive breastplates of buttons and pins on team sweaters. In fact, the sport’s hats, sweaters and ephemera-related items are also coveted. No matter how they are displayed, each button, badge or pin elicits lasting memories of an activity enjoyed in a friendly atmosphere. Remember, even if collecting other sports memorabilia is out of your league, curling keepsakes are a sure winner.

To find out more about this fascinating sport, write to: United States Curling Association, 1100 Center Point Drive, Box 866, Stevens Point, WI 54481 or visit their website at: www.usacurl.org.

When urban cowboy Steve Weppner left New York for his new home in Montana, he made sure that everything was all buttoned up! As an avid curling sportsman for over twenty years, Steve has accumulated nearly 200 curling-related buttons and badges. His prized curling collectibles were safely tucked away in his car for the cross-country drive out west to the state known as "the last best place." (Steve’s bumper sticker reads, "I’d rather be curling.")

Having curled around the northeastern United States and in Europe, Steve’s collection consists of a vast assortment of curling mementoes. He was for twenty seasons an active member of The New York Caledonian Curling Club (men’s), St. Andrews Golf Club Curlers (mixed), both at St. Andrews Golf Club in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York; and later the Ardsley Mixed Curlers at Ardsley Curling Club, Ardsley, New York.

In his new home state of Montana, where curling is virtually unknown, Steve not only displays his buttons and badges for all to admire, but he has become the unofficial ambassador for curling. Steve told us, "Curling, also known as The Roarin’ Game, is a game of honor. Curlers are expected to and do admit their own transgressions, and it is a matter of honor that the guilty person be the first to identify him/herself and the specific violation, whether or not observed by either a teammate or an opponent." Steve went on to say, "I would never part with my curling memorabilia. The value of my collection is minimal in comparison to the memories that each item holds for me of the many fine friendships that I have developed and maintained over the years." Even if some people mistake his curling brooms for household cleaning items, Steve maintains that it’s a wonderful sport.

Although many folks have the desire to start collecting they often become discouraged because of space limitations or the cost of establishing a quality collection. Enter curling pins or buttons: tiny, colorful pieces of hardware that can easily be found across America for under $10.

Along with pins, buttons, and badges there are many other curling-related items that are true antiques and quite affordable. Are you a rare book lover? Then why not scout for a 19^th century book that covers this fascinating sport. Curling ephemera, such as premium trade cards, can be attractively framed or displayed under a glass-top table.

About the Author

Mary Dessoie covers a variety of subjects in the field of antiques and collectibles. She founded the Butter Pat Patter Association in 1997 for beginner and advanced collectors of exquisite china butter pats from the Victorian through Edwardian eras and 19^th-century to current-day transportation and restaurant ware pats.

A butter pat is a miniature plate, part of a place setting of fine china, used to hold an individual portion of butter. Manufactured by leading porcelain houses all over the world, these diminutive plates have been seen on the tables of royalty and presidents, as well as in the homes of fine china lovers everywhere. Rarely manufactured for popular use, they are now considered antique, exquisite each in its own style and a joy to contemplate.