A great thing about collecting is stumbling onto something you never knew existed. Take for instance, the 2003 Steve Carlton bobble head. As part of the final season at Veterans Stadium the Phillies hosted several bobble head giveaway games, including June 22 – when a Steve Carlton figurine was handed out. At this point most of us have either seen, or acquired one of the standard issued SGAs…but, would you be surprised if I told you it is not the only version that was produced?
Though not as widely available as the SGA, a second version has popped up here and there on the secondary market over the years. This variation looks much like the original, with the exception of a white pitching rubber – and a Steve Carlton autograph. Speculation has been that this was either a random variant inserted into the standard SGAs at the gates, or sold in the Stadium team store – but, as far as I can tell, we've never received solid confirmation of either.
After exchanging emails with Lefty's merchandising company, Game Winner Sports, I came to find out that 3,000 of the two non-SGA variations were ordered by the Phillies specifically for Carlton. They have presumabley been selling this inventory on the Hall of Famer's official site: stevecarlton.com, for $39 (unsigned) and $79 (signed), ever since…
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