When you scour the countryside and more recently, the internet, looking for odd and old sports memorabilia like I do, numerous great old finds pop up every week. Of course landing them is quite another thing. I am pretty choosy, and then the asking price for some things is just not within budget. It’s okay though; just knowing these great items still exist is a memorabilia guy’s lifeblood. Of course, I often look for local or as-close-to-local-as-can-be items and two beauties surfaced this week on the Montreal-based auction site Classic Auctions. One is an answer to possibly the origin of one of the most famous team logos in history and the other is a note from the great Newsy Lalonde written in February 1970 a few months before his death to a fan who had asked for an autograph.

Have you Habs fans ever wondered where the CH logo came from? I know that most are thinking that it was the smarts of someone who put pen to paper and designed the logo from the name of the team “club du hockey Canadien.” You are probably right in this assessment and the logo has gone on to stand the test of time. Then I spot this team photo taken in 1904, a full five years prior to the Canadiens formation and what do I see? You be the judge. Does that not look like a Habs logo before its time? This Hawkesbury team was close enough to Montreal and were actually called “club du hockey Hawkesbury.” What’s to say that someone didn’t just clean it up a little and the rest is history?

The website even suggests or challenges interested buyers to research the logo to see if there was a connection. If you’re interested the opening bid is $200.

In October last year the moviemakers of the local Cornwall feel-good flick 86400 stopped by and asked me a few questions—one was who I thought was the greatest hockey player from Cornwall. They had asked my friend at the daily Claude McIntosh the same question and unrehearsed. we both answered Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde. This brief little note has a genuine heartfelt appeal and sold in 2005 for $200. Email thom_racine@hotmail.com.