A couple months back, I wrote about attending a television taping for A Piece of the Game, a promising new show focusing on sports memorabilia. It is billed as sort of an Antiques Roadshow on Red Bull. Despite not being selected to appear on the show (my Jody Davis bat did not make the cut), I really enjoyed the show.
I have collected sports memorabilia since Billy Williams signed my athletic banquet program when I was in the first grade. Dozens of signed baseballs, hundreds of signed 8x10’s and thousands of autographed cards later, I am still just as interested in sports memorabilia. I have even parlayed my JohngysBeat.com site into Press Credentials which have allowed me to interview hundreds of athletes.
Twenty or so years ago, my collecting brought me to AU Sports, which is where I first met Scott Beatty. I have turned to Scott many times over the years for help in collecting and more recently for help with interviews. At some point in the future, I will lay claim that I discovered Scott.
While I might have “discovered” Scott, the producers of A Piece of the Game brought him to the small screen, as one of the appraisers. Chicago (and beyond) saw Scott on A Piece of the Game when it aired several times on WGN.
The show has garnered excellent viewership numbers. As with any proposed tv show, it is a long process from the pilot episode to actually filming more.
Today, I had the pleasure of sitting in on an informal meeting between Don DuPree (Executive Producer) and Scott. While I cannot reveal everything that was discussed, I can say that the show is moving forward and there are some very cool plans in place.
Don is very excited about A Piece of the Game and he knows a winner. He developed and directed the Ebert Presents At The Movies movie review show on PBS. Don and everyone involved in A Piece of the Game are working very hard to get the show up and running.
I am also excited about A Piece of the Game Aside from seeing a friend on tv, it is a very entertaining show. Of course, it would be more entertaining if I appeared on it with my Jody Davis bat or maybe I need to dig through my collection for something better. In fact, I encourage everyone to dig through their collections to see if they have anything that might make the cut on A Piece of the Game.
Don took a few minutes of his time to talk with me about the show. Hopefully, this is just the first interview of those involved with A Piece of the Game. I will be covering the progress and updating everyone of new developments.
