Art Snobbing: Iowa Hawkeye Booze Cruze Picture

I truly believe that we as Hawkeye fans come up with some of the best artwork for our team simply because of how diverse our fan base is. Handmade Hawkeye items are my favorite items to find in thrift stores, because you never know what you get. I initially dismissed this piece because I hadn't saw any Hawkeye logos on it, but I doubled back and picked it up. It appears to be a John Holladay print from the 80s, seen here. I have one of his Kinnick Stadium prints and I can personally say, this is very well done, creative and funny artwork.

This has easily become my favorite piece of artwork, just because it is one of the most creative pieces I have ever seen. My Hawkeye bathroom is made complete with this one.

Price: $5.38
Bought At: Muscatine Goodwill
Condition: Good, Small crack in the corner of the frame
Going For:  My good friend and fellow Hawkeye collector, Marty Boller, of the wonderful MJB Hawkeye Store puts the value of this piece between $20-$25 dollars.



Finding this picture made my day, and is one of the pieces that I still smile at every time I see it. A big thanks to Marty Boller for helping me find information on this one. Please go check out his store. You will be glad you did!

Go Hawks!

America's Real Choice: 1982 Rose Bowl Coke Bottle

So.... we are back to the '82 Rose bowl again. The 1981 Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten Champions Commemorative bottle, with season record on the reverse showing the Hawks going 8-3 in Hayden Fry's 2nd year as coach, leading them to the 1st winning season in 20 years. The Bottle is unopened, and still has a slight bit of fizz is you gently shake it. It is a great bit of Hawkeye history.Coke has always been a great memorabilia dealer, and 25 Straight Sided designs were released that year. Iowa was included with Football National Champion Penn State, NCAA Men's Champ UNC and other very good teams. You can see the list here.

Price: $2.99

Bought At: Iowa City Stuff ETC.

Condition: Fair, bottle cap is rusting

Going For: Online they are fetching between $2 and $25



Finding one of these in good condition with the cap still attached has made this one of my favorite pieces. So open happiness Hawkeye Fans. Just don't touch my 33 year old bottle.



Go Hawks

Only Because It Says Iowa: Iowa Fight Song Music Box(?)

I am gonna level with you folks, I have no idea what the hell this thing is. I usually leave the figurine section alone, but this thing said Iowa on it, and it is a music box that plays the fight song. I had to have it, despite the little pipe cleaner creepy-eyed football figure. There is glue in the hands, so I assume it held something at one point. I honestly don't know if the football statue was added later or someone somewhere thought this thing as a whole was a good idea to begin with. The only redeeming quality is that it says "Iowa" and plays the fight song.

Maybe one day I will remove the statue and replace it with something better, or maybe this is one of those pieces that I one day discover is a rare, one-of-a-kind creepy ass football thing. Who knows?

It's eyes follow me when I move

Price: $2.38
Bought At: Muscatine Goodwill
Condition: Fair. Some chips and something missing from its hand.
Going For: Not a clue


So... yeah. If anyone has any info on this thing, please comment below. I would really like to know what this thing is.

Go Hawks!

1978 Collage: Musical Scrapbook of the Seventies (University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band) LP Record

Sometimes you go home empty handed. And when you plan a whole trip to Iowa City to check out thrift stores it is even more of a bummer. I still buy stuff, but no black and gold is depressing. So getting back to Muscatine I decide to stop and check out the Goodwill just to try and make myself feel better. No such luck. No glassware, no shirts, no pictures or posters. So I go to my fallback section; vinyl records. I love my music and vinyl sounds incredible. 9 times out of 10 the only vinyl available is old Kenny Rodgers or Barbra Streisand  (bleh) albums.

So I dug anyway, and I was stunned when I saw a Tigerhawk. It was an album called "Collage: The University of Iowa Hawkeye Marching Band." I quickly paid and went straight home to get the album onto my record player. Putting the needle down, "On Iowa" crackled through the speakers loud and clear. Side one is mostly Hawkeye pep songs, and side two is mostly pop tunes of the time (1970s) and marching band standards. The only song missing I find strange is the Victory Polka. Seriously?

Price: $1.38 (Price on the Record says $7.00)
Bought At: Muscatine Goodwill
Condition: Good condition, slight scuffs on edges
Going For: Well, I was seriously shocked at this one. It took me forever to find someone selling one. Anywhere. I finally found a website called MusicStack where it was going for $54-$113! Cha-Ching.


Well, since there is no Victory Polka on the album, lets have one here shall we? Cheers.

Go Hawks!

P.S. If anyone from the 1976-79 Hawkeye Marching Band reads this, bravo. You were awesome!

It's Only Weird If It Doesn't Work: 2013 Iowa Hawkeyes #16 Jersey

I love beer, but I cannot stand Bud Light. It is watery and has absolutely no taste. However I love Bud Light's Superstition commercials. We all have one. I watched a 50 year old lady at the bar wear a neon green tutu and blue leggings for the Seahawks/Niners game. My friend stands on his head for 4th Downs. Mine was my #18 Chad Greenway Capital One Bowl jersey. My parents brought it back from Orlando after the game, and it was my lucky go-to outfit for games. I used up until 2010 when Iowa hit a bit of a skid, and I deemed the jersey not lucky. Every game I watched while wearing, Iowa played horribly and limped to a 8-5 overall record. So the #18 has officially been retired.

I avoided jerseys for the longest time, as most are incredibly expensive. So while browsing for a waffle iron one Tuesday afternoon, I saw a black shirt with yellow stripes poking out of the clothing rack. I ran over and pulled a 2XXL #16 Modern style Nike Hawkeye Jersey. I had saw similar jerseys at Scheels for $50+ and I could not believe the great find. Adding to my excitement, it was yellow tag quarter day and this little number just so happened to have a yellow tag on it. Cha-Ching. 

I am just going to tell myself it is either a 2013 C.J. Beathard or 2011 James Vandenburg jersey and not a 2012 Vandenburg. Still too many painful memories.

Come August 30 I have a new lucky jersey to wear. Watch out Northern Iowa, nothing can stop us now. 

Price Paid: 3.38  .25¢!

Bought At: Muscatine Goodwill

Going For: $50+ in most stores, $20.99 and up on most online sites

Condition: Perfect. No stains, no stretches, gold bands are not cracked

Go grab your fuzzy keychain, dirty jersey, lucky underwear or neon tutu. Its only weird if it doesn't work. 

Go Hawks

In Commemoration: 1982 Rose Bowl Glass

My favorite hobby is collecting Hawkeye items and the second is collecting beer glasses and breweriana. I work next to the Goodwill in my town, and my lunch breaks almost always consist of browsing the glassware section. Glassware is always plentiful and I can almost always get a good pilsner glass or glass mug with a logo on it pretty cheap. So when I find Hawkeye glassware, it is always a good lunch break.

The 1982 Rose Bowl vs Washington may not have ended the way Hawkeye fans had hoped, losing 28-0 but the amount of commemorative items released was staggering. I suppose not being in a good bowl game for the better part of 2 decades does that to a fan base.

 Pretty much anything you can think of they slapped a Hawkeye or a Rose on it. I own few items from the game so this is one of the best finds I have come across. I found 2 of these glass mugs, both in perfect condition (which almost never happens.)

The text reads "Commemorating A 23 year dry spell, 1959-1982, Rose Bowl '82.".

Price Paid: .88¢ Per Glass
Bought at: Muscatine Goodwill
Going for: On eBay I found a few of these going for around $20 dollars per glass
Condition: Perfect. No cracks, chips or damage.

Drink Up Friends, its only 6 months til Football season. Go Hawks!

Welcome To My Blog

Hello and Welcome! My name is Ben, and one of my biggest passions is for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. I love collecting Hawkeye memorabilia. I have always collected Iowa stuff but My wonderful girlfriend introduced me to the world of Thrift Stores and the incredible stuff hidden within when we started dating in 2011. Since we frequent thrift stores weekly, I constantly find unique and special Hawkeye items laying in wait. Auctions, bargain bins and give-away piles hold unknown items, and I try to seek them out wherever I can. My goal is to show the world the wonderful Hawkeye treasures hiding in the thrift stores and give away piles.

Go Hawks!