An Epic Christmas: First Win Jersey, Plus Encounter With an NHL Legend!

[IrbeFan4Life]

Firstoff, Merry Christmas everyone! I haven't posted so much on these boards anymoresince my focus switched to my museum project, but I still come onto the siteeveryday!



Butenough about my excuses, here is the Christmas show and tell. While I did get alot of nice gifts, I will focus on my hockey stuff.



Firstoff is a nice set of hockey items for my own collections. The first is abiography of Levente Szuper, the first Hungarian to ever be on an NHL activeroster. The book is in Hungarian and should give me some reading enjoymentsince I can also read, speak, and write in that language. The puck next to itis autographed by Arturs Irbe.







Rareis the time when a game used addition ends up as the second to last part of amulti-part post, but this is one of those rare times.



Today'sgoaltender add is of Jean Francois Damphousse. Damphousse was born on July 21,1979 in St. Alexis-des-Monts, Quebec. A product of the Moncton Wildcats of theQMJHL, Damphousse was drafted 24th overall by New Jersey in the 1997 NHL EntryDraft. He bounced between the AHL and ECHL before finally making it to 'TheShow' in the 2001-02 season. He made his debut on November 23, 2001 in a 2-0loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his fifth game of the year, on January 9,2002, he recorded his first, and only, career NHL win, a 23 save, 5-1 victoryover the Calgary Flames (while wearing this jersey). He played in oneadditional NHL game before being traded to Anaheim and then being furthertraded along to Montreal. He never played another NHL game once leaving the Devils.



Inhis career, he appeared in 6 games, recording a 1-3-0 record with a 2.45GAA anda 0.896% save average.



Datesof game use: *possible* December 13, 2001 v Florida Panthers (3-2L, 19-22)
January 9, 2002v Calgary Flames (5-1W, 23-24)



Acquiredfrom: Meigray Group



Photomatched:Yes







































Andthe rare time when something beats out a first NHL win jersey is upon us.Nicknamed, 'Mr. Goalie', Glenn Hall is an undisputed legend of the game, mostfamous for starting in goal in an NHL record 552 consecutive games. Anyways, aclose family friend of ran into him by chance and asked me if I had ever heardof "Glenn Hall", since the guy mentioned to her that he was in theHockey Hall of Fame. I said that absolutely I have and went on to mention someof his records and accomplishments to her. So come Christmas, she comes by myhouse to give me a Christmas gift. Under the tree it went. When it came time tounwrap presents, out came this item, personalized to me. Apparently Glenn Hallwas extremely excited that someone still knows about him, and he even mentionedhow many current Oilers players didn't even have a clue who he was. So herethey are (apparently he always carries photos with him). The first is a regularsheet of paper which he signed to me saying "To Bruce, Merry Christmas2014, Glenn Hall", and the next was an 8x10 photo he also signed to me,saying "To Bruce, Very Best Wishes, Glenn Hall".











Allin all, an excellent Christmas, also thanks everyone for reading through this!

[brian045]

That was a nice Christmas! Its sad that Glenn Hall gets excited that someone still appreciates him. Hes one of the best goalies ever. Id love to meet and talk with some of those guys, guess most people don't. Great pickups, the jersey is nice. How many do you have now?

[IrbeFan4Life]

Thanks for the comment. I am at around 36 jerseys, 23 sticks, 7 gloves/blockers, 4 sets of pads, and 2 masks.

[brian045]

That's a lot of jerseys! Good luck on finding more, I always like seeing how you put the history with the jersey. Its also pretty cool you can narrow down the time that the jersey would of been worn.

[johnse27]

After reading your post on the other board I was talking to my 14 year old son a little bit about hockey history! I said that there once was a goalie that played in 552 consecutive games and he was completely shocked. How could one goalie play that many games in a row he said. That is truly a record that will never be beaten. Thanks for sharing Bruce, and therefore reminding me that I should share some of this history with him. All the best in the the new year and with more of your acquisitions!

[IrbeFan4Life]

Thanks very much for the comments guys! I'm always glad that my passion for the goaltending position teaches so many others about the particular players and their accomplishments, be it large or small! No one should ever forget Glenn Hall's insane streak, and people should also know about the lesser guys like Damphousse. He made the show when thousands of others did not.