Wednesday Friendsday, Vol. 6: Lanny Hanscombe

Due to Wednesday night's ill-fated hounding attempt (recap coming later), I was both waterlogged and late getting back to the apartment so I had to delay this in earnest until Thursday.  But now that that's all passed, let's meet Lanny Hanscombe.

Lanny and I go back about ten years as part of the Boston crew that has provided at least one previous interview, and at least one upcoming.  We were both new to the scene at the same time.  In fact, I think it was only my second or third time out when we met-- and it was only about his first or second time out.  He's back home in his native Canada now, but still collecting in person and by mail.

So here we go with Lanny!

Lanny on the left.  If you don't know
the man on the right, I suggest you learn.

Name: Lanny Hanscombe


From: Inverness, Nova Scotia


Age: 41


Years collecting: 20 years


 Main items you collect: mostly hockey





TGC: You've bounced around to a few places for regular hounding outings, notably Boston and Edmonton.  What city has been your favorite for it?

LH: Boston for sure.

TGC: How do the other hounds compare between the places you've been?

LH: Mostly the same. I've made some great friends in both places

TGC: How did you first get into autograph collecting?

LH: It started when the NHL oldtimers came to my home town when I was a kid.

TGC: Do you remember the first item you ever got signed?

LH: I know I got some when iI was young, but my first one that I really remember was from Al MacInnis when he came home after winning the Cup in '89.

TGC: Do you prefer getting yours in-person, or through the mail?

LH: In person by far.

TGC: What are your top five favorite items in your collection?

LH: 1- Wendel Clark signed jersey
2- My Crosby autos
3- Signed Gretzky Jersey
4- Bobby Baun signed jersey
5- Bobby Hull signed jersey

Bobby Hull has turned into one of the best signers in the last few years.

TGC: How did we end up meeting?

LH: We met in Boston, I guess we just started talking and it went from there.

TGC: Any fun stories from hounding over the years?

LH: n/a

TGC: What's your opinion on autograph dealers?

LH: They dont bother me.

TGC: Of all the players you've encountered, pick five you would say are the friendliest in terms of interacting with fans.

LH: 1- Jarome Iginla
2- Joe Sakic
3- Dion Phaneuf
4- Ian Laperriere
5- Sam Gagner

TGC: On the opposite end of that, who are the, shall we say, roughest around the edges?

LH: Sean Avery has this one wrapped up, with an honorable mention to Dan Cleary.

TGC: Has anything ever made you want to get out of the hobby?

LH: Yeah, all the long days in the extreme cold! But I haven't quit yet.

TGC: Any other thoughts, words of advice, anything like that for other collectors out there?

LH: Treat a new hound with respect. Help them out and show them the ropes.

An International TTM

I have had surprisingly good luck sending autograph requests overseas.  A lot of sports don't have that option.  Football is pretty much 100% American.  Basketball does have a few players who go international.  Baseball does too, but I haven't tried any in either of those two.  And I don't collect enough soccer to both with it.

Hockey though seems to constantly have players going back and forth between Europe and North America.  Part of it is the constant labor disputation over the last few years.  It's also the fact that the sport is truly international.  Yeah, baseball is (was) an Olympic sport and has the WBC, but it's pretty well limited to the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific Rim.  You won't see the German National Baseball Team taking on Algeria anytime soon.

But hockey is truly international.  In the last ten years alone, the NHL has seen players from the US, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the UK, France, Austria, Denmark, and Poland.  And that doesn't include those born in a country who moved elsewhere-- like the small handful born in Brunei, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Bahamas, South Africa, Brazil, South Korea, Tanzania, and Japan.

Often players will retire and return to their homeland, or even return to finish out their careers.  It can be tough to find them but once in a while an address pops up and someone will have success with it.  Sometimes, a player is accessible through his team if he's playing or working with one.

I've only mailed outside the US and Canada four times now, but yesterday brought in my fourth success.  Former Ottawa Senator Magnus Arvedsson signed five cards for me in just a little over a year.  Sure, it took a while, but better late than never.  I thought these were gone for good.  One of them is for the 2002-03 Topps Total set I'm working on, so I'm now up to 352 done out of 400.

For anyone wondering, I've sent successfully to Sweden (twice-- Arvedsson and Peter Forsberg), Hong Kong (Barry Beck), and Slovakia (Robert Reichel).  I'm sure I'll try plenty more in the future-- Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Germany seem to have pretty trustworthy postal systems from what I read at some other boards.