The 2012 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto set record attendance this year and people weren’t just going to look at all the slick new automobiles. Some shrewd Hot Wheels collectors were looking to bring home a car too. Specifically, a limited edition diecast collectible of a life-size Hot Wheels Camaro Concept created by Chevrolet and Hot Wheels.

But Chevrolet wasn’t just giving away the hotly sought after diecast Camaro easily. You had to earn it. And being a little tech savvy (equipped with the right mobile) was the first step. In a first for an Auto Show floor – Chevrolet teamed up with mobile gaming app SCVNGR to create an innovative way to reward show attendees with a coveted prize.

The Champ is here!

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali returned to Toronto, Canada for the first time in almost a decade on November 19th. The Champ was making the single night visit to the city for an appearance at an annual David Foster Foundation benefit Gala.

It was a much quieter return to Toronto for Ali considering the fanfare that accompanied his last visit during 2002, when Ali appeared at Toronto’s Skydome for an Argos football game and press conference (with fellow boxing champions Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe, & George Chuvalo!)

From the first time meeting Ali during an appearance in Detroit during 1996, HoundsTV has had the pleasure of seeing The Greatest a few times over the years and witness him autograph some very beautiful pieces of memorabilia for the autograph Hounds.

RELATED: Muhummad Ali autographed boxing glove. Signed “aka Cassius Clay” from Cleveland National.

But on Muhammad’s latest visit to Toronto towards the end of 2010, it’s evident the Parkinson’s disease Ali was diagnosed with many years ago has now slowed his body considerably. On arrival to his downtown Toronto hotel a few hours before his scheduled appearance at the David Foster hosted benefit – Muhammad had to be helped from the car into the hotel by wife Yolanda and another person supporting him on each side.

When Ali last visited Toronto in late 2002 – it was very public and many cameras captured that special scene. But Muhammad Ali’s 2010 visit was private and low-key. And unlike last time, very few photographers even managed to capture a shot of Ali in the city. The Champ didn’t appear before photographers assembled for the red carpet arrivals at the David Foster fundrasier and it was asked repeatedly by representatives accompanying Ali at the event that people who approach Ali – please don’t ask for autographs.

YouTube: It was a much more public appearance for Muhammad Ali on his last visit to Toronto during late 2002. Ali arrived to great fanfare, and signed autographs for the collectors.

RELATED: Muhummad Ali autographed boxing glove. Signed “aka Cassius Clay” from Cleveland National.

One special time is certainly in Cleveland during 1997. When we heard that Ali was going to be the featured autograph guest at The National, we got the HoundsTVmobile going and made the journey to Cleveland for America’s biggest memorabilia show of the year.

One of the nicer pieces I had Muhammad Ali autograph was this official Everlast leather boxing glove [ $1,995 ] signed “Muhammad Ali aka Cassius Clay.” In these early autograph days for HoundsTV there was limited opportunties to ask the Champ to add his original name inscription.

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ITEM: MUHAMMAD ALI signed Everlast boxing glove with “aka Cassius Clay” inscription – (Signed in medium black sharpie. HoundsTV watermark graphic does not appear on actual item.)
PRICE: $1,995.00 CAN + $50.00 (S&H in North America.)
SIGNED: March, 1997 – The National, Cleveland, Ohio

Contact us for any questions about this item and/or shipping charges outside North America. Includes Guarantee of Authenticity. Additional Terms & Policies. Satisfaction GUARANTEED.

HoundsTV in the past has posted stories about celebrities and pop culture icons that unfortunately pass away.

Today, HoundsTV is sad to report about another type of legend to us – an icon of the autograph collecting world passed away this month, Blair Richards of Cleveland.

Besides Blair’s love of teaching and practicing the law – Blair was a proficient traveler of the world, visiting well over hundred countries. It was on many of these journey’s that Blair collected the signatures of some of the biggest music stars in the world.

We shared many hounding adventures over the years with Blair. And it’s there HoundsTV will fondly remember the many stories shared with Blair as collectors chit-chat to waste time as you wait for the celebrity encounter. If it was a former staple of the modern music scene touring – anyone from Cheap Trick, Kansas, Supertramp, or Meatloaf – you could be sure Blair would have an interesting story of an autograph encounter with them.

Loving husband of Lena Richards. Loving son of Carole Richards Kusik (nee Kelty) (husband John), and Edward Richards. Dearest brother of Linnea Smith (nee Richards) (husband Stephen), grandson of Greye Richards and Harold (deceased) and Betty and James Kelty (both deceased). Cousin of Shannon and Derek Richards.

Blair Richards from Cleveland is certainly one of the best autograph collectors HoundsTV ever had the pleasure to work with and was taken from his wife, family, friends, and autograph hounding community at far too young of an age.

But we know Blair – and we doubt his passing will stop him from continuing his pursuits of celebrity signatures. So, a note to Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, John Bonham, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Miles Davis, and Stephen Ray Vaughan – Blair is probably going to be finding you with a stack of albums and a sharpie marker in hand real soon.

A memorial service is being held today, July 31st, in Clevelend to remember and celebrate the life of Blair Richards.

Blair getting Mick Jagger to sign a guitar in Toronto, 1999.
Blair and good friend and fellow collector Brad celebrating getting a huge haul of items signed by Roger Waters (ex of Pink Floyd) in Brazil, 2002.
Brad and Blair in Brazil.

“I was in Montreal for the F1 race and got the shock of all collecting shocks when I spotted ex-Beatle George Harrison walking out of a hotel. After getting Harrison to sign at about 7pm, not a minute later I run to a phone and call Blair and tell him I got Harrison. Phone goes dead. Not 12 hours later at 7 am all the way from Ohio, Blair drove through the night and is standing out there to graph Harrison on his guitar as George was leaving his hotel to head to F1 track. Blair got several Harrison signatures that trip to Montreal – that was vintage Blair!” – friend and fellow autograph collector Brad Byrne

The jersey that Paul Henderson wore when scoring that historic goal is currently being auctioned and is set to become the most expensive piece of hockey memorabilia ever sold. It is currently up for sale at Classic Auctions.

Is the Paul Henderson jersey worth $250,000 or more? The short answer is “yes.” The oldest rule in the collecting world is an item is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. So if someone is putting down hundreds of thousands on the Henderson ’72 Series jersey – than that’s what it’s worth.

In the sports memorabilia world – while the physical item the collector is buying may be a jersey, stick, or puck. What the collector is really buying is a piece of history.

And People collect history. It can be argued that Henderson’s ’72 Summit Series winning goal is one of the most celebrated and historic hockey moments in Canadian history.

If the Henderson ’72 Canada jersey does indeed top $250,000 (and as of June 15th – it’s sitting at $232,000) it would make it the most expensive piece of hockey memorabilia ever sold.

A jersey from Wayne Gretzky’s career is believed to have traded hands privately for $250,000. Just a month ago, a sweater from the rookie year of Bobby Orr fetched almost $200,000 at an auction.

There has been much debate on what should happen with the Henderson jersey. A majority feeling it should end up in a Hall of Fame somewhere. The hardware retailing giant, Canadian Tire, recently bid $200,000 for the jersey feeling it would be a nice item to display on a tour around it’s stores (and no doubt, a massive publicity coup in the process.) But when some media complained that might not be such a good idea. Canadian Tire dropped out of the bidding.

UPDATE (June 23): There was some furious bidding at the end between two bidders but the Henderson ’72 Jersey was sold for $1,067,538 last night – more than double any of the most optimistic estimates before the auction began. The winning bid (comes to over $1.2M after all auction fees factored in) was submitted by Mitchell Goldhar, owner of SmartCentres.

The Henderson ’72 jersey sale becomes the highest price ever paid at auction for a piece of hockey memorabilia.

Don’t want to spend a million dollars on a ’72 Summit Series collectible? Consider this item from HoundsTV

Auction listing for Henderson ’72 Jersey at Classic Auctions.

Don’t want to spend a million dollars on a ’72 Summit Series collectible? Consider this item from HoundsTV

It’s good to see Formula 1 racing back again at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Canada. When F1 suddenly departed the famous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Montreal Ile Notre-Dame after the 2008 Grand Prix – many thought F1 racing was finished in Canada for good. But it has made a triumphant return for 2010.

HoundsTV has many fond memories of spending the exciting Formula 1 week in Montreal – especially during the late nineties when the names of Jacques Villeneuve & Michael Schumacher ruled the track. Villeneuve’s 1997 Formula 1 World Championship win over Schumacher stands as one of the greatest sporting moments in Canadian history.

After a practice session in the lead up to the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix – Jacques Villeneuve autographed this Villeneuve family poster (Jacques is the little boy in front of dad Gilles.) Officially licensed & printed by the Gilles Villeneuve museum in Montreal [$169.00] The poster is professionally mounted on 26″ x 38″ board and is ready for frame and glass.

Jacques Villeneuve signs autographs at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Montreal, June, 1998.

ITEM: THE VILLENEUVE FAMILY official poster of the Gilles Villeneuve museum in Montreal. Autographed by JACQUES VILLENEUVE. (Poster in excellent condition and mounted on 26″ x 38″ board – shows slight wear at edges but a frame and glass would make like mint.)
PRICE: $169.00 CAN + $30.00 (S&H in North America)

This June, Alomar will also become one of Canada Sports Hall of Fame’s newest members (but we all know Alomar fans are really waiting for next year when Robbie will be inducted into the only Hall Of Fame that matters – Baseball’s)

When Alomar was launching his new line at Sear’s in Toronto – he also debuted a new logo – a silhouette graphic image of Alomar’s arms up reaction to hitting arguably the Blue Jay’s biggest home run ever (and yes, I’m including Carter’s in that opinion. Sure Joe won the whole damn thing with his swing. But Robbie’s blast off an unhittable Dennis Eckersley in the ’92 ALCS slayed serious demons for Toronto and set the stage for everything to follow.)

Roberto’s wife and son Robertito were accompanying him while greeting fans at Sear’s Eaton Centre.

Roberto Alomar autographed for HoundsTV this offically licensed photo file 8″ x 10″ color photo of Alomar in his famous “arms up” pose after hitting the home run off Eckersley ($59.00 – with MLB hologram.)

Alomar would eventually be named Most Valuable Player of the 1992 American League Championship series and provide Toronto fan’s one of their most cherished sports memories ever.

ITEM: ROBERTO ALOMAR autographed 8″ x 10″ official licensed Photo File photograph from ’92 ALCS (Mint condition. MLB hologram on bottom right corner. Comes in Photo File protective sleeve. Signed in blue sharpie. HoundsTV watermark graphic does not appear on actual photograph.)
PRICE: $59.00 CAN + $7.50 (S&H in North America) **Just 1 remaining in-stock.
SIGNED: May 28, 2010 – Toronto, Canada

THIS ITEM IS NOW OUT-OF-STOCK

Contact us for any questions about this item and/or shipping charges outside North America. Includes Guarantee of Authenticity. Additional Terms & Policies. Satisfaction GUARANTEED.

VIDEO: HoundsTV What’s the fastest you’ve been driving? “About 280.”

(HoundsTV – Toronto) The annual Gumball 3000 Rally hit the streets of Toronto as the cars (and their eccentric drivers) rolled onto Yorkville ave. to a large gathering of auto enthusiasts and fans.

The Rally has become very popular with the rich and celebrity crowd. Participants in this years race include David Hasselhoff, actors Michael Madsen and Idris Elba. Rappers Xzibit and Eve. Besides having to have a top notch car, the entry fee for the Gumball 3000 is $30,000 per two-man team.

The Gumball is also starting to get a bit of a reputation from authorities. Highway police don’t really like unauthorized car races speeding through their towns. One Gumball 3000 racer was pulled off Highway 401 travelling east to Toronto from Quebec City. The driver immediately lost their license and was charged with excessive speeding, stunt driving and the Gumball car impounded.

The cars leave Toronto and make their way to the end of their 7 day destination, New York this weekend.

Yeah, that’s Stringer Bell from The Wire
All photos by Richard Budman courtesy shot7.com

The stick Sidney Crosby used to score the Gold medal winning overtime goal over Team U.S.A. has gone missing.

After Crosby scored, he ripped off his gloves and threw his stick in the air. As reported by the Toronto Star. “When they cleared the ice, I never got my stick or gloves,” Crosby said after the game.

Now, Hockey Canada is investigating and really wants to see the stick returned. It’s a piece of Hall Of Fame worthy memorabilia now. Investigators are looking through all television and venue video footage in hopes of spotting who could have grabbed the stick from the ice. “We have some leads,” is all Hockey Canada’s Scott Salmond would say.

As for the Sid The Kid’s gloves – one of the gloves was returned to Hockey Canada from a fan who caught it when Crosby threw it OVER the glass.

HoundsTV has discussed this with a few people today and is wondering…

Was the fan not within their rights to keep Crosby’s glove?

Unless their are specific rules stating otherwise, we think the glove is fair game once Crosby threw it over the glass into the crowd. Like a historical home run in baseball.

If Crosby’s stick was snatched from the ice surface or in the locker room – that is clearly theft and his stick should be returned. But a glove thrown over the glass?

The person who got Sid’s glove might be feeling pretty good today about returning it to Hockey Canada. We thinks they needlessly gave up a $25,000 piece of historical memorabilia.

“Of all the things, I got my mouthguard back. I don’t know where (the other equipment) is.” – SIDNEY CROSBY

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar with the Olympic Torch on Yonge St. just north of Wellesley in downtown Toronto. Kumar’s Olympic torch run was delayed as protesters were blocking Yonge St.

The Bollywood star was personally invited to Canada to participate in the torch relay by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on his recent visit to India. Kumar is one of the most high-profile celebrities to carry the torch and is meant as a way to strengthen tourism ties between the two countries.