As printed in the Lion Backers Fan Club newsletter
"Paw Prints" - June 2003 edition.
This is just a sample of the kind of articles you can read about in the Paw
Prints newsletter. If you like what you see, why not join the fan club
today? Online printable membership applications are available at www.lionbackers.com.
so just scroll up and click "Fan Club"
If you have information you'd like to share with the Fan Club, please email lion_backersattelusdotnet
* with your request and contact information and every effort will be made to
include your submission in the next newsletter. * replace at with @ and dot with
. it is shown like that to reduce spam
Super Fan
- by David Holmes, Lion Backers Fan Club and Lionbackers.com member
What does one call a man who spends every day of his life on E-bay searching for Lions collectibles? A guy who scours garage sales and swap
meets searching for long-forgotten or discarded Lions items. An individual who has spent thousands of dollars building his collection, and has even
converted an upstairs room in his Parksville home into a make-shift shrine to everything BC Lions....committed?
Or should he be?
Meet Vic Dougan, a self-confessed Lions
"Super-Fan," whose penchant for collecting and his love for the
CFL lead him to his current obsession - building one of the largest
collections of Lions memorabilia in Canada.
"I sold my beer can collection in 1990 and had to collect
something," Vic offered. "As a fan of the CFL, it was a natural.
Eventually I weaned off my very large CFL collection and focused on
my number one hobby and
first love - collecting Lions.
Vic estimates his collection of all things black and orange at a
staggering 1,500 pieces if you include each programme and photo. On a
recent trip over to the Island to view this collection first-hand, I was
like a kid in a candy store. But instead of wine gums, Jujubes, Pixy
Sticks, and chocolate covered cherries, I was treated to a unique and
diverse assortment of items: rare team-issued photos and Lions pennants
from every era which adorned each wall. Pins, premiums, mugs, glasses,
mini-helmets and autograph books that were all neatly arranged in display
cases. Programmes, trading cards, and player photos sealed in specially
marked binders and mounted in a wall that Vic custom built himself. It was
truly akin to taking a walk down memory lane, or down to the corner of
Cassiar and Hastings to be more specific. |
 |
He even owns some odd-ball pieces too. Like a 1968 play book that was issued
to all team members at training camp. In it, there is "code of
conduct" page written by former head coach Jim Champion. Coach Champion was
quite demanding of his players, or so one would be led to believe. A sample of
fines for various misdeeds: $10 for reporting overweight - per
pound per day, $25 for tardiness, $50 for failure to report injuries or report
for training, and $400 for going out after curfew. Indexed into today's dollar
amount, that $400 is the equivalent to over $2,000!
 |
Vic readily admits that much of this is made possible by the
online resource E-bay. "E-bay has provided me a much wider net from
which to catch the things I'm looking for," Vic enthused. "I
have picked up Lions items from as far away as Florida and from all over
the United States. Before (E-Bay), you would never have access to these
items and my search would largely be confined to the Island and the Lower
Mainland." "Now" he adds, "I can fine-tune my
collection and cherry-pick the items I really want. For example, Lions
away programmes are easier to come by than ever before."
So what is Vic Dougan's proudest possession? It's a 1958 game-worn
jersey
worn by former star halfback Primo Villanueva, that was acquired quite by
good fortune. |
Vic had e-mailed a gentleman about some programmes. During the course
of the conversation the guy mentioned that he had a jersey, but was not sure of
the year or who wore it. Knowing he was onto a good thing, Vic traveled to
Vancouver, they worked out a fair price, and it now it's proudly and prominently
displayed on a wall in "The Lions Room."
The affable former construction contractor is always willing to show off his
veritable museum too. "Tell them I am always willing to have Lions fans
over to view my collection," he adds. "And I am always looking for old
photos or programmes, whatever."
For a look at a few more pictures from Vic's Lions Room click
here
Vic Dougan may be contacted by phone at (250) 954-1006 or by e-mail at
doogieattelusdotnet. * replace at with @
and dot with . it is shown like that to reduce spam
|
